Chapter 2
Leland
“ UNCLE LELAND .”
The sound of his niece’s high-pitched holler carrying through the morning air had him spinning fast and bracing for impact.
As he expected, Rosemary was running across the fallen leaves scattered across his backyard, little arms stretched up in the air.
As soon as she was within jumping distance, the stinker pushed her light-up sneakers against the ground, launching her small body at him without fear or a healthy respect for gravity.
He dropped the rope in his hand, glad he’d pulled out the better behaved of his two horses that morning for his ride of solitude and misery. By some miracle, he managed to catch his niece’s squirming body. Holding her at arm’s length, Leland served up the most serious look he could muster.
“What did I tell you about jumping like that?” He tossed her up into the air, earning a squeal, before catching her again.
“You said I had to warn you a’fore I did it ‘cause you’re getting old and slow.” Rosemary giggled as he tossed and caught her again. “That’s why I yelled your name.”
“I think we might have to go over a list of acceptable warnings.” After swinging her through the air one last time, he settled the gangly four-year-old over one shoulder, holding her like a sack of potatoes as he picked up Huck’s lead from where he’d left it dangling. “Where’s your mama?”
“She’s in the house changing Will’s diaper.” Rosemary made a disgusted sound. “He took a big shit.”
A bark of laughter jumped out before he could stop it. His pistol of a niece didn’t need any encouragement, but damned if he could keep a straight face when she let a curse word fly in that tiny little voice of hers. “I’m pretty sure you’re not allowed to say that.”
“But Daddy says it,” she pleaded her case with a whine. “He says shit all the time.”
The kid had a point.
“I guess you’ll have to take that up with him.” He didn’t have the faintest idea how to justify two sets of rules, and didn’t intend to try. That was for people lucky enough to be parents.
And he wasn’t one of them.
After securing Huck in his stall, Leland went in search of his sister and nephew. As Rosemary said, they were in the house dealing with the fallout of Will’s most recent explosion. While it appeared the worst of the situation had been remedied, the effects lingered.
“Holy sh—” He caught himself. “Why does he smell like that?”
“It’s peas. They don’t agree with him.”
Beverly stood at the bathroom sink with Sir William Stinky Pants on the rug at her feet as she rinsed a tiny pair of pants under the tap. A matching shirt and jacket were lined down the counter, wrung out, but still wet.
“It looks like you shoulda called the hazmat team for what came out of him.” He’d been on the receiving end of one of Will’s blowouts before, and the rumbling that accompanied detonation had been almost as shocking as the aftermath.
“Is that normal?” Leland eyed the little boy currently chewing his fist and drooling all over his fresh outfit.
“Should you take him to the doctor or something?”
His younger sister rolled her eyes his way. “Children are messy creatures by nature.”
Based on the noxious fumes penetrating his sinuses, that was a gross understatement. “They’re chaos monsters.”
And yet he’d still do just about anything for a few of his own.
Didn’t matter what they smelled like. Or how much of a mess they made.
Or even how little warning they offered before flinging themselves right at a possible head injury.
Being a dad was a dream he couldn’t seem to shake, even as the years kept ticking by.
To be fair, he probably could have managed to create one or two if he’d really wanted.
The problem was, he didn’t just want kids.
He wanted a family. A partner in crime to help raise the little heathens they created.
Someone at his side to go into battle with as the goblins destroyed everything in their path.
“They’re the lights of my life.” Sarcasm dripped from Beverly’s claim. She twisted out the bulk of the water from Will’s pants before shutting off the faucet with a sigh. “But seriously. I love the crap out of them and can’t imagine my life if they weren’t in it.”
“I know you love your kids.” He leaned closer, lowering his voice. “So feel free to talk as much shit about them as you want. I won’t judge.”
“I heard you say shit , Uncle Leland.” Rosemary jabbed one finger in his direction, her short stature lining that bony little digit right with his crotch.
He barely had time to block the attack, stepping back before she could try again.
“Stop poking at your Uncle Leland.” Beverly scooped up Will from where he was rolling around on the bathmat, slinging the chubby baby onto one hip as she gently reprimanded her daughter. “You know it makes him jumpy.”
“But it’s funny.” Rosemary’s stabby finger came his way again.
This time he moved out of reach. Thank God she had a small wingspan, otherwise—based on the amount of momentum his niece put behind the second swing— he’d currently be on his knees.
“It’s not funny.” Beverly grabbed her daughter by the hand, tugging her away. “Especially not if you ever want cousins to play with.”
His sister’s joke was innocent. She couldn’t know how touchy the spot was where it landed.
No one did, obviously.
“Did you just stop by to stink up my bathroom instead of yours?” He immediately moved the conversation away from the theoretical kids he’d been dreaming of for way too long. “Or was there some other, less disgusting, reason you came over?”
He and Bev had always been close. They grew up thick as thieves and just as sneaky.
Less than a year separated them—a fact his mother would rather most people ignore since it indicated the lack of restraint she and his dad had had when it came to certain activities.
It was an issue they continued to have to this day, which was why he made sure not to buy a house with an in-law suite for them to move into.
So, while it wasn’t abnormal for his sister to show up at his house unannounced, there was something in her expression that made him think this wasn’t just a social call.
He knew when she was just looking for a chat and when she was looking for a favor.
And based on the cringe of a smile she was giving him, it was one hell of a favor that brought her there.
“I was wondering if you could possibly babysit tonight.” She continued on, talking faster since she knew what a big ask this was.
“One of Dean’s old coworkers is in town with his wife and they invited us to this fancy corporate event in Billings.
It sounds like there will be a ton of people from all across the country there who would be great contact points for Dean, and he?—”
“Fine.” Leland cut his sister’s over-explanation short. “Just stop torturing me. You don’t have to bore me into submission.”
His brother-in-law was a great guy, but hearing about the man’s career as an investment banker made his brain try to melt out his ears.
“And you know I’ll always watch the little heathens.” He walked into the kitchen, washing his hands in the sink before pulling a stick of cheese from the fridge and peeling back the plastic. “What time do you need me to come over?”
Rosemary came right to his side, leaning against his leg as she batted her eyes up at him. “I love you, Uncle Leland.”
He sighed, passing off his snack to the only human in the world he could never seem to say no to.
Well… That wasn’t entirely true.
There was one other person he’d never deny. She could have all his time. All his money. He’d give her anything.
Everything.
Too bad it didn’t seem like she wanted any of it.
“Could you be there at five?” Bev shifted Will in her arms, moving the chunky baby from one hip to the other. “That will give us plenty of time to check into our room.”
“Your room?” He lifted his brows. “You didn’t say anything about spending the night with these mongrels.”
“I’m not a mongrel.” Rosemary shoved the whole cheese stick into her mouth, each end stretching her cheeks as she continued talking around it. “Just Will.”
“You are definitely a mongrel.” He turned from his niece to his sister, who was still clearly just as sneaky as she’d ever been. The woman knew full-well he would have balked at an overnight, so she omitted that information until he’d already agreed. “You get it from your mother.”
“Did you think we were going to drive home from Billings in the middle of the freaking night?” Beverly lifted her chin, the look in her eyes warning him that he was about to hate whatever was coming out of her mouth next. “Did you have other plans?”
She knew damn well he didn’t have other plans. He never had plans.
But this time it wasn’t for lack of trying.
He’d spent nearly his whole shift Friday at The Creekery, thinking Paige would finally bring up that agreement they made all those years ago.
He’d helped out around the bar since she’d seemed overwhelmed.
Cleaned up spilled drinks and broken glass.
Hell, he’d even ordered a special cupcake from Dianna at The Baking Rack and waited outside thinking that would be the moment.
Their fucking moment.
But it didn’t happen. And he was starting to think maybe it never would.
“Fine.” He crossed his arms and leaned back against the counter. “But you owe me.”
“It doesn’t count as owing if you never freaking cash anything in.” Bev’s gaze softened. “You can’t wait for her forever, Lee.”
He hadn’t planned to wait for Paige forever. Just until three days ago.
Her thirty-fifth birthday. The day they’d picked as two dumb kids who didn’t know shit about love or life.
Even back then he’d have given her anything, so when she proclaimed that they should marry each other if they were both still single on her thirty-fifth birthday, he’d agreed immediately. Never once thinking they’d both be single then.
He thought she’d be his way before that.
But then her dad got sick and life got complicated and one year bled into the next. But there had always been an end in sight.
Or so he thought.
“I’ll be at your place at five.” He pointed to Will. “But that thing better not be loaded.”