The Maverick Meets His Match (Hearts of Wyoming Book 2)(54)

A shudder went through him. What the hell had his niece had to endure these last four years as a child of a drug addict? He didn’t want to imagine.

“Hey, ladies,” Ty said, bending down on his haunches so he was eye level with them both. “What a pretty baby you have, Miss Delanie.”

“Thank you. But you mustn’t touch her. She’s afraid of you.”

Ty felt his heart squeeze. He shot a look at Mandy. Questions filled her eyes. Questions to which he didn’t have the answers. “Is she now? Well, she’s not afraid of her uncle, is she?”

She looked so cute and innocent as she stood with her head to the side, thinking. “What’s an uncle?”

“An uncle is someone who is related to you, a brother to your daddy. And someone who protects you from harm, just like a daddy does.”

“Daddies protect you?”

“Yes, darling, they do. Does your baby have a daddy?”

She shook her head. “But maybe someday we’ll find one for her and visit him.”

“Then he’ll protect her. And she won’t have to be afraid of anyone or anything.”

He sensed rather than saw Trace enter the room as Delanie shifted her line of sight.

“You have a daddy, Delanie, don’t you?” he continued.

She nodded a solemn nod.

“Your daddy is my brother. That makes me your uncle. All three of us are family.” Then he remembered Mandy. “And Mandy is my wife, so she’s your aunt, and that makes her family too. And aunts and uncles and daddies, they all look out for the children in the family. You’re the only child in our family.” She looked so vulnerable as she glanced from Ty’s face to Mandy’s face up to Trace’s face as if she was silently questioning the truth of that statement.

“And my mommy. She looks out for me too, right?”

God, he hoped so.

“Yes, when she’s here. But when she’s not, your daddy looks out for you. That’s how it works.” That’s how it had worked, however imperfectly, in his life too. “When your daddy was a lot bigger than you, he lost his mother. And his father had to take care of him.”

“Really, Daddy?” she looked up, hope overflowing in her eyes, but it didn’t quite hide the wariness that also resided there.

“Yes, Delanie.”

“But baby doesn’t have a daddy. Just me, her mommy. So I’ll be looking out for her.”

“Why don’t you go wash up, Delanie? And we’ll have something to eat with your uncle Ty and aunt Mandy.” Trace stepped forward, careful not to crowd his daughter. It must be hell, walking on eggshells. “You two will stay for a little bite? One of the neighbors sent over a lasagna. She’s been helping me out when she can.”

“That okay with you, Mandy?” Ty asked. He hadn’t planned on staying long. He was tired and was sure she was, but Trace sounded uncharacteristically needy for some company. He imagined his brother must feel at sea with all this. But at least he was stepping up and doing what was right, what he had to do for his little girl.

Mandy nodded.

“Can baby eat with us, Daddy?” Delanie asked.

“Sure, honey.”

“And Buddy?” She nodded at the stuffed dog in her arm.

“As always.” Trace sounded almost jovial.

“Okay. I’ll take baby, and we’ll all wash up.” Delanie held out one arm to receive the doll from Mandy and then toddled off toward the bathroom, Buddy in the crook of one arm, the baby doll in the other.

“Shall I go and help her?” Mandy said, rising.

Trace shook his head. “No need. She’s an independent sort. I guess she’s used to fending for herself.”

Ty felt a sudden sadness at that. Robbed of some of her childhood, it seemed. Maybe now she’d have a chance to get it back. Ty would certainly do his part.

Mandy brushed her hands down her jeans, dusting herself off. Watching her simple movements, it struck him like a hammer strikes a nail. She was standing in his house, the house he grew up in. And she didn’t look out of place, even though he felt like an alien after all this time.

She raised her head, her expression quizzical. He had a lot to tell her, for sure. Perhaps sensing now was not the time to ask questions, she turned toward Trace.

“Can I help in the kitchen then? Set the table or something?”

“That would be fine, Mandy,” Trace said. “Sorry to hear about your grandfather. And sorry I didn’t get a chance to say welcome to the family.”

With an acknowledging nod, Mandy followed Trace into the kitchen.

He liked that about Mandy. She was always ready to pitch in. She didn’t shirk work or responsibility or just plain helping out. And seeing her playing down on the floor with Delanie brought a whole new dimension to her many facets.

She’d make some guy a wonderful wife.





*


“I’m almost afraid to know, but what is Delanie’s story?” Mandy asked as the car sped down the road away from Ty’s boyhood home.

Ty let go a sigh. He was drained. Seeing his brother after all these years had felt more like a confrontation than a visit. And he didn’t kid himself that anything had changed between the two of them. Their issues ran deep, starting with the circumstances surrounding the death of their mother right through the loan Ty would be providing and included a few detours down Trace’s alcoholic alleys. And now there was Delaine added to the mix. He wasn’t going to allow his brother, however, to shut him out of his niece’s life. Ty had never been around kids much, but something about that little girl tugged at him.