Mia Ross - A Place for Family

But he was a simple, straightforward guy. By his own example, Ethan had taught all of them that honesty wasn’t just the best way, it was the only way. John had taken his father’s lesson to heart as a child, and it was the compass that kept his life on its normally smooth, easygoing path.

Amanda’s situation presented him with a difficult choice. Either respect her wishes and keep his family in the dark, or tell them the truth and let Marianne make her own judgment.

Or he could convince Amanda to tell them herself. Not only would it force everything out in the open, it would enable her to dust herself off and make plans for her future. Of course, with the very headstrong Amanda Gardner, that was easier said than done.

His silence must have started to worry her. “Please, John? It’s been a long time since something went right for me.”

Hoping to appear unconcerned, he grinned. “I can have blueberry pancakes whenever I want?”

“Absolutely,” she breathed with a grateful smile.

“Then it’s a deal.”

He still had his misgivings, but after all she’d been through, knowing he could make her smile made him feel incredible.

* * *

The shifting emotions on John’s face had been simple enough for Amanda to read. Wariness when he saw her in the kitchen that morning. Concern for his sister and her babies. Then something darker that had no place shadowing his wide-open features.

John was as different from the other men she’d known as the sun was from the moon. Over the years, she’d thought about her rugged country boy many times, wondering what he was doing, if he was happy. Now he was right in front of her, and she could see for herself how much he enjoyed his sweet, simple life.

Get up at the crack of dawn, have breakfast with your family, work hard all day, play with the kids and the dog, go to sleep, repeat. Oh, and save the occasional damsel in distress. All of that flitted through her head in a heartbeat, and she realized she’d forgotten to do something very important yesterday.

“John?” When his eyes met hers, she gulped down her pride and rushed on. “I want to thank you for all your help. You’ve been really great.”

“You’re welcome.”

For a fleeting moment, the twinkle she recalled so fondly lit his eyes. She was asking a lot, but she knew she could count on him to keep her secret. Then the suspicious look returned. “There’s something else. What is it?”

Her heart thudded to a stop, and she berated herself for assuming she was in the clear. Perceptive as he was, she should have known better. Luckily for her, the kids chose that precise moment to come rushing downstairs for breakfast. They could work in showbiz, she thought with a grin. They had impeccable timing.

“Waffles!” Kyle shouted before John got his attention with a finger over his lips. “Sorry,” he said more quietly, turning to Amanda. “But I really love waffles. Are they burning?”

“Oh, no!” She’d forgotten all about them during her talk with John, and the griddle was smoking in protest. She flipped it open and used a towel to fan the smoke toward the open window. “Sorry, guys. I’ll make more.”

“Not for me,” Emily mumbled. “I don’t feel good.”

John’s frown alerted Amanda that his niece wasn’t the kind of kid who tried to dodge school with fake tummy aches. Resting a hand on the girl’s forehead, Amanda frowned, too. “That’s a fever, missy. No school for you.”

The pocket doors slid open, and Marianne entered the kitchen, apparently drawn by some inexplicable maternal instinct. “Not feeling too well, Emmy?”

“No.” Her lip quivered, and Marianne opened her arms wide. Looking miserable, Emily shook her head. “I don’t want to make you and the babies sick.”

“You won’t.”

“Are you sure?”

“A hundred percent.” Marianne sat down on the bench near the table. “Mommies know these things.”

She patted the seat beside her, and Emily cautiously joined her. When Marianne pulled her close, she snuggled in, closing her eyes as if everything was suddenly right with the world. Ridge appeared in the doorway and kissed the top of his daughter’s head before turning to Kyle.

“I’ve gotta get some things at the hardware store,” he said. “If you want, we can grab breakfast at Ruthy’s Place, then you can help me pick up what I need. When we’re done, I’ll drop you off at school.”

The boy grabbed his backpack, eyes bright with excitement. “Okay.”

“Ridge, you must be really busy,” Amanda said. “I can take Kyle to school if you’ll just loan me your car.”

Ridge traded a grin with his son. “Thanks, but we like to get some guy time once in a while, don’t we?”

“Sure do.”

“Just make sure he’s on time for his first class,” Marianne warned. “I don’t want to get another message from the attendance office and have to call all over town hunting for you two.”

“We’ll either be at Ruthy’s or Harland Hardware.” Ridge paused to kiss her as he and Kyle headed for the door. “Not hard.”

“Or the fairgrounds watching them bulldoze the dirt track, or at the airport watching the planes take off and land, or—” She was still talking when the screen door slammed shut behind them. Sighing, she pulled Emily in for a quick hug. “Those boys. What on earth will we do with them?”

“Boys are nothing but trouble, Mommy. I’m glad one of our babies is a girl.”

Smiling, Marianne broke a couple of pieces from John’s untouched waffles for her daughter. “Just eat a little bit, then we’ll give you something to get that fever down.”

Reaching into the cupboard, Amanda handed a bottle of children’s fever medicine to Marianne. That was when she noticed Kyle’s lunch still sitting on the counter. She’d lost count of the mistakes she’d made this morning, and it was only six-thirty. “I’ll take Kyle’s lunch to school later. What time does he eat?”

Marianne waved the idea away. “Don’t worry about it. He has a lunch account, so he can buy today. If he’s got any appetite left after the farmer’s breakfast Ruthy will feed him, that is.”

“Are you sure?”

“Definitely,” her new boss assured her. “You look a little stressed. Sit down and have something to eat.”

Touched by the concern, Amanda smiled. It was so nice to have someone looking out for her, instead of constantly fending for herself and pretending fate hadn’t buried her in an avalanche of failure.

She poured herself a glass of orange juice and sat down at the table with a bowl of fruit. Hoping to reroute her morning onto a better track, she chose a pleasant topic. “So, you’re expecting a boy and a girl. Do you have names picked out yet?”

“Andrew Ethan, and Chelsea Ann,” Emily replied proudly. “We all picked our favorite names and mixed them together.”

“What a fabulous idea.” She glanced over at John. “How do you like being an uncle?”

“It’s great. I get all the fun and none of the responsibility.”

“You and Uncle Matt are the best uncles in the whole world,” Emily informed him. “We love you to pieces.”

Recognizing the phrase, Amanda smiled at Marianne. “She sounds like you.”

“Well, I don’t say it often,” she commented, handing her daughter a small pill. “When I do, I really mean it.”

After obediently taking her medicine, the princess of the family gazed hopefully at her mother. “Can we watch Cinderella?”

“Again?” John groaned. “We just watched it the other night. Twice.”

“It’s my favorite.”

“This week, anyway.”

“You can pick next time,” she promised, getting a quick grin in reply.

“Sounds good.” Pushing off from the table, he stood and took a pair of work gloves from the shelf near the door. “Enjoy your day, ladies. Once I fix our beast of a tractor, I’m hoping to get started on that new field today.”