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Delinda set a pitcher of juice on the table. “Come on in, you two. Eat.”
“Oh, we couldn’t,” Kendall said.
“As you can see, I made enough for my horde and you two.”
Shane held a chair out for Kendall and sat next to her. She took a pancake and eggs for herself and watched Shane demolish a plate of pancakes. He and the boys seemed to be in a contest. The giggles and scrape of silverware were homey sounds that she’d missed terribly.
She picked at her flapjack, giving up to sip some juice.
A shrill work whistle screamed out of Shane’s pocket. She laughed. “Is that—”
“I got bored with my ringer. Besides, you know I like the Flintstones.” With a grin and a shrug, he stood. “Excuse me. That’s Jasper.”
She watched him walk out, trying to reconcile the cartoon side of Shane’s personality and keep up their charade at the same time. She turned and found Delinda smiling at her. “Sorry.”
“Don’t be sorry. I remember looking at Jonathon just like that.”
“What? Like you want to wring his neck?”
“And take a bite out of his cute butt.”
Kendall barked out a laugh. “Yeah, well, they happen at the same time for me more often than not.”
“Passion’s a good thing. There’s a reason I have five kids.”
Kendall’s eyebrows rose. “It’s not just the God’s-will thing?”
Delinda laughed. “I suppose that’s part of it. I always wanted a big family, but mostly it’s because we can’t keep our hands off each other.”
“I know how that feels.” Too well. She couldn’t imagine how it would feel to be able to give in to that. To trust in a relationship enough that it would allow her that kind of freedom.
She looked up as Shane came back in. “Hey.”
He slid his thumb along one of her curls that had come loose around her face. “Almost ready?”
She nodded. “How’s the truck?”
“Jasper’s just about done with it. He’s sending one of his guys over to pick us up.”
His face was stony, which wasn’t an unusual thing, but his eyes were flat. He hadn’t gotten good news. She stood. “We can’t thank you enough for putting us up, Delinda.” She laid her hand on Thomas’s blond head. “You’ve got a gorgeous family.”
Delinda stood and hugged her. “You guys travel safe. If you can do a road trip, you can live through anything in a marriage.”
Shane stilled beside her, but his hand found hers, and their pinkies twined. “We really do appreciate all you’ve done for us.”
The lines between his brows deepened. Yeah, there definitely hadn’t been good news from Jasper. She lifted her plate, but again Delinda waved her off.
“Kids, gather up the plates.”
One by one, the children stacked up plates, with a bit of ribbing, and waved as they headed out the side door to the house.
“You’ve certainly got great kids.”
Delinda gathered napkins and cups. “Luckily they’re young enough that a sticker chart still works. Travel safe, you two.”
“We will.”
Shane let her hand go the minute they got through the doorway. He dropped his duffel and paced along the stone walk.
