Page 54 of Call it Fate

“That’s between me and her.”

“Huh,” he huffed. “Okay then. But if you hurt either of them again…”

I nodded. The message was clear. “If I do, I promise I’ll hold still, and you can beat my ass.”

His mouth twitched. “Fair enough.”

I wiggled my finger between the two of them. “So, twins? Really?”

She grinned. “Yeah, yeah. I know. I got all the brains, and he got all the size.”

“Hey, I’m smart,” he groused.

“Today would prove otherwise.” She turned back to me.” So, the reason we’re here, other than to punch people,” Cam said, eyeballing Chase, “is we were at the coffee shop and overheard a rumor that Iain’s daddy was in town. We were headed to The Dogtrot to warn Em, but this oaf took off in a different direction, leaving me to chase after him.”

She narrowed her eyes at her brother as she whipped off one of her heeled shoes and shook it at him. “By the way, I ruined my heels. You owe me a new pair. These are expensive, and they’re one of my favorite pairs!”

He stared back at her. “No one made you run in heels. Besides, you say that about all your shoes. You’ve got a closet full of them. I’m not buying you another pair.”

She stuck her tongue out at him and poked him in his stomach with her elbow. I caught the look of affection on his face as he grinned back at her. I could tell these were good people, the kind I wanted in Iain’s life, the kind that would go to bat for him, had already, in fact, while I wasn’t here. I liked to think that maybe I could be friends with them, too, but time would tell.

“Em and I are planning to tell him tonight.”

“Oh. Well, that’s great. You should come with them to the farm one Sunday when we have a family brunch. We don’t always behave like Neanderthals, contrary to the opinion we may have given you today.”

“Hey! It’smyfarm. I get to do the inviting,” Chase said.

Cam stuck her tongue out at him, making me chuckle. She tapped her foot as she looked at her twin expectantly. I liked her. The women in this family were strong.

Chase wrinkled his nose at her. “Fine.” He narrowed his eyes at me. “You can come if you want.”

I had a feeling it might be fun, if for no other reason than to mess with him a little. “I’d like that.”

He scowled. “Figured as much.”

* * *

Despite the unexpecteddelay at the clinic, I arrived at The Dogtrot by our preset time. Now that the time had come, I was suddenly nervous. Iain and I got along great—as long as I was the fun friend of his mom’s. What would he think when he learned I was his dad? Would he be angry? Resentful? The thought chased away any appetite I had.

I grasped the gift I had for Emalee with sweaty hands and knocked on their private door.

The door swung open, and Em stood there, a nervous smile hovering on her lips. I leaned in and kissed her on the cheek, lingering for a few seconds longer than necessary as I appreciated her soft, vanilla-like scent.

“Hi.”

“Hi.”

She stepped aside to let me in.

I held out the wooden box that held three potted, aromatic plants. “I know you already get a lot of flowers from your cousin, but I figured you could always use fresh herbs. I saw this over the weekend and thought of you. It seems silly now. I’m sure you already have them.”

But she was already reaching for it, smiling as she settled her nose in each of the plants, breathing in their aromas. They were unmarked, but she named them easily.

“Mmm. Rosemary, sweet basil, and cilantro.” Her eyes found mine. “Thank you. Someday, I want to have my own herb garden, but I haven’t had time to do it. Maybe this will be the start. Chase doesn’t grow them, so I have to buy them from the store, and that—”

“Just isn’t the same,” I finished. I’d heard her repeat that several times whenever she cooked for me. I always asked what was wrong with the jars of dried herbs, making her wrinkle her nose.

“It’s perfect. Thank you.”

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