Terms of Surrender (12 page)

Escaping to the cupboard, she slid slices of bread into the toaster and pressed down the handle. “I need to talk to you, Gage. Alone.”

Curiosity in his gaze, Gage dumped the bowl full of scrambled eggs into the pan. Impatient, Harley grabbed him by the arm and tugged him toward the front door. As she passed by the table, she said, “You girls be good for your daddy. We’ll be right back.”

Once they were out of the house and standing on the front steps out of earshot, she rounded on him. “Did you see that?”

“See what?”

“Mike about to hit Lisa.”

His gaze darkened and turned blank. “Mike has never hit the girls.”

“How do you know? Are you there to watch him all of the time?” She raked her fingers through her hair, and paced back and forth in front of him. “We can’t wait until one of the girls gets a black eye.”

The frown on his face grew deeper. “No, of course not. I’m sure Mike would never hurt them.”

“Maybe not when Hannah was here.” She closed her eyes and fisted her hands at her sides. “My sister would never forgive me if I ignored the safety of the girls.”

Gage leaned toward her and got right in her face. “You know I wouldn’t disregard the signs either, but he’s their father. The law clearly states you first have to prove he’s hurting them.”

Behind Gage’s back, the front door flew open. Mike shouldered past them. “The brats are finished their artwork. The damn eggs are burning. I’m going out for a smoke. Call me when you’re done playing house.”

Harley saw red. She rounded on Mike, intent on giving him a piece of her mind. A strong arm snaked around her waist and dragged her back into the house. Closing the door behind him, Gage turned her to face him, exasperation in his voice. “Now’s not the time to argue with him, Harl. If I’d consumed half the alcohol he did last night, I’d be grouchy, too.”

“Stop making excuses for your brother.”

“I’m not.”

She stared over Gage’s shoulder at the closed front door. “When did he start smoking?”

“I don’t know.” He raked his fingers through his hair, clearly exasperated. Before he could say another word, the twins’ voices rose.

“My daddy’s meaner
.”

“No, mine is
.”

He took her by the shoulders, steered her into the kitchen where the angry voices of the girls were growing angrier by the second. He had to raise his voice to be heard. “For now, let’s feed the twins and sort this out later.”

Somehow, they made it through the next few minutes. By the time Mike returned, the girls were wolfing down their food as though they hadn’t eaten in a lifetime. And the few moments of peace came to an abrupt halt as Mike dropped his too thin frame onto a chair and glared at his daughters.

“Laura. Shut your mouth while you’re chewing.”

Laura snapped her jaws together.

Mike turned his attention toward his other daughter. Harley followed his frustrated glare.

“Lisa, get your elbows off the table.”

Her tiny rosebud mouth turned mutinous as she rested the weight of her head against her palm and defied his order. Totally her mother’s daughter. Totally…totaled.

God, she missed Hannah. Her sister would know what to do.

“Damn it, girl.” Mike moved like lightning, coming half out of his chair to shove Lisa’s elbow off the table.

Gage moved even faster. He caught Mike by the shoulder and firmly pushed him back onto the chair.

“Lay off, man,” he said, his voice utterly calm in a situation amok with Lisa wailing, Laura whimpering, and Harley’s heart thundering.

Mike slouched down on the chair. “Fine. Maybe you want to keep them for a while.”

Gage backed up a step, a hint of panic infiltrating his gaze, and Harley took a deep breath and stepped into the fray. “Girls, go get cleaned up and ready to go home.”

She waited till they were out of earshot, then turned on her brother-in-law. As his glare slithered up her bare legs, paused briefly on her breasts, and skittered off her face, she felt something ugly crawl over her skin. She needed to do this for Hannah. “I’m coming home with you, Mike.”

He snarled under his breath and with a jerk, pushed away from the table and lunged toward the living room. “Whatever. Just make sure you keep them quiet and away from me.”

Harley turned to Gage.

There was relief in his gaze, but there was more. Concern. It warmed her heart and made her all the more determined to save him from his good intentions.

Because it was suddenly, perfectly clear.

Gage was afraid of having her and the girls underfoot.

He raked one hand through his hair. “I’m not sure this is a good idea.”

She shrugged and tried to appear calm while her heart raced in her chest. “Do you have a better one?”

When he didn’t answer, she turned her back on him and went to get the girls ready to go home.

Gage had already put up with her for far longer than he’d intended. He didn’t need two little hellions disguised as angels underfoot, too.

CHAPTER TWELVE

Gage waited till Harley was out of earshot before he headed into the living room to confront his brother.

No way was he letting them go until he could confirm Mike wouldn’t hurt them. “Okay, spill. What’s going on with you?”

Mike ground the heel of his hands against his eyes and slumped deeper into the couch cushions, then sent Gage a belligerent look that reminded him of one of the twins—he’d never in a million years figure out which was which—about to throw a tantrum.

“A year ago, everything was goddamn perfect in my life. I want to know what the hell I did that was so bad I deserved to lose my wife? My best friend?”

“Life isn’t always fair.” He thought of how much he’d once wanted Harley, how hard it had been to let her go. “It isn’t fair to any of us. We have to carry on the best we can with what we’ve got.”

His brother’s eyes, glazed with moisture, shone bright in his pale face. “How the hell am I supposed to raise those girls alone? I don’t know anything about being a father. Hell, you know what it was like at home. Dad ruled our world with the back of his hand. Everything I learned about fatherhood, I learned from Hannah.”

“Which is why you need Harley’s help.”

Mike pushed to his feet to pace the room. “I can barely look at her.”

“Maybe it’s time you learned.” Gage caught his brother by the arm and Mike stopped pacing. “Those girls need you and they need their aunt. Their mother is gone and you two are all they have left.”

Mike fixed him with a look. “What about you?”

Gage stepped back. “You know Hannah kept the girls away from me for the same reason she kept them away from Dad.”

At his brother’s silence, Gage put one hand on his shoulder. “When did you start slapping the girls around?”

Mike jerked away, back ramrod straight, indignation rolling off him in waves. “Never, and you damn well know I wouldn’t.”

“I used to believe you wouldn’t. Not anymore.” He tried to close the distance between them again. Mike sidestepped toward the front door. “Harley will make your life miserable if you hurt either of those girls. And I will make your life hell if you hurt them or their aunt.”

“Jesus.” Mike hunched his shoulders and nodded his head. “I’m going out for a smoke. I’ll be waiting in the truck.”

As Mike headed out of the house, Gage wondered if he was doing the right thing. He’d never ever in his life doubted his brother’s ability to be a father, but now? Now he had doubts that threatened to crater his tiny world.

A giggle from the far end of the hallway drew his attention. He turned and saw one of the twins, a hand covering her mouth, giggling and pointing at him.

Had he grown horns on his head?

He frowned. Worse yet, had his brother?

Clearing the frown from his forehead, he crouched down on one knee and beckoned the girl forward. As she raced toward him, he braced himself for the impact.

She threw her arms around his neck and hung on. “I wanna stay with you, Unca Gage.”

“Are you afraid to go home, sugarpie? You’ll have Aunt Harley there with you.”

“I wanna stay here with you,” she repeated, a stubborn twist to her mouth that reminded him of Harley.

“Your daddy needs you right now.”

She sighed and snuggled closer, tucking her head under his chin, placing her hand over the thud of his heart. “I miss Mommy.”

At the wistful sound of her voice, Gage nearly caved and told her she could stay till her daddy straightened out. It would be like a holiday for her and her sister. Sleeping late. Eating junk food. Complete freedom from parental rules and regulations.

Gage knew he couldn’t make any such offer. Having Harley around was worrisome enough. Having the girls underfoot might release the monster inside of him.

He glanced up to see Harley standing at the edge of the hallway, a look in her eyes that he couldn’t quite fathom. Was it pity or something else?

Standing up with the twin in his arms, the full impact of what he was about to do hit him square in the gut.

He was sending Harley to another man, trying to fool himself into believing he didn’t want her for himself. He opened his mouth to say something, then snapped it closed again because he didn’t trust himself to say what was best for her.

“We’re ready, right Laura?” she said as she gave the twin standing at her side a little push on the back. The girl took a step forward and stopped. Harley smiled down at the top of her head and gave her another nudge. “Well, almost ready.”

“Mike’s waiting outside.” His voice sounded rough. He cleared his throat and glanced down at the small bag in Harley’s hand. “You’re all packed.”

Nudging the twin another step, she nodded and smiled up at him, a glint of moisture in her eyes. His heart squeezed painfully in his chest.

“It didn’t take long. Maybe Mike will let me borrow a few more of Hannah’s things while I’m there.”

He didn’t remember moving.

Didn’t remember her moving either.

Somehow the distance between them closed so only the girls were between them. Gage stared into the beautiful soft depths of her eyes and saw the hurt.

Hurt that he’d caused even though it was the last thing he’d intended.

“Girls? I want to talk to your Uncle Gage alone. Go outside and join your daddy.”

Two voices screeched in unison. “
We don’t wanna leave
.”

Lisa tightened her arms around Gage’s neck, squeezing off his air supply, waking him from the spell Harley’s presence always wound around him. At the same time, Laura wrapped her arms and legs around the trunk of his thigh and hung on.

Harley sighed and turned efficient. “Yes, well, here’s the thing.” She pried Laura from his leg and set her to the side. “Uncle Gage is a bachelor.”

Lisa loosened her stranglehold. “What’s a bach’lor?”

“A bachelor is a man who prefers to live alone.” She held out her arms and Lisa tumbled into them, nearly knocking her over. Gage caught the girl under her arms and set her down on the floor. “Some men think they’re better off without a wife or family.”

Lisa craned her neck back to look up at Gage’s face. “You mean, he doesn’t like us?”

A hint of annoyance flashed through Gage. “Of course I like you.”

Harley smoothed a hand over the top of Lisa’s head, a frown crinkling her brow. “Liking a person doesn’t mean you want to see them every day for the rest of your life.”

“Like Daddy,” Laura said, inching back toward the door, grabbing her sister by the shirtsleeve and tugging her along.

Gage knelt down to their level. “Come here.”

He held out his arms, and the girls hesitated only a moment before they rushed in and mashed their tiny bodies against his front. Gage buried his head between theirs and wished he’d been a different kind of man, one they could trust, one they could be safe with.

“Remember,” he whispered softly. “If you ever need me, call and I’ll come running.”

“Like a superhero?” Laura whispered.

“Uh huh.”

“P’omise?” Lisa asked as she gave him a wet smack on the cheek.

“Promise,” he replied as Laura followed suit on the other cheek.

The girls pushed free of his hold and raced out of the house, leaving him alone with Harley. Gage unfolded his frame and straightened, forced himself to face her, forced himself to keep his hands to himself.

“Well, I guess this is it.” Smiling brightly, she held out a hand and when he took it, he found himself struggling against the need to keep her there for himself. “I want to thank you for letting me spend the night and for helping out with the girls this morning.”

“Hell, they’re my family, too. You know I’d do anything for them. For you, too.” He gave her hand a gentle tug and she toppled toward him. He caught her to his chest, wrapped his arms around her, felt the comfort of her touch as she pressed up against him and returned the hug.

Don’t go.
The words were a cry in his head and he bit them back. The soft strands of her hair tickled his chin. She fit perfectly against him, her soft curves molding into his harder frame. Had there ever been another woman that caused him this kind of pain when they parted? If he cared for Harley half as much as Mike had cared for Hannah, no wonder Mike was falling apart now.

He pulled back slightly so he could study her face. “You heard what I said to the girls? If you need me, pick up the phone. Don’t be stubborn. Don’t be stupid. They’re my nieces, too.”

Her fingers rasped against the stubble of his morning beard. “It’ll be okay. We’ll be okay. We’re not your responsibility, so don’t worry about us anymore.”

He intended to give her a chaste kiss on the forehead, but somehow his mouth got tangled up with hers. And he forgot everything—the grieving man waiting impatiently outside, the two little girls who needed their aunt.

Time and place.

His scope of vision narrowed to the feel of Harley’s warm mouth under his. How her body instantly responded to his touch. How he’d wanted her forever. How she loved another man.

The front screen door creaked open and banged shut. As Harley pushed out of his arms, his dad’s voice reverted through the house.

“Mike says to hurry up or he’s leaving without you.” The old man stepped into the living room, a spade in one hand, work gloves in the other. “And your mom is sick today, so don’t be bothering her. I’ll be out in the backyard if you need me.”