Anna looked so sincere.

So willing to fight for him to believe in them, just as she always seemed so willing to fight for Colm.

Liam suddenly wanted to lean over the coffee table to close the distance between them…and kiss her. The urge caught him totally unaware. It wasn’t that he hadn’t noticed that Anna was attractive. That smile and laugh—he couldn’t shake them. A guy would have to be dead not to appreciate either feature. And he’d quickly begun to admire that she was good at her job—good with his brother.

But wanting to kiss her?

No. The temptation was a surprise, but not one he could indulge in. Instead, he reached out and simply placed his hand on top of hers.

Maybe…

About the Author

In 2000, HOLLY JACOBS sold her first book. She’s since sold more than twenty-five novels. Her romances have won numerous awards and made the Waldenbooks bestseller list. In 2005, Holly won a prestigious Career Achievement Award from RT Book Reviews. In her non-writing life Holly is married to a police captain, and together they have four children. Visit Holly at www. hollyjacobs.com, or you can snail-mail her at PO Box 11102, Erie, PA 16514-1102, USA.

A One-Of-A-Kind
Family
Holly Jacobs

www.millsandboon.co.uk

This one is for everyone at

Harlequin’s Distribution Center.

Thanks for letting me spend the day.

I’m already planning on coming back

on a Friday next time!

CHAPTER ONE

“WE GOT the house,” Anna Chapel practically sang as she burst into The Sunrise Foundation’s small reception area. The first thing that caught her eye was the big sign that boldly and proudly announced: Sunrise Foundation, Helping Exceptional People Lead Exceptional Lives.

Today’s news was certainly going to go a long way toward helping a small group of Whedon, Pennsylvania’s exceptional people lead more independent, and certainly exceptional, lives.

“It’s ours,” she sang out again. “We got it.”

Anna was so excited she couldn’t contain the feeling any longer and wiggled her hips. There were some things in life that Anna felt she was blessed with, but there were others she knew she was not. Rhythm and her hair were two of the “were-not” areas. She wiggled her hips again and felt a few more of her Medusa curls escape her ponytail, but she was simply too happy to mind.

“Was that a dance?” her friend Deanne Cellino, Ceelie as she was known, laughed. “Because if it was…” She shook her head and her long blond hair swished back and forth along her shoulders—shoulders that were so much higher than Anna’s five-foot five-inch frame. Anna always thought of Ceelie as a bit Amazonian—she looked like a warrior, but had the heart of an earth mother. She always got warm and fuzzy over the small things.

“Hey, that was a Snoopy Dance of Joy, my friend. And you’re not going to dim my absolute glee by pointing out that I have no sense of rhythm. If there was such a thing as an anti-rhythm, I realize that’s what I’d have. But when one is dancing a Snoopy Dance, all you need is joy and I’ve got that. Come on.”

She grabbed Ceelie’s hands and Snoopy-danced again. Ceelie was laughing so hard that all she did was stand there, but she finally got herself under control and did a bit of a jig as well.

“You are absolutely crazy, girl,” Ceelie assured Anna with a friend’s affection.

“I might be, but you’re talking to a crazy person who got the house. It’s so perfect, Ceelie. Three bedrooms, two full baths. A ranch, so with the addition of a ramp, it’s handicap-accessible and it’s—”

“Perfect,” Ceelie filled in for her.

Anna sighed, still riding the glow of her success. “Yes, perfect for our clients. It will make a great group home.”

All her joyful dancing had drained off enough of her excess energy that Anna could sit down. She plopped onto the small loveseat in the reception area. “Now, the work begins. We need to get our variance from the zoning board, then start the renovations and…” Her sentence faded as she started mulling over the long list of jobs that lay ahead of her.

“Listen, enjoy the moment. Don’t worry too much about what’s coming up and what’s behind you. Live in the now.”

“Deanne Cellino, ladies and gentlemen,” Anna said to a nonexistent audience, “mystic, sage, warrior princess and all-around advisor to the world.”

Ceelie blew a raspberry in her direction. “You know I’m right.”

“Yes, I do.” Anna studied her friend. Ceelie liked to say she was vertically challenged, but her abundance of height was needed to contain her giant spirit. Ceelie was one of those people who always seemed to have things together. She balanced a demanding job and parenting two children with apparent ease.

Anna and Ceelie made up the entire staff of The Sunrise Foundation. Anna and Ceelie served as life coaches. Ceelie had come up with the job title and Anna always thought it was an apt description for a job that varied based on each client’s highly individual medical and emotional needs.

Ceelie’s smile faded a bit. “And not that I’m anxious to bring down your happy mood, but your mother called.”

“Oh.” Anna forced a smile she didn’t feel. Her mother calling during a work day never boded well. “Did she say what she wants?”

“She wants you to call her back as soon as possible. She said she tried your cell, but it went to voice mail.”

“I turned it off at my meeting with the real-estate agent, haven’t turned it back on yet.” She reached in her bag, pulled out the phone and switched it on, then scrolled through the missed calls—four from her mother. No, this did not bode well.

“You should probably give her a call. You have an appointment in half an hour with that new case.” Ceelie somehow honed in on the correct file that was midway through a huge stack and handed it to her. “A thirty-year-old who’s been in his brother’s custody for two years since their parents died in a car accident.”

Anna looked at the file labeled Colm Franklin. She opened it and found that other than an initial fact sheet, it was empty. Normally clients came to Sunrise with all kinds of documentation from other programs. “No notes?”

“None. He was in special-ed classes back in high school. Long before Whedon practiced mainstreaming. Once he finished school, he stayed home with his mother.”

“Oh. Do we have anything from the school?”

“It’s so long ago at this point that it’s not really worth much—that would be my thought. Though you can call and see what the school has.”

“Even if I find something, I’m basically starting from scratch, right?” She shut the folder.

“Yes, that’s about the gist of it.”

“Any insights on the brother?” Family members called Sunrise for a variety of reasons. It helped to know what they wanted from the program.

The Sunrise Foundation was a small non-profit organization that survived on a shoe-string budget with grants from both government and charitable foundations. The money for the new group home came from a huge grant last year. Ceelie had become a grant-writing pro, but there was never quite enough money to accomplish everything they’d like to do. And at Sunrise, everything was pretty much anything. From helping clients find housing, to teaching them to handle money, to helping some learn basic life-skills. Anna had taught clients to cook, to use a cell phone and even to tie their shoes. They’d helped place clients in jobs, and…Basically they facilitated whatever a particular client needed to improve their quality of life.

Anna’s job description changed on a daily basis for each of her fifteen clients. And the amount of time she worked with each client changed as well. Some needed more intense interaction, some just minimal support.

“Liam Franklin, the brother, is self-employed. Something to do with computers and security.” Ceelie shrugged. “You know me and technology.”

Anna did know. Ceelie could manage a word processor or spreadsheet on the computer, but other than that, she did nothing more complex than e-mail.

“Liam works out of his home office most of the time, but he has to travel for business and is looking for a babysitter for Colm when he does. He got a referral from his doctor, and assured me in no uncertain terms that he wanted nothing more than that. Just a babysitter.”

Anna ran her fingers through her wildly springy hair. For years she’d tried products, haircuts, flat irons…. Finally, she’d reached the ripe old age of twenty-eight and admitted that she didn’t have the time. She was going to embrace her outer Medusa and let her hair live the life it was destined to lead. After all, that was her job too: helping people lead the best lives they were capable of. She looked at the Sunrise motto again. Helping Exceptional People Lead Exceptional Lives.

It was such a simple concept, and so succinct. Too bad some families never understood it.

She wondered what kind of person Colm’s brother—who simply wanted a babysitter—was. Maybe this new client was so severely limited that he needed that kind of care, but maybe he could do more…That sense of the possible, the idea of helping someone discover they could accomplish more than they ever imagined—that’s what kept Anna doing what she did.

“Just a babysitter,” she murmured, more to herself than to Ceelie.

“You can handle it,” Ceelie, a Pollyanna in disguise, said.

Anna nodded. “Sure. I’ll do what’s best for…” She glanced at the file. “Colm. Colm Franklin. After I call my mother back.”

“Colm doesn’t know how lucky he is,” Ceelie assured her.

Anna hoped lucky was the word Colm and his brother would someday use to describe their first meeting at Sunrise.

She got up and headed for her private office to call her mother. Although, she was already sure that there was some new crisis—one that probably involved a man in one way or another. She couldn’t remember who her mother’s current boyfriend was. The names changed so frequently, it was hard to keep up.

“Hey, Anna,” Ceelie hollered.

Anna turned around and looked at her friend, who did another little Snoopy Dance. “You got the house.”

Anna’s spirit immediately lifted. “You’re right, we got the house.”

LIAM FRANKLIN pulled up in front of the small brick office front on Main Street. Whedon, Pennsylvania, was a small town south of Erie. There wasn’t much to it, so he knew he must have driven by this building every day for years, yet he’d never noticed the sign in the window that proclaimed The Sunrise Foundation, with a rainbow and sun framing the words.

He checked the business card again.

Colm had lived with Liam since their parents died. Because Liam ran his computer security firm from home, things had gone well until work demanded he travel more. Taking Colm with him wasn’t an option, and his day-help, Aunt Betty, didn’t like staying overnight. So, Liam had contacted Colm’s physician, thinking he might know of a babysitter who’d had experience working with people with special needs. The doctor had referred him to The Sunrise Foundation, and he’d talked to some woman named Ceelie there who had set up this appointment with this life coach, Anna Chapel.

This Anna Chapel had been assigned his brother’s case.

He didn’t like that Colm was in the system. Well, not really in the system. Sunrise was a private foundation that came very highly recommended. The fact that it was a community-based organization meant it was able to provide resources that each individual needed. Well, Colm didn’t need anything except someone to stay with him when Liam was out of town, an occurrence that was happening more frequently.

Balancing his job and his brother’s needs made him really feel for working single parents. It seemed there was never a minute that he wasn’t doing something…and often he was five steps behind.

Liam walked into the office and a bell above the front door rang merrily. He stood in the reception area. There was a loveseat and a desk with a phone and computer. But the walls…the walls were amazing. They were decorated with framed pictures ranging from childish scrawls to a few more practiced ones. He was studying a particularly pretty sunrise—or maybe sunset—over a large body of water, when someone cleared their throat behind him.

Liam turned and found a woman with the biggest hair he’d ever seen standing in a doorway, smiling at him. Her hair wasn’t really styled big on purpose—you didn’t need to be a hairdresser to see that. Rather it was big in a too-many-curls-for-one-small head-to-have sort of way.

“Well, hello,” the woman said. “Welcome to Sunrise. How can I help you?” The words tumbled over one another in a single breath. She exuded a boundless energy that she seemed to try hard to contain.

“I have a meeting with Anna Chapel.”

“Oh, you must be Liam Franklin.” She hurried to him, thrust a hand out and continued, “It’s so nice to meet you. Let’s go to my office and see what we can do for you and your brother, Colm.”

He shook her hand, then followed her through the reception area, trying not to notice how her myriad of curls bounced about her head as she walked. If he were back in second grade, the urge to pull one and watch it spring back in place would have been too much to resist. But he was thirty and here on adult business.

Anna led him to a neat office. The desk and shelves were immaculately organized. So neat in fact that they almost looked sterile. But these walls were completely covered in artwork as well. The overall effect was anything but sterile. It was happy art. He couldn’t help but notice a lot of sunrises and rainbows.

She followed his gaze and smiled. “We ask our clients to make us pictures. It helps the office feel like home, don’t you think?”

Before he could answer, she added, “The picture out front that you were studying was made by Josh Hampton. He’s a talented artist despite the limitations he has with his hands. Most of our clients are far more enthusiastic than gifted, but we treasure all our pictures.”

She gestured toward a chair and then, rather than going behind her desk, she took the chair next to it. “I’ve got the papers you sent over, and everything looks like it’s in order.”

“Great. So you’ve got a babysitter for us, or can get one?” he asked, somewhat anxiously.

Her smile faded and she shook her head. “Yes. But while Sunrise will be able to help you find respite care, we offer so much more. I’d like to schedule a meeting with your brother as soon as possible. His file is very light. We could do a few tests and—”

The urge to spring to his feet and leave was almost overwhelming. Liam resisted. He clutched the arm of the chair and forced himself to speak softly and slowly. “Listen, Ms. Chapel, I didn’t come to you in order to have my brother assessed in any way. He went through all that years ago. Well, Colm is special and he’s not something you can label and chart. He’s not an IQ number or any other sort of definition you want to assign him. He’s a person. A totally unique person. So I don’t want your tests. And I really don’t want him to be some name on a file. All I need is someone able to deal with his particular needs when I have to travel. I was told that your foundation could see to that.”

“We can help you with that,” she assured him. “But we offer so much more. We can help your brother—”

“Colm. His name is Colm. Not ‘the patient’ or ‘the client.’ He’s far more than either of those things.”

“Mr. Franklin, the last thing I want to do is make you feel that your brother would be or is simply a client or file for me. My job is to help Colm be as self-sufficient as he can. Sunrise Foundation’s purpose is what our mission statement says—we help exceptional people lead exceptional lives. We provide advice and assistance with every aspect of housing, employment, medical care, education—”

“Colm has me,” Liam assured her. Even before his parents died, he’d always known Colm was ultimately his responsibility. And he was willing to do whatever he had to in order to keep his brother happy and content. “I’m all he needs. And all I need is some help—”

“I’m not trying to railroad you into anything. I simply want to meet your brother and see what, if anything, we can offer him in order to make his life better. And that’s what you want, right? To see Colm live his life to its full potential?”

Okay, so what could he say to that? What he wanted to say was back off and leave them alone. They were doing fine.

What he wanted to do was tear up the papers he’d signed for Sunrise and take the manila folder that had Colm’s name on the tab away from this curly-haired, smiling woman.

They were fine.

Granted, he’d never planned on assuming total responsibility for his brother so soon. He could still remember the day. His parents had gone to a show in Buffalo and he’d been staying with Colm. At some point, Liam had drifted off. He’d awakened disoriented when there was a knock on the door and he’d opened it to find a policeman with a sober expression standing on the porch.

“Mr. Franklin?” It took Liam a moment to realize that Ms. Chapel was saying his name, not the cop from the past.

He shut out the sad memory. “Fine. You can meet him, but tread lightly. I don’t want him upset. Since we lost my parents two years ago, I’ve worked hard to see to it he’s got a sense of stability and normalcy.”

“Mr. Franklin, honestly, I’m a life coach. My only goal is to help your brother, not upset him.” She stood and extended her hand. “I’ll see you at your place tomorrow at nine, if that works for you.”

He didn’t want to shake her hand. It felt as if he’d be agreeing to let her into their lives, even after tomorrow. But she stood there, hand extended a fraction of a second longer than he’d probably have waited, and he found himself taking it anyway.

“I’m only agreeing to let you arrange for a babysitter, and to meet him tomorrow,” he warned her. “It’s only a meeting.”

She nodded, her curly hair boinging every which way. “Let’s start with tomorrow and take it from there.”

She escorted him to the front door and waved as he left. Just the motion of her hand was enough to set her shoulder-length curls bouncing.

Liam left the office not sure what had happened.

He’d simply wanted to arrange a babysitter.

And he was leaving with Anna Chapel coming to the house tomorrow.

No. That meeting hadn’t gone the way he’d expected.

CHAPTER TWO

THE NEXT DAY, Anna arrived at the Franklin house promptly at nine. She was as prepared as she could possibly be. She’d read Colm’s thin file. He’d been oxygen deprived at birth. The medical term was hypoxia, but medical definitions weren’t her concern.

He’d been labeled slow by one doctor, intellectually disabled by another. The last assessment had placed his cognitive age at eight. She put all those previous reports aside. She didn’t care how he’d been tested and labeled. She only cared about how she could use that knowledge to help Colm live his life to the fullest.

His brother, Liam, had certainly been on the defensive yesterday. Anna knew some people might find it off-putting, but she found the way he defended his brother attractive. Unfortunately, it was just one of many qualities she found attractive about Liam Franklin. But since he was Colm’s guardian…No, she couldn’t think of him as attractive in any way.

She took a long, deep breath to clear the image of Liam from her thoughts and instead, concentrated on the weather.

It was one of those balmy, mid-April days that made it easy to believe another winter was officially over.

The minute she saw the Franklins’ white two-story house surrounded by a blaze of red tulips, she was struck by a case of porch envy.

Some people dreamed about picket fences or tons of acreage or living in the right fashionable neighborhood.

Anna dreamed about porches.

Porches like this one.

It extended at least eight feet away from the house, and wasn’t simply a front porch, it was a wrap-around one as far as Anna could see from the sidewalk.

Of course, the porch was a bit barren-looking. Only two old folding lawn chairs sat on it, and the paint had long since started fading and peeling. But with a little elbow grease…

Someday.

Someday she’d move out of her apartment and buy her own house with a huge front porch. Then she’d paint it some merry color—maybe green—and furnish it with big white wicker furniture that had overstuffed cushions. In the mornings she’d sit on the porch, have a cup of coffee and read her paper before going into work. Then in the evenings, she’d come home, and after dinner, she’d be on her porch watching the day turn to dusk and maybe smiling at neighbors who strolled by.

Anna sighed. It was a lovely fantasy.

But right now, she didn’t have time for fantasy. She had a job to do.

She walked onto the beautiful object of her porch envy and rang the doorbell. A matronly looking lady who reminded Anna faintly of Aunt Bee on the Andy Griffith Show answered the door. Tinier even than Anna, and roundish, the woman had salt-and-pepper hair, with a heavier emphasis on the salt. When she saw Anna, she smiled and a pair of dimples swallowed her cheeks. “Hello, you must be Ms. Chapel. Come in, dear.”

Once Anna was inside, the woman introduced herself. “I’m Betty Taylor.”

The fact that Anna had a mere second ago thought that the woman resembled Sheriff Andy Taylor’s aunt on the Andy Griffith show made her smile.

“Liam wanted to be here, but he had a last-minute emergency with some local account and had to go. He wasn’t very happy he couldn’t be here to meet you himself.”

Anna almost laughed at one of the biggest understatements she’d ever heard. She was positive that Liam had wanted to be here to monitor her meeting with Colm.

“He said you’d be coming and that you’d be wanting to meet our Colm,” the woman continued. “This way, dear.”

She showed Anna into the living room where there was a man who looked remarkably like Liam Franklin. More than remarkably like him—he looked exactly like Liam. They were twins. Somewhere around five-ten. Dark-brown hair and very blue eyes that were so much more open—happier—than Liam’s had seemed. Where Liam peered at her distrustfully, this man smiled as he got up from his Lego and hurried over to her. “Hi, I’m Colm.”

“And I’m Anna.”

He hugged her and said, “Hi, Anna. You wanna play Legos?”

“Why don’t I let you two talk,” Mrs. Taylor said and left them alone.

“Aunt Betty is makin’ cookies for us. She said we feed company. Aunt Betty likes to feed people. She really likes feedin’ company, but we don’t have much of that since Mommy and Daddy went to heaven. Liam, he’s too busy for company.”

As if that was all the introduction and information Anna needed, Liam returned to his building bricks. When she didn’t immediately follow, he waved his hand in her direction impatiently. “Come on.”

Anna sat down next to him on the floor and surveyed the pile of blocks. “So what are we playing?”

“I’m building a magic school like they got on the Wizards show I like. It’s on Disney, and Liam likes Disney ’cause there ain’t no bad words, so I get to watch it lots. I need the blue bricks.”

For the next hour Anna sat on the floor digging through a huge pile of Lego for the blue bricks, and handing them to Colm as she asked him questions about his likes and dislikes, how he filled his days.

She wasn’t sure what Liam had expected, but she always assessed her clients in as gentle a manner as possible. At thirty, Colm had long since passed the school system and his family had never enrolled him in any other community program or activities. “…and then I eat lunch. Sometimes, Liam’s here and works, but sometimes he works someplace not here and it’s me and Aunt Betty.” He dropped his voice to a very loud stage whisper and said, “She’s not really my aunt, but I love her, so she sorta is, and it’s okay to call her aunt, Liam says. Liam says our family is sorta small, so addin’ an aunt is good.”

“Liam says.” It was the phrase that had punctuated their hour-long conversation.

“Liam says bedtime’s at nine.”

“Liam says vegetables before dessert.”

“Liam says don’t answer the door.”

Liam said a lot of things. And the things he said seemed to illustrate a deep sense of caring and commitment for his brother. As bristly as he’d been with Anna, she suspected that he had an entirely different demeanor here with Colm.

It was easy to see that he strived to give Colm a stable, loving home. But Anna suspected Colm could do more than what his brother thought.

“Aunt Betty came to help after Mommy and Daddy went to the angels.” For a moment, Colm stopped building and looked at her with the first trace of sadness she’d seen in him. “I miss ’em.”

“My father is with the angels, too,” Anna told him. She’d only been sixteen when her father passed away. “I miss him, but it’s nice to think he’s watching over me.”

“Yeah, Liam says Mommy was always watchin’ me, so why would her being with angels stop her? He says that she’s probably makin’ the angels come watch me, too. She really loved me.”

Anna chased away the memories of losing her father. She’d long since come to terms with it, and though she missed him, she remembered the good times more than the pain. “I bet she did, Colm.”

“Liam says you’re gonna help find me a babysitter for when Aunt Betty can’t come. She don’t like spendin’ too many nights away from Mr. Taylor, ’cause he gets lonely.”

“Is that what you want, Colm?” Anna asked. “Someone to come stay with you?”

Colm seemed confused by her question. “That’s what Liam says. A babysitter for me is what we need.”

“Yes, it is. But what do you want?”

Colm stood up and started to leave the room. “I wanna get some of those cookies and milk. You want some?”

“Sure.”

He took her into the kitchen and said, “Aunt Betty, we want some cookies and milk, please.”

“You two have a seat and I’ll get them—”

Anna needed to get a feel for what Colm could do, so she said, “Actually, Mrs. Taylor. I was hoping you’d come sit with me for a minute. Maybe Colm would get us both some cookies and milk?”

Colm frowned. “I don’t pour milk, ’cause I make a mess.”

“Tell you what, you pour the milk and if you make a mess, I’ll help you clean it up,” Anna promised.

Colm looked to Mrs. Taylor. She nodded and motioned Anna to join her at the table.

Both women watched Colm go to the cabinet and take one glass out, walk it to the island, then go back for another….

“Mrs. Taylor, I’m sure Mr. Franklin told you why I was here.”

Her eyes never leaving Colm, Mrs. Taylor said, “Yes. I love Colm with all my heart, but I can’t be with him as much as Liam needs me to be. Daytimes are fine, since Mr. Taylor has his club, but he likes me home at night, and to be honest, I’m old enough that I need to be home at night. I like going to sleep in my own bed, in my own house.”

“I understand, Mrs. Taylor. I need to ask you honestly, do you think Colm is living up to his full potential?”

“Until this very moment, I wouldn’t have even asked myself that.”

Colm had all three glasses lined up in perfect order on the counter. He got out the half-gallon container of milk, left the refrigerator door open and slowly removed the cap from the carton.

“Colm, you should probably shut the door to the fridge,” Anna said, then looked back to Mrs. Taylor who was still watching Colm pour the first glass of milk perfectly.

“Maybe we have coddled him. He’s doing fine, isn’t he?”

When all three glasses were poured, Colm put the lid back on the plastic container, returned it to the refrigerator and carried the glasses over one at a time.

He started to pick up cookies from the rack that they were cooling on, and Anna said, “It’s probably more polite to put them on a plate, Colm.”

“Oh, yeah. Aunt Betty always does that.” He hurried off to the cupboard and grabbed a salad plate, piled it high with a stack of cookies, and with one hand on the top of the pile, and the other holding the plate, made his way to the table. He set the plate down carefully, but when he took his hand off the stack, the cookies tumbled. “Oh, no, I goofed. I can’t—”

Anna picked up a cookie and put it back on the plate. “Hey, cookies fall. No biggie. If they fall, you pick them up.”

“Ten-second rule?” he asked Mrs. Taylor.

“They’re not on the floor but the table, so there’s a lot more than ten seconds when something falls on a table,” the older woman assured him.

Colm broke into a smile and repiled the cookies. He looked proud as he announced, “There, I did it.”

“You did,” Anna agreed.

“I didn’t even spill the milk. I was real careful.”

“You did great,” she told him. “But even if you’d made a mess, you could have cleaned it up. If you spill milk, you wipe it up.”

“Yeah. If you knock cookies down you pick them up, and if you make a mess, you clean it.”

Anna hadn’t realized he was going to take her off-the-cuff comments to heart. She’d have to remember that. “Right, Colm. Everyone has accidents. All that matters is that when you do, you clean them up and try to do better the next time.”

They all ate their cookies, and Anna caught Mrs. Taylor giving her furtive looks as if she were trying to decide whether Anna would be good for Colm. Anna suspected if Mrs. Taylor decided that she wouldn’t be good for him, she’d be as fierce defending Colm as Liam had been.

When they finished, Colm said, “Hey, I’ll clean up ’cause I brought it all over. I can do it.”

“I’m sure you can, Colm,” Anna told him. “Thank you.”

He looked to Mrs. Taylor and the older woman offered him another dimple-filled smile. “That’s lovely, Colm. I’m going to sit here and let you wait on me.”

“Yeah, I’ll do that ’cause you’re old and get tired. Aunt Betty’s feet ache sometimes and she moans like this,” he made a loud wailing sound, and continued, “so maybe if I help, her old feet’ll feel better, huh?”

“I’m sure they will, Colm.” Anna tried desperately not to grin.

Mrs. Taylor watched as Colm tidied up. “It never occurred to me to let him help. His mother, Maire, was a dear friend, and she waited on him hand and foot, and when I started to help Liam out after she passed…” She paused as if her friend’s passing was still hard for her to talk about “…well, I simply continued on as she’d always done.”

“That happens. Sometimes it’s hard for a family to step back and see a person’s capability. Well, if Liam will let me work with Colm—that’s why I’m here.”

“Oh, he’ll let you. I might not be his mother, or even related by blood, but I’m as close as the boys have to a relative, and I have some clout. I’ll use it on your behalf.” Mrs. Taylor’s bravado seemed at odds with her dimpled smiles.

“Thank you, Mrs. Taylor.”

Mrs. Taylor reached across the table and patted her hand. “Now, you call me Aunt Betty. Everyone does. And you tell me what you need from Liam, and I’ll see to it that you get it. I can’t tell you how much I’ve worried about Colm. I’m not getting any younger and I don’t know what Liam will do when I’m gone.”

“Mrs. Taylor—”

The woman gave her a look and Anna hastily amended, “Aunt Betty. I’m sure you’ll be here for a long time, but I really think there’s a whole world of opportunities for Colm, and I’d like to show them to him, if his brother permits me to.”

“Like I said, you don’t worry about Liam. I’ll take care of him. When do you want to start?”

“Tomorrow morning at eight?”

“That sounds great to me. We’ll see you then.”

Colm was busily putting the dishes in the dishwasher.

“Colm, would it be okay if I came over again tomorrow?” Anna asked.

He turned around and grinned. “Oh, yeah. We can finish our buildin’.”

“Sure we can. And maybe we could try a few other things, too.”

“Okay, that’d be good, Anna.” He hugged her goodbye and Anna didn’t mind his wet hands as she hugged him back. “Yeah, I’ll see ya tomorrow, Anna.”

LIAM OPENED the front door for Anna the next morning.

“Mr. Franklin,” she said, obviously surprised. “Sorry, I was expecting Mrs. Taylor.”

“I’m home today. I wanted to be home yesterday, but I had a meeting, otherwise you’d have dealt with me.”

He loved working for himself, except days like yesterday, when he wished he had an employee to send to meetings.

Because his work centered around computers and programming, he was able to do a lot of it online from his home office, but sometimes he had to see customers in person. Thankfully, yesterday’s meeting had been with a small firm in town. It had been one of his first clients. Thanks to the Internet, he now did security work for businesses all over the country. Those face-to-faces weren’t just an afternoon out of the office, which is why he’d found himself at The Sunrise Foundation.

He reminded himself that he made a good living and was able to be at home most days.

Still, he wished he had been here because he’d have saved himself Aunt Betty’s tongue-lashing. She’d told him that Anna was coming back to work with Colm to be more self-sufficient, and his less-than-enthusiastic response had started the lecture. Every concern he voiced only made it worse.

“I’m sorry you couldn’t join us.” Anna’s expression didn’t quite match her words. Though her look was quickly replaced by an all-business one that Liam recognized because he’d used it himself with difficult customers.

“Well, I’m glad you’re here today,” she said with what sounded like forced enthusiasm. “Maybe we can talk for a few minutes?”

“Come in.” He led her into the living room and gestured to one of the chairs. He took the other one opposite her.

“You have a beautiful home,” she said conversationally. “And that porch. I really love the porch. It makes the house seem so friendly and approachable.”

“This is my parents’ house. I grew up here and moved back in after they passed away. I thought the continuity was important for Colm, given the circumstances.”

“I’m sorry. Mrs. Taylor said that’s when she started helping you out. I’m glad you had some support. But still, I’m sorry for your loss.”

He didn’t say anything to that, because Liam didn’t know what to do with sympathy. He remembered standing at the funeral home while a long line of his parents’ friends filed by expressing their own sorrow and empathizing with his. He’d nodded woodenly, and tried not to envy Colm’s ability to hug everyone.

Needing to change the subject, he said, “So, about my brother?”

“I’d like to spend some time with Colm. A couple of hours a few times a week. Mrs. Taylor seemed to think you’d be okay with that.”

Liam couldn’t help but smile. “That was a polite way of saying that Aunt Betty threatened to kick my butt if I didn’t let you work with him.”

Anna laughed and the movement sent her myriad of curls bouncing every which way, just like when they’d met. Again, Liam wanted to reach out and touch them. They were like a living entity, moving as she spoke. But being attracted to Anna was the last thing he needed, so he kept his hands at his sides.

She was still chuckling as she said, “Yes, I believe there was some promise on her part of using threats if necessary. I’d really like it not to be necessary, Mr. Franklin. I think I have something to offer your brother. I think Colm can do a lot more than you believe.”

“I won’t see him upset or hurt. I don’t want him pushed into doing things he’s not comfortable with. I’ve worked very hard to keep a routine for him since my parents died.” Liam felt a lump in his throat at the thought of their passing. There was a sense of finality—the knowledge that his father would never realize that Liam’s tinkering with computers was indeed turning into a successful business.

His parents had been in their forties when they’d had him and Colm, and his father had some very old-world attitudes about what constituted real work. He’d looked at Liam’s start-up company as an unnecessary risk. He pointed out that Liam could make more money and have more security working for an already established company. But Liam liked working for himself. He liked the autonomy. And his decision to start his own company had paid off. Liam desperately wished his father could know.

“Mr. Franklin, was Colm upset yesterday after he served us our snack and then cleaned up?”

“No,” he admitted. His brother had been excited when Liam had come home last night, telling him that he could make his own snacks now. Someone didn’t have to do it for him. “No, he wasn’t upset at all.”

“Great. Then if you don’t mind, I’d like to keep going—see what else Colm can do for himself. I’ll be by mornings for now, but that’s subject to change. And I’ll look for someone who can stay with him when you have to travel.”

“What do you think Colm needs to be doing for himself, Ms. Chapel?” He bristled at the implication that somehow his parents hadn’t helped Colm enough—his mother had devoted her life to his brother. He was about to say as much to Ms. Chapel but she started talking, and as at their first meeting, he realized that when Ms. Chapel started talking, it was like a speeding freight train. Unstoppable.

“Listen, Mr. Franklin, Colm is a wonderful, well-adjusted man. And I know that’s because of what your family gave him—a stable, loving home. But…” She paused.

“But,” she started again, “everyone needs new challenges. I think I can give that to Colm. Challenge him. Help him grow.”

“And I can’t?” he asked.

“You can—and I’m hoping you’ll help.”

“And what about additional help?”

“Let me know the dates that Mrs. Taylor can’t cover for you and I’ll organize someone.”

It rankled, asking this woman for help. A very big part of Liam wanted to tell her never mind, he’d arrange it on his own. He wanted to assure her that he and Colm were fine as is. But even as he thought the words, he realized it was a lie. He did need help.

So, as much as he hated to say it, he agreed. “Fine.”

At that moment, Anna Chapel smiled.

Other than her wild hair, he’d thought there was nothing especially remarkable about her. Which is why he couldn’t quite figure out why she seemed beautiful. Each of her features was decidedly average, but put together, they made Anna striking.

And that particular revelation made Liam feel even more uncomfortable than before.

“Thanks, Mr. Franklin. Do you mind if I go find Colm now?”

“No, make yourself at home, Ms. Chapel.” The words sounded polite enough, but Liam knew that his tone must have been less than inviting, because the woman frowned, then sighed.

“I will, Mr. Franklin. I will.”

TWO HOURS LATER, Anna said, “Okay, Colm that’s it for today. I’ll see you tomorrow, though.”

“I’ll be ready for you, Anna. All by myself. ’Cause I can do it, just like I can make snacks. Ya think I can do other things, Anna?”

“I think you can do lots of things, Colm.”

Today they’d concentrated on the basics. Colm had been completely sheltered by his family. Someone laid out his clothes. Someone made his bed. Someone prepared his breakfast then did his dishes.

Colm Franklin was able to do all those jobs himself, and the more time she spent with him, the more she was convinced that Colm could do many others as well.

“Come on, Anna, I’ll take you to the door,” Colm said. “’Cause that’s what a gentleman does. Mommy told me. You be nice to the ladies, Colm. And I was. I always opened the door for her, and I pushed in her chair at the table, too.”

“That was sweet. Though I can push in my own chair.”

“I think she coulda, too.” He laughed. “My mommy was a funny woman, but she was nice and smiled a lot. Like you do, Anna. And tomorrow you’ll be back, right?”

The compliment touched her. “Thank you, Colm. That was sweet. And yes, I’ll be back tomorrow. I won’t be able to come every day, but I’ll try to be here a lot of days, okay?”

“And you’ll teach me stuff?” he asked again.

“Yes, I’ll teach you as much as you want me to.”

He frowned a little. “What if I goof up?”

“Remember what I said yesterday?”

He nodded vigorously. “If you spill the milk, you’ll wipe it up. If you drop the cookies, you pick them up. If you make a mess, clean it up,” he parroted.

“That’s right. Everyone makes a mess sometimes.”

“But not Liam—he’s smart.”

“Even Liam. Even me. Even Aunt Betty.”

Colm laughed as if she had to be teasing him. “Nuh-uh.”

“Everyone, Colm. Everyone makes mistakes. Everyone has accidents and makes a mess. All you can do is do your best to clean it up and fix it afterwards.”

“But I make lots of mistakes.”

“Hey, it might take you a little longer to learn something, but you learn it. We’ll keep going over it until you know it.”

“Even if it takes a lot of times?” he asked.

“Even if.”

“And you won’t get mad?” he checked.

“Not even a little.”

Quickly, he engulfed her in his arms. “I love you, Anna.”

She hugged him back.

“So, how did it go?” Liam asked, approaching them.

Colm let go of Anna, turned around and immediately hugged his brother. “It was good, Liam. Anna’s teachin’ me to do stuff for myself, but it don’t matter if I make mistakes, ’cause she says we’ll clean it up, right, Anna?”

She wasn’t sure why, but watching Colm hug Liam and prickly Liam return the hug, Anna had a Hallmark-commercial reaction. A warm, mushy, on-the-verge-of-tears sort of feeling. She kept it at bay, sure that Liam would disapprove. “Right, Colm, we’ll clean it up.”

Liam clapped his brother on his shoulder. “So, bud, you’ll have to show me what you learned today after Anna leaves.”

“It’s better stuff than I learned in school. See ya tomorrow, Anna.” Colm waved then ran up the stairs.

Liam watched Colm disappear, then turned to Anna and asked, “What do you suppose he’s up to?”

“If I were going to guess, he’s making his bed, again. He mentioned he was going to like going to bed tonight because he’d have made the bed himself. And if his enjoyment goes up incrementally each time he makes it, he’s going to officially have the best night’s sleep ever.”

“He can make his own bed?”

She nodded. “He’s a special man, Mr. Franklin. I’ve left you some papers to read through about my teaching strategy for Colm. Goals. The criteria for taking new steps. It’s all there. If you have any concerns, let me know. I’ll see you both tomorrow.”

Liam stood in the doorway and watched Anna Chapel get in her car. For a moment, she stared wistfully at the house, and he wondered what she was thinking. Then she started her tiny gray car and took off down the road.

Liam paused, letting the knowledge that Colm was upstairs making his bed sink in.

It sounded like such a simple thing, but it wasn’t simple at all. Now, Liam speculated as to what other kinds of things his brother could do. Things he’d never been given a chance to do because no one had thought he could.

No one but Anna Chapel.

ANNA AND COLM fell into an easy routine over the next few weeks as April progressed and spring settled more firmly into place. A couple of hours a day, three or four times a week if she was able, she and Colm practiced tasks together. Only it wasn’t really a job in Anna’s mind, it was a delight. Anna truly enjoyed all her clients, but Colm soon became a very special one. He was always open to trying something new, and found such joy when he’d mastered the skill. This week’s goals involved cooking.

Since pouring those first glasses of milk, Colm had been building a set of kitchen skills: making peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, getting snacks, rinsing dishes. The man who’d never been encouraged to do kitchen work had discovered he loved it. So this week, they were trying actual cooking.

Colm’s first solo meal was spaghetti. Anna sat on a stool and offered advice and listened as Colm’s excitement bubbled over. “Liam’s gonna be surprised, huh, Anna?”

“Very surprised.”

He wiped his hands on the front of the apron he was wearing, then opened a cupboard and took out a large bowl.

“Liam liked my waffles the other day. But ya don’t really cook those.”

“Hey, you used a toaster,” Anna reminded him.

“That’s toastin’, not cookin’.” He shook his head as if he was surprised that Anna didn’t recognize the difference.

“You’re right, toasting’s not cooking.” She scootched her stool a little closer to the stove.

“But today, it’s really cookin’ ’cause there’s a flame.”

The timer rang and Colm clapped his hands. “Are they done?”

“Let’s see,” Anna said. “Carefully use the spoon and pull one noodle out.” She watched proudly as, with the care of a surgeon operating, Colm lifted a noodle from the pot with painstaking slowness.

“Now, you have two options for seeing if it’s done. You can taste it, and if it’s not hard, it’s done, or you can throw it on the wall and if it sticks, it’s done.”

“Throw food at the wall?” Colm’s voice was filled with what might have been shock, but he wore a smile that said the idea was intriguing.

“I don’t recommend throwing food as part of your regular cooking technique, and you do have to wipe the wall off when you’re done, but if the noodle sticks, you know it’s—” As she squeaked out the word, done, Colm threw the noodle at the wall with such force that Anna worried that it was going to leave a permanent mark.

“Done!” Colm announced.

“I see that. Okay, now we need to get the noodles out of the water, so—”

The sound of the front door being opened and closed could be heard, soon Liam came into the kitchen and his eyes immediately honed in on Colm. “Hey, how are things, bud?”

“I’m cookin’ dinner tonight. Aunt Betty, she went home early ’cause me and Anna are cookin’, and I threw food on the wall, only it’s okay ’cause I’ll clean it after, but now you gotta go so I can finish. Go. Go.”

It was a long sentence that Colm somehow managed to get out in one breath.

“I can take a hint,” Liam said, laughing. The laughter died though as he glanced Anna’s way. He gave a brisk nod of greeting and said, “Call me if you need help, Ms. Chapel.”

“She won’t,” Colm assured his brother. “Me and Anna are a team, right, Anna?”

“Right, Colm. We’ve got it under control, Mr. Franklin. Dinner will be ready in a few minutes.”

Liam started to leave the room, and Anna called out, “Mr. Franklin, do you think that maybe we could drop the formal address and go with Liam and Anna from now on?”

He turned, frowned, then nodded. “Fine, Anna. Let me know if you need me.” He turned to go.

“We will, Liam,” she called after him.

It had been weeks since she’d begun assisting Colm, but Liam still treated her as if she were an enemy…someone to be on his guard around. She didn’t like it, and wasn’t sure what she could do about it. She sighed.

Colm didn’t notice. He reached for some pot holders and said, “Okay, Anna, let’s get us some spaghetti.”

She helped Colm with the rest of the meal prep. They’d already made the salad, and after draining the noodles, Colm sliced the bread. Anna talked about safety, warning of the dangers of hot water and sharp knives.

Colm repeated her rules back to her again and again until they set the food on the table.

Anna surveyed the result and was pleased. “Everything’s beautiful, Colm. Why don’t you go get Liam.”

“Liii-ammm,” Colm screamed.

She stifled a chuckle and used her best teacher voice. “Colm, what are the rules about inside voices?”

“It’s not polite to yell, so we use a quiet inside voice.”

“Right. If you go into the living room and get your brother, you don’t have to shout.”

“Okay.” He headed toward the door, but it opened and Liam was standing there. “Hey, see, Anna, the scream worked.”

“Yes, but it’s not polite.” She looked at Liam, who was frowning. So, what had she done now? Working with Colm was so satisfying. His brother? Not so much. More like a pain in her proverbial…

“It looks good, bud,” he said to Colm. His genuine pleasure over his brother’s successes robbed her of her annoyance.

Anna smiled at Colm. “Well, I’ll leave you two to dinner. Now, Colm, when you’re done, you help with the dishes, too.”

“And wash the wall,” Colm said.

“Yes,” she agreed, “and wash the wall. I’ll see you the day after tomorrow.”

“No, Anna!” Colm yelled, stopping Anna in her tracks.

“Inside voice,” she reminded him gently. “Is there a problem, Colm?”

He nodded. “Yeah, you helped make the food, you get to eat it.”

She glanced at Liam who was actively scowling at the thought. “No, you made the dinner for your brother,” she tried.

“And you,” he repeated stubbornly.

“No, sweetie. My job is helping you learn things, things that will make your life and your family’s life better. Tonight, we cooked, and you need to share that with your family—with your brother.”

“And you,” he insisted. “You had a snack with me first time I made it.”

Anna didn’t know how to get around that, so she looked at Liam, silently asking him for some help.

“Maybe Anna’s got a date,” Liam said.

Colm chortled. “Nah, she ain’t gotta date.”

Ouch. She didn’t have a date, but still—ouch.

“I think I should be insulted,” she said, quietly. And Liam quite unexpectedly laughed. Not a forced laugh either. This was the first real sign that Liam Franklin had a mood other than guarded or grouchy.

As he chuckled, Anna saw another side of the gruff man. A softer side. A side she’d glimpsed when he hugged Colm in the past, but this time it was directed at her, and it was sweet.

“If you don’t have a date, Anna,” he said her name as if it was still foreign to his lips, “we’d be happy to have you share Colm’s first official solo meal.”

Part of Anna wanted to lie and make up some excuse why she needed to leave, but instead, she nodded. “I’d love to. Though you know what this means, Colm?You need to set another place at the table.”

He broke out in a grin. “Another place for Anna. Got it.”

He ran across the kitchen, grabbed a plate and started to run back when Anna called out, “Walk, Colm. We don’t want you to fall and get hurt.”

“Or break the plate. But if I broke it, it’d be okay, ’cause we’d clean it up, right, Anna?”

He was so attentive, remembering her comments and instructions. “Right, Colm.”

When he’d set the plate on the table, he ran and got one butter knife and slowly walked toward the table.

“Uh, why don’t we sit down?” Liam suggested. “It looks as if this may take a while.”

He pulled out one of the chairs from the small kitchen table.

Anna was surprised by the act of chivalry. She’d never been a woman who insisted on such things. She was more than capable of pulling out her own chair or opening a door. But she didn’t find having a guy do them offensive, either. She simply hadn’t expected such a gesture from Liam Franklin. Wasn’t she still the enemy?

She took the seat and as Liam gently nudged her chair into the table, his hand brushed against her back. There was no bolt of lightning but there was suddenly an awareness for Anna. She’d only ever seen Liam as a—well, a barrier. Yet here, now, as he took his seat and smiled as Colm carefully set a place for her at the table, she again saw the man who cared deeply about his brother.

“Thank you,” she said.

“You’re welcome.”

They sat in silence until it became uncomfortable, but were saved when Colm finished and took his seat. “So let’s eat!”

He dished some pasta onto his plate enthusiastically and passed the bowl to Anna, who took some and passed it to Liam. The salad and rolls went around in a similar fashion. Anna found herself waiting for Liam to take his first bite. He smiled and said, “Very good, Colm.”

“Yeah, it is.” Colm’s mouth was full of food, so his words were a bit difficult to understand, but his smile wasn’t.

That smile was what made Anna’s job so rewarding. There was a pride in it that showed Colm’s growing realization that he could, as Sunrise promised, lead an exceptional life. That’s what she wanted for Colm Franklin—an exceptional life.

After they’d finished eating, Colm announced, “I’m done,” and made for the door.

“Uh-uh, Colm,” Anna called. “You cooked, so you get to help clean up.”

“Oh.” A moment later, he brightened. “Okay, Anna. I can do that.”

“First we clear the table. The leftovers go in a container in the fridge and…”

She didn’t expect Liam to stay and help, and when he did, she wasn’t sure what to make of it. He kept giving her odd looks, and she had even less understanding of what they were about.

“Kitchen’s done,” Colm said loudly half an hour later. “I’m gonna go watch TV. I think my Wizard show is on Disney. Anna, you wanna watch it with me?”

She glanced at Liam who was frowning. “I should probably be leaving, Colm.”

“Not yet, Anna,” Colm said. “You could stay longer, ’cause you have no date, remember?”

She expected Liam to agree that it was time for her to go home. She was sure he’d be polite. He’d make some noise about how he was sure she had something else to do. But what he said was, “Maybe we could all play a game? If you have the time, Anna.” He seemed to say her name with more ease.

Colm grabbed her hand. “Yeah, Anna, that’d be good. We can play a game.”

Anna smiled. “Maybe a hand of Go Fish?”

“I don’t know that one,” Colm said.

“If you can find some cards, I can teach you.” She’d barely got the words out when Colm shot down the hallway toward the living room.

“Are you sure Colm can handle a card game?” Liam asked.

“Liam, he can count and read a lot of words. It might take him a while to get the feel for the game, but he’ll do fine.”

And he did. Within a couple of hands, Colm had the idea and was holding his own.

“Go fish!” he shouted gleefully.

Anna did and on Colm’s next turn, he put all his cards down. “I got ’em. You gave me that five and I got it.”

“Great job, Colm.” She glanced at her watch. “But now, I really need to get home. I have an early day tomorrow.”

“You have an early day here tomorrow?” Colm asked.

“No. We talked about this, remember? We marked the calendar in the kitchen. I’m back the day after tomorrow.”

Colm threw his arms around her and hugged her tightly. “Okay. I’ll miss you, Anna, ’cause you teach me lots of stuff, like making spaghetti and puttin’stuff in the fridge after we’re done eatin’. You teach me good.”

“I taught you—”

He interrupted. “Yep, you did.”

Liam was smiling—again. Anna thought she could easily get used to seeing that expression on his face. He said, “Get your shower and put your pajamas on, bud. I’ll show Anna out.”

“Okay. ’Night, Anna.” Colm hugged her again.

She mussed his hair. “’Night, Colm.”

She knew from Liam’s tone that he wanted to talk to her, so she waited until Colm disappeared up the stairs and said, “Yes?”

He didn’t look annoyed, but if not, she wasn’t sure what he wanted to talk about.

He simply said, “Thank you.”

“For…?”

“For everything. You were right. Colm is capable of so much more than I ever imagined.”

His admission surprised and touched her. “You’re welcome.”

“Anna, I have to go out of town on Thursday. I know that three days is short notice, but it’s only one night, and I wondered if you’d found someone to stay with Colm?”

Anna had put off confirming someone. She wasn’t sure why, but had a sneaking suspicion that it was because she didn’t want to share the Franklin brothers with anyone else. “If you don’t mind, maybe I’ll stay with him? I mean, it’s one night, and it would give us more time to work together. I see so much potential in Colm, and there doesn’t seem to be enough time in my day to try as much as I would like to with him.”

Liam didn’t offer his opinion about her staying with Colm. Instead, he said, “Can I ask you a personal question?”

“You can, but I don’t promise to answer.” She smiled, hoping to soften her response. Liam was so much more approachable tonight that she didn’t want to jinx it.

“Why?” was all he asked.

“Huh?”

“Why do you do what you do? I can’t imagine the money is fantastic. And it seems that the hours are long. So, why do you work for Sunrise?”

That was a question that Anna not only didn’t mind answering, but relished sharing. Maybe Liam would understand her goals for Colm better if she did.

“I had a client. Denny. He was starting his first job at a local plant where he would be packing boxes. It wasn’t only him. I worked with the supervisor, as well. I explained that I’d help Denny get the rhythm of the job down, and stressed that he should do well with the status quo, but that for out-of-the-ordinary things he would require someone to help him. I like being sure that a client’s boss has realistic expectations. Two months after I’d gone, Denny’s supervisor called and told me that they’d hired a new person and that when the woman had made a mistake on the assembly, Denny had gone over and helped her. He said that Denny had told her that everyone makes mistakes. That she should take her time and ask for help when she needed it. The supervisor was so impressed. He wanted to employ more people from our program.”

“Those were your words that Denny said, weren’t they? I recognize them from Colm. If you make a mistake, it’s like the milk—you clean it up and start over. Things like that.”

“Yes.” She knew she could be somewhat repetitious with her catch phrases, but her clients needed to hear them over and over until they fully understood them. “And to answer your question, that’s why I do it. There are so many special people out there. They might take longer to learn something, or they might need to learn a bit differently than most folks, but with some assistance and time, they can lead remarkable lives. And if I can help that along, well, it means something to me. My job is important to people and that’s why I do it.”

Even as the words left her mouth, Anna wished she’d said something…well, something less. She felt naked. Exposed. And, Liam Franklin was the last person she wanted to feel like this with.

She wasn’t sure why and she wasn’t about to explore the reason. “I really should go now. Thanks for allowing me to share Colm’s first meal.”

“About Thursday,” Liam said before she could bolt out the door. “Yes. I knew you’d suggest someone reliable, but I’d have worried. I trust you with Colm. It’s a big meeting, and I appreciate you saving me the worry. Thank you.”

“You’re welcome. I’ll be here on Wednesday and you can give me the specifics of your trip then.”

“I’ll see you day after tomorrow, then.”

“Wednesday,” she agreed, then rushed out. Admittedly, an annoyed Liam Franklin seemed much easier to deal with than this insightful one.

Anna wasn’t sure why.

CHAPTER THREE

“OKAY, Li, what gives?” Patrick Yu asked breathlessly on Friday night as Liam got out of his car.

His neighbor pushed his walker at NASCAR-worthy speed toward Liam. Meanwhile, Liam was pulling his suitcase from the backseat, anxious to get in the house, a sense of…he wasn’t sure how to define it. Anticipation? Excitement?

He’d talked to Colm on the phone last night, and his brother had seemed fine. More than fine. He’d been excited that Anna was spending a night. “It’s like a sleepover, Liam. I never had one of those before, but you used to. Now, it’s my turn. Me and Anna are gonna make s’mores, but I don’t know what those are, still we’re going to make ’em.”

Patrick waved a hand in front of Liam’s face. “Earth calling Liam.”

Liam gave himself a mental shake. “Sorry. How are things, Patrick?”

“Fine. I was asking about the new woman? Actually, I asked what gives, and by that I meant, tell me about your new woman. I’m old and live vicariously through your exploits, which I have to confess, are very few and far between.” The elderly man ran his hand through his very thick gray hair, leaving it looking as if the barber had modeled his style after Einstein’s.

“She’s not my woman,” Liam assured his neighbor. “Even if she was, I can’t imagine Anna would want to be referred to as my woman.”

Patrick chuckled. “Probably not, but I’d never use the term in front of her. I might be old, but I’m not dumb. Women don’t take kindly to being called women. I heard some don’t even like being referred to as ladies? I’m guessing gals and broads are off-limit terms, as well. Me, I stick to people when women are about. It saves a lot of hassles. But she’s not here, so tell me who is she if she’s not your new woman? Her car’s in your driveway a lot lately. And I couldn’t help but notice it was here all night.”

“Her name’s Anna Chapel, she’s with The Sunrise Foundation and she’s helping out with Colm. She spent the night here with him while I was in Jackson, Tennessee, for a meeting with a prospective client.” He lifted his carry-on bag to emphasize he hadn’t been home last night with Anna.

Patrick nodded his approval. “Glad to see you’ve got some smarts, boy. Now, Mrs. Taylor is a fine woman, but a man your age needs to hire someone younger and easier on the eyes. This girl seems like she’ll do.”

“It’s not like that, Patrick. Anna is here for Colm.”

“Then you better see about making it like that. Girls like her don’t stay on the shelf for long. And a man your age needs a woman. Believe me, if I had it to do over again, I’d have snagged me a woman a decade or two ago. A man can only sow wild oats for so long, and one day he finds he hasn’t sowed enough, so there’s no harvest and that gets a mite lonely.”

Liam ignored Patrick’s comments. “I don’t even know if she’s dating someone.” Hell, he’d never asked Anna any questions about her personal life. Maybe she was married?

He’d never seen a wedding ring, but not everyone wore one. The thought of Anna with a boyfriend or a husband was…Well, it didn’t bother him, of course. But if she did have a significant other, then she’d been pretty neglectful, what with all the time she’d spent with Colm and him. He wouldn’t like to feel as if he and Colm were to blame if Anna’s relationship went south.

“You’d better find out if she’s dating. I came out to say thanks for mowing my lawn the other day.”

Liam nodded. “You know it’s not a problem.” Patrick was well beyond an age he should be doing things like that, and it only took Liam twenty minutes to do the elderly man’s lawn, too. “That’s what neighbors are for.”

“You’re a nice boy. Now show me you’re a smart one and try to land that cute girl.” Patrick started back toward his house. “Anna. That’s a nice solid name. From Hannah. It means gracious.”

Patrick had a Jeopardy-worthy knowledge of obscure facts, and Liam didn’t doubt his accuracy in pegging the origin of Anna’s name. “And my name? What does Liam mean?”

Patrick turned around and raked his hand through his hair, making it stand further on end. Einstein on a very bad hair day. “It’s Gaelic, boy. A form of William. It means warrior. Your brother’s name is Gaelic, too. It means dove…gentle. I think your mother knew what she was doing when she named you both. Be a warrior, fight for the girl.”

“I don’t have much time for girls, what with work and Colm, but thanks, Patrick.”

“Happy to give you an opinion any time, boy. Not that you listen to me.”

No one but Patrick ever referred to him as a boy anymore. To be honest, Liam was hard-pressed to remember a time he’d felt boyish. For as long as he could remember he’d had responsibilities, and he’d had even more since his parents had died.

He opened the door to the sound of laughter that immediately made him forget about responsibility.

“Come on, Anna,” Colm said in the living room. “Knock-knock.”

“Who’s there?” he heard Anna ask.

“Colm, silly.”

Anna burst out laughing. It wasn’t some fake titter, but a belly laugh that said she really did find his brother amusing.

“Come on, Anna. Your turn. I think I’m winnin’ so far.”

“Okay, last one. Hey, Colm, knock, knock.”

“Who’s there?”

“Banana.”

“Banana who?”

“Banana Anna, now time for pajamas.”

This time Colm was laughing, and Anna joined in. It was a wonderful sound to come home to.

“Hey, knock, knock,” Liam called by way of a greeting.

“Liam,” Colm screamed and a split second later came barreling into the living room archway. “You’re home.” He threw himself at Liam. It was apparent that Colm trusted Liam to catch him, and Liam vowed, not for the first time, that he always would.

Colm let him go as abruptly as he’d hugged him. “You bring me somethin’?”

“Maybe.”

Colm laughed. “You always bring me something. Come on. Where is it?”

“How about you go put on your pajamas, like Anna said, and I’ll find it.”

“Okey-dokey.” He let go of Liam and ran up the stairs at full speed.

“Walk on the stairs, Colm,” Anna called.

Colm slowed, but it was barely perceptible.

“So, how was your trip?” She started to get up off the couch.

“Please, don’t go yet,” Liam said. Anna sank back down and he sat across from her. It was nice to have someone ask about his trip. He’d never thought about it, but it had been a long time since someone had. “To answer your question, the trip was great. An unqualified success. It’s a big account.”

Jackson Tech’s business would keep his small computer security company in the black for a while.

“Congratulations, Liam. I’m so happy for you.”

“And how were things here?”

“Fantastic. Colm did his own laundry.” She smiled as if remembering something that pleased her. “Now, when you see how it’s folded, don’t belittle it. It’s not perfect, but a few wrinkles aren’t a very high price for the sense of pride he took in the job. He’s not quite ready to take over on his own, but he did a good job. If you don’t mind taking the time, you should have him help from now on.”

Liam felt a surge of guilt at the thought of what Colm had learned and accomplished in the short time he’d been in Anna’s company. “I should have worked more with him. I should have pushed Mom to let him try new things. But she was always afraid he’d get hurt, and after a while…Well, I never thought about it. Colm was Colm. And what he did or didn’t do was part of him.”

“Liam, we’ve had this discussion before.” Anna leaned forward, placing her hands on the coffee table and sending her curls tumbling over her shoulders, as if by getting close enough, she could somehow drive her point home. “You’ve done a wonderful job with your brother. Colm is well-adjusted and happy. He couldn’t learn or accomplish any of these things if he weren’t.”

“I never knew—”

“And I don’t know a thing about computers, and yet you do all sorts of amazing things with them. I find the tangle of machines and monitors up in your office intimidating to look at. You’re a good caring man, Liam Franklin. You came to Sunrise for help, you’ve let me work with Colm. You love him, you care for him. You have nothing to feel guilty about. Nothing.”

She looked so sincere. Wanting him to believe that she was willing to fight for him just as she always seemed so willing to fight for Colm.

Liam had a sudden urge to lean over the coffee table in order to close the distance between them…and kiss her. The urge caught him totally unaware. It wasn’t that he hadn’t noticed that Anna was attractive. Oh, maybe it had taken him a moment or two to notice, but that smile and laugh—he couldn’t shake them. And he’d quickly learned to appreciate that she was good at her job—good with his brother. But wanting to kiss her?

The urge was a surprise, and one he wasn’t planning to indulge in. Instead, he simply placed his hand on top of one of hers. She didn’t pull away, but turned her hand so they were palm to palm. She gave his hand a squeeze, and for a long moment, they both sat silently like that.

Finally, Liam sat back, breaking the connection. “Thanks.” His voice felt rough as it maneuvered through his tangle of emotions.

“Anytime.” She started to stand. “I should be going.”

“Hey, Anna,” Colm called from the top of the stairs. “Knock, knock.”

“Who’s there?” she called back, not bothering to remind him about inside voices.

“Pajama.” They could hear him thundering down the stairs.

“Pajama who?” Anna called.

Colm burst into the living room. “Pajamas are on Colm, that’s who.”

“I think there’s a chance he’s missed the point,” Liam whispered, even though he was laughing as hard as Colm was.

“The point is having fun, so I think he’s got it right,” Anna whispered back.

“Hey, Anna, wanna play a game of Go Fish?” Colm asked.

“Maybe another time, Colm. Your brother’s probably tired. I bet he wants some peace and quiet.”

“Nah, Liam’ll play, right, Liam?” Very seriously, he turned to Anna. “He’s like a superhero and can do anythin’.”

What could he say to that look of utter confidence that Colm shot him. “Sure, Colm. That is, if Anna hasn’t had enough of us yet.”

She gave him a look he couldn’t quite read. She slowly answered, “No. I’m not tired of the two of you yet.”

“Not never,” Colm said. “Anna, she likes me. ’Course, I don’t know if she likes you,” he teased.

“I like both Franklin brothers,” she said diplomatically.

“Nah, she likes me more, ’cause you’re a grump,” Colm teased. “Anna likes me the best.”

Liam knew Colm wanted him to argue about who Anna liked most as another kind of game, but he didn’t because that urge to kiss her hadn’t completely disappeared, despite his attempts at quashing it.

They all sat down to play Go Fish, and as he watched Colm, he realized that his brother had never been this happy. Sure, he’d been content. Cared for. Cosseted. But since Anna had come into their lives, Colm had really been growing by experiencing new things. He’d been happy in a way he’d never been before.

“Go fish,” Colm screamed.

“Inside voice, Colm,” Anna said softly.

“Sure, Anna. I forgot. But you know it’s okay to forget,” he instructed Liam. “Anna says, that’s why we got friends to remind us. And after a while we won’t forget no more. Inside voice inside. Yep, one day soon I’ll remember that on my own.”

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