Steeling a Dream:
Part 3: House of Steele (R)
Part 3: House of Steele (R)
Steeling a Dream:
Part 3: House of Steele
Part 3: House of Steele
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Steele Holting On
Chapter Fifteen: Interlude
Wednesday, 24 November 1988 -- 34 weeks, 6 days
Fred delivered the Michaels family shortly before dinner. By some miracle, the twins had napped on the
plane and now skittered across the penthouse in delight. Siobhán led the pair into the new playroom to
discover the toys stocked there. Shrieks of delight echoed while Kate and Laura exchanged hugs and
smiles at the door.
Murphy eyeballed Laura’s belly as he dropped the luggage on the floor. “Good God, Laura, what have
you been eating?”
As the only man alive who could say that and still live, she laughed and quipped, “Remington’s
cooking.” She dropped a kiss on Murphy’s cheek in welcome.
Kate looked her up and down. “He must be a damned good cook.”
The man in question gave his sister-in-law a kiss on both cheeks before reaching around her to shake
hands with Murphy. “Naturally,” he remarked.
Murphy rose as well. “Are we still talking about your abilities in the kitchen?”
Remington glanced at Laura before placing his arm around her shoulders with a grin. “You can take that
however you would like, mate.”
In the evening while Kate and Laura bathed the twins, Remington directed Murphy out to the terrace to
fill him in on the mysterious photographs he’d received.
“Three sets and no other indications of a threat. I don’t like it, Steele.”
“Nor do I. But I have nothing else to go on.”
“How did Laura react?”
Remington humphed. “You know her as well as I do.”
“Ahh. Then I’ll assume you tread carefully around any sort of discussion about making sure she doesn’t
unnecessarily expose herself to danger.”
The dark-haired man gave him an equally dark look and didn’t say anything.
Murphy roared with laughter. “What’d you do, Steele? Oh wait, don’t tell me--” He shook his head as
he thought for a moment. “Oh hell, surely you didn’t try to keep her under lock and key.” Remington’s
expression stayed neutral as if he hadn’t heard his brother-in-law’s remark. Murphy grinned. “Damn,
Steele, I thought you were smarter than that.”
Very softly, Remington asked, “What would you have done?”
His distress must have come through to the other man because Murphy shifted to lean against the railing,
his expression growing serious. “Probably the same. But I’ll deny it if you tell on me. What are you
going to do now?” Murphy asked.
Remington didn’t miss the hard look in the other man’s eyes and discovered he was grateful for its
presence. He ran through the plan for the following week.
Murphy nodded in agreement. “It might work. It’s bold, ambitious--no offense to you--but it’s pure
Laura.”
“That it is, mate.”
“It might work. Think you can identify your stalker?”
Remington flashed a cunning grin. “I’ve got a little something to ensure it.”
But no matter how hard Murphy pressed, Remington only shook his head and changed the subject.
Thursday bore no little resemblance to chaos as the family gathered at the Piper residence for
Thanksgiving. Remington still had charge of the turkey, but Frances handled the rest of the trimmings.
No one walked away from the table less than absolutely stuffed.
The twins very nearly collapsed on the floor that afternoon from pure exhaustion, and they napped all
heaped together on either side of Laura. She’d nearly fallen asleep on the sofa before Remington gently
insisted she lay on the bed. Ian already slept as Kate laid him down next to his aunt, and Aiden snuggled
in without compunction.
Danny and Siobhán held a rematch of Super Mario 2 on the Nintendo in the living room. Despite
himself, Remington found himself engaged by the little figures and kept one eye on the screen as he
conversed with Abigail about Laura’s last visit with her obstetrician.
That evening the whole family watched as the Houston Oilers defeated the Dallas Cowboys, 25-17. A
weary crew headed back to the penthouse with a couple of overtired boys who whined all the way home.
Friday morning dawned. Laura found her sister covering a telephone book sitting on a dining room chair
with a dishtowel before setting Aiden on top and placing his breakfast in front of him.
“Good morning. Where’s Ian?” Laura asked.
Kate met her in a tight hug before answering, “He crawled in bed with us when Aiden came in. He went
back to sleep on Murphy.”
Laura smiled. “I’m getting impatient, Kate. I want this baby to get here.”
Her sister grinned. “The last few weeks seem to take twice as long as the other eight months.”
“Are you still coming when I go into labor?”
“I wouldn’t miss it for the world,” Kate assured her.
“Good. Rei’s going to be absolutely useless. He panics,” Laura told her matter-of-factly.
Kate snickered. “Remington? Somehow I can’t see that.”
“Believe me, your biggest job is going to be to nail his feet to the floor, or he’ll be in Tahiti by the time
this baby is born.”
“Good to know.”
Dinner that evening turned out to be messy, about thirty minutes late, and a great deal of fun. When the
twins showed signs of being overwhelmed by all the activity, Kate set them up for a short twenty minutes
with their favorite show about a large purple dinosaur while the finishing touches were put on dinner.
Friday morning, Siobhán and Kate disappeared early. Laura pretended not to notice but felt sure the pair
had gone with Frances to make last minute plans for the baby shower scheduled for the next day.
Murphy took the boys to the park just downstairs while Remington and Laura headed for her now-
weekly doctor’s appointment.
Dr. Berger admonished her to take it easy as her blood pressure showed signs of being elevated.
Remington made her stay on the sofa for the rest of the day.
On Saturday, both families trekked out to Abigail’s house where the baby shower had been set up.
Mildred and Sandra from the agency, along with Barbara and two other of Laura’s girlfriends from
college, joined Siobhán, the three sisters and their mom for the party. Mindy and Laurie Beth sat at
Laura’s feet and watched with wide-eyed delight.
Remington leaned against the arch of the kitchen, watching the scene unfold. The faint blush in Laura’s
cheeks told of her delight. He shot her a slight arched brow as Kate and Frances set up a silly game
involving clothespins. Her eyes swept down, and she flushed all the more from the attention.
Murphy tapped him on the shoulder. “Had enough estrogen?”
“Sure thing, mate.”
“Come on. We’ll take Danny and the twins to the park a couple of streets over. We’ll throw a football
around and let the kids burn off energy.”
Remington nodded absentmindedly, his eyes still on Laura. When she looked up, he winked at her
before turning to follow Murphy.
Remington, Murphy, Donald and Danny took turns rescuing almost-two-year olds from nearly
everything. First, the boys scampered straight for the little pond, getting their shoes muddy as they stood
on the edge and tried to fall in as they hunted for rocks and pointed at the pretty fish.
Then they climbed the playground fort meant for the older kids and shrieked in terror when they were
too high to climb down. Remington skimmed up the side and handed them down one by one to
Murphy. As their dad set them gently on the ground, each one promptly shot off to the enormous slide
in the middle of the park. At the top of the ladder, Ian refused to slide down, so Aiden crawled over him
and went down head first. Of course, Ian thought that was hysterical and flew down after him in the
same way.
Danny had to climb inside the maze of tunnels and pull one of them out when he got lost in the twists
and turns.
Three times the men tried to continue the conversation about the investigation, but keeping an eye on the
boys proved to be a bigger challenge than Remington imagined.
“Bloody hell, mate. Don’t they make parks that are safe for children?”
Donald snorted in amusement, and Murphy replied, “This is a safe park. For girls maybe. Or a shy
boy. Or somebody’s lame perception of what children should be doing.” Murphy scanned the play
area. “Where’s Aiden?”
“There.” Remington pointed to a pair of red sneakers poking out from behind an enormous tic-tac-toe
board making up a wall of the fort. “Maybe we should rethink going to the beach next summer.”
Murphy shot up eyebrows. “I’m not taking them. They’ll be shark bait before I have a chance to set
down the cooler. Don’t know why Kate thinks we should have a bigger family.”
Danny shook free of the little guys and tossed his football straight in the air in a poorly-disguised hint.
His dad held out his hands, but his son shook his head, wanting to pass the ball to Murphy.
Donald grinned and waved a thumb in Danny’s direction. “Thinking about adding on?”
Murphy blew out a breath and held out his hands to catch the ball his nephew launched with a decent
accuracy. “Kate wants one more. I’m not sure I’m going to survive these two. What if we get twins
again?”
“How close is she to talking you into it?” Remington asked.
Murphy shook his head and winged the ball to Danny. “I thought I had drawn the line, but seeing Laura
pregnant is pretty damned surreal, Steele. I think I get why you always stared at Katy when she carried
the twins.”
Remington reached over and bopped him on the back of the head. “Stop looking at my wife, mate.”
“Aw, crap. Yeah, I deserve that. She’s really lovely though.” Murphy stuffed his hands into his
pockets as Remington fielded Danny’s throw this time. “I didn’t think Laura would find someone she’d
want kids with. I sure as hell didn’t expect it to be you.”
“What did you think?” Remington set his fingers on the laces and threw the ball in a fair spiral. He
frowned after it as it wobbled a bit too much.
Donald listened avidly to the exchange as he kept an eye on his nephews.
“I figured if you two did hook up, it would always be just the two of you. You know … being the
internationally famous Steeles. Didn’t think you were the type to want to settle down and have kids.”
Remington found a toothpick in his pocket and set it in his mouth to nibble on it. “I didn’t.”
Both of his brothers looked up in surprise, then Murphy sidestepped to catch the ball again.
With a Gallic shrug to a shoulder, Remington gave a rare explanation. “When I look at Laura, I want the
whole package--wife, home, kids. Maybe not the house in the suburbs.” He gave them a toothy grin as
Murphy fired another pass to Danny. “But all the rest, aye. I want it just as a drunken sailor wants his
next pint.”
The twins scampered to them, babbling about the swings on the far side of the park. Donald scooped up
Ian and settled him about his shoulders for a quick ride. Remington copied him, only to discover that a
firm hold on Aiden’s ankles was necessary--both to keep the little tyke in place and to stop the heels of
the tiny sneakers from kicking his chest mercilessly.
Murphy and Danny threw passes back and forth as they walked.
“Kid’s got a good arm, Donald. Don’t let that go to waste.”
“Why do you think he wants to throw with you whenever you come?”
Remington didn’t miss the admiring glances from a pair of moms chatting on the bench but ignored them
as he settled Aiden into the toddler swing near his twin.
“ ’wing! ’wing!” yelled Ian. Aiden only grinned maniacally when Danny stationed himself between the
twins to push both of them.
With the boys content for the moment, Remington squinted in the late November sun and reached for his
sunglasses. Murphy copied him.
“So, tell me more about these photographs.”
“What photographs?” demanded Donald.
Remington gave him a quick rundown on the events before answering Murphy’s question. “I’ll show
them to you, but damned if I have any ideas yet. Whoever is sending them has me baffled. All I can tell
you is that he’s a bloody good photographer and knows how to cover his tracks. Neither Kaleb nor
Sandra has managed to spot the bloke, so I’m guessing we’re dealing with someone with enough sense to
disguise himself.”
Murphy crossed his arms in thought. “Damn.”
When Donald crossed to the water fountain for a drink, Murphy asked in a low voice. “None of this is
related to Siobhán?”
“Not that I can tell. Buchanan’s done a thorough check, and no one seems to have traced her--assuming
they even know about her. If she was the target, I can’t imagine why someone would send pictures of
Laura--or me for that matter.”
The blonde man nodded. “I have to agree. I don’t think Siobhán’s the key here. Do you want me to
stick around next week?”
Remington paused. His first instinct insisted he agree to the offer, but his brother-in-law had a family and
his own business to run. “Thanks for the offer, Michaels. We’ll manage. If the stakes rise, I’ll take you
up on it.”
“Do. Laura’s getting too close for anyone to take chances.”
“Aye, don’t I know it.”
At that moment, the twins began wiggling out of their swings. Danny had his hands full trying to keep
one or both of them from falling on his head. Murphy and Remington rescued him while Donald looked
on in amusement.
With a practiced eye, the twins’ father gave them a two-minute warning.
Ian instantly began crying, and Aiden darted off to scale the slide once more with Danny in tow this
time. Murphy scooped the tired little boy into his arms. Ian crammed three fingers into his mouth and
rested his head on his dad’s broad shoulder.
Two more trips down the slide and Danny managed to entice Aiden away from the park. Remington
picked up the little boy to carry him to the car. Danny walked beside him, carrying the ball.
“Uncle Remington?”
He looked down, amused that Danny must have decided that he was too old to call him “Unca Remy” as
his sisters did.
“Why didn’t we meet Siobhán before this summer?”
He felt Murphy and Donald’s eyes on him, but he didn’t look up. “She lived in Ireland, mate. It’s a long
way from here.”
“But you guys travel all the time.”
“We went to Ireland a couple of years ago if you’ll remember.” Remington grasped at straws trying not
to lie to the boy.
“But you never told any of us about her,” Danny insisted.
At last, Remington passed Aiden to Donald. With his hands in his pockets, he faced the boy. “Danny,
there’s a great deal to Siobhán’s story. It’s not time for you to know it yet. She’s been through a great
deal this year. She’s safe and happy now; I’d like to keep it that way. You can be assured that Laura
and I love her and want to make her a home here. If I had been given the opportunity, I would have
taken her in at any time.”
The young teen frowned at him. “I don’t get it.”
“I know, mate. But you’re asking the right questions. I just can’t answer them yet. Give it a few years,
and I’ll be able to do that.”
Suspiciously, Danny nodded. “You promise?”
“I promise, Danny.” Remington didn't miss Donald's quick glance at Murphy, who returned a curt nod.
By that Remington knew that if he didn't make the proper explanations later to Donald, Murphy would
be filling in his brother-in-law for him.
The boy looked at his shoes and kicked a twig out of the way. “ ’kay.”
"Thanks, mate." With his arm around the lad, Remington and the rest of the men headed for Abigail’s
home. He wasn't looking forward to coming clean with Donald--but in the interest of family relations, it
had to be done.
Ian sagged on Donald’s shoulder, chattering happily at his brother, who did the same on Murphy’s arm.
As soon as the front door opened, the twins darted for Kate and swarmed over her. Ian instantly burst
into tears as he explained in toddlerese about his “boo” while pointing to his scuffed knee. Aiden sent up
sympathetic wails and climbed on top of Kate.
“What happened, Murphy?” she demanded as she hugged Aiden for a moment before setting him on his
feet and giving Ian’s knee a kiss.
“I don’t know, Kate. I swear; this is the first I knew he'd fallen on it.”
Kate gave Remington a hard look; he merely shrugged and pointed at Murphy. “I’m the back up. He
was in charge.”
Mournfully, Murphy watched Kate take the kids to the bathroom. Donald eased out of the room with
Danny, and Laura laughed from her chair in the living room where she was surrounded by a pile of
unopened gifts.
Murphy scowled at his brother-in-law as he came up with a cola from the refrigerator. “Thanks for
throwing me to the wolves, Steele. I’ll remember that in a couple of years.”
The girls had just finished decimating the better part of an Italian cream cake by the time the boys
arrived, and Mildred urged Laura to open her gifts. Two of them, the baby swing from her mom and the
stroller from Frances, already sat nearby--fully assembled. Remington ran a finger along the hard plastic
as he dropped a kiss in Laura’s hair and sat on the arm of her chair.
“Want to help?” she asked, handing him a blue-and-pink-wrapped gift.
“No. ’Tis for you to do.”
She just looked at him. Reluctantly, he reached for the present and began pulling ribbon from the
package.
“Thank God,” quipped Kate from her place on the floor where she had stationed herself to assist. “If we
waited for Laura to open everything, the baby would be born by the time she’s done.”
Laura made a dirty face at her sister and then a show of meticulously unwrapping the first gift. “I like
taking my time. The best things in life are worth the wait.”
“Yes, love, but you have a tendency to take it to the extreme,” Remington said under his breath.
“Oh, are you implying that you are one of those things?” Laura quipped sotto voce.
“If I’m less than the best, then I’d hate to see how long the perfect bloke would have had to wait.”
With a half-smile turning up the corner of her mouth, Laura leaned into his leg, and together the
expectant parents unwrapped the gifts. Infant clothes of all sizes, diapers, burp cloths and blankets that
complemented the circus motif of the nursery, along with a CD of lullabies and a baby monitor, piled
onto the table in front of them.
After the last gift had been passed around and admired, the guests packed up their belongings. Mildred
lingered long enough to help Frances and Abigail clean up the kitchen. Kate and Siobhán tackled the
wrapping paper while the three men carried the gifts out to the car.
Laura wondered what was taking them so long--she hadn't received that many presents.
“All this fuss for a baby,” complained Danny to his mom.
“Danny, it’s tradition. Plus, you guys need a lot of stuff when you’re little. Those of us who don’t have
babies anymore enjoy getting to shop for them again.”
The boy shrugged and shook his head. Kate tapped him lightly in the shoulder. “It’s a girl thing. Don’t
even try to understand.”
When the men finally returned from packing up the car, Laura didn't miss Donald's thoughtful expression
nor Remington's discomfort. Murphy whistled as he found Kate in the kitchen and gave her a smacking
kiss on the lips. But with all that occurred that day, Laura forgot to ask Remington about it later.
On Sunday, the Steeles waved goodbye as Fred escorted the Michaels family back to the airport.
Afterward, Laura carefully unpacked the new gifts, situating the baby swing in the nursery. Remington
played with the stroller while Siobhán stacked diapers into the cubby of the changing table.
“Leave some out for the baby bag,” Laura instructed Siobhán.
“Baby bag?” echoed Remington.
Laura held up a black-and-cream-colored tote. She placed diapers, a blanket, wipes and a burp cloth
inside. “What else should go in?”
Siobhán tilted her head. “Maybe a couple of outfits?”
“Sounds good.” Laura picked out two and stuffed them inside before handing the bag to Remington.
He held it by his fingertips. “What am I supposed to do with this?”
“Da, if you take the baby anywhere, you have to have the baby’s stuff. Even I know that,” Siobhán said
with a touch of sarcasm.
“But it looks like a purse.”
“Trust me, love,” said Laura, “with a baby in tow, I don’t think anyone will mistake it for a purse. Just
don’t forget and leave the baby behind somewhere, or you’ll get quite a few very odd looks.”
7 November 2009
Chapter Sixteen: The Setup
Wednesday, 24 November 1988 -- 34 weeks, 6 days
Fred delivered the Michaels family shortly before dinner. By some miracle, the twins had napped on the
plane and now skittered across the penthouse in delight. Siobhán led the pair into the new playroom to
discover the toys stocked there. Shrieks of delight echoed while Kate and Laura exchanged hugs and
smiles at the door.
Murphy eyeballed Laura’s belly as he dropped the luggage on the floor. “Good God, Laura, what have
you been eating?”
As the only man alive who could say that and still live, she laughed and quipped, “Remington’s
cooking.” She dropped a kiss on Murphy’s cheek in welcome.
Kate looked her up and down. “He must be a damned good cook.”
The man in question gave his sister-in-law a kiss on both cheeks before reaching around her to shake
hands with Murphy. “Naturally,” he remarked.
Murphy rose as well. “Are we still talking about your abilities in the kitchen?”
Remington glanced at Laura before placing his arm around her shoulders with a grin. “You can take that
however you would like, mate.”
In the evening while Kate and Laura bathed the twins, Remington directed Murphy out to the terrace to
fill him in on the mysterious photographs he’d received.
“Three sets and no other indications of a threat. I don’t like it, Steele.”
“Nor do I. But I have nothing else to go on.”
“How did Laura react?”
Remington humphed. “You know her as well as I do.”
“Ahh. Then I’ll assume you tread carefully around any sort of discussion about making sure she doesn’t
unnecessarily expose herself to danger.”
The dark-haired man gave him an equally dark look and didn’t say anything.
Murphy roared with laughter. “What’d you do, Steele? Oh wait, don’t tell me--” He shook his head as
he thought for a moment. “Oh hell, surely you didn’t try to keep her under lock and key.” Remington’s
expression stayed neutral as if he hadn’t heard his brother-in-law’s remark. Murphy grinned. “Damn,
Steele, I thought you were smarter than that.”
Very softly, Remington asked, “What would you have done?”
His distress must have come through to the other man because Murphy shifted to lean against the railing,
his expression growing serious. “Probably the same. But I’ll deny it if you tell on me. What are you
going to do now?” Murphy asked.
Remington didn’t miss the hard look in the other man’s eyes and discovered he was grateful for its
presence. He ran through the plan for the following week.
Murphy nodded in agreement. “It might work. It’s bold, ambitious--no offense to you--but it’s pure
Laura.”
“That it is, mate.”
“It might work. Think you can identify your stalker?”
Remington flashed a cunning grin. “I’ve got a little something to ensure it.”
But no matter how hard Murphy pressed, Remington only shook his head and changed the subject.
Thursday bore no little resemblance to chaos as the family gathered at the Piper residence for
Thanksgiving. Remington still had charge of the turkey, but Frances handled the rest of the trimmings.
No one walked away from the table less than absolutely stuffed.
The twins very nearly collapsed on the floor that afternoon from pure exhaustion, and they napped all
heaped together on either side of Laura. She’d nearly fallen asleep on the sofa before Remington gently
insisted she lay on the bed. Ian already slept as Kate laid him down next to his aunt, and Aiden snuggled
in without compunction.
Danny and Siobhán held a rematch of Super Mario 2 on the Nintendo in the living room. Despite
himself, Remington found himself engaged by the little figures and kept one eye on the screen as he
conversed with Abigail about Laura’s last visit with her obstetrician.
That evening the whole family watched as the Houston Oilers defeated the Dallas Cowboys, 25-17. A
weary crew headed back to the penthouse with a couple of overtired boys who whined all the way home.
Friday morning dawned. Laura found her sister covering a telephone book sitting on a dining room chair
with a dishtowel before setting Aiden on top and placing his breakfast in front of him.
“Good morning. Where’s Ian?” Laura asked.
Kate met her in a tight hug before answering, “He crawled in bed with us when Aiden came in. He went
back to sleep on Murphy.”
Laura smiled. “I’m getting impatient, Kate. I want this baby to get here.”
Her sister grinned. “The last few weeks seem to take twice as long as the other eight months.”
“Are you still coming when I go into labor?”
“I wouldn’t miss it for the world,” Kate assured her.
“Good. Rei’s going to be absolutely useless. He panics,” Laura told her matter-of-factly.
Kate snickered. “Remington? Somehow I can’t see that.”
“Believe me, your biggest job is going to be to nail his feet to the floor, or he’ll be in Tahiti by the time
this baby is born.”
“Good to know.”
Dinner that evening turned out to be messy, about thirty minutes late, and a great deal of fun. When the
twins showed signs of being overwhelmed by all the activity, Kate set them up for a short twenty minutes
with their favorite show about a large purple dinosaur while the finishing touches were put on dinner.
Friday morning, Siobhán and Kate disappeared early. Laura pretended not to notice but felt sure the pair
had gone with Frances to make last minute plans for the baby shower scheduled for the next day.
Murphy took the boys to the park just downstairs while Remington and Laura headed for her now-
weekly doctor’s appointment.
Dr. Berger admonished her to take it easy as her blood pressure showed signs of being elevated.
Remington made her stay on the sofa for the rest of the day.
On Saturday, both families trekked out to Abigail’s house where the baby shower had been set up.
Mildred and Sandra from the agency, along with Barbara and two other of Laura’s girlfriends from
college, joined Siobhán, the three sisters and their mom for the party. Mindy and Laurie Beth sat at
Laura’s feet and watched with wide-eyed delight.
Remington leaned against the arch of the kitchen, watching the scene unfold. The faint blush in Laura’s
cheeks told of her delight. He shot her a slight arched brow as Kate and Frances set up a silly game
involving clothespins. Her eyes swept down, and she flushed all the more from the attention.
Murphy tapped him on the shoulder. “Had enough estrogen?”
“Sure thing, mate.”
“Come on. We’ll take Danny and the twins to the park a couple of streets over. We’ll throw a football
around and let the kids burn off energy.”
Remington nodded absentmindedly, his eyes still on Laura. When she looked up, he winked at her
before turning to follow Murphy.
Remington, Murphy, Donald and Danny took turns rescuing almost-two-year olds from nearly
everything. First, the boys scampered straight for the little pond, getting their shoes muddy as they stood
on the edge and tried to fall in as they hunted for rocks and pointed at the pretty fish.
Then they climbed the playground fort meant for the older kids and shrieked in terror when they were
too high to climb down. Remington skimmed up the side and handed them down one by one to
Murphy. As their dad set them gently on the ground, each one promptly shot off to the enormous slide
in the middle of the park. At the top of the ladder, Ian refused to slide down, so Aiden crawled over him
and went down head first. Of course, Ian thought that was hysterical and flew down after him in the
same way.
Danny had to climb inside the maze of tunnels and pull one of them out when he got lost in the twists
and turns.
Three times the men tried to continue the conversation about the investigation, but keeping an eye on the
boys proved to be a bigger challenge than Remington imagined.
“Bloody hell, mate. Don’t they make parks that are safe for children?”
Donald snorted in amusement, and Murphy replied, “This is a safe park. For girls maybe. Or a shy
boy. Or somebody’s lame perception of what children should be doing.” Murphy scanned the play
area. “Where’s Aiden?”
“There.” Remington pointed to a pair of red sneakers poking out from behind an enormous tic-tac-toe
board making up a wall of the fort. “Maybe we should rethink going to the beach next summer.”
Murphy shot up eyebrows. “I’m not taking them. They’ll be shark bait before I have a chance to set
down the cooler. Don’t know why Kate thinks we should have a bigger family.”
Danny shook free of the little guys and tossed his football straight in the air in a poorly-disguised hint.
His dad held out his hands, but his son shook his head, wanting to pass the ball to Murphy.
Donald grinned and waved a thumb in Danny’s direction. “Thinking about adding on?”
Murphy blew out a breath and held out his hands to catch the ball his nephew launched with a decent
accuracy. “Kate wants one more. I’m not sure I’m going to survive these two. What if we get twins
again?”
“How close is she to talking you into it?” Remington asked.
Murphy shook his head and winged the ball to Danny. “I thought I had drawn the line, but seeing Laura
pregnant is pretty damned surreal, Steele. I think I get why you always stared at Katy when she carried
the twins.”
Remington reached over and bopped him on the back of the head. “Stop looking at my wife, mate.”
“Aw, crap. Yeah, I deserve that. She’s really lovely though.” Murphy stuffed his hands into his
pockets as Remington fielded Danny’s throw this time. “I didn’t think Laura would find someone she’d
want kids with. I sure as hell didn’t expect it to be you.”
“What did you think?” Remington set his fingers on the laces and threw the ball in a fair spiral. He
frowned after it as it wobbled a bit too much.
Donald listened avidly to the exchange as he kept an eye on his nephews.
“I figured if you two did hook up, it would always be just the two of you. You know … being the
internationally famous Steeles. Didn’t think you were the type to want to settle down and have kids.”
Remington found a toothpick in his pocket and set it in his mouth to nibble on it. “I didn’t.”
Both of his brothers looked up in surprise, then Murphy sidestepped to catch the ball again.
With a Gallic shrug to a shoulder, Remington gave a rare explanation. “When I look at Laura, I want the
whole package--wife, home, kids. Maybe not the house in the suburbs.” He gave them a toothy grin as
Murphy fired another pass to Danny. “But all the rest, aye. I want it just as a drunken sailor wants his
next pint.”
The twins scampered to them, babbling about the swings on the far side of the park. Donald scooped up
Ian and settled him about his shoulders for a quick ride. Remington copied him, only to discover that a
firm hold on Aiden’s ankles was necessary--both to keep the little tyke in place and to stop the heels of
the tiny sneakers from kicking his chest mercilessly.
Murphy and Danny threw passes back and forth as they walked.
“Kid’s got a good arm, Donald. Don’t let that go to waste.”
“Why do you think he wants to throw with you whenever you come?”
Remington didn’t miss the admiring glances from a pair of moms chatting on the bench but ignored them
as he settled Aiden into the toddler swing near his twin.
“ ’wing! ’wing!” yelled Ian. Aiden only grinned maniacally when Danny stationed himself between the
twins to push both of them.
With the boys content for the moment, Remington squinted in the late November sun and reached for his
sunglasses. Murphy copied him.
“So, tell me more about these photographs.”
“What photographs?” demanded Donald.
Remington gave him a quick rundown on the events before answering Murphy’s question. “I’ll show
them to you, but damned if I have any ideas yet. Whoever is sending them has me baffled. All I can tell
you is that he’s a bloody good photographer and knows how to cover his tracks. Neither Kaleb nor
Sandra has managed to spot the bloke, so I’m guessing we’re dealing with someone with enough sense to
disguise himself.”
Murphy crossed his arms in thought. “Damn.”
When Donald crossed to the water fountain for a drink, Murphy asked in a low voice. “None of this is
related to Siobhán?”
“Not that I can tell. Buchanan’s done a thorough check, and no one seems to have traced her--assuming
they even know about her. If she was the target, I can’t imagine why someone would send pictures of
Laura--or me for that matter.”
The blonde man nodded. “I have to agree. I don’t think Siobhán’s the key here. Do you want me to
stick around next week?”
Remington paused. His first instinct insisted he agree to the offer, but his brother-in-law had a family and
his own business to run. “Thanks for the offer, Michaels. We’ll manage. If the stakes rise, I’ll take you
up on it.”
“Do. Laura’s getting too close for anyone to take chances.”
“Aye, don’t I know it.”
At that moment, the twins began wiggling out of their swings. Danny had his hands full trying to keep
one or both of them from falling on his head. Murphy and Remington rescued him while Donald looked
on in amusement.
With a practiced eye, the twins’ father gave them a two-minute warning.
Ian instantly began crying, and Aiden darted off to scale the slide once more with Danny in tow this
time. Murphy scooped the tired little boy into his arms. Ian crammed three fingers into his mouth and
rested his head on his dad’s broad shoulder.
Two more trips down the slide and Danny managed to entice Aiden away from the park. Remington
picked up the little boy to carry him to the car. Danny walked beside him, carrying the ball.
“Uncle Remington?”
He looked down, amused that Danny must have decided that he was too old to call him “Unca Remy” as
his sisters did.
“Why didn’t we meet Siobhán before this summer?”
He felt Murphy and Donald’s eyes on him, but he didn’t look up. “She lived in Ireland, mate. It’s a long
way from here.”
“But you guys travel all the time.”
“We went to Ireland a couple of years ago if you’ll remember.” Remington grasped at straws trying not
to lie to the boy.
“But you never told any of us about her,” Danny insisted.
At last, Remington passed Aiden to Donald. With his hands in his pockets, he faced the boy. “Danny,
there’s a great deal to Siobhán’s story. It’s not time for you to know it yet. She’s been through a great
deal this year. She’s safe and happy now; I’d like to keep it that way. You can be assured that Laura
and I love her and want to make her a home here. If I had been given the opportunity, I would have
taken her in at any time.”
The young teen frowned at him. “I don’t get it.”
“I know, mate. But you’re asking the right questions. I just can’t answer them yet. Give it a few years,
and I’ll be able to do that.”
Suspiciously, Danny nodded. “You promise?”
“I promise, Danny.” Remington didn't miss Donald's quick glance at Murphy, who returned a curt nod.
By that Remington knew that if he didn't make the proper explanations later to Donald, Murphy would
be filling in his brother-in-law for him.
The boy looked at his shoes and kicked a twig out of the way. “ ’kay.”
"Thanks, mate." With his arm around the lad, Remington and the rest of the men headed for Abigail’s
home. He wasn't looking forward to coming clean with Donald--but in the interest of family relations, it
had to be done.
Ian sagged on Donald’s shoulder, chattering happily at his brother, who did the same on Murphy’s arm.
As soon as the front door opened, the twins darted for Kate and swarmed over her. Ian instantly burst
into tears as he explained in toddlerese about his “boo” while pointing to his scuffed knee. Aiden sent up
sympathetic wails and climbed on top of Kate.
“What happened, Murphy?” she demanded as she hugged Aiden for a moment before setting him on his
feet and giving Ian’s knee a kiss.
“I don’t know, Kate. I swear; this is the first I knew he'd fallen on it.”
Kate gave Remington a hard look; he merely shrugged and pointed at Murphy. “I’m the back up. He
was in charge.”
Mournfully, Murphy watched Kate take the kids to the bathroom. Donald eased out of the room with
Danny, and Laura laughed from her chair in the living room where she was surrounded by a pile of
unopened gifts.
Murphy scowled at his brother-in-law as he came up with a cola from the refrigerator. “Thanks for
throwing me to the wolves, Steele. I’ll remember that in a couple of years.”
The girls had just finished decimating the better part of an Italian cream cake by the time the boys
arrived, and Mildred urged Laura to open her gifts. Two of them, the baby swing from her mom and the
stroller from Frances, already sat nearby--fully assembled. Remington ran a finger along the hard plastic
as he dropped a kiss in Laura’s hair and sat on the arm of her chair.
“Want to help?” she asked, handing him a blue-and-pink-wrapped gift.
“No. ’Tis for you to do.”
She just looked at him. Reluctantly, he reached for the present and began pulling ribbon from the
package.
“Thank God,” quipped Kate from her place on the floor where she had stationed herself to assist. “If we
waited for Laura to open everything, the baby would be born by the time she’s done.”
Laura made a dirty face at her sister and then a show of meticulously unwrapping the first gift. “I like
taking my time. The best things in life are worth the wait.”
“Yes, love, but you have a tendency to take it to the extreme,” Remington said under his breath.
“Oh, are you implying that you are one of those things?” Laura quipped sotto voce.
“If I’m less than the best, then I’d hate to see how long the perfect bloke would have had to wait.”
With a half-smile turning up the corner of her mouth, Laura leaned into his leg, and together the
expectant parents unwrapped the gifts. Infant clothes of all sizes, diapers, burp cloths and blankets that
complemented the circus motif of the nursery, along with a CD of lullabies and a baby monitor, piled
onto the table in front of them.
After the last gift had been passed around and admired, the guests packed up their belongings. Mildred
lingered long enough to help Frances and Abigail clean up the kitchen. Kate and Siobhán tackled the
wrapping paper while the three men carried the gifts out to the car.
Laura wondered what was taking them so long--she hadn't received that many presents.
“All this fuss for a baby,” complained Danny to his mom.
“Danny, it’s tradition. Plus, you guys need a lot of stuff when you’re little. Those of us who don’t have
babies anymore enjoy getting to shop for them again.”
The boy shrugged and shook his head. Kate tapped him lightly in the shoulder. “It’s a girl thing. Don’t
even try to understand.”
When the men finally returned from packing up the car, Laura didn't miss Donald's thoughtful expression
nor Remington's discomfort. Murphy whistled as he found Kate in the kitchen and gave her a smacking
kiss on the lips. But with all that occurred that day, Laura forgot to ask Remington about it later.
On Sunday, the Steeles waved goodbye as Fred escorted the Michaels family back to the airport.
Afterward, Laura carefully unpacked the new gifts, situating the baby swing in the nursery. Remington
played with the stroller while Siobhán stacked diapers into the cubby of the changing table.
“Leave some out for the baby bag,” Laura instructed Siobhán.
“Baby bag?” echoed Remington.
Laura held up a black-and-cream-colored tote. She placed diapers, a blanket, wipes and a burp cloth
inside. “What else should go in?”
Siobhán tilted her head. “Maybe a couple of outfits?”
“Sounds good.” Laura picked out two and stuffed them inside before handing the bag to Remington.
He held it by his fingertips. “What am I supposed to do with this?”
“Da, if you take the baby anywhere, you have to have the baby’s stuff. Even I know that,” Siobhán said
with a touch of sarcasm.
“But it looks like a purse.”
“Trust me, love,” said Laura, “with a baby in tow, I don’t think anyone will mistake it for a purse. Just
don’t forget and leave the baby behind somewhere, or you’ll get quite a few very odd looks.”
7 November 2009
Chapter Sixteen: The Setup