She could hear the sincerity in his tone. “Not at all. I’m in awe of how easily you handle everything. I know when I had Andy, Marlow and Cort were cautious about giving advice. Neither of them had kids. But some of the parents in town weren’t the same. They tossed out advice all the time, a lot of it conflicting. I had a hard time sorting out what made sense to me and what I had no interest in.”
“Give me an example.”
He’d said that to her once before, but he asked again with genuine interest. “One mother told me it was good to let a baby cry it out.”
He snorted.
“That’s how I felt. I never could stand to hear Andy cry. Her kids were all happy and healthy, so whatever she did worked for her, I guess. But I couldn’t do it.” In case he thought she was judging, she added, “I only have one and she had four, so I’m sure that influenced her approach.”
After smoothing Shayna’s little tufts of hair, Brogan kissed her on the head again. “I want her to have siblings, but I don’t see that on the horizon anytime soon. I need to get other things worked out first.”
Pixie barely knew Brogan, and he’d given no indication that he was interested in anything beyond a friendly association. And yet his mention of siblings for Shayna caused a pinch in her heart.
Andy would never have siblings. After the difficulties of his birth, which had resulted in a hysterectomy, she’d accepted that he’d be an only child.
To her, Andy was enough. And yet, Brogan’s casual comment stung.
He interrupted her thoughts by saying, “I should go. She’ll probably be hungry before I get home, and then she’ll get fussy. It bothers me a lot to hear her upset. If I could, I’d keep that from ever happening.”
“Not possible,” Pixie said softly. “But you’re doing a great job.”
He didn’t look entirely convinced, but he nodded anyway. “Thanks. I’ll see you soon.”
Pixie watched him go to his SUV and carefully transfer the baby to her car seat before rushing to get behind the wheel and start the car. It took him a few more moments to settle in, and then he pulled away.
Strange, but she already missed him. With a sigh, she went back inside.
“Hubba, hubba,” Renee said the second the door closed behind her. “You should warn a girl. I almost swallowed my tongue when I walked in and saw him.”
Pixie nudged her with her shoulder. “I don’t think you’re the only one to react that way. He’s just so … big.”
“And gorgeous.” Renee transferred Andy to her arms. “And hey, the way he dotes on his daughter is enough to steal all the hearts.”
She didn’t correct the assumption that the baby was his daughter. After being busted by Marlow, Pixie wasn’t about to share with anyone else. If Brogan got around town enough, and it sounded like he would, he could tell people what he wanted them to know.
Then again, he was here for a limited time; by the end of summer, he’d go on about his life somewhere else, so none of that really mattered.
Andy laid his head on her shoulder and yawned. He was such an enormous blessing, she wouldn’t regret the lack of other children. Softly to Renee, she said, “I want to spend a few minutes getting this little guy settled again, and then I’ll finish the display up front.”
Renee followed her. “Not like you need to. The shirts are already selling.”
True, they were an instant hit. All but one customer this morning had purchased the new design. Brogan wasn’t into pastels. She smiled and then put him from her mind to tend to her son and the shop. Those were her top priorities at this time, and Pixie wouldn’t let herself backslide after making so much progress over the last year.
She vowed to stop thinking about Brogan and his adorable niece.
Unfortunately, that wasn’t easy to do because everyone wastalking about him. During her workday, Pixie heard him mentioned over a dozen times.
Joann Dittmer, who ran the Dairy Bar ice cream shop, stopped in to ask Pixie what she knew about him. Sticking to her vow to keep Brogan’s business private, she confessed only to knowing he was renting the lake house.
Butler, the mayor of Bramble, and the owner of the town’s one—and only—inn, strolled into the shop for the first time that Pixie was aware of. He tried to pleasantly grill her about Brogan, but she shared the same information. The newcomer was a renter, that’s all.
Later, when Pixie drove back to Bramble, she stopped at the grocery store to pick up something for dinner. Gloria and Bobbi, older sisters who liked to force their help on people in the nicest way, trapped her in the fresh vegetable aisle.
Bobbi immediately scooped Andy from the cart to hug him while Gloria fired off questions. It was almost laughable the amount of curiosity Brogan had inspired.
Even when she stopped to refill her gas tank, people approached her. By the time she got to her house, she was worn out from fending off the info seekers. She got that Bramble was a quiet town without a lot of excitement. Anyone new was deemed interesting. Someone like Brogan? He could probably make front-page news.
Now that she was home, she fell into her routine of playing with Andy, walking down to the lake with him for a bit so he could get some fresh air, and then fixing dinner.
