A Forever Family

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Kate threw back her head and laughed. “Honey, you are definitely a delight. No, all my other employees were men and as far as I know not one was prone to wearing a skirt.”

“Well, that’s a relief to hear.”

Kate sobered. “I never say anything I don’t mean. And, I’ve never told another soul what I’m about to tell you. The women my grandson dates are as deep as a bale of hay.”

I don’t want to know this. Really, I do not.

“All right,” Kate said, acknowledging Shanna’s discomfort. “Forget Michael. By the way, you make a decent cup of coffee.” She slanted a look over her shoulder. “And keep a clean house.”

“I’m having my brother paint the walls.”

The old woman examined the kitchen and muttered, “Leigh could’ve taken a lesson from you. If it wasn’t for Bob, they would’ve lived like pigs in mud.”

Pigs in mud? “Kate—”

But Michael’s grandmother went on, as if she sat in the room alone. “He was always finding dust bunnies under the furniture. It’s a wonder little Jenni made it through the crawling stage without gagging on one.”

Shanna’s jaw dropped. Michael’s sister had raised her baby in filth? “But the house is impeccable, the barn spotless.”

An impatient wave. “Michael. After Leigh died he spent every spare hour scrubbing, polishing, waxing. He couldn’t handle Jenni living in that kind of dirt any more. As for the barn—that was Leigh’s love. The outdoors, the animals, the farm. Down there everything was in its place.”

Had Leigh loved her daughter at all? Been concerned about whether or not the child felt safe, warm, cared for?

Kate said, “Don’t get me wrong. She loved Jenni. She just wasn’t domestically inclined or the mothering type. Bob did most of the parenting. He was crazy about the child.”

Shanna mulled over the information. When she met Jenni, the child had been…

Clean? Michael’s doing.

Afraid of affection? Shanna’s gratitude kiss proved that.

Bob had loved his daughter. Hugs and kisses came from the man in Jenni’s life. No wonder the poor elf was lost.

“You see where I’m coming from now?” the old lady asked.

Yes, she did. “It’s hard not to love her,” Shanna murmured.

Restless, she rose and refilled their mugs. Jenni, Jason and herself, a trio with mothers who would have benefitted from Love-Your-Children 101. And your childhood, Michael?

“Were they close, Doctor Rowan and his sister?” she asked before she could stop herself.

Kate grunted. “They were twins.” As if that explained it all. “For the most part they were inseparable, as twins are wont to be, but especially so when Davey, my son, and his wife went on their…adventures. The kids would sleep in the same room the nights their parents weren’t here. Leigh was scared of the dark.”

“Adventures?”

The old woman batted the air. “Another story.” She picked up her coffee, blew on it then drank.

Shanna’s turned cold.

The sweet sound of Jenni’s singing warmed the room.

Kate pushed her mug aside. “About a year after Davey and his wife died, the twins took to different interests. Leigh got caught up in the farm and the animals and Michael…” She patted the cane in her lap. “We really didn’t know what was on his mind. It wasn’t until he went to college that we found out he wanted to go into medicine. He…he was the first in our family to get a degree, you know.”

“Kate, I think—”

“Think I’m a gossip, don’t you, girl?” Behind lenses, her eyes—Michael’s eyes—were magnified.

“Not at all.” I think you’re lonely for your children.

Kate stared out the window at the serene pastures and the majesty of Mount Baker. “I’m telling you so you’ll understand him better. He’s a good man.”

“I don’t doubt it.”

“Just has trouble connecting with family folk. Leigh went off on a tangent with this place. I think it scared Michael, the way she loved it. Worsened when she got pregnant. Truth be known, he didn’t think much of her mothering skills. ’Course he’s not much better. He’s had a dickens of a time connecting with Jenni.” She brightened. “But he’s a wonderful doctor.”

Jenni’s voice tinkled from somewhere beyond the stoop, coaxing Silly to lie in Tavia’s lap.

Kate looked at Shanna. “I’m glad you’re the one who gave my great-grandchild back her smile. And,” she went on, “as ornery and irascible as he can be, I suspect you’ve sparked a smile from my grandson. Both have been a long time coming.”

Near the cool shadowed doorway, a bee droned before it decided to forego curiosity for the hive and flitted away. Losing herself in beauty and peace, Shanna murmured, “He doesn’t realize how much this place can heal him. Too bad it’s up for sale.”

For a long moment all was still. Kate set her palms flat on the table and rose. Avid eyes bore into Shanna. “What do you mean Rowan Dairy is up for sale?”

Shanna frowned. “You didn’t know?”

Chapter Four

Michael stood in the cabin doorway. His grandmother picked up her mug, then clunked it down. “If my grandson thinks he’s going to—”