Chapter Six
RYAN HAD NO CONCEPT OF HOW EXHAUSTING HE WOULD find the prospect of trying to figure out how and what to feed a thirteen-year-old girl on the regular.
Three meals a day, every single day, until she moved out of the house. He was overwhelmed just thinking about it. How did Kim do it?
At least his niece didn’t seem to be a particularly picky eater, other than she didn’t like anything with onions or mushrooms. He couldn’t blame her for the latter.
Plus, he would be able to get a little bit of a break when she ate school lunch during the week, so that took a few meals off his plate, at least until Christmas break.
He could only hope his sister would be home by then and the responsibility could once more fall on her no-doubt much more capable shoulders.
“Do you have a favorite kind of cereal?” he asked, scanning the offerings on the shelves of the grocery store.
“I don’t usually eat a lot of cereal,” Audrey admitted, looking up from the phone that seemed glued to her hand. “I used to like it more when I was little but now if I have time for breakfast I usually have toast with maybe some peanut butter on it.”
Ryan had a sudden memory of Kim often fixing that for him when she had become his de facto caregiver during their mom’s illness and after her death.
“Not a bad breakfast. It’s how I survived flight school.”
“We have plenty of peanut butter at home but we’re almost out of bread. I can show you the kind Mom always gets.”
“Sounds good.”
They headed in the direction of the bakery.
She shoved her phone in her pocket and focused on helping him with the shopping.
As they worked their way through the store, Audrey was full of funny commentary about items she liked and didn’t like, something she ate a friend’s house, a brand of cookies she wanted to try.
He had discovered since he arrived in Shelter Springs that he liked being with his niece, much to his surprise. She was funny and insightful, with a unique way of looking at the world.
Ryan had always told himself having a family of his own wasn’t in the cards.
He wasn’t cut out to be a husband, a partner, a father.
Besides the poor example his own father had set for him, Ryan had been in a few relationships with women earlier in his adult life who had basically told him he was closed off emotionally.
They complained he was too focused on his military career and didn’t make enough room in his life for softness and connection.
Spending all this time with Audrey, seeing her sense of humor and her compassion and her kindness, was almost enough to make him wonder about all the what-ifs he had closed the door to a long time ago.
They were nearly finished shopping after making their way through nearly every section of the store when a woman with wavy blond hair and familiar features turned into their aisle. Holly’s twin sister. Hannah, he remembered.
She moved in their direction, focusing on the shelves. When her attention shifted to them, she froze, blue eyes going wide as if they were the last people she expected to find in the store.
“Hi, Hannah,” Audrey said.
She smiled at his niece. “Audrey. Hello. And Ryan, isn’t it?”
“Hello.”
“Uncle Ry, you remember Hannah Goodwin, right? Holly’s twin sister. I think you met her the other day.”
“Yes. I remember.”
“It’s great to bump into you. If I didn’t know better, I might almost call it fate.”
Hannah looked delighted and something in her expression immediately set him on edge. He didn’t believe in fate or kismet or anything of the sort, but somehow he still had a premonition of impending danger.
She scanned their cart. “How’s the shopping going?”
“Good,” Audrey answered. “We’re almost done. We only have to grab some, um, feminine hygiene products for me. I had my first period last month and Mom and I were going to pick up some other stuff before the next one but didn’t have the chance before she had to go.”
Holly’s sister gave him an amused look, as if expecting him to be uncomfortable. He raised an eyebrow, completely unfazed. Menstruation was a normal part of life, right? Okay, he hadn’t much experience in shopping for supplies but he was always willing to learn.
“Do you know what you’re looking for?” Hannah asked her.
“Not really. Mom bought everything last time.”
The older woman studied her. “Would you like me to go with you to that particular aisle and help you choose?”
Audrey looked relieved. “Yeah, actually. That would be great. Thanks a lot.”
Ryan followed them to the feminine hygiene aisle and was instantly overwhelmed at all the options.
To his relief, Hannah took charge, discussing the pros and cons with Audrey of the various products.
After they finally made a couple different selections and added them to the cart, Audrey looked down the aisle and her features lit up.
“Hey! There’s Jenny Hernandez. We’re working on a project for our English class together. Can I go talk to her for a minute?”
“Yeah. That’s fine. I’ll take this stuff to the checkout. Come find me when you’re done talking to your friend.”
“Okay.”
She hurried away, leaving him with Hannah Goodwin.
“Thanks for your help,” he said. “I’ll admit, shopping for period products is above my pay grade.”
“No problem. I remember how confusing all the different products can be. Holly and I started our periods only a week apart. That is apparently common in twins.”
He expected that was probably more personal information than Holly wanted her sister to disclose to a near stranger.
“And speaking of my sister, like I said, I’m actually really glad I bumped into you.”
His wariness from earlier at her strange reaction when they first encountered her returned tenfold. “Oh?”
She chewed her lip and hesitated for a moment before plunging ahead. “Holly will kill me for this but I know she will never ask you herself.”
He was suddenly quite sure he did not want to hear whatever she was about to say. What would Hannah do if he suddenly whirled his cart in the other direction and hurried away from her?
He couldn’t do that, especially when she had taken time from her own shopping to help out his niece.
“My sister is the most amazing, kind person I know,” Hannah said. “She is a fantastic mother, a dedicated small business owner, a volunteer for various organizations around town. She takes care of everybody around her. Everyone except herself.”
Somehow he didn’t need Hannah to tell him that about her twin. In their few interactions, he had already received that same impression about Holly Moore.
“Just to show you how kind she is,” Hannah went on, “this month she is providing the flowers for the wedding of her former sister-in-law. Lydia has been asked to be a flower girl.”
“I know. Holly told me.”
He still wasn’t sure what any of this had to do with him.
“I tried to talk her out of both of those things. I didn’t think she should be providing the flowers or letting Lydia be in the wedding party. Holly insisted it would be the right thing to do.”
“Why did you think she shouldn’t participate?” he asked, genuinely curious.
“Because her ex-husband is going to be there and he is an absolute jerk. Troy walked out on his family when Lyd was only three. He left my beautiful, amazing sister for another woman, the administrative assistant at his insurance firm, and they had a baby earlier this year. Lydia’s half brother, Hudson.
The baby is adorable, I will give him that.
He is also, to quote his and Lydia’s father on one memorable occasion, a quote-unquote normal boy without any obvious disabilities. ”
Had the man actually been stupid enough to say that? Ryan disliked him already.
“Holly thinks she will be perfectly fine to go to the wedding of Troy’s sister by herself, with only Lydia. I disagree. I think she should take a date. A gorgeous date.”
He blinked, not sure how to respond to that. “Did you have any one in mind?” he asked, though he suspected he already knew the answer.
“We went through all the possibilities of guys in town today and nobody really felt right. Except you.”
“Me.”
Hannah nodded. “I think you would be the perfect person to take her to the wedding. Troy doesn’t know you at all, a mysterious naval pilot from out of town who won’t be sticking around to make things complicated. Plus you’re all... this.”
She waved a hand in front of him and he again didn’t quite know how to respond.
“Troy would hate seeing Holly with someone like you. Anything Troy hates, I am completely behind. I know that makes me sound petty. But you know what? I don’t care.”
“You want me to take your sister, whom I have met exactly twice, to the wedding of her ex-husband’s sister.” He couldn’t seem to wrap his head around her suggestion.
“I know it’s a lot to ask,” Hannah acknowledged. “But when she’s not overworked and overstressed, Holly is so much fun. She’s creative, she’s talented, she’s a great dancer. I think you two would have a fantastic time together.”
“Does your sister know you’re, um, asking strange men to date her?”
“No. And like I said, she will kill me when she finds out. But siblings have to go to the wall for each other, right? That’s the whole reason you’re here. To help Kim.”
“And Audrey.”
“Right. Family. I would do anything for my sister and my niece, too. I’m sure you can understand.”
He did understand that. She was right; that was the whole reason he was here in this grocery store, trying to figure out what to feed his niece for the next month.
Hannah sent him a sideways look. “You’re not really a stranger, when you stop to think about it. Your sister is one of our dearest friends. Plus she works for Holly. If Kim knew I was asking you, I’m sure she would agree you’re the perfect solution for Holly.”
He gave a short laugh. He wasn’t sure he had ever been any woman’s perfect solution. He instinctively wanted to tell Hannah her idea was completely irrational and he would never agree to it. What man would?
Then he remembered that sweet little Lydia, with her wide smile and her generous heart, and he felt a pang of sympathy for Holly, struggling to raise her daughter on her own and navigate a complicated relationship with the family of her ex-husband.
“Why would you ask me? And why would I ever agree?”
She looked at him with a hopeful expression that reminded him of both her sister and her niece.
“Maybe out of the goodness of your heart and because you’re a nice guy?”
“Who says I have a heart? Or that I’m a nice guy?”
He didn’t growl the words, even though he wanted to. Still, Hannah narrowed her gaze as she studied him, then she shook her head with an eye roll.
“You’re Kim’s brother. She would never ask you to stay with Audrey if you weren’t a nice guy. And only a nice guy would agree to come out from California to help her out in her time of need.”
He frowned, wondering what the others in his squadron would think if they heard Lieutenant Commander Ryan “Ripcord” Caldwell being called a nice guy. He had a hard-earned reputation for being tough and unflinching in a crisis, someone who wouldn’t put up with bull from anybody.
“I’m afraid I don’t have anything to bargain with,” Hannah went on, her expression rueful. “I could offer to shovel your snow or fix you and Audrey a few meals but I’m not really much of a cook. You probably wouldn’t go for either of those options, even if I were.”
“Probably not.”
“Is there anything I could offer in return to convince you?”
He wasn’t aware Audrey had found them again until she spoke from behind him. “In return for what?”
He could feel a muscle tighten in his jaw and he had no idea what to say in response.
“A little favor,” he finally answered. “It’s nothing.”
“What?” she pressed, looking between the two of them with curiosity.
“Holly needs a date for the wedding of Lydia’s Aunt Kristine,” Hannah said after a moment, sending him an apologetic yet calculating look. “She already told Kristine and Kris’s mother she had one. Now we only need to find the perfect guy to make it so.”
She paused. “Or I guess she can always admit to them that she lied and only pretended to have a date so they wouldn’t feel sorry for her.”
Audrey looked appalled. “No way. That’s like peak cringe.”
“Exactly,” Hannah said.
Audrey tilted her head, giving Ryan a considering look.
“You would be perfect, Uncle Ry. You have to do it. Holly is amazing. She’s just, like, next level.
She didn’t even hesitate when Mom asked if I could stay with her when she went into rehab.
Or when Mom asked for the whole month of December off, even though it’s the busiest time of year for her shop. ”
Oh great. Now they were ganging up to pressure him. He was running out of maneuvering room.
“You have to say yes,” Audrey insisted. “You know Mom would want you to do it.”
Yeah. He was alone here with absolutely no cover. “Maybe Holly wouldn’t even want to take me as her plus-one. You said yourself she thought she would be fine on her own.”
“She needs a date. And she agreed that you would be perfect for the situation, though she did say she would never ask you herself.”
Perversely, that left him wondering why not.
“Please, Uncle Ryan. Holly gave me a job babysitting Audrey even though I’m only thirteen because she knew I wanted to save up to buy Mom a new phone for Christmas, since hers is even older than mine. And mine is crap.”
“I’ll think about it. Let’s leave it at that for now.”
“I guess that’s all I can ask,” Hannah answered. “Thank you for even considering it.
Yeah. As he and Audrey said goodbye and headed for the checkout, Ryan had a feeling he would be thinking about her suggestion for a long time.