Come Home with Me Page 6
“Close the door,” Luke ordered. “Gently.”
“Boys,” Ariana announced, not seeming daunted. She’d spent a fair amount of time with other children, back in Vancouver with their neighbor Mrs. Sharma’s grandchildren, and in the playpen at Blowing Bubbles.
Though Brandon and Caleb were physically identical, cute kids with reddish hair and a light dusting of freckles, one boy’s hair was cropped short and the other’s was longer. Both wore jeans, but one had a brown jacket and the other a blue one. She remembered Luke saying that the kids liked to express their individuality.
When he made the introductions, she learned that the short-haired boy in the blue jacket was Brandon. She said hi to them, and Ariana babbled a greeting. Brandon looked up at Miranda, a challenge in his pale gray eyes. “You went to school with Daddy?”
“Yes, for a little while.”
“Mommy went to school with Daddy.”
“I know. They were high school sweethearts.”
Caleb lined up beside his brother. His eyes looked more soulful and his voice was quieter when he asked, “Why are you here?”
Luke saved her from fumbling for an answer by saying, “I told you earlier. They’re here for ice cream sundaes. Now, who wants ice cream?”
“I do!” Brandon cried, happily distracted, but Caleb gave Miranda another long, questioning gaze before saying in a more subdued tone, “Me too.”
“Ice cream!” Ariana put in.
Miranda raised a hand. “Count me in.” This wasn’t a date and she wasn’t going to try to ingratiate herself with the boys. Better to let the relationship evolve naturally.
She assisted Luke, and it took only a few minutes to get all the supplies onto the kitchen table. They all sat down, Luke at one end of the table, Miranda on his right with Ariana beside her, and the boys across from her. She was facing the window, and through it saw a large wooden deck bordered with glass-paneled fencing. It had started to rain, but through the sprinkles she saw the steely gray ocean.
Luke banished the dogs to a shared basket in a corner of the kitchen and she was impressed that, despite accusing gazes, the animals stayed there. “Your dogs are well behaved.”
“They’re trained in the basic commands,” he said. “It’s for their safety.”
The boys built their own sundaes, with judicious intervention from their dad to make sure they didn’t upend the bottle of chocolate sauce or spray whipped cream at each other. Miranda made her daughter a small sundae of chocolate ice cream, chocolate sauce, a sprinkle of walnuts, and a fizz of whipped cream, and made herself an adult version. Luke was the only one to forgo chocolate ice cream and dig into the other carton on the table.
“Black cherry?” she asked.
“Goes great with chocolate sauce. Don’t knock it until you’ve tried it.”
“Sorry. I’m a purist. Nothing beats classic chocolate.” She spooned into the decadent treat, loving the rich smell of chocolate and eating small mouthfuls so she could fully savor the taste and make the sundae last. But she was careful not to moan, lick the spoon, or do anything else that Luke might find suggestive.
The kids were engrossed in their own dessert, and she knew there’d be face- and hand-washing to come, but for now she relaxed and enjoyed the moment. “This is an amazing house you’ve got,” she told Luke.
“Isn’t it?” He got the pensive, slightly melancholy expression that suggested he was thinking of Candace, and his words confirmed it. “Best wedding gift ever.”
“Wedding gift?” Her voice squeaked in astonishment. “Someone gave you a house?”
“Candace’s parents. And yeah, they’re rich. Seriously rich. Her mom, Annie Byrne, is a computer genius. In the early eighties she invented one of the first, most popular video games. Clue-Tracer?”
“Wow. That’s still around, right? Isn’t it a crime-solving game for wannabe detectives?” She’d never been into video games herself, preferring to read.
“Yeah, and she still owns it. She updates it with all the latest CSI-type stuff. But anyhow, when she invented it, it was a top seller, up there with Pac-Man, Donkey Kong, and Super Mario Bros. She made millions in the first two or three years. Billions by now. She’s invented other games, too. Not, obviously, because she and Randall need the money but because she loves it.”
“I never knew that, back in high school.” Glancing at the kids, who seemed oblivious to the adult conversation, she lowered her voice. “Though I do remember Candace having some expensive-looking clothes and jewelry.”
He spoke more quietly, too. “Yes, she loved clothes and all the girly stuff, but neither she nor her parents let wealth make them all high and mighty.”
“Her parents are Destiny Islanders?”
“Her dad, Randall Yuen, is a native. He met her mom in Vancouver when she was getting her computer science degree and he was studying photography. He brought her home to meet his parents and kid sister, and she fell in love with the place. After the two of them married, they moved here. He supported her while she got Clue-Tracer going, then when the money started rolling in, they bought property, built a house, he set up a photography studio, and she kept designing games.”
He stirred the remains of his sundae into a soupy pink-and-brown mess. “They were nice to me when I was a kid, and they approved of me and Candace as a couple. They liked that I was following my passion and becoming a vet, even though I’ll never make a lot of money at it. Candace was into cooking. She took courses, worked at restaurants, and then set up a catering business. That’s the reason the kitchen here is so amazing.”
“I still can’t believe they bought you a house. This house. On the harbor.”
“Yeah, it’s pretty incredible. They live half a mile away, wanted us close. Wanted our kids to be able to play on the beach.” He glanced at the boys, who were squirting more whipped cream into their bowls. In a husky murmur, he said, “We figured there’d be more than two kids, and Candace would be here to play with them.”
She nodded sympathetically, thinking about what he’d said. Her brother had a house on the ocean, too. Lionel had subdivided his property and sold Aaron a section of it. Even though the price was reasonable, Aaron would be paying off the mortgage for the foreseeable future. Of course, now there’d be Eden’s income as well, which would really help out.
When Aaron had built his cottage, he’d told Miranda there was a room for her and Ariana. Pride and her dislike of Destiny Island had made her refuse that offer. It wasn’t fair that she’d always been the one to lean on him, especially once she’d grown up. But then last summer she’d faced the cold, hard truth. Unable to put a roof over her child’s head, she’d known she needed a better answer than accepting another loan from her brother. And so she had swallowed her pride and accepted that standing offer, so she could build a better future for her daughter.
Carefully she asked, “You were okay with Candace’s parents giving you a house?”
He raised his eyebrows. “Why not? Don’t tell me you believe in that archaic stuff about how the man’s supposed to be the sole provider?”
“No way.” And that was the truth. “I just . . . Look, don’t be offended, okay? This isn’t meant as a criticism. But I’ve always figured, we each need to look out for ourselves.”
He cocked his head, reflecting. “I think we need to be able to do that, as much as we can. But when you marry, you’re a team. Like with Candace’s parents. No one cares that her mom makes way more than her dad. They’re both doing work they love. Same with Candace and me. If she happened to be rich and I wasn’t, why should we turn down a terrific house?”
Because of pride. Something Miranda had always figured was a strength. “No good reason, I guess,” she said, not wanting to insult or argue with the man who’d supplied the delicious sundae ingredients.
Over on the kitchen counter, his phone rang. As he jumped up and hurried over, Brandon looked up from his bowl and said, “Dad-dy,” in a drawn-out, accusatory way.
“Oh.” Now she understood Brandon’s whine. “I guess you get those.”
“He does,” Brandon said emphatically.
“He’s the only vet on the island,” Caleb said. “The animals need him.”
“Thanks, buddy.” Luke reached over to ruffle his son’s longish hair.
Seeing their faces side by side, she realized that the boys mostly had their dad’s features, though their eyes were the same striking clear gray as Candace’s rather than the intriguing color mix of Luke’s. They would grow up handsome. She’d bet on that.
Luke was going on. “I have regular clinic hours. And times that I schedule visits, mostly for the large animal work but also for folks who have transportation issues. But animal injuries and illnesses don’t pay heed to schedules. My clients have my cell number.”
“What do you guys do when you get an emergency call?” she asked the boys.
“Sometimes we go with Daddy,” Brandon said.
“Yes, sometimes,” Luke said, smiling at his son. The man really did have an appealing smile. “In a pinch. But mostly we use a sitter.”
“I like Gary,” Brandon said. “Tiffie has too many rules.”
“I like Mrs. Kent,” Caleb contributed.
“Gary and Tiffie are neighborhood teens,” Luke told Miranda. “Responsible ones. Mrs. Kent’s kids and grandkids live off-island and she loves having children to dote on.”
“She makes good cookies,” Brandon said. “So do Grandma Sonia and Granddad Randall.”
“Mommy made good cookies,” Caleb said quietly. “I know she did. She was a really good cook.” He tipped his head toward Miranda. “Are you a good cook?” It came out more as a subtle, solemn challenge than a genuine question.
No way would she try to compete with the mother he’d never met. “I’m an okay cook. Not a really good one.” It was an honest answer. She chose not to mention the apple crisp.
Luke gave her an apologetic glance and stepped in. “Both sets of grandparents help out with the boys, too. They’re happy for any chance to be with them. And like I said, Candace’s parents live half a mile away. Mom and Forbes aren’t far away either.”
Miranda took a paper napkin and started to clean the worst of the chocolate off Ariana’s face. “That’s quite the support network.”
He shrugged. “You know that old saying, it takes a village to raise a child.”
“Uh, no, I don’t think I’ve heard it.”
“Boys,” he said, “you go down the hall and wash up, okay?” After they’d run off, he asked her, “How about you? I guess your village starts with your brother?”
Thinking about Aaron made her smile. “Did you know we’re only half sibs? We have different fathers.”
“No, I didn’t know. But I can see it, him being so much darker than you.”
She nodded. Aaron’s dad had been an indigenous man. “It’s one of those things that on the one hand doesn’t matter in the least but on the other hand is kind of strange. D’you know what I mean?”
“Haven’t a clue,” he said cheerfully. “Go on.”
“If we’d had the same dad—if a guy had stuck with Mom long enough to have two kids—our lives might’ve been different. But that didn’t happen. Mom was, well, already on a bad path by the time she had Aaron. She actually knew who his dad was, even though—”
Chapter Five
Luke didn’t mean to interrupt her, but couldn’t help sucking in a noisy breath. Her comment implied that her mom hadn’t known who Miranda’s father was. He also wondered about the “bad path” her mother’d been on before she died.
His sons might not have a mom but at least they did have a stable, loving family.
Miranda said, quickly and dismissively, “Anyhow, Aaron and I relied on each other. Or me on him, really. We’re closer than a lot of full siblings.”
He wanted to hear more, and was sorry his involuntary reaction had caused her to shut down. She did that, he’d noticed. Got started on a story, her words running ahead of her brain, then she realized where she was heading and put on the brakes. Still, this wasn’t the time or place for the conversation. The boys would be back soon, and Ariana was looking mutinous.
Checking out the window, he saw that the rain had stopped and the sky was mostly cloudless. “What do you say we take the kids and dogs down to the beach?”
“Sure.” Miranda jumped to her feet, seeming happy to end the conversation. “Is there a bathroom Ariana and I can use? She’s toilet-trained, mostly.” She moistened her finger and swiped a final smear of chocolate from the girl’s dusky pink cheek. “Aren’t you, sweetie?”
“Yes! I big girl.”
Luke began to collect the dirty bowls. “The bathroom’s down the hall. The boys should be out in a sec.”
It took several minutes to get organized. Miranda insisted on getting the dishes into the dishwasher, though he’d happily have left them in the sink. Then they had to help the kids into their outdoor clothing. When the boys and dogs had gone outside, Luke put on his socks, shoes, and a jacket while Miranda retrieved her sneakers from by the front door. She pulled on the same navy fleece jacket and blue scarf she’d worn to the coffee shop, the color of the scarf bringing out the blue in her eyes.
Luke grabbed his phone, hoping it wouldn’t ring, and ushered her and Ariana, who was bundled up in a pink, puffy coat, out to the deck.
Miranda went to the railing and gazed around at the fenced yard, the fort he’d built, and the beach below. He watched her, admiring the clean lines of her profile, her delicate skin, and the wavy blond hair that stirred in the gentle breeze. It was strange seeing another pretty young woman here, at the home that he’d shared with Candace. But his wife had been gone for four years, and though he’d likely always feel as if a part of his soul had been torn out, he’d more or less come to terms with the loss. There was no point in tying himself up in knots over enjoying some pleasant, attractive, female company.
Miranda hoisted Ariana into her arms and pointed to the beach. “Look, sweetie. Luke and the boys have the beach on their doorstep.”
The house, on a jut of rocky land, was just up from a crescent of pebbly beach shared with three neighbors. The path down was an easy one and the beach, on the western shore of Blue Moon Harbor, was sheltered. The boys, who’d learned to swim before they were Ariana’s age, were under strict instructions not to go there alone, but Luke hadn’t put a lock on the gate.
Children needed to explore, to play and experiment rather than be overprotected and bound up with rules. Much as he feared having anything bad happen to the twins, he did believe that. So did the boys’ grandparents and, even more important, so had Candace. Even though she hadn’t lived to see their boys, she and Luke had had many, many talks about child-rearing. When he faced a child-related dilemma, he called on memories of those talks. Remembering his wife’s voice and earnest expression helped him restrain his instinct to wrap the boys up in a protective cocoon.
He and Candace might have been different in a few ways—like her wealth, vivaciousness, and attention to her appearance—but in all the ways that mattered they’d been soul mates. It was so damned unfair that she’d been taken away from him, that she wasn’t here to enjoy their two wonderful, if challenging, boys.
Okay, so maybe he hadn’t entirely come to terms with her death.
“Luke?” Miranda’s voice recalled him to the present. “Shouldn’t we follow Brandon and Caleb? Make sure they don’t get into any trouble?”
“Yeah, we should.” The sight of Miranda and her cute, black-haired daughter soothed his grief and resentment. “Hey, Ariana, want a ride down to the beach?”
She gave him a big smile, her baby teeth gleaming, and raised her arms. “Up.”
“You can sit on my shoulders and hold on to my head.” Turning to Miranda, he asked, “That work okay?”
“She does it with Aaron, so she knows how.” She helped settle her daughter, who couldn’t be more than twenty-five pounds, on his shoulders. “Ariana, remember you can’t put your hands over his eyes or he won’t be able to see.”
The girl giggled and promptly gave Luke a finger-mask.
“Oh no!” he cried, “I’ve gone blind. I’ll never find the beach.”
With more giggles, she peeled her hands away again.
“My vision’s come back. It’s magic!” Grinning, Luke gripped her legs firmly and, with Miranda following, took the path downhill. The boys were out on the rocks, peering into a tide pool, and the dogs were investigating a pile of kelp. If they rolled in something nasty, so be it. He often had to toss them under the outdoor shower after a trip to the beach.
Most of Destiny Island’s beaches were the rugged Pacific Northwest type, not gleaming stretches of white sand. This one was typical, with a mix of pebbles, rocks, coarse sand, kelp, and well-worn logs and driftwood. The small rocky outcropping at their end of the beach nurtured several tide pools that filled with small sea creatures.
“Be careful, it’s rough footing,” he told Miranda, keeping Ariana on his shoulders as they walked over to the boys. “And slippery after the rain.”
When he let the child down, her mom took her hand and squatted to look into the pool. “Oh look, Ariana. Look at all the things that live in that pool. Caleb, Brandon, can you guys tell us what they are?”
As was typical, Brandon leaped in to answer first, naming off starfish, crabs, barnacles, and sculpins. Caleb brought up the rear, adding sea anemones and periwinkle snails—creatures Brandon had either forgotten about or didn’t want to try to pronounce. Luke worried a bit about this dynamic, but the boys had distinct personalities. All he could do was gently encourage Brandon to be a bit more thoughtful and considerate, and Caleb to be more outgoing.