the bus stopped at the end of Mabel’s drive and the boys shot off the vehicle in a sprint to the house, Marsh pulled the truck onto the road’s weed-choked shoulder. And then he watched as Effie, with her adorable baby riding her hip, burst out the screen door to meet her twins. Clearly eager to talk about their first day back to school, the boys bounced like a couple of springs.
Effie’s smile was big enough to see from fifty yards.
But then she raised her hand to her forehead, blocking her gaze from the sun. Understandably, upon seeing him, her happy expression faded.
Shit. Not that he much cared about losing her favor, but considering how much they’d be forced together till after the wedding, it made sense to keep the peace.
What didn’t make sense was the fact that a long-buried part of him craved bringing back her smile.
On edge about a possible confrontation, Marsh’s pulse hammered uncomfortably when the bus left, giving him the space needed to aim his truck down the drive.
By the time he parked, both boys raced to greet him.
Marsh opened his door slow enough not to accidentally give one of them a conk, then grabbed his trusty cowboy hat from the passenger seat to plant on his head. The heat was intense, and he welcomed the shade.
“Guess what?” asked the twin in a red T-shirt with Spider-Man on it.
“We got hamsters in our school room and the dad ate his baby!” The other twin, wearing a blue T-shirt with the same character, beat his brother to the epic story.
“Yeah, and Miz Logan got all pinchy faced and told us to go to the reading corner, but I wanted to see, so I just stayed even though we weren’t supposed to.”
“Colt got a time out, and a poor choice X on Miz Logan’s chart. He’s in big trouble and gots a note for Mom to sign.”
“Has a note for me to sign.” Effie had slowly walked their way. “Marsh. I’ll bet you’re here for Wallace’s wallet. Grandma just found it.” Her words might have been friendly enough, but her expression wasn’t. The boys’ teacher wasn’t the only “pinchy faced” woman in town.
“Right. He sent me to get it. Plus, I owe you an apology for what happened this morning.”
“I’m okay.” She jiggled the baby.
“I’m glad, but seriously, I’m sorry to have run out on you like that, and it won’t happen again.”
She shrugged.
“Hey!” A grubby hand tugged the hem of Marsh’s black T-shirt. “There was blood in the hamster cage, and Miz Logan got sick-looking and called the janitor to clean it. He said that wasn’t in his job disk-kiption, but he took it anyway, and then brought it back all clean.”
“Colt...” Effie said in the universal mom warning tone. “Why don’t you and your brother start on your chores, then we’ll do homework.”
“Don’t have any!”
“Liar!” his twin said. “We’ve got math and a word find!”
“You’re a tattletale!” The kid in the red shirt that Marsh assumed was Colt grabbed a fistful of dirt and chucked it at his brother.
“Ouch! You hit my eyeball!” The kid who had to be Remington by default started crying.
“Colt,” Effie barked, “go to your room.”
Cassidy’s eyes welled as if she wasn’t sure what to make of the situation.
“Mommy, my eyeball fell out!” Effie’s youngest son clamped his hand over his left eye.
“Aw, honey.” She looked to him, her huffing daughter, then Marsh. “Would you mind?” She held out the baby to him.
“Not a good idea.” Backing away with his hands up, he added, “I’ve got germs.”
She waved off his concerns and thrust her crying infant into his arms. “By the time you get to your third kid, you kinda give up on the whole germ thing.”
Of course, Marsh grabbed hold of Cassidy or she might have fallen, but that landed him in the untenable position of feeling as if he were falling. The baby smelled so good and pure. And then there was pretty Effie wrapping her son in an invisible quilt made of love. Had fate not taken everything, this might be his life. Tucker would easily be old enough to have had a baby sister, and his ex had been great with their son.
“See, silly?” Effie pried Remington’s hand finger by finger to get him to move it. “Your eyeball is not only still there, but I’ll bet it works just fine. Want to check and see?”
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