His Long-Lost Family. Brenda Harlen

agreed, without actually confirming the accuracy of it. But before he could question her further, she spoke again. “Lukas said that the house I’m renting is next door to Matthew’s new place.”

      Jack nodded. “In fact, the house is owned by his mother-in-law, Charlotte Something-Something Branston.”

      “Something-Something?”

      “There might be a few more ‘somethings,’” he told her. “She’s been married a few times.”

      “Where does she live?”

      “Montana.”

      He smiled in response to her quizzical look. “Long story.”

      “It’s a long drive,” she reminded him.

      She was right, and since talking about Matt and Georgia was easier than trying to manufacture another topic of conversation, he filled her in on some of the details.

      “Georgia had three-year-old twins and was pregnant with her third child when her husband died, so Charlotte suggested that she leave Manhattan and move to Pinehurst to live with her. A few months after Pippa was born, Charlotte headed off to Vegas for a couple of weeks with some friends, fell in love with a cowboy from Montana, and married him. So Georgia was in an unfamiliar town and on her own now with three kids, and then Matt moved in next door.”

      “And the young mother suddenly had a white knight riding to her rescue,” Kelly guessed.

      “Actually, he’s an orthopedic surgeon,” Jack reminded her teasingly.

      “But no one does the white-knight routine better than your big brother.”

      “True,” he agreed. “But in this case, I think it might actually have been Georgia and her kids who saved him. Matt had a really hard time after the divorce.”

      Kelly’s nod confirmed that she was aware of those details. “Sounds like Matt and Georgia were lucky to find one another, that each was exactly what the other was looking for, even if neither of them realized it.”

      “They do seem perfect for one another, and Matt absolutely dotes on her kids.” of course, Jack’s oldest brother had always wanted a family of his own.

      “He would,” she agreed. “Although a lot of men wouldn’t want to take on the responsibility of someone else’s child.”

      He didn’t miss that she’d said child and not children, and he suspected that she wasn’t thinking of Matt and Georgia now but of another situation—possibly even her own. And he wondered if she spoke from experience, if she’d been alone since her divorce, reluctant to get involved again for fear that another man wouldn’t accept her daughter.

      But he didn’t ask, because it was none of his business. They’d had a brief fling that was ancient history—he had no right to pry into her personal life now.

      Except that the history between them continued to haunt his dreams, even after thirteen years. And even more so since he’d learned of her intention to return to Pinehurst.

      He still didn’t know what had precipitated the move, or what Kelly’s daughter thought about her decision. He couldn’t imagine that it was easy for a kid to be uprooted from everything that was familiar and moved clear across the country.

      He glanced in the rearview mirror again. Kelly’s daughter was a beautiful girl, with long, dark hair just like her mother—aside from the purple streaks, of course. Her eyes were a similar shape, too, and fringed with long, sooty lashes. But the color of her eyes was different. Kelly’s eyes were the warm, golden color of aged whiskey; Ava’s were a clear, emerald green.

      He stole another glance, trying to figure out what it was about the child that made him uneasy.

      “I guess Ava will be attending Parkdale,” he said now.

      “That’s the plan,” Kelly agreed. “I just hope she’s lucky enough to make the kind of friends that I made at school there.”

      “It must have been difficult for her, leaving Seattle.”

      “It would have been more difficult if we’d stayed.”

      It was a surprising revelation from a woman who had previously volunteered no information about her reason for the move across the country. But she didn’t say anything else, and though he was curious, he didn’t press for any details.

      Instead, as they passed the elementary school, he said, “You’ll be happy to know that Mrs. Vanderheide finally retired a couple years ago.”

      She smiled. “That is good news—at least for Ava.”

      “And for all future generations of seventh graders,” he agreed. “Which was proven by the fact that almost all of Pinehurst turned out for her retirement party at the school. She thought they were all there to celebrate her forty years of teaching, but I think everyone just wanted to make sure that she really was retiring.”

      The sensuous sound of her soft chuckle heated his blood.

      Ancient history, he reminded himself again.

      He tightened his grip on the steering wheel and turned onto Larkspur Drive, grateful the journey was almost at its end.

      “This is it,” he said, pulling into a wide asphalt driveway beside the two-story saltbox-style house. He noticed that there were lights on at both the front and back doors— no doubt Matt’s wife wanted the place to look warm and welcoming, and it did.

      “Georgia said she would leave a key in the mailbox,” he told Kelly now. “She also wanted you to know that they had a cleaning company come in yesterday to give the whole house a thorough once-over and that she was in today to inspect and put clean sheets on the beds.”

      “I’ll have to remember to thank her for that,” she said. “Because right now, I’m tired enough to fall face down on any horizontal surface.”

      He shifted into park and glanced in the rearview mirror again. “Apparently your daughter doesn’t need to be horizontal.”

      Kelly turned to look at Ava, who had fallen asleep with her head against the window. Since the days when she could carry her slumbering child were likely long gone, he wasn’t surprised when she reached back to tap the girl’s shoulder. “Wake up, Ava. We’re home.”

      He was surprised by her use of the word home, and he frowned as it echoed in his head. It seemed strange to him that, after being gone for more than fifteen years, Kelly would still refer to Pinehurst as home. He hadn’t known if this was a temporary relocation or a permanent move, and he refused to admit that it mattered. He could have asked Luke, of course. No doubt his brother was privy to all of the details of her plans. But asking Luke anything about Kelly when he’d been so careful not to mention her name for so long would undoubtedly trigger more questions that Jack wasn’t prepared to answer.

      There was little he didn’t share with his brothers, but the fact that he’d spent a wild weekend with Kelly Cooper was a secret he’d kept for thirteen years—and one that he had no intention of revealing now.

       Chapter Two

      While Kelly roused her daughter, Jack retrieved their luggage from the trunk. He took the suitcases upstairs, setting the one with Kelly’s name on it in the biggest room and her daughter’s in the room directly across the hall. A quick glance at the tag gave him pause.

      He couldn’t remember the name of the guy Kelly had married, but regardless of whether or not she’d taken his name, he would have expected their child to have it. But the tag read Ava Cooper—and it made him think again about the reasons for Kelly’s divorce and her decision to move Ava so far away from Seattle.

      Reminding himself that it was none of his business, he headed back down the stairs and, following the sound of voices, into the kitchen.

      “You’re only asking for mushrooms