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The cousins would be less than a year apart, like him and Jake. If Jake and Charlie had a son, Trent wondered if he and James would be as close as he and Jake had been.
“We’ve only told Mom and Dad so far. We thought we’d stop and tell Charlie’s family this weekend, but Sean’s out in California. Maureen and Ray are at a friend’s retirement party in Portland and her sister has a sleepover with friends.”
“I didn’t know you had a sister.”
“Half-sister,” Charlie answered as his eyes went back to the baby in his arms. “She’s twelve and I only met you this summer.”
***
The sun warmed her face as Addie leaned back on the stone bench. She and Trent had retreated outside to one of the well-manicured flower gardens. All around her pink and purple asters bloomed, as did some Russian sage with its blue flowers and silvery foliage. Sprinkled throughout the garden were Lemon Queen sunflowers, which bloomed in the late summer and early fall. Along the wall the gardeners had planted some yellow orange helenium, which if Trent hadn’t told her differently she would’ve assumed were just plain old daisies.
“Do you know what is growing on the stone archway?” she asked. Thus far Trent had surprised her knowing several of the flowers and plants she didn’t recognize.
“I think it’s sweet autumn clematis, my mom had some in her garden, but I’m not positive.” Trent spread his arms out along the back of the bench and stretched out his legs.
Her eyes roamed over the garden, amazed at all the variation and how well they blended together. “What about that one? Do you know what it is?” She pointed towards an electric-blue flower with five petals.
“Not a clue. You’ve exhausted my knowledge of plants.” Since they’d come outside he’d named at least ten or twelve different types of plants and shrubs.
Addie closed her eyes and enjoyed the soft breeze that blew around them. All too soon the temperatures in New England would start to drop and the snow would fall. “Oh, well. You still amazed me with how many you knew. You really learned all about them from your mom?” Trent didn’t talk much about his mom, but he had shared that information.
“She adored flowers. In the summer she spent a ridiculous amount of time both in the gardens and in her greenhouse. Gray and I spent hours playing in the dirt while she planted and pruned her babies. I think she did more work than the gardeners my father paid. I guess I listened to her more than I thought when she talked about them.”
She wanted to ask more about Donna Sherbrooke. Other than the fact she’d liked flowers and died years earlier, she knew nothing about the woman. Granted, a search on the Internet would have provided plenty of information, but she resisted doing that. She wanted to learn about the woman from Trent, yet she didn’t want to pry if he found it too difficult to talk about her. Perhaps in time, he’d open up and tell her more.
“You’re right, I do like your family.” She opened her eyes again. “You guys sure like to give each other a hard time.” She thought back to the conversation when they’d first arrived. While she’d been joking about Jake calling her to give up Trent’s secrets, he?
?d immediately taken her number and then given her his. And while she was more than curious about Trent’s past, she knew she’d never call Jake and ask.
“They loved you.”
Much like all his answers since they’d come outside, his statement remained short. In fact, Trent had more or less only spoken when she asked him a direct question since lunch.
Addie turned so that she faced him, tucking on leg under her. “Are you okay?”
Trent looked at her. “Of course. Why?” He let his fingers brush against her shoulder.
“You’ve been quiet this afternoon.”
“I have a lot on my mind, including a new resort up in Vermont.” Trent fell silent again; the only sound was the rustling of leaves when the breeze blew. “You looked natural today holding James.”
She had enjoyed holding the newborn. “I did a lot of babysitting for my neighbors. They didn’t have any family in the area, so I’d often go babysit on Saturday nights so they could go out.” Addie did the math in her head. “The oldest is fifteen now and her sister is almost twelve.” Wow, time flew. “You looked comfortable yourself.” The sight of Trent with the infant had turned her heart into mush.
“I liked it.” Trent sounded surprised by the fact. “And it made me realize something.”
Did she dare ask? “What?” she asked with hesitation.
“Someday I’d like a family of my own.” The fingers on her shoulder stilled. “What about you?”
Sure she envisioned herself a mother at some point, but she’d never considered when. “A family would be nice.”
“Large or small?” he asked. “We both come from big families, and maybe you disagree, but I liked growing up with a lot of siblings. Yeah, they drove me nuts, hell, they still do, but there was always someone around. Callie was an only child growing up. She told me she always dreamed of a brother or sister.”
Addie could relate to Trent’s comments. Her brothers drove her insane, but she wouldn’t trade them for anything in the world. “My cousin Chloe is an only child. I think that’s why she spent so much time at my house growing up. I’d want at least two children.”
“Two.” He considered her response. “I was thinking more like three or four, but if you want two I’d be happy with that.”
Addie said a silent thank you that her butt was already planted on the bench because if she’d been standing she’d be flat on her behind at the moment. “I thought you were talking in general terms,” she said when her brain began sending messages to her mouth again.
