A Sweetbrook Family (You, Me & the Kids)

by DeStefano, Anna

  “Daniel!” another man’s voice called from somewhere outside the panic. The unmovable mountain that was his father was yanked away.

  “Keep your hands off him, Jenkins, or I’ll—”

  “Josh, don’t,” a woman’s voice said as soft arms swept Daniel close.

  The last of the fury cleared from his eyes, evaporating, until he was once again standing by the side of the road near the pond.

  “Mom.” Becky ran back to his side.

  Mom?

  The arms around him loosened and eased away, Becky’s mom knelt beside him.

  “Are you okay?” She brushed at the hair curling into his eyes. “Did he hurt you?”

  Daniel leaned into her touch before he could stop himself. Her cool hand cupped his cheek.

  “Sweetheart, it’s okay,” she said. “Your uncle’s here. He’s not going to let anything happen to you.”

  Still marveling at how unexpectedly good her touch felt, fighting to catch his breath, soaked with sweat, Daniel peered around her. A car had stopped just short of running his dad down. Both front doors hung open, and his uncle had his father pinned against the rusted hood of the black truck.

  “You see?” Her own worried glance followed his. “Your uncle’s got everything under control.”

  Daniel felt the shuddering start again from that awful place inside. The heat raging through him froze, settling in his stomach like a block of ice. Becky’s mom tried to stop him, but he broke free.

  He sprinted down the hill, falling when his foot sank into a hole, but he was up and moving again before he hit the ground. Someone yelled his name, but he didn’t stop until he’d reached the base of the tree, just in time to puke up everything he’d eaten at lunch. Then he was scrambling up the splintery steps, desperate to disappear into the safety of the shadows inside.

  * * *

  “STAY AWAY FROM DANIEL,” Josh growled in a voice that stopped Amy in her tracks.

  Then she remembered that it was Josh, and she found the courage to keep walking toward the struggling men.

  Josh had Curtis Jenkins pinned against the pickup truck. He seemed unable to let the other man go. Perfectly understandable, if he was feeling even an ounce of the anger that had consumed her when they’d driven up to find Daniel struggling in his father’s grasp.

  “Get your hands off me, White,” Curtis Jenkins wheezed.

  “Mom?” Becky tugged on her sleeve.

  “It’s okay, honey.” Amy gave her a quick hug. “It’s going to be okay.”

  “Should I go check on Daniel?”

  “No. Just wait for me here, okay?”

  Then she walked toward the angry men again, cringing inside while she kept her head high so Becky wouldn’t see how terrified she was. Memories of Richard, of feeling helpless in the face of his anger, taunted her. But her memories were her problem. She wouldn’t let them touch her daughter.

  “Josh, Daniel’s fine.” She stopped a few feet away, her hand raised but not quite touching him. “Josh? Let the man go. Daniel’s okay.”

  Josh took a deep breath and his grip loosened enough for Jenkins to edge away.

  “You’ve made a big mistake, man,” Daniel’s father said. He looked around, presumably trying to find his son. “My lawyer’s going to make sure the judge hears about this.”

  “Hears about what?” Amy grabbed Josh’s arm as he stepped toward the man again. “That we drove up and found you trying to pull Mr. White’s legal ward into your car, against the boy’s will?”

  “That’s not what happened,” the other man sputtered.

  “Yes, it is!” Becky cuddled against Amy’s side. Her tone dared Jenkins to keep lying. “Daniel told you to let him go, and you wouldn’t.”

  “Why don’t you have your lawyer relay that to the judge?” Amy smiled down at her daughter’s fierce expression.

  “You’ve got yourself a spunky little lady there, White.” Jenkins sized Amy up, then winked at Becky. “A right nice little family scene.”

  “Get in your car and go.” Josh’s voice was as dark as the dead calm that had finally reclaimed his eyes. He stepped sideways, effectively cutting off Jenkins’s view of Amy and Becky. “Talk to whoever you like, but don’t make the mistake of coming near anyone I care about again.”

  “Oh, I’ll be nearby, all right,” the other man replied. Amy felt his nasty smile, even though she couldn’t see it. “Count on it,” he called over his shoulder as he sauntered back to his truck.

  * * *

  JOSH LEFT DANIEL’S ROOM later that night and closed the door behind him.

  “Is he asleep?” Amy asked.

  Josh nodded as he drank in the sight of her. He couldn’t ever in his life remember being more relieved to see someone.

  She should have gone home hours ago, as soon as they’d talked Daniel down from the tree house. But Becky had assured them she was okay. And she was safely at home with Gwen now, allowing Amy to drop Josh and Daniel home. She’d stayed to help Josh make sandwiches that Daniel had barely touched. And she’d been waiting in the hallway ever since, while Josh settled Daniel into bed for the night.

  Remarkably, the little boy seemed no worse off for the afternoon’s drama. Once he’d calmed down enough to talk, he kept saying he was fine, the few times he’d spoken at all. Mostly, he’d lapsed back into the scary silence Josh had never been able to penetrate. There was no way to know what kind of damage seeing Jenkins again had done to the boy’s progress in facing and talking about his past. They’d just have to wait and see.

  “Josh? Is everything okay?” Amy asked.

  He realized he’d been standing there like an idiot, staring at her. He inhaled to clear his head.

  “I can’t remember the last time everything was okay,” he replied, wrestling away the fantasy of Amy Loar always being there, waiting for him. Stopping him from piling even more mistakes on top of the ones he’d already made. “I’ve never thought I was capable of physically hurting someone. But when I saw Daniel trying to fight that man off…” He clenched his fists, when what he really needed was to hold Amy against him until he stopped shaking. “I could have killed Jenkins for daring to put his hands on my nephew.”

  “But you didn’t.” She stepped closer, and her strawberry scent soothed him as much as her voice. “You did what you had to do to keep him from hurting Daniel again.”

  “Just what the boy needs,” Josh said with a harsh laugh. “Another man in his life who can’t control his temper.”

  Her hand found his, uncurling his fist until their fingers linked together with excruciating perfection. “I know you’re not used to having feelings this strong overwhelm you. You’ve always been so good at keeping your emotions under control. But you’re not a threat to Daniel or anyone else, even when you’re angry. Look how you’ve backed away from Jenkins, twice now. You’re strong, but you use your strength to protect people, not hurt them. Daniel’s a smart little boy. He’ll understand the difference soon enough.”

  Josh opened his mouth to argue with her. But as the encouragement shining in her eyes worked its magic on him, he lifted her hand and placed it over his heart. Through his fingers, he could feel his pulse race. Or was it hers?

  “Amy… Holding you… It’s the only thing that’s come close to feeling good in my life in a long time. Maybe…maybe you’d better go.”

  There was no future in this for either of them, and he knew this wasn’t what she wanted. But here she was, so close and so caring. How
could he walk away?

  Her deep blue eyes widened. She relaxed. Her breath hitched.

  “Josh, I… This…” Her breath caught again.

  “Don’t,” he begged. “Please, don’t go.”

  “I feel like I’m drowning.” She was so close. Her gaze, full of confusion and need, told him he wasn’t the only one coming apart inside. He cupped her cheek, the feel of the delicate bones beneath his hand a reminder of how fragile his valiant little hero really was.

  Curtis Jenkins’s careless observation by the side of the road came back to him.

  You’ve got yourself a spunky little lady there, White. A right nice little family….

  Josh shook his head, reminding himself that she wasn’t his lady, and they weren’t anything close to a family.

  Miraculously, they’d found a way to help each other, and Amy had come back this weekend because he’d asked her to. But she’d come back for Daniel, not for him. And her heart was set on a life somewhere else, just as his ex’s had been. There was no logic in giving any part of himself to one more woman who couldn’t make the kind of commitment he needed.

  Which meant this had to stop. Now.

  * * *

  “I’M SCARED, JOSH.” Amy couldn’t stop staring at his mouth. “This…whatever it is between us, it can’t possibly go anywhere.”

  “I know….” He shuddered, then began to inch away. He was doing the smart thing. He was being strong when she couldn’t be.

  They both had too much on their plates. Families depending on them, impossible situations to work through, and no time to find the answers they needed. Only it felt as if she’d die if she let him go.

  “Don’t.” She clung to his arm to keep him close.

  The fear and anxiety of the last few days were a lousy excuse for the enormity of the mistake she was making. But she didn’t care. He’d been the best friend of her childhood. And in just a week’s time, he’d somehow become an anchor in the swirling chaos of all the things going wrong in her world.

  She needed him, no matter how much she didn’t want to.

  “Amy…” he whispered against her lips, and the broken way he said her name was the final straw for them both.

  His mouth lowered and he kissed her, deeper than before. Longer. Sweeter. She clung to Josh, and sensed him shudder with the emotions swirling between them.

  She felt her soul move.

  Her heart shifted.

  And in that moment, Amy realized just how much trouble she was in.

  * * *

  “I’VE GOT TO GET HOME to Becky.”

  “So that’s it? You’re not even going to try to give this a chance?”

  Their hands brushed, and the tears that sprang to Amy’s eyes nearly broke his heart for everything she was so determined not to let herself want. Well, he wanted more. This last week, she’d awakened a very big part of him that he’d thought would never love again.

  “There is no chance. Not with me.”

  “Because you don’t love me?”

  Her head came up as if she’d been shot.

  “I’ve already tried love,” she said with a quivering sigh. “And you know everything you need to know about how badly that turned out.”

  “So try again.” He took her hand, hoping she’d calm down enough to talk. “I told myself I was done with relationships, too. And now I’m thinking maybe I was wrong.”

  “I owe my daughter better than to make another mistake like Richard.”

  Josh’s hold on her arm tightened. “I’m not Richard. And you can’t tell me that working yourself to death, alone, in Atlanta is giving Becky anything but more heartache. I see her at school every day, remember?”

  “Are we back to that again? I’m giving my daughter the life she deserves.” Amy yanked away from him. “The life and security she should have had all along.”

  “Whose security are we talking about, Amy? Becky’s or yours?”

  “Becky’s.” Her chin rose as she picked up her purse. “She’s all I can let myself be concerned about now. My job and my promotion will give her what she needs. End of story. And that doesn’t leave room for…for anything else.”

  “What if you didn’t have to work so hard to give her what she needs?” he asked.

  “What?” Suspicion shimmered across Amy’s face.

  “What if I can help you? Make it so you don’t need that promotion? I have enough money—”

  “Yes, you have money. And I suppose you could make Becky’s and my problems go away, at least for a while.” The sudden lack of emotion in her voice warned him he wasn’t going to like what she said next. “But what happens one day soon when you stop wanting to help so badly, and I have to start all over again?”

  “I’m not going to stop,” he said incredulously, knowing it was the truth, even as he knew she wouldn’t believe him. “I lo—”

  “I’m sorry, Josh. I really am.” She sounded both heartbroken and determined. “I know you mean well, but you and your money can’t fix my life. I need to make a way for my daughter and me on my own. No shortcuts. No messing reality up with things that don’t last, like love. No more mistakes.”

  She turned to leave, and all he could do was watch her go. He’d known from the start that he had no hold on her, and he should have known how much it would hurt when she walked away. Hadn’t he been in this exact same place with Lisa?

  “If you still want me to talk with Daniel,” she said, her expressive features schooled in a businesslike calm, “I can stop by before I head back to Atlanta.”

  At his nod, she let herself out of the house and disappeared.

  Sweet, beautiful, spunky Amy.

  Her needs were leading her somewhere else. She couldn’t have made that clearer from the start. She needed her career and her promotion, the success she’d wanted since they were kids. She was more determined than ever, after the hell Richard Reese had put her through. The last thing she wanted was a small-town relationship with Josh.

  And yet he’d let himself fall headfirst in love with her, anyway.

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  AMY SAT STUDYING the spreadsheets she’d ripped from her briefcase after she’d returned to her mother’s to find that Becky was already in bed. Dressed in a faded sweatsuit from her closet, one she was certain she’d last worn in gym class, she stared at the columns and rows of numbers, willing them to make sense. Willing her mind away from the perfection of kissing Josh.

  Josh.

  She’d needed him tonight in a way she’d never needed a man before. His gentleness had made her feel whole for the first time in ages.

  She slid off her mother’s faded couch, curled her body between it and the coffee table, and hugged her arms around her knees. What had she ever done to deserve finally having Joshua White become aware of her as a woman, just when neither one of them was in a position to play things out?

  What had she been thinking? That kissing him again would somehow make everything better?

  “Amy.” Her mother stepped into the den and sat on the edge of the couch. “Honey, what’s wrong? Becky was so upset when she got home. She said something about Daniel’s father.”

  “She and Daniel ended up at the tree house after they left school.” Amy raised her head. “We figured that’s where they’d gone, but before Josh and I could get there, Daniel’s dad had stumbled across them.”

  The memory of the scene she and Josh had driven up to made her shiver.
>
  “Oh, no.” Gwen stroked Amy’s hair. They’d briefly discussed Josh’s first run-in with Curtis Jenkins, and the knock-down-drag-out custody battle Josh was preparing to wage. “Didn’t you say Daniel was afraid of his father?”

  “Terrified.” Amy shifted away from Gwen’s touch. “And the man was trying to pull Daniel into his truck when we got to the Miller place. I thought Josh was going to kill him.”

  “It really must have been awful. I’ve never heard Joshua White so much as raise his voice, let alone physically threaten someone. Is Daniel okay?”

  “I don’t know about okay, but Josh sent the man packing, and he has Daniel back home with him for now.”

  “Did you get a chance to talk with Daniel the way you wanted?”

  “Not yet. Maybe in the morning, after I’ve finished grounding Becky for cutting class.”

  “She’s worked really hard this week,” Gwen reminded her.

  “I know she has.” Amy shoved herself off the floor to sit on the couch again. “And I want to read every encouraging thing in those notes Mrs. Cole and Mr. Fletcher sent home. But Becky can’t think her unique situation means she no longer has boundaries.”

  “She understands that. I think she scared herself today.”

  “She was so brave, Mama.” Amy had to smile. “The way she stood up to Daniel’s father. She’s a tough kid. She and Daniel both.”

  “How’s Josh?”

  Amy shook her head. “I don’t want to think about what it would do to him to lose his nephew.”

  “It’s a wonderful thing you’re doing, helping that family.”

  “Yeah, I’m a big help.” She puffed the hair away from her face. “How can I help them when I can’t even keep things in my own life together?”

  “But Becky’s doing better. And you said work is under control.”

  “Becky’s a truant.” Amy stood and walked across the tiny room. “And work’s okay…I guess.”

  As much as working every waking hour could be okay. She had to be back in Atlanta by tomorrow night. All weekend, her staff would be hammering out the final details for next week’s presentation. Her big shot. The pinnacle of all she’d been working toward for months.