Page 111 of Designs on You

Natalie gaped at her sister. “Oh, thanks, sis.”

Lisa laughed. “Hey, it could be that you just have good, nondestructive kids.”

“Ha. I don’t think any kid lacks a destructive side. Or at least the inability to keep themselves from harm.”

“That’s true. Eugene was the worst of them. Too many trips for stitches and broken bones with that one.”

Now it was getting interesting. “Do tell.”

“Well, being the youngest, he always thought he could keep up with his big brothers. So he’d jump off things he wasn’t big enough to jump off of, or climb things he shouldn’t be climbing. He did a nosedive off the top of the slides, taking a short cut because Warren and Linc had taken off, and ended up with a broken arm.”

Natalie winced. “Ouch.”

“And then there were the stitches on his head when they all decided throwing rocks at each other could be a fun game. Eugene, being the youngest, didn’t have as strong an arm as his brothers, but that didn’t stop him from pitching rocks at them. Unfortunately, Warren hit him just on the temple with a jagged one, and he ended up with six stitches.”

“Oh no,” Hazel said. “Did Warren get in trouble?”

“They were all in trouble, but then again, Eugene loved every minute of it because his brothers praised him for taking the stitches like a champ.”

“I don’t think I ever want to have kids,” Hazel said. “No offense to either of you.”

Lisa laughed. “None taken.”

“Christopher had stitches a couple of months ago. It’s like my heart stopped. But he was barely bothered by it.”

Lisa reached over and patted her hand. “Kids are resilient. They bounce back faster than our worries for them.”

Her heart swelled with emotion, with joy, with understanding for this woman who’d raised three incredible men, including the one she lov…

Just say it. At least think it.

She loved him. Okay, fine, she’d thought it. But thinking it and doing anything about it were two different things.

She was having a fun day with Lisa and Hazel, and that’s all she was going to think about today. Anything else was too much to handle. So she shoved it aside, at least until she got home and started prepping for tonight’s dinner. Hazel had followed, and so had Lisa, and then her mother had showed up, so she got to introduce Eugene’s mom to her mom.

“I’m so glad you’re here, Melinda,” Lisa said to Natalie’s mother as they sat at the table sipping wine while Natalie and Hazel worked at the kitchen island. “I was hoping we’d get a chance to meet before I left.”

“I’m happy that Natalie invited me,” her mom said. “I would have been upset to miss meeting you, along with Eugene’s other brother. Hazel and Natalie both tell me that your sons are amazing men. You must be very proud.”

Lisa smiled. “Thank you, I am. And you as well. Your daughters are remarkable, successful, amazing women.”

Natalie shot Hazel a look. Hazel shrugged and grinned.

Okay, fine. So it was going well between the moms. Still, this was a little weird that her mom was meeting Eugene’s mom. Then the realization hit her that Lisa was also Linc’s mother, so it made sense they should meet each other since Hazel and Linc had been together for a while now. It really had nothing to do with her and Eugene.

Christopher came running in. “Mom, can I have a snack?”

“Not before dinner.” She held up a carrot. “Unless you want a veggie?”

Christopher wrinkled his nose. “Ew. No. Can I have a cracker?”

“Nope. But how about I slice an apple, and you can share it with your sister?”

“Okay.”

“I’ve got that,” Hazel said. “Christopher, go get Cammie while I get your apple ready.”

He disappeared and then came back, Camryn in tow. They took seats at the kitchen table and Hazel put their apple slices on a plate. Both Lisa and her mom engaged the kids in conversation while they ate their snack.

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