Vivian couldn’t help but smile at her. “How are you feeling?”
“I’m fine.”
“No morning sickness?”
Amelia exchanged looks with Sam, who tucked in his grin before she hardened a look on Vivian. “Yes. Let’s just keep that quiet, okay?”
“Right.” The mood changed again in the room and she felt the need to stand up and move toward them. “Something’s wrong. Is Penelope okay? Are you okay? Your baby…”
“Is fine.”
“Confirmed?”
Amelia nodded. “Confirmed.”
But the mood didn’t rise in the room. “Something is up.”
Sam reached for her arm. “Why don’t we sit down?”
Vivian jerked her arm back. “Why don’t you tell me what the hell is going on?”
“Where are the girls?”
“With Linda’s mom.” When both sets of eyes questioned her she continued, “Clayton’s late wife’s mother. It’s a really long story. Tell me what’s going on.”
Again Sam and Amelia exchanged looks.
Sam took a deep breath and retracted his hand from her arm. “Frank called very early this morning. According to Frank, Darby was right. Stella was in rehab.”
Vivian shook her head. “Well, at least we know she wasn’t in the house. I’m glad she’s getting help. Really I am. I mean…”
“There’s more.”
Vivian nodded and bit down on her lip to keep quiet.
“Frank called to let us know that she passed away while there.”
Vivian’s hand came directly to her mouth to cover the gasp that had escaped. “She’s dead?”
Sam nodded.
She wondered how so many strange emotions could flood her at one time. Adam’s mother was dead. But so was the grandmother of her children. But, if she were really dead then there was nothing to fear anymore. Things could go back to normal. And yet she was sad too. She didn’t like Stella Monroe, but she’d been a big part of her life.
Vivian took a moment to gather her thoughts. “So we can move back into the house? If she’s dead then…”
Sam held up his hand. “Frank says they’re investigating the death as a possible homicide.”
Vivian backed to the couch and sat down. “Why would…”
“He doesn’t know. Darby told him about the break in and he assumes she was involved. Maybe they were covering their tracks. And maybe she just died. We don’t know yet.”
Vivian could only nod. Everything she was hearing was spinning in her head. She rested her head in her hands and just sat there.
“I’ll get you some water,” Amelia said and turned toward the small refrigerator in the corner.
“I don’t want water.” Vivian stood with anger boiling through her. “I want answers.”
“We don’t have any,” Amelia shot back.
“I don’t know what to do with this. First Adam and now Stella?” And then it hit her. Just as Clayton said it would. Adam was gone and she was finally feeling it.
Sam moved to her. “Sit down.”
“Adam. He never knew I loved him.”
“He knew.”
She shook her head. “No. She kept him from me. She…”
“Shh.” He looked toward Amelia. “Get the water.”
He pulled her to him and she rested her head on his chest. “He wanted a baby, he did. Emma was his pride. Why didn’t he tell anyone about her?”
“I don’t know,” Sam said rocking her against him.
“Brock held him. He held him in his arms as he died,” she cried. “I never got to say goodbye to him.”
“You can. We can go out there.”
She nodded as Amelia handed her the bottle of water.
“Sip. You need to calm down a moment.”
Vivian sat up and took a sip of the water. “He left after seeing Ava,” she sobbed. “He took one look at her and said, she’s not mine.”
Sam wrapped his hands around hers, which held the bottle. “She is his, right?”
Vivian knew she should lash out at the accusation, but he was just being Sam.
“Of course she’s his. I’ve never been with anyone else. Ever.” She took another sip of the water. “I always wanted to tell him he was wrong. I wanted to tell him that we needed him and we wanted him.”
“Did you write to him?”
She nodded. “But not to the address where his letters came from. He didn’t know how I felt.”
The tears fell freely and Sam pulled her to him. “I don’t know what to say to make it better,” he admitted. “I just know you have a man now who does love you and you can heal together.”
She did. Yes, Clayton would help her heal. She could tell him all of this and she could be real about how she felt for Adam. Suddenly, she didn’t hate him anymore and that was harder. When she’d hated him, she could forget him.
“Why don’t I have Amelia take you back to Clayton’s and you rest.” It wasn’t a question, but an order delivered in the calm manner Sam doled out. “Let’s have dinner at the old house tonight and we’ll plan Thanksgiving.”
Sam kissed her on the top of the head and she sat a moment longer, just letting her heart ache.
Amelia drove her back to Clayton’s house where the girls all played in the back yard and Dorothy kept a watchful eye on them.
“I want to go out and sit with them,” Vivian said as she walked into the house and looked out back. “I feel the need to just be with them. All of them.”
“Why don’t you talk to Clayton about going out this weekend. I’ll take the girls.”
She smiled at the woman who should be her enemy. Amelia Monroe had a hard exterior that matched her own. How they ever broke through that she’d never know.
“I’d appreciate that. Dorothy is going to stay here for a while and she can take Clayton’s girls.”
“I still stand by the thought that if you get laid you might snap out of your funk.”
She opened her eyes wide to stare at Amelia who was smiling at her. Amelia had said those words to her when it had become common knowledge that she was seeing Sam. Now it was laughable. And perhaps she was right.
“I have a class to teach. I’ll take your car to the house tonight when we have dinner.”
“I appreciate it. Tell Sam thank you—for everything.”
“I will.”
Vivian saw Amelia out. She then went to the kitchen for a glass of water before joining Dorothy on the back porch.
“They play really well together,” Dorothy mused.
“They do. They want to be sisters and have entered an order for a brother.”
Dorothy nodded slowly as Vivian sat down next to her. “I think they’d take good care of him.”
Vivian laughed. “Children are innocent. They have no idea what is involved with building a relationship and having children. To them it all happens.”
“These four are special. They do get to have a say.”
She looked at Dorothy. “It doesn’t bother you that I’m here? You should hate me.”
“I don’t hate anyone, my dear. And it bothers me that Linda isn’t around to see how big the girls have gotten. But I know she’s watching over them and Clayton.”
“I have a feeling I would have liked her very much.”
Dorothy smiled. “I think you would have too. You remind me of her quite a bit.”
That took her by surprise. She was sure she didn’t hide it well when Dorothy chuckled.
“Your daycare center, for example. Even when Linda was a little girl she wanted to run a daycare. She babysat everyone’s stuffed animals and when she was older she pet sat.”
Vivian laughed now. “I did that.”
“You’re good with the girls. And they love you—all of them.”
“I love all of them too.”
“I think you and Clayton will be very happy together. I can’t be sad over that.”
Vivian reached out and placed her hand over Dorothy’s.
“You have no idea how much that means to me.”
Dorothy patted her hand. “I’d love to be a part of it all. Linda was my only daughter. I could do with having another.”
This time it wasn’t just about smiles and a touch. Vivian stood and moved to Dorothy. She bent to hug the woman. Which angel was it that was watching over her, she wondered.
When the girls saw her hugging Grandma Dorothy they all ran over and joined in.
Vivian’s heart, despite the sadness that still squeezed at it, was full of joy.
Chapter Sixteen
Vivian laughed at the girls singing Silly Songs with Larry, in the toddler room at the old house. Who thought an animated cucumber could ever be so funny, but the girls were enthralled.
Clayton had taken Dorothy back to the kitchen to meet everyone else.
Vivian walked slowly toward the back of the house where everyone gathered. There seemed to be a peace within the house now that she knew Stella was gone.
Her heart was still heavy and today, of all days, she actually missed Adam. She didn’t care for Clayton any less, but she missed what she’d once had with Adam—when they had anything.
Penelope was seated in a chair with her hands on both sides of her stomach. “I swear I don’t think I can get any larger.”
Amelia laughed. “You’re still four weeks away.”
“Don’t curse me,” Penelope bit out. “I’m keeping my legs tightly closed for the next week. After that, I’m game to get this kid out of me.”
Brock moved in behind her and rubbed her shoulders. “Just take it easy. We’re all here to wait on you hand and foot. Don’t move a muscle.”
“I can’t move a muscle.”
Vivian let out a little laugh and looked toward Amelia who was watching Penelope. She could see her soaking in the moment. After all, in less than a year Amelia would look just as uncomfortable.
Vivian wondered when they’d announce the baby. But she was sure they’d wait until Penelope had given birth, if not after the wedding as they’d planned.
Brock looked up at Vivian. “Sam told us about Stella. I don’t know what to say.”
Vivian nodded. “It’s been a bit surreal. But I feel peace here tonight. Do you feel it?”
Amelia raised her eyebrow. “Are you kidding?”
“Seriously. It just feels like we can go on again. We can finish the attic and the bedroom and get our business back. I loved being with those kids. I don’t want to lose that.”
Clayton smiled. “We’ll get to work on it this weekend. But let’s get the kids set up to eat. I’m starving and then we can plan Thanksgiving.”
By the end of the night, they had decided on what everyone would bring to dinner. It was decided to have the meal in the house since the rooms could have tables set up in them. Brock’s family would be heading out for the day and Amelia’s father also had said he’d be making the trip.
Dorothy had promised to make the pumpkin pies and Clayton vouched for them as, “You’ll never have a better pie. I swear.”
That alone had clinched the deal.
The girls were easy to put to bed after playing all night long. Vivian shook her head as Clayton pulled the door on the bedroom. “They are going to need a better schedule.”
“My girls are loving this,” Clayton said. “I think I might have been too scheduled for too long.”
Vivian chuckled. “One of the things I have learned from Amelia and Penelope is to enjoy the unexpected once in awhile.”
“Finding your wild side are you?”
She laughed and he loved it when she did. It brought a whole new side to her.
“I don’t have a wild side. I have a perfectly planned side. A practical side.”
“Me too.” He walked toward the couch and pulled her down on his lap.
The sound of water from the shower could still be heard. He figured they had a few minutes before they needed to be appropriate around Dorothy.
He pressed a gentle kiss to her lips, which she warmly accepted. “I was thinking that our perfect plan might be to fix up the old house and all of us move in there. There is more room upstairs in that house than there is here.”
She snuggled her head into the crook of his neck. “We’d have to remodel the kitchen.”
“Most certainly,” he said on a laugh.
Vivian sat up and looked at him. “What about this house?”
“I think Dorothy would like to stay for a while. I’m thinking of letting her stay here.”
She lowered her head again. “I love her. You’re a very lucky man.”
Didn’t he know it?
“I was also thinking, I have next week off of school for Thanksgiving. What do you say we make our evening out a couple full days?”
“I think I’d really like that if Amelia is up for it.”
“Let’s spend all of Tuesday together and most of Wednesday. Then the rest of the weekend can be for family.”
“I really like how you think in that perfectly planned out mind of yours.”
He pulled her closer to him. “Maybe we can find something to do that is unexpected and unplanned.”
“I can’t wait.”
~*~
Once they’d had the conversation about how routine they both were, Clayton realized that was exactly who he and Vivian were. And that probably had a lot to do with the girls.
Kids needed routine and structure. There was a wake time, eat time, bed time. And as parents, they fell into that routine just as easily.
Their new routine, this week, had included working at the old house after work. He, Brock, and Sam had managed to get the closet wall torn out. The payoff was great. The house itself had netted over ten thousand dollars, which had been tucked in the walls. He wondered in time what else they would find.
They had collectively decided that they would wait until after the beginning of the year to reopen. That would give them time to finish the house—including the kitchen—and the upstairs. It would also ensure Penelope had her baby and give Amelia and Sam time for their wedding.
Clayton gave the house a little more thought. Perhaps he’d bring Vivian back there on their night together. He didn’t want it to seem planned, but a few plans wouldn’t hurt anything.
He could fill the finished room with flowers. Maybe he’d have champagne chilling in a bucket.
After all, even though they’d been sleeping in each other’s arms each night, they still hadn’t had much intimacy. It was hard to justify making love to a woman when your kids, her kids, and your mother-in-law were all in the other room.
The thought made him chuckle and Sam turned toward him.
“Lost in your own thoughts?”
Clayton nodded. “I suppose I am.”
Sam looked around the room. “I’ll bet you guys could move back in here in another month. Maybe we can get it done in time for Santa to visit here.”
Just the thought of it made Clayton light with excitement. Oh, he loved when Santa would visit him as a child. How glorious would it be for him to visit the girls—together.
“I’d love for that to happen.”
“Then stop daydreaming and let’s get busy.”
Clayton laughed. Yes, he surely did believe in fate. Not only had moving to Parson’s Gulch, Oklahoma given him a fresh start, it gave him much more. He had a woman he loved and two little girls that seemed to round out his little family just perfectly. Amelia and Penelope were more like sisters to him, and he’d even say that he’d become close enough to Brock and Sam he’d call them brothers. Who’d have thought he’d actually have found happiness when he moved to the small town?
He hadn’t come for this bliss he’d found. He just wanted to be numb for a while and forget. But he wasn’t numb—not at all.
Chapter Seventeen
Dorothy was in overdrive, Vivian thought. By Tuesday, she had baked four pies and was preparing for something else. The kitchen was abuzz when the doorbell rang and Vivian checked on the girls be
fore answering it.
Sam stood on the doorstep with his sunglasses on and his hands clasped in front of him.
“Hey, what are you doing here?” Vivian asked. “Come in.”
He didn’t step in. “I need to talk to you—alone.”
Vivian looked behind her and saw Dorothy peeking out from the kitchen and the girls on the floor coloring right behind her. She gave him a nod and stepped out onto the porch.
“Is Amelia okay?” She reached out and touched his arm. “Is the baby…”
He shook his head. “Everyone is fine. Where is Clayton?”
“Dorothy needed a few more items for dinner for the girls and for Thanksgiving. He’s at the store.”
He let out a breath and took off his sunglasses. His eyes were dark and his body looked heavy with dread. “I got notice today that Frank Monroe was found dead in his home.”
Vivian sucked in a breath that stuck in her lungs. Tears filled her eyes instantly. “No. Why? What happened?”
He took both of her arms and held her. It was then she realized she was shaking. “Darby said it was an apparent suicide. I followed up with the local police department and they said that is the current ruling, but they are investigating it, especially after Stella’s death.”
Vivian lifted her eyes to meet his. “Someone killed her didn’t they?”
He nodded. “They think so.”
She felt her knees go week and she decided to sit down on the front step. Sam joined her.
“I don’t want you alone.”
She let out a grunt. “I’m never alone. I never was alone. Even when Stella and Frank were here I was never alone.”
Sam ran his hand over his face. “I wonder if that too was by design.”
She turned to look at him. “Are you kidding?”
Sam clasped his hands together and rested them on his knees. “The list of antidepressants and medications that Stella was on is extensive. Add alcohol and it’s a sure sign she was running from something. I just can’t help but wonder if they kept her medicated all these years for some reason.”
How was it that suddenly Vivian was beginning to feel sorry for her? “Do you think someone was after her?”
Vivian Page 10
