Kane groaned. “I could be home in an hour if I walked.”
“Megan!” Andrew shouted, barreling toward them with the book she’d written for him in his hands. “I love my new book about the tooth fairy.”
She smiled. “I’m glad. Maybe we can get your dad to read it to you,” she said, remembering Kane’s tale about his tooth fairy blunder, the basis of the book.
The pure panic reflected in Kane’s face puzzled her, as did his paling complexion. “I, uh, I don’t think-”
“Dad says I’m too old to have books read to me,” Andrew cut in, hanging his head and scuffing his sneaker in the grass. “But every once in a while he lets me read one to him, just to make sure I’m keeping up on my reading level.”
Just like he insisted on Andrew having a tutor who made sure he brushed up on his reading skills. Megan wondered why Kane thought it so important, but she knew now was not the time to press the issue. “Then you can read the story to both of us.”
“Okay.” Seemingly content with that idea, Andrew grinned and glanced at Kane. “So, are you having fun, Dad?” His voice rose a level, and he clutched the book to his chest, waiting for his dad’s approval.
Kane hesitated, looking beyond his son to all the people who should have been friends but were merely acquaintances. Megan nudged Kane in the side with her elbow. Hard.
After shooting her a quick, disgruntled look, Kane smiled at Andrew, obeying Megan’s silent prompting. “Yeah, sport, I’m having a great time.”
Megan cringed and pulled the receiver away from her ear as her best friend’s high-pitched voice traveled over the phone lines. “I’m perfectly sane, Judi.”
“Cripes, Megan, you hardly know this guy.”
Megan wrapped the phone cord around her wrist and leaned against the kitchen wall. She’d thought she’d known Phillip, and look where that had gotten her. “Kane’s a good man, and you know how I feel about Andrew.”
“Yeah, I do,” Judi said, her voice soft with understanding.
She explained what had happened with Mrs. Henderson, and how Kane’s in-laws wouldn’t hesitate to file for custody after they’d been caught in such a compromising position. “I…I love Kane,” she admitted, “and I know he at least cares for me. He’s giving me the opportunity to raise a child I love with all my heart.”
“Megan,” Judi said, sounding exasperated. “This just isn’t like you to do something so…”
“Spontaneous?”
“Crazy was the word I was looking for.”
Megan laughed. “I’m not crazy. For once in my life I finally feel like I’ve found a place I belong. I love it here in Linden. No crowds, no hassles, just the kind of simple life-style I’ve always yearned for. And now I’ll have a family, too.”
“Then I’m happy for you, but I’m going to miss you,” Judi said, her sentiment genuine. “What do you want me to do with your stuff?”
She was going to miss Judi, too. They’d shared so much, but she was confident a strong friendship like theirs would remain constant. “You can keep all the furniture in the apartment.” Most of it had been hers, from her marriage to Phillip. Furniture and fixtures that had no sentimental value. She much preferred Kane’s handcrafted things and down-home furnishings. “If you don’t mind, could you ship my personal items and writing supplies overnight air?”
“No problem. I’ll have them out by tomorrow.”
They spent another half hour on the phone, talking about the past and what the future might hold for both of them. Tears filled Megan’s eyes when it came time for them to hang up.
“Megan, be sure that this is what you truly want,” Judi said, always the friend who tried to protect Megan from heartbreak.
Megan smiled while wiping a sentimental tear from her cheek. Judi had nothing to worry about “I’ve never been so sure of anything in all my life.”
CHAPTER SEVEN
“BY THE power vested in me, I now pronounce you husband and wife.” Judge Griffen smiled at the small gathering of people in his private chambers. “You may kiss your bride.”
Kane turned and looked at the woman standing by his side.
Dressed in a simple cream suit, her auburn hair swept into a fancy twist at the back of her head, Megan exemplified a bride in every sense of the word. She looked radiant and beautiful. Joy shone in her drown-in-them- forever blue eyes, and a deeper emotion he didn’t take time to analyze. A pink blush colored her cheeks. In her right hand she clutched the small bouquet of flowers Andy had insisted he buy for her. The pale pink baby roses and tiny white flowers trembled with every breath she took.
He still held her left hand, where he’d placed a simple gold wedding band. The ring had been his mother’s. No diamonds or expensive frills. He was determined to begin this marriage as practically as the reasons that had brought them together.
“Dad, he said you can kiss her,” Andy whispered from behind them, his small voice exasperated.
Jeff, who’d stood in as Kane’s best man and a witness to the ceremony, chuckled. “Yeah, Fielding, we’re waiting.”
Megan laughed nervously, and Kane shot his friend a not-so-subtle look before returning his gaze to Megan. God, how was he ever going to live up to the expectation shimmering in her eyes?
Pushing his doubts aside, he brushed his mouth across hers, a quick, fleeting kiss that only whet his appetite for more. Her lips parted, damp and inviting, but he pulled away, knowing one taste wouldn’t be enough.
“Yeah, Dad, you did it!” Andy said, giving Corey and Tanner a high five. Rushing around Jeff, he gave Kane and Megan a joyful hug that left everyone laughing. Once the embrace ended, he danced around the judge’s chamber singing, “I got a new mom, I got a new mom!”
Grinning at Andrew’s enthusiasm, Megan signed the marriage certificate, then passed the pen to Kane. After a brief hesitation, he wrote his name next to hers, an illegible scrawl that had become his signature over the years.
“Congratulations, Kane,” Jeff said, clapping Kane on the back in masculine camaraderie. “Didn’t think you’d ever tie the knot again.”
Karen gave Kane an appraising look before placing a sisterly kiss on his cheek. “I knew something was going on between the two of you.” Turning, she gave Megan a friendly hug, welcoming her into the fold. “The both of you look very happy together.”
Kane was happy, he realized, and refused to fight the feeling on his wedding day. What harm was there in enjoying Andrew’s delight, the. company of his only true friends and the way Megan tentatively slipped her hand through his arm and gazed at him with a reverence that nearly stole his breath. Damn, he thought, looking away. He wasn’t worthy of such unconditional devotion.
“Come on, everyone,” Jeff announced, herding them toward the chamber’s double panel doors. “The wedding dinner is on me.”
A half an hour later the group sat in a large booth at Callahan’s, the finest steak house in Linden. After a cursory glance at the menu, Kane ordered the porterhouse steak specialty the waiter had recommended. Once everyone else had ordered, Jeff requested a bottle of expensive wine and sodas for the kids.
