Chapter 20
Chapter Twenty
Van
The guys might say they watch football, but there wasn’t much being viewed.
Alder and Weston were talking about the oil business.
Jasper dozed on the recliner, his legs stretched out and crossed at the ankles.
Lily’s oldest son was sprawled on the cushions next to him, in an almost identical position.
Eliot and Evander were talking pumpkins and horses, and Jensen had his hands behind his head, slouched in a beanbag chair he brought from his house for extra seating.
“You’re sticking around, then?” Jensen asked. “You’re renting from Alder, right?”
Alder and Weston stopped talking, and it was like a spotlight hit me.
“Yeah. Bean’s my only family, really.”
Jensen cocked his head. “Bean? Is that what Clover’s naming the baby?”
“No, it’s what we call it.” Defensiveness prickled along the back of my neck, and my muscles automatically tensed, ready for ridicule.
“Ours was Bud,” Evander said, rubbing a hand over his shaved scalp. “I still call Willa that a lot. She loves it.”
A light smile lifted my lips. If I kept calling the baby Bean after birth, would it like that? Something just for us when it came to a kid who was going to have loads more aunts and uncles than I had?
I wasn’t competing with anyone, but…I was. Just another uncle in…I did a quick count. Fuck, five others? Why did I feel a need to elbow my way to the head of the line? Just because I’d been married to Clover?
Yes.
I’d give her all the space she wanted, but I didn’t have to like it.
“Yes, Alder’s leasing a place to me.” Across town from Clover. Good thing Coal Haven was small.
Jasper’s brows lifted, and he glanced at Alder. “Yeah? You got one for me, bro?”
“Tell me when,” Alder said. “If it’s not open, the same offer goes to you that went to Clover. You can stay with us.”
Eliot and Evander murmured their agreement, offering a room.
Jasper raised his hand. “No offense, but it’s bad enough seeing you all suck face and give each other dopey eyes at family gatherings. If I hear anything, I’m gonna hurl, and then I’d get kicked out.”
“I’ve got a pair of noise-canceling headphones,” Alder said.
Weston held up a hand. “Take pity on a poor father and save this kind of talk for when Magnolia and I hit the road.”
Snickers filled the room just as a touchdown was made.
Jensen pumped a fist in the air and paused. “Wait, is this the team we’re rooting for?”
“Is it the wrong football for you, soccer boy?” Jasper drawled.
Jensen grinned. “I’m a soccer boy because of your sister.”
The guys groaned.
“So, Van.” Jasper angled himself toward me. “Need a roommate?”
Shock filled me. “Roommate?”
Jasper touched his chest, a sly grin on his face. “You won’t have to marry me.” He thought for a moment. “Wait. You can, and then we could live in the lake cabin that’s supposed to be mine.”
Weston grunted. “If you can sell the story to Linda, be my guest.”
“You won’t mind having Van for a son-in-law? Again?” Jasper joked.
Weston dipped his head. “My kids can pick good partners. Why would I think you’re any different?”
Humbled by his response, I didn’t know what to say. Jasper was joking around, but Weston didn’t sound bothered to keep me in the family. They’d welcomed me in, and while we were just shy of three months, they’d been good to me.
“What’d ya say?” Jasper asked, crossing his arms, his expression sincere. “We can have Bean over for uncle sleepovers.”
If I had said we had a nickname for the baby to my parents, they’d have found a way to make fun of it or me—or both.
The Dukes didn’t do that. They all pitched in to cook and clean.
They were good to each other, and the people they had surrounded themselves with did the same.
To be embraced by this fold? It was an experience I’d never forget.
One that would make me more discerning when I dated again.
My turkey dinner would waddle right back out of my stomach with that thought. I didn’t need to date for a while. I had a company lifting off and a baby to help with.
“I don’t know if I want to get married again.” I was only half joking. My appointment to sign the divorce papers hung heavy over my head. “But I could use a roommate if you’re okay with me working from home.”
“I’ll be unemployed, but don’t worry. I’ll go hang out in a coffee shop or something.” He scrubbed his hands down his face. “I’ve gotta reorient myself to the civilized world after being a cowboy for years.”
“You wanna plant pumpkins?” Evander asked.
Eliot chuckled. “I don’t think he’s joking.”
“I can plant pumpkins,” Jasper offered.
“Me too.” Hell, did I really offer that?
All their gazes landed on me.
“Yeah?” Evander’s gaze got distant like he was thinking it over. “If you want to get out from behind the desk, I hit the ground running as soon as planting season hits. I’m thinking of expanding.”
“Pumpkins?” Alder asked.
“Orchard,” he said. “My cousin Isla was complaining that she can’t get as many local pears as she wants for her brewery. I can take an acre or two from one of the grazing pastures. Could use some extra hands.”
“Clover’s due date is in May, so I’ll be around.” I’d make sure of it. If I picked up a contract or two, I could plan around it.
What if it caused an issue? What if Clover delivered early and I was gone? A client wouldn’t like me taking time off if I just signed on with them. I stuffed that concern away. I’d figure it out later.
Clover popped out of the kitchen, and I rose and crossed toward her.
“Need anything?” I asked. A dusting of flour streaked across her cheek. I wiped it off, cupping her face and rubbing my thumb over it. “How are you feeling?”
“I’m good.” She quirked her lips and glanced over my shoulder.
Oh. I was caressing her in front of her family.
I was supposed to be just her roommate. Dropping my hand, I forced myself not to look back and see how many eyes were on us.
They wouldn’t trust me with their sister, or in Weston’s case, his daughter, if they knew what I planned to do to her each day until Monday morning.
She swiped at the spot on her cheek that was now clean. “I just wanted to know if you like pumpkin pie or apple pie, and if you like sugar cookies or snowballs.”
“Do I have to pick just one?”
She smiled. “One of each. Then on the second plate, you can do the other kind.”
“I hope you made a lot.”
“Trust me, we do,” she said sagely and brushed the back of her wrist against her cheek. Another smudge of flour appeared.
I chuckled and wiped it away, never tiring of touching her soft skin. “Are you one of the desserts?”
Her eyes flared. Dammit. I did not say that in front of her dad. All of her brothers.
Jasper groaned. “See? This is what I mean. Maybe I can’t be your roommate.”
She chortled, but embarrassment flooded her face. “You’re going to move in with Jasper?”
“He’s going to move in with me,” I clarified, helping her change the subject as much as possible without looking like we got busted having sex.
“Bachelor uncles,” Jasper added, like he couldn’t help himself. “Whenever the sale happens, I’ll be living with your ex-husband.”
A knife twisted in my gut. Ex. I was going to need a lot of dessert to get that bad taste out of my mouth.
Clover
Why did it feel like I was cooking a last meal?
I knew why, and my appetite stayed tucked into a dark corner despite how good the Parmesan meatballs smelled. I had pasta cooked and waiting to go with the sauce I was currently stirring.
My bag was packed by the front door. In the morning, I would grab my toiletries and…move out. The movers were coming tomorrow afternoon, but Van was dealing with them. I’d be furniture shopping for my new place.
“Smells good.” Van entered the kitchen and leaned against the counter. One plate of cookies we’d brought home from Thanksgiving was nearly empty. The rest were frozen. He plucked a broken Santa hat up and popped it into his mouth.
“You’re going to ruin your appetite.”
“I can eat this whole plate and then that entire pan.” He peeked into the sink and let out an appreciative groan. “Is that penne? I’m never going to cook for myself like this.”
“We can still do it. Cooking for one does get a little old.” Did I sound as casual as I hoped? Would he brush me off? Let me down easy?
“Sure.”
Pleasure infused warmth into my blood. Moving wasn’t looking as dismal as before.
“Poppy invited us for Christmas. Daisy and Alder will be there. Lily and Eliot are going to his sister’s place, and Evander and Violet will be hanging with his parents.
Jasper’s going to stay at the ranch in Buffalo Gully so the staff that hasn’t moved yet can have the holiday off. ”
“She invited me too?”
I was about to say he was a part of the family, but that was changing. Yet, he was one of us. He fit too well, and even if he didn’t, I couldn’t let him weather the holidays by himself, not after I knew how he grew up. “Of course. Consider yourself an honorary Duke.”
His hesitant smile cut straight through my chest wall to my heart.
Did he realize how much it meant to me that he liked being around my parents and siblings?
He knew the names of my nieces and nephews, and he was going to live with my brother.
I had intended to ensure that I didn’t mess up his business.
I wouldn’t interfere. But if I could make him feel welcome and like he had his own people? That was more than I could ask for.
Yet it wasn’t all I wanted to ask for.
If I could get one thing for Christmas, it would be Sullivan Wagner.
His smile faded, and he swallowed, his Adam’s apple bobbing. “I, uh, actually have plans.”
“Oh.” A stabbing pain went through my chest. I couldn’t blame it on the baby. The pain was too high. Too close to my heart. “Good. That’s good.”
His brow crinkled, but he selected another chunk of sugar cookie. “I hate to miss your cookie salad.”