He hit the door running.
Mom! I'm back!
What a quiet, dignified child,
Megan commented as she stepped into the hallway from the parlor.
It must be my Kevin.
With a giggle, Kevin darted to her, rising on his toes to see which baby she was holding.
Is that Bianca?
Delia.
Kevin squinted and studied.
How can you tell them apart? They look the same.
A mother's eyes,
she murmured, and bent to kiss him.
Where've you been,
sailor?
We went way, way out in the ocean and back, twice. We saw nine whales. One was like a baby. When they're all together, they're called a pod. Like what peas grow in.
Is that so?
And Nate let me steer and blow the horn, and I helped chart the course. And this man on the second deck was sick the whole time, but I wasn't 'cause I've got good sea legs. And Nate says I can go with him again, so can I?
Nearly nine years as a mother had Megan following the stream of information perfectly.
Well, I imagine you can.
Did you know whales mate for life, and they're not really fish at all, even though they live in the water? They're mammals, just like us and elephants and dogs, and they've got to breathe. That's how come they come up and blow water out of their spouts.
Nathaniel walked in on the lecture. And stopped, and looked. Megan stood, smiling down at her son, his hand in hers and a baby on her hip.
I
want.
The desire streamed through Nathaniel like sunlight, warm, bright. The woman there had never been a question of that. But he wanted, as Sloan had said, the whole package. The woman, the boy, the family.
Megan looked over and smiled at him. His heart all but stopped.
She started to speak, but the look in Nathaniel's eyes had her throat closing. Though she took an unconscious step back, he was already there, his hand on her cheek, his lips on hers with a tenderness that turned her to putty.
The baby laughed in delight and reached for a fistful of Nathaniel's hair.
Here we go.
Nathaniel took Delia, hefted her high so that she could squeal and kick her feet. When he settled her on his hip, both Megan and Kevin were still staring at him. He jiggled the baby and cocked his head at the boy.
Do you have a problem
with me kissing yourmom?
Megan made a little strangled sound. Kevin's gaze dropped heavily to the floor.
I
don't know,
he mumbled.
She sure is pretty, isn't she?
Kevin shrugged, flushed.
I guess.
He wasn't sure how he was supposed to feel.
Lots of men kissed his mother. His granddad and Sloan and Holt and Trent and Max. But this was different. He knew that. After all, he wasn't a baby. He shot a look up, lowered his eyes again.
Are you going to be her boyfriend now?
Ah...
Nathaniel glanced at Megan, was met with a look that clearly stated that he was on his own.
That's close enough. Does that bother you?
Because his stomach was suddenly jittery, Kevin moved his thin shoulders again.
I
don't know.
If the boy wasn't going to look up, Nathaniel figured it was time to move down. He crouched, still holding the baby.
You can take plenty of time to think about it, and let me know. I'm not going anywhere.