Redwood Bend

Fifteen



Over a couple of deli sandwiches, bag of chips and unsweetened tea, Dylan learned that Katie met Charlie through a girlfriend. “She had a date with some soldier, set up by a cousin of hers or something, and she didn’t want to go alone. So, before she even asked me if I’d go, she asked her date to bring a friend for her girlfriend. I was pretty annoyed with her, but I went. She never saw her soldier again after that night, but I married mine.”

“You must’ve been a lot easier back then…” Dylan teased.

“He made me laugh,” she said, amused. “Then he made me love him. Conner had a fit because I was ready to run away with Charlie after a week. I agreed to wait a few months and Charlie won over Conner.”

“Just out of curiosity, how’d he do that?”

“Well, he didn’t break his nose, for one thing. It did take a while, but Charlie worked hard at courting me. He flew from Texas to Sacramento every chance he got, not easy to do on a soldier’s salary. Conner thought he’d lose interest, find a more convenient girlfriend, but Charlie kept coming back. He just wouldn’t give up. He told Conner he’d never quit because he loved me.”

Dylan reached for her, smoothing back her hair on one side. “I came back,” he reminded her.

“I didn’t expect that,” she said. “But that doesn’t mean I trust you.”

“I know you don’t. I’ll be honest with you—I didn’t know I’d come back, either. And here’s a flash for you, Katie Malone—I’m not giving up, either.”

She sighed and lay down on the blanket, on her back. “I think you might, Dylan. I’m pretty sure I’m not going to fit into your plans.”

“I’m flexible, when you get down to it,” he said, leaning over her, hoping he could wrap up this conversation with some meaningful kissing.

“Not about everything,” she said. She touched the tender black-and-blue cheek under his eye. “Listen, I didn’t plan this, but I guess since you’re here asking for another chance, you should have the facts. There’s a reason why Conner went a little crazy on you. It’s not just because you left and I was sad. It’s because just minutes before he ran into you at Jack’s, I had told him…” She lost her nerve and bit her lower lip.

“What, Katie?”

“Well, the one thing you had long ago made up your mind never to do—have a family,” she said.

“I’ve given that some thought,” he said. “If the girl I want comes with a couple of kids, I’ll have to rethink that.” He shrugged. “I guess the real danger to you probably lies in my screwed up DNA. I’d really like to overcome that. I just don’t know if I can.”

“Right,” she said. She turned on her side and balanced her head on her hand, her elbow braced on the ground. “As it turns out, we’re going to find out just how screwed up your DNA is. Take a deep breath. I’m pregnant.”

He didn’t move. He couldn’t breathe. His eyes got a little wide as he looked at her.

“You aren’t going to throw up, are you?” she asked him.

He still didn’t move. He leaned away from her and she sat up. “I’m very careful,” he said. “That shouldn’t have happened.”

“Yeah, I’m careful, too. We had some bad luck, I guess. Failed protection? I think we got a little too…ahem…close before the protection got involved.”

“My fault,” he muttered. “I lost my mind. I lost control. I couldn’t think and I—I’m sorry…”

“You’re probably right about how it happened. I can promise you I didn’t stick pins in condoms—I wasn’t interested in having this kind of surprise. I already have plenty on my plate.”

“Were you going to tell me?” he asked, and his voice sounded very hoarse.

“Absolutely, but when I was ready and not because I need anything from you. You’ve been very clear how you feel about this sort of thing, like you don’t realize I’ll have some DNA in this child, as well… And mine is excellent, by the way. So once I realized what had happened, I decided I could handle this just fine. But I’m an honest person and you deserve to know. How you respond is up to you.”

He looked out at the ocean. He circled his raised knees with his arms and put his forehead down on his knees. He groaned. He took a moment, then he straightened, looked at her and said, “And how are you going to respond?” he asked.

She actually laughed. “Well, funny you should ask. I’m going to be a little nauseated in the mornings, be very tired in the afternoons and early evenings, grow enormous and then deliver. Then I am rather committed full-time for about twenty years.”

“Do I have this right—you told your brother already, but not me?” he asked.

She took a breath. “First of all, you weren’t here and he was. I had a phone number but this wasn’t the kind of thing I wanted to tell you on the phone, at least until I was sure that was the only option. I would’ve gotten in touch eventually, you can be sure of that. But for the time being all I was sure of was that you were partying in Hollywood, kissing blond necks and stuff.”

“I told you,” he said. “A good friend, a hug. That was not a real kiss.”

“So, I had to ask for my brother’s emotional support. I’ll get a job, pay my own freight, take care of my children and—”

“Is there any discussion about whether—?”

Her expression became fierce as she stopped him by holding up a hand. “Don’t even go there. You don’t have to like it, but it is what it is.”

“Go where?” he asked, confused.

“I’m having my baby, no matter what you want.”

“I wasn’t going to ask that! I was going to ask if there was any chance we could do it together.”

“Not likely, if I’m here and you’re in Hollywood,” she said.

He ran a hand over his head. “I figured as much.”

And like a mental collage, little snapshots of his childhood came to mind—his dad leaving when he was about five. A new man with a couple of weekend sons, older than Dylan, moving in. A new baby sister, another man leaving—but at least he took the weekend sons who had never missed an opportunity to pick on Dylan. He had weekend visits with his own dad but more often with his grandmother. His mother going away to make a movie, coming home six months later with a different man, this time with a stepdaughter older than Dylan and a new baby brother for his mother. That gave him five half sibs and just as many steps.

Katie lay down on her back again, her fingers laced over her abdomen. He looked down at that sweet face and knew it wouldn’t be that way with her. It still scared him to death, but he wasn’t afraid of her. But she had his baby in her and it was the idea that a single mother was better for that baby than an unhappy family life that scared him. He could not let his child have the kind of childhood he had. He just wasn’t entirely sure how to guarantee that.

He leaned over her and put a small kiss on her lips and she opened her eyes. “You don’t need a job, Katie. Your job is being a mother and you’re an excellent one. I’ll take care of the other details.”

She almost smiled but not quite. “Does this mean you’re actually happy?”

“Are you, Katie? Happy about it?”

“When I had time to think about it, yes. It’s inconvenient and I still have to deal with some of those early pregnancy issues, but if I had a choice, I wouldn’t change it. And I realize I do have a choice.”

“And how long have you had to think about it? How long have you known?”

“Maybe a week. Maybe a little less.”

“I have a favor to ask,” he said. “Let me have that much time to get to happy. I’m a little shocked. And a lot uncomfortable. But I’m not an idiot—no one takes care of you but me.”

She just looked at him for a long, meaningful moment and he knew there was so much missing from this situation. This must be so far from ideal in her eyes—he should mention marriage and love. There was a part of him that wanted to, even if he wasn’t completely sure yet.

“I guess that’s not too much to ask,” she finally said.



Good thing Katie wasn’t expecting an instant transformation from Dylan because she certainly didn’t get one. He appeared to be in the same place. The idea of fathering a child must be terrifying to him.

She remembered Charlie. Not long after their honeymoon, he had a field training mission with the army. They’d been married a whole month when he left for two weeks. When he returned he walked into their small apartment, dropped his duffel and yelled for her. Bellowed for her, which was what he typically did. Katie, baby, come get all over your man! He could be such a caveman. There was a part of her that craved that kind of attention, a part of her that wished he could be a little more civilized. She was so in love she ran to him. He smelled to high heaven, of stale perspiration, mud, two weeks in the field, God knew what all.

She flung herself into his arms, then flung herself out of his arms and ran for the bathroom where she proceeded to hover over the commode, really on the verge.

“I know I smell bad, but that’s a little melodramatic, don’t you think,” he said, standing in the bathroom doorway, unlacing his boots and stripping off his BDU. “Take it easy, I’ll get right in the shower.”

He was down to his fatigue pants, stinky bare feet and broad, delicious, tattooed chest, when she turned watering eyes up to him. “Charlie, I’m pregnant.”

“Oh, baby!” he said, falling to his knees to take her into his arms. “Baby…”

“Charlie!” she yelled. “Shower, for God’s sake! Please!”

“Yeah,” he said, rising and getting rid of what remained of his clothes. “You bet, baby. Then we’ll celebrate! Do pregnant women have sex?” he wanted to know as he turned on the shower.

He was one of a kind, that was for sure. It took a special woman to be married to Charlie Malone and his lifestyle. And it was going to take a lot of patience to make peace with Dylan Childress and draw him safely into her heart. She wondered if she had the time or the faith.

With her eyes closed, she thought about the differences between Charlie and Dylan…and their similarities. Both shockingly handsome, smart and confident men, at first glance you’d think they were alike. Beyond those obvious similarities they were opposites. Charlie was bold while Dylan was more reserved. Charlie grabbed what he wanted without the slightest hesitation while there were lots of emotional connections that still terrified Dylan. Charlie had waited a long time to really fall in love but once he recognized it, he was all in. Dylan had too many childhood ghosts to make that leap of faith.

Both men were phenomenal lovers; she could never have resisted either one of them.

She must have nodded off in the warm, beach sunshine because she felt Dylan curve around her. He was lying on his side, his arm casually crossing over her waist. His breath was warm on her ear and inhaled her scent, exhaling slowly. He nuzzled her softly. “Don’t fall asleep, honey,” he said. “We have to watch the time. The boys…”

She smiled and snuggled a little closer. He remembered they had to pick up the twins. And stop by her brother’s house.

Yes, it was going to take a special kind of patience to let him know he’d be safe with her. And she would require a special kind of courage to take a chance on him. Green Berets were a piece of cake compared to movie stars.



Dylan sensed a sort of peacefulness about Katie as they left the beach and drove back to Virgin River. Or maybe it was just that she wasn’t as uptight about this peacemaking confrontation with Conner as he was. He remained quiet while Katie talked about Dylan’s mysterious special pizza for dinner, about how to make peace with her bear, about how the sound of the waves had been so relaxing she’d fallen asleep, but then she was so sleepy these days she could fall asleep standing up.

“I know I’m not very talkative right now, Katie, but it’s not you,” he said.

“I don’t care, Dylan, because my mind is made up about how I’m moving forward. I’m sure when you work out a few things in your head, you’ll talk a little more.”

He turned toward her. “Exactly,” he said.

When they pulled up to the little prefab schoolhouse, the boys were busy on the play set that Dylan had helped to erect. “Katie, when we get to Conner’s house, can you get the boys occupied with something so I can talk to your brother without the boys around?”

“If you promise you’re not using that as an excuse to get into a fistfight…”

“Look at my eye. You think I want to sacrifice the other one? I just want to talk to him, but if he gets angry the boys shouldn’t be there. If you want to, I can take you and the guys home and come back by myself for this talk.”

“No—I’ll find them something on TV they can watch. But behave!”

He didn’t reply to that but he didn’t feel that he was the loose cannon—behaving was his sole intention. And he knew the road to hell was paved with good intentions.

He and Katie got to Conner and Leslie’s house before they were home from work. “The door will be unlocked,” she said. “I’ll take the kids in and get them settled in front of the TV with a snack. Conner has a few of their favorite movies and games here. Would you like something to drink?”

“How would he feel about me having a beer from his refrigerator?”

She flashed him a teasing smile, lifting her brow. “Need a little calming courage?”

“Baby, after what I learned about an hour ago, I should probably have a six-pack. I’ll wait on the front porch.”

He leaned against the porch rail and waited. This must be what it felt like to be a teenage boy who was meeting a girl’s father when he’d gotten her in trouble, except it was probably the rare father who launched an attack. Even with all the siblings Dylan had, he’d never been close enough to one to feel that kind of protectiveness. In fact, he felt more protective toward Katie after knowing her for half a summer than he ever had toward one of his own family members. He wondered if that little bun in the oven was making the difference.

She finally brought him a beer. “Sure you don’t want to come inside?”

“Nope,” he said. He walked down the porch steps.

“Where are you going?”

He turned to look at her. “I’m not doing this in front of you, Katie. I mean, you might see us, but I’m not having this conversation for your entertainment.”

“Trust me, I don’t feel real entertained.”

“If I’m away from the house, you won’t be tempted to put in your two cents’ worth.”

“Well, jeez, you’re a little bossy there, aren’t you?”

“Making us a very well-matched set, when you think about it,” he said, and he walked back to the street where her SUV was parked. He leaned against it. It was his own damn fault he had this mess to clean up and he was going to figure it out before it got any worse. When he thought about what Lang would do it didn’t really help his situation much. Lang wouldn’t hesitate to try to convince his woman to marry him, provided the woman had been Sue Ann.

Finally the yellow SUV that Leslie drove pulled up to the house and into the drive, all the way forward to the carport. Right behind her was Conner in his great big truck and Dylan thought, I should’ve rented a bigger truck. Conner got out of the truck and briefly glared at Dylan, and Dylan had to look at the ground in front of his crossed legs to keep from laughing. Conner had white tape across his rather swollen, purple nose.

Conner took his lunch tote into the house, but momentarily he was back, striding toward Dylan. Dylan just couldn’t help it, he grinned stupidly.

“You look in the mirror, idiot?” Conner asked.

“So,” he said, ignoring the taunt. “I’ve been told to work this out with you, so let’s work this out. I learned about one hour ago why you lost your temper.”

“Because you weren’t here!” Conner returned rather loudly.

Dylan came off the truck and stood straight, meeting him eye to eye. “You want the women involved in this conversation?” he asked. “Because at the first sign of trouble, they’re right in the middle of it, I guarantee it. I wasn’t here because I had to go to work. I told Katie from the day I met her, I was going to have to go to work, but because she’s Katie, I put it off as long as I could.”

“And you abandoned her,” Conner ground out between clenched teeth. “Left her pregnant and alone!”

“I didn’t realize what was going on and I apologized. Listen, it doesn’t really matter to me if you understand or sympathize or hate my guts, but I told her the truth, that I was not in the market for a girlfriend or steady relationship, that I was temporary here at best, and whether she believed me or not, she accepted that. At least when she had the chance to tell me to just hit the road then, she didn’t. I don’t know you, don’t know anything about you, but you’re at least my age and just barely hooked up with this woman,” he said, lifting the chin toward the house. That’s when he noticed Katie and Leslie sitting on the porch, watching them. He cleared his throat. “I’m guessing you had one or two situations like that in your time.”

“That doesn’t matter,” he said. “This is my sister.”

“Noted,” Dylan said. “And now that I know the situation, I’ll take care of it. And you better back off or you’re going to screw it up for all of us.”

“How do you plan to take care of it?” he demanded.

“That’s going to be between me and Katie. We’ll work it out.”

“Don’t you even think about making her do anything she doesn’t want to do!”

Dylan couldn’t help it, a huff of laughter escaped. In his mind he saw her struggling with the lug nuts, standing up to an angry bear, telling him, Don’t even go there—it is what it is. “Are we talking about the same woman?”

“She was hurt,” he said. “No matter what you said, the way you just dumped her, hurt her. Don’t you do anything to her that makes her cry again. Do you get me?”

“I’m going to do the best I can” was all he promised.

“Your best better be some improvement.”

Dylan was quiet for a long moment. He gathered himself internally. “I know you love her,” he said with as much understanding as he could muster, “but you can’t fix this for her. She has to deal with me because we made this situation together, Katie and I. If you don’t back off, if we don’t make our peace for her sake, it’s going to get more complicated than it needs to be.”

Conner was stubbornly silent, frowning.

At long last Dylan said, “So. How about those Red Sox?”



About an hour after Dylan and Conner shook hands and Dylan walked away down the street, Katie picked him up at Jack’s. When he was sitting beside her in the car she said, “You couldn’t sit on the porch with my brother and have a beer? A friendly conversation?”

“Not today, Katie,” he said. “Soon,” he added.

He wasn’t real happy with the idea that Conner punched him before talking to him. Before they made their peace, Dylan had many things to come to terms with. That was only one of them.

When they were back at the cabin, he made his special pizzas, which were basically a simple bread dough covered with tomato sauce, lots of cheese, some pepperoni and on one, some mushrooms and black olives. He asked the boys to help cover them with stuff. The pizzas couldn’t lose because the boys were involved.

After dinner, he took the boys outside and kicked the soccer ball around with them, though he was wearing boots to their tennis shoes. Then he sat on the porch and watched as they climbed all over the jungle gym. When Katie came outside and sat in the chair next to his he said, “I’m wearing them down for you.” And he smiled.

“What are your plans, Dylan?”

“If you don’t mind, I’d like your couch for a while. I need some time to figure out how to handle our…situation. I want to do the right thing. For many reasons.”

“You do understand that it’s not entirely up to you, right? I have no husband and three children to think about so whatever you come up with, I’ll definitely listen. But you’re not going to decide our lives for us.”

“Can I have the couch?” he asked. “Or not?”

“You can have the couch and the kitchen. You’re a good cook, as it turns out.”

Right now Dylan didn’t want to be distracted—he wanted to figure out how he felt and what he should ultimately do with his life. The day after his forced handshake with Conner, he drove down the mountain and checked in with Lang. All was status quo in Payne, Lang assured him. So he texted his grandmother, the agent working on his movie contract, Jay Romney, Lang, Sue Ann and Stu—I’m staying in the mountains for a few days and cell reception isn’t great. I’ll check in when I can, but might be out of touch. No problems, just out of touch. I’ll be in touch when I’m back in service. Thanks.

And then he turned off the phone.

Over the next several days Dylan hung pretty tight to Katie and the boys, stayed close to the cabin except for errands. When he wanted to go off on his own he made Katie promise not to have a standoff with any wildlife, especially the bear. He went to the larger towns for groceries, more than happy to be responsible for dinner.

The one thing that kept him on the couch and from sneaking into Katie’s room at night or from begging her to make love while the boys were at school was the fact that he felt he had their entire lives to figure out before he could think about things like that. He also thought there was a good possibility she might clobber him.

But Dylan had plenty of confidence in other things—like his ability to think rationally about business. He knew he was levelheaded and fair. And while he might have siblings who were a*sholes and idiots, he was a nice person and good with people. He played to his strengths.

On a night he’d taken Katie and the boys to McDonald’s and afterward to a park to further wear them out, he thought he had it together. As they were pulling through Virgin River on the way to the cabin he asked, “After the boys have gone to bed, can we talk about things?”

“Well, butter my butt and call me biscuit! Only six short nights on my couch and you’re ready to talk about our situation?”

And he laughed.

“I’m not sure I can stay up until after they’re asleep. But I’ll make a compromise—I’ll meet you on the porch after they’re bathed and rooted in front of a movie in the loft. Will that do it for you?”

“That will do it.”

It was hard to stay on track with Miss Funny Bones teasing him, but he was determined. He had come up with what he thought was a fantastic idea. He was sure she’d be relieved.

She brought a couple of steaming cups of tea to the front porch and he noticed, not for the first time, she seemed to be looking better. He was only too aware of her brief fits of nausea, when a smell or something else would trigger a wave of it, but she no longer looked like she’d been ill or starving. It made him feel a rush of pride because although he’d never tell her, that had been his goal—to cook her at least one hearty meal a day and hopefully put back those pounds he’d robbed from her.

He took the cup she offered. He’d never been a tea drinker but this stuff Katie made didn’t gag him. In fact this was one of the ways he always knew Sue Ann was pregnant again—she’d offer them tea. He and Lang would make gagging sounds and go get a beer or a Crown Royal on ice.

Behind them in the house, he could hear the TV in the loft. He obediently sipped his tea. “Are they almost ready to go to bed?” he asked.

“Almost.”

“Katie,” he said. And then he just looked at her. There were times he’d catch a glance and think he’d never seen such a pretty girl in his life. It made him frown slightly as he wondered if she was really that beautiful or just to him. After all, he thought Sue Ann was pretty but Lang was completely hypnotized by her. Well, as it should be. But Dylan had never been in that place before.

“After six nights on my couch, cat’s got your tongue?”

And that mouth—she was relentless. Why did he love that so much?

“I’ve got a few ideas,” he said.

“Well, let’s have it. I can’t wait.”

“Let’s start with that movie I’m supposed to make,” he said. “That could come in handy under the circumstances.”

“Oh?” she asked. “You said the whole idea was to get your charter business and airport on its feet.”

“That was the whole idea, but now there seems to be more on the table. I could use a portion of that movie money for the baby.”

It was as if she came to attention. Her neck straightened a bit, her eyes brightened. “Oh?”

“How about a trust for the…ah…baby. For his education. That sort of thing.”

And as he watched, it seemed she showed first shock and then disappointment. The dusky night was darkening and he wondered if he hadn’t seen quite right. Shouldn’t she be thrilled?

“A trust?” she asked.

“Something put aside to be sure he’s always taken care of, in case something should happen to either of us. You know.”

“Wow.”

He waited for some huge, grateful reaction, but it didn’t come. After a few moments, he said, “It seemed like an even more important reason to make that movie than the company. I thought it would make you happy.”

“That’s really thoughtful.”

“So…why do I get the impression you aren’t too happy?”

“Oh, sorry. Thank you, that’s so generous.”

“Katie!”

“What?”

“What about this idea doesn’t make you happy?”

Her eyelids fluttered closed as she looked down. She put her cup of tea on the porch and reached for his hand. “Let me ask you something, Dylan. Growing up, did you have a lot of half brothers and sisters?”

“You know I did. I told you all that…”

“Was there ever jealousy? Resentment? That kind of thing?”

“All the time.”

“Was it ever directed at you? I mean, you were a child star. Did any of your siblings resent that they were not the stars?”

He took a moment to answer, but not because the answer wasn’t on his lips. Where was this coming from? “Yes.”

“And so how do you think Andy and Mitch will feel about their younger brother or sister and the big trust to ensure his or her future?”

He was momentarily struck silent. Then in an effort to recover he said, “I could do it for all of them.”

She shook her head. “I think you’re under the impression that I’m poor. Oh, I’m sure I’m not rich by your standards, but Conner and I were left a very successful store. It was destroyed by fire but there was insurance money, the sale of commercial land and both of our houses, more than enough to resettle and rebuild. There’s some security there, though of course I’ll work. Between Conner and I, we’ll make sure the kids get everything they’re entitled to—all of them, not just one of them. And I get it, that one is your one. I get that. But really, you don’t want to do things to make him different. To make him, or her, enviable in his or her own family. In families everyone takes care of each other as much as possible.”

“Fine!” he said almost angrily. “I’ll give it to you! You take care of it. Spread it around any way you want to!”

She stared at him for a long moment. “That’s very nice of you,” she said. Her eyes got glassy. “I don’t know how I can possibly thank you.”

And then she stood up and went into the house.

He sat there, stunned. He had absolutely no idea what he’d done wrong.

He noticed that quiet slowly replaced the noise of the TV inside the little cabin. He heard the shuffling of the boys down the stairs as she herded them into bed. And her bedroom door closed.

Dylan was devastated. He’d spent days trying to figure out how to make this right, how to reassure her he was in this with her all the way. He was a responsible man and he adored Katie. He was terrified to tell her that, of course—she might ask him to get married and then what would he do? He wanted to, but he wasn’t quite ready. He thought he might be in a little while, once he worked into the idea. Probably by the time he’d finished that movie and had the airline on track and the trust set up, he’d feel ready, but right now, the whole idea scared him. That didn’t mean he didn’t feel like it—it just meant he wanted to be ready. She was only about a month, maybe six weeks pregnant. There was time.

His dad had sent him a ten-thousand-dollar check on his tenth birthday because he’d promised to take him to Egypt and had gone alone, or more likely with a woman, leaving him behind. Ten thousand dollars to a ten-year-old. A kite and a day at the park would’ve meant so much more.

He remembered his grandmother had been furious about that.

Dylan asked himself, had he just done that? Could Katie think that money was to make her go away quietly? Because it wasn’t! He wanted to take care of her! Them! He wanted to never lose her, them.

I’ve been thinking about it, he remembered saying. If the girl I want comes with a couple of kids, I can deal with that.

He sat down on the sofa and pulled off his boots, his belt, his shirt. He went to her bedroom, tapped softly a couple of times and entered. She slid over as he sat down on the edge of the bed. He could barely see her face, so he ran a finger along her cheek to the curve of her chin. “If you’re crying, I’ll hate myself forever.”

“I’m not crying, Dylan.”

“Katie, you need to be married to a man who has some instincts about this whole situation. And I don’t have any. Just when I think I have the one idea that will solve most of our problems, it makes you sad.”

“It’s not instincts you’re lacking, Dyl. It’s experience. You grew up in a household of this one and that one. There was a different group for every holiday and if I’m guessing right, a lot of jockeying for position. It can’t have been real nurturing.” He just shook his head. “We don’t have to do that, Dylan.”

“Katie, you’re unlike any woman I’ve ever known. My feelings for you are…” He couldn’t quite finish. “Strong. You have no idea how strong. I want to never lose you. But…”

“I know,” she said. “We still don’t have to make a life of spare parts and separate people, like a group home or something. We can still be one family.”

“And if I don’t know how that’s done, exactly?”

She smiled at him and put a tender finger against his lips. “Here’s a thought. I could trust you to fly the planes and you could trust me to do the mothering. Those things that I don’t do very well, fortunately you do. And those things you struggle with?” She shrugged. “I happen to understand.”

When he just scowled, drawing his eyebrows tight, she asked, “What?”

“And if it doesn’t work out for us, for you and me? I want it to always be like it is right now, but if for some reason it isn’t? Like if you come to your senses?”

She laughed softly. “I will still raise my children as a group, as a family, no matter what you choose to do. Now why don’t you make sure the bedroom door is locked and come in here beside me, hold me for a while, do something you know you have a talent for.”

He stood up and chucked his jeans, slipping in beside her with a big grin on his face. “I think we’ve just stumbled on an area of mutual success.”

“Uh-huh,” she said. “Stop thinking so hard, Dylan. You’re wearing me out.”