Only Mine (Fool's Gold #4)(80)

It wasn’t that he wanted to be in love. Not exactly. What he wanted was something different. Still, he couldn’t escape the sense of having missed out on something important.

“I’ll get out of your way,” Finn said.

“You don’t have to go,” Aurelia told him. But she was looking at Stephen as she spoke.

“You two have a lot to talk about.”

He thought his brother might want to make sure things were okay between them, but Stephen was too busy kissing Aurelia. Finn backed out of the room, stepped onto the walkway and closed the door behind him. One brother’s situation solved, another to go.

He walked down the street, wondering what to do about Sasha. How to get him—

He stopped by Morgan’s Books and stared blindly at the display in the window. There was nothing to do about either of his brothers. Dakota had been right all along. His job was done. He’d parented them as best he could, and keeping them safe forever wasn’t an option. He had to trust they were ready to make their own decisions. It was time.

DAKOTA STARED at all the clothes spread across the bed. It was as if a department store had exploded in her mother’s bedroom.

“I didn’t know you owned this many things,” she said, putting Hannah into her playpen. “When was the last time you cleaned out your closet? Are those leg warmers? Mom, the eighties were a long time ago.”

“You’re not funny,” her mother snapped. “If you think this is humorous, you’re wrong. I’m in crisis here. A really, really big crisis. I feel sick to my stomach, my head hurts, I’m retaining enough water to sink a battleship. I’m a woman on the edge. You need to respect that.”

Her mother sank onto the bed where she sat on several outfits, crushing them.

“I’m sorry,” Dakota said, trying to keep the humor out of her voice. “I won’t be funny again.”

“I don’t believe you. But that’s not the point. I can’t do this.” Her mother covered her face with her hands. “What was I thinking? I’m too old to do this. The last time I dated, dinosaurs roamed the earth. We didn’t even have electricity.”

Dakota knelt in front of her and pulled her hands away from her face. “I happen to know nearly all the dinosaurs were extinct and there was electricity. Come on, Mom. You know you want to do this.”

“No, I don’t. It’s not too late to cancel, right? I can cancel. You could call and tell him I have some kind of typhoid fever. Imply that it’s very contagious and I’m going to be shipped off to one of those federal medical facilities in Arizona. I hear the dry air is very good for typhoid fever.”

Just then, Dakota heard voices in the hall. “Are we too late?” Montana called. “I don’t want to miss the fun part.”

Montana and Nevada entered the bedroom. They looked around at the array of clothing and accessories.

“I didn’t hear about a tornado on the news,” Nevada said cheerfully. “Was anyone hurt?”

“I can see I raised you girls with too much freedom and affection,” their mother snapped. “I should have repressed you more. Maybe then you’d treat me with more respect.”

“We love you, Mom,” Nevada said. “And we respect you. I didn’t know you had this many clothes.”

Dakota chuckled. “Don’t go there. She’ll bite your head off.”

Montana lifted Hannah from the playpen and cuddled with her. “Who’s a pretty girl? We’re going to ignore all those sniping grown-ups, aren’t we?”

“I was telling your sister that I can’t do this,” Denise said. “I can’t go on a date. We were discussing telling him I have typhoid fever.”

Nevada rolled her eyes. “Right. Because he’ll never guess you’re lying if you say that. Come on, Mom. It’s one evening. You need to get out there and see if you’re interested in dating. Right now it’s just a theory. If it’s horrible, you never have to go again. Besides, you’re making us all nuts. None of us are dating.” She glanced at Dakota. “Well, Dakota might be. No one can pin her down on her relationship with Finn. For all we know, they’re running off to the Bahamas tomorrow to get married.”

“You’re getting married?” her mother asked.

Dakota sighed. “Don’t pretend to be distracted by something you know isn’t true. Nevada is right. Try the date.” She carefully avoided asking what the worst was that could happen. That question never went well.

“Who’s the guy?” Montana asked, still holding Hannah.

“A friend of Morgan’s,” Denise said.

“We like Morgan,” Nevada said. “That’s a good sign.”

Denise stood and pressed her hands against her stomach. “His friend may be nothing like him. He may be a serial killer. Or a cross-dresser.”

“At least you have enough clothes to support his habit,” Montana offered.

Dakota and Nevada laughed. Their mother glared at them.

“You’re not helping,” Denise informed them. “I’m going to have to ask you three to leave. Hannah can stay. She’s very supportive.” She looked at the little girl. “Never have daughters. Trust me. They only break your heart.”

Nevada walked to the bed and stared at the clothes strewn across it. After a second she reached into the mess and withdrew a white-and-blue floral print wrap dress.