Harlequin Heartwarming March 21 Box Set

by Claire McEwen

  “She’s not my mommy.” The catch in Danny’s voice was too real.

  Aidan wished he knew how to comfort his nephew. He reached into his memories of his father after his mother’s death. Nothing. His father had relied on filling every minute of the day with organized activities covering the gamut from archery to zoology. Cathy had tried reaching out to him, and he’d rejected her. He wouldn’t let Danny make the same mistake.

  “Your mommy wouldn’t want you to be disrespectful to the person she chose for you.” Seemed like the catch in Danny’s voice was contagious. For Danny’s sake, and Natalie’s, Aidan pulled himself together and showed Danny his arm. “You know, some days I think about this scar over and over, and I have to stop myself from feeling sorry for myself.”

  “What does this have to do with my mommy?”

  Straight to the point. He liked that. “There are other days when I see it and remind myself I have work to do, important work, just like there’ll be days when you miss your mom a lot and other days you’ll remember how much she loved you and that will wrap you in enough love to keep you going.”

  They arrived at Natalie’s gate, and Aidan stopped.

  Danny jutted his lip out. “It’s not like you’re staying here. If you don’t stay, I don’t hafta stay.”

  Aidan’s breath caught in his lungs and burned. “You need to apologize to your Aunt Natalie.”

  “Are you staying, Uncle Aidan?” Danny’s big brown eyes filled with tears.

  He slowly shook his head. “I have to return to Fort Lewis in three weeks.”

  The use of the singular pronoun didn’t escape his translator mindset.

  “Are you taking me with you?”

  The sweet smell of strawberries filled the air, and Aidan didn’t have to look back to know Natalie was behind him and probably hanging on his every word. “Your aunt and I will figure out what’s best for you before I go back. She loves you and deserves your respect. You have something to say to her.”

  Danny stomped his foot once more before tears streamed down his red cheeks. He tried the door, but it stayed closed. Natalie must have locked it. She unlocked the door and stood back. Danny ran inside the house, and Aidan heard the boy’s bedroom door slam. She moved past him.

  “Natalie.”

  She paused and turned, her eyes full of a weariness he’d never seen in them before. “Don’t you need to check on Stormy?”

  “You did the right thing by not giving in.” The admission tore out of him.

  If she was a good guardian for Danny, where did that leave him?

  She shrugged and gave him a half smile. “I see kids with meltdowns on a regular basis during the school year. His grief is going to keep coming in waves. Some will fade quietly onto the shore, while others—” she pointed upstairs “—will come like tsunamis.”

  “Would you have given him the cookie a week ago?”

  “Probably.” She hesitated and held on to the door. “Good night, Aidan.”

  He walked over to his house and checked on Stormy, mewing for her next feeding. Without a word, he prepared a bottle and cuddled the kitten on his lap.

  * * *

  NATALIE STARED OUT her living room bay window and wrapped her hand around her cup of herbal tea. Bright stars illuminated the dark sky. During the school year, she rarely saw this many stars as she and Danny shared the same early bedtime. Now, sleep eluded her. Aidan’s reminder that he had to leave soon burst her bubble already deflated from Danny’s resentment of her.

  She didn’t want to take Shelby’s place, but she did want to forge her own path as his guardian.

  Moving to her couch, she placed her tea on the end table and cuddled with a pillow. She stared at her fireplace, the gas logs pretty even without the flames and heat of winter. A week ago, she’d have given in and allowed Danny another cookie in a second. After holding him in her arms and singing the lullaby, however, she had realized parenthood was more than just fun and games. She had to put her foot down when health and safety mattered.

  Whether that would cost her her contact with Danny in the long run, she wasn’t sure, but she was sure she wouldn’t have kept her promise to Shelby if she allowed Danny whatever he wanted, whenever he wanted it.

  Then again, Dr. Laurel, his therapist, had warned her this type of outburst might happen. Whether this fresh moment of grief was a result of missing Toby this week or a result of the hard weeks leading up to now, resuming visits next week after the holiday was a must.

  “Aunt Natalie.” Small sniffles came from behind her, and she whipped around to find Danny there in his dinosaur pajamas, wiping his nose on his sleeve. “Yes, darlin’.”

  “I’m sorry.” He launched himself at her from his corner of the living room, and she pulled him close on the couch, breathing in essence of little boy. “I love you, Aunt Natalie.”

  Hiccups replaced the sniffles, and she waited for a glimmer of a laugh from him. Before Shelby died, he had always laughed whenever he suffered a case of the “hiccumps,” as he called them. No laugh, but his arms wound around her, holding her tight.

  “No one can take your mommy’s place, but I’ll do my best to be the best auntie I can be.”

  That was, if Danny remained here when Aidan returned to Fort Lewis. His even breathing, a sign he had fallen asleep, calmed her, and she continued to stroke his thick hair. Ever since Francisco died, she relegated planning to the curb, preparing everything, except her lesson plans, on the spur of the moment. There were times that worked, but this wasn’t one of them.

  She was in this for the long haul. Danny deserved her best, and he deserved her fighting for what was right. This was right.

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  AIDAN RUSHED INTO the Timber River Counseling Center, concern marking each stride as he made his way to the front desk. Of all the mornings to forget to turn his phone off “do not disturb” after his run. Only after he’d finished playing with Stormy had he realized his mistake and found his phone had several text messages from Natalie telling him of today’s unexpected visit during the Friday lunch hour.

  “Aidan Murphy.” He introduced himself to the receptionist, Jean, and almost saluted.

  “I remember, Major. I never forget a face or a case. That’s why they keep me around here.” Jean nodded. “Go on back. Danny and Natalie are in room C with Dr. Hargraves and Toby.”

  Hurrying through the hall, he stopped abruptly in the doorway with the three faces, four if you counted Toby’s, staring at him. “Sorry I’m late.”

  Upset at his failure to turn his phone back on, he sat in the empty chair just as Toby laid his head on Danny’s knee.

  Next to him, Natalie sat on the low aqua couch with plump yellow and white stripped pillows. Her red hair was pulled back in a messy bun emphasizing her wholesome beauty, which didn’t stop at the surface. He expected reproach or something similar in her eyes. Instead, she radiated a message of laid-back forgiveness. She was easier on him than he was being on himself.

  He could understand why he was attracted to that. Also, why he and Natalie mixed like oil and water with two such different approaches to life.

  The doctor, tall with straight black hair, rose from a bright green chair and extended her hand. “I’m Laurel Hargraves.” In contrast to Natalie’s bubbliness, the young therapist conveyed an air of calm capability, the image of what he thought he’d be drawn to once he retired.

  Still, for some unknown reason, Natalie was the one who had caught his attention and held it.

  He accepted Dr. Hargraves’s handshake and noted a dollhouse nestled against a blue wall beside built-in shelves filled with toys. “I rushed over once I realized Natalie texted, Dr. Hargraves.”

  “No need to stand on such formality. Call me Laurel.” She pointed toward the hall. “A word, please.” Natalie started to rise, but Laurel shook her head. “Just Aidan.”
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  “I’m his co-guardian. If it’s about Danny, I deserve to know.”

  Laurel walked to the door. “I’d like to catch him up on today’s session and get to know him a little better.”

  Without missing a beat, Toby nudged Natalie’s hand, and she petted him before Toby returned his full focus to Danny. It was as if Toby knew Natalie’s and Danny’s sense of well-being depended on each other.

  In which case, where did that leave him? He’d messed up his relationship with Shelby. He couldn’t let her down by forsaking her son.

  Perhaps a solid plan and the promise of continuing therapy at Fort Lewis would convince Laurel he had this under control. Aidan followed the doctor out of the room.

  Laurel swiped on her tablet and, from the looks of it, brought up Danny’s file. “I heard you and Natalie found a kitten. Studies have proven the positive effects of owning a pet. Decreased loneliness, increased responsibility for children, and cats are particularly effective in lowering stress levels, all of which should bolster Danny’s self-confidence in the upcoming months before he starts first grade.”

  Aidan didn’t think she pulled him out into the hall to explain the benefits of pet ownership. “What’s the real reason you brought me out here?”

  “I was on vacation, and my partner saw Danny last time. I wanted a minute to find out more about you. It was either move the three of them or the one of you. I chose you.” Her steady brown eyes gave nothing away.

  “I don’t have a good excuse for not being here.” He shoved his hands in his pockets. “Playing with Stormy is hardly justification for missing this.”

  Laurel kept her gaze on the tablet, although he guessed she registered his every move. “Interesting. Go on.”

  At that moment, Natalie cleared her throat and approached them. The door remained open, his view of Danny and Toby clear. “Sorry, but I couldn’t sit still any longer.”

  Laurel glanced at Natalie, then Aidan. “Danny’s torn at the uncertainty between the two of you.”

  Finally, someone in Hollydale was blunt. He wouldn’t have minded, though, if she’d beaten around the bush a little longer.

  “I have a couple more weeks before my leave is over. I promised Natalie I’d take that time and assess every detail in order to make an informed decision about the future.” Promises should matter to a trained therapist.

  “While that’s commendable—” Laurel lowered her voice “—Danny needs stability at this time.”

  “Exactly what I’ve been saying.” Natalie inserted herself into the conversation. “By the way, thank you for thinking of Danny when you had a cancellation so he wouldn’t miss this week’s session. I imagine it’s quite busy the Friday before the holiday weekend.”

  “He also needs wise counsel and solid guardianship.” Laurel tucked her tablet under her arm. “He’s making progress, but it’s slow going. Anything disruptive might slow it even more.”

  Aidan’s gaze was drawn to Toby, whose head still lay on Danny’s leg. His nephew stroked Toby’s fur, nervousness in those familiar brown eyes.

  Aidan returned his attention to the adults. “Is Toby helping?”

  “It’s early yet, but I see small and positive changes. He’s a little boy who lost his mother not that long ago. You need to present a united front when you’re with him.” Laurel looked at him, then Natalie, and back at him again. “In the long run, Danny has the potential to thrive, but he needs a support network. He needs to know there are people who are there for him and who will let him be himself in a manner that’s not rude or harmful.”

  Aidan faced Natalie, and his gaze went to her neck.

  She wasn’t wearing Francisco’s medal.

  “Is Hollydale providing that support network? Should he stay in his established home?” Natalie’s words were a bombshell to his heart.

  It would be hard for a court to go against Shelby’s decision and the advice of a therapist.

  Laurel adjusted the tablet to make another note in Danny’s file. “Based on today’s session, that’s something the two of you need to discuss and decide.”

  The more Aidan tried to find reasons to justify taking Danny with him, the more there were for Danny to stay.

  * * *

  NATALIE TRACED HER finger around the mason jar of sweetened iced tea, her favorite drink at the Holly Days Diner. Rather than meeting Aidan at The Busy Bean, she opted for comfort food and lots of it. Located across from her sister-in-law’s garage, the diner was a local Hollydale institution with its old-time jukebox and milkshakes so large she’d always split one with Mike and Becks growing up. The posters of movie stars from the fifties might be fading, but the delicious aromas of the best biscuits this side of the Mississippi never did.

  Most of the lunchtime crowd had dispersed, and they’d been lucky enough to score her favorite booth next to the huge pane of glass overlooking Maple Drive. She loved watching people stroll by, and more people were arriving to enjoy the weekend’s festivities and local natural amenities.

  “Thank your mom and dad for watching Danny and Stormy at the last minute. Again.”

  “My parents love Danny as much as they love all their grandkids.”

  His jaw clenched, and he picked up a menu from behind the metal napkin holder. “What’s good here?”

  “Everything.” She didn’t even pick up a menu as she knew it by heart. “What’s something you’ve never tried before?”

  “One advantage of being a translator is getting to try a variety of foods in different regions.” He opened the menu and perused the selections.

  She used her deep supply of patience as he kept the menu aloft. It was all she could do not to snatch it so he’d have to look at her. “What’s been your favorite?”

  He exhaled and lowered his menu. “You’re going to keep harping on food rather than discuss Danny?”

  She put her elbow on the table and rested her chin on her upturned palm. “I like finding out new things about you.” One look at her reflection in the glass confirmed her suspicions: her cheeks matched the color of her pink sundress. “And we need this out in the open. There’s something going on between us.”

  He replaced his menu with some deliberation behind the napkin dispenser and leaned forward, intensity emanating from him. The waitress must have sensed the mood between them because she took one look at them and hustled back to the kitchen. Natalie met Aidan’s gaze, and they burst out laughing.

  He stopped chuckling first. “I didn’t plan for this to happen.”

  One more giggle escaped her. “You can’t plan attraction. It either happens or it doesn’t. When it’s right…” Her words faded away as she wondered if she should count on his being here tomorrow.

  She had to face it. He wasn’t in a safe profession. If this relationship progressed, she’d have to find a way to deal with that.

  Memories might have to suffice once again, and she didn’t know if she wanted to take that chance, even for something as beautiful and rare as love.

  Love?

  Who said anything about love? He planned everything down to the minute. He probably even wore his watch to bed. She flew through tasks by the seat of her pants, and yet, the truth of the matter was, none of that mattered. What mattered was the connection between the two of them, a connection that was more than Danny. They laughed no matter the outcome of a hotly contested game. They liked slow, long dances with the rain falling. Somehow, they fit together, his gray eyes never missing a beat, taking in everything while she was already halfway to the next thing.

  And there was something about a man petting a kitten and nursing her to health that might be the sweetest thing she’d ever seen.

  Aidan had swooped into town and restarted her heart. Sitting there, he made her world better just by being himself. Sometime during the past couple of weeks, she’d fallen in love with Aidan Murphy. Love didn’t
have a time frame, and it sure didn’t pick the person with the same outlook on life. Maybe that was the best part of all—love had sneaked up on her and scored a slam dunk.

  “When it’s right… What else were you going to say?” Aidan prodded with a gentle way about him, another unexpected layer to the man she hadn’t known a long time although, through Shelby, it was as though she’d known him forever.

  “Um, uh, well.” For someone who taught kindergarten and had been on the receiving end of questions about nearly everything, she rarely became flustered. There would have to be a first time for everything. “So, what’s on the menu that you’ve never eaten before?”

  “Diversion. An effective strategy at times. Hmm, let me see…” Aidan moved his elbows off the table and reached for the menu again.

  The waitress appeared, fanning herself with her order pad. “Natalie, the heat coming from this table is hotter than our barbecue sauce, which is hot enough to scorch the toupee on Ed Hicks’s head. Of course, every true North Carolinian knows vinegar-based barbecue sauce is the real deal.” She glanced at Aidan. “Well, hello there, Major Murphy. I’m Jolene. Pleasure to make your acquaintance at last. Just to let you know, the betting pool around here is an even fifty-fifty.”

  “What betting pool?” Aidan leaned back, and Natalie recognized the instant worry on his face. Endearing.

  Jolene plucked out a pencil from the front section of her apron. “For who’ll win the pie contest. Now what’ll you have? You look like a daily special man to me. Our cook has a real nice grilled catfish sandwich on Fridays.”

  Natalie glanced at Aidan, who was almost salivating at the words “daily special.”

  “I’ve been dared to try something new and adventurous, so I’ll take the fried green tomato sandwich with pimento cheese.”

  “One antacid special for you.” She turned to Natalie. “What can I get you, hon?”

  “I’ll have the Friday special with a side salad instead of fries. Thanks, Jolene.”