take so long, but the crust is homemade.”
“I’m impressed.” He handed her a glass of wine. “To new friends and new beginnings.”
She clinked her glass against his and took a drink of the bright pinot grigio. It was only a sip but she would have sworn the tangy liquid went right to her veins, making her feel almost drunk with pleasure.
More likely the man standing in her kitchen caused that. The first man who’d been there with her since her husband’s death.
“New beginnings,” she repeated softly, then busied herself with dinner preparations.
She’d done most of the work when she got home earlier. The pie was warm in the oven, and the scent of chicken and savory dough filled the air when she took it out and set it on the trivet she’d placed on the kitchen table.
She took a salad from the refrigerator, then frowned at the simple supper. Surely a man like Callum was used to fancier fare.
“I haven’t cooked for ages,” she admitted as she joined him at the table. “I’m out of practice at entertaining.”
As if understanding there was an apology implicit in her words, Callum shook his head. “This looks amazing, and I appreciate you going to the trouble for me.”
“It was no trouble.” She dished out a huge helping of the classic comfort food onto his plate. “I hope you’re hungry.”
As he took a first bite, he closed his eyes and groaned in pleasure. “I could eat this every night.”
“I used to make things that were more gourmet, but with the girls’ bedtime routine I figured I’d have better luck with a recipe I know by heart.”
“I’m not much for gourmet.”
“That surprises me.” She forked up a small piece of crust, pleased that it tasted as good as she remembered. “I figured anyone with the last name of Fortune would be accustomed to the finer things in life.”
“Nothing finer than a home-cooked meal,” he said, helping himself to another portion.
She chuckled. “Do you always eat so fast?”
“Only when it’s this good.” He shrugged. “My branch of the family is relatively new to the notoriety of the Texas Fortunes.”
“Really? Is that why you moved here? To get your moment in the spotlight?” She mentally kicked herself when he grimaced. He’d helped her and now her nerves had her babbling so much she was going to offend him. “I’m sorry. That came out sounding rude.”
“Rambling Rose appealed to me because I’m here in Texas, which gives me a sense of connection with the Fortune legacy, but it also feels like I’m blazing my own path.”
“That’s important to you?” She stabbed a few pieces of lettuce with her fork.
“Very important. You met my dad and stepmom and three of my siblings. Imagine four more added to the mix. There wasn’t much time for individuality growing up. I could hardly do my own thing when I constantly had a brother or younger sister trailing me.”
“Are you the oldest?”
He studied his plate for a long second, as if unsure how to answer. “No. Dillon, who was at the ribbon cutting ceremony, is a year younger than me. Our parents divorced when I was a toddler, and Dad met Marci shortly after. They married almost immediately. She also had two boys from her first marriage. Steven is two years older and Wiley is my age, although he has a couple of months on me. It felt like I went from being the oldest to the little brother overnight.”
“That’s a lot of blending,” Becky murmured, not quite able to imagine how that would have felt for a young boy.
He nodded. “We were a handful, especially at the beginning. I think each of us had something to prove. Unfortunately that meant we pushed every one of Marci’s buttons any chance we got.”
“How did she handle it?”
“Like a champ,” Callum confirmed. “I didn’t see my real mom much after the divorce, but Marci always made Dillon and me feel like we were her sons as much as Steven and Wiley. If we were testing her, she passed with flying colors.”
“And things got easier?”
“Stephanie was a turning point for the family. She was the most precious thing I’d ever seen. Suddenly, these four rowdy boys had something in common—our sister. She brought us together.”
“It’s obvious you’re close with her.”
“Yeah.” The softening of his features gave her that fizzy feeling again. “Mom…” He cleared his throat. “Marci became mom to me pretty quickly. She loved having a big family, but had a couple of pregnancies that ended in miscarriage after that. It took a toll on her.”
“I can imagine.”
Fine lines bracketed his mouth, as if the thought of the woman who’d become a mother to him hurting caused him physical pain, as well.
“Then the triplets were born. They were miracle babies, really.”
“Multiples are special,” Becky couldn’t help but add, thinking of her sweet girls.
“It took Marci some time to recover. There were complications and she wasn’t herself for a while after.”
“From how she made it sound, you were a huge help.”
His big shoulders shifted and an adorable flush of color stained his cheeks. “I kind of had a way with the ladies, even back then.”
Laughter burst from Becky’s mouth, and the excitement bubbling up in her felt like she’d gulped down a flute of champagne. Was there anything more attractive to a mother than a man who was good with children?
“You certainly worked your charms on Luna and Sasha,” she told him. “They aren’t accustomed to having men in their lives.”
“Someone told me your husband died while you were pregnant,” Callum said quietly. “I’m sorry.”
The pleasure rippling through her popped in an instant. Grief had been a sort of companion to her after Rick’s death, and she knew the facets of it like the back of her hand.
“It was a car accident,” she said. “I’d just taken a home pregnancy test but we didn’t know I was carrying twins.” She bit down on the inside of her cheek. “I wish I could have shared that with him. I wish I could have shared a lot of things.”
She held up a hand when he would have said more because she knew another apology was coming. Not that he had any responsibility, obviously, but people didn’t know how to talk to her about the loss she’d suffered. Some things were too unfathomable for words.
“We’re okay,” she said, which was her pat line even when it wasn’t true. Sometimes she struggled, but she was dealing with it and making the best of things for her daughters. She blinked away the tears that stung the backs of her eyes.
“In some ways Rick is still with us,” she told Callum. “There’s a park outside of town where he and I used to go on walks after work. Now I take Luna and Sasha there when I want to feel close to him. I sit on the bench near the pond and talk to him, and I feel him with us. I know how much he would have loved his girls and he’s their guardian angel. Some people don’t get that or they think I’m just trying to see the silver lining in a tragedy that has none. But it’s what I know.”
His cleared his throat as if unsure how to respond. Becky mentally kicked herself. No guy wanted to spend an evening talking about a woman’s dead husband, even for a homecooked meal. This was the reason she could never hope to date, especially not someone like Callum Fortune. She had enough emotional baggage to fill a freight train.
“Can I ask why you stayed in Rambling Rose?” Callum asked after several awkward moments.