Lilac Lane (Chesapeake Shores #14)(98)

She shook her head. “They’ve been helped too often and given no thanks for it. I won’t allow them to do the same to you.”

“They could come here. There are only petty crimes on their record, brawls and drunk-and-disorderly sorts of things. I think we could overcome that. They could have a fresh start.”

“And likely disrupt the lives of too many people I care about in the process,” she insisted. “No, I won’t have it.”

“Think about it, Kiera. Second chances aren’t just for a few lucky souls. They might turn their lives around. Just consider it.”

She sighed heavily. “I’ll consider it because you asked, but I think it would be a grave mistake.”

“And if you still feel that way in a few days or a few weeks, I’ll abide by your decision. Just remember that family doesn’t just include those who play by all the rules. It embraces the rule-breakers, too.”

He stood up and retrieved his shirt from the dryer, then kissed her forehead. “I’m around if you want to talk about this or anything else.”

She stood and gave him a fierce hug. “You’ll never know how much I appreciate that or how much I truly missed it when we were apart all those years. I still treasure all the walks we took when I was a girl, the talks we had, yet even with all that, I lost my way for a while.”

“And found it back again,” he reminded her. “That’s what matters in the end.”

She followed him to the door and watched as he strode down the driveway, seemingly oblivious to the rain that was more of a soft drizzle now. She smiled at that. To him, it must have felt like home.

*

Bryan had been about to leave his house and get Kiera, when there’d been a knock on his front door, the one only strangers or deliverymen used.

He opened it to find a man in his late forties standing there, dressed in pressed jeans and an oxford cloth shirt with the sleeves rolled up to reveal tanned, muscled forearms. Well-worn construction boots hinted at his profession.

“You’re Bryan Laramie,” the man said. There was a surprising certainty in his voice.

Bryan nodded. “And you are?”

“Ashton Lane, Deanna’s stepfather,” he replied without hesitation, then amended, “Well, unofficially, anyway.”

Bryan surveyed him again and, despite his reservations, liked what he saw. There were no pretensions here, and the fact that he’d come to the house showed he was both discreet and confident.

“Come in,” Bryan said. “I don’t have a lot of time before I leave for the restaurant, but can I get you a cup of coffee?”

“To tell you the truth, I had more caffeine than I needed working up the nerve to come here,” Ash confided with unexpected candor. “I’m pretty sure my daughter would have a fit if she knew I was here.”

“But you’re concerned about her,” Bryan guessed. “And curious about me.”

“In my position, anyone would be,” Ashton said.

Bryan nodded. “Then let’s talk. Hopefully I can put your concerns to rest. Let’s sit in the kitchen. It’s cozier in there. At least that’s what Dee says. She thinks the rest of the house is too sterile and the kitchen only marginally better since she added some colorful dish towels on her last visit. She’s eager to redecorate the whole place.”

Ashton laughed at that. “Watch her. She has a mind of her own and a stubborn streak.”

“So I’m discovering.”

“For your sake, be glad her thoughts of decorating have moved beyond the Disney princess phase.”

Bryan laughed. “Amen to that!”

Though his guest had declined coffee, Bryan poured him a glass of ice water and added a wedge of lime, mostly to keep himself busy and his own nerves in check. This promised to be more intense than any job interview he’d ever gone on, the stakes higher. They both used the few moments of silence to size each other up, making little pretense that they were doing anything else.

“Can I ask how you feel about Deanna turning up in your life out of the blue like she did?”

Bryan sat across from him and looked him directly in the eye. “I don’t know how much she’s told you, but I’ve been searching for her and her mother since the day they left. I’ve shown her all the reports, the checks to the investigators, every bit of proof I have that I never gave up on her. Having her show up here was like a miracle.”

“She’s not disrupting your life?”

“To the contrary, I can’t wait to get to know her. How do you feel about that?”

“I’ve loved that girl unconditionally since the day I met her and her mother. If having you in her life makes her happy, I’m all for it. I just don’t want to see her hurt because the novelty wears off for you and you lose interest.”

“Not going to happen,” Bryan said flatly, trying not to be offended. It was, after all, a fair question. “You’ve had her with you nearly her entire life. I had her for a little more than a year when she was a baby. She’s a grown woman now. That’s a lot of catching up to do.”

He studied the man seated across from him and saw only concern on his face. “I hope you won’t try to stand in the way of that. I know how much Dee respects and loves you. I’m sure she’d never do anything to intentionally hurt you, but we both want this chance, I think. We need it.”