"Burbbet."

"I have a pond full of frogs. Do you like frogs?"

She nodded.

"If you come a tiny bit closer to me so I can see the page, I can read it to you," he offered. She merely turned the page.

But she said, "Kitty. Mow."

"Brilliant," he said. And he moved a bit closer. He read, "*This is a kitten and it says meow. The kitten likes to play with a ball of string or yarn.'" He put a little feeling into his meow and she glanced up at him with a shy smile. He wondered if Nora had been like this as a little girl, shy and sweet. She wasn't shy and sweet now, but she was definitely fun at times. And he couldn't deny she was nice enough. But she stood up for herself. She was proud. Too proud. She had bravado. He got the sense she was faking that, but he liked it. In fact, if she had to summon it and it wasn't natural, he liked it even more.

Berry turned the page and he read, "*This is a puppy and he says...'"

She looked up at him and said, "Woof. Woof."

"And do puppies like kittens and frogs?" he asked her. And she nodded. "I thought so," he said. "I have a puppy," he said.

"Gook," she proudly informed him.

He laughed. Ah, so the d's were g's. "Yes, Duke. Not exactly a puppy. More of a gog."

"Don't mispronounce," came Nora's voice from behind him. "I know it's tempting, and fun, but really..."

They both turned, looked at her and smiled.

"She seems very smart for two," he said. "Is she?"

"She's almost three, and she is. I need to work with her more, but there's the time thing. We need to do letters, numbers and colors. We have worked on some, but just a few. Preschool, though a necessity so I can work, is also a gift. They're so focused." She gave a nod. "That's Berry's favorite book. Her grandpa gave it to her."

"Papa," Berry corrected.

Tom smiled before he could stop himself. "She likes him, I guess."

"It hasn't been quick. He's been to visit twice and she will finally let him read to her a little bit, as long as he doesn't get too close."

"Then I scored," Tom said. "I read three pages on our first date."

Nora smiled. "If you want a shower before dinner, there's time."

He made a mock gesture of sniffing his own armpit and raising questioning eyes to her.

"Cripes," she said. "Maxie said you'd want a shower. I wasn't passing judgment."

"Yeah, okay," he said. "I'll be down in a few." And he left Berry and went in stocking feet into the house.

There at the table, propped up in her booster seat with a few crackers in front of her, was Fay. For some reason he couldn't quite explain to himself, he was greatly relieved to see that the little sister looked like Nora as well-soft, light brown hair, peachy skin, golden-brown eyes. But this little one was not shy; she squealed and laughed when he walked into the kitchen and hurled a fistful of scrunched-up crackers at him. Her teeth were brand-new and in weird, adorable shapes and lengths. Happiness and confidence just rolled off her.

Maxie laughed at the scattered cracker crumbs, completely unperturbed. In fact, if Tom had to guess, his grandmother preferred baby mess to boots and expensive sweaters and no appetite.

"I'm going to grab a quick shower," he said.

While standing under the spray, he was thinking they were cute. And although Berry seemed a little withdrawn and not easy around strangers, the family as a whole was happy. But hell, Darla was happy. Very happy! Happiest when talking about trips and clothes and money, but what was wrong with that?

Nothing at all. Nothing.

He pulled on a sweatshirt with clean jeans. He had put on boots when Darla joined them for dinner, but tonight he just slipped into his Uggs slippers, soft and warm. They were a little on the old-man-ish side, but he'd had a long, strenuous day. He'd hauled trucks full of apple crates and cases of cider. He was tired. And he was starving.

When he descended to the kitchen he found Maxie and Nora at the table, laughing over something. Berry was seated on the other side of Nora, propped up on a bunch of couch pillows covered with a towel so spaghetti sauce wouldn't stain them.

"There you are," Nora said, leaping to her feet. "Are you ready to eat or do you want a little time to unwind first? Want a beer or soda or something?"

He glanced at Berry, stuck out his belly and rubbed it. "Me want food!" he said, making her laugh. And he thought, What the hell was that? I don't know anything about kids! Why was I playing to the kid? But she was still grinning at him and it made him feel something inside, like a glow.

"Good," Maxie said, joining Nora at the kitchen counter. They had salads prepared in individual bowls, dressed and ready to go. There was a loaf of garlic bread that went on the table, aluminum foil opened. Maxie was rinsing the noodles while Nora was stirring the sauce.

Nora put the salads on the table, in front of each place. "Berry, eat a couple of bites so you get your nutrients," Nora said.

"Does she have any idea what nutrients are?" Tom asked.

"Absolutely none, I'm sure. But Berry will have a couple of bites and even if she didn't, she'd get the rest of dinner. I don't punish with food. We try to be grateful for good food and blessings." Then she smiled and added, "Greens are a little iffy, but I guarantee a good performance on the noodles and sauce!"

"Tom liked that best, too," Maxie said.

"When I was a girl there was big trouble over things like vegetables. My mother started giving me a plate of weird vegetables and if I wouldn't eat them all, I went without the rest of the dinner. I had to earn things like meatloaf by eating a lot of Brussels sprouts. I'm not a picky eater now, but I'm not sure that process had anything to do with it. I'm not going to do that." And Nora tended to the bowls of spaghetti for her girls while Maxie dished for the adults. "Warning, this could be a little messy," Nora said. And she made Tom trade chairs so he wasn't sitting next to one of her kids.

It was a more than a little messy, but it seemed to entertain Maxie and Nora. When Fay got the noodles and sauce in her hair, the women nearly lost it, which made Fay giggle uncontrollably. Which made her put more food in her hair. Which made the women laugh, Fay giggle, etc.

What he noticed most was that Nora, who was little and slim, had seconds. And what bothered him was that he liked the looks of those trim, buxom females who seemed perpetually beautiful but he didn't like to hang out with women who wouldn't eat. Now how can you have it both ways?

Nora sat back from the table a little and said, "Oh, my God, please excuse me, Maxie! I ate like a pig! That was amazing!"

"Never apologize for being happy at my table," Maxie said. "Do you have room for pie? You helped make the crust."

"I'm so sorry, I can't..."

"Will you take some home?"

"Yes! Absolutely! Oh, thank you! I don't think I've been wined and dined like this in my lifetime!"

I'm partial to sushi... Do you like sushi?

"Sans wine," Tom pointed out.

"Someday when I'm not carting small children in the car, I promise to enjoy a glass of wine-it's been a while. I don't know if you noticed, I'm not that confident a driver to start with-I need a little more practice. I'm not about to complicate that with wine, especially with my kids on board."

"Perfectly understandable. Should we roll the ball around for a while?" Maxie asked.

"No," Nora said firmly. "We're doing the dishes before Fay starts to fuss. Then I have to get the ladies home for baths and bed. I start early in the morning."