Olivia took it, allowing him to pull her upright. She held on, borrowing his strength as he helped her climb past the rougher spots, enjoying the sensation of being supported. It had been so long since she’d felt protected, cared for.
“We probably should have gotten to know each other better earlier, but I was trying to make sure a certain pair of ring bearers didn’t mess up the whole wedding.” He grimaced. “This is really bad timing, but I have been meaning to talk to you about something for the past week and never had the chance.”
“Oh?” A tiny coil of fear wound tight inside.
The past was always there, waiting to snag her back into that misery.
“You’re a child psychologist.”
“Yes, I am.” Relief washed through her at the simplicity of that. “But please don’t ask me to explain why they decided to go fishing today.” She hoped humor would ease his tension while redirecting his questions. “I don’t understand the lure of fishing at the best of times.”
“Believe me, I intend to find that out firsthand.” His lips pinched tightly.
His parenting style wasn’t her business, and she was probably overstepping the boundary of a bridesmaid to a best man, but—“Reese?”
“Yeah?” He stared at her, brows lowered. They’d gained the top of the rise and his attention honed in on the twins up ahead, laughing and playing as carefree as if nothing untoward had happened.
“I know they scared the daylights out of you this afternoon, but could you try not to let them see that?”
“Why not?” Reese demanded, his prominent cheekbones jutting sharply in the sunlight. “The twins should know their actions affect others.”
“You must teach them that, of course. But maybe not today.”
“Because?”
“Because they don’t realize how worried you were.” She saw his brow furrow and rushed to explain. “That’s a good thing, Reese. You don’t want to make them afraid of life. You don’t want them fussing about all the things that could have happened.”
“Brett already has nightmares,” he admitted, watching them. “And that talk about their mother—I never even imagined they’d been thinking about her.”
“Kids are funny that way. Sometimes they take forever to blurt out what’s on their minds,” Olivia said. “I’m not trying to tell you how to parent your sons, believe me. I’m just suggesting you might want to focus on the disobedience part of the experience.”
Reese studied her for a long time before he exhaled his pent-up breath. He bent his head to one side, then the other as if releasing his tension. Then he nodded.
“Thank you. Again. I needed that reminder.”
“You’re a good parent. The twins love you and you love them. That’s what matters.” She changed the subject. “Sara said you work at Weddings by Woodwards—legal counsel?”
“That’s better than the other names she used to call me.” He smiled good-naturedly. “I do work as legal counsel for the business, but I also serve on the board at the Byways Youth Center.”
“I’ve heard about it from Sara and some friends. Sounds like it has great potential.”
“If we could find a new director.” Reese grimaced. “We’ve been running shorthanded for a while.”
“I see.”
“Maybe it’s something you’d be interested in.”
Olivia changed the subject.
“The bridal couple is leaving. I don’t want to call Sara back and ruin everything. Maybe I should go home.”
“No.” Reese frowned as he pulled open the door. “Cade’s sister, Karen, will help us. You wait inside. I’ll go find her.”
He was as good as his word, returning a few minutes later with Karen, who didn’t ask any questions, but quickly provided a pale blue sundress and sandals, all the perfect size. Olivia showered, tied her hair back and dressed, feeling almost warm again as she stepped outside.
Reese leaned against the doorpost, watching the twins pet a pony. Brett now wore shorts and a T-shirt. The teenage girl stood beside Reese, talking to him.
“Thanks for lending me this. It’s still a bit damp.” Olivia handed him his jacket.
“We’ll let it hang here to dry,” he said, carelessly dropping the expensive jacket over the banister. “Olivia, this is Emily Kirsch. She babysits the twins for me sometimes. Emily, this is Olivia Hastings.”
“Nice to meet you. Thank you so much for getting Brett out of the water.” Emily clung to her hand, shaking it over and over. “I should have been watching more closely. I don’t know what would have happened if you hadn’t been there.” The girl risked a sideways glance at Reese. “It’s all my fault.”
“No, it isn’t. It’s harder to care for the twins here than at home. I know that. I also know you’ll watch them more carefully next time. You did fine, Em.” Reese patted her shoulder, smiled. “You’re the best babysitter they ever had. They love having you care for them.”
“I love them, too. Uh-oh.” Emily clapped a hand over her mouth as Brett tried to get the pony to eat the ball he was offering. “I better get them busy on a game. Nice to meet you, Miss Hastings.”
Miss. It still sounded strange to hear that.
“You, too,” Olivia said, but Emily had already left. “I’m surprised you remembered my name,” she teased Reese, remembering how he’d stumbled during an introduction earlier in the day.
He was good-looking in a dangerously rumpled kind of way. His profile reminded her of Prince William. One of the twins had left a grubby print on his shirtfront. The dab of red on his collar matched the red stain on Brady’s white pants. Reese’s sandy-brown hair was just an inch too long to be neat.
“Of course I remember your name.” He blinked innocently.
“You didn’t earlier.”
“Well, we’ve already established I was focused on two small troublemakers. So my brain was occupied elsewhere.” He made a face when Brett began climbing up a tree and moved forward as if to stop him. He relaxed when Emily intervened. “If you had kids, you’d understand how easy it is to get sidetracked.”
If she had kids—
I was a wife and a mother once, her heart cried out. Until my family was stolen from me.
“What would you say to a hot cup of coffee and some wedding cake? Emily seems to think those two need their bellies filled. Again.”
“Someone actually cut that gorgeous cake?” Olivia walked beside him with the twins following.
His family greeted him with good-natured jeers and teasing. Reese responded in kind, though his attention never left the twins for more than a few minutes.
What would it be like to be part of a family again, to work with kids again, to find the connection that would make her part of something? Olivia longed to join humanity and replace the ever-present worry that held her back, prevented her from getting too close—lest some newspaper reporter figure out whom she’d been and run another story about her pitiful past.
Sara Woodward had been the first person Olivia had trusted in a very long time. And even Sara didn’t know the whole truth.
The jury was still out on trusting Reese.
Chapter