Chapter Four
Kevin sat in his car in the driveway, but made no move to get out as he looked at the house he’d come to consider his home in the past month. More and more of his things had found their way into Callie’s house. He and Rory, through tacit agreement, had simply remained there, living together, because neither of them wanted to uproot Angel from her beloved home.
Rory had moved into Callie’s room the day after their tumultuous trip to the river on her motorcycle, and he’d claimed the spare room. Neither of them discussed what happened in the woods. Hell, they hadn’t even had the talk he’d intended to initiate that day.
It had been four weeks since Callie’s death, and the two of them were still tiptoeing around Angel and each other. They were letting things happen without bothering to take control of the situation. And while Kevin found that frustrating as hell, he didn’t know how to change direction. Which meant they remained adrift.
For two weeks, he’d attempted to kick his own ass for taking Rory against that tree by the river. He had wanted to talk to her about her future plans, to see if she was still laboring under the delusion that Hope Falls, that he and Angel, would be enough to hold her. Past experience had proven to him they wouldn’t.
And he couldn’t let things keep riding this way, couldn’t let Angel think this was the way things were always going to be from now on if they weren’t. His sweet baby girl had suffered enough loss in her young life. As long as there was a breath in his body, he was going to make sure that he never caused her a second of pain.
Headlights flashed behind him as another car pulled in. He got out of his vehicle when he recognized Cheryl. She’d called and texted almost daily since Callie’s death, and she’d even brought him lunch to work a couple of days. All of it had been completely platonic, friendly, sweet.
She was the exact type of woman he should be dating. She was kind, gentle, reliable and Angel liked her. She would be the perfect mother.
Cheryl smiled as she approached him…and Kevin knew none of that mattered. It was time to do what Callie had told him to do weeks earlier. Stop stringing the lovely woman along, stop allowing her to think this was ever going to be anything more.
“Hey stranger.”
He forced an easy grin, trying to push away the overwhelming anxiety building up inside him, set to go off like a powder keg. “Hi, Cheryl. This is a nice surprise.”
She shrugged and blushed a little. He’d had sex with her twice, both times happening well over four months ago. He’d known after the first time there were no sparks, but he’d tried the second time, determined to get Rory out of his head and his heart. It had failed, and he hadn’t initiated anything more than platonic good-night kisses on every subsequent date.
“I was just heading home from work and had this crazy idea to come around and see if I could convince you to go out to dinner with me. Spontaneity at its best.”
Kevin glanced toward the house. He could imagine Angel sitting at the kitchen counter coloring as Rory attempted her latest masterpiece. She’d discovered the Food Network on TV last week and had become addicted to cooking shows. She had been trying some of the recipes featured, with a minimal amount of success. Considering she had started with zero skills, he had to admit she was improving. Last night’s attempt was actually edible.
Regardless, a wise man would take Cheryl up on her offer.
Clearly, he was dumber than owl shit.
“Cheryl,” he started, but she raised her hand to cut him off.
“No, wait. I get it.”
He frowned. “Get what?”
She shrugged with a good-natured smile. “The way you just said my name sort of says it all. This isn’t working out, is it?”
Kevin felt terrible. He should have said this to her months ago, but he’d been nursing a broken heart and trying to mend it with her. “I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be,” she said kindly. “I think I was trying to make this into something more than you were interested in.”
God. He was doing the same thing to her that Rory had done to him. “You’re an amazing woman, Cheryl. You deserve to be with someone who’s crazy about you.”
She nodded. “The way you and Rory feel about each other.”
His brows creased. “I don’t—”
“I’ve seen the way you look at her. And the way she looks at you. It’s sort of perfect when you think about it. You can raise Angel together, as a couple, a real family.”
Kevin tried to process her words, but he was too hung up on her comment about the way Rory looked at him. How did she look at him?
“I’m not sure that’s how it’s going to work out,” he admitted at last.
“But that’s what you want, right?”
He nodded without hesitation.
Cheryl rolled her eyes. “I hope you’ll forgive me, but sometimes men are really thick. I don’t know what happened between you and Rory in the past, but it’s pretty obvious that the two of you are in love with each other. If there’s anything we should be learning from Callie’s death, it’s that life is precious and sometimes it’s too damn short. Stop wasting time worrying about stuff that obviously doesn’t matter anymore.”
Kevin walked over and hugged her. “You’re right. You’re completely right.”
She gave him one tight squeeze then stepped away. “We’re going to be friends,” she announced with an authority that dared him to try to rebut her comment.
He laughed. “Yeah. I’m pretty sure we’re going to be really good friends.”
“Great. Remember you said that, and be a good friend and find a hot guy to set me up on a blind date with. Maybe ask Rory for suggestions. I have a serious thing for musicians.”
“Jesus. What is it with you women? Why don’t any of you ever lust after accountants?”
She turned back to her car, snorting at his joke before replying, “You’re all too stiff.”
He chuckled as she got back into her car and pulled away.
“None of them bitch about the stiff part in the bedroom,” he muttered as he walked toward the house, his heart lighter, his future clearer. He was going to do whatever it took to win Rory’s heart. Once and for all.
Suddenly, he was a man with a plan. What a difference five minutes could make.
Sure enough, when he entered the house, two things assaulted him instantly—the smell of smoke and the sound of Rory’s PG cursing.
“Son of a biscuit,” she yelled. “What the fruit? I swear to God, I did everything just like that sugarhole on TV said to. This is booger poop!”
Angel was giggling, the sound washing through Kevin like warm sunshine after weeks of cold rain.
Kevin walked to the doorway of the kitchen and peered in. Sure enough, Rory was dashing around, grabbing some scorched pile of booger poop, tossing it in the sink and drowning it with water.
“Should I order pizza in or do you want to go out?” he asked.
She glanced over her shoulder and shot him a dirty look that said she was in no mood for his jokes. She’d mentioned feeling like a maternal failure a couple nights ago and obviously, that perceived shortcoming was in full force tonight.
He held his hands up in surrender. “Just asking.”
Her gaze softened and she grimaced as she declared defeat. “Pepperoni.”
“Yay!” Angel yelled, hopping off the kitchen stool and dashing into his arms. “Will you get one of the cookie pizzas too, Uncle Kevin?”
Kevin nodded, very aware that someday soon, he and Rory were going to have to learn to say no to their niece or run the risk of raising a spoiled brat. Lately, she’d been making more and more requests for toys, longer playtimes, later bedtimes, and for sugary treats that he knew Callie would have rejected.
“Can I watch TV?” she asked.
Again, Kevin complied, setting her up on the couch and finding her favorite cartoon for her before returning to the kitchen.
Rory was trying to scrape the remains of whatever the hell it was she’d burned out of the pan.
“I think we’ve lost another pan,” she said, dropping the ruined thing back down in the sink to soak.
“Man down!” he called out in jest.
This time she laughed. “I’m hopeless.”
“Everyone has different talents, Rory. I can’t carry a tune in a bucket or play a single note on the guitar.”
“That only sort of helps. I’m also complete shit at math.”
He clasped a hand to his heart as if she’d wounded him. “Cooking I can overlook, but math?”
“I need a job.”
Kevin fell silent, his heart starting to thud painfully. He knew Rory wasn’t made for the stay-at-home mom lifestyle. She’d spent too many years working long, hard hours. She thrived on it. But he didn’t expect she’d want to leave so soon.
And once again he marveled over how so much could change in five freaking minutes. He had come in here, ready to lay it all on the line for her, to tell her how he felt, to open his goddamn heart one more time to convince her to stay here and build a family with him.
So much for that.
His temper piqued, his ability to tuck his emotions away vanishing. “Fine,” he said shortly.
Rory frowned at the abrupt change in his demeanor, her next words coming more hesitantly. “I talked to Angel’s teacher at the preschool…about the possibility of me coming in a couple of times a week to lead a music class. She was really excited about it.”
“Wait,” he said. “What?”
“I think I might like to teach music. I was talking to Sue Ann about it today at the café, and she suggested I consider giving guitar lessons at the Community Center. She seemed to think there would be quite a few people interested in learning to play.”
She misinterpreted the frown still painting his face, mistaking his outright shock for anger as she continued speaking. “I mean, neither one of those things is going to bring in a lot of money, but I figured that didn’t matter. I have a ton of money saved up from all my years on the road and some royalties trickling in from songs I’ve written. And Callie paid cash for this house with Keith’s life insurance, so it’s not like we have to worry about a mortgage. I mean, I guess you have one with your house, but you could,” she paused, obviously nervous, “you could sell yours and live here…if you wanted. Or…if you didn’t…”
She sighed, and he could see from the discomfort on her face she’d said way more than she had intended to.
“So you’re staying here in Hope Falls? For good?”
Now it was her turn to scowl. “I’ve said that since the beginning, Kevin.”
“I know that, Rory, but your decision was made pretty quickly, when you were buried in grief. I thought once some time had passed, you’d start to feel differently.”
“About what? Angel is mine.”
“She’s ours,” he corrected quickly.
“Ours,” she amended. “And I’m not about to run off and leave you alone to raise her. There’s also no way in hell I’d take her on the road. I could barely tolerate that life myself this past year. There’s no way I’d subject her to that.”
“You were unhappy on the road?”
“I’ve been miserable ever since that night at JT’s Roadhouse. I made the wrong decision. And I don’t expect you to believe this, but I realized that before…” She swallowed heavily. Rory still struggled to admit Callie had died. He suspected it would take a lot longer than the month that had passed for her to come to grips with that.
Besides, he didn’t want her to say it, didn’t need to hear anything else. He took the two steps necessary to close the distance between them, cupping her cheeks in his hands. “I love you, Rory.”
She smiled, and didn’t try to drown out his words with denial.
“I love you too, Kevin. I have ever since you gave that really cheesy toast at the wedding.”
He laughed, then went for broke. “Marry me.”
Her eyes widened with surprise. “What? Just like that?”
Kevin nodded, not backing down. “Just like that? It’s been six years, rock star. I want to be with you. Forever. I want us to be a family. You, me and Angel.”
Rory reached up to swat away a tear that had fallen but he got there first, then he kissed her.
“Say yes, Rory.”
“Yes. God, yes.”
He studied her face, solemnly at first, but then his big, friendly, affable grin broke through. “Think we should go in there and get the baby’s blessing?”
Rory laughed. “Yeah. We probably should clear this with the boss. Before we do that, order the pizza. And the damn cookie. We’ll try to soften her up with sweets first.”
“Jesus. Aren’t you just a little bit afraid we’re going to screw that poor kid up?”
She shook her head. “Nope. Angel’s going to be just fine. She’s got the world’s greatest aunt and a pretty decent uncle.”
He ruffled her hair up as punishment for her joke.
“Plus, all three of us have two beautiful guardian angels looking down. We’re gonna be okay.”