Best of My Love (Fool's Gold, #20)(56)

Aidan was saved from answering when Shelby waved him over. She showed Isabel the pretzel bread and the new mother promptly burst into tears. The hormone bath continued as the other women rushed into see what was wrong. He busied himself setting out the boxes of cookies, then slowly, very slowly, backed into the hall. He figured Shelby would know where to find him.

What he didn’t expect was to see his parents in the hallway outside the room. His mother, maybe, but his father? Ceallach wasn’t really interested in anything but himself.

His mother smiled when she saw him. “We heard the good news and came to see Isabel and the babies. Have you been down to the nursery? They’re so beautiful. Tiny, but beautiful. She must be so happy.” His mother hugged him. When she straightened, her gaze was direct. “I want grandchildren.”

Aidan took a step back and held up both hands. “Don’t look at me. Del is the one who’s engaged. Talk to him and Maya.”

“I want grandchildren from all of you. You need to get started on that. Shelby is a perfectly nice girl. What are you waiting for?”

Aidan held in a groan. There was no way he was getting into the we’re-just-friends conversation yet again. He turned to his father.

“Hey, Dad. How’s it going?”

His father looked at him. Ceallach’s gaze sharpened as if he just now realized who was in front of him. “You! This is all your fault.”

“There’s five of us. The grandkid thing is not just on me.”

“You’re the reason Nick’s leaving. You’re the one chasing him away.” His father’s voice rose with each word.

“Is that what you really think?” Aidan asked. “That I have anything to do with this? You’re wrong. This is all about you, Dad. This is all your doing. There’s a reason every one of your sons have left Fool’s Gold. Do you ever stop to think about that?”

Elaine put a restraining hand on his arm. “Aidan, don’t. You’ll upset your father.”

“Yeah, we wouldn’t want that, would we?”

He turned away and started for the nursery. Anything to get away.

A few minutes later, as he stared unseeingly at the tiny babies behind the glass, he felt more than heard Shelby come up beside him. She stood close.

“I heard the fight,” she told him quietly.

“I don’t want to talk about it.”

“Okay.”

“Just like that?”

“Sometimes talking isn’t required. You’ve taught me that.” But she did reach for his hand.

They laced their fingers together as they watched the sweet new babies sleep through their first day in Fool’s Gold.

*

“YOU DON’T REALLY need my help,” Shelby teased. “I’ve seen you make much more complicated things.”

Aidan dumped the graham-cracker crumbs in the bowl. “Are you kidding? This is done in three parts. I’ve never made a three-part dessert before.”

She wondered how many desserts he’d ever made before they’d met. Maybe cookies. With the help of a girlfriend. Since they’d started hanging out together, he’d learned how to cook all kinds of things. At first Shelby did most of the work, but these days she simply supervised and offered advice.

On the menu for today—key lime pie. Aidan had already squeezed a cup of key lime juice. He’d been shocked when she’d told him it would take over a pound and a half of limes to get that much. Then he’d seen how tiny they were and how little juice came out.

They were at his place. His kitchen was a little bigger than hers. More important, he had to get used to working there. Because she wasn’t always going to be around to help. A thought that made her feel strange, so she didn’t linger on it. Even so, the truth was there. June was getting closer and closer. Their six months would end and they would resume their regular lives. While she was sure she and Aidan would always stay in touch, she knew that everything would be different.

He pulled the melted butter from the microwave and added it to the graham crackers. He put on disposable gloves, then mixed the two ingredients with his hands before pouring the mixture into the pie pan.

“You want to get it even,” she told him from her seat at the island. “I know it’s counterintuitive, but do the sides first. Try to get the thickness the same before worrying about the bottom. If there’s too much crust left, we can scoop it out. If it’s too thin, we can make a little more.”

He worked intently, pressing the graham crackers into the side of the pie pan.

“I’m sorry about my dad.”

The statement was unexpected. Since they’d run into Ceallach and Elaine at the hospital, he hadn’t said anything about the incident. She wasn’t sure he would ever want to talk about it.

“If you’re apologizing for what he said, you don’t have to. I know he’s a jerk.”

Aidan looked at her, his brows raised. “Are you being critical of my father?”

“Yes, and he deserves a lot harsher than what I said. He’s awful. I’m sorry—I know he’s family and I should keep my mouth shut, but I can’t. You never say very much, but I hear things. And now I’ve seen him in action. What’s wrong with him? Why on earth would he blame you for Nick leaving? You had nothing to do with that.”