by Susan Crosby
After a few more minutes Donovan hung up. Aggie smiled. “They got the house?”
“Yep. And he’s offered to rent me the cabin.”
He saw the disappointment in her eyes. She liked having them all staying with her. With so many children and grandchildren, people were in and out of the house constantly, but it wasn’t the same as having someone living there, someone she could pamper—and mother.
The screen door creaked. Ethan pushed it open an inch and peeked out.
Donovan hurried over. “You okay, buddy?”
“I just wanted to make sure you were here.”
Progress. “I’m here. Do you want to sit with me for a while?”
“On the swing?”
“Yes.”
“Okay. But not in your lap.”
Donovan was hungry to hold him, to comfort him and keep him safe, but he did what Ethan asked, just picked him up and set him on the swing. He brought his knees up and wrapped his arms around them.
“Hi, Grandma,” Ethan said quietly.
“Hello, little man.”
Ethan giggled at that, then nestled his chin on his knees.
“Did something wake you up?” Donovan asked.
“Mum did.”
Donovan glanced at his mother, who lifted her brows. “Did you have a dream about her?” he asked.
“No. She was here. She sat on my bed and talked to me.”
“What did she say?”
“That she loves me.” He said the words matter-of-factly.
“That’s nice.” What could he say to that? “Um, do you see her a lot?”
“Just sometimes. She doesn’t look sick anymore, so why can’t she come back?”
Donovan closed his eyes for a moment. His first big test. “It’s good that she doesn’t look sick anymore, isn’t it?”
He nodded his head against his knees.
“But you know that when someone dies they don’t get to come back, right?”
“I know.”
“We usually only have pictures and videos of them. You’re pretty lucky that you see her now and then. But she can’t come back, not like before, anyway.” He put a hand on Ethan’s back, glad that he accepted the touch easily. “But she’ll stay with you the rest of your life, Ethan, in your dreams and in your heart. She’ll never stop loving you. Okay?”
“Okay.” He yawned, then after a minute, leaned against Donovan. Pretty soon he was asleep.
Donovan scooped him up and carried him to bed, tucking him in, kissing his head. He stood over his son for a few minutes, watching him sleep, his heart pounding, love flowing.
“Well done,” Aggie said when he returned to the porch.
“Thanks.”
“You know it’s just the beginning of the questions, right?”
“I guessed as much. I figure I need to be as honest as possible, as I would with anyone else.”
“Just trust your instincts. You’ll do fine.”
“I feel like I have to have better instincts than the average person, Mom. I’m coming into this late. I wasn’t given a chance to start at the beginning and grow with it.”
“You’ll see. It’ll be okay.”
It had to be, he thought. Because failure wasn’t an option.
Chapter Five
F rom her desk, Laura watched Donovan pass by her office window. She couldn’t see the boy or his grandmother, but assumed they were beside him. He was taller, and probably blocked the view.
Laura heard the front door open. She smoothed her hair as Donovan greeted her mother, Dolly, who ran the Chance City office. Usually Laura would walk into the reception area to greet her clients, but his voice was enough to freeze her in place.
She’d done little else but think about him last night and this morning, especially the way he’d looked stretched out on her lounge, shirtless.
It was like being in high school again, a time when she’d trailed him in the hallways, trying not to let him see her, her heart thumping. Then when she’d finally worked up the nerve to talk to him—
A boy bounded into view and stopped, framed by her doorway. Donovan was right. There was no doubt about paternity.
Ethan smiled. Laura smiled back and went to say hello to him. She rarely interacted with children, the exception being children of clients, and Donovan’s baby niece, but then Laura didn’t have to figure out what to say to an infant.
“My name is Laura,” she said. “What’s yours?”
He stuck out his hand. “Ethan.”
“Very nice to meet you,” she said, shaking his hand.
“Very nice to meet you, too.”
He had a sweet smile and wonderful manners, which spoke highly of his mother.
“Good morning, Laura.”
She looked up, tried to put on an expression as businesslike as her blue suit. “Hello, Donovan. Ethan and I have introduced ourselves.” She extended a hand to the woman at his side. She was probably in her early fifties, slender and blond, with rosy cheeks and soft blue eyes. “I’m Laura Bannister.”
“Millicent Bogard. Call me Millie.”
“Please come in.”
Ethan climbed onto the chair in the middle, then spotted a display case in the corner and hopped off to go look at the contents. “Wow! You must be the Queen of America.”
The case contained some of her sashes, crowns and even a scepter. She knew it was too much like bragging, but her clients got a kick out of having a beauty pageant winner as their attorney. And this was her hometown, after all. Her most prestigious prizes were in her home office.
To Laura they represented so much more than winning a pageant. They’d meant financial survival through college and law school.
She joined Ethan at the case. “They’re all kind of flashy, aren’t they?”
“Sparkly! That one’s brilliant,” he said, pointing to a scepter and sounding very British. “I could fight with that. Take that! And that!” He mimed dueling with a phantom partner, his expression intense.
“Ethan,” Donovan said, caution in his voice.
He stopped, then trudged back to his chair. “I know. Behave.” His tone was long-suffering.
Laura made eye contact with Donovan and smiled, as did he. She took her seat behind her desk and thumbed through the papers he’d stacked there.
“I hope I brought everything,” he said.
“I’ll check it all out later.” She turned to Millie. “I’m so sorry for your loss.”
“Thank you. Anne was lovely. A little headstrong, you know, but a lovely girl, and a good daughter.”
Ethan climbed from his chair and onto Millie’s lap, his sneakered feet bouncing so much that Millie had to lay a hand across his shins. Laura saw yearning in Donovan’s eyes.
“Ethan,” Laura said, then waited for him to focus on her. “What do you think of your new town?”
“It’s good.”
“You have a great big family now.” Laura tried to imagine it. Her mom meant the world to her, but the idea of so many siblings and cousins was daunting. Especially since the McCoys were always in each other’s business, and she liked her privacy.
Ethan looked serious. “Grammy says they’re like friends but better. I only met my uncles and Grandma Aggie and Nana Mae. But we’re having a party tonight and everyone will be there. You can come.”
“Please,” Donovan prompted, looking just as hopeful as Ethan.
“Pleeease.” Ethan dragged out the word, grinning ear to ear.
Laura felt backed into a corner. The McCoys were famous for their big family parties. Even spur-of-the-moment, as this one would be, there would be tons of food, plenty of noise, and spontaneous dancing. “Maybe I can drop in for a little while,” she said, hedging.
“Will you bring that?” He pointed to her scepter.
“Ethan, that’s like a trophy for Laura,” Donovan said. “You know what a trophy is?”
He nodded hugely. “I got trophies for soccer and T-ball.”
“Y
ou wouldn’t want anyone to play with them, would you? What if they got broken?”
“I wouldn’t like that.”
“Okay, then.”
Laura was satisfied that Ethan was making the transition into his new life just fine. Not that she could’ve done anything about it, but she’d had enough experience dealing with broken families that she could recommend counselors. At the moment, she didn’t think it necessary.
“Did you meet my mother out in the reception area?” she asked him.
“That’s your mum? She’s pretty, too.”
“Thank you,” Dolly said from the doorway, fluffing her red hair dramatically. “How about you come play with me for a while, handsome?”
He looked at Millie, who said, “We won’t be long, love. And I saw a basket of toys out there.”
He left the room with Dolly, who shut the door behind her.
Laura turned to Millie. “Is there anyone who might try to claim that Ethan should be with them instead?”
“Donovan’s his father. No one disputes that.”
“That fact doesn’t necessarily stop people from trying to make a claim. Not that Ethan could be taken away, but legal battles can happen. It’s…inconvenient. And expensive. Did Anne have a significant other who might challenge Donovan?”
“No. No one. Oh, she dated some, but Ethan was her whole life, even before she got sick.”
“And are you asking for anything from Donovan?”
Millie’s eyes widened. “Like what? Money? Anne left me some. I don’t need more.”
“I noticed that in the trust. I was thinking more along the lines of visitation requests.”
“Let me step in here,” Donovan said. “Millie can come visit as often and for as long as she wants. If she wants to move here, I’ll help her get settled. And if coming here isn’t feasible for her, I’ll make sure that Ethan goes to England to visit.”
“That’s very generous, Donovan,” Millie said, her eyes taking on a sheen.
“You’re his grandmother. You’re his direct connection with Anne. That’s important.”
“Thank you.”
“Do you have any questions?” Laura asked Millie.
“Anne’s lawyer answered all that I had before. Is there anything I’ll need to sign? Because I expect to be leaving day after tomorrow.”
“Already?” Donovan asked, his surprise evident.
Millie patted his arm. “You’ve seen how he turns to me instead of you. It’ll help if I’m out of the picture.” She looked expectantly at Laura then.
“If I come across something in the paperwork, I’ll let you know in time, Millie. Now, if you don’t mind waiting in the reception area with Ethan, I need to speak to Donovan for a minute.”
“Of course.”
“Alone at last,” Donovan said, a few seconds later, setting the tone. He smiled, slow and sexy.
She resisted his flirting. “I thought we settled this last night. Are you going to continue to tease me, knowing nothing can happen between us?”
“My time will come. I’m just keeping you primed for that moment.”
She laughed. She wished she didn’t feel flattered by his attention, and wasn’t totally drawn to him in every other way, especially watching him in the role of father. Her father had left when she was two, with promises to visit often, according to her mother, anyway. He’d never come back.
“So, Millie’s leaving,” she said, changing the subject.
“That was the first I’d heard of it. I’m sure she’s right about it forcing Ethan and me to become a unit, but I think she’s also anxious to go home. She’s been caregiver for a long time. I imagine she needs some time for herself.”
“While you no longer have time for yourself.” She couldn’t imagine what that would be like, having someone totally dependent on her. She didn’t even own a pet.
“True.”
An interesting response. A statement of fact only. He was good at that.
She opened a folder. “Who are you naming as Ethan’s guardian?”
“Jake and Keri.”
“They’ve agreed? I know that seems like a dumb question. It’s a technicality.”
“They’ve agreed.”
“Actually, you need to designate two guardians—one for Ethan, and one for the estate. It can be the same person, or you can choose someone else for the estate. Sometimes it’s better that way. No emotional involvement.”
“You mean, like you?”
“Yes. Or anyone else.”
“Let me think about it. I’ll let you know.”
“When you’ve decided, I’ll give Jake a call. We’ll need to adjust for this change in his own estate documents, in case something happens to him.”
“We sure plan for a lot of contingencies.”
“Planning pays off.”
Donovan nodded. “Have you heard that Jake and Keri are buying a house around the block from you?”
“Which one? There are a couple in different directions.” She almost held her breath, waiting for his answer.
“The Braeburn house on Poplar Street.”
Relief eased into her refilling her lungs. Not the Denton house.
“Ethan and I will be renting Jake’s cabin for now.”
Which meant he wouldn’t be in town anymore, but a ten-minute drive away. No more going out for a walk and stopping by. Which was probably a good thing, given their attraction.
“Good for them. I know Keri wants to be closer to the action—and the family,” Laura said. “I reviewed everything you gave me yesterday. Anne’s trust is straightforward. I’ll get the transfer of funds started.”
“I want all of Anne’s money to go into a trust for Ethan.”
“Including the insurance payout?”
“Yes.”
“Okay. Payable to him at what age?”
“Twenty-five. I can lower that later, if I want, right?”
“Of course. Or raise it, for that matter. But don’t you want it available to him for college?”
“I’ll take care of part of that, and he can earn part of it.”
Laura knew he’d made his own way in the world, without help from anyone, so it didn’t come as a surprise that he would want Ethan to do the same. “All right. I think that’s it for now. I’ll call you if I have questions.”
“And you’ll come to the party tonight? It’s at Mom’s.”
“I’ll try.”
“Laura, you told Ethan you’d come. You can’t disappoint him.”
“I told him maybe.” A tiny bit of panic struck her. She didn’t want to get too involved.
“You’d better believe he didn’t hear the maybe.” Donovan stood.
Laura came around her desk to walk him to the door. “I feel a need to caution you. I’ve observed a lot of situations where children come into a new household, whether it’s foster kids or newly adopted—which is similar to what you’re experiencing. There’s generally a honeymoon period where kids are extremely well behaved or extremely badly behaved. Ethan is going to feel abandoned. You can’t avoid that. So, just know that how he acts now, especially after Millie leaves, isn’t necessarily how it will be when he settles in. Be patient and, above all, be consistent. You’ll find your own path together.”
“Thanks. I’ve already noticed he’s much more comfortable with women, which says a lot about how he’s been living.” They had reached the door. “This is the Laura I know,” he said, touching her hair briefly. “Hair up, business suit, makeup, heels. I’ve seen another you, a more relaxed you. Which one rules?”
“Different looks for different occasions, but still all me.”
“Layers.”
“I certainly hope so.” She spoke quietly so her words wouldn’t breach the door.
“Say you’ll be there tonight, Laura.”
“I’ll be there.” She didn’t have to stay long, after all.
“And you’ll stay more than ten minutes.” He grinned. “Yes, I’ve figured you
out a little.”
She didn’t want to fall for him, but he was making it difficult. She liked his boldness. He was a brilliant reporter, honored and respected. He hadn’t gotten that way by sitting back and waiting for something to happen.
“I’ll stay at least fifteen,” she said. “What can I bring?”
“I heard you don’t cook.”
“No, but I shop very well.”
He smiled. “Why don’t you just bring yourself? We’ll have tons of food. Six o’clock.”
She wouldn’t go empty-handed. “That’s a sweet boy you’ve got.”
He nodded, then opened the door. Ethan looked up, his expression hopeful. “There’s an ice cream shop next door. Did you know?”
“I had no idea.”
“My favorite is chocolate. Grammy likes vanilla.”
“Good to know.”
“I have money, you know,” Ethan said. “Grammy gave me some.”
Donovan knelt down to him. “I was having fun with you, son. I’d be happy to treat you to an ice cream. Want to come along?” he asked Dolly.
“I never pass up an ice-cream cone.”
“Laura?”
“I have a client due any minute.”
“We’re only going next door.”
She was being a stick-in-the-mud because she didn’t want to get close to him, and to Ethan. There were good reasons not to. Excellent reasons. Sanity-saving reasons.
“Next time, maybe,” he said, ending the silence. Then they were gone, and the office seemed enormous and quiet.
She returned to her inner office and desk. After a few minutes she heard the front door open. She went to greet the expected client, but it was Donovan, carrying an ice-cream cone, mocha almond fudge, her favorite.
He didn’t say a word, just handed her the cone and left. As he opened the door, her client approached.
“Hey, George. Laura’s running about ten minutes late,” Donovan said, throwing his arm around the man’s shoulders. “Come have an ice cream with me first.”
“If you’re sure.”
“Positive. Laura won’t mind.”
The door shut behind them. Donovan winked at her as they walked by her window.
And Laura sat in her chair and savored the ice cream for the full ten minutes, trying to remember the last time she’d just had fun with a man. It’d been a long, long time.
