A Winchester Homecoming

Instantly the snide thought made Kim feel guilty. As always, Emily’s smile was cordial. Even after Kim’s outburst in the stable when she’d caught the two of them making out like teenagers and her father had been so angry at her, Emily had pretended to be understanding. If she had done so to impress her new boyfriend with her niceness, it had certainly worked.

Kim had desperately needed his reassurance, so she’d lashed out like a jealous lover. When he’d taken Emily’s side against her, she’d been totally humiliated. The memory of her bratty attitude still embarrassed her, but the important thing was that Emily made him happy.

Kim would have to try harder to like Emily while she was here. Her father would be pleased to see the two of them getting along.

“Hi, Kim!”

Jake and Cheyenne’s headlong dash and noisy greetings reminded Kim a little of her mother-in-law’s cocker spaniels. She dragged up a big smile, feeling as though her cheeks would split.

“Hey, how are you two?” she asked, holding out her arms.

They’d both grown a lot since the last time she had seen them. Cheyenne, blond like her mother, threw her arms around Kim in an exuberant hug. Jake, with their father’s dark hair, skidded to a stop, hands jammed into his pockets. With a young boy’s wariness, he appeared ready to bolt if Kim even tried to hug him. She patted his head instead and he rewarded her restraint with a grin.

“How long are you staying?” Cheyenne demanded, grabbing her hand.

The blunt question caught Kim by surprise. She hadn’t thought that far ahead.

“Why don’t you and Jake help me with the bags while she says hi to your folks?” David suggested, opening the trunk.

Kim’s attention turned to her father who’d been waiting patiently.

“Hey, princess,” he said, balancing on one crutch as he held out his free hand.

“Hi, Daddy.” With a little sigh of relief, she wrapped her arms around his waist while he gave her an awkward hug. When he let her go, she and Emily exchanged air kisses near each other’s cheeks.

“Welcome home,” Emily said gently.

Kim’s guilt increased tenfold. She had stopped being jealous years ago, and Emily was way nicer than her own mother, so what was Kim’s problem other than a whisper of disloyalty?

Before she could puzzle it out, David and the younger kids joined them with the bags.

“I guess you didn’t have any trouble finding her,” her father said to him.

“I haven’t changed that much!” Kim protested.

“You’re thinner,” her father replied with typical male bluntness and a frown she knew stemmed from concern.

His implied criticism still stung, making her cheeks go hot with embarrassment.

“Some people say a woman can’t be too thin or too rich,” Emily commented smoothly, dispelling the awkward moment with a hostess’s effortless smile. “Come inside, Kim, and we’ll get you settled.”

Even though she appreciated Emily’s tact, part of Kim felt like insisting that she would rather stay outside, just to be contrary. And maybe she could throw herself down in the driveway and drum her heels on the pavement, just to show her maturity.

“Thank you,” she said instead.

“You might like a nap before dinner,” Emily continued. “It’s just the five of us tonight.” She glanced at David. “Unless you’d like to join us, honey?”

To Kim’s relief, he shook his head. “Thanks, Mom, but I’ve got stuff to do back at my place.”

Kim’s father patted her shoulder before his hands returned to the grips on his crutches, his gaze steady on hers. “I’m glad you’re here, Kimmie,” he said quietly.

“Me, too.” Her chin wobbled, so she turned away to give David a bright, blank smile. “Would you mind taking my bags up to my room before you leave?”

“Sure thing, princess,” he drawled with a mocking grin.

Ignoring his jab, Kim followed her father up the front steps. Despite his height and bum leg, he took them with surprising agility, but he’d always been a natural athlete.

Feeling a little like a spectator at a play about family dynamics—or perhaps a TV sitcom—David hitched up the strap of Kim’s shoulder bag as Jake and Cheyenne both began tugging on the handle of the wheeled suitcase. To head off a skirmish, David dug his keys from his pocket.

“Who wants to lock the car?” he asked, dangling them like the proverbial carrot.

Both kids missed the irony of his question. The chance of anyone stealing the sedan from the boss’s driveway was right up there with the likelihood of the two kids being able to get the heavy suitcases up the stairs. Kim must have it filled it with rocks from Puget Sound.

Jake’s hand shot up first. “I’ll do it!”

When David tossed him the keys, which he caught with a triumphant shout, Cheyenne’s eyes filled with tears.

Thinking fast, David grabbed the handle of the largest suitcase. “Honey bun, would you hold the front door open for me?”

The brewing thundercloud on her face was replaced by instant sunshine. She was going to be a heartbreaker. As her oldest sibling, he would have to stay in shape just to keep the boys in line.

The idea of testosterone-driven adolescent males sniffing around her at some point in the not-too-distant future was enough to make his head ache.

“Sure thing,” she crowed, running up the steps.

Jake opened his mouth, but David froze him with a warning stare. “Don’t lose my keys,” David told him, turning away.

He might be a childless bachelor, but he’d spent enough time baby-sitting his half siblings to learn a few tricks, he thought as he noticed that his mother was waiting for him in the entryway.

“Nicely done,” she said after he had thanked Cheyenne for holding the door and she had skipped ahead.

“You taught me all I know,” he replied, shifting the bag on his shoulder. A fresh flower arrangement sat on a side table, no doubt from her own garden. Adam and Kim had gone into the spacious living room. “I’d better get these right up to sis’s room, in case she needs them in the next couple of minutes.”

His mother smothered a chuckle. “Behave yourself,” she scolded softly. “And you know the two of you aren’t actually related.”

“Thank God,” he muttered back, leaning down to peck her cheek. He rolled the suitcase across the tiled floor. “I’ll come back for this.” Once he had, he planned to sneak out through the kitchen.

He would have liked to say something encouraging to his mother, since he knew how hard she worked at being the perfect stepparent. It burned him to no end that she blamed herself for coming between Adam and his daughter and sending her away. It wasn’t true.

“Kim!” Adam exclaimed from the living room, the urgency in his voice drawing both David’s and his mother’s attention.

He turned in time to see Adam struggling to his feet as Kim slid gracefully to the floor.

“Is she dead?” Cheyenne shrieked as David dropped the suitcase and ducked around his mother.

“No, dear,” Emily replied calmly. “I think she’s fainted.”

Adam’s frustration at his temporary limitations was easy to read on his contorted face. “Kim!” he shouted again.