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“Even if they look the same—” Kendall tilted her chin “—Uncle Jake says I’m the one who’s more like him.”
“It’s true,” Jake said. Austin might look like a mini version of Nick, but Kendall had identical mannerisms and her father’s fearlessness. “You have the exact same personality.”
Which made it harder for Hannah and Garrett.
But easier for Jake.
“I noticed that when we were vacationing in Gettysburg,” Carly said.
Kendall grinned. “You have to see my room, Aunt Carly. It’s purple and blue and green. Uncle Jake bought me this cool, furry beanbag chair.”
Carly glanced his way. “Sounds comfy.”
“I have a space room.” Austin held on to her hand and bounced. “Uncle Jake put glow-in-the-dark stars and planets on the ceiling. He also bought me a spaceship light. It’s the coolest.”
“Sounds like Uncle Jacob’s been busy around here.”
He shrugged.
“You mean Uncle Jake, don’t you?” Kendall asked.
“Um, yes, your Uncle J-Jake,” Carly said, as if testing the name for the first time.
That was the first time he remembered her calling him Jake. He liked how his name sounded coming from her lips.
“I can’t wait to see both your rooms.” She sounded every bit the enthusiastic aunt, much to the kids’ delight. “But first you need to have your snack.”
“Snack!” The kids stampeded into the kitchen.
Carly glanced at Jake. “Forget elk, those two could give buffalos a run for their money.”
“You handled that well.”
She shrugged. “Not much else I can do.”
“No, there’s not, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t hurt.”
Carly looked down at the hardwood floor. “They’re just kids. And life goes on.”
“Hannah does her best to keep Nick’s memory alive. So do I.”
“Thanks. I appreciate that. Nick would, too.” Carly noticed a picture of Garrett, Hannah and the two kids sitting on the mantel. “Still, it’s weird. I like Garrett. He’s a great guy who adores Hannah and loves the kids as if they were his own, but he’s so different from Nick.”
“Hannah didn’t want another Nick,” Jake admitted.
Emotion clouded Carly’s eyes. “I don’t blame her for that.”
“Come here.” Jake placed an arm around Carly in a half hug. She leaned against him.
So nice.
Having her in his arms brought back a rush of memories. The time he’d found her shivering and whistling for help when she’d gotten lost snowshoeing at the age of fourteen. As he’d hugged her, trying to warm her up, he’d realized she wasn’t a little girl anymore. Or the time she’d passed her driver’s test and wanted to show off her license. Not to mention her short skirt and skimpy top. She’d given him a quick hug, letting him know she was a young woman, but still off-limits.
This time she was simply Carly Bishop, a beautiful woman. A single woman.
Against his better judgment, Jake brought his other arm around her, embracing her fully. He pulled her closer. Her body pressed against his. Warm, soft, perfect. The scent of grapefruit—her shampoo?—surrounded him.
Oh, man. Standing here with her in his arms was a dream come true. And even though he’d long since buried those dreams, Jake didn’t want to let her go.
He brushed his lips across her forehead, offering what comfort he could.
Someone screeched.
Jake stepped back from Carly to see Austin staring wide-eyed and openmouthed.
Kendall bolted out of the kitchen. “What is going on?”
“Uncle Jake kissed Aunt Carly.” Austin’s grin lit up his face. “Now they have to get married.”
CHAPTER TWO
MARRIED? TO JACOB? NO way.
Carly stared at the kids, jumping and giving each other high fives. She needed to gain control fast or this could set the tone for the next two weeks.
She stuck two fingers in her mouth and blew, the way Nick had taught her. The loud, sharp whistle quieted Kendall and Austin.
Thanks, Nick. Once again her brother had saved her.
Too bad she hadn’t been able to do the same for him.
The kids stared at her.
“Into the kitchen,” she ordered in the same tone Hannah had used last summer in Colorado when a fight over whether to hike or swim erupted. “And sit at the table.”
Even Jacob followed her instructions.
Carly hid a smile as he passed. Suddenly he stopped.
“This is all so sudden,” Jacob murmured in her ear with an outrageous flutter of his eyelashes. Long, dark lashes, she couldn’t help noticing. Ridiculously wasted on a guy. “Why didn’t you tell me? I would have brought a ring.”
Heat flooded her face. “Shut up. Sit down.”
“Yes, ma’am.” He took his place at the table with the kids. No one said anything.
“That’s better.” Carly followed them into the kitchen. She sat between Kendall and Austin, pushing the snacks toward them. “Why do you think we have to get married?”
“If you kiss someone, you have to marry them.” Austin picked up an apple slice. “Sammy Ross told us at recess.”
“You don’t say.” Jacob spoke with the utmost sincerity. “Sammy must be one of those guys who know everything.”
Nodding, Austin dipped the apple into the caramel sauce. “He’s got five older sisters. Three are in high school.”
“That explains it.” Jacob winked. “Better watch out who I kiss from now on.”
Carly glared. Some help he was turning out to be.
Austin’s eyebrows drew together. “You can only kiss the person you’re going to marry, Uncle Jake. Aunt Carly.”
Uh-oh. She straightened. Damage control was needed right away. “Austin—”
“I know you don’t have to get married if you kiss someone, but wouldn’t it be great if you got married anyway? You wouldn’t have to go back to Philadelphia. And I could be your flower girl.” Kendall’s brown eyes implored her. “Please, oh, please. I’ve always wanted to be a flower girl.”
Carly’s chest tightened. She didn’t want to hurt Kendall, but letting the nine-year-old think a wedding was in the works would be worse. The wedding march ranked right up there with Christmas carols when it came to music Carly didn’t want to hear again. Besides, she didn’t want Jacob to think she was interested in marrying him. It was bad enough Carly thought he was still hot after all these years. “No one is getting married, sweetie.”
Kendall’s face puckered.
Carly squeezed the girl’s small hand. “I’m sorry.”
The apology didn’t keep the tears from welling in the young girl’s eyes. Great, Carly had been with the kids for less than fifteen minutes and already made one of them cry. If this was any indication of how the next two weeks were going to go, she should drive back to Portland International Airport and fly home before she really messed things up.
“Come on, guys,” Jacob said. “You’re getting a new baby brother or sister next week. Your aunt is here for Christmas. That’s plenty to celebrate.”
With a frown, Austin stared at Jake. “But you kissed her. I saw you. You have to get married. Those are the rules.”
“I only kissed your Aunt Carly on her forehead, buddy. That’s what friends do.” He flashed her another one of those teasing, tempting grins. “Good friends.”
Carly caught her breath.
The gesture had been a little too friendly. As Jacob had comforted her in the living room, Carly had felt a security and a sense of belonging she hadn’t felt in years. She’d forgotten everything and hadn’t wanted the moment to end. Thank goodness for Austin’s screech or she might have done something stupid like kiss Jacob herself. Not on the forehead, but on the lips.
What was going on?
She hadn’t wanted to kiss anyone in a while. Nor did she want to feel compelled to kiss anyone, especially someone who lived on the other side of the country. Okay, she’d once been curious about his kiss, but she’d been a girl then. Not a grown-up. Best to keep her distance from him while she was here.
“So if you kiss a girl on the forehead you don’t have to marry them, but if you kiss them on the lips, you do?” Austin asked.
Carly bit back a sigh. “Sammy Ross might think you have to marry the person you kiss, but that’s not how it really works.”
“How does it work?” Kendall asked.
Feeling like a preschool teacher suddenly taking on a sex education class full of randy teenagers, Carly looked at Jacob for help. He tipped his chair back, clearly content to wait for her response. The devil.
“Well.” She wasn’t sure how to proceed, but catching a red-eye flight back East sure looked tempting. “First you meet someone you like, then you date, then you fall in love and then, once you know you’ll get along for a long time, you marry.”
Talk about an abbreviated lesson on dating. Maybe she should have told them to ask their mother instead. But Jacob flashed her the thumbs-up sign. She must have done okay to warrant that or he might have simply been trying to make her feel better.
“Where does the kissing come into it?” Kendall asked.
Carly didn’t bother looking at Jacob this time. Hearing a nine-year-old ask about kissing would probably paralyze any single guy. “Kissing can happen at any of those steps, but that’s something you do when you’re older.”
“Much older.” Jacob told Kendall. Funny, he sounded more like a dad than a bachelor.
The girl’s gaze darted between Carly and Jacob. “But you two could still get married. Then I could be a flower girl.”
“We can’t get married,” Carly said. “We’re…friends.”
“Shouldn’t you be friends with the person you marry?” Kendall asked.
The girl was too smart for her own good. Carly needed to be more careful with what she said. “Of course, you should be friends, but Uncle Jake and I are…more like brother and sister.”
Though that wasn’t really true. She’d never seen him as a brother. Growing up, she’d wanted him to be her boyfriend.
“He’s not your brother though. My daddy was your brother.” Two lines formed over Kendall’s nose, the same way they used to on Nick, making Carly’s chest tighten. “But if you married Jake, he’d really be our uncle, not just someone we call uncle, and I could be a flower girl, Aunt Carly. Jessica Henry has gotten to be a flower girl twice. And I’ve never even been asked to be one.”
Carly knew what growing up and comparing yourself to someone else felt like. She needed to tell her niece something, even if it meant facing the part of her past she’d tried hard to forget. “Did you know a long time ago, when you were only three years old, you were going to be a flower girl?”
“I was?”
She nodded.
“Was I going to wear a pretty dress?” Kendall asked.
“Yes,” Carly said. “A very pretty red dress made out of velvet and taffeta with layers of tulle to make the skirt poof out and a wreath of flowers in your hair.”
“You looked like a princess wearing it,” Jacob added.
Remembering, Carly smiled softly. “You sure did.”
“But I never saw any pictures of me dressed like that,” Kendall said.
Jacob started to speak, but Carly stopped him. “The wedding never happened.”
Kendall tilted her chin. “Why?”
Why? That question still haunted Carly. “The boy…the man I was going to marry, his name was Iain, had an accident when he was climbing with your daddy.”
Kendall’s mouth formed a small O. “He died with my daddy on the mountain so you couldn’t get married.”
“Yes.” Carly felt Jacob’s gaze on her, but she didn’t—couldn’t—look his way. She didn’t want to see sympathy or pity in his eyes. She’d had enough of that those first few months to last a lifetime. That was one of the reasons she’d left Hood Hamlet and headed to Philadelphia. She’d wanted to go somewhere—anywhere—where she could make a fresh start.
“Did I know him?” Kendall picked up a cracker. “Iain?”
Carly nodded. “He thought you and Austin were the two coolest kids around and loved you so much.”
“Do you miss him?” Kendall asked.
Carly forced herself to breathe. This was fast turning into the trip home to hell. Not that she blamed anyone, but dredging up the past this way wreaked havoc with her emotions. Ones she’d thought were long under control.
