Page 49 of Winter Vows

“Sit,” Kelly ordered, putting two plates piled high with pancakes in front of them. She reached for Laura. “I’ll take her now. You eat.”

Hardy knew better than to argue. Even if he hadn’t been starving, he would have eaten every last bite of those light, fluffy pancakes. Sweeney’s flapjacks were as tough and heavy as rubber. Trish, however, toyed with hers, taking no more than a bite or two before finally pushing the plate away. Kelly studied her worriedly, then cast a helpless look at Hardy.

“Trish, you want something else?” he asked. “Maybe a banana.”

“No. I’m not really hungry.”

“You have to eat. You’ve just had a baby.”

She scowled at him. “Don’t you think I know that?”

“Is this that post-partum blues stuff they talk about on TV?” he asked.

Trish stood up. “No, what it is is none of your business.”

She bent down to give Laura a kiss. “I’ll see you later, darling girl.” She managed a smile for Kelly. “Thanks for breakfast.”

“No problem. You two have a good day.” Hardy added his thanks to Kelly, then followed Trish, who was already out the front door and halfway to his car. He waited until he had the car started and the heater going before he finally glanced over at her.

“Mind telling me what’s really going on?” he asked gently, determined to get to the bottom of her dark mood. Like Kelly, he was all but certain it had something to do with her brother’s visit.

“It’s my problem. I’ll work it out,” she said stiffly, huddled by the door.

Hardy decided to tackle it indirectly. “How did your visit go with your brother?”

“Great. It was wonderful to see him.”

He thought she sounded more glum than happy. “You two seem close.”

“We are.” She actually managed a smile. “Dylan’s the oldest, and I’m the baby, so he’s always been outrageously protective of me. At the same time, he’s the only one who ever seriously rebelled against our father. He’s the only one who can completely understand why I left.”

“And he’s going to keep quiet about where you are?”

“He promised he would.”

“Did he go back last night?” She nodded.

“Is that what’s gotten to you? Are you regretting not going with him? Are you sorry you’re cut off from your family?”

“No, absolutely not,” she said at once. “I mean, I wish Dylan had stuck around longer. He was great with Laura. She must really like men, even at her tender age. She settled down for him, just the way she does for you.”

The observation left Hardy feeling vaguely disgruntled without totally understanding why. Surely he couldn’t be jealous of Laura’s uncle. Did he want to be the only male she responded to, just the way he wanted to be the only male in her mama’s life? Apparently.

Trish gazed at him with blatant curiosity. “Dylan seemed to like you. Believe me, that has to be a first. He hasn’t had a lot of use for most of the men I know. What did you two talk about yesterday before I showed up?”

“This and that,” Hardy said. He figured Trish would be mortified if she knew her big brother had subjected him to a cross-examination worthy of Perry Mason.

“I suppose he demanded details about our relationship,” she said with a resigned sigh. “Dylan scared off almost every guy I ever wanted to date in high school with the macho big brother routine. Too bad it didn’t work on Jack. It probably would have, if Jack hadn’t been fully aware that he had my father in his corner.”

“I wasn’t scared off, either,” Hardy assured her. “I just told him we were friends.”

“So did I. He didn’t believe me.”

“That’s his problem.”

She slanted a look his way. “We are just friends, aren’t we?”

It seemed to him she sounded a little plaintive, a little regretful. “That was our agreement,” he acknowledged.

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