Chapter 14
The following night, after the kids were in bed, Pixie emerged from her bedroom, her hair damp, her face scrubbed clean, dressed in a big sleep shirt and cotton shorts that left her beautiful legs on display.
“Tonight’s the night,” she said with determination, almost stopping his heart.
He was primed in a way he’d never experienced before.
Every day seemed better than the one before it, and now this?
Alert to every smile, he watched her go into the kitchen and return with two bottles of water. She curled up on the couch next to him, touched his arm, and said, “Call your father. If Ruthie has gone home, we can both stop worrying about her.”
“I’m not all that worried,” he lied. The problem was that if Ruth was gone, he’d have no reason to stay so close to Pixie. He had no right to keep infringing on her, but he wanted to be here. Near her morning and night. Waking up and knowing they’d have coffee together. Giving Andy hugs good night.
Watching as Pixie cuddled Shayna and the kids interacted.
No right—and yet it felt like the kind of home he’d always imagined, the type of home he’d assumed would always be out of his reach.
Pixie picked up his phone from the end table and handed it to him. “Then call for me, because I worry enough for both of us.”
That bothered him. “I would never let her hurt you.”
Her expression went soft in that way she had, and she hugged him. “I worry for you, Brogan. Don’t bother telling me not to, because that’d be like telling the grass not to grow.”
Resisting her was no longer an option, so he held her close, telling himself that for her, he’d do anything. In truth, he’d needed the push. Before Pixie, he’d had an “I don’t give a damn” edge. Now, he badly wanted to protect what he had with her.
And so, with the phone on speaker, he tried calling the last number he’d had for Brian.
There was no answer.
Pixie looked more disappointed than he was. Hell, for him, it felt like a reprieve. Talking to Brian was bound to be ugly, and that ugliness had no place in his current peace.
But again, he wanted to do what was right for Pixie.
“Erin might have come back from vacation,” he suggested.
“She’s not due back until tomorrow.”
“To the office. I’ll try her at home.” He hadn’t wanted to interrupt Erin’s vacation, but now that he was ready to make the call to Brian, he wanted it over with. A glance at the time on his phone showed it shouldn’t be too late to call.
When Erin answered on the first ring, he knew he was right.
“Hi, Erin, it’s Brogan.”
“Brogan! Hello. What’s up? Shayna’s okay?”
“Yes, she’s doing great, actually. I’m sorry to bother you at home.”
“Hey, I told you to call anytime, and I meant it. Never hesitate, okay?”
“I know you just got back from vacation.”
“Actually, it was a staycation. I just needed some time away from the office.” With suspicion, she asked, “Did you call there? They were told to let me know, no matter what.”
Wow. When Erin said for me to call anytime, apparently she meant it.
Of course, she’d loved Connie, so it made sense that she’d prioritize anything to do with Shayna.
“I did call the office earlier, but I didn’t give them any details.
” He paused for only a second, then explained, “I’ve rented a lake house in Bramble.
I’m set to be here for another three months. ”
“Whoa,” she whispered. “Hold on. Let me get to a comfortable seat.”
Brogan had to smile. He’d liked Erin Benning from the moment he’d met her. Her love and concern for Shayna had been as obvious as her grief for Connie. “I should probably tell you that you’re on speaker.”
“Okay. So, who else is there?” Then in a dawning whisper, she asked, “Is it Pixie Nolan?”
Pixie grinned. “It is. Hello, Ms. Benning. It’s so nice to meet you.”
“Gawd,” she said with exaggerated relief. “You don’t sound pissed, so I’m going to assume you’re okay with Brogan and Shayna being there?”
“I’m thrilled that they’re here. Brogan did the right thing. Siblings should be together.”
There was a new, raspy tone in Erin’s voice when she spoke again, almost as if she held back tears.
“Connie always said that you would understand. She would tell me that as a mom, she looked at things differently, and she was sure you would, too. She insisted that Brogan would be the perfect guardian and that you would never blame a child for what her father did.”
Those stark words dug into Brogan. No, Pixie wasn’t like that—but Ruth sure was. Her hatred toward him had been palpable even from Brogan’s earliest years. He could still remember her screaming at his mom, telling her she was trash … and so was her bastard kid.
Being with Pixie now only emphasized the differences between the two women and their individual capacities for love and acceptance.
“I wish I’d known Connie,” Pixie said. “She sounds like a remarkable woman. I’m sure we would have been friends.”
“She was,” Erin assured her. “If she hadn’t died so unexpectedly, she might be the one there now, getting to know you.”
Pixie’s gaze caught Brogan’s, and he knew exactly what she was thinking, because to his shame, he was thinking it, too.
If things had been different, he wouldn’t have met her.
He’d still trade places with Connie if he could, but he was damned grateful that he didn’t have to, that he’d have a chance to build a better life, with Pixie in it.
“I’m so sorry for your loss, Ms. Benning.”
“Since we’re all playing nice,” Erin said, “please just call me Erin. I loved Connie like a sister, and I adore Shayna. I hope we can stay in touch.”
Pixie grinned. “Please do.”
As far as Brogan was concerned, Shayna couldn’t have too many strong, positive role models. “I’ll make sure Pixie has your number, too.”
“I want either of you to feel free to reach out to me at any time.”
Brogan was glad he’d called after all. “Thank you. I appreciate that.” He got right to it. “Did Connie leave a number for her father?”
There was stunned silence before Erin replied, “Yes, of course, but Connie didn’t want him in Shayna’s life, so I strongly advise you not to reach out to him.”
“Normally, I wouldn’t,” he said. “I don’t want anything to do with him. The problem is that Ruth showed up in Bramble.”
“The hell she did!”
“She’s awful,” Pixie added. “She put in a few appearances, then seemed to disappear until a friend said Ruthie was at the grocery store talking about Brogan and slandering him.”
“The nerve of that bitch!”
Knowing how Pixie felt about cursing, he was glad the kids were already in bed. “I don’t like having her around just waiting to cause more trouble,” Brogan said, “so I might have to deal with Brian just to get some things settled.”
With a deep sigh, Erin said, “Not long after you took guardianship of Shayna, Ruth showed up here, too. She demanded payment for the short time she’d kept her own granddaughter.”
Brogan stiffened. “I hope you refused her.”
“I told her to go to hell, actually. Not very professional of me, but I was acting as Connie’s friend, not her lawyer.”
“Good.”
“The thing is, she said she found some of Connie’s papers at the house.”
Brogan closed his eyes. Not once had he considered that possibility. “There were more papers?”
“It’s possible, Brogan. I’m sorry.” Erin sighed her frustration.
“Sometimes when Connie was lonely or disappointed, or if she was just looking at Shayna and worrying about her future, she’d write long notes.
After she died and I went through her house, I found some under a couch cushion, one stuck on the refrigerator with a magnet, and another on her nightstand.
I didn’t search through all her things because that wouldn’t have been right, but as she’d told me to do, I gathered up everything that was noticeable, as well as her important papers from her desk drawer. ”
“There were probably others,” Brogan mused aloud.
“I’m guessing there were. Connie was obsessed with the idea of Shayna having family.”
“Because she knew what it was to be alone.”
Hurriedly, Erin said, “She always considered you her brother. I know things weren’t great between the two of you—”
“My fault.” God, if he could have that time to do over …
“No,” Erin denied. “Connie rightfully blamed her parents. She was so proud of you, Brogan. You were her hero.”
Everything in him seemed to clamp down painfully. “I’m no one’s hero.”
“Bull. You’re Shayna’s hero, and don’t you forget it. Keep her away from Brian and Ruth. Do whatever you have to, okay?”
“They’ll never touch her.” Now that he’d seen what a good life Shayna could have, he wasn’t about to let her settle for anything else. “That reminds me. I’ll need an updated will, right?”
“Absolutely.”
“Could you put it together for me? Everything Connie had plus my own accounts. It should all go to Shayna.”
“Sure. I’ll need you to fill out some paperwork, but I can get that out to you soon. The thing is, Shayna will still need a contingency guardian. Otherwise, if something happened to you, she could go back to Ruth and Brian.”
“Never.”
“Then you need to think about who you’d want for her guardian.”
Pixie nudged him, smiled, and raised her hand.
In that moment, he knew he loved her. God, he loved her so much it almost hurt.
“Brogan?” Erin said. “Did I lose you?”
“No.” He put his arm around Pixie and held her close to his side. “Pixie will be the guardian.”
“Excellent! I don’t mind saying, that’s exactly what I hoped for, and I know it’s what Connie would have wanted, too.” There was some jostling, and then Erin said, “Here’s Brian’s number. Are you ready?”
“Sure.”
She read it off, and Brogan frowned. “That’s the number I have, but no one is answering.”
“Odd. I’ll be in the office tomorrow bright and early. Let me look into things, okay? Give me a day, maybe two, and I’ll get back to you.”
“All right, thank you.”