Or was it already too late?
Her troubling thoughts dispersed when Josh’s younger brother Joel entered the kitchen with a loud, raucous greeting, as was his way. He was tanned a golden brown from the hours he spent outdoors, as good-looking as his two other brothers, and oozed enough sex appeal to charm anyone of the female persuasion.
Paige suspected he’d broken many hearts over the years.
Jovial handshakes and warm hugs went around, and when he came to Paige, his eyes brightened with wicked intent. He swept her dramatically into his embrace, bent her back slightly, and growled playfully into the curve of her neck.
Paige laughed at his outrageous behavior, chalking it all up to Joel’s fun-loving personality. Joel’s antics seemed to amuse everyone, except Josh. There was a smile on Josh’s lips as Joel lifted her back up, his splayed hand supporting the base of her spine, but his eyes blazed with something far more primitive and possessive.
“Watch your hands, little brother.” Josh’s voice was light and teasing, but not enough to disguise the underlying annoyance vibrating in his tone.
Releasing Paige, Joel lifted one brow in a silent query that went unanswered. Josh’s parents shot their older son a speculative look that caused Paige’s face to heat, but they, too, refrained from commenting on his odd remark. It wasn’t hard to imagine the thoughts racing through everyone’s mind.
Shortly thereafter, Audrey, seven months pregnant with her fourth child, arrived with her brood, filling the house with three adorable, energetic little girls ranging in age from four to nine, none of whom had any qualms about clamoring for their uncles’ attention, loudly and enthusiastically. Within minutes, the men had spurred the girls into a wild, rambunctious frenzy. Squeals of laughter reverberated in the kitchen, along with the patter of shoes as Joel and Josh instigated a game of tickle monster around the large oak table.
The madness was deafening, crazy and wonderfully distracting.
Anna propped her hands on her slim hips and raised her voice a few decibels to be heard over the noise in her kitchen. “Girls, no running in the house!” Then she turned to her sons. “And since you boys can’t behave yourselves either, and seem to be just as bad as the kids, out you go.” She hitched a finger toward the back door.
Joel slung an arm over his mother’s shoulders, dwarfing her beneath his six-foot-plus height. “Aw, Mom, we’re just getting warmed up.”
Her mouth pursed and she slanted him a strict look. “Don’t ‘aw, Mom’ me, Joel. You may be able to wrap every other woman around that finger of yours with your sweet-talking charm, but you forget that I’ve been immune since the day you were born.”
He chuckled, but didn’t refute that remark.
Josh grinned and headed toward the back door as ordered. “Come on, girls. Let’s go feed the horses. I know where Grandpa stashes the sugar cubes.”
Three pairs of eyes lit up, and they all scrambled from the kitchen and raced down to the stables as fast as their sneakered feet could carry them. Paige watched from the kitchen window as Joel, Josh and Nick followed at a leisurely pace behind the girls, their male comradery evident in their smiling expressions, deep chuckles and occasional slaps on the back.
“Ah, finally, blessed silence,” Audrey said, amusement and relief mingling in her lilting voice. “Now, if I’m real lucky, this little guy will settle down, too.” She rubbed her rounded tummy lovingly.
Paige smiled. “So, it’s going to be a boy this time?” she asked.
The other woman beamed with happiness and hope. “That’s what the sonogram showed, so we’ve got our fingers crossed. I’m
“It’s a Marchiano male attribute, I’m afraid.” Anna gave a long-suffering sigh, though the sound was tinged with affection. “Any one of them could cajole candy from a baby.”
Paige didn’t doubt it-Josh had charm aplenty, as well as a sensual allure that stirred her in ways no other man ever had.
“Why don’t the two of you go out on the porch and relax?” Anna suggested in a way that left little room for either of them to protest. “Everything’s done here in the kitchen except the cleanup, and I can get it done faster on my own.”
Paige and Audrey made their way outside. Settling into the wicker chairs on the porch, they enjoyed the light spring breeze and the sound of children’s laughter floating in the air. It was a wonderful sound, Paige thought. So innocent. So trusting. So guileless. It struck a maternal chord in her she found difficult to ignore.
Josh had taken his sports jacket off, along with his shoulder holster and gun-which she assumed he’d put away somewhere safe in the house so the girls wouldn’t find the weapon. Gone was the stubborn detective who’d been her bodyguard for the past three weeks, and in his place was a physically fit, gorgeous man who looked carefree and unencumbered by the events of recent weeks.
With a wistful pang near the vicinity of her heart, she watched Josh play ball with his middle niece, Holly, encouraging her when she missed a catch and lavishing praise when she managed to land the ball. In between, he chased after Beth, the youngest, and tossed her into the air until she was breathless with delight. He even managed to tease his oldest niece, Amanda, and tug gently on her pigtails as she fed Desiree, one of the mares in the nearby corral. He clearly adored his nieces, and the feeling appeared mutual. And there was no shortage of attention from Joel, either, who mercilessly tormented the girls with tickling. Both men were totally at ease with children, which brought to Paige’s mind how impatient Anthony had been with little ones, how unwilling to interact with them. At the time, she’d written off his remoteness to lack of experience with toddlers, but now understood that children hadn’t been a part of Anthony’s plan.
Josh, however, was a natural-born nurturer. Loving. Kind. Patient. He exhibited those qualities with his nieces, and he’d displayed them with her, too. Josh was everything Anthony hadn’t been-a tender, giving lover, a faithful friend, and someone with the potential to be a caring, loving father.
Her throat closed up, and she blamed the rush of emotion on the hormonal imbalance that seemed to have had her in its grip for the past week. She’d been on an emotional roller coaster and wasn’t surprised that something as simple as witnessing Josh’s ease with children would reduce her to a melancholic state.
In the distance she heard a telephone ring. A minute later, Anna opened the screen door and poked her head out
“Audrey, that was Vince on the phone,” she said as she dried her hands on a terry towel. “He wanted to let you know he’d be a few hours late. He just arrested a drunk driver and has to get him booked and a report written.”
“Thanks, Anna.” Audrey cast the other woman an easy smile, her hand resting on her distended belly. “If he doesn’t make it for dinner, I’ll take some leftovers home for him.”
It amazed Paige that Audrey could sound so matterof-fact about Vince’s last-minute cancellation. Anthony had done the same thing, backing out of dates or engagements without warning due to work, or just plain not showing up for dinner when she’d been expecting him, but she’d never grown used to his erratic schedule.
How did Anna and Audrey make dealing with their husbands’ profession look so easy and uncomplicated?
Unable to help herself, she spoke her thoughts out loud. “Don’t you ever worry about what Vince does for a living?”
Audrey tilted her head and regarded her speculatively through kind, blue eyes. “That’s an odd question coming from someone who was married to a vice cop.” Her tone was wry.
She shrugged lightly. “That’s probably why I’m more sensitive about it.” She’d worried plenty about Anthony’s safety, spent too many sleepless nights wondering where he was and if he was okay. And when he didn’t come home at the end of his shift, or call, the concern increased to the point of anxiety.
“I used to worry, all the time,” Audrey admitted. “But that kind of stress doesn’t do me, or the girls, any good.” Her gaze touched on the three imps playing a game of freeze tag with Josh and Joel, then traveled back to Paige. Her eyes reflected a deep, abiding love for her family. “I’ve accepted what Vince does for a living, because I know he loves his job. I would never ask him to choose between me and his career. We’ve got a strong marriage, and when he’s home, he gives me and the girls one hundred percent. That’s more than most husbands give their wives and family.”
It had been more than Anthony had given her.
