front teeth recently and couldn’t have been any cuter if he’d tried.
“Last time you went to Auntie Had’s, you broke a window, dipwad,” Alan said.
“Come on, now,” Hadley winked at Trevor and chucked Alan under the chin. “You once broke a chair,” she reminded him humorously, and Trev made a so-there face at his big brother.
Hadley looked at Julie. “So what’s so special in Billings?”
“I want a new dress.”
Hadley nodded, taking the announcement with due seriousness. Julie always wanted a new dress. She was the definitive girly-girl. “And there are no new dresses here in Lucius?”
Julie sighed. “I’ve seen them all.”
“Ahh. A problem, indeed.” She looked over when the door to the office squealed open and Evie stomped out. “Hi.”
Evie stopped, clearly not expecting to see Hadley standing there. The expression in her blue eyes closed. “Stu can’t watch you guys today,” she said.
“Then we can go with you.” Julie looked delighted. Evie, however, did not.
“The kids can stay with me, if you need them to, Evie,” Hadley offered. There’d been a day when her sister would have told her that she was going to Billings for some reason. A day when she’d have just dumped off the kids with no warning, in fact. But those had been days when Evie smiled, when she seemed happy and that hadn’t been the case for more months than Hadley cared to acknowledge.
Evie let out a breath. “It’ll have to do,” she said abruptly. She leaned over and kissed her children’s foreheads, one after the other, and pulled her key chain out of her pocket. “Charlie left a little bit ago for a job in Miles City. I have to pick up his father from the airport in Billings. I won’t be back until after suppertime, so Charlie’ll have to pick up the kids.” She hurried off to her car, parked on the far side of Hadley’s truck.
“Drive safely.”
Evie waved but didn’t look back.
Hadley looked down at the kids. At least now she knew what Evie’s reasons were for the trip. Even if it did seem spur-ofthe-moment. “Well. Have you had lunch?”
They all shook their heads. “Mom told us Uncle Stu would take us to Luscious,” Alan said hopefully.
Hadley grinned a little. “Much as I like Luscious, I don’t have time for lunch there. But you guys can have lunch at Tiff’s, then you can help me bake some cookies. And Ivan is bringing out his sleigh and horses for one of my guests, so you’ll get to see that, too.”
Julie perked up a little at that. Trev was always happy to see her at Tiff’s. And even Alan didn’t look particularly peeved at the notion. So Hadley stuck her head quickly in the office. Spied Stu. “I’m taking Evie’s bunch home with me. Since when is Charlie’s father coming to visit?”
Stu shrugged and kept right on stacking small boxes of auto parts in their places. “Who knows? I gotta get this delivery stocked and then I’m meeting a guy about a truck I want. Couldn’t have taken her kids with me if I’d wanted to.”
“How is Wood’s car coming along?”
He finally looked over at her. “Slow. Original parts are hard to come by, and he’s insisting on them. The guy’s a pain, but he does know cars. Heard you and Wendell went to church together this morning.”
“Don’t go there, Stu.” It wouldn’t take much for her anger to rear its head all over again. “I’m not doing anything together with Wendell.”
“Aw. Come on. You’re perfect for each other. He’ll take good care of you, Had. He’s a good guy. And you’ll never have to worry that he’ll treat you like Charlie treats Evie.”
That was probably true, but hardly the point, as far as Hadley was concerned. She also knew that Evie didn’t allow interference in her life from their brothers, no matter what. Even though Hadley’s concern for her sister lately was increasing, she still envied her sister that ability. “Why are you so set on pushing me at him, Stu?”
He shoved a few more boxes into place, though she hardly could see how, considering how full the stock shelves were. “Maybe ’cause we want to see you happy, Had, and not flitting off somewhere again like you did last summer!”
“I didn’t flit off. I was taking a class!”
“Class,” he muttered. “Like you’re gonna be some famous writer someday. Run off and find your fame and glory or something.”
She pressed her palms to her stomach. “I’m not planning to run off, Stu.” Not like his mother had. Beau’s first wife, Evelyn, had left him with three children well before Hadley’s mother had come on to the scene, and she’d never come back. “And even if I were, shoving Wendell down my throat at every corner isn’t likely to make me want to stay!”
“You oughta be married and having kids of your own by now,” he said gruffly.
“Well, you’re thirty-five. Where’s your wife and kids?” She shook her head, annoyed all over again, and not even having some sympathy for the roots of his behavior was mitigating it. “Stop messing in my life, Stu. I’m warning you.”
At that, he smiled. “I’m quaking in my boots, Had.”
She turned on her heel and strode out, slamming the door behind her hard enough to knock some of his carefully towered boxes right back down again. “Come on,” she gestured to the kids who were waiting. “Let’s go.”
“Had, wait.” Stu had followed her out. “Your truck is good to go.” He tossed her the key. “Until next time, anyway.”
Hadley caught the key and waved the kids toward her truck. Having her transportation back in working order was something, at least.
The kids piled in and she drove back to Tiff’s.
Once the children had left no question that there would not be any leftovers from the lunch Hadley had prepared, she settled them in the kitchen with cookie makings. Before long, Mrs. Ardelle and Joanie joined them, and within an hour the smell of sugar cookies was filling the kitchen.
Hadley left them long enough to finally change out of her church clothes and into her usual jeans and a white T-shirt. Then the phone rang. She stared at it for a moment, hoping against hope that it wouldn’t be Wendell. Didn’t matter. She still had to answer the thing.
“I’m looking for a, um, Wood Tolliver?” The voice was feminine and very husky. A phone-sex voice.
Not that Hadley knew what a phone-sex voice sounded like. “Can you hold on for a moment and I’ll see if he’s in his room?”
“Of course. Thank you.”
Hadley carried the cordless unit with her and knocked on Wood’s door.
He yanked it open a moment later, looking a trifle harried. As if he’d been raking his fingers through his hair a few dozen times. His sleeves were shoved up his arms, and she
