Teardrop Lane (29 page)

Cicero.

Rose slowly turned the fishing reel until she caught sight of a rainbow of bright colors on the end of the line. It was a fish. “A rainbow trout?”

“Be careful now, Dr. Rose,” Keenan cautioned. “Don’t break it.”

A glass trout fashioned in the colors of the rainbow. A fishing lure was hooked through the trout’s mouth. It was a fishing lure like none she’d ever seen before.

From the center of it dangled a gold ring with a diamond solitaire.

“Oh,” Rose said, freezing in place.

Cicero reached out and grabbed the line, pulling it safely over land. Meeting Rose’s gaze, he said, “You’ve hooked us,
Sirena Bellissima
. Will you keep us?”

“Uncle Skunk! You’re supposed to say will you marry us!”

Never taking his stare off of Rose, he said, “Give me a chance, heathen. Rosemary, I love you. Will you be my wife? Will you be a mother to these children? Will you be our family?”

“Yes!” she said fiercely, joy bubbling through her like the froth on the creek. “Yes, Hunt Cicero, I will marry you. I will be your wife and a mother to these children. I love them. I love you.”

The kids cheered, and Cicero visibly relaxed. He snagged the fishing pole from out of her hand and carefully set it down. Then he leaned forward and kissed her firmly and sweetly. Releasing her lips, he declared, “Pile on.”

The kids swarmed her, and they all exchanged hugs and kisses until Cicero pushed them away. “Enough.
Leave us alone for a few minutes. You’ll find cookies from Fresh in the picnic basket. Go get ’em.”

With cheers, the children dashed back toward the other quilt and the basketful of treats. Rose watched them go with a full heart. When she turned back to Cicero, words died upon her lips. He held the ring he’d retrieved from the fishhook in his right hand. His left was extended, silently asking for hers. Emotion clogged her throat, and she blinked back happy tears as she placed her hand in his. “It’s a beautiful ring, Hunt.”

“I’m glad you like it. I’ve been saving it for years. The diamond is of excellent quality. I thought if you don’t care for the setting or want something other than yellow gold, we can have the rock reset.”

Oh
.

Trying to keep it light, she asked, “You bought it for someone else?”

He scowled at her.

“Of course not. I’m not so big a heel as to give you a ring I bought for another woman. You talked to me about fate that day in Gunnison. Here’s my take on it. This ring was meant for you. I knew I was falling in love with you the night of Gabi’s engagement party when you walked downstairs wearing that emerald dress. You were my
Sirena Bellissima
.”

“Beautiful mermaid,” she murmured.

“Yes, beautiful mermaid. That’s why it’s appropriate that I give you a gift from the sea. I found the ring my first year in the Caribbean, when I swam in a lagoon of an uninhabited island. It sparkled and caught my eye.”

“Seriously? You found it?”

“I found it. It’s a big ocean out there, Rose, but I found it.” He slipped the ring upon her finger. “And thank God, I found you.”

Their lips met and clung, until Keenan’s voice intruded. “Put that back, Galen! You’ve already had three
cookies. You need to save that one for Uncle Skunk and Doctor Mom!”

Rose jerked her head back. Shakily, she repeated, “Doctor Mom?”

“Jayne was Mama to them. Misty suggested the name for you. I think it’s a great one for them to use, don’t you?”

Doctor Mom
.

“I can’t think of anything I’d like better.”

Cicero rolled crystals of color into hot glass on the marver, shaping the teardrop meant to be part of the chandelier the studio was making for a hotel in Boca Raton. He whistled along to Poison’s “Fallen Angel,” which was blaring from the studio speakers as he worked—and added a little flair to his movements for the benefit of the tourists watching from the bleachers. When he finished, he would turn down the music and chat up the visitors. People liked a show and he was glad to give it, especially since Gabi had pointed out the correlation between his interaction with guests and an increase in retail sales. Nevertheless, he’d be glad to turn that particular bit of the business over to Mitch. His apprentice had arrived in Eternity Springs late last week for his promised summer visit, and he was a natural at charming the visitors.

In its first month of operation, Whimsies already had hit a home run, and the tourist season was just getting kicked off. Locals assured him they still had ten strong weeks ahead of them. On one hand, he couldn’t be more pleased. On the other hand, he cursed his timing roundly.

Between his work, her work, and responsibilities to the hoodlums, he and Rose were the proverbial ships passing in the night—only nights had little to do with
anything since she still refused to move in with him or even to sleep over. Payback, Flynn had told him, for laughing at his similar predicament.

Ten minutes later, he placed the teardrop in the annealer, peeled off his gloves, then played to the crowd until he spied a bright-eyed Misty hovering in the doorway. She wore her hair in pigtails, a jumper he didn’t recognize, and a smile filled with teeth straight enough to give him hope of avoiding braces. After gently ushering the visitors from the studio toward the retail shop, he greeted the girl.

“What’s up, Worm?”

Her voice shook with excitement. “I got it, Uncle Hunk!”

“You did! That’s wonderful!” He wracked his brains.
Got what?

“It’s just the backup part—it’s called understudy—but Mrs. Hendricks says that Laura Simpkins is going on a family vacation and has to miss the last two nights of the play so I’ll definitely get on stage those nights and maybe more.”

Now he remembered. Summer theater.

“Congratulations, Worm. I’m happy for you. What’s the play again?
Little Orphan Annie
?”

“No. They’re doing
Annie
now. It runs until the Fourth of July. We’re doing
Sound of Music
.”

“That’s right. The hills are alive and everything.” He reached out, and playfully tugged a pigtail. “Proud of you, Misty.”

She beamed. “Thank you.”

“What role will you play?”

“Brigitta! Isn’t that a beautiful name?”

“It sure is.” Cicero grinned at his niece. She’d sure come out of her shell in recent weeks. Rose’s influence, he was sure. That and the fact that time seemed to be
working its magic on her grief. “You know what? I say we go out for pizza to celebrate.”

“Really? Cool!”

He thought through the logistics for a moment, then pulled out his phone to call Rose. It rang before he could make his call, and recognizing the number, he frowned. “You should go tell Gabi about the play. See if she and Flynn want to meet us for supper. Mitch, too.”

She started to turn away, then paused.

“Do you think they’d come to watch?”

“I’ll bet they’ll be in front row. Right next to me and Doctor Mom.”

“Okay.”

Cicero watched the happy girl scurry toward the retail shop, and then he turned the lock on the studio door and answered the phone.

“Hello, Amy. What can I do for you?”

“Hello, Cicero. How is everyone in Eternity Springs? Are the children out of school yet?”

He gritted his teeth and counted to five. He found it ridiculously difficult to speak pleasantly to this woman, but he couldn’t afford to pop off to her. Not until after the last of the legal issues involving the kids were smoothed out, anyway. He and the Parnells needed to work as a team when dealing with the bureaucracies of two states. He couldn’t afford to say what he wanted to say.

“Everyone is fine. This is the first week of summer vacation for the kids.”

“That’s wonderful.”

Yeah, easy for you to say. You’re not the one scrambling to find day care and activities late in the day when so many of the programs are full
.

“Are you still staying at the cottage beside the creek?”

“No. We moved into the new place earlier this week.”

“That’s nice.”

That’s nice. That’s wonderful. Why is she calling?

“How is Daisy?”

Cicero did another five-count of teeth gritting.

“All of the children are doing well. Misty just landed a role in summer theater. Keenan scored two runs in T-ball last night. Galen has a new best friend who is taking him camping tonight, and Daisy got a haircut yesterday.”

“You cut her hair!”

“No, I took her to a salon to have it done. It looks cute.”

He saw no reason to mention the chewing gum incident that necessitated the trip.

“Oh. Well. Hair grows back. She has her father’s hair, you know. His was the same strawberry-blond color, and she has a cowlick in the exact same place as he did.”

Cicero’s heart softened a little. He knew that Amy had loved her brother. She’d lost a sibling, too. Grief can make a person say and do crazy things. He needed to remember that and cut her some slack.

“It’s a gorgeous color. She’ll grow up to be a heartbreaker someday.”

“Yes. Now, I should explain why I’m calling. Scott and I are traveling up your way. He has a conference in Colorado Springs. We remembered that dude ranch near your little town when we picked the children up after our ski trip last winter. They have a four-day program. If it’s all right with you, we’d like to take the children there after Scott’s meeting next week.”

Well now, she’d managed to totally surprise him with this one.

“All of the children?”

“Yes. The place is called Storm Mountain Ranch.”

Cicero knew it well. Flynn owned a section of land that had once been part of the ranch. He and Gabi were building a new home there.

The possibilities of a few days sans children made him downright giddy. He’d get a reprieve from changing diapers and cooking supper. He could work on his own schedule. He could sleep in.

Rose could sleep over.

Yet, he hesitated. Would an excursion like this only confuse the little monsters? They were settling in well to Eternity Springs, and he didn’t want anything to disrupt that or cause them any feelings of insecurity. Cicero rubbed the back of his neck. They’d have a blast at the dude ranch. Heaven knows he couldn’t steal the time away to take them. It was a long weekend, just a long weekend with their aunt and uncle.

“I’m familiar with Storm Mountain Ranch. The folks who run it do a great job. The kids would love it.”

“Good, then. We’ll plan on it.”

They synched their calendars, and Cicero ended the call with a grin on his face. This was a good sign. As angry as he was with Scott and Amy over their abandonment of the children, they still were family. He needed to remember that. A person couldn’t have too much family. He needed to do his part to make the situation work.

The fact that the Parnells still wanted to be involved was a positive development.
And, if this visit goes well, maybe I can hit them up to babysit so we can honeymoon
.

He chose his words carefully when he told them about Amy’s call, and the proposed visit to Storm Mountain Ranch. Confusion wasn’t a problem. The wild animals went wilder, and fired questions like a string of Black Cat firecrackers. Would they really ride horses? Would the cowboys be real? Would they sleep in a bunkhouse? Would they be tourists like all the new people in town?

He told Keenan and Galen that yes, he’d buy them cowboy hats to wear and they could choose what color.
He also promised Misty that she could absolutely return to town for rehearsal for her play.

“I’ll drive up and get you myself,” he assured her.

The magic moment came as they left the pizza joint, and Keenan spied something that caused him to shout with delight and dart toward the base of an aspen tree. He scooped a feather up off the ground and said, “Look! It’s an eagle feather!”

Cicero didn’t think so, but he wasn’t about to steal the boy’s thunder. “Cool.”

“It’s my lucky feather. I hoped and hoped and hoped that I’d get to be a real cowboy someday. Now I get to ride a horse and sleep in a bunkhouse and wear a hat. And I have a feather for it!”

Hope. Feather. Knee-high cowboys
.

Cicero turned to look at Gabi, Mitch, and Rose.

“I need to go to the studio. Now.”

Rose switched off the bedside lamp in Galen and Keenan’s room, and tried to avoid the creaky spot in the wood floor as she walked softly toward the door. The two slept peacefully—finally—and she wanted it to stay that way. Between excitement over the upcoming trip and the fact that they still were adjusting to their new home, getting them to settle down tonight had been a tougher task than usual—especially with Cicero at the studio.

When she’d seen that creative fire flare in his eyes, she’d known what to expect. She’d sent him off to work with a smile and full knowledge that this was what she’d signed up for when she agreed to marry him. Or, in Keenan’s vernacular, when she agreed to marry them. Despite the long day and her aching feet, she couldn’t be happier. She had a family. Finally, she had a family of her own.

She checked on Daisy and reassured herself that the child continued to sleep soundly. A light was on in Misty’s room, and her door was cracked open, so Rose rapped softly and said, “Misty, are you still awake? May I come in?”