by Donna Alward
Makeup. Maddy was well and truly flustered now, wanting to look nice but not wanting to look as though she’d put in a lot of effort and give Cole the wrong idea...or the right one, as the case might be. A quick reapplication of mascara and some tinted gloss brightened her eyes and lips without being overdone, and she left on the same jeans she’d worn to the library.
She shut the door to her bedroom as she left, then stepped into the boys’ room and made a mad dash through the clutter, throwing dirty clothes in their hamper, straightening the bedding and dumping the diaper pail into the garbage in the garage.
It had taken her exactly fifteen minutes.
“Mama! Mama!”
Back in the living room, Liam was bobbing up and down, holding a fabric book in his chubby hand. “Mama,” he said, one of the few words he could manage at only a year old. He waved the book in the air.
Luke had a plastic truck and was on his hands and knees, making vroom noises as he ran it over the carpet.
Cole’s truck was pulling into the driveway.
Oh, Lord, oh, Lord, oh, Lord, she thought.
“Boys, how about some supper? Are you hungry?”
That got their attention. Luke’s truck zoomed off course and careened into a chair; Liam dropped the book and Maddy tried to hold her composure as Cole got out of his vehicle carrying two paper bags.
He had no idea what he was walking into. And the trouble was, neither did she. And what freaked her out the most was realizing she desperately wanted to find out.
* * *
COLE CLUTCHED THE paper bags as if his life depended on it. The cashier at the diner had folded them over neatly and stapled the tops, but his death grip had crumpled them completely. A date. With Maddy Wallace.
With Maddy Wallace and her children, he reminded himself. But instead of making him feel better, his stomach tied up in even more knots. He was smart enough to know that when you dated a woman with kids, you dated the whole package. In the past few weeks he’d somehow gone from wanting to lend a helping hand to a neighbor to wanting to do a lot of things that weren’t neighborly at all. And over it all was the sinking feeling that he’d been here before—that he was a fool to even think she’d want him.
The tree he’d had Tanner deliver was propped up outside the door, he’d noticed. Tanner had done a great job, too. The tree looked green and full and the perfect height. And Maddy would never suspect him as being her secret Santa, because he’d been at the library with her all afternoon.
He’d thought to take a moment to gather his wits before ringing the bell, but Maddy opened the door and smiled at him. Holy doodle, she looked good. If his memory served, she’d changed into different clothes from this afternoon, and her hair fell in silky waves to her shoulders. Her eyes were incredibly blue, her cheeks bright in a porcelain face, and her lips were pink and puffy and begging to be kissed.
And all around him was the scent of fried chicken, pulling him back to reality. God, he had to get a grip.
“Take-out delivery,” he announced and held up the bags.
“Come on in.” She stepped aside, making room for him to enter.
The first thing he noticed was how lived-in her house looked. Not in a bad way, but in a cozy kids-live-here way that made him instantly comfortable. He thought of his great-aunt Gertrude’s from when he’d been a boy. No one was allowed to touch her knickknacks, and they’d gotten in trouble for sliding in sock feet on her perfectly polished hardwood floor. Maddy’s house was comfortable, with a chocolate-brown corduroy sofa and chair, beige carpeting, and a wooden entertainment unit with rounded corners. The boys ran around, but their toys were centered on a large colorful blanket on one side of the room.
“Excuse the mess,” she apologized. “It’s impossible to keep the place neat with two tornadoes blowing through at any given moment.”
“It’s great,” he commented. “And perfect for a family.” He handed her the bags and unzipped his jacket. “Know what I like about your kids, Maddy?”
“What?”
He took off his jacket and hung it on a hook beside the door. “They’re happy. It wouldn’t be right to bring them up in a museum where they couldn’t touch anything, you know?”
“Well, what you see is what you get around here.” She smiled. “Take off your boots and come into the kitchen. I’ve got to get a few things ready for the boys.”
He put his boots on the mat and followed her into the kitchen. “I see you got a Christmas tree,” he commented lightly, stepping into the brightly lit kitchen. Her comment about the tires earlier told him she didn’t suspect, and it was kind of fun playing along.
“It must be from my dad. He’s been doing this secret Santa thing this year. First the new tires on my car, then the tree.” She got plates out of the cupboard, turned around and smiled. “I think they knew that Christmas spirit was in short supply this year and they’re trying to do something fun.”
Well, the motive was bang on, but the identity was all wrong. It was what Cole wanted—anonymity—but he felt a little bit jealous knowing she thought her father was responsible. Still, telling her up front would have just made her refuse. He could live without taking credit. He wasn’t doing it for gratitude, after all. He just wanted to help, and he was in a position to do it.
“It was here when I got home this afternoon,” Maddy continued, putting a dish in the microwave. “I’ll have to search the basement for the tree decorations and stuff. Maybe I’ll put it up tomorrow.”
Cole went to the table and started taking takeout containers from the bags. “I suppose the twins don’t remember last Christmas.”
She shook her head. “Not hardly. They were so little.” She took the dish from the microwave and tested the food inside with her finger. “Yummy, right?” She sent him a goofy smile. “They only have a few teeth, so I still have to keep things pretty mashed up for them. I’ll feed them some carrots and peas and chicken, and then they can pick at cut-up fries while we eat. Hope that’s okay.”
Cole watched the process, intrigued.
Maddy had two small bowls, each with a rubber-tipped spoon. The boys were seated in high chairs, bibs over their clothes, excited that they were about to eat. Cole chuckled as Maddy filled the spoon for Liam, touched it to her lip to test the temperature and then moved the spoon in his direction. Just like a baby bird, he opened his mouth wide, very ready to eat.
She managed two spoonfuls before Luke demanded his turn by banging his hands on his high-chair tray. Calmly, Maddy put down Liam’s bowl and picked up Luke’s, repeated the process, and started to go back and forth.
Twins, Cole thought, and not for the first time, were a lot of work.
“Um, maybe I could try? That way you won’t have to go between them.”
Maddy looked up at him, her face blank with surprise. “You? Want to try feeding one of the boys? Have you ever fed a baby before, Cole?”
“How hard can it be?” He’d watched her. Food on spoon, spoon in mouth, repeat.
She laughed. “All right. Here, you take Luke’s bowl. Not too fast.”
“I got this.” He pulled up a chair and took the bowl from her. Put some mushy green peas on the spoon and held it to Luke’s mouth. As predicted, Luke opened wide and took the peas in one gulp. Cole looked over at Maddy and smiled widely. “See?”
“You’re a pro,” she replied, a silly smile on her lips. He liked seeing her smile, he realized. She looked so young and pretty when she did that.
He scooped up more food and sent it Luke’s way. He soon realized that Luke wasn’t as fond of the ground-up chicken as he was of the vegetables. Luke grabbed the spoon with a chubby hand and started pulling on it with surprising strength. “Come on, open up for chicken,” Cole urged him, but Luke just moved his fist up and down until he suddenly let go—and the chicken on the spoon
went flying. Straight onto Cole’s shirt.
He heard Maddy snicker, but he refused to look at her. It was just a little chicken. He’d had far worse on his clothes.
“Put the chicken on first,” she suggested quietly, “and then put the vegetables on over top. You have to be tricky sometimes.”
Cole did what she suggested and Luke opened up immediately. Scamp.
They continued feeding the boys, who seemed to be big eaters considering the amount of pureed food they ate. “Do you make all your own food?” Cole asked, scraping along the side of the bowl.
“They’re eating more table food now, being a year old,” she commented. “But yeah. I make my own. Usually on a Saturday I’ll cook stuff up, puree it in my little blender and freeze it in ice cube trays. Then I just pop them in a dish or baggie and they’re good to go.”
“Smart.”
“Cheap. Cheaper than buying the bottled stuff. And now I can get by with just mashing it if it’s smooth enough.”
Cole looked over. “And better for them, too, right?” He kept the spoon moving, the last few mouthfuls accepted eagerly by Luke. “You’re a good mom, Maddy.”
“Thanks.” She smiled sweetly, and he felt something warm and pleasant infuse him. “Um, you might want to slow down, though.”
“What?” He looked at Luke. The poor kid’s cheeks were puffed out with food. Cole had been so focused on Maddy that he’d just kept mindlessly shoveling it in.
“Oops,” he said, sitting back. “Sorry, buddy.”
Luke began to cough. And cough some more. And then his little blue eyes watered and he gave a big cough and...
Cole added carrots and peas to the chicken on his shirt.
There was stunned silence for a minute, and then Maddy started to giggle. And giggle. And before he could help himself, Cole was laughing back until the kitchen rang with their laughter and the sound of babies thumping their fists on their high chairs.
It was definitely the strangest first date he’d ever been on.
Maddy wiped her eyes on her sleeve. “Oh, gosh. I’m sorry. You just... Oh, you were so sure of yourself. And now you’ve truly been initiated.”
“You warned me they were messy. I forgot.” He grinned, grabbed a paper napkin from the takeout bag and dabbed at the mess on his chest and sleeves.
“You wait.” She picked up the bowls and went to the sink. “Now I let them feed themselves. Sometimes I think I need to get a dog so it can do floor cleanup.”
He chuckled. “It really is an adventure, isn’t it?”
She shrugged. “It just is what it is. Come on, let’s eat. I’m hungry.”
Together they unpacked the chicken and fries and the large container of coleslaw, just as she’d requested. He’d added a couple of sodas to the order, too. “Wow, I think I must really be impressing you with the fine dining on this date,” he joked, watching as she cut up a few handfuls of fries and put them on the trays for the boys.
“Were you trying to impress me?” she asked, and that little nervous bubble started rolling around in his stomach again. He hadn’t dated in a long time. Hadn’t felt like it. But Maddy had definitely captured his interest.
“Honestly?” He met her gaze. “Not really. I get the feeling if I tried to impress you, you’d see right through me.”
Her smile faded. “I know. I’m cynical. It was much nicer when I was naive and oblivious.”
She looked so down that he reached over and put his hand over hers. Hers was much smaller than his, and softer. “Maddy,” he said quietly, “you are way too hard on yourself. And far from being oblivious.”
“This is my first date since Gavin,” she admitted, looking away.
“I know,” he answered, a lump forming in his throat. “And it must seem strange. It’s kind of why I wanted to keep it low-key. I get it. I get that you’re scared and I get that the boys come first.” He squeezed her fingers. “Maddy, look at me.”
She looked up. Her eyes were wide and glistened a little. The lump in his throat grew bigger. For a moment Cole considered Gavin Wallace and felt the urge to put his fist through the other man’s face simply because he’d hurt her this badly. Of course, that could never happen.
“We can go as slow as you need,” he assured her. Beside them the twins made babbling noises as they played with their fries, but Cole kept his eyes locked with hers. “I like you. I like hanging out with you. It can be as simple as that, okay?” He wasn’t sure he was ready for more than that, either. Being with her brought back all kinds of memories—good and bad. The wonder of being in love, tempered by the frustration at wanting to help and not getting through. Shit, he’d figured it was ancient history. Maybe he hadn’t moved on as much as he’d thought.
She nodded. “I’m sorry for being such a downer.”
He smiled a little, knowing if she could read his mind she’d see he was being the killjoy. “Seriously, if you apologize one more time...”
“Sorry,” she said, and then put her fingers to her lips and smiled a bit.
“The chicken’s getting cold. Let’s just eat and take it from there, okay?”
“Okay,” she agreed.
He slid his fingers off hers, and they relaxed a bit, biting into the crispy chicken and dipping fries in ketchup. She hadn’t been kidding when she’d said she liked the slaw, because Cole watched as she used a fork to dump half the container on her plate.
When the meal ended, Cole took the dishes to the dishwasher while Maddy wiped sticky hands, let the boys out of their chairs and went to work wiping the trays and sweeping the mess off the floor.
As Cole collected the garbage from their meal and took it to the trash can, he realized how incredibly domestic it all felt.
And how he really didn’t mind it at all.
Chapter Seven
Bath time was the perfect excuse for Maddy to get some breathing space. The boys were splashing happily while she knelt before the tub, making sure no one slipped. She grinned as Liam’s hand smacked the surface of the water, making a loud slap noise and sending water everywhere. He looked so proud of himself.
And Cole was out in the living room. She’d been so surprised when he’d asked to feed Luke, and their shared laughter had felt wonderful for her soul. Oh, she’d missed that sort of scene so terribly. It might have made things simpler if Cole weren’t good with the boys, or if he tried to exclude them from stuff. But he didn’t. He dived right in and appeared to enjoy it.
Being good to her kids carried a lot of weight.
But the part that stuck in her mind the most was how he’d put his hand over hers and told her they could go as slow as she wanted. That courtesy and understanding had had the opposite effect, actually. Instead of being relieved and taking things back a notch, Maddy found herself wanting to turn her hand over and link her fingers with his. Found herself focusing far too much on the shape of his lips and wondering what it would be like to kiss him.
Oh, she was interested, all right. But she didn’t really want to be. She wasn’t sure she was ready yet, and Cole was too nice a guy to mess around with.
Still, she reasoned, he was a big boy. And she’d been very up-front with her feelings. If he asked her on another date...perhaps on a real date...she’d be tempted to say yes. The one thing holding her back would be what people would say. She was so tired of having her personal life be the topic of conversation, and dating Cole would be sure to spark up the chatter again. One of the drawbacks of small-town life...
Once the boys were dried and changed into their fuzzy pajamas, Maddy let them loose while she quickly tidied the bathroom. When she finally ventured into the living room, she found Cole sitting cross-legged on the floor, his lap piled with toys from the box. She stood in the doorway and just watched, smiling. Both her boys were running to the toy box and grabb
ing something and then showing it to Cole. He made the appropriate noises of approval, which just urged them on. Some of the toys they didn’t even use anymore, like the rattles and plastic key ring. She laughed when Luke, always the excited one, reached in and nearly fell on his head trying to retrieve something. And when he ran to Cole, he tripped in his haste and landed on the carpet with a thump.
“Whoops,” Cole said. “Easy, partner.”
Luke’s lower lip quivered and Cole got a look of panic on his face. Maddy was just about to step in when Cole said, “Whatcha got there, Luke?” and it was just distraction enough to keep the tears at bay.
Plus he could tell Luke from Liam without much trouble. Not everyone could, but Cole paid attention.
“Having fun?” she asked softly, still standing with her shoulder resting on the doorway woodwork.
“Apparently I get to see the entire contents of that toy box.”
She pushed herself away from the wall and went over to the play corner. “Congrats. They’ve hit bottom.” She turned to Liam and Luke. “Boys, let’s put everything back in the box!”
To demonstrate, she picked up a stuffed dog and carried it to the tub and dropped it in. Liam got the idea and took a plastic school bus, toddled over and flung it into the box. Not to be outdone by his brother, Luke grabbed something else and the game was on.
“They’re pretty little to be doing so much, aren’t they?” Cole asked. “Not that I have a lot of experience with kids.”
Maddy laughed. “I think because there are two of them, and they have this competition going on. Luke can’t stand for Liam to be one up on him. They were both walking at nine months. I was grateful and terrified all at once.”
