“Five years. And yes I have sole custody because my wife moved to Europe after the divorce.” Actually, she left the states with another man before the divorce was even final, but Austin wasn’t about to reveal that information. “We’ve lived in Providence for about nine months now, but I work in the Tri-Cities area as a project manager for Cobalt Construction. My parents live in Boise and I have a younger sister who’s married and lives in Billings, Montana. Anything else you’d like to know?”
Scott and Rudy exchanged another look.
Rudy broke the silence. “Yeah, what are your intentions concerning our sister?”
“I don’t have any intentions where your sister is concerned.” He couldn’t believe he’d almost kissed her. “My daughter is doing a job for Debbie, and because I rely on Savvy to tend her younger brothers, Debbie has been gracious enough to bring the boys here after school each day until I can pick them up.”
It was probably best he didn’t mention the part about her feeding them dinner every night. It’d sound like he was taking advantage of Debbie.
And he was.
Scott gave another grunt, but Rudy’s gaze stayed narrowed on Austin for a long moment before he nodded. “Okay then. Debbie may be our big sister, but we look out for each other in our family. And the last thing we want is someone taking advantage of her because of her wealth.”
No wonder Debbie came home to this small town. Austin had no doubt the Wheeler men would mess him up if he hurt Debbie. It’s a good thing he didn’t plan on getting involved with her.
CHAPTER14
Debbie stared out the window at the men working in the backyard. As excited as she was to finally be getting the gazebo finished, it didn’t bring the pleasure she thought it would.
The heartache over losing Noah was still too raw. How had she come to love him so deeply in just five days?
Trying to push aside thoughts of Noah, she headed to the shower. After shedding another round of tears under the hot spray, she decided it wasn’t just Noah she missed. She’d let her dreams of having a family get out of hand. Having the Reed kids here as well all week had amplified the glimpse of familial bliss, and she loved it.
Okay, so it hadn’t all been blissful. She couldn’t help smiling as she recalled the laughter she and Austin shared while they cleaned up the olive oil. Debbie had been too stressed out to appreciate it at the time, but Austin had looked so comical standing on the counter, waving the dish towel at the smoke detector.
And he’d been so sweet to come back after the pool incident to comfort her and change the lock. He’d never understand how much it meant to her to have someone reach out to her like that. Her family was always there for her any time she called them, but it was nice not to have to make the call for a change.
Her pulse sped up as she thought about how quick he was to pull her into his arms this morning. For one brief moment, she’d thought he might kiss her, but then her brothers had walked through the door.
Debbie’s phone rang as she finished dressing. She dropped onto her bed as she answered. “Hi, Mom.”
“Hi, honey. How are you doing?”
“Fine,” Debbie lied. Just the thought of telling another person Noah was gone brought tears to her eyes. She swallowed hard to clear the lump from her throat.
“Now honey, I know that’s not true. Rudy texted me and told me Gina took Noah home last night.”
Debbie sucked in a sharp breath. “I knew he’d have to leave eventually, but I just wasn’t ready to say good—” Her throat tightened, cutting off her words.
“I know, honey. This kind of thing is never easy, especially for someone like you who loves wholly and completely. I was worried about you becoming a foster parent for that reason.”
“Then why didn’t you say something?” It wouldn’t have changed Debbie’s decision to foster, but she would have liked to know her mother had concerns about it.
“Because you had your heart set on it, and I just want to see you happy. You did finish the adoption paperwork too, didn’t you?”
Debbie let out a sigh. “Yes, but I don’t hold out much hope.”
“Someday, honey, when the time is right. The Lord knows what he’s doing.”
“I know, Mom, but patience has never been my strong suit. You know that.”
Her mom chuckled on the other end of the line. “Do I ever?”
“I was calling to see if you wanted to come to an impromptu barbecue this evening. Your dad’s feeling cooped up, so he wants to do something. You probably don’t feel like partying, but I think you need some distraction.”
“I actually do have a distraction today. Scott and Rudy are helping Austin Reed build the gazebo.”
Rustling noises and soft footfalls filled the line as though her mom moved to a different room. “Without your dad?”
