Sherryl Woods - Willow Brook Road

“Not true,” Shanna said. “Kevin’s actually quite adept in the kitchen. He’s just never home to cook.”

He walked in just in time to overhear the comment. “I’m here now,” he said, giving her a thorough kiss. “And I always take care of the important things, right? Like this?”

Laughing, Shanna shoved him away when he clearly would have stolen another kiss. “Company, Kevin.”

“It’s just Carrie,” he said.

“And Sam Winslow,” Shanna said, giving him a gentle elbow in the ribs. “Sam, my husband, Kevin O’Brien.”

Sam grinned at Kevin’s suddenly chagrined expression. “I didn’t realize we had company company,” he apologized. “I thought it was just Carrie.”

“Thanks,” Carrie grumbled, feigning an insulted look. “Always a pleasure to see you, too.” She glanced at Sam. “A minute ago I would have told you Kevin was my favorite uncle, but now he’s on probation. I’m thinking Uncle Connor has the edge.”

The teasing interaction was a revelation to Sam, whose own family life, if it could even be called that, had always been filled with tension and long, awkward silences.

There was a sudden whoop of glee from the sunroom.

“Video game?” Kevin asked.

“Always,” Shanna said with a sigh. “Sounds as if maybe Davey actually won this one.”

Kevin glanced toward Sam. “You any good at those games?”

“I’ve played some,” Sam said, though from what he’d observed tonight, he wasn’t nearly as competitive as the males in this family.

“Want to go out there and take them on?” Kevin asked.

“Sure,” Sam said at once, eager to get away from the kitchen and the unwanted attraction that seemed to be simmering between him and Carrie.

“Twenty minutes,” Shanna reminded them sternly. “Once I get dinner on the table, I’m not calling you all twice. And make sure all the boys wash their hands. And don’t forget the baby, the way you did last night.”

Sam bit back a smile as he followed Kevin to the sunroom. “You forgot the baby?”

“Hey, she’d fallen asleep,” Kevin explained in his own defense. “Since she’s almost never quiet for more than a heartbeat, I think I should be forgiven for not realizing she was there.”

“You have no idea how happy I am to hear you say that,” Sam told him.

Kevin regarded him with a puzzled look. “Why’s that?”

“Because I’ve only had responsibility for my nephew for a couple of weeks and I’ve spent most of that time terrified I was going to do something totally stupid. And as if I didn’t have enough doubts myself, Carrie has caught me twice doing things she apparently considered unforgivable.”

“What things?” Kevin asked.

“I left Bobby sleeping in the car while I ran into O’Briens to pick up takeout. Even though I kept my eye on him the whole time, that wasn’t good enough for her. And the next day she thought I wasn’t watching closely enough while he was climbing on the jungle gym at the playground.”

“When it comes to kids, Carrie’s a natural-born worrier,” Kevin consoled him. “Just like her mom. And just like Abby, Carrie will be a great mom someday. We all trust her to keep an eye on our kids, but we also know she’s overprotective. She’ll get over it once she sees that not even she can be everywhere at once. Kids are adventurous. They do crazy things and sometimes they’re too fast for us to catch ’em before they fall. All we can do is be alert and minimize the risks, then be ready to patch up any bumps and bruises, dry any tears.”

“Voice of experience?” Sam asked.

“As a dad and as a former paramedic,” Kevin confirmed. “There’s a big difference between letting kids be kids and allowing them to take the occasional risk, and being a negligent parent. You’ll figure it out, too.”

Sam was doubtful. “I hope so. By the way, Bobby was asking if there’s T-ball in town.”

“Sure. Show up at the high school field on Saturday. We’ll get him on a team.”

In the sunroom, Kevin muscled Henry away from the controls for the video game, took the other remote from Davey and handed it to Sam. “Let us show you how it’s done, boys.”

“Oh, please,” Henry taunted. “I’ve been beating you since I was a kid.”

“Me, too,” Davey gloated. “Dad, you’re really bad.”

Sam laughed. “Then maybe I have half a chance.”

“Loser takes on Carrie,” Henry said, his expression innocent. “You’ll need a confidence boost.”

Something told Sam he’d better win against Kevin. The last thing he wanted was to be humiliated for his ineptitude yet again by Carrie Winters.

* * *

“Are you convinced now?” Carrie asked Shanna as Kevin and Sam left the kitchen. “He barely even looked at me.”

Shanna waved off the comment. “That meant nothing. If anything, it was more telling than it would have been if he’d fawned all over you.”

“Seriously?” Carrie said, trying to follow her logic.

“Sure. Men act all indifferent when they’re feeling exactly the opposite and don’t want to give anything away.”

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