Until Winter Comes Again: (An Inspirational Contemporary Romance) (Cane River Romance Book 6)

by Mary Jane Hathaway

  “Fé dodo,” Aurora demanded from where she sat on the carpet. Go to sleep.

  “Yelling at her won’t help,” Rose whispered, trying not to laugh. As she continued singing softly, Rose felt a surge of love for the little group of friends she’d grown to love like family. It a true twist of fate, she’d heard about the nanny position and had walked into By the Book with no idea that her life was going to change forever. Rose looked back on that day in awe. Only by the grace of God did she find this place, these people, and discover herself again.

  A knock at the heavy oak door had Aurora running to open it. Normally Rose wouldn’t allow a toddler to welcome visitors but Paul and Alice had excellent security. After a near-tragedy several years ago, they’d made sure the nursery was about as secure as the White House.

  Aurora tugged the door open and launched herself at the tall, dark-haired man standing outside. “My Blue,” she yelled as he swung her up into his arms. He didn’t even check to make sure she wasn’t covered in anything that would ruin his suit. She rested one small hand on his face and stared straight into his dark brown eyes. “My Blue.”

  “Is this her version of a Vulcan mind meld?” Blue asked softly, trying not to laugh. He knew Paul and Alice wanted Aurora to hear Louisiana Creole during her day as much as possible but he didn’t bother trying to translate the phrase.

  “Yes, and now you’re going to bring her c-o-o-k-i-e-s,” Rose said.

  Elizabeth let out a loud cry and stuffed the sleeve of her sweater into her mouth, gumming it energetically.

  “Sounds like someone is very hungry. I think we’d better head downstairs.” Blue reached out one arm and Rose stepped into the circle of it. He kissed her softly. “I missed you,” he said.

  “Since breakfast this morning? I’ve only been a few floors away and we texted four times.” Rose tried to sound dismissive but couldn’t manage it. He knew that she felt the same way. She hoped that in twenty years they were still having lunch together.

  “I hope we never spend a day apart,” he said.

  “Well, you’d better cancel that conference in New Orleans in August.”

  “I thought you were coming with me.”

  “Sorry, I have a really demanding boss. Three of them, actually.” Of course she was coming with him. She would never miss a weekend away with Blue.

  “Tell them you’re going on strike,” he said. Rose smiled a little at how they were trying to have a conversation over the noise of the kids. It would have been a touching domestic tableau if not for Elizabeth’s crying and Aurora’s insistence on being smack dab between them.

  “Did you hear who’s moving in downstairs?” he asked.

  “Remington Becket? He’s been here a few days already.” She knew before he answered that he couldn’t be thinking of Rem. His grin implied someone else entirely.

  “Flannery Beaulieu,” he said, enunciating each syllable.

  “Oh.” A second later, realization hit. “Ohhhh.”

  “Exactly.” He wiggled his eyebrows. “Clear your schedule in the spring. There’s gonna be a wedding and it’ll be a big one. Beaulieus and Beckets? You can’t shake a tree around here without one falling out.”

  She wrinkled her nose. “I’ve always thought that was a weird phrase. But I see your point. They both have twenty cousins each.”

  “And those are just the first cousins.” He paused. “You don’t seem too excited about it. I admit I’m the romantic in this partnership but it’s good news, isn’t it?”

  Rose moved away so she could bounce Elizabeth without hurting anybody. “No, it’s great.”

  Blue looked at Aurora. “Did she say great? Because it didn’t sound like great.”

  Aurora shook her head. “Not great.”

  “It’s just….” Rose tried to think of a concrete, logical argument. “I know Bix and Ruby would be thrilled but it’s just that they’re friends.”

  He perched on the arm of the couch and let Aurora down. “We were friends before we started dating.”

  “Fake dating,” she reminded him with a smile. That had been a silly idea. As if pretending to date could have gotten all the matchmakers in Natchitoches from pushing them together. And if Rose was perfectly honest with herself, she’d started to fall in love with Blue before they’d ever come up with that scheme. Maybe even from the moment they’d met at the door of By the Book.

  “I’m trying not to feel a little hurt that you don’t think what happened to us is such a good idea.” Blue’s tone was light but she could tell by the line of his mouth that he was taking it personally.

  Rose stepped toward him again, slipping an arm around his neck, not caring that Elizabeth was crying just inches away from his ear. “You are the best thing that ever happened to me. Ever. If I could promise each person on this planet that they would find the love I’ve found with you, I’d do it. No hesitation.”

  He kissed her softly. “I shouldn’t have doubted you.”

  “We’ve had our hearts broken. Let’s never forget it.” She kissed him back. “These fragments I have shored against my ruins.”

  “I never understood that poem. I’m afraid T.S. Eliot is beyond me.”

  “Oh, you.” She pushed away from him, laughing. Eliot was one of Blue’s favorite poets and Rose had once said she felt as if Eliot’s poetry was a little beyond her. He’d never forgotten that off-hand comment, claiming that Rose was ten times smarter than he was and nothing was beyond her.

  Of course, at her stage in life, it was a sad little consolation prize to be smart. A lot of good it had done her. She’d ruined her own career with those smarts.

  Rose shook off the sudden wave of regret and shushed Elizabeth, pulling her now-sodden sweater sleeve from the baby’s mouth again. “Anyway, I just feel like they have a wonderful friendship and if things go badly…”

  He sobered. “True. A real friendship is nothing to sneer at.”

  Aurora tugged on Rose’s skirt. “Let’s jam, little lamb,” she said.

  Rose considered correcting her in Louisiana Creole but instead responded, “Yes, indeed, pumpkin seed. See, Blue has come to rescue us from our ivory tower. ”

  “Aye, my ladies. Your presence is requested by the queen.” He snapped to attention, smoothing his tie and saluting.

  Aurora frowned. “Queen?”

  “Your mama,” he whispered. “She’s the queen.”

  Aurora glared at him. “Not the queen. She’s mean to Alice.”

  “Alice is the queen,” he said.

  Aurora glared harder, her arms cross over her chest. “No, queen is mean.”

  Rose laughed a little at Blue’s confusion. “Alice in Wonderland,” she explained.

  “Oh, I see,” he said. “The queen is mean. Alice is wonderful.” He winked at Rose. “My brain is wrapped up in cases.” Maybe there was something in her expression because Blue went on. “Dry, dull, annoying cases. Nothing interesting.”

  “Of course not,” she agreed, hoping she wasn’t as obvious as she felt. She tried to be happy with just watching Alice and Paul’s children, and she was absolutely content with Blue. He was the love of her life, she’d never been happier. But she needed something more. She simply couldn’t go from graduating at the top of her class at law school and working her way up through a high-powered law firm to changing diapers all day without needing more.

  But no matter how she tried to approach the topic, Rose never seemed to quite get the words out. She didn’t want Blue to think she was unhappy. Except that she was, and she needed to do something about it before it sucked all the joy from the rest of her life.

  Chapter Eight

  “When love is not madness, it is not love.”

  ― Pedro Calderón de la Barca

  The foyer of By the Book seemed to echo with silence as Alice and Bix waited for Rem to explain himself. Bix was frowning in his direction and Alice looked slightly panicked.

  Bad roommate? Rem stared at Flannery and tried to think of an excus
e for his behavior. He came up with nothing, so he decided denial was the best course of action. “I never said you would be a bad roommate.”

  Of course she wouldn’t be. Flannery would be her usual ninety-mile-an-hour self and he’d do his best to keep up. Or he would have a year ago. Even a few months ago. Now he had to think about protecting himself as best he could.

  “You absolutely did so say that. Maybe not in so many words, but you said it.”

  “I thought you meant…” Rem tried to regroup. Ending that sentence would only bring trouble.

  A large black cat landed with a thud behind Flannery and she turned with a sharp intake of breath. “Mr. Darcy, you scared me to pieces.”

  “He’s not usually very social,” Alice said. “I wonder why he came down.” She looked up at the top of the range where Mr. Darcy usually perched far above the crowd of commoners who flocked to the bookstore. “I think the last time he came down was when he decided to investigate Blue when he was dating Rose.”

  The cat stalked slowly toward Rem and sniffed at his shoes. He circled a few times, then casually turned his back, as if waiting for a scratch. Rem reached out and Alice said, “Careful, he’s not really that kind of cat.”

  Rem quickly withdrew his hand to a safer place. “Thanks for the warning.”

  “A lot of people think the cats are annoying. I’ve had a few customers berate me over exposing the community to cat dander or say the warning signs on the window aren’t big enough,” Alice said. “But these cats are part of the store. When I inherited it from Mr. Perrault, I knew he meant for me to keep them here. They have as much right to be here as the kids do.”

  “Definitely,” Flannery said. “Charles Bukowski wrote that he thought the world should be full of rain and full of cats. Although I’ve had enough rain for the moment.”

  “I think it was ‘full of cats and full of rain’,” Rem said. He tried to remember the rest. “That’s all, just cats and rain―”

  “Rain and cats,” Flannery said the next line.

  “Very nice, good night.” They finished it together.

  “Jinx,” Rem said. It’s what he always said. It was tradition, but now it was an olive branch. He almost held his breath waiting for Flannery’s response. She’d brushed him off just a few minutes before. He couldn’t expect her to have recovered from hurt feelings already, but maybe, just maybe, she wouldn’t leave him hanging again.

  She met his eyes and at first she didn’t give him a hint as to whether she was still angry. Then the tension in her expression began to ebb away.

  “Owe me a Coke,” she said, like she always did. She turned holding her arms out for the baby. “Come here, Emily Jane.”

  Alice passed her over with a smile and winked at Rem. “You’re the only one who can’t tell them apart, you know.”

  “Can’t you give them bracelets? Or maybe different haircuts?”

  “Why?” Flannery asked. “There’s no need. Their personalities are so completely opposite. Emily Jane here is an observer of human nature and as peaceful as a boat in calm seas. Or so says Rose.”

  “Accurate,” Alice said.

  Bix came back to the group and cupped a hand to his ear. A faint wailing could be heard from the back of the store where the stairs led to the apartments. “I reckon Elizabeth’s fixin’ to pitch a hissy fit in the next few minutes.”

  “She doesn’t cry near as much as she used to,” Alice said quickly. “Just fusses a little when she’s tired or hungry. You can hardly hear her through the walls. Right, Rem?”

  He’d heard Elizabeth on many occasions. Or maybe it had been Emily Jane. He’d even heard Aurora more than once when she’d gotten overtired. They’d added a lot of sound-proofing to the nursery but the building was a hundred years old and there was only so much they could do without damaging the antique brickwork and tin ceiling tiles. “Right. Hardly at all,” he said.

  Rose appeared holding the other twin, who was letting out unhappy noises. Blue followed along behind her, holding Aurora by the hand. If Rose’s curly hair was any indicator, it had been a hard morning.

  Rem caught Flannery’s eye and she mouthed, “Liar.”

  “Paddington,” Aurora called, running toward them across the bookstore foyer, her curls bouncing against her shoulders. She was the perfect mix of Paul and Alice, bright curiosity shining from her eyes and an exuberant spirit. A few customers glanced up from their browsing and smiled as she ran past. The cats were a famous part of the bookstore but it was also well-known as one of the most family-friendly establishments around. The children’s area was almost a third of the bookstore, and many times parents would bring their children in just to see the miniature bakery or to color on the specially designed walls in the play room.

  “Paddington,” Aurora said again and launched herself against Rem’s legs.

  He swung her up into his arms and said, “Rem― ing― ton. Not Paddington. He’s a fuzzy bear. I am not.” He took her hand and patted it against his clean-shaven cheek. “See, no fuzzy.”

  “Someone was feeling left out of the party. At least, that’s what I’m going to assume because she’s not really using her words,” Rose said.

  Alice took the fussy baby and the circle of friends expanded to accommodate Rose and Blue.

  After a few seconds of greetings and hugs, Rose said, “Miss Fussbudget here is hoping we’re going to have new neighbors to annoy.”

  “Is that so?” Flannery smiled brightly but ended her sentence with a pointed look at Rem.

  Aurora said, “You’re Padd― ing― ton. No fuzz. Not a bear.” She looked at Flannery. “Flannery loves Paddington.”

  Alice’s brows shot up.

  Rem’s brain felt like it had stalled. Some people believed that children saw what others didn’t. His heart was in his throat as he waited for Flannery to respond.

  “I sure do,” Flannery said, smiling. “I read that to you twice yesterday when you visited the library.”

  How quickly his despair had turned to hope, then back again. Rem worked hard to rearrange his expression. His hope deflated like a balloon. He imagined himself shimmying downward in a heap of skin and bones.

  “I like your shirt,” Rem said to Aurora.

  The little girl put both hands on her tummy and stared down at a blue cartoon creature with claws. “Jabberwocky.”

  “Aye,” Rem said, putting on his best English accent and pointing to the words on her shirt as he read. “`Twas brillig, and the slithy toves did gyre and gimble in the wabe: all mimsy were the borogoves, and the mome raths outgrabe.”

  “Was brillig,” Aurora said, nodding. “Jabberwocky was not a bear.”

  “That’s my girl,” Rem said. “Alice, if you weren’t such a classics nerd, I might suspect you were trying to butter up Flannery with these shirts.”

  “Don’t think she’s above it,” Bix said. He had returned without Justin.

  Alice held up a hand, laughing. “Hey now, I admit I’ve always wanted my own children’s librarian in the store, but I promise those shirts are by accident. Charlie thinks their wardrobe is too poetry-heavy but I think she’d only be happy if they only wore quotes from Bradbury or Asimov.”

  Justin walked up to them, a dark green bag in one hand and a slip of paper in the other. “Sorry to interrupt again.”

  “No, not at all,” Flannery said. Her cheeks were pink, just as they had been when he’d appeared the first time. Rem gave Justin another long look. The guy was good looking, no doubt about it, but the fact that he taught English literature to teens probably gave him about a thousand more points in his favor than anything else could.

  “I wanted to give you my number. Text me when you’ve got a minute so I’ll have yours, too.” Justin was casually moving toward the door but hadn’t broken eye contact.

  Rem had to give it to the man. He knew how to flatter a girl without seeming creepy or weird. Probably something Rem had never figured out. Rem felt a surge of jealousy so hot that it made hi
m feel sick.

  “Sure,” Flannery said and there was a slight breathlessness to her voice. “Bye.”

  There was an awkward silence as Justin walked out, the little brass bell over the door tinkling merrily on its red ribbon. Rem thought of how incongruous it was, like a cheerful herald of his heartbreak.

  “Huh. I remember that kid,” Bix said. “I bet he hasn’t changed. Wasn’t very good looking back in the day.”

  Rem choked back a laugh. Bix clearly didn’t want Flannery to go out with Justin. He wasn’t sure why but he wasn’t going to argue.

  “About the same. I’m not saying I’d hire him to haunt a house, but you know…” Blue shrugged. “Doesn’t appeal.”

  “Well, of course he doesn’t appeal to you.” Flannery rolled her eyes. “But I think he’s cute.”

  “I have to agree with Blue,” Alice said. “We can’t blame a man for drawing a short straw, but he’s nothing to write home about.”

  Flannery frowned. “You’re all being a little mean. Aren’t we above this kind of pettiness?”

  “Nope,” Bix said. “And if Alice said it, then I bet he’s so ugly he’d make a freight train take a dirt road.”

  “Grandpa, Justin isn’t even close to―”

  “He’d scare the buzzards off a gut pile,” Rose said.

  “Fell out of the ugly tree and hit every branch on the way down,” Alice said, nodding.

  “Now just wait a―” Flannery said.

  “If he was a dog, I’d shave his rear and have him walk backwards,” Blue said.

  “He looks like ten miles of bad road, no doubt about it,” Bix proclaimed.

  “You can’t even see him, Grandpa,” Flannery said. “And y’all are trying to make me change my mind but I have news for you. I didn’t say I’d go out for coffee because I thought he was cute, so it doesn’t really matter how ugly the man is.”