The Real Mr Right

“You’re sure?” Kelly said as Abby hustled past her. “I mean, if it’s a problem I’ll take them—”

“Kelly, for crying out loud, I ride herd with Ethan’s rugrats all the time. I’ve got this, okay?”

“Except these rugrats just lost their father. I mean, Aislin’s okay—about that, anyway, she doesn’t really understand what’s going on, although God forbid you give her the wrong sippy cup, your ears will never be the same. But Coop...” Her chin trembled for a moment, killing Matt. She looked back—no, more like leaned back—into the house. “He didn’t say a single word when I told him. Didn’t cry, nothing.” Worried eyes met his again. “Is that even normal?”

Given what she’d said? The kid’s emotions were probably more tangled than Kelly’s hair. “Everyone reacts differently—”

“I shouldn’t leave him, should I? I mean, I know Lynn needs me, too, she doesn’t have anyone else, but she is an adult. Damn it—” Kelly shoved the heel of her hand into her temple. “Why can’t I figure out what to do?”

Speaking of tangled emotions.... “It’s okay,” Matt said, wanting to hold her. Wanting to run. Most of all, to wind back the clock. “Really. We’ll all get through this, I promise.”

After a moment, she nodded, clutching that purse strap like she’d fall into the abyss if she let go. “I should be back by dinnertime. I hope. And they’re in the family room, watching a movie—”

At that, Matt took her by the shoulders, gently swiveling her toward the front door. “You can call me every five minutes if it’ll ease your mind. But the sooner you go, the sooner you’ll be back.”

Her eyes searched his for a moment before, with another nod, she left.

In the family room, Aislin lay on the carpet, staring blankly up at the beamed ceiling, thumb in mouth. Matt figured the toddler had five minutes, tops, before she zonked out. Coop, however, was scrunched up next to Alf in the sectional’s corner, head propped in hand, gaze fixed at the garishly hued figures cavorting across the fifty-inch screen.

“Hey,” Matt said softly. Alf thumped her tail, but neither kid responded. Matt entered the room, the seen-better-days recliner wobbling and groaning when he sat on its edge.

“You don’t have to stay,” Coop said, not looking at Matt. “I’m watching Linnie.”

“I can see that.” Matt leaned forward, his hands clasped together. “Just checking in.”

God knew he’d been around enough kids that they didn’t scare him, like they did some men. Actually, he thought they were pretty awesome, the way they processed the world around them, how they’d say whatever popped into their brains. Ethan’s brood slayed him, the stuff that came out of their mouths. Of course, some kids were harder to read, to connect with. Same as adults. But Matt discovered some time ago he liked the challenge, figuring out how to make that connection. Like the Colonel used to do. Yeah, he’d studied under the master, for sure.

“Whatcha watching?”

Coop gave the tiniest shoulder shrug and said, “I’m not. But movies help Linnie fall asleep, so Mom put it on.”

Matt nodded, then asked, “You okay?”

The boy reached up to rub his eye underneath his glasses, knocking them askew. Shoving them back into place, he shrugged again.

“Hungry?”

Alf lifted her bearlike head, ears perked, her tail thumping with a little more oomph. Dogs were supposed to understand about one hundred and fifty words, Matt had heard. In Alf’s case, at least ninety percent of those were food related.

“No. Thanks.”

The beast swiveled her massive head toward the boy, before, with an equally massive doggy sigh, lowering her chin back onto her front paws. From a few feet away, Matt caught the slow-motion drift to earth of Aislin’s hand as her thumb disconnected from her sagged-open mouth. He pushed himself up to grab the afghan from the back of the sectional, crouching to carefully drape it over the now-sleeping baby.

“Mom does that, too,” Coop said behind him, and Matt glanced over his shoulder. His forehead slightly knotted, the boy was looking at his sister. “Lets her sleep wherever. Because she’ll wake up if you try to move her.”

Stretching out his back muscles as he rose, Matt smiled. “Abby was like that, too. So I know the drill.”

“Abby said you took care of her a lot when she was little.”

“We all did. All of us kids, I mean. She was like another pet. But louder. And smellier.”

Coop sort of smiled. “Mom said Linnie doesn’t know. That Dad died.”

Matt sat again on the recliner. “She’s a little young, yeah.”

“So she won’t even remember him?”

Sad though the conversation was, that the boy was even talking to him warmed Matt through. It took a lot to earn a child’s trust. As well he knew. “Maybe not. I sure don’t remember anything from when I was three. Do you?”

The boy’s forehead scrunched harder. Then he shook his head. “Not really.” He shifted on the sofa; the dog shifted right with him. Then they all fell into a silence so brittle Matt could practically feel the air molecules shattering between them. A silence brought on, he suspected, by a little boy’s holding in a boatload of thoughts and feelings that would only keep multiplying and expanding until they nearly strangled him. He knew that drill, too.

“Um...if you want to keep talking, I’m a pretty good listener.”

This time, Coop shot him an are-you-nuts glance, then faced the TV again. “Why would I do that?”

“Because sometimes it helps. To get all the stuff crammed in your head out of your head—”

“That’s okay, thanks.”

“Just an idea,” he said with a doesn’t-matter-to-me hitch of his shoulders. “Anyway, you’d probably rather talk to your mom—”

The child’s emphatic head shake both confirmed Matt’s suspicions and told him not to push. Not the time or the place. Or his place, frankly.

“Well, okay, then.” Matt plucked a paperback novel he was halfway through off the coffee table. “If you need me, I’m right in the living room. Okay?”

“Sure,” the kid said, pointing the remote at the screen to switch back to cable, clearly not caring one whit whether Matt stayed or went.

* * *

Kelly didn’t get back to Maple River until nearly eight, at which point all she wanted to do was fall into bed, any bed, and not wake up for three days. But alas, there were children who needed to be tucked in and cuddled with and, in Coop’s case, reassured, and after all that she was somewhat reenergized. Somewhat being the operative word.

And hungry, she realized, since she hadn’t eaten since breakfast, despite Lynn’s food-pushing attempts. So when she entered the kitchen and Matt greeted her with a sandwich big enough to feed the Bronx, she almost kissed him. Which only proved how exhausted she was.

“Kids asleep?” he asked.

“Finally, yes. Alfie’s in bed with Coop. I hope that’s okay?”

“You kidding? She’s in heaven. Although fair warning, she snores. And the kid’ll smell like dog in the morning.”

“He’s smelled worse, believe me.”

Finally she hauled herself up onto the bar stool, only to then rest her head in her hands for a moment.

“Praying?” Matt asked.

“Yes. For the strength to eat this.” Kelly lifted her head to see the sorta smile peeking out from that whiskered face, thinking how strong he looked. And how weak she felt. In more ways than one. She didn’t want hanky-panky—she was far too tired and emotionally drained for hanky-panky—but once again the thought niggled that it might be nice to be held by someone bigger than she was. And blessed with a Y chromosome. “And what’s this?” she asked when he placed a tall glass in front of her.

“A chocolate shake. With extra protein. Another of my specialties. And yes, you need to drink it—the skeletal look is not good on you.”