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Johnny.
    Finally, the workings of a smile popped out on Rachel’s delicate face. “Everyone says my kids are more Roberts than Evans, although I’ve compared his pictures to some of John’s baby photos and I see some similarities.”
    Meaning nothing by it, he reached up and tugged a wisp of Rachel’s blonde hair, smiling. “They’re both little blondies, like you.”
    She gave a taut jerk of her head and stepped back, as if his slight touch equated to a scorching flame.
    “What?”
    “Nothing.” She swiveled quickly and headed for the kitchen. For a second, he debated whether to follow but then went with his gut.
    The kitchen was in worse shape than the living room, with dirty dishes stacked a mile high in the sink and the table cluttered with mail, magazines, and newspaper ads. In the center of it all was a drooping plant that looked as if it hadn’t had a drink of water since spring. Under Johnny’s high chair was a smattering of cheerios. “I could bring Rosie over here to clean that up,” he jested, pointing at the floor.
    Rachel gave a cheerless smile. “Very funny.” Hoisting Johnny on her hip, she removed the tray and buckled the baby into his seat. “I usually don’t have time to do a decent cleaning until the kids go to bed.”
    “I see.” By the looks of things, they hadn’t gone to bed in a week.
    Rachel walked to the cupboard and took out a jar of baby food. On cue, Johnny started banging on the tray and jabbering.
    Meagan had grown heavy in his arms, so he set her down and whispered, “How about playing with your toys for a few minutes so I can talk to your mommy?”
    In answer, her pert little chin went down and her lower lip shot out. Quickly, he nudged her into the living room and out of her mother’s earshot. “Listen, Meaggie,” he said, getting down on one knee and snagging a golden lock between his thumb and forefinger. “Uncle Jason is going to spend some time with you in a bit, but I need to help your mommy with a few things first. Is that all right? Why don’t you go pick out a book you’d like me to read to you, or maybe find a movie we can watch later?”
    That perked her up. “You mean, like Cinderella or something?”
    Not exactly his number one choice. “Absolutely. But you’ll have to wait till I get done helping your mom.”
    Her oatmeal-colored eyebrows arched. “What you goin’ to do?”
    He heaved a long sigh. Yes, what? And where to begin was the next question. “Well, she carried a bunch of stuff into the garage that I’m going to take back to the basement for her.”
    “From when we had that lake downstairs and Mommy cried?”
    “She cried, did she?”
    “She cries a lot,” Meagan said with a shrug. Like a sucker punch, the straightforward comment smacked Jason square in the chest.
    He fingered the buttons on the front of Meagan’s shirt. “You could help, you know, by picking up all your toys. Your mom would appreciate that a lot.”
    She looked thoughtful. “Okay, but first I’ll get some books.” She scampered off, making him wonder if she’d digested any of what he’d said.
    Sighing again, he headed back to the kitchen and found Rachel feeding Johnny what looked like peas, judging by the green gook all over his chin and bib.
    “Does he like that stuff?”
    Rachel cast him a listless glance. “He’ll eat it if it’s the only thing available.”
    The only thing available? “Do you need me to make a grocery run for you?”
    He heard her breathy intake of air, saw her shoulders go down in a slump. She scraped the bottom of the jar with a spoon and gave Johnny one final green bite. “I don’t need you to do anything, Jason. Actually, I’d prefer it if you left.”
    “I just got here.”
    She let out a long breath, then snagged the Cheerios box from the table and tossed a pile of morsels on Johnny’s tray before standing up to face him. Blowing a strand of hair off her face, she asked, “What do you want, Jason?”
    He took a step