Delinquent Daddy (Banks / Kincaid Family #2)(66)

The sound of children in the backyard had Ellie heading that way. She spotted her daughter immediately among the racing children who were playing a heated game of tag.

Cassie's long black hair, held up in a ponytail, swayed behind her as she dodged out of the way of some boy whose name 244

Delinquent Daddy

by Linda Kage

Ellie couldn't remember. She smiled and watched, grateful her daughter could experience this day.

She was thinking back to every holiday in their past, when it had just been the two of them, when laughter to her right caught her attention. Boston's laugh—she'd know it anywhere. Drawn to his chuckle, she glanced over. And there he was, sitting in a wooden outdoor recliner with his feet kicked up and a glass of iced tea in his hand. A few feet away, Cameron sat likewise with a drowsy Olivia curled on his lap and resting her face on his shoulder. He stroked her hair slowly as he said something else to make Boston laugh.

Then Boston glanced across the lawn to check on Cassie, and Ellie's heart wrenched in painful longing. Who would've thought he'd be such a good father?

"They couldn't stand each other when they were kids, you know?"

Ellie whirled in surprise and almost gasped when she found Diane Kincaid approaching her. Swallowing, she tried not to blush at being caught staring at a man by his own mother.

But Diane's gaze looked fond as she glanced toward Boston and Cameron.

"Well, Cam got along with him just fine," Diane amended then and finally gifted Ellie with an amused smile. "But Cameron can get along with anyone. Boston was the one who was always so annoyed by Cam. He just...he never cared for his cousin that much until Cameron's first wife, Sienna, killed herself."

Ellie gasped and covered her mouth. "I had no idea," she murmured, her eyes falling on Cameron as she watched him 245

Delinquent Daddy

by Linda Kage

with new eyes. He ran his fingers slowly through Olivia's hair before reaching down to kiss her temple.

"He was only twenty," Diane murmured beside her. "And it nearly destroyed him. He turned to alcohol and slumped into depression. Everyone just..." She shook her head. "We had no idea what to do. But suddenly, there was Boston."

She grinned at Ellie like a proud mother. "I think it surprised us all that Boston stepped up and decided to be the one to watch over Cameron. It was the oddest thing, though.

Those two boys hadn't really even talked to each other when they were growing up, but suddenly, they were best friends.

Cameron straightened out completely once Olivia came along, but it was Boston who kept him hanging in there until she arrived."

Both Ellie and Diane studied the two friends, who chatted and argued companionably over something. Ellie couldn't help but soften for the man she'd once loved. It was good to hear he'd put himself out there for his cousin.

"I love my children very much," Diane murmured. "As much as any mother can love her babies," she added on a laugh. "But I haven't always liked them."

When Ellie glanced at her curiously, Diane met her gaze. "I don't know what happened ten years ago between the two of you. I don't know if he broke your heart, or if you broke his, or if you broke each others. All I know is that he changed after that. That annoying cocky edge he always had mellowed, and he became much more humble. I'd always figured it was because of the tragedy with Cameron's first wife. But now, I'm not so sure it was."

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Delinquent Daddy

by Linda Kage

Ellie dropped her eyes guiltily and braced for the rebuke.

But her eyes shot up when Diane took both her hands and squeezed. "I don't know what you did, Ellie Trenton. But it made him a better person. He became more cautious, and that broke my heart because it was that once-bitten-twice-shy kind of cautious. But he also became kind and compassionate toward others as if, for the first time, he realized the world didn't revolve around him. Whatever it was that changed him, I must say, it turned him into a damn fine man."

Ellie's eyes filled with tears. She was surprised to discover Diane's eyes looked watery as well. "Since you're a mother yourself," Diane said, "I know you'll believe me when I say thank you for teaching him whatever lesson it was he needed to learn to make him what he is today."

Too choked up to respond, Ellie only nodded.

"What's going on over here?"

Simultaneously, Diane and Ellie jumped apart and immediately wiped any proof of tears from their eyes. Boston stood before them both, frowning, eyeing his mother from head to toe and then turning to give Ellie the same intense probe.

"Everything okay?"

Diane laughed and bumped Ellie's elbow. "Just look at him.

He can't figure out who offended who, and which one of us he needs to defend."

Since the concerned frown on Boston's face made it appear that was exactly the case, Ellie grinned and decided she really liked his mother.

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Delinquent Daddy

by Linda Kage

"What're you two talking about?" he asked, his eyes narrowed suspiciously.

"Not about you," Diane smarted back, making him scowl even more.

"Certainly not," Ellie agreed with a nod.

"It was mother talk," Diane reported airily. "You wouldn't understand."