Casey glanced down at the sleeping infant and chuckled. “In our family, it’s hard to avoid them. I have fourteen first cousins on my dad’s side—Molly’s side—and several of them have kids. The Walker clan’s pretty tight, always getting together for some occasion or another. It’s not at all unusual for thirty or more of us to be gathered at the ranch that belongs to Molly’s dad, my uncle, Jared.”
Daunted by the mental image of all those relatives in one place, many of them children, she swallowed. “Wow.”
Casey laughed, making the baby start a little, though he didn’t wake up. “Yeah, a lot of people react that way.”
“How many siblings do you have?”
He shook his head. “I’m an only. But I never lacked for playmates with so many cousins. Especially the twins, Andrew and Aaron. There’s just a few months’ difference between our ages and our fathers are identical twins, so we spent a lot of time together, along with our cousin Jason D’Alessandro, who’s a couple years older than I am.”
“Your father’s a twin?”
“Right. And his brother has twin sons of his own. We’re all used to seeing double.”
“I see.” Sounded a bit confusing to her, but then, she didn’t have that much experience with family.
Her mother had a brother, but they hadn’t lived in the same state for decades and didn’t see each other very often, so Natalie hardly knew her cousins on that side. Her father had been one of four brothers. Jewel was the youngest sibling and the only girl. Because her father and Jewel had been the closest of the Lofton siblings, Natalie had seen her aunt Jewel more than the rest of the family. She’d always looked forward to summer vacations in Gatlinburg, back when her family had been intact and at least outwardly happy together.
Though he’d been a few years older than Natalie, Tommy had always been a gracious and patient host, taking his younger cousin hiking in the mountains, teaching her to fish in the numerous area streams and accompanying her to a nearby amusement park. He had even taken her white-water rafting when he was a mature eighteen and she a hero-worshipping fourteen-year-old.
She still missed Tommy with a pang like a knife through her heart whenever she remembered those happy childhood times, before her parents’ divorce and before Tommy had joined the military. That had been one of the hardest things about coming here to lick her wounds and plan her future, knowing that she would be surrounded by memories of the cousin who’d been such a happy part of her past.
The baby in Casey’s lap made a rather surprised sound and opened his eyes. He looked up to see who was holding him, then broke into a toothless grin.
“Well,” Casey said, grinning back, “you wake up happy, don’t you, tiger?”
Little Micah hooted as if in agreement.
Casey was still smiling when he glanced up at Natalie. “I’ve always had that effect on kids. They start laughing as soon as they see my face.”
“You’re very good with him,” she repeated, unable to think of anything else to say.
Casey gave the babbling baby a couple of bounces, eliciting a shrill giggle. And then he glanced at her and startled her by asking, “You want to hold him?”
She quickly held up her hands in a backing-away gesture. “No, thank you. He looks quite happy where he is.”
Casey lifted an eyebrow. “Don’t you like kids?”
“Sure I do. As long as someone else is taking care of them.”
Whatever Casey might have said in response was interrupted when Molly reappeared in the doorway. “Dinner is served, you two. Oh, the baby’s awake. Here, Casey, I’ll take him. You can show our guest of honor into the dining room.”
Passing off the baby, Casey turned with a flourish to offer his arm to Natalie. “Looks like you’re the guest of honor,” he said lightly. “And I’m the designated escort. Madam?”
She hoped no one noticed her slight hesitation before she rested her hand lightly on his arm.
Chapter Three
I t was an interesting evening, Natalie thought as the meal progressed. Though well-behaved for a preschooler, Olivia enjoyed attention and didn’t mind performing for it. Kyle had to tell her a couple of times to settle down and eat, which worked for a few minutes until she thought of something else she wanted to say.
In contrast to her quiet husband, Molly was pretty much a nonstop talker. Not in a self-absorbed way, since she asked lots of questions and seemed genuinely interested in the replies. She just liked to keep the conversation lively.Casey was charming. Articulate, amusing, quick-witted. Natalie couldn’t help wondering why he was working as a less-than-proficient maintenance man. He seemed very fond of Molly, friendly with Kyle, indulgent with Olivia. He gave every appearance of being a happy young man without a care in the world. And yet…
There was something in his eyes. Something about the very faint lines that appeared around his mouth on those rare occasions when she caught him not smiling. Maybe it was because she had her own secrets, but she had the distinct feeling that Casey’s smiles and jokes were hiding something not so happy. She didn’t know how he’d ended up working for his cousin’s husband, but something told her he had a story as depressing as her own.
She didn’t ask questions, partially because she didn’t want to encourage him to ask questions in return. She had asked her aunt and uncle not to tell anyone why she’d left her job in Nashville. Molly and Kyle knew only that she was no longer affiliated with the firm and was taking some time off while making some inquiries toward a new position. She figured they knew there was more to it than that, but they respected her privacy.
No one mentioned careers during dinner, keeping the conversation focused on the children and on local events. They talked about the summer tourist season that had recently ended and the upcoming winter season which would bring in holiday travelers and snow skiers. Gatlinburg, Pigeon Forge and the surrounding towns were all decorating for Christmas, with light displays and special Christmas shows and attractions to entice visitors.
“Maybe you’ll see some of the lights before you go back to Nashville,” Molly said to Natalie while wiping blackberry cobbler from Olivia’s chin.