AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Noah would stay with him for the two weeks Ari and Matt were in Iceland. Gideon guessed his sister would have taken her son with them if everyone hadn’t stressed that it was a honeymoon. That was how much she loved Noah. Gideon loved him with equal fervor—and couldn’t bear the thought of anything bad ever happening to the little boy. Especially not on his watch.
“Here you go.” The docent opened a plastic bag full of bugs.
They didn’t move a whole lot, and Gideon was pretty sure they’d had most of the life refrigerated out of them. Still, Jorge and Noah were clearly thrilled, saying wow and awesome as they got their handful of bugs.
Gideon got his handful too, and before he could stop the memory from coming, he was over there again, back in the sandbox, his team forced to eat bugs because there’d been nothing else.
But watching the kids go a little nuts with feeding the peacock brought Gideon back to the present, to the sunny California day when his little sister was going to say her I do’s.
Finally having had his fill, the bird strutted away, his magnificent plumage trailing on the ground behind him. Jorge made a little face, saying, “I guess we’re just chopped liver now.”
The docent laughed, her face crinkling with delight. Gideon allowed himself a small smile too, guessing Jorge must have heard that phrase from Rosie.
“You were very good boys,” the woman said, and with Gideon’s agreement, she handed them each a sucker. “My best kids of the day.”
Noah blinked at her. “We’ve been your only kids today.”
“Yes, but you’re still the best.” She turned with a wave and padded slowly after the peacock.
Jorge tugged on Gideon’s hand. “Can we pet the llamas?”
“Sure, kiddo. And the donkeys too.”
“They’ve got donkeys?” Noah was in petting-zoo heaven. “I haven’t gotten to feed or pet a donkey before.”
As he led them over, a boy hanging on each hand, Gideon let himself relish the joy of being with the kids. Only when he was with them did he feel like he could take a full breath. Somehow, they always managed to tap into the part of him that hadn’t been damaged by fiery blasts and guilt and loss.
Daniel had given him two weeks off to take care of Noah, and Gideon had already planned a full schedule of fun things for the two of them to do together. But now Rosie had suggested playdates for the boys. It was a head-smacking moment—of course, he should have realized that the boys would want to do some activities together.
He wanted Noah to have a great vacation while his parents were gone, and Noah never had more fun than when he was with Jorge. They were BFFs, almost like brothers. Only, Gideon wasn’t sure he could survive spending hour after hour with Rosie while the boys played…
Somehow, he’d have to find a way to convince her that it made more sense for them to split up the duties. He could take the boys up to the Exploratorium in San Francisco one day, while she took them to the mummy museum in San Jose another day.
Because he would go stark raving crazy insane if he had to spend too much time with Rosie. She was too beautiful, too tempting, too smart, too good at mothering.
Too damned good for him in every way.
Chapter Three
Rosie peeked out of the bridal tent, opening the flaps only a couple of inches so she could see out but no one could see in. “No peeking, but your guests are arriving,” she said to Ari. “And the puppet theater is fabulous. You did such a great job setting it up.”
Ari ruffled the skirt of her wedding dress, getting its folds to fall the way they had in the bridal magazines they’d pored over. The dress was amazing, the bodice tightly beaded with seed pearls in shades of silver, cream, and black, and fringed in a scallop of pearls along the empire waist. Ari had chosen to go bare-shouldered, the dress held up only by straps of beads and dipping low in the back. The gossamer skirt flowed down to the floor in creamy waves. The hairdresser just had to attach the wreath of flowers Ari would wear in her hair and the short veil in the back.
She was the most beautiful bride Rosie had ever seen.
When Ari was finally satisfied with the results, she lifted her head and smiled at Rosie and Chi. “I could never have done this without you.”
“Take some credit, girl, for your amazing abilities,” Chi said. “You’re going to make the best teacher ever.” Ari was working on her master’s in education and was aiming to teach elementary school kids like Noah and Jorge.
For so long, it had been just the three of them, Rosie and Ari and Chi—sisters, best friends forever, a team of three. Then came Jorge. And now, in the past year, they’d become a huge family with all the Mavericks.
The tent flaps opened, and Susan Spencer, Matt’s foster mother, stepped in. Wearing a flattering dress of aubergine, it was hard to believe Susan was in her mid-fifties, despite her silver cap of hair. It was Susan’s smile that made her seem so young—and she was always so full of smiles.
Susan and Bob Spencer were mom and dad to the Mavericks. They’d taken all the boys in as young teenagers and raised them as their own, with no differentiation between the guys and Daniel or Lyssa, their two biological kids. Rosie had always found Susan and Bob to be completely generous and selfless.
Susan’s face lit up when she saw Ari. “You are so beautiful, honey.”
Ari beamed at her soon-to-be mother-in-law as Susan curled her into a warm embrace, careful not to crease the dress or muss Ari’s hair. When she pulled back, her eyes were misty. “We are so happy you’re part of our family. Matt loves you so much. And Noah couldn’t have asked for a better mom, or loved anyone more than he loves you. They’re so lucky to have found you.” Susan dabbed at her eyes.
