A Good Yarn Page 0,34

each other's eyes - as if the years had disappeared and they were young again. In his she read such regret that she stepped involuntarily toward him. So time had brought disappointments to him as well as her.... It wasn't something she'd expected to see.

Maverick broke the silence first. "Hello, Elise," he said quietly.

She inclined her head toward him, refusing to let him mesmerize her so soon after his arrival. "Marvin."

He grimaced. "Maverick, please."

"Maverick, then." She knew he hated his given name although she'd never understood why. She'd married Marvin, loved Marvin, but he'd never been content to be that man. Instead, he'd sought out glamour and glitz and the instant gratification of a gambling win, and in the process destroyed their lives together.

"I would've brought you a gift, but I didn't think you'd accept one from me."

"I appreciate the thought, but you're right. A gift wouldn't have been appropriate." That was true, although she couldn't help wondering what he would have chosen for her.

"You look good," he said as his gaze slid up and down her trim body.

Despite herself, Elise raised her hand to her hair, as if to check that it was still in place. His compliment flustered her, but she managed to regroup enough to say, "You too."

"Grandpa, Grandpa, want to see where you're going to sleep?" Luke asked, tugging at Maverick's arm.

"I sure do," he said, suddenly turning away from Elise. He lifted John into his arms as Luke raced ahead, and the three of them moved down the hallway.

"This is our room," Luke said, opening the first door on the right.

"And that's Grandma's room." John pointed to Elise's, which was almost directly across from it.

"And that's the bathroom for the boys." Luke hurried over to the third doorway.

"Grandma has her own bathroom, and we're not supposed to use it no matter how bad we have to go," John explained. "Mom said."

Maverick chuckled.

"Grandpa, Grandpa, you know that dangling thing in the back of your throat? Did you know if you pull on it you barf?"

"John Peter Tully, what a thing to say," Elise chastised, but stopped when Maverick threw back his head and bellowed with laughter. Leave it to a man to find the topic of vomit amusing.

"You get to sleep on the bottom bunk, and Luke and me are gonna share the other one," John explained and dove onto the mattress. "Mom changed the sheets."

"That's 'cause John still wets the bed."

"Do not," John screamed, leaping off the bed and swinging wildly at his older brother.

Elise started to move into the room to break up the fight, but Maverick quickly took control, pulling the boys apart. He immediately got them involved in showing him the rest of the house. Seeing that she wasn't needed, Elise retreated to the security of her own bedroom.

Forty-five minutes later, she sat with her feet up, watching television and knitting. Her mind wasn't on the news, but on her family; she felt irritated that she'd allowed Maverick to isolate her from those she loved most.

Someone knocked politely at her door and Aurora stuck her head inside. "I hoped you'd join us for dinner," she said with a pleading look. "David made a point of being home early tonight, and it would mean a great deal to me."

Elise would rather avoid this "welcome" dinner, but there was little she could refuse her daughter, who'd been so wonderful to her throughout this legal mess. "All right."

"Thank you." Gratitude glistened in Aurora's eyes.

To the best of Elise's memory, this was the first time Aurora had shared a meal with both parents at the same table. That was a sad commentary and, for her daughter's sake, Elise wished her marriage had ended differently. She didn't consider herself an emotional woman, but she found Aurora's happiness at something so simple poignant enough to bring her to tears.

When Elise finally entered the dining room, David had arrived home from the office and was pouring wine for the adults. Elise had a good relationship with David; as far as she was concerned, he was a model husband. She would be forever grateful that Aurora, unlike her, had had the sense to marry a decent, reliable man who actually worked at a real job.

Aurora was still bustling about the kitchen and Elise joined her. While David and Maverick chatted, drinking their wine, the women carried the salad, sliced roast, mashed potatoes and gravy to the table.

"It's a feast," Luke announced grandly.

"Just like Thanksgiving, except without the turkey," redheaded John