mentioned it, Natalie vaguely remembered hearing that the younger Kendrick son had married a woman in a wheelchair. “So Ryan Kendrick is your brother-in-law.” Natalie shook her head and laughed. “My, my, you have friends in high places, Mr. Coulter.”
“Zeke,” he corrected, “and I have plenty of friends in low places as well.” His white teeth flashed in a quick grin. “Enough about me. Fill me in on the Westfields.”
Natalie grimaced. “Rosie’s already done that. Is there anything you don’t know?”
He threw back his dark head and laughed. It was a warm, rich sound that rumbled up from deep in his chest. “She did cover a lot of ground at a fast clip,” he admitted. “I suspect I won’t be the first person to tell you that she’s darling.”
“Thank you. And no, you’re not the first person to tell me that. Usually after she’s just said something embarrassing. Talking is her strong suit. She shuts up only when she sleeps.”
He laughed again. “What amazes me is her command of English. I can’t believe she’s only four. She gets a few words wrong, but mostly not.”
Natalie released a long-suffering sigh. “She’s a trial sometimes. I can’t seem to break her of repeating everything she hears. I live in terror of what she’ll tell her teacher. She starts preschool this year.”
His lips twitched. “I’m sure the teacher will take it in stride. They hear everything. For first grade show-and-tell, I got up in front of my class and graphically described the birth of my sister.” Twinkling laughter danced in his eyes. “As I recall, I left nothing out. My teacher didn’t faint, but she did sit down.”
“Surely you didn’t witness the birth.”
“I did, actually.” He rubbed beside his nose. “My mother had all of us at home with a midwife in attendance. My dad tried to corral us boys and keep us out of the bedroom, but my older brother, Jake, and I were slippery little farts. We wanted to see what all the commotion was about.”
Natalie tried to picture him as a little boy with a shock of dark hair and big blue eyes. Somehow, the picture wouldn’t come clear. It was difficult to imagine a strong, virile man like Zeke being small and innocent.
His amused gaze rested warmly on hers. “The moral is that you shouldn’t worry so much about what your daughter says. Most people won’t be shocked. They’ll just think she’s cute as a button and be captivated.”
The topic of their conversation returned just then, and she was in tears. Chad hung back, looking guilty.
“Chad pulled my hair!” Rosie sobbed.
“I did not!” Chad cried.
Rosie’s lower lip quivered. Huge tears rolled down her cheeks. “Yes, he did, Mommy. I’m not fibbing.”
“So, I pulled her hair. Big deal. I didn’t do it on purpose.”
Natalie sent her son a questioning look. “How did you accidentally pull her hair, Chad?”
Chad’s face flushed with anger. “You always take her side.”
“It’s not a matter of taking sides. I merely asked for an explanation. If it was an accident, just explain, and that’ll be the end of it.”
“I grabbed her by the shoulder,” Chad said sullenly. “She thought I was trying to take her stupid frog, and she twisted to get away. Some of her hair was in my hand. I thought I only had hold of her shirt.”
It sounded plausible to Natalie. She gathered Rosie close. “There, you see? It was an accident, sweetie. Chad didn’t mean to pull your hair.”
“It still hurt!” Rosie cried indignantly.
Natalie kissed her daughter’s curls and patted her back. “I know, but since it was an accident, you shouldn’t be mad at Chad. Has your scalp stopped stinging yet?”
Rosie nodded but continued to whimper pitifully. “I lost my toad.”
“Uh-oh. That’s too bad. Maybe you can catch another one.”
“I don’t want another one. I liked that one.”
“Maybe you can find the same toad again,” Natalie suggested.
As Rosie raced off to begin her
“Zeke,” he corrected, “and I have plenty of friends in low places as well.” His white teeth flashed in a quick grin. “Enough about me. Fill me in on the Westfields.”
Natalie grimaced. “Rosie’s already done that. Is there anything you don’t know?”
He threw back his dark head and laughed. It was a warm, rich sound that rumbled up from deep in his chest. “She did cover a lot of ground at a fast clip,” he admitted. “I suspect I won’t be the first person to tell you that she’s darling.”
“Thank you. And no, you’re not the first person to tell me that. Usually after she’s just said something embarrassing. Talking is her strong suit. She shuts up only when she sleeps.”
He laughed again. “What amazes me is her command of English. I can’t believe she’s only four. She gets a few words wrong, but mostly not.”
Natalie released a long-suffering sigh. “She’s a trial sometimes. I can’t seem to break her of repeating everything she hears. I live in terror of what she’ll tell her teacher. She starts preschool this year.”
His lips twitched. “I’m sure the teacher will take it in stride. They hear everything. For first grade show-and-tell, I got up in front of my class and graphically described the birth of my sister.” Twinkling laughter danced in his eyes. “As I recall, I left nothing out. My teacher didn’t faint, but she did sit down.”
“Surely you didn’t witness the birth.”
“I did, actually.” He rubbed beside his nose. “My mother had all of us at home with a midwife in attendance. My dad tried to corral us boys and keep us out of the bedroom, but my older brother, Jake, and I were slippery little farts. We wanted to see what all the commotion was about.”
Natalie tried to picture him as a little boy with a shock of dark hair and big blue eyes. Somehow, the picture wouldn’t come clear. It was difficult to imagine a strong, virile man like Zeke being small and innocent.
His amused gaze rested warmly on hers. “The moral is that you shouldn’t worry so much about what your daughter says. Most people won’t be shocked. They’ll just think she’s cute as a button and be captivated.”
The topic of their conversation returned just then, and she was in tears. Chad hung back, looking guilty.
“Chad pulled my hair!” Rosie sobbed.
“I did not!” Chad cried.
Rosie’s lower lip quivered. Huge tears rolled down her cheeks. “Yes, he did, Mommy. I’m not fibbing.”
“So, I pulled her hair. Big deal. I didn’t do it on purpose.”
Natalie sent her son a questioning look. “How did you accidentally pull her hair, Chad?”
Chad’s face flushed with anger. “You always take her side.”
“It’s not a matter of taking sides. I merely asked for an explanation. If it was an accident, just explain, and that’ll be the end of it.”
“I grabbed her by the shoulder,” Chad said sullenly. “She thought I was trying to take her stupid frog, and she twisted to get away. Some of her hair was in my hand. I thought I only had hold of her shirt.”
It sounded plausible to Natalie. She gathered Rosie close. “There, you see? It was an accident, sweetie. Chad didn’t mean to pull your hair.”
“It still hurt!” Rosie cried indignantly.
Natalie kissed her daughter’s curls and patted her back. “I know, but since it was an accident, you shouldn’t be mad at Chad. Has your scalp stopped stinging yet?”
Rosie nodded but continued to whimper pitifully. “I lost my toad.”
“Uh-oh. That’s too bad. Maybe you can catch another one.”
“I don’t want another one. I liked that one.”
“Maybe you can find the same toad again,” Natalie suggested.
As Rosie raced off to begin her
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