With the last of Brooke’s furniture loaded into the moving truck, Nathan checked on Mia in the play yard in the shade beneath the tree. Brooke kept the play yard at her house for when she watched Mia on Saturdays. It would be the last thing loaded into the U-Haul. Most of her things were taken over to the house she’d share with Chess after the wedding tomorrow except for necessities she needed to live for the last two weeks.
“Where did you say the girls went?”
Chess sat on the moving truck’s bumper. “To do girl things, I guess. Anna insisted Brooke needed to get her nails done, have her hair trimmed. Who knows what else. Brooke was looking forward to it all week.” He grinned. “I’m real glad this wedding is a small one. Take it from me—when you decide to get married, make sure she likes small weddings, too.”
“I’ll add that to the questionnaire I give out to all my potential spouses.” Nathan joined him on the bumper, glad to sit down for a few minutes. His mind immediately flew to Lynn for the hundredth time in the last couple of days. “Are you telling me that if Brooke wanted a big, fancy wedding, you’d have called it off?” He was only teasing because he knew full well that Brooke had Chess wrapped around her little finger.
Chess laughed loudly, his deep voice snagging Mia’s attention. She smiled big in response. “Nah. I’d marry her anyway. But the small wedding is certainly a bonus.” He shook his head. “A lot has changed since I was helping you move into your place last year, hasn’t it?”
Nathan remembered that well. He was still getting to know his new-found brother. The decision to leave his home in Florida and move to Texas had been a big one, but he hadn’t regretted it once. “It sure has.” He turned to find Chess giving him a curious look. “What?”
“How are things going with Lynn? You’ve talked non-stop about her for weeks, and you haven’t said a word about her today.”
“I didn’t realize you were keeping track.” When Nathan’s comment was met with silence, he sighed. “I care about her, Chess. More than I should. But it’s complicated.”
“Are you in love with her?”
Nathan stood from his spot on the bumper. “It could easily happen if I let myself. But there’s a lot I don’t know about her, and I’m not sure why she’s reluctant to talk about it. After Mia’s mom—”
“—who was nothing like Lynn.”
“—I just don’t think I could handle watching someone else walk away from Mia.”
“Or you.” Chess nodded slowly. “I get that. But you deserve the chance to grow old with someone, and Mia deserves to have a mother who cares about her.”
They both knew how rare it was to have both parental figures in their lives, and what it was like to grow up without them, or with an unhealthy family life in general.
Nathan wanted nothing more than for Mia to have a mom she could go to for help. Someone to teach her and reach her in ways that Nathan would never be able to. But how was he supposed to know that Lynn was the one? That any woman was the right one?
“I’ve got a lot of baggage I’d be bringing into a relationship. I’m not sure how good of an idea that is.” Sure, he’d already told her about a lot of it. But there was a difference between listening to someone chat about his life, and being a part of what that past meant.
“It sounds like she’s got some baggage of her own, too.” Chess said with a knowing voice. “I think we all do. It just matters how much of it we carry around with us compared to that which we’ve left behind. The baggage you say you’d be bringing? You left most of that back in Florida.” Chess gave his younger brother a pointed look. “There’s no sense in dredging it out of the past and adding it to what you have to carry now.”
He wasn’t wrong. “I hope I’m that smart when I’m as old as you are.”
Chess shoved Nathan. “Being the brother with both the good looks and the smarts is a responsibility I’ll just have to shoulder.”
“Right. Dream on, dude.” Nathan laughed for several moments before sobering again. “So, you think I should go for it with Lynn?”
“I can’t tell you that. But I do know that I’m thankful every day for what Brooke and I have. If you think there’s even a chance that you could find that with Lynn, you owe it to yourself to try.”
Nathan nodded slowly. “Thanks, Chess.” He tried to fight back a smile. “For the record? You might have been born with the smarts, but the good looks are debatable.”
Laughing together, they closed up the truck and got ready to take everything over to Chess’s house. Nathan was glad for the distraction because he wasn’t sure what to do about Lynn. What if he told her he was interested in her and she ran for the hills?
He wouldn’t do anything to jeopardize Chess and Brooke’s wedding. Which meant everything needed to stay the same with Lynn through Saturday. After that? Nathan had a feeling he’d be doing a lot of praying between now and then.
~*~
There weren’t many guests attending the wedding. Maybe thirty at most. But Lynn’s fear of being recognized by some random stranger was very real. That’s when being in charge of an adorable baby was one of the best things that could happen. People saw Lynn with Mia in her arms, and all comments were directed toward the girl.
If someone did address Lynn, they often asked how she knew the family. It was easy to say that she kept Mia during the day while Nathan was working. That seemed to satisfy everyone, allowing Lynn to avoid any further questioning.
She glanced at the clock on the wall of the sanctuary where all the guests were gathered. They had about ten minutes left before the wedding was scheduled to begin.
Armed with a bag full of snacks and toys, Lynn and Mia had been directed to the row of chairs at the very front. Mia might not remember her uncle’s wedding, but at least she’d grow up knowing she was there to witness it.
Mia sat in the chair next to Lynn, a busy board book on her lap. She seemed content to raise and lower flaps for the time being.
