“Okay, we will, Dad.” Shane turned to Dillon. “Let’s go…”
The boys turned as one and headed off through the dining room with Roger trotting along behind them. They whispered to each other as they went.
Josh stared down at the woman sleeping so peacefully in his lap. She was curled up on her side, one hand resting on his thigh.
Looking at her now, he didn’t know what to feel—tenderness, desire, still-unresolved anger that she’d turned him down? Hurt that she couldn’t get past losing TJ and give him a chance?
He could hear the boys trying to be quiet in the kitchen. That made him smile. What was it about five-year-olds? So curious. So determined—and somehow unable to keep quiet when they said they would.
One of them dropped what sounded like a spoon. It clatteredto the floor, the noise muffled but recognizable. He almost laughed at the buzz of frantic whisper-shouting that followed.
“Shh!”
“I didn’t mean to! Sor-ry!”
He heard the clinking of dishware and the whoosh of air as the fridge was opened, then the muted click as the door shut…
“Josh?” asked Riley in a sleepy voice.
He looked down again, happiness filling him as her blue eyes met his. “Morning,” he said.
“Morning.” She sat up and covered a yawn.
It happened right then as she blinked at him sleepily, her hand over her mouth. The truth dawned. He wasn’t just falling.
He was there already. It was too late to save his poor heart.
She yawned again. “I can’t believe I fell asleep.”
He put a finger to his lips. “Hear that?”
Now she was smiling as she raked her fingers back through her sleep-mussed hair. “I believe there are children whispering in the kitchen. Let me guess. The boys are making breakfast…”
“They’re pouring milk over cereal. Does that count?”
“Hey.” She fake-punched his shoulder. “Cereal is breakfast, too.” A soft, sleepy sound escaped her, and she laid her head on his shoulder. “How much ofLongmiredid I miss?”
“No idea. I fell asleep, too.” He could sit there on her sofa for the rest of the day, holding her close as they talked about nothing the least bit important.
But then she was pulling away, grabbing her phone from the coffee table, checking the time. “It’s almost nine.”
“No kidding.”
“Ready for some eggs and sausage?”
“You’re on.”
“All right, then.” She stood. “Follow me.”
They took their sweet time over breakfast. The boys finished their bowls of cereal and said yes to toast and sausage. Riley even scrambled a few eggs just for Roger. He wolfed the food down with gusto.
Josh could have stayed forever. Shane seemed to feel the same way.
But they didn’t live here, and Josh needed to remember that. He sent Shane upstairs to change out of his PJ’s and get his things together. Dillon went up with him.
When the boys came back down, Riley and Dillon followed Josh and Shane out to the crew cab.
“See you tomorrow!” Dillon called as Josh started the engine and eased away from the curb.
