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“I introduced Brinley to the other ladies and Zander is playing with the other kids,” Summer said with a smile on her face. “That boy is a charmer and sweet as sugar.”
That didn’t surprise me, look who his mother was. Brinley was the nicest person and had always been sweet. She put up with me for many years so that said something. She even seemed to like me most of the time. But at times she confused me and once had truly thrown me for a loop. I shook my head to stop myself from thinking of the past.
“I do have to say, something big is going on with them and they need help. That was clear when she walked in and came searching for you,” Summer said, looking back up at her husband. “But the poor woman was a bigger mess when I took her into the house.” With the last comment, she looked back at me with a question in her eyes as she assessed me and I felt like I was a bug under a microscope.
Silence stretched on as I debated if I should tell them what Zander had said, but they needed to know so they could be helped.
“Zander blurted out that they had a fire and lost Brinley’s bookstore, along with their house.”
Summer sucked in a breath and Gyth looked shocked.
“I knew when I had talked to Brinley after Luke died, that even though she thanked me for coming and letting her know she could always ask for my help with anything that she and her son needed, that she wasn’t going to.” Gyth let out a huff of air. “I could see the stubbornness in her, so she fits right in with all the ladies around here.”
Summer slugged him in the stomach and Gyth just chuckled and carried on.
“What I am saying is when she showed up unannounced, I knew she was desperate and that worries me.”
A knot formed in my gut at his words. I felt the same way. I just hoped that my being here didn’t send her packing as fast as she had come in. But the fact that she was still here and in the back with everyone else was a good sign. Once those women back there knew she needed help, my bet was on them. And Brin and Zander were in good hands.
“She and Zander can stay with us,” Summer announced. “Right, Big Guy?” she asked, turning her eyes toward her man.
It was great she asked, but funny as hell. Her husband wouldn’t deny her anything unless it was harmful to her. His immediate reply confirmed it.
“Of course, Sunshine.”
Summer’s megawatt smile lit up her face just as the sun did on the bright summer’s day. The woman was truly beautiful and Gyth was a lucky guy, but she didn’t hold a candle to the woman who had walked back into my life moments ago.
Nobody ever had.
ChapterThree
BRINLEY
I’d lostmy mind yet again.
Once Zander had gone to the bathroom I should have declined Summer’s offer to let him play with the kids and grab some food. I didn’t want to intrude on their gathering and I also didn’t want to run into Rowan again. Seeing and talking to him had me twisted in knots enough as it was. But the longer I stayed the more likely it was I wouldn’t be able to avoid another encounter with him.
It was just too hard to tell Zander no when his eyes lit up at Summer’s words and his body vibrated with excitement. So I’d relented and time slipped away from me while I watched him happily play. The children were all adorable and there was one little girl that seemed to be the ringleader of them all. My assessment was abundantly clear as she approached a short time later.
I’d just been introduced to a group of women who seemed very nice, but I was a little uncomfortable and feeling out of my element around them all. I didn’t have a lot of girlfriends through my teen years. I spent a lot of time with my mother since it was just the two of us. Then, later after I had Zander, I was busy with him and my business. There was also the fact that my husband and Rowan had been my best friends in high school, so I understood guys a lot better than I seemed to other women.
The semi-awkward moment for me was interrupted when Embry, who I learned was Braxton and Jurnee’s daughter—please let me keep all these names straight—marched over to us, cocked one leg, and placed both hands on her hips. “What did I tell you already about being outnumbered by the boys when the last one was born? Now there is another one!”
The attitude that rolled off her was adorable, not rude, and you could tell she was being half-silly even while being serious too.
“Zander is fun though so you guys can stay. You need us,” she continued, her voice changing to a more sincere, mature tone.
I realized that Embry was wise beyond her years and was a little flabbergasted at how much she took in and picked up on. Then she looked around the group until her eyes landed on Summer and her sass returned.
“You—” she pointed at Summer “—get on it, Gyth said he could help with this situation.”
All the women laughed wildly and I sat there confused as Embry turned and scrambled off, yelling for all the kids to sit in a circle so they could play a game. When my eyes looked toward Summer, she was still laughing, but I could see something else going on behind them too. I’d gotten that there were more little boys than girls but I didn’t know why Embry had said that about Gyth or singled out Summer.
I wasn’t going to ask either.
It was clear all the ladies were good friends and although they graciously invited me to stay awhile, that didn’t give me a pass to barge into their lives and get all personal. However, as their giggle calmed, it seemed Summer was going to explain anyway, but she didn’t get much out.
Just as she began to talk, the sliding door opened and my stare darted in that direction as Rowan walked out right behind Gyth. When his intense stare landed on mine, I sucked in a huge gulp of air and diverted my gaze quickly. The only problem was I brought my eyes back to the group and they were all looking at me with an odd look on their faces.
