Читать книгу The Bachelor's Twins - Kathryn Springer - Страница 11

Chapter One

“Hold still, Liam! Remember, this is for a good cause.”

Liam Kane smothered a sigh while his mom fussed with the silk square sprouting from the pocket of his vest.

“I’m holding.”

Even though it was the third time she’d fussed with it.

Even though the needle on the outdoor thermometer was inching toward seventy-five degrees. A comfortable temperature for the middle of June in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula—unless, of course, you happened to be wearing a tuxedo. Then, not so much.

A bead of sweat trickled down the side of Liam’s face, only to be absorbed by the lime-green noose—okay, technically it was a bow tie—clipped to the front of his shirt. “Tell me again why Aiden isn’t the one wearing this getup?”

Everyone knew Liam’s fun-loving, extroverted kid brother never minded being the center of attention. Tourist or local, whenever someone booked a day trip with Castle Falls Outfitters, they invariably requested Aiden to be their guide. Not that Liam cared. He preferred to spend his days in the shop, designing and building canoes for the family business instead of paddling them down the river.

“He was supposed to.” Liam’s adoptive mom—“Sunni” to her friends and family because the nickname fit her warm, cheerful personality—plucked a loose thread dangling from one of the buttons on his shirt. “But the director of the Timber Shores Retreat Center called this morning in a bit of a panic, wondering if someone could give her new counselors some guiding tips. Aiden volunteered.”

“How—” convenient...clever? “—nice of him.”

“I thought so, too.” Sunni took a step back and studied the finished product, smiling her approval before she turned to the newest member of the Kane family. “What do you think, Lily?”

Liam’s sister-in-law, who’d been watching the transformation take place from her perch on the window seat, tried to hide her amusement. And the camera Liam had seen her aim in his direction. “I think Liam looks very, um...dashing.”

Both women giggled, and Liam shook his head. There was no use confiscating the camera, though. In less than an hour he would be on display for the whole town to see, doing his part to raise funds for the animal shelter’s new addition. Population-wise, Castle Falls didn’t so much as warrant a dot on the map. But winters were long and the rest of the seasons notoriously short, so people would probably turn out in droves for the first community-wide event of the summer.

Liam suspected the timing was part of Sunni’s plan.

“What’s so funny—” Brendan, Liam’s older brother, sauntered into the room, took one look at him and laughed. “Never mind.”

Relief shot through Liam. “I thought you had a meeting this morning.”

“Postponed until next week.” Brendan hooked one arm around Lily’s trim waist and tucked her against his side. “I’m free for the rest of the day.”

“Great.” Liam sent up a silent but heartfelt prayer of thanks. “You can take my place at the fund-raiser.”

“I’m sure Lily could use Brendan’s help overseeing the children’s area.” Sunni smiled at the newlyweds. “Besides that, I don’t think there’s time for you to change, sweetheart. And speaking of time...” She glanced at the clock above Brendan’s desk. “The Sunflowers volunteered to handle the bake sale, and I promised Anna I would unlock the shelter a few minutes early so she and Rene Shapiro can help the girls set up.”

Liam knew only one Anna who had children in the Wednesday night kids’ club at church.

The bow tie around his neck suddenly felt even tighter.

“Oh, don’t look so hangdog, bro.” Brendan clapped a hand on Liam’s shoulder.

“I’ve got two words for you,” Liam growled. “Dunk tank.”

Sunni cast a worried look in his direction even as Brendan struggled to keep a straight face.

“It’s okay, Mom. I’m sure Liam’s bark is worse than his bite.”

Liam rolled his eyes. “Are you finished?”

Brendan pondered the question for a moment. Grinned. “Probably not.”

Fine. Liam could take it. He would do just about anything for Sunni Mason, the woman who, had opened her home to three aspiring juvenile delinquents and raised them as her own.

He’d shake people’s hands. Pass out brochures. And stay out of Anna Leighton’s way—something he’d gotten pretty good at since she’d returned to Castle Falls six years ago, a grieving young widow with two-year-old twins in tow.

Fortunately for him, the last one would be a little easier since he’d be dressed up as the animal shelter’s official goodwill ambassador, Dash the Dalmatian.

* * *

“I hope we have a turnout this good for our class reunion, Anna.”

“So do I.” Anna Leighton tucked a loaf of apple-rhubarb bread into a paper sack and smiled at Heather Cohen, a former classmate who’d finally worked her way to the front of the line at the bake-sale table. “Maybe we should have asked Sunni Mason to head up the planning committee for the reunion.”

The promise of a beautiful summer day had drawn a large crowd, but Anna suspected that Sunni, the animal shelter’s newly appointed president, was at least partially responsible for the excellent turnout.

Sunni had approached all the local business owners a few months prior to the fund-raiser and asked if they would be willing to donate an item or service for a silent auction. The winners wouldn’t be announced until the end of the event, a brilliant plan that encouraged families to take advantage of a wide variety of activities and purchase something to eat from one of the many food booths.

So far, Anna had been too busy to see if anyone had bid on the necklace and bracelet she’d spent hours creating in her studio above The Happy Cow. The ice-cream shop paid the bills, but Anna dreamed of the day she could focus exclusively on Anna’s Inspiration, the hand-crafted jewelry business that fed her soul.

Most of her sales were through word of mouth, but Anna had taken her friend Lily Kane’s suggestion and left a stack of business cards next to the bid sheet in case someone wanted to place an order after the auction closed. Lily, who’d worked for the prestigious marketing firm Pinnacle before moving to Castle Falls, had shared a lot of great ideas to increase Anna’s customer base.

Now if only she could find a few more hours in the day to implement them.

“Everyone knows you’re going to do a fabulous job with our ten-year reunion.” Heather finished counting out the change for her purchase and handed the money to Anna. “You never let us down when you were class president!

Heather drifted toward the silent auction table, and Anna made a mental note to check her email when she got home. With the reunion less than three weeks away, the number of RSVPs had continued to rise as the deadline on the invitation got closer.

“That’s the last of the cinnamon rolls.” Rene Shapiro, the Sunflowers’ dedicated leader and a seasoned bake-sale veteran, pocketed a handful of change. “I’d send the girls on another kitchen run to restock our inventory, but I gave them all a five-minute break while Pastor Seth takes his turn in the dunk tank.”

“I’ll round them up,” Anna offered. When it came to the lively group of third-grade girls—and her twins, in particular—five minutes could easily turn into ten. Or twenty.

She wove her way through the maze of picnic blankets spread out on the grass. Knowing Cassie and Chloe, they’d probably lost interest in the dunk tank and made their way over to the meet-and-greet tent again, where visitors could interact with some of the animals up for adoption.

Halfway there, her gaze snagged on two little sprites whose copper hair glowed almost as bright as the neon T-shirts the Sunflowers had tie-dyed at their last meeting. Only this time, the twins weren’t cuddling puppies. They were talking to a six-foot-tall Dalmatian dressed in a tuxedo.

It had to feel like a sauna inside the furry suit and full-face mask, but “Dash,” the animal shelter’s mascot, had been circulating through the crowd all morning, greeting families and handing out pamphlets that included a miniature blueprint of the new addition.

A lively carnival tune began to blast through the speakers in a nearby booth. As Anna drew closer, she saw Cassie and Chloe each grab one of the Dalmatian’s giant paws. Dash responded by breaking into a comical dance that looked like a cross between a waltz and a polka.

“Mom!”

Before Anna could react—or resist—Cassie grabbed her hand and swept her into the small circle of dancers. Her protest was drowned out by a burst of applause from the people standing near the booth.

Anna tipped her head back, trying to catch a glimpse of the man behind the mask, but dark mesh screens strategically placed in the mascot’s oversize sunglasses concealed his identity.

Out of the corner of her eye, Anna saw Sunni Mason clapping with the beat of the music. The proud smile on her face was a good indication one of her sons had agreed to play the part.

By process of elimination, Anna concluded it had to be Aiden. Brendan was overseeing the children’s area with Lily and Liam, and...well, it was common knowledge the most introverted of the three brothers tended to avoid social gatherings.

Just like he avoided her...

“It’s your turn, Mom!”

In a synchronized choreography, Cassie and Chloe nudged her closer to Dash, their giggles a melody that lightened Anna’s heart even as the Dalmatian bowed and extended a furry paw.

For a moment, for her daughters, Anna set aside all the responsibilities crowding her mind—the stack of bills on the kitchen table and the daily pressures that came from trying to run two businesses and a busy household—and dropped a curtsy in response.

A split second later, she was in Dash’s arms, waltzing across the grass.

* * *

Liam had heard the term déjà vu, but he’d never experienced it. Until now.

Because the moment Anna had stepped into his arms, Liam had taken a step back in time.

They’d danced together at their senior prom, too, although she’d been Anna Foster at the time. Head cheerleader. Class president. Honor-roll student.

Ross Leighton’s steady girlfriend.

But that night, Liam hadn’t cared. When he saw Ross grab Anna’s arm in the parking lot, Liam had experienced an instant, gut-wrenching flashback from his own childhood. So while his classmates drank punch and flirted, Liam had waited for an opportunity to get alone so he could warn her about Ross.

And because Anna was Anna—beautiful and polite—she’d accepted Liam’s awkward invitation to dance. But as soon as the lights dimmed, he’d steered her through the open gymnasium doors into the courtyard instead.

Tiny lights had winked in the trees, mimicking the courtship of the fireflies, and swags of ivory netting woven around the posts of the rented gazebo had fluttered in the scented breeze.

Anna had looked up at him, surprise registering in her beautiful amber eyes, and Liam had almost lost his nerve.

If only he had.

Watching Anna’s initial surprise change to confusion and then anger was a memory permanently etched in Liam’s brain.

It must have become etched in Anna’s, too, because ten years later, she still wouldn’t look him in the eye.

But how could he blame her?

If Anna’s vehement denial that Ross had mistreated her wasn’t enough to convince Liam he’d been wrong, the grief shadowing Anna’s eyes when she’d returned to Castle Falls confirmed it.

Ross may have had a personal ax to grind against Liam for being an “outsider,” but he was also the town’s beloved star quarterback. The guy who sat on the back of the mayor’s vintage convertible and tossed Tootsie Rolls to the little kids at every parade. The guy with the perfect smile from the perfect family who’d swept Anna off her feet and carried her away into the perfect future.

The guy Liam had called abusive.

The crackle of a microphone drew everyone’s attention to the makeshift stage that shelter volunteers had set up on the lawn and Anna smiled up at Liam as he released her.

“I should get back to the bake sale, Aiden.” She caught her lower lip between her teeth. “Oops. I mean Dash. You have to maintain your cover, don’t you?”

Liam sucked in a quiet breath behind his mask.

Apparently he did.

Because Anna assumed she’d been dancing with his brother.

Well, that explained a lot. Like Anna’s whimsical little curtsy. Her willingness to step into his arms.

Her smile.

For a split second, when Anna had taken his hand, Liam thought that maybe she’d decided to put the past behind them. That maybe...just maybe...she’d forgiven him for crossing a line and, in the process, ruining what should have been one of the most special nights of her life.

Something Ross had taken issue with when he’d tracked Liam down after the dance and delivered a warning of his own—a warning accompanied by a few well-placed punches—to stay away from Anna in the future.

But Liam had had to live with the knowledge that he’d made a much more costly mistake than interfering in Anna’s life that night.

By letting the shadow of the past cloud his perspective, he was the one who’d hurt her.