The Sergeant's Unexpected Family

by Carrie Nichols

  “As if you wouldn’t want to wait for him.” The nurse sighed, then leaned toward Elliott. “Are you going to let me fasten you into your seat, sweetie?”

  Elliott clung tighter, babbling something that ended with a hiccup.

  “We’ll let him settle for a few more minutes,” the cheerful brunette said.

  Mary hugged him close, needing the contact as much as he did. She tugged the toy clear of where it was wedged between their bodies and held it up. “Who’s this? Have you got yourself a new friend?”

  “One of the police officers on the scene must’ve given it to him.” The nurse removed the sheet from the gurney and rolled it into a ball. “The women’s group at the church collected donations last year to buy enough stuffed bears so each of our deputies would have several in their cruisers for emergencies involving children.”

  Mary’s throat clogged as she recalled the glimpse she’d had of a state trooper cradling her son while paramedics put her on a stretcher. “I’ll be sure to thank them.”

  The nurse tossed the discarded hospital gown onto the sheet. “People around here stick together and help one another. It’s a wonderful community. I wouldn’t want to live anywhere else.”

  Mary envied the other woman’s ties to a community. Would she and Elliott be accepted, grow roots here, if she found employment and decided to make Loon Lake her permanent home? “Do you have Uber around here? Or should I call a cab?”

  “No Uber that I know of.” The nurse picked up the pile of laundry. “But don’t worry, I’m sure Brody will take you wherever you want. Did you have someplace in mind?”

  “The nearest motel, I guess.” What else could she do? Driving back to Connecticut or anywhere was out of the question until she could rent a car.

  “Oh.” The nurse paused, adjusting the bundle in her arms. “I’m not sure the doctor will agree to that.”

  Mary had been digging one-handed in her purse for her phone, but the nurse’s words halted her search. “Why can’t I go to a motel?”

  “It might take a day or two for the effects of the concussion to go away, and it’s best that you not be alone during that time.”

  “But, I—”

  “That’s no problem. Mary and Elliott will be coming home with me,” Brody said from the opening in the curtain.

  Chapter Two

  “Wait...what? No,” Mary protested. “We’ll find a motel room.”

  Brody was still waiting for Roger to return his call. What the heck was Roger’s deal? His brother should be here, dealing with those beguiling dark eyes, hair that begged to be caressed and those long, slender legs that—Hold on! He needed to stop this...this... “Nonsense... I...uh, I mean, I have plenty of room.”

  “Our Brody rattles around alone in that big house. Do him good to have some company,” Jan said cheerfully. She held the curtain open as the younger nurse left with the wad of laundry.

  Brody rolled his eyes at Jan, but she was too busy entering information into the laptop attached to the wall to notice. He wasn’t anyone’s Brody, and he was content to rattle around alone, thank you very much. He preferred keeping his life uncomplicated. His gaze shifted to Mary. Yeah, he talked tough, and yet here he was bringing complicated with a capital C home with him. Damn that irresponsible Roger. Where was he, anyway?

  The baby—his nephew—had recovered from his earlier outburst and was blowing spit bubbles, one chubby hand patting Mary’s chin. Brody tried to swallow the sudden lump in his throat as he watched the pair. He took a step closer.

  “Really, I—mmmfff—” Mary stopped and pried Elliott’s exploring fingers from her mouth. “That won’t be necessary. Elliott and I will be fine in a motel.”

  Great, now he sounded like an unwelcoming jerk. He stepped back.

  His reaction—that frisson of awareness racing up his spine when he looked at her—wasn’t Mary’s fault. “All the local motels will be full. There’s an annual triathlon that attracts people from all over the country.”

  Mary tucked a dark curl behind her ear. “But I—”

  “The doc doesn’t want you to stay alone in a motel room,” Jan interrupted as she turned away from the computer. “Don’t worry, Brody might try to act like that big green ogre all alone on that farm of his, but he’s an ole softy who lets store clerks substitute toothpicks for cigarettes.”

  “How did...? Tavie.” Cripes, he was never going to live that down. “Is it any wonder I stay on the farm?”

  “Pfftt, you’d die of boredom without all of us minding your business and you know it.” Jan patted his shoulder. “Don’t forget she needs wake-up checks to make sure she’s all right and remembering well.”

  “Elliott tends to take care of the periodic wake-ups,” Mary said.

  “But he can’t ask you questions.” Jan whipped the curtain back with a jangling of metal hooks as they rattled against the rod. “Let me fetch the paperwork and you can spring Mary from this place.”

  After Jan left, Mary cleared her throat as if to renew her protests, and he lifted his hand. “I don’t know what happened between you and Roger, but if this little guy is my nephew, then I’d like a chance to get to know him, so staying at the farm makes sense.”

  And that was the truth. He was an adult and could deal with any physical attraction he might feel toward Mary. She was too good for his brother, but—

  “If?” Mary choked out, her eyes flashing with anger.

  “Huh?” Why had she turned on him?

  “You said if like you’re questioning my word. I can assure you that—”

  “Hold on.” He raised his hands in a gesture of appeasement. “It was a figure of speech...not an indictment of your character.”

  Oh, man, what had Roger done to put such suspicion in her eyes, and why was good ole Brody always the one stuck smoothing hurt feelings caused by his family? Mary didn’t look convinced, and he laid a hand over his chest. “I swear...just a poor choice of words.”

  She studied him, her dark eyes piercing him before she nodded. “I believe you. My plan was to go forward at a slow pace but the accident changed all that.”

  “Forward with what?” Brody shuffled his feet. What did she have planned?

  “I brought Elliott to Loon Lake so he could meet his uncle, and I thought maybe after that you two could get acquainted.”

  Okay that made sense and she wasn’t flat out refusing to come to the farm. A feeling resembling relief swept over him. But that was crazy, considering he didn’t want to be involved in any mess with Roger. “Thanks. I would like to get to know him.”

  She coaxed Elliott to turn his head by cupping her fingers around his chin. “Can you say hello to Uncle Brody?”

  Brody squatted so he was eye level with the baby, who turned to study him with big dark eyes. “Hey there, big guy, want to come to my house? Do you like animals?”

  Mary brushed a kiss across Elliott’s temple. “He was fascinated by the cows we saw on the way here. He squealed every time we passed some.”

  “Is that right? You like cows?” Gazing into the baby’s large, expressive eyes, some of the invisible barrier Brody had established around himself shifted.

  Elliott laid his head on Mary’s shoulder and stuck his thumb in his mouth, his gaze intent. Hey there, little man, you’ve got your mama’s pretty eyes. Brody rose and stepped back as if he could return to that protective circle. “Have you called Roger to let him know you two are okay?”

  Mary’s smile faded, her expression closed up and she gave a slight shake of her head. “That won’t be necessary. Roger isn’t a part of our lives.”

  “I see.” And the sad truth was he did. Born from an illicit affair, Roger had a giant chip on his shoulder, and Brody couldn’t totally fault him. No, blame lay squarely on their father for getting the maid pregnant. But Roger had learned early to play the victim card, and Br
ody, like many others, fell for it until...until he didn’t.

  Of course, Roger might be done with Mary, but that didn’t mean Mary was done with him. So Brody had no business noticing or admiring her radiant eyes and shiny curls. Besides, he didn’t need or want a woman—any woman—in his life right now. Even one as appealing as Mary.

  “Is everything okay with you?” Mary asked. When he gave her a questioning look, she continued, “Your phone call at the nurses’ station.”

  “Oh, that.” More of Tavie’s meddling, but the woman’s heart was in the right place, so he couldn’t be angry. Trouble was, once Mary and Elliott left, the entire town would notice and be full of questions. He’d swear the women’s group at the local church could give any matchmaking websites a run for their money. Yeah, not looking forward to any of that.

  He’d casually dated a few women since leaving the army and settling in Loon Lake but was careful not to get too serious. Although he hadn’t thrown himself into the town’s activities, he didn’t want those awkward meetings if the relationship ended badly. And in a town this size, you couldn’t enter the Pic-N-Save without running into someone you knew, so even casual hookups could become embarrassing.

  Mary had just arrived, so why was he already thinking about her departure? He pulled a toothpick from the front pocket of his shirt, wishing like heck it was a cigarette.

  “Do you have to explain to someone why you’re here?” Mary drew her lower lip between her teeth.

  Only the whole damn town. “It was Tavie Whatley. She pretty much runs the town from her perch behind the cash register at Loon Lake General Store. She’s the one who got Deputy Riley Cooper to go and get your personal items from your car. She called to say Meg dropped off some clothes for you.”

  Mary looked confused. “Meg?”

  “Sorry. Meg is Deputy Cooper’s wife, and she’s about your size—or was...she’s pregnant.” He rolled the toothpick around in his mouth.

  “That was very nice of her.” Mary blushed. “But I can provide for myself and my son.”

  “I’m sure you can, but these people love to help out, and saying no to Tavie is, well...you’ll understand once you meet her. She said she’s sending her husband, Ogle, to drop the clothes off at the farm.”

  Mary drew her tongue over her top teeth. “My son and I are not charity cases.”

  “No one will think that. As I said, people in Loon Lake look out for one another. Whether you want the help or not, it’s just the way it is.” No matter how he’d tried pushing the people away, they continued to try to engage him in town life. So much for spending time alone while coming to terms with having caused his unit’s last mission to go sideways. “If you’re going to be here awhile, you may as well get used to it.”

  Like you have? his inner voice mocked.

  “I understand, but—”

  A nurse tech came in, pushing a wheelchair. “The paperwork is done, and the doctor is discharging Mary and Elliott.”

  She engaged the brake on the wheelchair and gave Mary some papers attached to a clipboard to sign, along with a list of instructions. “If you get any of those symptoms on that list or just don’t feel right, don’t hesitate to come back in.”

  Mary scooted forward and struggled to stand while keeping a grip on Elliott.

  “Here.” Brody’s innate chivalrous code slapped him upside the head and he held out his hands toward Elliott. “Will he come to me?”

  “I guess we’ll find out.” Mary gave the baby a noisy kiss on his cheek. “Want to go see Uncle Brody?”

  She handed over Elliott, who studied Brody while waving the teddy bear around and rattling off a string of babbled sounds ending with a spit bubble and a toothless grin.

  Brody hadn’t had much experience with babies; the only child he’d had much interaction with was Meg’s daughter, Fiona, who was six years old. A feeling he couldn’t identify tightened his chest as those dark, trusting eyes studied him, threatening to scale that barrier he kept around himself. Holding the warm, chunky body close made him want to deck Roger. Why wasn’t he here accepting responsibility? Was Brody’s past willingness to bail his brother out of trouble to blame for Roger’s laissez-faire attitude?

  Brody sighed. Roger wasn’t his responsibility but being three years older, Brody had felt protective of his younger sibling when their father used Roger’s existence as proof of his affair to retaliate against his wife. And here Roger was, saddling Elliott with the same feeling. Brody would be having it out with Roger at some point, for sure.

  The nurse assisted Mary into the wheelchair and unlocked the brake. After Mary settled in the seat, she reached for her son. He reluctantly handed off the baby.

  Mary’s sweet smile made Brody’s breath catch in his throat. Yep, she was gonna be a complication. And he’d had enough complex family dynamics growing up. Mary was here because he was her baby’s uncle. She wanted a family connection, nothing more, and that was perfect, because he wasn’t looking for any romantic entanglements—no matter how stunning her smile.

  He picked up the infant carrier, diaper bag and Mary’s purse and followed the wheelchair. At the exit he said, “I’ll get my truck and pull it up.”

  Tossing all the items in the back seat of his battered extended-cab pickup, he drove to where Mary waited with the nurse. His heart skipped a beat at the sight. Was this what it felt like when a new dad picked up his little family? Not that he ever wanted anything like that. His father was gone but years of being put in the middle of his parents’ toxic and tangled relationship had left scars. Photos captured all the family smiles and missed all the simmering tensions and passive aggression. But holding Elliott in his arms had satisfied something he hadn’t even known he’d wanted.

  He shook his head at his stupid thoughts. Thinking like that was dangerous. Repeat after me, Wilson: this is temporary.

  At the hospital entrance, he put the truck in Park, jumped out and opened the rear door. He battled to get the infant seat strapped into place. The buckle clicked, but he backed away, saying, “You should double-check. I haven’t had much practice with these things.”

  Brody stood behind Mary while she secured Elliott in his seat and did his best not to stare at the way the fabric of the scrubs stretched across her backside. She gave her son a noisy kiss on his forehead, then scooted backward and bumped smack into Brody. “Oh, I’m sorry.”

  He held on to her hips to steady her, lingering longer than necessary before releasing her. Damn, what happened to no entanglements? Not to mention the poor woman had been in a car accident and had hurt her head. He cleared his throat. “My fault.”

  “If you don’t mind, I’ll sit in the back with Elliott.” She drew her tongue across her bottom lip.

  “I wouldn’t mind, except that the other seat belt doesn’t latch. You’re my first back-seat passengers in a long time, so I haven’t gotten around to fixing it.” He should feel guilty for preventing Mary from sitting next to her son, but the fact she’d be sitting next to him outweighed that.

  “I guess he’ll be okay. He looks like he might end up sleeping anyway. Car rides tend to do that to him.” She offered him a smile but continued to worry her plump lower lip.

  As if rewarding him for his procrastination with the seat belt repair, Mary’s enticing sweet scent filled his head as he drove through Loon Lake toward the county road that would bring them to his place. He glanced in the rearview mirror at Elliott. Cute kid, but what the heck was he getting into, bringing them to the farm?

  He pushed those thoughts aside and concentrated on driving. Loon Lake was a quintessential New England town, complete with a wooden covered bridge and pre–Revolutionary War architecture. The state tourist board photographed the quaint Main Street to feature in pamphlets designed to lure tourists. The population increased during summer cottage rental season, but the town had one small motel, keeping the transient pop
ulation low. While tourists flocked to other parts of the state, Loon Lake remained secluded—by design or happenstance, he hadn’t figured out which.

  “I had no idea places like this existed outside books or television,” Mary remarked, her tone wistful.

  Brick-front businesses and rectangular, gable-roofed early-nineteenth-century homes gathered around the town green, which boasted a restored gazebo that doubled as a bandstand for concerts in the summer. An iconic Greek Revival white church with black shutters and steeple bell tower anchored the green at one end.

  “It’s real. Filled with real people.” He didn’t tell her he’d chosen this place more for the people than the picture-postcard appearance. Sure, they liked to get up all in his business, like Tavie and her toothpicks, but their actions lacked malice, and when neighbors hit a patch of bad luck, instead of searching for ways to take advantage, they gathered around and helped. And he liked the farmers and their straight-up, no-games approach to life. Not to mention most residents left you alone if you signaled that was your true preference. No, his mistake had been going into town, to the general store instead of the more anonymous gas station on the outskirts. If he needed someone to blame for this morning, all he had to do was look in the mirror.

  “It would be nice to raise Elliott in a place like this,” she said, glancing around.

  “Is that why you came?” Was she planning to stay?

  “I came because I wanted Elliott to know he had family. Where I settle will depend on finding a job to support us.” She half turned and glanced into the back seat.

  Her long hair brushed his arm and shoulder as she checked on Elliott. Brody couldn’t place the scent, but it reminded him of the sweet, cleansing smell of cooling rain after one of those occasional Vermont summer heat waves, how everything smelled new and fresh afterward. He inhaled deep into his lungs, his fingers tightening on the steering wheel. What was he thinking, bringing them to his farm, into his personal space? Repeat after me: this is short-term.

  She must’ve been satisfied Elliott was comfortable, because she shifted around, her gaze meeting his. A man could get lost in her dark eyes. He’d have to guard against letting that happen. He didn’t do permanent, and Mary Carter had hearth and home written all over her. Did she think she’d found that with Roger? Evidently seeing how their father treated women hadn’t made his brother want to do better.