Second Chances: A PAVAD Duet (24 page)

“
Maybe you did do something
wrong, Dan. But dammit—so did she. She took your kids, and left.
And now you’ve got your girls back. So congratulations.”

“
Hell, Ed—what am I
supposed to do with a teenager around? A girl, at that?” Dan lifted
wide eyes to his. “One teenage boy comes sniffing around and I’ll
lose what’s left of my sanity.”

“
From one who knows—you’ll
get through it.” He slapped Dan on the back. “And if you ever need
anything, just ask. Georgia drove me around the bend on numerous
occasions.”

“
Somehow that doesn’t
surprise me. Come on, I’ll throw another steak on the grill. And
there are plenty of hot dogs for Matthew.”

“
So how did Dr. Glendower
and Dr. Brewster end up on your deck?”

“
Came with Kelly and the
girls. I asked them to stay, make it easier on Kelly to have some
of her friends around.”

“
Easier for you, too. If
there’s people around, you don’t have to be alone with your girls,”
Ed guessed. Sometimes a father needed time to prepare. “Buys you
some time. So the girls are just going to stay with you from here
on out.”

“
Youngest
will. Kelly is staying with the little doc. I’m, uh, not sure what
Emma is planning on doing. Damn, Ed, I don’t even have a
room
ready for my
daughter—how can I
raise
her?”

“
Get her furniture. Enroll
her in school—I recommend Brynlock. And go on with your
lives.”

“
Easier said than
done.”

Marianna sent the kids
straight to bed, knowing they were exhausted. She carried Bobby,
sound asleep on her shoulder, up the stairs and into the room he
shared with the younger twins and tucked him in. He was almost too
big for her to carry, and her heart hurt for a moment, remembering
how she’d carried him as a baby.

He was her last. And as of
this year, was in school all day. Her baby. Soon he’d be as old as
Nate, a teenager just on the verge of getting his license and
independence. She sent up a wish that time would go just a little
bit slower.

“
Good night, Mommy,”
Timothy said, dragging her attention to the bunk beds he and James
shared. Not that they ever slept in separate beds, instead choosing
one or the other. “I liked Mr. Dan’s house, can we go there
again?”

“
Maybe someday, sweetie,”
She pulled Bobby’s blankets around his shoulders than moved to her
slightly older sons’. “I’m glad you guys had fun.”

“
Mommy.” James—the more
serious of the younger two twins—said. “Can we get a puppy like
Mattie’s?”

“
Maybe.
After we’ve been here for a while, I think.” They’d always wanted a
pet, but the house they’d rented in Indianapolis had had a no pets
clause in the lease. But this house—
she’d
bought with her savings and
with the relocation allowance. It was hers, hers and the boys. If
they wanted a puppy, she’d get them a puppy.

“
Like for our birthday?”
Timothy asked, his blue eyes shining.

“
Maybe.” She made a note to
give it some thought. If something as simple as a puppy made them
happy, why not? They were all old enough to be able to help with
the responsibility of a pet. “Mommy has to think about it,
ok?”

“
Ok,” They said in complete
unison, something they often did.

“
I love you
guys.”

“
We love you,
too!”

Then she was on to Ted’s
room, which was once probably the house’s study. It was small and
cramped, but it worked. She hadn’t wanted to shove him in with his
older brothers or in with the younger three. Poor Ted, always stuck
somewhere. He was still awake, his bedside lamp burning bright as
he read a book.

“
What have you got there?”
She sank on to the foot of his bed.

“
A book Agent Reynolds said
I could borrow.” Ted sat the book aside for a moment. “It’s about
this guy who goes around the world in a hot air balloon in like 180
days.”

“
Jules
Verne? Around the World in
Eighty
Days? It’s a good story.”

“
Yeah. Do you think it’s
possible? To go around the world in that many days in a balloon?”
Ted’s eyes shone with the excitement of possible adventures the way
only a half-grown child’s could. Marianna smiled softly.

“
I don’t know, maybe.
Depending on the wind conditions and on the weather. I suppose it’s
possible.”

“
Mom?” He hesitated a
moment before going on. “Why did Aunt Kelly think her dad was dead
if he wasn’t?”

Wow. What was she supposed
to say to that? “Aunt Kelly’s mom did a really mean thing to her
dad, Ted. She took Aunt Kelly and her sisters and hid them from
Agent Reynolds.”

“
Like you’ve hidden us from
our dad?”

The words were like needles
through her skin one million times a minute. “Maybe. But she did it
to hurt Agent Reynolds, without thinking of what it would do to
Aunt Kelly and her sisters. You know why we don’t see your dad
anymore, right?”

“
Yeah. ‘Cause he was mean
and liked to hit people. Nate said he hit you. And Nate, a
lot.”

Marianna shivered. “Ted, do
you remember your dad?”

“
A
little. He was real tall. And he had scary eyes.” Ted twitched his
feet beneath the covers. “And he had blond hair like mine. Nate
says I look like
him
instead I’m real short.”

“
Ted, you may look like
him, but that doesn’t mean you are just like him. Just like the
twins are different from each other even though they look alike.
You are all separate people.”

“
Ok. Can I read for a
little longer? I’ve only got about eight pages left.”

“
Twenty minutes. It’s
already past midnight.”

“
But tomorrow’s
Saturday!”

“
I know. Finish that
chapter then it’s sleep, ok?”

“
Deal.”

The older twins were
stretched out on their beds when she stuck her head in after
knocking once. “Good night, Collin, Bryce. Soccer game tomorrow at
nine. Don’t forget.”

“
We won’t. Good night,
Mom.” They were at the age where independence was fierce so she
didn’t linger.

Nate’s was the last stop.
Poor guy was actually crammed into the attic, but he never
complained. He never had. He’d seen so much in his early years.
She’d never stop feeling the guilt from that. “Night,
Nate.”

“
Good night,
Mom.”

“
Did you
have a good time tonight?” She paused just inside his room. It was
almost
too
neat.

“
Yeah. I talked to Grace a
bit.”

“
What’s your initial
impression?”

“
I don’t think she likes
me. Likes Bryce and Collin, though.”

“
What makes you think she
didn’t like you?”

“
Nothing. It doesn’t
matter. Her dad seems pretty cool. I heard he got shot two months
ago.” Nate tossed his dirty shirt toward his hamper. His shoulders
had broadened some over the last few months. He was more of a man
than a boy now. He’d start driving in two months. Driving—her
little boy.

“
I knew he’d been injured,
but I haven’t heard the specifics.”

“
Josh and J.T.—Agents
Compton and Tompkins—said Mr. Reynolds is a real hero. That he’s
saved a lot of people’s lives.” Nate fell onto his bed, casually.
“Mom—what makes a person choose to be a hero?”

Deep thoughts, tonight. It
didn’t surprise her; this kid had always been this way. “I don’t
think most of them choose, sweetheart. I think most of them just do
the right thing when it’s required of them. Why do you
ask?”

“
Just thinking. Grace said
her father was hurt and her mother stole her. That her sisters told
her he wanted to be a good dad but couldn’t because he couldn’t
find them.”

“
And that got you thinking
about your dad? You’re not the only one. Ted had some questions
about what happened.” She’d always been more open about things with
Nate than the younger boys. Because he’d remembered more. And she’d
always vowed honesty where her kids were concerned.

“
Are Uncle Fin and Lorcan
heroes for what they did when they helped you?”

“
I think so. They helped me
find the courage to do what I had to do. And they helped with you
boys for months afterward. They were good friends to us, Nate. I’ll
never be able to repay them or thank them enough.”

“
I hope if I ever have to,
I can be a hero for somebody.”

“
I don’t doubt you’d step
up to the plate.”

“
Yeah. I hope so. Good
night, Mom.”

“
Good night. I love
you.”

She thought over Nate and
Ted’s questions long into the night, remembering the night she’d
laid broken and bloody on the floor of the three bedroom apartment
she’d rented right after she’d left her husband. She’d come to a
realization that night when Fin McLaughlin and Sebastian Lorcan had
burst through her door. Nate had found her cell phone and hit the
redial button. Nine years old and too afraid to call 911, he’d
called one of mommy’s ‘friends’ at the FBI because Mommy wouldn’t
wake up and his baby brothers were crying. Redial had saved her
life. And Bobby’s. She’d never forget that. McLaughlin—the last
agent she’d called while on the job—and his friend Lorcan had been
at a ball game, and had rushed over to her home immediately. She
hadn’t even known them that well-hadn’t even known their first
names. Yet they’d been there when she needed them. Because her
little boy had called them and because she’d needed help. That was
the kind of men they were. The kind of men she’d wanted her boys to
become. It was one reason she’d taken the relocation assignment—to
be closer to Lorcan and Fin.

She’d vowed never to be
that vulnerable—to make her children that vulnerable—ever
again.

Matthew
had
tried to sneak the puppy into his
parents’ car. Hellbrook caught him, ordered him to carry Lucifer
back to his kennel. It took ten minutes for the boy to stop
pouting. Ed’s mouth twitched ever so often as he thought of Michael
Hellbrook patiently explaining why the dog was not allowed in the
school. Hellbrook was good with the boy, and he respected
that.

If Hellbrook still got
under his skin occasionally, well, old habits die hard. The
Brynlock Academy gymnasium was filled with close to two thousand
people and Ed’s hand tightened on Matthew reflexively. He caught
Hellbrook do the same to Georgia out of the corner of his eye. Even
in this type of crowd, the urge to protect was
instinctive.

“
Where were we supposed to
meet the McLaughlins?” Hellbrook asked.

“
North bleachers. I’ll text
Ana.” Georgia said, her hand in Hellbrook’s. It always caught him
askance to see them side by side. His daughter was so petite.
Hellbrook stood four inches taller than Ed.

His son-in-law was a large
and intimidating man. And Hellbrook worshiped Georgia. So Ed could
tolerate him. Maybe a little more than tolerate. But he’d not let
Hellbrook know that any time soon.

 
Five minutes later he
was holding one of the most beautiful females he’d ever seen. At
least in recent memory. Daniella Joy McLaughlin was a tiny bundle
with the sweetest face and her mother’s beautifully shaped eyes.
The silkiest red hair covered the tiny head. Ed was totally in
love. A goner, and he knew it. “You are the world’s most beautiful
baby, and Grandpa Ed is going to spoil you rotten.”

He almost missed the look
his daughter and Ana shared, the laughter shining in two pairs of
bright eyes, one green and one brown. “What? I am. I’m
allowed.”

“
So much for the big,
terrifying Director Ed who scared me witless my first week in St.
Louis.” Ana adjusted the blanket around her daughter.

“
Me? Big and scary? You
must be thinking of Hellbrook.” Ed knew Ana had no real family
nearby, that the small redhead considered Georgia and Matthew her
only real family other than her husband. And in Ed’s mind that made
Ana and the baby—and McLaughlin—Ed’s family, too. “Big, scary
director isn’t allowed to cuddle his grandchildren? I don’t think
so!”

“
You can cuddle Daniella as
much as you’d like. Spoiling her, however, we’ll have to talk about
that later.” Ana laughed that tinkling laugh that Ed always enjoyed
hearing as she led the way to her husband.

Ed looked up from the baby
when Matthew shouted a greeting at the three small boys standing
with McLaughlin. His eyes met Marianna’s and he smiled. She was
dressed more casually than he’d ever seen her and the jeans fit her
beautifully. Her gaze dropped to the pink bundle in his arms and
widened slightly.

“
Hello, Marianna.” He
adjusted the baby. “Welcome to your first official Brynlock Academy
Carnival and Fundraiser. James, Timothy, Bobby, are you three
having fun?”