“He’s not family.”
“I know he’s not family, but that doesn’t change anything. Why are you so set against him?”
There was a long silence before Kelly’s grandmother finally replied, “I have my ways.”
“Well, your ways need to change a little. Please, Grandmama. If you love me.”
Peter couldn’t see either of their expressions, but it felt like something had happened between them in the room.
Then Mrs. Beaufort said in her normal cool tone. “You look a little feverish, dear. I think you should go lie down. Get that husband of yours to get a cool cloth for your face.”
It sounded like Kelly laughed. “I will. Goodnight.”
She left the parlor before Peter could react, and she pulled to a stop when she saw him there.
He stared at her, wondering if he’d just imagined the conversation he’d heard.
She was taking his side—against her grandmother. It was like some sort of miracle had happened.
He opened his mouth to say something, but she raised a finger to her lips to keep him quiet. Then she took his hand as they walked back to their bedroom.
Peter wanted to say something as she closed the door. He wanted to say everything. But he wasn’t capable of speaking at the moment.
So he pulled Kelly into a hug.
She returned the embrace, burying her face against his shoulder for a minute. When she lifted her head, she was smiling. “You shouldn’t eavesdrop, you know.”
He couldn’t help but chuckle. “Just don’t tell your grandma.”
Ten
A week later, Kelly stretched out on a chaise by the pool at James and Rose’s house, where the family was gathered for the afternoon and a cookout. It was too early in the spring for Kelly to want to lay around in a bathing suit, so she was wearing a knit sundress over her suit. But she was still enjoying the mild air and sunshine.
Rose had just settled herself in the chaise beside her, which was no small feat, since Rose was now almost seven months pregnant.
“You may have to rent a crane to get me up,” Rose groaned, rubbing her rounded belly.
Kelly laughed. “I’m sure we can manage. Among us, there are at least five able-bodied persons, and we’ll have the two girls and Grandmama to supervise the lift.”
“Thanks a lot.”
Kelly’s eyes were focused on the activity in the pool. Julie and Jill, Rose’s stepdaughters, were playing Marco Polo with their father, James, and Peter. They were evidently all having a great time, if the screams, laughter, and splashing were any evidence.
Peter was grinning widely as he launched a mock-escape from Jill, who was flailing toward him with her eyes tightly shut, screaming “Marco!” over and over again at the top of her lungs. Peter could easily have ducked under the water and swum past her without getting tagged, but he let her catch him instead, sending her into ecstatic squeals of victory.
Rose chuckled, her eyes fond as she watched the little girl. She’d been the girls’ nanny before she became their stepmother, and she loved them as much as if they were her own.
They were her own, in every way that mattered.
Kelly felt the strangest surge of envy as she saw her sister’s expression. She wondered what it would be like to feel that way toward a child. She wondered if she would ever know. She’d never been particularly interested in kids, and she’d thought it a good possibility that she might never have them. So she wasn’t quite sure where the feeling came from.
Rose glanced back over and caught her looking. “Peter is great with kids, isn’t he?”
“Yeah.” Kelly turned her eyes back to her husband. He was now hamming it up, moaning out “Marco,” and making wild swings toward the others who responded, “Polo,” in a way that guaranteed he’d never reach them. Both girls were giggling like crazy at his dramatics, easily revealing their location if Peter had seriously been trying to catch them.
“I’m sure Julie, Jill, and this one would love a couple of cousins,” Rose teased, patting her stomach.
Kelly blinked. “Oh. No. No! I don’t think so.”
Rose looked a little surprised at the vehemence, but she didn’t call her out on it. “I guess it’s kind of early to be thinking in that direction yet. I mean, you haven’t even graduated from college.”
That was true, but it wasn’t the issue. Not at all.
Ridiculously, it felt like a loss—that Kelly couldn’t have a baby with Peter. She didn’t even want to have kids any time soon, but the knowledge that it would never happen felt like a loss just the same.
“What’s the matter?” Rose asked, lifting her head to peer at Kelly in concern. “Did I say something stupid?”