A Family Come True by Kris Fletcher

but good for him.
    “Ian,” she began, but a quick tip of his head in Carter’s direction told her that he didn’t want to discuss it now. Okay. Maybe she hadn’t blown it completely. Maybe, just maybe, she had given him a leg up in the reunion stakes. Since that was all she had intended, well, perhaps this could work out somehow after all.
    Yeah, and maybe Xander would fade back into the woodwork and her mother would swear off boy toys and Cady would miraculously cut all her teeth without shedding another tear.
    “I’m not sure I believe this.” Carter sounded as if he was doing his best not to laugh. “Did Moxie say she was putting the two of you in the same room?”
    “Looks that way.”
    “Is this the same woman who threatened me with a belt when she caught me kissing Carole Merriweather in the kitchen after graduation?”
    Ian shrugged, then did a double take. “Wait. You and Carole Merriweather?”
    “For about three days after high school.” Red rushed to stain Carter’s cheeks. “I-it was at least a year after you dated her.”
    Holy crap. So Carter and Ian had dated the same girl in the past? The North brothers really had to reevaluate their definition of sharing.
    Ian, however, didn’t seem as flabbergasted as Darcy felt. He simply lowered Cady to the ground before heading to the Mustang and opening the trunk. Lulu trotted behind him. Darcy hesitated before joining the parade. She had a feeling that right now the best place for her was right at Ian’s side.
    “Here.” He handed his suitcase to Carter. “Take this before Moxie comes out swinging.”
    “Good plan.”
    Darcy watched in amazement as Ian continued to haul items—hers and Cady’s now—from the trunk. She bit her tongue until Carter was out of earshot before letting loose.
    “Okay, for the record, I’m not staying here, and I’m definitely not sharing—”
    “I know.”
    That helped. But why was he playing along?
    “I know this is my fault,” she continued, “and I’m sorry, but everything was so weird and all I could think of was how it worked with Xander, and I hoped, maybe, everyone could breathe and move on if they thought we were... But that’s as far as it goes. I never intended for this.” She gestured toward the neat line of bags, where Cady was happily drooling on a suitcase while Lulu did her best imitation of a bomb-sniffing dog.
    “I know why you did it,” he said. “It’s okay. If you hadn’t, I probably would have.”
    Only because things had been so strained, she knew. So her lips could stop tingling any moment now.
    He bent to pull a rock from Cady’s hand. Without looking up, he said quietly, “Taylor’s pregnant, isn’t she?”
    Oh, hell. He had figured it out. “That’s my bet.” Her heart ached for him. “Are you okay?”
    He seemed to be thinking over his answer. “Yeah,” he said as he straightened, and she couldn’t help but notice the edge of surprise in his voice. “Yeah. I would have thought... But it’s okay. It’s good.”
    Relief rolled through her. “I’m glad.”
    “Me, too.”
    Lulu, evidently bored with all the standing and talking, whined and ran toward the house.
    “Think she’s telling us to get moving?” Ian grabbed the portable crib.
    “Probably.” She sighed and looked toward the house. “Okay. I’m the one who messed up. Do you want me to go in there and tell the truth?”
    “We probably should.” But he sounded no more enthusiastic about the idea than she was. The memory of that awful tense silence made her shudder.
    “Maybe,” she said slowly, “maybe we could hold off on spilling the beans for the moment...”
    “Until Taylor and Carter are gone?”
    “That’s exactly what I was thinking. Cady, don’t eat that.” She knelt to pull another rock from Cady’s fist. “Let Carter and Taylor have their time, then come clean with Moxie after they leave. It will mean a little embarrassment down the line, but given the circumstances, I think they