Shoved (Moonlit Lake Matchmaker #4)

Chapter 25

STORM

Whoa. Where did that kiss come from? Sign me up for more.

From the moment she first bumped into me at the cafe, this woman had completely hijacked my thoughts. I didn’t know what it was about her, but I was addicted. And now that we’d kissed, voluntarily this time, I knew I’d never get enough.

The thought of being tied down with a family had always made me cringe, and almost break out in hives. Not something I ever thought I’d want. I had my work and now my dog, and that had been enough.

Past tense.

My present tense was entirely upside down, and I couldn’t quite see the future without images of buying a house with a swing set in the backyard, plenty of room for a flower garden, and vaulted ceilings for the tallest Christmas tree we could find.

What had happened to me?

Much to Sadie’s dismay, Serena insisted that she have some quiet time reading books. Despite how much she didn’t want to miss out on anything, Sadie looked like she needed a nap. She’d probably be out by the second page.

I brought my laptop to the kitchen table, hoping to get a bit of work done, but I’d been reading the same page for the past twenty minutes, unable to focus my attention. Not on work anyway. Over the top of my screen, I had the perfect view of Serena and Sadie cuddled together in a chair by the fireplace on the other side of the house. Much more interesting to look at than a will.

My phone started buzzing with messages.

JASPER

Hey, Storm. AJ asked me to remind you about the bachelor auction tomorrow night.

Ugg! I’m praying for a blizzard so it’ll be cancelled.

JASPER

Don’t worry, bro, no stinkin’ weather emergency will stop us. In case of inclement weather, it will be held online. AJ will send you the link. But so far, the forecast looks clear.

RAVEN

I’ll pay good money just to watch this!

SKYE

Would it be weird if we bid on you just to raise the bids and spur on the competition?

WAY too weird. I’d rather stand there with no bids, than to have my sisters in a bidding war over me.

JASPER

You know, if nobody’s bidding, it might help if you did a little dance. Shake your moneymaker. Something to stir things up and spark a little interest.

I’m not a Chippendale, Jas. I’ll not be shaking anything on stage.

SKYE

Do you have your clothes picked out? What are you going to wear? The clothes make the man, ya know.

JUNIE

Maybe he should ask Serena what he should wear. She would know what looks best on him. And she’s right there at the farm with him. ;)

RAVEN

You brought a woman home to meet mom and dad and didn’t tell us!?!

It’s a long story, but not what you think. They needed a safe place to stay, and this was the best option.

JUNIE

Mom is sure in her glory. Even brought out the doll house.

SKYE

Must be serious, Stormy, if you risked bringing Mom a potential daughter-in-law and grandchild into the house. To stay!

JASPER

Yeah. You better put a ring on that before Mom does.

You guys are ridiculous!

RAVEN

That’s why you love us!

Or why I turn my phone off.

I set my phone aside and tried to get back to work. What was I working on again?

Just as I regained my focus enough to read through an entire document, Mom sat down next to me with a cup of coffee. “Quite the girl, you got there.”

“Yeah. Sadie’s something else.”

“She sure is, but I wasn’t talking about her.” Mom nudged me and gave me a side-eye smirk. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen you smile as much as you have today, and you seem so relaxed. Sitting at your computer, but not getting any work done.”

“You can blame my siblings for a lot of that. Even though they’re not here, they still don’t give me a moment’s peace.” I gestured to my phone on the table. “Probably should have turned this thing off and brought my laptop up to my room to work.”

“Maybe so, but you didn’t. Because you’d rather spend time with them than work.” She brought her arm around my shoulders and squeezed. “I can’t tell you how happy it makes me that you finally found someone more important to you than work.”

She was right, but I couldn’t bring myself to say it out loud yet. There were still too many roadblocks between me and that family-filled house with a garden and swing set. I didn’t know yet if I could promise Serena what I wanted, if she wanted it back. “Don’t get ahead of yourself, Mom. Serena’s my client?—”

She put her hand up to stop me. “You can say that all you want, but I see the way you look at her, Storm. Your eyes don’t lie.”

I shook my head, but couldn’t disagree. Yeah, I had feelings for Serena and wished we could be more. But was that the best thing for her? “She’s a single mom. I can’t give her what she needs. And I don’t want to hurt either one of them.”

“Then don’t.”

“Come on, Mom. You know as well as I do that the majority of marriages end in divorce. I’m smart enough to know those odds aren’t worth it.”

She placed her hand on mine and looked me straight in the eye. “Come on, Storm. You have a fifty-fifty chance of winning any case you take on. Does that stop you from accepting any of them, or ever going to court? Your odds there are often worse than the divorce rate.”

“Well, no. Because I know I’m better than most of the other attorneys, so my odds are much better than that.”

“Well, what if I told you that you’re a good man, and would be a better husband or father than the sixty percent that fail? I know you’d never cheat, abuse, or abandon them. You are all in when you love someone, and you’d protect them with your life.” Still holding my hand, she glanced over at them, and then back at me. “If you were committed to being loving and devoted to your family, don’t you think that would significantly increase your odds of success?”

Hmm. She had a good point. “I suppose.”

“And haven’t we given you good examples of what a loving couple and family are like? Research and data aren’t everything, my dear. Love is much more powerful than numbers. And you have an incredibly big heart, and lots of love to give.” She patted my hand before standing up. “Don’t let fear of failure stop you from being happy.”

I opened my mouth to refute that, but my argument vaporized into the air.

She continued with a closing remark. “You want to know what increases your chance of failure to one hundred percent?”

“What?”

“Never trying.” She leaned over and kissed the top of my head and went to clean up her baking mess in the kitchen.

She was right. I was avoiding relationships out of fear of failure. But that only guaranteed that I’d never have what my parents had. And if I was truly honest with myself, that’s what I’d been missing.

As Mom wiped off the counter, she offered a suggestion. “Hey. How about we watch Christmas movies with Sadie after supper, so you and Serena can do something together? You deserve some alone time.”

Like a date? Where there was kissing? My heart skipped a beat. “Thanks, Mom. That’s a good idea.” But I didn’t know if Serena would want to leave Sadie.

“The sleigh is next to the horse barn, in case you were interested. That’s all I’m saying. Buttoning my lips now.” She made a show of closing her lips with her fingers and twisting them closed.

A sleigh ride was a good idea. We wouldn’t have to leave the farm. And with my parents watching Sadie, it could almost be like a first date. All I needed to do was convince Serena to give me a chance.