“Rot my teeth, I know.” She’d told him often enough as a kid. But she loved him enough to indulge him anyway. “You do realize I haven’t lost one yet?”
“Yet being the operative word. A single man needs all his teeth, Roman. No woman finds it attractive to wake up in the middle of the night and discover you soaking your dentures on the nightstand.”
He rolled his eyes. “Good thing I’m a respectful man and don’t let women spend the night.” Let his mother chew on that, Roman thought wryly.
“Respect has nothing to do with it,” she muttered.
As usual, his mother had a point. Women didn’t stay overnight because he wasn’t currently involved and hadn’t been in a while, and because women who spent the night took it for granted they could spend another one. And another. The next thing a man knew, he was in a relationship—which Roman supposed wouldn’t be a bad thing, if he could find a woman who interested him for more than a couple of weeks. Chase and Rick felt the same way. At this point, Roman figured the Chandler brothers’ hearts were stamped NO TRESPASSING. Any intelligent woman read the fine print before getting involved in any way.
“You’re too smart for your own good, Mom.” As he rose from his seat, he realized Raina was completely dressed for the day. She wore navy blue slacks, a white blouse with the pin with three baseball bats, a diamond in each, clipped into the center—a gift from his father after Chase’s birth, and added to with each son she’d delivered. Other than her slight pallor, she looked great. The way his mother always looked, he thought with pride. “Going somewhere?” he asked.
She nodded. “To the hospital to read to the children.”
He opened his mouth to speak, but she cut him off.
“And before you argue with me like Chase and Rick tried to do, let me tell you something. I’ve been in bed since late Friday when your brothers brought me home. It’s a beautiful morning. Even the doctor said fresh air would do me good as long as I take it easy.”
“Ma—”
“I’m not finished.”
She waved a hand in front of his nose and he lowered himself back into his chair, knowing better than to attempt to get a word in edgewise.
“I always read to the children on Monday and Friday. Jean Parker has chemotherapy treatments on those days and she looks forward to hearing Curious George Goes to the Hospital.”
Bless his mother for caring, he thought. Even ill, she put others first. She’d always had more than enough room in her heart for any kid who’d walked into their home.
As if she’d read his mind, she placed her hand over that heart and rubbed gently. “And besides, there’s nothing like children to make a heart feel decades younger.”
He rolled his eyes. “More rest will do the same thing, so after you read, I expect you home and in bed.” No way would he touch the dig regarding kids. Not when he was about to embark upon a hunt to find a mother for his. “Are you finished with the monologue?” he asked politely.
She nodded.
“I wasn’t going to argue. I just wanted to know if I could make you breakfast. I wouldn’t want you to wear yourself out before you start your volunteer work.”
A smile worked its way onto her face. Her skin held a glow most women would envy and the lines weren’t deep. Still, fear of losing her suddenly washed over him. He stood again and held out his arms. “I love you, Mom. And don’t you ever scare me like that again.”
She rose and hugged him in return, her arms and her grip strong and sure. This was his mother, the woman who had raised him, and though they touched base only once in a while because of his schedule, he adored her. He couldn’t imagine life without her in it. “I want you around for a long, long time.”
She sniffed. “Me too.”
“Don’t wipe your nose on my shirt.” Female tears made him uncomfortable and he wanted her perky and strong again. “The doctor said you’ll be fine as long as you take care of yourself, right? No stress, no overdoing it?”
She nodded.
“I suppose reading couldn’t hurt. Can I drive you into town?”
“Chase is picking me up.”
“How are you getting home?”
“Eric is dropping me off after lunch.”
“How is Dr. Fallon?” Roman asked.
“Fine. Looking out for me just like you boys.” She stepped backward, dabbed her eyes with a napkin she’d swiped off the table, and though she didn’t meet his gaze, she was his composed mother again.
“How about a bagel and a cup of decaffeinated tea?” Roman asked.
“Don’t spoil me. I’ll be lost when you’re gone.”
He grinned. “Somehow I doubt that. You’re the strongest woman I know.”
Raina laughed. “And don’t you forget it.”
An hour later, Roman slipped out of the house for a walk to town, grateful his mother’s breakfast discussion had included only town gossip and no more baby talk. He knew what he had to do and neither needed nor wanted a reminder.
The job ahead wouldn’t be a simple one. The women of this town were raised to be wives and mothers—working or stay-at-home, it didn’t matter. It was the wife part that made Roman nervous, and had him wondering how the hell he’d find someone willing to accept his untraditional needs. He needed an untraditional woman who’d accept his absences and wondered if that person could be found in Yorkshire Falls.
There was always the possibility of choosing a more cosmopolitan woman, one who understood Roman’s needs better. He’d have to check his phone’s address book when he got home, but a few women he’d met in his travels and knew more intimately in the past came to mind. There was Cynthia Hartwick, an English heiress, but Roman immediately shook his head. She’d hire nannies to care for her children, and Roman wanted any kid of his to know a loving motherly upbringing.
He’d always liked Yvette Gauthier, a pretty redhead with a bubbly personality and the ability to make a man feel like a god. Then, just as he recalled how that same personality trait had nearly smothered him, he also remembered she’d become a flight attendant, which meant she wouldn’t be around if his kid fell and got hurt or needed help with homework. Raina had always been home for her boys. Though Roman didn’t mind if his wife worked, a long-distance job for both parents was out of the question.
His mother wouldn’t approve of either woman. It made him laugh thinking of Raina’s reaction to the cool Englishwoman or the sultry French tigress. His mother was the crux of this situation—she wanted grandchildren, so the woman would have to live or be willing to settle in Yorkshire Falls.
So much for the women he’d met along the way, Roman thought wryly. He felt somewhat relieved. He couldn’t imagine marrying any of them anyway.
The glare of the sun beat down on his aching head. He definitely wasn’t in the mood for people yet. Not until he’d had some caffeine, but as he approached town, his solitude was interrupted. A high-pitched voice called to him and he turned to see Pearl Robinson, an older woman he’d known forever, rushing toward him dressed in her housecoat and her hair in the same gray bun she’d always favored.
“Roman Chandler! Shame on your mother for not telling me you were in town. Then again, she’s got more on her mind than gossip. How is she feeling? I baked a tray of brownies to bring over this afternoon. Is she up for company?”