Ivey wiped her eyes and scrambled back to her feet. She peeked around the wall, found father and son watching for her, and so she plastered on a smile. “I wouldn’t mind at all, but I do have to admit, if you cry, I’ll cry. Heck, if someone on a commercial cries, I usually cry.” She lifted a shoulder. “Hope is the same, but our receptionist, Karen? I think you’ve met her, right? Well, she’s a rock. I’ve never seen her cry.”
She realized she was babbling when they both blinked at her.
Justin frowned at her critically. “Your nose is real red.”
“Yes, I’m what people call an ugly crier.”
“I don’t think you’re ugly,” he rushed to tell her. “I think you’re real pretty.”
Piece by piece, he stole her heart. “You little charmer. Thank you.” Her smile actually hurt, because she honestly had more sobbing to do. “I think it’s probably time for me to head home.”
Just then, Lang opened the door. He wore a huge smile—until he saw Justin on Corbin’s lap and the tear tracks on Ivey’s face. “Uh-oh.” His gaze searched Ivey’s face, then worriedly switched to Justin, who hastily rubbed his nose and scrambled off Corbin’s lap. Lastly, he looked at his brother.
Quietly he closed the door. “Did I, um, miss something?”
For some reason, maybe because the strain of so much emotion had reached the breaking point, his stricken expression started Ivey snickering. Within seconds, Corbin and Justin had joined her.
They laughed and laughed, which stole the concern out of Lang’s eyes and removed her need for more crying. Now she wiped her eyes for a whole different reason.
She suddenly felt wonderful. She loved these people, all three of them, and she didn’t think that would ever change.
Wishing she could stay but knowing she needed to get some sleep, she had to call it a night. Bummer, because Corbin’s house was starting to feel more like home than her own ever had.
Chapter Ten
The second they stepped outside, Ivey touched Corbin’s chest and asked softly, “Are you okay?”
Beneath the porch light, her eyes and nose were still red, her cheeks tracked with tears, and he wanted to hug her as tightly as he had Justin. “Yeah, I am.” With one hand he held Maurice’s carrier and with the other he kept her close as they started for her car.
She leaned into him, her head on his shoulder. “You amaze me. I’m wrecked, and he’s not my son.”
“He’s with me now, and I won’t ever let anything happen to him.” Sensing she was about to tear up again, he said, “Actually, I’m encouraged by what happened.”
“You are?”
It wasn’t easy to explain, but he wanted to share with Ivey. Talking with her seemed as natural as everything else they did. “Justin is starting to open up to me. For the longest time he was too quiet and withdrawn. I got it, I mean, his world had been upended. He was taken away from everything familiar, given over to a man claiming to be his dad. He didn’t trust me or anything I said, but he was afraid to tell me so. We were like two strangers living together.”
“One of them young and hurt and wary of what was going on?”
“Yes.” Justin had been so damned wary. And afraid. “I was set in my ways, blown over to be called Dad and anxious to make up for lost time.” He glanced at her. “I found that none of that could be rushed.”
“And now?” she asked.
“Now, he’s telling me his worries. He’s sharing some of what he went through. It eats me up, thinking of the time we should have had together, time I can’t get back. But if we talk, if he opens up about the past, we can bridge some of that distance, work through the things that worry him and hopefully make our relationship stronger.”
Ivey stopped to stare up at him. Moonlight put a halo around her fluffy hair. “You are absolutely incredible. I’ve never known anyone like you.”
Slowly, he set down Maurice’s carrier next to her car in his driveway. “I feel the same about you, Ivey. You’ve already become a part of our lives.” He smoothed her hair, amused when it sprang right back up again, some of the curls tangling in his fingers. “I’ve got a lot going on right now.”
“I know,” she rushed to say. “I promise I won’t rush you.”
Funny, outspoken Ivey. “You can rush me all you want.” Bending to her mouth, he whispered,