“That's horrible," she said.

“Agreed. She'd been raised in a strict home. She didn't know much about men or the world. She tried to get in touch with Earl, but couldn't find him. Her parents made things pretty ugly for her. She gave birth to twins and when she turned eighteen a couple of months later, they threw her out." Stephanie sucked in a breath. "Just like that?"

“Yeah. By then Earl was back in town for his yearly convention. She went looking for him and found him in the arms of another woman. He told my mom that he didn't care about her, and never had. As for his kids, they were her problem." He'd been an infant at the time and remembered nothing of what had happened. Yet just thinking about what that bastard had done filled him with fury.

“She ran down to the hotel lobby, crying her heart out," Nash continued. "The woman he'd been with realized she'd made a mistake with Earl, aswell. Edie Reynolds took her home to Possum Landing and gave all of us a place to stay while my mom got a job and saved money for an apartment. My brother and I grew up there. It turns out that Edie's two sons were also fathered by Earl Haynes, so Gage is in town, as well, and Quinn, his brother, should be arriving shortly." Stephanie shook her head. "I never could follow soap-opera plot lines, and this is a whole lot more complicated. After moving to Glenwood, I heard a lot about Earl Haynes and his brothers. They were known as local lady-killers. I'd always assumed the talk was just a bunch of rumors, but I guess it was true. What's so interesting is that his sons are terrific men. I guess they used to be pretty wild, but all of them have settled down. You heard about the wives and kids. Brett is in class with one of their boys. I think the twins know a couple of their daughters. There are so many, it's hard to keep them straight. But they're all good kids."

“They have some crazy notion that Haynes men have boys when they're not in love with the women they're getting pregnant and that they only have girls when they are." She laughed. "Oh, please. That's so not possible."

“Apparently there are plenty of girls to prove the theory. Neither Kevin nor I have kids to put it to the test.''

“I've never heard of such a thing. Of course if it's true, you're going to have to be prepared not to have any boys." Her expression turned wistful. "I really love my sons, but I wouldn't have minded a little girl. Sometimes I miss things like hair ribbons and dresses."

“It could still happen." She grinned. "Do you see a star parked over my house? There's no way I would ever get married again, so the odds of another child seem slim." He felt her words down to his gut. Right up until that moment, he'd been enjoying their conversation, but now he only wanted to walk away. He started sanding again. Slow down, he told himself. Stephanie's reluctance to marry again didn't matter to him. Not one bit.

“You must have loved him very much," he said into the silence.

“What? Who?"

“Your husband. You don't want to marry again because you loved him so much." She blinked several times, then attacked the baseboards. She used the sandpaper like a scrub brush, then abruptly straightened.

“Look," she said. "There are a lot of reasons I don't want to get married again, but none of them are because I loved Marty too much. I know that sounds horrible, but it's the truth." Nash didn't know what to do with the information, nor did he want to understand why the knot in his gut suddenly went away.

There was a moment of awkward silence, then they both spoke at once.

“Go ahead," he told her.

Stephanie started sanding again, this time with a little less energy. "Fertility-gender legend or not, you're going to be an uncle several times over. Brace yourself for the onslaught." He hadn't thought of that. "No wonder the dinner tonight is at a pizza place," he said.

She laughed. "You sound as excited as if you were facing a root canal without anesthetic. Are all the family members expected to be there?"

“Pretty much. Earl is hanging out in Florida with wife number six or seven. He wasn't invited. But all the brothers, kids, half sister and spouses will be there."

“Sounds like fun." Maybe to her. Kevin was engaged, as was Gage. Quinn, the only other single guy in the extended family, had yet to show up. Which meant Nash would be odd man out.

He'd spent his life like that, he reminded himself. It was how he preferred things. But that didn't mean it was going to be comfortable.

“Want to come with me?" he asked. The invitation was impulsive, but he didn't withdraw it. "You said the boys know a lot of the Haynes kids. They'd have a good time. You could check out the girls and see if the legend is true." Stephanie dropped her piece of sandpaper and wiped her hands on her jeans, all the while considering the invitation. She didn't object to spending some quality time with the featured player in her erotic fantasies, even if she wasn't sure why Nash would want her and the boys along.

“Won't it just be family?" she asked.

“Too much family. You could protect me." He spoke lightly, but she thought she saw something dark and lonely in his eyes.

Get a grip, she told herself. She had to stop reading things into Nash's expression that just weren't there. The man wasn't lonely. He was fine. Most people were fine. The thought of her protecting him was laughable.

“I'll let you have the biggest piece of pizza," he promised.

She had to admit that she was curious about the Haynes family. And a pizza dinner out would thrill the boys. Then there was the issue of being in the same room as Nash-a way she was starting to enjoy spending her time.

She looked at his dark eyes and the way his mouth curved in a half smile. Maybe if she said yes he would accidentally brush his hand against hers. Maybe they would sit close enough together that she could imagine what it would be like to be in bed and all tangled up with him. Not that she needed much help in that department. He was already the star of her intricately detailed daydreams.

What did she have to lose?

“We'd love to join you," she said. "What time do you want us to be ready?" This was not a date, Stephanie told herself that evening as she pulled off her red sweater and grabbed one in teal. It was an evening out at a pizza parlor, so there was no reason for her to sweat what she was wearing. Really.

She pulled on the teal sweater and studied her reflection. The color made her eyes look bluer, but the thicker cable knit made her look as though she didn't have breasts. Complicating the decision of what to wear was the thundering herd of elephants in her stomach and the faint tremor in her fingers.

The latter had caused her to nearly put her eye out while applying mascara.

A knock on the door was followed by Brett calling, "Mom?" She gave her reflection one last glance and figured this was as good as it was going to get. She fingered her short hair, briefly wished (for the thousandth time in her life) to be tall, then told her oldest to come in.

He pushed open the door and stepped into her room.

“What's up?" she asked as she crossed to the dresser and studied her small earring collection. There were simple gold hoops, a pair of dangling enameled flowers in light pinks and reds and several inexpensive pairs she'd bought on sale. She picked up the gold hoops.

“Why are we going out?" Brett asked.

She glanced up into the mirror and studied her son's reflection. He stood beside her four-poster bed, both arms wrapped around a post, as he swung back and forth. His shoulders were slumped and his expression was solemn.

“Whoa-you're upset because we're going out for pizza?" she said as she fastened the first earring. "Are you feeling okay?" He gave her a half-hearted smile. "The pizza part is fine."

“What about hanging out with your friends and playing video games? Is that what has you bummed?" The smile broadened. "No."

“Hmm, I don't think it's because we're letting your brothers come along. I know we talked about locking them in the closet when you and I want to leave, but I think it would hurt their feelings. The minivan doesn't have a trunk, so we can't leave them there."

“Mo-om, I don't want to lock Jason or Adam in a closet."

“Good to know." She finished with the second earring and turned to face him. "That only leaves Nash as the problem." Brett dropped his gaze and stared at her bedspread. While she would admit that the floral print was very pretty, she didn't think it deserved to be studied with that much intensity.

She walked over to Brett and put her hand on his back. "He's a nice guy. What can I say? He invited us to join him tonight. He's just found out he's related to the Haynes brothers. You know how many of them there are. Plus their wives and their kids." She lowered her voice. "Nash didn't exactly admit this, but I think he wanted us along because he's a little nervous. I think he wants us to be a noisy distraction. That's it.'' Brett looked at her. The concern had faded from his eyes. "Yeah?"

“Yeah." He smiled again. "We're really good at being noisy." She brushed the hair from his forehead. "I would say you and your brothers are experts." Nash held open the door to the large pizza restaurant. When Stephanie and the kids had entered, he walked in and saw the small desk up front. Thehostess there gave him a big smile. "How many?" she asked.

“We're part of the Haynes party," he said.

“Okay. Through to the back. There are two double doors. You can't miss it. Just follow the noise." The twins raced ahead with Brett trailing behind them. Nash put his hand on the small of Stephanie's back and urged her forward. As they got closer to the room, the sound of conversation spilled into the main restaurant.

Stephanie leaned close. "Sounds like little more than controlled chaos," she said.

He looked at the dozens of people milling around in the huge room. "I think controlled is stretching it." They stepped inside where they were greeted by Travis and Kyle. He introduced Stephanie and her kids, then met several wives, two more brothers and three kids.

“This is never going to work," a pretty woman with light brown hair said. "It's only been ten minutes and your eyes are already glazed." She reached into her purse and pulled out a plastic package. "I thought this might happen so I brought name tags." A petite redhead handed over a box of her own. "Great minds, Elizabeth," she said. "I brought them, too." The redhead turned to Nash. "I'm Jill, Craig's wife. Craig's the oldest of the brothers." She glanced around the room, then pointed to a tall, dark-haired man with gray at his temples. "Craig's easy to keep track of. He's the best-looking of the brothers."

“He is not," Elizabeth said, then laughed. "I guess we all have our favorites."

“Fortunately that is usually the guy we're married to. Anything else would make these gatherings awkward." Jill looked at Nash, then at Stephanie. "Are we terrifying you? I guess this is really strange. We're such a close-knit family that we don't even think about it, but I remember when I had to meet everyone. It was a little intimidating." She frowned slightly. "Actually it was a lot easier for me back then. Only Travis, Kyle and Austin were married. There weren't as many kids. Did you know that Austin isn't officially a Haynes? It's more of a family member by adoption." Nash shook his head. "You can't start adding more people," he said. "Not without written permission." As he spoke he spotted his brother, Kevin, across the room. Haley was next to him, staring at him with a look of love and devotion that made Nash feel he'd accidentally witnessed something personal. He turned away.

“Listen up everybody," Elizabeth said loudly.

A boy of about fourteen stuck two fingers in his mouth and gave a sharp whistle. The room went quiet.

“We have name tags," she continued, waving the box over her head.

“And pens," Jill added.

“Right. Everyone come get a name tag. If you're an adult, put your name first, then a dash and your spouse's name. If you're a child, put your name on top and your parents' names underneath. If you'retoo young to write, come see me or Jill. Any questions?"

“Is there going to be a quiz?" Travis asked. "You bet. And if you fail, you are in big trouble, mister. Don't be messing with me." Travis looked pleased at the prospect.

“After you've filled out your name tag," Elizabeth continued, "take a seat at one of the tables. We want to save the big one at the far end for the adults. You kids can sit at the other tables with your friends." Jill handed out name tags while Elizabeth passed around several pens. Nash saw Adam and Jason race over to stand with their mother. She talked them through filling out their tags. He waited until they had finished, then wrote his own name. It was only when he glanced around the room that he realized every other tag had either a spouse's name on it or parents' names. Kevin and Haley had put each other's names with theirs on the name tags, as had Gage and Kari.