“
They should be here any minute," Stephanie
said as she stopped beside him and leaned against
the railing. She glanced at him. "Are you sure
you're going to be okay with your mom and step
father staying here?"
He smiled. "I'm
more than fine. I'm actually
looking forward to their visit."
She didn't look convinced. "I would buy that a
lot more easily if you hadn't told me you and your stepfather didn't get along."
“
The problem's all on my side," Nash admitted,
for the first time feeling comfortable with the truth. "Don't worry."
“
I'll try not to." She turned toward the street, as
if watching for cars. "If they're going to be staying
here, we're going to have to be more careful about
our sneaking around."
“Good point." One he hadn't considered.
She turned back to smile at him. "It will make
things more exciting."
“
I don't think that's possible. Not without one of
us having a heart attack from the stress."
Her smile broadened. "Are you saying your affair
with me is stressful?"
“
I'm saying it's already more exciting than I
thought possible. More excitement could be danger
ous."
“But you're a big tough guy. Don't you live for danger?"
Her teasing words produced a predictable reac
tion. He ignored the sense of heat and heaviness
flooding south. Good thing, too, because about eight seconds later a four-door sedan pulled up behind his rental car.
“
They're here," he said.
Stephanie straightened. The humor faded from her eyes, replaced by worry. "Do I look okay?"
Despite the potential for an interested onlooker,
he leaned forward and dropped a kiss on her mouth. "You look perfect."
Her expression cleared. "Excellent answer."
They walked to the porch steps, then onto the
pathway. As they approached, the car doors opened.
Nash's mother, Vivian, stepped out onto the side
walk and smiled.
“
What a lovely town. It's so charming. Nash, I
swear, you're still getting taller."
He chuckled at the familiar claim, then folded her
into his arms. "Hey, Mom. How was the trip?"
“
Great." She kissed his cheek, then smoothed
back his hair and rested her hands on his shoulders. "How are you?"
The question was about more than his state of
being that day. He knew she wanted him to move
on with his life, to let go of the past. To find some
one else and settle down. He figured it was a
"mom" thing.
“
I'm good."
“
Really?" Her gaze searched his face. "I hope
so." The car door slammed and she turned toward her husband. "Doesn't Nash look taller, Howard?"
“
Viv, I'm going to guess our boy stopped grow
ing a few years back," Howard said affectionately.
He circled around the car and offered Nash his hand.
As they shook, he patted Nash on the shoulder.
"Good to see you. Life treating you well?"
“
Always."
Nash stepped back and introduced Stephanie.
"She owns Serenity House," he said. "You haven't
lived until you've had her breakfasts."
“
Nice to meet you, Mr. and Mrs. Harmon," she
said. "I hope you'll enjoy your stay."
“
Please call us Vivian and Howard," his mother
said.
“
Thank you."
There were a couple of yells from around the side
of the house. Stephanie glanced in that direction. "I
have three sons you'll meet later. While we live on
the floor above your room, please don't worry.
We're not directly overhead."
“
We're going to have a lovely time," Vivian
said, then tucked a strand of dark hair behind her
ear. "How long have you had the bed and break
fast?" she asked.
“Almost four years. Would you like to see your room?"
“
That would be nice."
Vivian turned to her husband. "Do you need me
to carry anything in? I don't want you doing all the work."
Howard smiled at his wife. "I like taking care of
you. Go on in and register. I'm sure Nash is going
to insist on carrying the heaviest bag. We'll be
fine."
Vivian nodded and touched Howard's arm. The
contact wasn't anything special, just a brief brush of
fingers, something Nash could remember having
seen his mother do hundreds of times before. Yet
for the first time, he saw the affection between the
couple, the expression of happiness and contentment
on his mother's face. She loved this man—she had
for nearly twenty years.
The two women walked toward the house. Howard opened the trunk and laughed when he saw all
the luggage. "Now you know why I had to rent a
full-size car at the airport. Your mother isn't one to
travel light. She always brings extras, just in case. I
figure she packed enough for us to take a trip around
the world, although she wouldn't agree. I guess if
we ever did that, she'd want to bring the whole
house. Just in case."
He shook his head, then started removing suit
cases. Howard talked about the flight and who was
looking in on their house while they were gone. As
he spoke, Nash realized that there wasn't any strain between them. At least not on Howard's part.
They carried in the luggage and found Vivian and Stephanie by the registration desk.
“
I was just telling your mother that the boys are
pretty well behaved," Stephanie said. "There
shouldn't be much noise."
Vivian shook her head. "And I was telling Steph
anie that I miss the noise of having my boys in the house."
“
I doubt that," Nash said. "You were always
yelling at us to turn down the music or the TV or
to stop revving our car engines in the driveway."
“
Was I?" Vivian asked with a laugh. "I don't
remember that at all."
“
Would you like some lunch when you've un
packed?" Stephanie asked. "I don't have a restaurant here, but I would be delighted to make sand
wiches, and I have several kinds of salad."
“
That sounds lovely, dear," Vivian said. She
linked arms with Stephanie. "Show me the way to
the kitchen and I'll help while Howard and Nash
take our things upstairs."
Stephanie looked a little startled by the sugges
tion. "You're a guest."
“
Nonsense. I want to help. Or at least keep you company. You can tell me about your boys." Stephanie glanced at Nash who gave her a smile. "You'll be fine," he said.
“
Of course she will be," his mother said. "Now
where's the kitchen?"
“
Extra cheese on my sandwich," Howard called
after them.
Vivian waved her fingers at him and laughed.
"He always reminds me," she said as the two
women turned down the hall. "As if I ever forget."
Nash picked up the key Stephanie had left on the
desk and the two suitcases he'd brought in. "Ready
to take these upstairs?" he asked.
“Lead the way."
They climbed to the second floor. Nash noticed
right away that his room wasn't close to theirs,
which meant he and Stephanie wouldn't have to tip
toe back and forth once everyone was in bed. Good planning on her part, he thought with a grin.
The room she'd chosen for them was large, with a king-size bed and a big bay window. Howard set
his suitcases on the bed, took the ones Nash had
carried and dropped them on the other side of the
mattress.
“
How are things going here?" Howard asked as
he opened a garment bag and pulled out a suit, a
sports coat and several dresses. "When Kevin called
he said you two had already met your brothers."
“
We've had a few group functions, as well as a
lunch. When the whole Haynes family gets together,
there are dozens of people. Everyone is married and
has kids."
“
Are they really all in law enforcement?”
“Except for
Jordan
. He's a firefighter."
Howard hung up the clothes. "Interesting. You and Kevin have followed in their footsteps. Gage
and his brother, too." He returned to the bed and
opened the largest suitcase. "Are they good men?" Nash nodded. "Even the firefighter."
Howard chuckled. "Your mother worried about
how things would go when you and Kevin arrived.
Would the other brothers accept you two? Would
you accept them? We're both glad it worked out."
He scooped out toiletries and carried them into the
bathroom. "We keep telling each other that you're
grown up enough that we don't have to be con
cerned anymore, but maybe parents never let go of
that."
Nash followed his stepfather into the bathroom.
"You don't mean me," he said. "I wasn't the one
getting into trouble."
Howard set two zippered cases on the counter.
"True, but we wanted the best for you. You haven't
been yourself for a while. I'm glad to see you get
ting back to normal."
He headed back to the bedroom and Nash fol
lowed. He knew that he'd been burying himself in
his work, but he hadn't realized anyone but his boss
had noticed.
“
You mean because I'm finally taking a vaca
tion?" he asked.
Howard shrugged. "That's part of it. Mostly
you're smiling again. It's been a long time."
“
Since Tina's death." Nash wasn't asking a ques
tion.
“No. The change happened before that." Howard
picked up several shirts, then set them back in the
suitcase and faced Nash. "There wasn't anything
wrong with Tina. She was a perfectly nice young woman. But your mother and I never thought she
was right for you. She was flighty and impulsive.
Despite the parts of your job that force you to make split-second decisions, you're a thoughtful man. You
consider your options. You use reason. Tina wasn't
a good match for that."
Nash didn't know what to say. Howard's comments stunned him. Apparently Howard and his
mother had thought his marriage to Tina was a mis
take from the beginning, but they'd never said any
thing.
“
Now Stephanie seems like a nice sort of
woman," Howard said, resuming his unpacking. "It takes someone sensible to make a business success
ful. Vivian mentioned she's a widow. She was very young when her husband died."
The not-so-subtle matchmaking got Nash's atten
tion. "Don't go there," he warned. "My stay here
is temporary."
“
You could move. You don't have any ties to
Chicago
." He smiled. "Okay, I'll be quiet. We
don't care what you do, Nash, we just want you to
be happy."
“Thanks. I appreciate that."
Howard mentioned something about how the
Texas Rangers were doing that season. While Nash
responded, he wasn't listening all that closely. Part
of him was thinking about what the other man had said. About being happy. Nash couldn't remember
the last time he could claim that. It had been well
before Tina's death. Had it been before Tina?
Did it matter? Wasn't the more important point
that he was happy now...maybe for the first time in
years.