And for her. Because she wasn’t going to believe anything he said until she saw him living his words.

“He’s good with them. They like being around him. That’s a big step right there. We’ll just see what happens next.” She’d left a detailed list for Vaughan to refer to during the day. What time Maddie needed medication, how much to give her. What she could eat and drink and where it could be found. Numbers for everyone important.

She planned to leave at her usual time to be home for the school bus arrival. Hopefully Vaughan would be okay in the time between now and then.

“I have to run now to make court, but I want you to keep me updated on what’s happening with you. I told Maddie I’d stop by later on. I was planning on bringing lunch, though hers was going to be pudding. I’ll work that out with Vaughan, though, so don’t worry.”

Kelly tried not to but it was hard.

Stacey sighed. “You look like you have to poop. Stop. Maddie is old enough and recovered enough that she won’t need a lot from him. As long as he watches movies with her and lets her tell him all the facts in the world about Pokémon he’ll be fine.”

“I know. He’s had them on his own lots of times.” Stacey knew this, but it felt better for Kelly to repeat the words. To remind herself.

Stacey hugged her on the way out and then the first customer came in, and the day got started and kept her so busy she didn’t have much of a chance to worry until her afternoon employee showed up to take over.

It had been a way to be present at the store and still home to pick the girls up from school several years ago and she had kept it up ever since. She knew how lucky she was to have the luxury to do it. Kami, her business partner, had a two-year-old and they’d both wanted to keep their business as family friendly as possible.

She came into the house and stopped to watch Vaughan and Maddie tucked up on the couch, watching a movie. They looked so much alike it always punched her in the gut.

His hair was messy and he smiled sleepily Kelly’s way and a deep, craven greed to touch him bloomed. “Hey.”

“Afternoon.” Kelly put her things down and moved to check Maddie, kissing her forehead and then testing it for fever. “How’re you feeling, bug?”

“I had pudding and it was very good.”

“Pudding makes every day a great day. I totally agree.”

Maddie laughed.

“You can have some soup tonight for dinner. And some toast.”

“Party!” Vaughan joked before he got off the couch and stretched. The hem of his worn T-shirt rose, exposing hard, muscled abs, defined at his hip bones. She had stretch marks and he had an eight-pack. Figured.

“Why don’t I go pick Kensey up from the bus stop and you can stay here with Maddie?” Vaughan offered and it took Kelly a second to hear it all because of the roar of white noise at the sight of that damned belly of his.

“That works. You need to change, though.”

“Huh? Why?”

“Because you show up to the bus stop looking like that and the other mothers are going to eat you up. We’ll never see you again.”

He paused, a smirk on his lips for a brief moment. “Too bad I already have all the women I want or need.”

Have? Puhleeze. If he wanted to have her, he had a lot of work to do to make that happen.

Vaughan jogged off to change.

“I’ll be right back, bug.” She had work clothes on, which were gorgeous and expensive, and what she wanted was something casual, loose and not a disaster if it got ripped, stained or otherwise ruined.

The hallway near her bedroom smelled like him. The guest room was down at her end of the house. It had taken her a long time to get over her sheets not smelling like him anymore and this felt very similar.

By the time she’d returned downstairs she realized her house had started to change. Just a little bit. A guitar case was casually leaned against the back of the couch, in a corner. His ebook reader was on the side table near the couch.

This was disquieting. Because she liked it so much and she shouldn’t. Not until he’d done a lot more work.

Vaughan headed out and Kelly tucked onto the couch next to Maddie. “I missed you today. How are you feeling?”

“Auntie Stacey came over with pudding. She brought Daddy a sandwich and some chips, too. That was very nice. I like it that he’s here. He watched Brave with me. Twice. Isn’t that nice?”

Their daughter sounded as if she were making a pitch for a puppy. Only Vaughan was way more trouble and there was no doubt Kelly would have to do all the care and cleaning.

“It is nice.” It was also what parents were supposed to do so she wasn’t that inclined to give him a gold star for it.

Vaughan came back shortly, an excited Kensey chattering endlessly about her day. He had a slightly dazed look on his face that Kelly could totally identify with. Their youngest only stopped talking long enough to eat, drink and sleep.

She gave Kelly and Maddie kisses and told them about her day as she handed over a packet of homework for Maddie to do that week.

“Your teacher left this for you in the attendance office and I got called in! Over the loudspeaker and everything.”

“Uh-oh. Did you think you were in trouble?” Vaughan asked.

Kensey’s eyes went big as saucers as she nodded excitedly. “But I didn’t do anything so I was worried someone told a lie on me. But it was just all this homework for Maddie.”

“Did you make up a good story about why you got called in to the office?”