Page 29 of The Maxwell Brothers
"A divorce does leave scars," I murmured. “I’ve seen the results on the kids I teach, and it does have its impact.”
"It's not that. He blames himself for the marriage ending."
"Oh no! Why?" I shook my head, realizing what I'd asked. "Sorry. I didn't mean to intrude."
"Not at all, my girl. They were never a match. When I first met her, I remember thinking that she wasn't a bad person, but she and Tate… I couldn't see it working. Imagine my surprise when they got married. She was seduced by the family name, I think.”
"Some things aren't obvious from the start."
"That's true. But with some things, youknow. You don't need to see them. You don't need someone to tell you it's there. Youfeelit.” Narrowing her eyes, she added, “Tell me a bit about you.”
"About me?" I asked blankly.
“Tate said you're helping your parents pay off some medical bills."
"Yes. They had a hard time, so I'm hoping what I contribute will help a bit."
"Do you have other siblings?" she asked.
“No, it’s just me. I’m an only child.” When I was younger, I always wanted a sister, and Mom and Dad wanted more children, but things didn’t turn out the way they’d hoped. And I’d planned to have at least three kids, but, at thirty-one, I wasn’t sure I had enough time for three. But I’d be happy even with one little bundle of joy.
Beatrice was looking at me intently. “I think it’s wonderful that you’re helping your parents.”
"Thank you," I said.
“My parents were also sickly in their old age, but I have two sisters, and we helped them together.”
“Did your husband also have siblings?”
“Yes, three. And everyone had many kids. I always dreamed about having at least four kids, but I only had two. Tate’s dad and his brother.”
“Where is his brother?”
“He moved to London after we sold the bookstore business. My two boys gave me a lot of grandchildren, though. Loved looking after them when they grew up.”
“Six is quite a bunch.”
“Eight, including my granddaughters, Kimberly and Reese. They were at our house so often that they were practically all siblings. And now Tate thinks I can’t look after Paisley."
I pressed my lips together, sensing that was for the best.
"Tate wanted a lot of children too, but things didn't work out. I can’t believe he thinks I can’t watch my great-granddaughter. I’m still fit enough to run a bookstore, am I not?”
“Are you there every day?” I asked in surprise.
“Well, not a lot. I go there a couple times a week, and the manager I hired handles the daily tasks.” With a wistful smile, she added, “It was the first building my late husband bought, and we opened the bookstore when my sons were young. I feel closer to him when I’m there.”
Oh, Beatrice. She was such a lovely, warm person.
“My grandkids also spent a lot of time there growing up. I liked having them in the bookstore. Everyone knew Declan was going to be a lawyer even before he knew it. He was the most outspoken, always getting the rest out of trouble or at least trying to. Once, the school caught all of them smoking under the bleachers.” She chuckled at the memory. “Declan tried to convince them it was a science experiment.”
I burst out laughing. “He didn’t.”
“No one believed him. The most I could get out of them was that they did it on a dare, but they wouldn’t tell me who dared them. My hunch is it was probably Luke. He always liked hisdares, and the fun in it was riling up everyone to join him. Tyler was also into dares, but his were more along the lines of physical activity. He walked around bossing them into workout sessions after reading that it prolonged your lifespan. Sam was his most arduous listener. Then he went on and became a doctor.”
“And Travis?” He was the brother I knew the least about.
“Oh, my Travis took after his grandfather in a lot of ways. Always fearless. A bit terrifying for everyone else. Had a mind of his own. Whenever he didn’t like someone, he’d put frogs or insects in the pockets of their coats. Scared them off for good.”
