Family by Design. Roxann Delaney

easier, no matter what she had done to him in the past. Helping her sure wasn’t a part of his plan—until now.

      “Somebody’s here!” Danny shouted from upstairs, relieving Nick from commenting or having to make any rash decisions.

      “It must be Travis,” Nick said, more than ready to leave.

      After thanking her for the coffee and the tour of the house, he said goodbye and hurried outside to the waiting truck.

      Climbing in, he slammed the door. “I have you to thank for this mess I’m in.”

      Tony looked at him. “I learned a long time ago to mind my own business, so don’t blame your troubles on me.”

      Nick realized he was being unreasonable and let out a long sigh. “You should’ve told me Becca was single again.”

      Putting the truck in gear, Tony grunted. “Why? It wouldn’t have made any difference.”

      Nick considered it and wasn’t sure his brother wasn’t right. Over the past ten years, he hadn’t grown any fonder of Becca. Not that he hadn’t thought of her. But he had always resented the way she had so casually dumped him. By the time he heard she had married, he wasn’t in the mood to wish her well. After that, he did his best to forget her. And now this had happened.

      “At least I would’ve known what I was up against,” he managed to reply.

      “Nick, the thorough planner,” Tony replied with a touch of disgust, as he backed the truck down the drive and onto the road.

      “It’s worked well to this point.”

      “Yeah? What about—” Tony pressed his lips together and shook his head.

      Nick knew he was thinking of Edie, his ex-wife. “There are some things you can’t plan for,” he said.

      Tony avoided looking at him as they headed for Katyville. “So what do you do when something like that happens?”

      Nick shrugged, thinking of how he had handled what he called the bumps in the road. “Regroup. Find another way.” And that was exactly what he would do now.