“But a fireball like her father,” Courtney added.
Claire grinned. It was true: someday despite her petite size Nichol Courtney Rawlings would be a force to be reckoned with, just like her father. Even now, Claire heard her daughter’s voice above the glees and splashing coming from the pool.
“Look at them,” Emily said. “It’s like a daycare center here.”
Claire scanned their backyard. For only a second she remembered the serenity and stillness of the estate when she was first brought here, maybe not serene but lonely. Now the pool and deck were filled with people she loved. Not only were Tony and Nichol in the pool, but so were John, Michael, Tim and his two sons, Shaun and Steven, as well as Brent and Caleb sitting on the deck. The sight was heartwarming as the children and fathers played and laughed.
Shaking her head, Claire agreed. “Like a daddy daycare.”
“Well, that’s fine with me. The boys love having time with Tim,” Sue said.
Emily smiled, watching her daughter walk from lady to lady, petting the babies. “I think she thinks she’s hot stuff.”
“Well, she should,” Claire confirmed. “She can walk. Nate and Christopher are still content to watch the world. Although, Nate is rolling all over the place. It’s so funny. The first time I laid him down on the carpet and a few seconds later he was missing, I was shocked—he’d rolled himself under the coffee table.”
“Well,” Julia continued, “Christopher isn’t that content. He’d rather be crawling all over the place.”
“You can put him down. He can’t get off the porch.”
The bright sunshine warmed the air throughout the afternoon as the shrill laughter turned to pangs of hunger. Eventually, all made their way into the house for dinner. Shannon took Nate as Claire helped Nichol change out of her bathing suit. Once they were in her room, there was a knock on the door.
“Come in,” Claire called as she worked to convince Nichol that her shorts and top were better dinner clothes than her Disney princess costume.
“But, Momma, it’s dinner. I want to dress up.”
“Honey, these are very nice shorts. You’ll look beautiful.”
Her lips pouted and dark eyes narrowed. “Not as butiful as I do in my princess dress.”
Emily entered.
“You can wear the dress after dinner. You don’t want to get it dirty with food, do you?” Claire asked.
With a sigh, Nichol agreed.
“What’s up?” Claire asked turning to see her sister.
“I wanted to tell you something in private,” Emily replied.
Claire’s green eyes widened. “Okay.”
The three chatted as Claire combed Nichol’s wet hair. Once she was presentable, Claire said, “Honey, why don’t you go find the other children? I’m pretty sure that Shannon and Becca have a special table set up for you, Michael, Shaun, and Stephen.”
Her shoulders fell. “Why do I have to sit with all boys?”
“Because you’re the princess and they’re your court,” Emily volunteered.
Nichol’s eyes brightened. “Oh, yeah.”
Moments later, Nichol was gone, happily ready to find her court.
“What do you want to speak to me about?” Claire asked.
“It’s not that big of a deal. I just wanted to tell you John and I spoke with Harry the other day.”
Claire took a step back. She hadn’t thought of Harrison Baldwin in quite a long time. Well, she had when she’d been told about Amber. The whole story made her sad. But honestly, she’d been too preoccupied with her own family to give him much thought. After all, it had been over five years since she’d left California.
“Wow, that’s out of left field.”
Emily shrugged. “Not really. John and I have stayed in contact with him. We got to know him and Amber while we were living in Palo Alto.”
“Really, Em, this doesn’t need to be in private. Tony couldn’t care less about Harry, and to be honest, I think I’m still upset that he lied to me.”