“Our uncles are a lot like our father. They never much believed in home and family. They think it's all a waste of time. Now that we're all happily married, they consider us sell-outs.'
“Why?' Nash asked. 'Didn't they want you to get married?'
“No. They like women. A lot of women. Earl Haynes, our father, was the only one of his brothers to get married. I doubt he was faithful a day in his life. He used to brag that he was a good husband and father because he came home every night. In his mind sleeping in his own bed was good enough. Who he'd been with before that didn't seem to matter.'
“They used to fight,' Kyle said quietly. 'I would hear them yelling at each other. She would beg him to stop seeing the other women and he would laugh at her. Then one day she left.'
“What do you mean, left?' Kevin asked.
“She disappeared,' Jordan said. 'It turns out Earl asked her for a divorce. After all she'd already been through she considered that the final straw. She took off and no one has heard from her since.' Once again the brothers shared a look of silent communication, then Travis spoke.
“About three years ago our wives got together and organized a family meeting. They insisted we find out what happened to her. We hired a private investigator to track her down.'
“She's fine,' Travis said. 'Living in Phoenix. She didn't remarry, but she's involved with someone who makes her happy.'
“What did she say when you got in touch with her?' Kevin asked.
“We didn't,' Craig told him. 'We know she's all right. If she wanted to talk to any of us, she would know where to find us.' Kyle took a long drink of his beer. 'It's not her fault,' he said. 'After years of dealing with Earl, she's paid her dues. She doesn't want anything to do with Haynes men and who can blame her?' Nash understood the logic, but he wasn't sure he agreed with it. The sons were very different from the father. But if she'd left without a word…he could see why they wouldn't want to be the ones to make the first move.
“What is biology and what isn't?' Austin asked, speaking for the first time. 'None of us have figured that out.'
“True enough,' Travis said. 'How much of our father makes us who we are? Why, after three generations of womanizers, did my brothers and I finally figure out how to have successful relationships?'
“It wasn't easy,' Craig said. 'I made a mistake my first time out and I have the divorce to prove it.
“Me, too,' Travis said. 'But once I met Elizabeth, everything fell into place.' Jordan looked toward the house. 'Finding the right woman makes all the difference in the world.'
“I know that,' Kevin said with a conviction Nash envied. After years of playing the field, of never wanting to settle down, he'd finally fallen in love.
Nash suddenly wanted to ask them how they knew for sure. How could any one woman be the right one? When he and Tina had been dating he'd never thought of her as right or wrong. She was someone he was seeing. When she'd pushed to take things to the next level, he'd agreed. When she'd demanded marriage, he'd considered his options and had finally proposed. But had she been the right one? He doubted it.
“Now we're old boring married men,' Craig said. 'Kids, mortgages, steady jobs and great wives.' Travis held up his beer. 'Here's to not changing a thing.' The men clinked cans. Nash joined in, but he knew he didn't have anything to toast. Did he want his life to stay exactly the same? Two weeks ago he would have said yes, that he had all he wanted. Now, after spending time with Stephanie, he wasn't so sure. She'd reminded him that there was more to living than simply showing up every day. Partici- pation was required, and he'd been going out of his way to avoid that.
The back door of the house opened and dozens of kids spilled out onto the lawn. The women followed, several holding cakes, others with plates of cookies or cartons of ice cream. Stephanie had plates, forks and spoons in her hands.
He watched her move, watched the easy way she walked and how she smiled when Adam and Jason came running up. She bent down and said something to them. They laughed, responded, then turned toward him.
Adam spotted him first. He pointed and the twins raced toward him. He had just enough time to set his can of beer on the grass, out of harm's way before both boys plowed into him. Jason hung on to one leg while Adam wrapped his arms around his neck.
“Mom said we can have ice cream with our cake,' Jason announced with glee.
Adam ducked his head. 'She said I could have a corner piece. Are you having cake, Nash?”
“Absolutely.'
“Then come on.' Each twin grabbed a hand and tried to pull him to his feet. He shifted his weight and stood. As he glanced over their heads he saw Kevin watching him. His brother's expression was knowing.
Nash wanted to stop and say something. That whatever Kevin was thinking, he was wrong. Nash didn't have it bad-he didn't have it at all. This time with Stephanie was a pleasant distraction, but littleelse. It couldn't be more…not when he considered the price he would pay for taking another chance on getting involved.
The boys didn't settle down immediately. It took three tries and several threats to finally get them into bed and the lights off. Stephanie closed Brett's door and headed for her living room where Nash was waiting for her. She sank down next to him on the sofa.
“We're going to have to give it a little time,' she said. 'I'm pretty sure they're down for the night, but they may take a while to fall asleep.'
“So we'll talk until they do.' She angled toward him so she could stare at his handsome face. 'Halfway decent in bed and he likes to talk,' she teased. 'How did I get so lucky?'
“It's a question you must ask yourself every morning.' She laughed. 'Surprisingly I have other things on my mind when I get up.'
“I am surprised. You shouldn't be thinking about anything but how good I make you feel.' Actually that was the first thing on her mind, but she wasn't about to admit that to him. Not when he was already so confident about his abilities in the bedroom. Not that he had reason to be anything but impressed with himself. Lord knows he made her entire being tingle.
“I had a good time tonight,' she said. 'You have a great family.'
“I agree. I still have trouble believing they've been out there all this time, and I never knew about them.'
“I used to dream about finding out I had a big family,' she admitted. 'I wanted aunts and uncles and lots and lots of cousins. Especially at the holidays. It was always really quiet at our house. My parents surfaced from their work enough to remember it was Christmas or my birthday, but they never really participated. I remember they used to give me board games as presents, but then never take the time to play with me. I used to try playing both sides myself, but it wasn't very much fun.' Nash's eyes darkened. 'That's sad.' She held up a hand. 'Don't look stricken. I recovered. I'm just saying more kids around would have been really nice. At least you always had Kevin.'
“Not just him, but Gage and Quinn, too. We were, always over at each other's houses. Gage, Kevin and I are the same age and Quinn is only a year younger, so we hung out all the time. Our moms were friends, as well.' He leaned his head back on the sofa cushion. 'We used to say we were like brothers. Ironically, that turned out to be true.'
“Where is the mysterious Quinn?' she asked. 'I keep hearing about him, but I've yet to see him.'
“He works for the government. Some secret branch of the military. His work takes him around the world and he's not always accessible. Gage left a message and as soon as he gets it, he'll show up.'
“He sounds a little dangerous. Why am I picturing a guy all in black and carrying really big guns.'
“I don't know, but that sounds like Quinn.' She shivered. 'Not my kind of guy. Was he scary when you were growing up?'
“Not scary, but a bit of an outsider. He and his dad didn't get along.' Nash frowned. 'I guess Ralph isn't really his father anymore. Not biologically.' He looked at her. 'Ralph and Edie couldn't have kids of their own. It's a complicated story.'
“I think it's great that their mom helped out your mom when she was abandoned by her own family. Even if you and your brother didn't know you were related to Gage and Quinn, you still got to grow up as close friends.'
“I'm glad Edie was a caring person. My mom was in a hell of a bad situation.' He shook his head. 'Barely eighteen, with babies. What kind of parents would throw their daughter out of the house under those conditions? Edie was really there for her.' He reached out and covered her hand with his. 'Who's there for you, Stephanie?' The question surprised her. 'I have friends. In a pinch they would come through.'
