Her parents had demanded to know why she was wearing a leg brace and using a cane, of course, but she’d assured them—with the support of Dr. Joe D’Alessandro—that her injury was healing nicely. She promised to tell them all about it later—and she was resigned to the lecture that would surely follow her explanation of how it had happened.
“Look at Jacob.” Shane nodded toward the boy who sat at the same table as Kyle and Daniel, listening to their conversation. “He hasn’t strayed far from Kyle all day. He’s going to hate saying goodbye to his new hero tomorrow.”
That was a sentiment Molly could understand all too well. But she only
said, “He’ll be okay. Now that he’s been reassured he’s safe here, maybe he’ll learn to be more trusting of you and Dad and Memo.”
“I hope you’re right. Because Kyle is leaving, Molly. He’s made that very clear.”
She looked at him in surprise, wondering why he made it sound as if she were in need of the reminder, rather than Jacob. “I know that.”
Shane was looking back down at her with a sympathetic expression. “How do you feel about it?”
“I hate it as much as Jacob does. More,” she answered candidly. “But, like Jacob, I’ll get over it. You know how I am when any of our boys leaves us—I cry, and then I go on.”
Shane looked at her skeptically. “That easy, huh?”
“It’s never easy,” she murmured.
“But this time, maybe a little harder than usual?”
So maybe she hadn’t done quite as good a job of hiding her feelings about Kyle as she had hoped. Resting her head on Shane’s supportive shoulder, she sighed as she looked at Kyle again. “Maybe a lot harder this time,” she murmured.
After all, it would be the first time someone took her heart with him when he went away.
“That was so much fun. I can’t believe you went to so much trouble. And the outdoor kitchen—well, it’s just spectacular. Exactly what I’ve been wanting,” Cassie raved late that evening as she unpacked bags. “I simply can’t believe everyone did this.”
Sitting on her parents’ big bed, Molly smiled tiredly. “Everyone sort of figured the outdoor kitchen was a gift to the entire family, since we usually gather here for the big get-togethers. Michelle and Tony might have the bigger house in Dallas, but this is where everyone likes to come for the outdoor festivities in nice weather, since there’s room for ball games and horseback riding and horseshoes, and no one has to worry about the kids breaking Michelle’s family antiques.”
“We love having everyone here. As often as possible.”
“It’s good to have you home, Mom.”
Her once-fiery red hair now frosted attractively with gray, Cassie smiled lovingly at her daughter. “It’s good to be home. As much fun as we had, we missed you all. Three weeks seemed like such a long time to be away from everyone.”
“We missed you, too.”
“It was so good to see everyone. All your cousins are growing up so fast.”
Molly chuckled. “We had enough teenagers here to fill a couple of high school classrooms.”
“Everyone seems healthy and happy at the moment. That’s always a pleasure and a relief.” She closed her suitcase and set it in the closet. “It was especially nice to see so many of our boys again, and to read the sweet notes from the ones who couldn’t make it. They all look wonderful, don’t they?”
“They do. Weren’t Mark’s little girls sweet? And his wife’s twin nephews are adorable.”
“Yes. I think they make a very nice family. I had Shane take pictures of everyone, of course.”
“I noticed. Actually, there were several cameras in use all day. We’ll have plenty of pictures to enjoy.”
Cassie suddenly whirled, her expression dumbstruck. “It just occurred to me—is that how B.J. found Daniel again? Did she track him down to invite him to this party, the way you and Shane did Mark and Kyle?”
Molly laughed. “Yes. We led you to believe it was a coincidental meeting, but actually, she went looking for him.”
“I knew there was something more to that story than she told us! It never quite added up.”
“She’ll tell you all the details sometime, but I nearly had a heart attack when she brought him home several months early.”
“And you brought Kyle here. I still can’t believe you drove all that way by yourself, but I’m so glad he was here with us. I’ve missed him so much.”