it had been something she found herself having to repeat over and over like a mantra, and she was pretty sure it wasn’t because it made her so happy to think about.
Halfway through her telling, Sharon and Michael Hurley came in, heading straight to Vaughan, hugging him and speaking quietly before they all returned to settle in to wait for news.
* * *
THE DOCTOR CAME in shortly after that to let them know Maddie was out of surgery and that things had gone well. Vaughan stood at her side and squeezed her hand at the news.
They went back to recovery where they were allowed to kiss Maddie and tell her they loved her. Kelly pulled Pete from the pocket of her hoodie and tucked him in against Maddie’s side. “Daddy brought Pete to keep you company.”
Maddie’s smile was goofy as her eyes slowly closed.
“So glad you brought him,” Kelly murmured as they left.
“Yeah?”
He looked so eager for her approval it made Kelly feel guilty.
“Yeah.”
“They’re buds.” He shrugged, blushing a little.
He may have never taken his kids to a dental appointment, but he knew that. He didn’t know their friends, either, but he knew how much his daughter loved that stuffed animal and that it would comfort her. He paid attention when it mattered. At least when it came to his children. Which in the big picture was important. She chided herself to always remember. Especially when she started to get bitter. Things could always be worse.
“Hang on a second. I need to stop by the nurses’ station.”
He stood at her side as she made sure they had her daughter’s allergies noted. She also got the times they could come back to see Maddie.
In the long hallway, before they hit the swinging doors leading back to the waiting room, Vaughan stopped her. “Hey, thank you for letting me be here. It means a lot to me.”
“It means a lot to her, too.”
His smile was lopsided. The one she’d dropped her panties for way back when. It still made her happy and sad all at once.
“What’s next? What can I do?” Vaughan asked, looking a little lost.
“I’ll hang out here awhile longer and then head home. You should go and get rest. You have a tour-ending show tonight.”
He stopped her with a hand at her shoulder. “This is a million times more important.”
It was, of course, but it was nice to hear him say it. Even if she didn’t believe him all the way. He’d chosen music over his family more than once. She understood that this tour meant they were employing the crew, filling seats with fans who loved Sweet Hollow Ranch and who’d be disappointed if they didn’t play. So many livelihoods to be responsible for.
“Look, I’m not going to be upset if you do. If she keeps improving over the day, there’s no reason you should cancel,” Kelly said. Which was true, of course.
Vaughan looked as if he was arguing with himself but finally shook his head. “Ezra and Paddy hooked me and my parents up with hotel rooms for today. We also talked about tonight and the show and we’re all agreed that we’re waiting to see how Maddie is today. I’m not going anywhere, Kel.”
Kelly nodded. Even though she knew he hadn’t been before. She’d needed him and he just hadn’t been there. She nodded, even though she knew he could easily rip her trust to shreds if she gave it to him, so she wasn’t going to risk her trust. Especially not when it came to her daughters. And yet what point would there be in saying all that? Why call him out and start something when they were both on edge and stressed?
Vaughan loved his daughters. They adored him right back. That was important. That was what she always had to remember.
This was about Maddie, who would undoubtedly benefit from having her dad around. And Kensey, too, because she’d be worried about her big sister, and her daddy would be around to make her feel better.
“All right.”
“Thank you.”
THE FOLLOWING DAY, Kelly really wondered just what the hell she’d been thinking when she’d invited all these people over. Her house nearly groaned at the seams with Hurleys. All Vaughan’s brothers were there and each of them had a woman along. Mary, Damien’s wife, was hugely pregnant and yet she’d moved through Kelly’s kitchen with ease, continuing to produce food at a rate that made Kelly begin to wonder if the other woman didn’t have one of those magic bags that Hermione had in the Harry Potter books.
They all happily bustled through Kelly’s house, comfortable with one another. Even just a year before it would have made her feel lonely. So alone. But this place was hers. At one time she’d been far more comfortable on the other side of the camera, but in the years since she’d retired from the runway, she’d made herself at home taking photographs. The walls were covered in memories.
Every pillow, picture, plate and towel existed as a sort of talisman for Kelly. A bit of magic that made her feel safe. This was her home, her heart. Even Sharon Hurley being in her kitchen wasn’t enough to shake that.
Though it stung to see how warm Sharon Hurley was with everyone else’s women. Not once had the woman showed even a sliver of that toward her.
A knife shaped like jealousy and doubt sliced through her, and Kelly ruthlessly pushed it aside. It didn’t matter. She left and that was that.
Ross had recently left, taking his daughters along with him. His oldest had a piano lesson and after that, they had their weekly family dinner. At his ex-in-laws’ house. Yeah, that was sort of annoying. He still hung out with his ex-wife and her family weekly, but what could she say when her house was full of Hurleys?
So, Kelly had urged him to keep their schedules. Things needed to get back to normal. And to be honest, she really needed to think about how much hostility Ross had shown—in private, of course—over Vaughan and his family being around so much. He thought their lifestyle was bad for the girls to be around.
But that lifestyle was their world. Their dad was a musician. There was no getting around that. She didn’t want the girls to be ashamed or conflicted about it. It wasn’t Ross’s place and she pushed back but he didn’t like it much.
Blended families could work. They did work. But if he continued to attempt to get between the girls and their father, it made success impossible.
And damn if Vaughan wasn’t making it worse. He kept looking at her. Not in a where’s the food sense, like most people looked to one another in these situations. But an I like your boobs way.
Their sexual chemistry had never dimmed. Ever. Years ago Kelly had accepted she would always burn for Vaughan. But aside from his general flirty behavior—he had always been like that—he tried to keep it light. He certainly didn’t stare at her as if he wanted to rub on her
