“Pearl?!” Ethan dropped the cookie sheet to the floor with a clatter. “What the heck are you doing here?” He bent to get the pan and hit his head on an open cupboard he'd pulled it out of. He rubbed his head and muttered something that sounded like: Nutcrackers.
“Are you okay?” Valerie rushed over to check his head. She lightly brushed her fingers over the top of his scalp where a bump was already forming. There wasn't any blood so that was a good sign. She framed his face and made him look at her. “How many fingers and I holding up?” She held up three.
He smiled softly. “If I say seven will you keep playing with my hair?”
She blushed and glanced away, only to find Pearl staring at the two of them. A tiny, almost imperceptible line appeared between her eyebrows.
“Oh my gosh! I know who you are!” Pearl whipped out her phone and started filming the room. “You’re Hope Remington’s daughter. I thought you were dead. Ethan, can you see the resemblance? She looks just like her mom.” She ended filming on Valerie’s stunned face.
A blink later, she’d flipped the camera and spun so she could take a selfie with Valerie. Ethan jumped in front of Valerie and blocked the shot. “Ethan–what the heck?” Pearl scowled fiercely, giving Valerie a glimpse of the woman who had walked out on her family. She looked ready to claw Ethan’s eyes out for nothing more than ruining a picture.
Ethan leveled her with a look. “What are you doing here? How did you get past the security code at the gate?”
All good questions that Valerie had a hard time coming up with because her head was stuck on the fact that Pearl said she was the spitting image of her mother. She always thought she favored her mom more than her dad, but with her hair grown out, she probably did look more like her mom who was known for her strawberry blonde locks.
Pearl readjusted and tried to take another selfie. Ethan stepped between them again.
Pearl scowled and lowered the phone. “There was a delivery truck in front of me. I followed him in.”
“Why?” Ethan said with measured calm.
Pearl sighed. “I can’t explain it. I feel this need to be with Collin–like, all the time this Christmas.” She glared. “You’re the one who always tells me to call him on Christmas, his birthday, the 4th of July, and all that crap. I thought you’d be happy I made an effort to drive all the way up here to see him.”
Valerie glanced over to see Collin burying his face in Tucker’s neck. The dog was sitting up and glaring at Pearl. He was a good judge of character. Valerie cleared her throat. “Maybe you two should take this conversation outside.” She tipped her head toward Collin. Ethan got the gist of her hint. He nodded, took Pearl by the arm, and escorted her out of the house.
“What do you want from me, Ethan?” Pearl continued. “It’s not my fault I have motherly instincts that I can’t suppress. Believe me; I’ve tried!”
Valerie squatted down in front of Collin. “You okay?”
He nodded, his face drawn in sadness. “I don’t need her to call me all the time.” He focused on Tucker as he talked. “They shouldn’t fight about it.”
Valerie’s heart wanted to jump out of her chest and wrap around this kid three times. She put a hand on his back. “You’re right. Fighting isn’t helpful. Even Tanya and Tucker have disagreements, though. They growl at each other and sometimes don’t talk for a while.”
Collin stared at Tucker for a moment before looking at her. “They do? Why?”
Valerie tapped her chin as she thought about it. “Usually, it’s silly things. Or, things I think are silly–like who gets to go outside first. Speaking of outside…” She pushed to her feet, ready to distract Collin. “Do you want to help me take them out?”
He lifted his chin. “I guess.”
“It won’t take long because they don't like to be cold, so they go fast.” She nudged Collin, earning a smile.
The small mud room was full of dog sweaters, leashes, and toys. Valerie put a leash on Tucker and handed it to Collin. “He likes you, so you should hold that one. Tanya is a little pushy, so I’ll take her.”
Collin scratched the top of Tucker’s head. “I like him too. We’re friends.”
“I think so.” She opened the back door, and they went to where Tucker and Tanya liked to do their business. Collin was happy to trot along with Tucker and talk to him about the squirrel climbing the tree or the cool rock he’d found. He seemed content and not at all worried about his parents. Which was precisely the way Valerie wanted it–she was doing enough worrying about them on her own.
Nothing in Ethan’s reaction said he wanted Pearl as a romantic partner. He’d stopped her from filming Valerie–which was super kind and thoughtful. His response was so quick she wondered how often he’d worked to protect Collin from Pearl too. Now that her head had cleared, she wanted to tell him she had this–she could handle women like Pearl.
The truth of that statement warmed her from her toes to her nose.
She could handle Pearl. She could handle the attention. She could handle the media blitz. She could handle so much more than she’d given herself credit for over the last couple of years.
The big question hanging over her was: did she want to?
The quiet life had its appeal, especially if it included Ethan.
CHAPTERTEN
