“I have my days.”
Stephen’s humor faded. “I’m sorry about what happened on the show. We didn’t know the cameras were there. We were just talking.”
“I kind of figured that out,” Finn admitted. “I just wish you’d come to me before and told me. It might have changed things.”
“You’re right. I’m sorry.”
Words he didn’t hear very often, Finn thought. Good words. “I’m sorry, too. I didn’t mean to push you into something you didn’t want to do.”
“Thanks. I guess it worked. I’m going back to college.”
Finn stared at him. “Since when?”
“That’s how the conversation with Aurelia started.” Stephen looked confused. “I said I was going back to college and then we were discussing engineering.”
“Okay. I remember that.”
“Let me guess,” his brother said, rolling his eyes. “You heard the part about me not wanting to go into the family business and got mad. Did you hear anything else?”
Finn shook his head. “Apparently not. I guess I should’ve listened harder.”
Stephen looked uncomfortable again. “About Aurelia,” he began.
“I’m really grateful to her,” Finn told him. “I don’t know how she got you interested in school again, but I’m glad she did.”
“It’s more… You’re right,” his brother said. “She, ah, has really been talking to me about the importance of an education.”
There was something else. Finn could tell Stephen was either hiding something or trying to distract him. What he didn’t know was what the something was.
He thought about pushing, then decided to let it go. Dakota was right. His brothers were grown-ups. They could handle their own lives. At least Stephen was going back to college. Finn knew Sasha was headed for Los Angeles or maybe New York. But Stephen would complete what he’d started, and that was a win.
WHAT HAD BEGUN as a quiet lunch with her sisters had somehow grown into a chickfest. It seemed that nearly every woman Dakota knew in town had come into the Fox and Hound that day for lunch. Tables had been pushed together in the center of the restaurant. The tourists sat in booths, watching the loud group.
Dakota sat at one of the square tables. She and Hannah were the center of attention. Actually, it was mostly Hannah. The baby was passed from arm to arm. She was cuddled and cooed at and rocked and held.
“At least you’re not dealing with baby weight,” Pia said. As she spoke, Pia shifted in her chair. She was about six or seven months pregnant, with twins. Just looking at her made Dakota uncomfortable.
“How do you sleep?” Dakota asked.
“Restlessly. If I can get comfortable I sleep really well. The problem is getting comfortable. That and wanting to eat Cincinnati. I’m hungry all the time. What is it about being pregnant and wanting food? Sure, I’m eating for three, but two of them weigh less than five pounds. You’d think I was giving birth to linebackers.”
“It will be worth it,” Mayor Marsha told her.
“I’m excited about the babies,” Pia said. “It’s the baby weight that has me nervous. I’ve been doing some reading. I think if I breast-feed, that helps.”
“Breast-feeding twins is going to be a challenge,” one of the women said with a laugh. “But it will help you lose the weight. Plus it’s better for the babies. Something about the immune system and bonding. Everybody gets to bond.”
“Raoul is already bonded,” Pia muttered. “I wish he could breast-feed.”
Dakota grinned at the thought of the former football player nursing a child. “He can be supportive in other ways.”
“He’s certainly trying,” Pia admitted. “He loves these babies and they’re not even born yet.”
“And you love him,” Nevada told her from across the table.
Pia smiled slowly. “I do. He’s pretty amazing. I got so lucky when he fell in love with me. Of course, I tell him he got lucky when I fell in love with him. I think it helps to keep him humble. I just know it would be so hard to be doing this alone.”
“Twins are a challenge,” the mayor said. “Still, you would have had all of us. Just like Dakota does.”
Dakota nodded. “I definitely don’t feel alone in this.” Which was true. While it would be nice to have a man around—a partner to be there and pick up the slack—she knew she could always ask for help and it would be there.
Although she had to admit to a twinge of envy when Pia talked about Raoul. Her friend’s eyes lit up, and her mouth curved into a special smile. Her mother looked the same way when she talked about her late husband. Being in love did wonderful things to a woman, Dakota thought wistfully.