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He hadn’t expected to say yes either, but somehow the desperation in her voice paired with the sharp jab of something he wasn’t sure how to label at learning his brother was on the brink of death urged him to agree to the madcap adventure of caring for children he’d never met before. He still wasn’t sure why he agreed… why he’d even answered a call from a woman he’d spent years hating. “I don’t know.”
“You don’t know?”
“No.”
“Well, I know you’ve got a ranch and business that need you. My cousin DeeAnn should get there by Thursday afternoon. Took me a while to get in touch with her and agree to a fee, but she-”
“Agree to a fee?”
“Well, yeah. Dee’s in cosmetology school on the Westbank and will have to miss a few days of work in order to watch them.”
He didn’t like the sound of Dee. What kind of person charged a relative for helping out? “How old is she?”
“Twenty-eight.”
“Is she married?”
Courtney sighed. “Why the third degree? She’s available, of age, and can come on Thursday. I’m sure the kids will be fine.”
“I’m not.”
“She’s responsible,” Courtney said, but she didn’t sound convinced. That made him nervous.
“If you say so. They’re your children.”
“So I’ll call later tonight to talk to the kids.”
“Fine.”
Lucas hung up and climbed from his truck, wondering if he believed her when she said this DeeAnn character was trustworthy.
But he didn’t have a say-so. Besides there was that getting back to normalcy thing he desired. He wanted to get back to Texas. Needed to brush his horse Cisco and eat chili and steaks and food that didn’t have crawfish in it. Time to rewind and go back to being Lucas, photographer and part-time rancher. Not Lucas, poor substitute for Mr. Mom.
He hadn’t seen Courtney in almost fourteen years, but the family pictures scattered throughout the house proved she was still pretty even with the smile lines around her eyes and rounder body. He’d once imagined himself standing next to her in those photographs… not his brother.
Lucas shook the sourness from his head.
No sense in crying over spilled love.
“Morning.”
He turned to find Addy walking toward her car. He could barely see her through the waxy leaves of the camellia bushes, but he saw she carried coffee and wore a navy jumper dress thing.
“Hey,” he called back ducking between two bushes and coming out in her driveway. “On your way to work?”
She held up her travel mug in a mock toast. “Have to pay the bills.”
“I’m about to pull out my laptop myself. Hey, I just talked to Courtney, and she’s having her cousin come stay with the kids on Thursday. This DeeAnn woman will probably be more competent than I am.”
Something in Addy’s face fell a little and hope fluttered in his gut… even if he told himself it shouldn’t. “Oh, so you’re leaving that soon?”
“I guess.”
“You’ll be happy to get back to Texas, back to normal,” she said.
“I guess.”
Addy licked her lips and he saw her grab hold of her emotions. She turned toward her car before spinning back around, a determined smile on her face. “By the way, Aunt Flora has bridge club this afternoon. They’re making martinis so don’t call the cops if it gets rowdy.”
