After the Storm (KGI #8)(93)

She nodded again and his expression eased.

“Now, go back over to the table and put on a smile for your siblings. Don’t give them any reason to doubt you—or me. I want you all to have a good day. You and they will love my family just as they already love you.”

“Okay,” she whispered as she pulled away.

“Eve,” Donovan called out softly as she started to walk back to the table.

She stopped, turning back to look at him.

“It will be okay. I know I’m asking a lot, but trust me.”

Again she nodded and then turned back to her brother and sister.

Breakfast was enjoyable as Cammie kept up a constant stream of chatter over her excitement of getting to go to Charlotte’s house and play with her toys.

Travis didn’t express disappointment over the fact that he was now accompanying his sisters. Cammie’s enthusiasm was contagious, and Eve could see Travis’s pleasure in her excitement. They were all so used to being alone, of relying solely on one another, that it was baffling and yet pleasing that they now had others they could trust and socialize with.

Travis seemed every bit as eager for the visit, even if he would be the only male among the women. Maybe because he’d be the only male. She smiled over that and realized that if things worked out, he could do all the normal things teenage boys did. Go to school. Lust after girls. She cringed at the thought, but her brother was a very handsome young man. And he’d be even more handsome when he filled back out and put on the weight he’d shed over the last several months.

After breakfast, Donovan walked them over to Sophie’s house, a sprawling log cabin that butted against the lake, as did the other residences that housed his brothers and their wives. It was already hot, but the breeze from the lake was refreshing and it had the makings of a beautiful summer day. It was easy to forget that just days before a tornado had ravaged the area.

Here in the isolated bubble created by the Kellys, the outside world was a whole different universe.

The women had already gathered at Sophie’s house, with the exception of Rachel, who’d called and said she was running late because she had to change both twins. Sophie laughingly informed Eve that Rachel’s boys timed everything together, and as a result they ran both Rachel and Ethan ragged.

Donovan kissed Eve, making her flush with embarrassment because he did so right in front of his sisters-in-law. Then he hugged Cammie and told Travis in a grave tone to watch out for his women.

But Donovan’s sisters-in-law didn’t look at all bothered by the fact he’d kissed Eve. In fact they all wore delighted, smug grins.

A few moments after the women were seated in the spacious open-concept living room, two laptops out and open, Rachel burst in, looking harried as she struggled with two squirming toddlers, one on each hip. Her diaper bag was slung cross-body and bulged in front of her so it didn’t get in the way of the babies, but it was evident that she was about to lose her grip on one or both.

Travis rushed forward, reaching for one of the twins. Rachel gratefully relinquished one, and Eve watched in fascination as Travis cuddled the baby in his arms. But the baby—Mason?—was having none of that. He struggled upward in Travis’s grasp and reached for Travis’s face, his grubby fingers pawing at Travis’s laughing mouth.

“I’m sorry,” Rachel said in an aggrieved tone. “He has an obsession with people’s mouths.”

Travis chuckled. “It’s not a problem. I’m used to children.”

And yes, he was, since he’d been Cammie’s primary caregiver for so long. Even when Eve’s mother was alive, it was often Travis who shouldered the responsibility for his younger sister. Travis was too busy worrying over his mother to burden her with Cammie, and so he shielded both as much as possible. He’d taken on far too much responsibility at far too young an age. It was a fact that grieved Eve, but there was nothing to do for it now. What was done was done. But in the future . . .

She clamped down on her wayward thoughts, determined not to give voice to the overwhelming hope that bubbled up that Travis would have a better future. One where he was able to be what he was. A teenager with no responsibilities save for making good grades and keeping out of trouble. Not that she ever expected any issues in that quarter. He was too solid. Too responsible.

He was a good kid—no, a man. He was an adult before his time, but if Eve had her way, he’d rediscover his childhood from here on out.

“You look like you’re a million miles away, Eve,” Shea said in a quiet voice.

Eve’s gaze flickered to where Travis was now across the room helping Rachel unload her things and playing with both of the boys now that they were out of their mother’s grasp.

“Sorry,” she said in a low voice. “I was just thinking.”

Her gaze moved from Travis to where Cammie sat across the room in a corner obviously designated as the play area. She and Charlotte were chattering like two magpies and acting like they were long-lost friends. It sent warmth through Eve’s heart that her brother and sister had found acceptance in this huge, loving family.

“Whatever it was couldn’t have been pleasant,” Sarah ventured.

Sophie leaned forward, her expression one of concern. “Is something bothering you, Eve? You can talk to us, you know. We won’t betray your confidence.”

Eve smiled. Loyal, all of them. And big believers in trust. And the thing was, Eve absolutely believed they were trustworthy. There was just something about the entire family that inspired one to believe in them and their intentions.