“Maybe just one,” she said, choosing the same candy bar Luke and Taylin had just shared. “Thank you.”
“What kind of princess are you?” Jillian asked.
“She’s a cowgirl princess,” Luke answered, coming up behind her.
Taylin’s knees felt hollow when he placed his palm against her lower back. The man could melt her faster than chocolate on a hot day.
“Nana?” Jillian said, turning to her grandma. “I wanna be a cowgirl princess.”
“Me too, sugar, but it’ll have to wait until next year.” Iris winked at Taylin. “Although, I don’t think I can pull it off like you do.”
“Thank you.” Taylin waved at the kids. “Y’all have fun, and be safe.”
“We will!” the twins shouted before darting off to the next house.
“Wait for me,” Iris hollered and then shook her head. “I’m gettin’ too old for this.”
“You are not,” Taylin said. “But if it gets to be too much, I can finish takin’ them around.”
“You’re sweet to offer, but chasing after them will help me not feel as guilty when I eat the candy they don’t like.” She waved and hurried after her grandkids.
“You are sweet,” Luke said, pulling her back inside and pressing her back against the closed door. “Now, where were we?”
“Sharing a candy bar?” Taylin teased.
Luke grinned and bent his head to kiss her. His lips barely brushed against hers when the doorbell chimed.
“It’s going to be like this, all night, isn’t it?” he said, drawing back.
“It’ll slow down once it gets dark.” She spun around and placed her hand on the doorknob. “Go start the movie, and I’ll be right back.”
Taylin handed out candy to several groups of children before she closed the door. She returned to the kitchen and found Luke warming up something on the stovetop.
“Mmm,” she said. “That smells like Brunswick stew.”
Luke glanced up and grinned. “How did you know?”
“My mama makes it at least once a month.” She came around and stood next to him, peering into the pot. “It looks delicious. Where did you get it?”
“What if I said I made it this afternoon?”
“I’ll believe you if you can name at least half of the ingredients.”
He leaned over and looked inside. “Corn, tomatoes, potatoes and… chicken?”
“Cheater.” She nudged him in the shoulder. “So tell me who really made it?” She wrinkled her nose. “Please don’t tell me this came from a can.”
“Don’t worry.” He kissed her on the forehead. “Mrs. Bradford made this and brought it over this morning.”
Luke moved to kiss her again, but groaned when the doorbell rang out. “Seriously?”
Laughing, Taylin grabbed the bowl of candy. “I’ll get it.”
She was having fun passing out candy, but now she knew why her daddy always volunteered to take them trick-or-treating. Answering the door all evening long was a lot more work than chasing after a bunch of kids.
She opened the door, expecting to hear the traditional Halloween greeting, but only two people were on the porch—a young mother holding a sleeping baby—and neither one wore a costume.
“Hey,” Taylin said. “May I help you?”
The woman studied Taylin for several seconds, checking out her all-turquoise cowgirl getup with a raised brow. She knew it was Halloween, right?
The baby squirmed and the woman patted the little boy on the back until he settled back down.
“Ma’am?” Taylin asked, trying to remember if this was one of Luke’s neighbors. She didn’t think so. The woman would be hard to forget. While she wasn’t exactly beautiful, she was very striking with dark brown eyes, high cheekbones and sleek dark hair brushing the top of her shoulders.
“I’m looking for Luke McKay,” she finally said in a voice lacking even a hint of a Southern accent. She flashed Taylin a smile. “This is his house, right?”
“Yes, ma’am.” Taylin moistened her lips. For some reason, this stranger had made her mouth feel dry. “May I give him your name?”
Dark brown eyes assessed Taylin with an intensity that burned. She wished Luke would come to the door and felt relieved when she heard the sound of his boots coming from behind her.
“Everything o—” His words cut off mid-sentence as he came to an abrupt halt.
Taylin’s stomach twisted with unease as she waited for Luke to say something. But he wasn’t speaking, or moving. She wasn’t entirely sure he was still breathing. She turned to look at him and was alarmed by the lack of color in his normally tanned face.
“Vivian,” he said in a hoarse voice. “What are you doing here?”
Chapter 22
Luke stared at his ex-wife, trying to understand if this was real or some kind of sick Halloween prank.
“Hello, Luke,” she said softly. “Aren’t you going to invite us in?”
She had to be kidding. The last thing he wanted was for her to be inside his house. Crossing his arms over his chest, he narrowed his gaze. “I asked why you’re here, Vivian. I don’t think you need to come inside to tell me.”
Her eyes held his, void of her regular hostility. She blinked and glanced to his left. Luke followed and found Taylin staring at him with wide eyes. Crap, he’d completely forgotten she was standing there.
Without saying a word, Luke knew Taylin questioned his behavior. The code here in the South was hospitality and she probably wanted to ask him where his manners were.
“Please, Luke,” Vivian said. “Can’t we talk inside?”
Her little boy whimpered and lifted his head off of his mother’s shoulder. Dark eyes blinked up at him. The child’s lower lip quivered as if frightened by the angry man. Luke had always been a sucker for kids and he was probably terrifying this one with his anger.
“Fine,” he said gruffly and gestured for Vivian to come in.
“Thank you,” she said in a soft-non-Vivian-like voice as she crossed the threshold.
This was too weird. It was almost like an alternate reality. The Vivian he knew would’ve snapped back with a venomous retort instead of thanking him.
“Um, where should we go?” Vivian asked.
Couldn’t they just talk here and get it over with? He was about to suggest it when he caught the pungent smell of a dirty diaper.
“If you could show me where your bathroom is,” Vivian said, switching the baby to her other hip. “I need to change Crew’s diaper.”
Crew. He’d forgotten she’d named her kid Crew. It was a name he’d always liked, and it had hurt when she’d smugly told him what she planned to name her baby.
“I’ll show her to the bathroom,” Taylin said, handing Luke the bowl of candy. “You take care of the trick-or-treaters and then just leave the candy out on the porch for the other kids.”
Grateful for time to gather his wits, Luke nodded his head and watched as Taylin gracefully led his ex-wife to his newly remodeled bathroom. They disappeared around the corner just as a group of kids landed on his porch. He pasted on a smile as he let the kids pick out their favorite piece of candy. Once they were done, he placed the bowl on the front porch, hoping it would last long enough to find out what Vivian wanted with him.
Feeling guilty for leaving Taylin to deal with his ex, he hurried into the living room and found her standing at the stove, stirring the pot of stew. “I turned the heat down,” Taylin said. “But it still might be a little scorched on the bottom.”
“Sorry,” he said, and he wasn’t really talking about the stew.
“You okay?” she asked, her voice quivering a little.
“Sure.” He shoved the tips of his fingers into his front pockets. “Are you—”
Vivian came out of the bathroom with the baby on her hip, gripping a tightly wrapped diaper.
“Let me take that out to the trash,” Taylin said, walking around the bar to relieve Vivian of the soiled diaper. “Y’all sit
down and I’ll be right back.”
“Thank you.” Again, Vivian sounded so sincere. Her eyes followed Taylin until she disappeared through the mudroom door, then she turned to look at Luke. “Are you two engaged?”
“Not yet,” he said, wishing like heck they were.
“She’s really beautiful.”
Luke wasn’t as twisted as Vivian was and he didn’t want to discuss his love life with her. “Have a seat, Vivian.” He pointed to the sitting area. “Let’s hear what you have to say.”
“Okay.” The baby started fussing, and Vivian stuck a pacifier in his mouth. “He’s hungry. Would it be okay if I make him a bottle?”
“Of course.”
She pulled a bottle out of the diaper bag slung over her shoulder and unscrewed the lid. The little boy saw the bottle and the pacifier popped out of his mouth. He immediately began squirming and fussing. Vivian jiggled the little boy, crooning to him to hold on, but he was very determined to get the bottle.
Luke should offer to help.
As if she’d read his mind, Vivian glanced up and stared at him for a half a second before she walked toward him. He stiffened, hoping she didn’t plan on asking him to hold her baby. She wouldn’t, would she?
“Um… could you hold him for me?”
No, he couldn’t. Not because of the innocent child, but because of what he represented. Luke had wanted to start a family soon after they married, but Vivian had decided motherhood was not for her. Her pregnancy during a brief reconciliation between them had seemed like a miracle and a gift. He’d wanted this child so much, and it had devastated Luke when he found out he wasn’t the father.
He stared at the little boy, his stomach twisting into a thousand knots. “I’ll make the bottle.” He skirted around the pair and snatched the bottle from the countertop. “I only have one percent milk.”
“He’s still on formula.” Vivian reached inside the diaper bag and pulled out a can of formula. “He usually drinks six ounces,” she said placing the can next to the sink.
Turning on the water between hot and cold, he stuck his finger in the stream to test the temperature. Vivian spoke softly to her little boy, ensuring him food was coming. Luke had to admit her mothering skills surprised him. It appeared that his ex had finally found someone to think of other than her.
“The water should be lukewarm,” Vivian said as she moved next to him and held her wrist under the water. “This feels right.”
The water might feel right, but this whole scenario felt so wrong on so many levels.
Taylin came back in just as Luke began filling the bottle with water. Finished, he turned off the water and glanced up. His heart sank at the stricken look on her face.
How must this domestic scene look to her? He almost wished Vivian wasn’t acting so normal and kind. He knew how to deal with her vicious side, but this was a side of her he’d never seen the entire time he’d known her.
Crew was through waiting and started to cry in earnest. Luke’s hand shook as he took the lid off of the formula and scooped up some of the powder.
“It takes three scoops,” Vivian said, jostling the baby up and down.
After the final scoop was in, Luke put the nipple on and placed his finger over the hole in the top and shook it until it appeared to be mixed. He handed the bottle to Vivian and the baby quieted the second the bottle was in his mouth. Keeping his eyes on his mother’s face, his little hands gripped the sides of the bottle as he gulped down the milk.
Vivian shifted her gaze from her son to meet Luke’s eyes. “Would it be okay if we sat down?”
He wanted to laugh at how subdued she acted. Since when did Vivian ask for permission to do anything? “Sure.” He stepped back to allow her to pass and winced when he landed funny on his newly healed knee.
“Are you okay?” Vivian asked.
She was too close and too nice. “I’m fine,” he snapped. “Go ahead and take a seat.”
Vivian’s eyes flashed with a hint of annoyance, but the look disappeared so quickly Luke couldn’t be sure he’d read her correctly. “Thank you,” she said, moving past him toward the family room.
Taylin still stood in the same place, watching him closely. Her blue eyes were filled with questions he didn’t have answers for. He had no idea why Vivian was here, but it was time to find out.
Luke rounded the kitchen island and took Taylin’s hand. “Let’s get this over with,” he said in a low voice.
Vivian must have heard him, because when he and Taylin took a seat on the couch together, she said, “What I have to say is important, but I promise not to take up too much more of your time.”
“All right.” He gripped Taylin’s hand firmly. “What’s going on?”
“The story about you surviving the tornado was all over the news. When I saw the footage of you being transferred from the helicopter to the ambulance, I realized how close you came to dying and I knew... ” Vivian paused and licked her lips. “…I knew I needed to tell you that Crew is your son.”
Chapter 23
Taylin felt as if time stood still. Luke wasn’t moving, and she could hardly draw in a breath. Everything had slowed to a crawl except for her thoughts. Her mind raced with questions, mostly the “what if” kind.
“Excuse me?” Luke said, his voice low and even. His words were like pressing play on the remote, setting everything in motion again. He let go of her hand and shot up out of his seat. “Did you just say I’m Crew’s father?”
Vivian, who was proving to be nothing like Luke had described, licked her lips and nodded her head. “I’m sorry, Luke.”
“You’re sorry?” Luke snapped back. “Since when?” He ran a hand through his hair and laughed darkly. “I don’t even know why I’m upset. How do I even know you’re telling the truth?”
“Why would I lie to you?” Vivian’s voice remained calm, but her lips were pressed tightly together. “What do I have to gain?”
Luke made a derisive noise that couldn’t really be counted as laughter. “At least you know yourself well enough to admit you usually do things that only you benefit from.”
Taylin tried taking in everything, noting Luke had a valid reason for not believing Vivian. The baby was at least eight months old, so why would she choose to tell him now? Did she need child support? Or was it something else, like she finally realized what an incredible man Luke was and she wanted him back?
“He’s yours, Luke. A paternity test will prove it if you don’t believe me.”
“Oh you can bet on that, Vivian, because I don’t believe you.” He stared at his ex-wife hard. “What does Neil have to say about this?”
Vivian licked her lips again and dropped her eyes to look at her baby. “He said you needed to know.”
Luke stared at her for several seconds before he began pacing back and forth in front of the couch, resembling the caged panther at the zoo in Atlanta. Taylin wanted to comfort him, but didn’t know what to say. She still had so many questions that most likely wouldn’t help him. The whole reason he currently lived in Georgia was because Crew wasn’t his son. So if he proved to be the baby’s father, did that mean he would move back to Montana?
All at once, he rounded on Vivian. “So what now?”
Slowly, Vivian raised her face to look him in the eyes. Taylin noticed the woman no longer appeared vulnerable. She only looked determined. “I would think you’d want to get to know your son. I have an open-ended ticket so when I leave will be up to you.”
The muscle in Luke’s jaw tightened. “And then what, Vivian?” He blew out a big breath. “Never mind, don’t answer that.”
The doorbell sounded. Luke glanced at Taylin and she knew he was in no condition to see who was here. “I’ll get it.” She got up and quickly headed for the door. If the candy was already gone, then it was probably trick-or-treaters.
She opened the door and was completely stunned to see her sister and her date standing there. “Surprise!” Ashlee said with a laugh.
“Hey,” Taylin said. “I thought y’all were at the Halloween Ball?”
“We were, but it was too crowded and we thought it’d be more fun hanging out here.” Ashlee wrinkled her nose. “You don’t seem happy to see us. Are y’all in a fight?”
“No.” Taylin swallowed hard. “But Luke has a family emergency, so now isn’t a good time.”
“I hope it’s nothing serious,” Grayson said. “Anything we can do to help?”
“I may need a ride home,” Taylin said, blinking back the sudden tears filling her eyes. Before she could give them an explanation, Luke’s angry voice reverberated the air.
“You can’t move in with me, Vivian!”
“Stop shouting. You’re scaring the baby.”
As if on cue, the child started crying. Taylin clutched at her stomach, feeling sicker than she had on the family cruise last year. The earth swayed beneath her feet, similar to the way the ship had constantly moved. It was a completely selfish thought, but her whole world was crashing down around her.
“Tay?” Ashlee whispered. “What’s goin’ on?”
Where to start? And what could she say?
Pounding footsteps made Taylin jump, and she whirled around to see Luke marching toward her. He stopped dead in his tracks when he spotted Ashlee and Grayson. His nostrils flared, his chest heaving with exertion as if he’d just finished running a mile instead of walking down a hallway.
“Did you tell them?” Luke asked, directing his hard gaze on Taylin.
“No.” He looked so lost and angry, and it broke Taylin’s heart. If she thought her world was ending, how must Luke feel? “What can I do for you?” she said softly as compassion for this man she loved superseded her needs.
The ice in Luke’s gaze melted. “I don’t know.” Now he sounded broken.
Taylin closed the distance between them and slipped her arms around his back to hug him. Luke’s arms came around her, crushing her against him.
“What do I do?” he whispered into her hair. “What if she’s telling the truth?”
Fighting back her tears, Taylin tightened her hold. She had no ready answer. “I wish I knew what to say.”
Just a Kiss in the Moonlight: Georgia Moon Romance Book 2 Page 22
