A Mother for His Twins by Jill Weatherholt

Author:Jill Weatherholt
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2019-06-06T13:12:24+00:00

Chapter Nine

A half an hour later, Joy had returned to her house and everyone was congregated on the driveway. The children were bursting with anticipation of an evening spent together. Joy had mixed feelings. Why had she agreed to this get-together? Was she doing it for the children or did she deep down want to spend more time with Nick?

“Is everyone ready to head out to the grocery store to get what we need?” Nick glanced up at the sky. “It looks like it’ll be a perfect evening for a cookout—crisp, but not too cold, if we all bundle up.”

The weather was perfect. With a few clouds rolling in from the west, they’d serve as a cozy blanket to keep the nighttime temperature from dropping too low.

“This is going to be a great night,” Jordan cheered.

For years, Joy spent Saturday nights alone, usually doing her laundry and making up her grocery shopping list so she could hit the market after Sunday services. The thought of a house full of guests and ignoring the pile of clothes in need of laundering created a sense of excitement. Her heart squeezed as she studied Nick attending to his boys. The love in his eyes exploded. He really was a wonderful father. A wave of sadness washed over her as she thought about how different their lives could have been and how simple choices in life could alter the outcome.

Nick opened the passenger-side door and helped her climb aboard. He reached for Joy’s crutches and stowed them inside the trunk.

With the kids all loaded they set off for the market, and Joy’s shoulders relaxed. Was this what it was like to be a family? Maybe just for tonight, she could pretend that was exactly what they were—a happy family just enjoying the evening. She and Nick were husband and wife and they were going grocery shopping with their children. It was a lovely thought, but not reality.

“Daddy, wuh like a family, awen’t we?”

Joy flinched. It was as though Jordan had read her mind. Her cheeks warmed as she glanced in Nick’s direction. He maintained his focus on the road and appeared completely unaffected by his son’s comment. Or was he simply ignoring it?

Was that why she felt safe? Like the herd of deer they’d seen earlier in the meadow. Protected. For the first time since childhood, she’d allowed herself to feel like part of a family and it felt good...really good. Wait, she couldn’t—it would never happen. She had to rid her mind of these crazy thoughts. They were doing this for the children. There was nothing more to it. But why did she feel like a high school girl who had just been invited to the prom by her secret crush?

An hour later, back from their shopping trip, Joy’s kitchen smelled of lemongrass, thanks to her aromatherapy diffuser she’d plugged in ten minutes earlier. As the sun slowly dipped behind the mountains, Joy pressed the hamburger meat with the palm of her hand and carefully shaped it into perfectly rounded patties.

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