“Please,” the man extended his hand, “call me Lincoln. And this is my wife, Kinsley.”
Stevie glanced over her shoulder, making sure that Halley and Harrison were still okay. When she spotted them at the bottom of the slide, she turned her attention back to the couple. “Frankie mentioned both of you.”
They moved closer and Stevie felt…an unexpected kinship. Odd, she thought. After her mother’s death, she’d pushed the rest of the world away. She had acquaintances at her new school, but because of the twins and their needs, Stevie didn’t really have time to form friendships.
“Frankie told us about you as well. And the kids,” Lincoln said, turning to look for them. “I didn’t…I didn’t know that I had brothers out in the world,” he added softly and Stevie watched as Kinsley leaned in closer, offering gentle and unwavering support and protection. It was a beautiful thing to see, Stevie thought with a pang of envy. She wanted this. She wanted someone she could rely on. She wanted someone who knew deep down how she felt and how to offer comfort.
Alas, her life had taken a different path. Now was not the time to dwell on what might have been. Now was the time to look into the future. A future that might, hopefully, include an aunt and uncle and, looking at the woman’s huge belly, a cousin for her children.
“Halley and Harrison,” she said softly, nodding towards the slide. Halley was whispering in Harrison’s ear and Stevie groaned. Their secrets were always bad news, she thought.
“Who is this?” Kinsley asked, easing the tension by allowing Herbie to sniff her hand. Herbie took only a brief sniff before he nudged the woman’s hand, silently asking for affection.
“This is Herbie. Don’t let his size fool you. He’s very gentle.”
Kinsley laughed as Herbie moved forward, getting closer to the person offering to rub his ears. “He’s adorable. And huge! I don’t think I’ve ever seen such a big dog before.”
Stevie relaxed, smiling at the kind dog’s sweet nature. “He was actually the smallest puppy at the rescue organization. He was so small, the owners warned me that he might not survive.”
Kinsley looked up at Stevie with a surprised expression. “This guy was small?”
“Yeah. I called them up and asked if they had any small dogs that I could adopt. The woman said they had one dog that had been dropped off the previous week, but they weren’t sure of his pedigree.” Stevie looked over at Halley and Harrison again. “They couldn’t have been further off on their guess for this guy.” She patted Herbie, who literally groaned with happiness.
She glanced up at Lincoln to see his reaction. He was staring at Halley and Harrison. It wasn’t a surprise that the man had zeroed in on her kids. Her twins looked strikingly similar to him, although a younger version.
“Would you like to meet them?” Stevie asked, deciding she liked him.
He pulled his eyes away from the kids and shook his head. “I’m still…this is all such a surprise.” He looked at her seriously. “Is their father still alive?”
Stevie cringed. “I don’t know. The last time I had any contact with their father, it was…” she took a breath, remembering the letter from Janus’ lawyer after her phone call, warning her to stop harassing his client. “Well, it was contentious.”
Lincoln nodded. “I can’t imagine what you’ve gone through.” He glanced down at his wife’s huge belly. “I’m just relieved that we’re having only one at a time.”
Kinsley laced her fingers through his. “Linc has been a bit nervous about the upcoming birth,” she explained. “He’s interviewed the doctor several times and has done so much research on giving birth, I’m wondering if we even need a doctor at this point.”
“Don’t even joke about that,” he growled, pulling her close and pressing a kiss to her temple.
Stevie jerked to attention and realized that they were still standing. “Please, why don’t we sit down? We can watch the kids and talk.”
Over the next forty-five minutes, Stevie listened while Lincoln told her about his mother, how he’d grown up not knowing anything about his father except that he’d rejected his mother after she’d told him that she was pregnant. Edward Meyers had insisted that Lincoln’s mother get an abortion. Because of that, Lincoln had decided the man had no place in his life.
Until Frankie had come into his life. Frankie had introduced the idea of talking with Edward Meyers to Kinsley, and Kinsley had convinced Lincoln to at least meet with his father.
“He’s not a good man, Stevie,” Lincoln said in a dire voice. “He threatened to cut me out of his will if I didn’t move into his house and take control of his company. He even told me that Kinsley,” he paused to kiss her forehead, “wasn’t worthy of his legacy and I should dump her. Edward explained that he would choose a more socially acceptable wife for me.”
Stevie rolled her eyes. “Okay, so if Kinsley isn’t worthy, then I’m sure I wouldn’t be. I can’t imagine that a kindergarten teacher would be worthy of his exulted self either.”
Kinsley nodded her head. “I wouldn’t put it past him to sue you for custody,” she warned. “Don’t let him get near you, Stevie.” She looked at her husband. “At least not unless you have Lincoln with you.”
Lincoln nodded. “You’re family now, Stevie. If you need something, please come to me. No matter what it is, just ask. I don’t care if its money or just advice, we’re here for you.”
Their unconditional support brought tears
