A Ready-Made Family

“They didn’t approve of me marrying so young.” Lia laughed a little to cover the obvious pain. “Not that they would have approved of me having a baby out of wedlock, either.”

“I thought that in these cases, once the grandchild arrives, the grandparents come around.”

“You’d think so.” She sighed. “I mean, yes, they have made an effort with their grandkids. We visit back and forth a few times a year. But they never quite let me forget what a disappointment I’ve been, including the divorce.”

There was another, longer silence. “Rose—a newlywed,” Lia said suddenly with a fond smile. He could tell she was deliberately lightening the mood. “Incredible.”

“Evan seems like a good guy.”

“He’d better be.”

Jake liked Lia’s fierce loyalty. He’d felt that way about his battalion. Good guys, most of them, and excellent soldiers. With his mother and sister, the family ties were tangled up in turmoil and guilt. He hadn’t been able to protect them the way he’d have liked to. But then, that way would have likely resulted in his own prison sentence. Back when they’d needed him the most, the only solutions he’d known involved hot temper and flying fists.

Black Jack’s legacy. Like father, like son.

Jake slapped a mosquito that had landed on his arm. He wiped away the bloody smear and lifted the beer, tipping it toward Lia. “You’re sure you don’t want one?”

“Not tonight. I’m too tired. A beer would put me right to sleep.” She looked at the sun slipping past the tops of the looming evergreens. “We should be going before it gets dark,” she said, but didn’t move.

“Where to?”

“Um…” Her lids lowered. “I met a woman at the grocery store. Claire. She gave me her card, said we could get a room at her bed-and-breakfast.”

“Free?”

“Well, no, I don’t suppose so.” Lia’s face crumpled. She looked miserable whenever the question of money came up. He assumed she had very little, maybe none given that she’d balked over the price of tomato juice, but apparently pride wouldn’t let her admit it.

He could understand that. Pride—and hurt pride—had caused him a lot of grief back in the day.

“You might as well stay here,” he said. His voice came out raspy and gruff, making the offer less than inviting even though he didn’t mean it that way.

Lia gazed across the property, taking in the small cottages hidden among the trees. Birds twittered in the gap before she spoke again. “I don’t want to disrupt your business.”

He snorted. “What business?”

“There are no guests?”

“We’ve got a few diehards scheduled for later in the season. I’m planning to have the place fixed up some by then.” He tried to soften his voice. “I can give you one of the cottages for as long as you need it. No problem.”

Lia closed her eyes and pressed her lips together, taking a breath through her nose. “We’d—I’d be so grateful.”

“I don’t need gratitude for doing what Rose would want.” Jake figured he owed his sister, not Lia. He drained the bottle and set it on the ground beside his chair, then resettled himself, stretching out full length with his arms folded behind his head. “Your car shouldn’t be on the road anyway. I took a look under the hood while you were at the store. You’ve got bad brakes. The struts need replacing. Front tires are bald, too.”

Lia’s face got that pale, drained look again. “That sounds expensive. I’m not sure the Grudge is worth that much repair. But I need a car.” She glanced his way. “Are you a mechanic?”

“Not as a profession. But I can do the work.”

“I couldn’t ask you to.”

“You didn’t.” He eyed her. How could one small woman be so uptight and wrung-out at the same time? He’d seen from the start that there was something off about her arrival. Through dinner, she’d hushed the kids whenever they’d mentioned their previous life, which had only called his attention to her evasiveness.

Jake wasn’t one to wait for explanations. But he sensed that Lia would bolt if he got too curious. This once, he could bide his time.

“What I meant was that I can’t pay you,” she said.

“I didn’t ask to be paid. We can figure something out. Do you have a job to get back to?”

“No.” She was studying her lap again. “I quit my job. I was actually hoping to find work up here.”

“In Alouette?” That explained the car stuffed with luggage and boxes. He’d figured them for heavy travelers.

“Maybe.” She shot him an arch glance. “Don’t worry. We won’t count on your generosity forever. Just until I get a paycheck and can find a place to rent.”

“It’s not so easy getting a job in this town. What do you do?”

“I’ll do anything.” She moved restlessly. “I don’t have specialized training or a degree. I managed only a few college courses after Sam was born, before Lar—” She cut herself off again. “Since the divorce, I’ve worked at several jobs. Supermarket checker, office clerk for a used-car dealer, waitress. I’ll find something.”

“Sure.”

“You sound skeptical.”

“It’s a small town. I can ask around for you, but I’ve been out of touch for too long. Been back only a few weeks.”

“Thanks, but that’s not necessary,” she said. “I’ll go out tomorrow, first thing. There has to be some kind of job available for an untrained single mom.” She smiled bravely. Tension radiated off her.

He leaned forward. “No rush.”

“Maybe not to you, but I’m in a fix.”

“You said you’re divorced?”

“Yeah. For about three years now officially, but we were separated before that. I was pregnant with Kristen when we moved out of our house and next door to Rose. She was a good friend to me while I had the baby and went through the divorce mess. My ex fought it, so, uh, the process took a while.”

He sensed a world of complication in the brief explanation. He had some vague memory of getting the rare letter from his sister that mentioned Lia, but he hadn’t paid close attention to the details. Now he wished he had. Something about her engaged his interest more than other women. Maybe the fortitude he sensed beneath her exhaustion. If he ever got involved again, it would be with a woman who had staying power.

He continued to probe despite his usual disinterest in chitchat. “Don’t the wife and kids usually get the house?”

Lia winced. “Not always.”

“He was a son of a bitch, huh?”

“To put it mildly.” Lia glanced over her shoulder. “We’re well rid of him.”

Jake’s radar went ping. The look in her eyes…was it hunted, not haunted?

Stay out of it, man. “I’m sure you’ll be okay from now on,” he said, feeling as if he was mouthing a useless platitude.

She clutched her arms tight and shook her head.