Something clicked, and bright lights illuminated the basketball court and nearby baseball field. The lights must be on a timer. Swigging another sip of water, Natalie held the ball under her arm and eyed Aidan with some suspicion. She and Danny had beat Aidan at basketball. “I think you let us win.”
He shrugged, bent over and tied his sneaker. “Maybe I didn’t want to be the person to make such an important choice about which cake to eat for dessert.” He stole a glance at his nephew. Something akin to apprehension crossed his face. There was something mesmerizing about Aidan’s solid frame. His confidence lent substance to his handsome features. She could get used to him and after-dinner basketball if she let herself.
The more she was around him, the harder it was to see him as Shelby’s brother or Uncle Aidan or Major Murphy. Now he was just Aidan.
“After this much exercise, I say we deserve both.”
“Two slices of cake. Awesome.” Danny tightened his hands into fists and punched the air.
Natalie picked up the ball and started dribbling. “Just so you know, Aidan, I’d kick your butt in a game of one-on-one.” She kept a playful edge in her voice. She needed to keep this on a superficial level, rather than letting it evolve into a deep conversation like the one she’d overheard earlier in Shelby’s garage.
Aidan laughed and shook his head. “In your dreams.”
Danny jumped between them and clapped, still coming up short of a genuine laugh. “I’ll be on my best behavior on the bleachers. I promise.”
“What exactly are you promising and why?” Aidan asked the boy.
“I’ll be nice while you two play. I like to watch. I think Aunt Natalie’s going to win.”
She glanced at Aidan, who met her gaze. Then that confidence was back in his eyes, and a shiver of awareness shimmied through her. Then, her competitive edge, squashed from always coming in second to Becks, kicked in and she dribbled the ball, passing it behind her back and then in front of her. “I’m game.”
“Isn’t it Danny’s bedtime?” Aidan tapped his watch. “A consistent schedule is a cornerstone of a child’s foundation.”
“It’s summer vacation. Relaxing the rules a little allows the child to have freedom and know to trust that adults can show flexibility and a willingness to go with the flow.” She went over and peeked at his watch. “Besides, his bedtime isn’t for another hour and a half.”
“And I had a shower last night. I don’t need one tonight,” Danny shouted before scrambling to the second row of the bleachers.
Aidan pursed his lips. “If Natalie and I play, you take a shower tonight. Proper hygiene is important, and you should be bathing every night.”
“Aww, that’s no fair. I like to be dirty.” Danny rolled his eyes, and his bottom hovered an inch off the bleachers. “Okay, but I still get both types of cake since I won, right?”
“Right.” Natalie dribbled past Aidan and shot, executing a perfect layup. The basketball bounced off the backboard, circled the rim twice and then dropped into the basket. “Two points. First person to twenty wins.”
“That’s not fair. I wasn’t ready.” Aidan jogged over and scooped up the ball.
“You were born ready. Besides, you have a good four inches on me. You ought to have this in the bag in no time.” She held back a giggle. She was downplaying her skills on purpose, trying to have him underestimate her. She’d restrained herself during the previous game as it was obvious he was letting her and Danny win. All was fair in love and basketball. When you lived with Becks and Mike, you learned that fast.
He narrowed his gaze as if assessing her. Would he see the light and frivolous side she loved presenting to the world or would he dig deeper and find the complete portrait she only showed to a few? Didn’t matter as she intended to win tonight.
He dribbled in a deliberate manner, and she swooped in and stole the ball, executing another layup. Danny clapped, and she gave a bow. “Four to zero. Your ball.”
“Way to go, Aunt Natalie!” Danny clapped and cheered from the stands.
Aidan rebounded the ball, and she set aside the antics. She concentrated on the matter at hand. Most of the time she only played sports for fun, for the thrill of working in tandem with a team. Tonight, however, tension built as she felt his judgment weighing on her. For some reason, she wanted to exceed expectations, wanted him to see her as a serious competitor, one who wouldn’t bow out on a whim.
He cut one way before breaking back and shooting, the ball sinking into the basket with a neat swoosh. She admired his move before retrieving the ball from its resting place.
“Way to go, Uncle Aidan!” Danny let out a whoop from the stands. Joy lightened her heart at the bond forming between them.
Aidan exerted more pressure this time, and her shot bounced off the backboard with Aidan reaching over her head for an easy rebound. Within seconds, he scored again, tying the game. They traveled up and down the court, each missing a couple of easy shots while succeeding with more difficult ones. At ten-all, she called for a timeout. Both approached Danny and grabbed their water bottles.
Sweat dripped off Aidan’s brow, and he dipped his head while taking a sip from his reusable water bottle. “You held something back when we played with Danny.”
“There’s a difference between playing for fun and playing for keeps.” Their gazes met and, once again, tension simmered under the surface. While she was referencing the game, they both knew there was more on the line.
Aidan swallowed. Danny reached into her duffel bag and handed him a towel. Taking his time, he wiped off his brow. “For me, there’s no difference. What you see is what you get all the time.”
Truer words might never have been spoken. Even though he spoke six languages, she wasn’t sure subtlety was in his vocabulary. She grabbed the ball from its resting place and jogged toward the court. “Don’t worry. I’ll wait for you this time, but no more Miss Nice Guy. No holding back.”
He laughed and climbed off the bleachers. “Somehow, holding back doesn’t seem to be part of your personality.”
Funny how they’d each reflected on the other’s attributes. She tucked away the implication and dribbled the ball. So far, he tended to favor the right side of the court as if he was waiting for her to make a mistake, rather than poaching in for the steal. Breaking to the left, he extended his arm and stole the ball. He sank another basket, going ahead for the first time in the game.
She admitted his skill was formidable, but she’d grown up with two athletic siblings and had a trick or two up her sleeve. When she reached midcourt, he guarded her. She moved one way, then circled and cut the other way, passing by him and sailing the ball in the air for a basket.
The same pattern followed for the next several baskets.
“That’s eighteen-all. Next basket wins. My ball.” Aidan dribbled, his fierce look mingled with respect as he seemed to concede she was more of an opponent than he’d expected.
She held her breath and moved under the basket as he shot the ball, which bounced off the rim and missed its mark. With a quick move, she recovered the ball, despite him having the height advantage. He moved back to defend, and she remembered a tip her father had whispered in her ear when she played her brother, who’d gone through a growth spurt and had a good six inches on her at one point.
From the half court, she aimed and followed through, hoping for a miracle as this was never her best shot. She kept her gaze on the ball as it swished through, eliciting a loud cry from Danny.
“Way to go, Aunt Natalie!” Danny climbed off the bleachers and ran her way. When he came close, he gave her a high-five. “I knew you could do it.”
Aidan retrieved the ball and came over, his hand extended. “Good game, Harrison.”
“Thanks, Murphy.” Something like respect dwelled in his eyes, and she’d earned every bit of that out on the court. She smoothed back the l
ong curl that had escaped from her ponytail, and she cringed at how her frizzy auburn hair must look to them. Didn’t matter, though, she realized.
She glanced at Danny. His head drooped, and he leaned against her enough for her to know he was tuckered out. Cake for him would have to wait until tomorrow. “We’d better get this little one home.”
Home. A funny feeling gripped her heart. Danny and Aidan were making her believe again that she could have a family of her own. One thing she liked about teaching was the constant turnover. She got close enough to make a difference without being so close as to risk losing someone.
With a glance at Aidan, who was depositing the water bottles and towels in her duffel bag, she wavered. He and Danny had a connection no one should sever. Who said anything about severing? Perhaps Shelby wanted Natalie as an intermediary to ensure their relationship flourished.
Somehow, she had to accomplish that while keeping her heart out of this equation, a tricky proposition, to say the least, as there was something about Aidan that spurred her to reach for more. Not to mention she tended to throw her heart into everything.
“Ready to go?” Aidan broke into her thoughts. The sheen of sweat dotting his forehead shouldn’t have been as appealing as it was, making him that much more attractive.
“I’m tired, Aunt Natalie.” Danny reached up, wanting her to carry him.
Aidan offered her the duffel bag. “How about a trade?” He motioned for Danny. “Come on, sport. I’ll carry you for a couple of minutes. That should give you enough energy to walk the rest of the way.”
Natalie kept from laughing out loud. Aidan must not have had much experience with children. Once he started carrying Danny, he’d be on the hook the whole way.
“I can walk. I’m a strong little fellow. That’s what Aunt Natalie says every night.” Danny shrugged and walked ahead of them.
She reached for the duffel bag, but Aidan looped it around his shoulder, his jaw clenched, the progress made during the game gone in a split second. “I’ve got this.”
They walked along in tense silence. Natalie fidgeted while keeping an eye on Danny. The bronze streetlights bathed the sidewalks in a soft glow, and stars popped up in the dusky sky. “Wait up a sec,” she called out to Danny.
He waited for her and Aidan. She knelt alongside Danny and pointed at the North Star, the star that had led her back to Hollydale. “Did you make a wish? How about you, Aidan?”
Aidan cleared his throat. “Why? Do wishes come true in Hollydale?”
His intense stare would have given her pause a week ago. Now she knew that was just part of his personality. “Of course. If you make them happen, that is.”
“How does it go again, Aunt Natalie. Star what?”
“Star light, star bright, the first star I see tonight. I wish I may, I wish I might, have the wish I wish tonight. Make a wish, Danny.”
“I’m wishing hard.” He screwed his eyes tight, concentration radiating off his too-serious face. He opened his eyes and smiled. “I wished real hard for…”
“Don’t tell me. It won’t come true.” She rose and gripped Danny’s hand. Then she turned to Aidan. “Did you make a wish, too?”
He arched his eyebrow and, before he had a chance to answer, some friends shouted a greeting.
Natalie waved back and yelled in their direction, “Don’t forget. Hollydale Park. The weekend before the Fourth. My mom’s fried chicken and Lucie Spindler’s chocolate chip pound cake.”
After they promised, she began to stroll, keeping hold of Danny but returning her attention to Aidan. “Well, did you?”
“If I tell, it won’t come true.”
Aidan Murphy made a joke?
“Then say no more.” She nudged his side, the duffel bag swinging and bumping her shin. “If I’m out of line here, you can tell me to buzz off, but how long ago was your injury? How bad was it?”
The thought of him suffering the same fate as Francisco brought a heavy weight to her limbs. Danny had her and her family always, but what if something happened to Aidan? Then Danny would lose his last living relative.
And what about Aidan himself?
His droll sense of humor, his honor, his willingness to commit where others said no? More reasons for her to step back from him. While she’d do anything for Danny, and she could easily wish upon the star for a chance with Aidan, relationships were built on compatibility, trust and more than moondust.
Although there wasn’t anything wrong with a little moondust.
“You look worried, but you shouldn’t be. It’s nothing,” said Aidan. “Just a flesh wound.”
It figured he wouldn’t tell her. “Buzz off, it is.”
“It happened nine years ago. A lifetime, really. A young kid, probably not old enough to shave yet, attacked me with a knife while I should have been more attentive. I don’t talk about it much.”
“I think Shelby wanted to know everything that happened to you, the good and the bad. She talked about you, and how you and I never met before is sort of a mystery to me, but I came home to Hollydale for holidays, whereas you sent her a plane ticket to visit you at the base wherever you were stationed.” She stopped, her words fading into the night. Had she met him sooner, would she still have felt this pull toward him?
They were already on Marigold Lane. In seconds, they reached her front door, and she opened it. Danny disappeared in a flash.
“You don’t lock your door?”
“We were gone less than an hour. I do lock it at night.”
Aidan settled the duffel bag on her porch and folded his arms against his chest.
She shifted her weight. “Okay, I’ll start locking it whenever I go somewhere.”
“Security is important to me. Yours and Danny’s security is important to me.”
He included me.
She reached out and touched his arm. What felt like electricity zapped her, and she jumped back. “My security is important to you?”
“Natalie.” He moved closer, and her world tilted on its axis. The smell of him, sweat mixed with something like citrus, filled her senses, already rocked with the revelation that he was concerned for her welfare.
She didn’t break the connection between them. For some reason, this soldier, who shouldn’t be reigniting her love for moonbeams and stardust, something she thought was lost forever, stood on her front porch with the summer melodies of crickets and river frogs blending together for a sweet song.
There were a thousand and one reasons for her to step inside her house and shut and lock the door. And yet she moved closer just as he stepped toward her, as if some magnet was drawing them together instead of pulling them apart. The lyric sounds faded until only his breathing, steady and consistent, roared in her ears, that same breath caressing her cheek.
“One kiss might prove this is just summer magic,” she said. One that was casting a spell over them rather than a real connection that would bind them together.
“Or it might complicate everything, especially if Danny came outside and saw us,” Aidan said.
There was more stopping them than just Danny. Here was Aidan, a man who wore a watch and lived by a schedule, the last person she wanted any relationship with, and she was a kindergarten teacher who prided herself on leaping into whichever good idea came to mind. She needed people to like her, whereas, from everything she’d observed, he depended on himself, valuing his lone-wolf status.
She couldn’t give in to a moment that would only lead to more heartache and pain, no matter how much she wanted to believe in moondust again.
She cast her gaze to the concrete. At the same time that she stepped back, he did the same, as if he’d figured out this kiss wasn’t on his schedule. She blinked and dismissed that last part. There was more to Aidan than a day planner.
“It’s just the front porch, it has this effect, you know. Sum
mer and the smell of roses and an inviting porch,” she babbled, reaching for anything to lighten the tension between them.
“I don’t buy that.” He stretched his arm until it made contact with the house, inches away from her. “I don’t think you do either.”
“I like things uncomplicated and light.” And Aidan was the epitome of complicated. “I live for the moment, you know.” She inched closer to the door, gripping the knob, the warm metal reminding her of home and what had to be most important for her now.
“So, which did you choose? Red velvet or lemon coconut or both?”
Her breath caught in her chest, still racing from the mistake she’d almost made a second ago. “It’s too late for that much sugar.” She closed her eyes, aware of how that might sound, before opening them at the same time she opened the door. “I think the simplest solution is for you to go back to Eight Gables now. Good night.”
He stared at her and nodded. “Security first. Check all your windows and doors. Make sure they’re locked before you go to bed.”
He pulled his shirtsleeves down, hiding the scar. She watched until his figure had retreated down the street and faded away.
She slipped inside the house, too aware Belinda and Hyacinth had given him, and not her, the cakes. She didn’t care much that she was poaching what belonged to him. She’d made the shot, and she deserved a slice of red velvet and a slice of lemon coconut. Everything else could wait until tomorrow.
CHAPTER NINE
AIDAN SCANNED THE area until he spotted the water fountain near the gazebo. He jogged toward it and refilled his reusable bottle. After a long swig, he stood back and wiped the sweat off his brow with his terry cloth wristband. Pink and purple ribbons streaked against the soft gray sky, a sure sign sunrise was on the horizon.
Harlequin Heartwarming March 21 Box Set Page 53
