“I’ll tell her you said so.”
After he realized his rudeness—shoving a cookie in his pie hole without saying hello to his daughter-in-law, he brushed the crumbs off his shirt. As he took a swig of soda, he gave her a quick head to toe inspection. No wonder Cam called her princess. Domini had a foreign look about her—delicate features, icy blue eyes and white blonde hair that spoke of her Ukrainian heritage. In addition to running Dewey’s Delish Dish, she was a cop’s wife, and dealt with Cam’s lingering effects from his stint in the army and his career—and nearly life-ending injury. Now she and Cam had six busy, rowdy kids. Not necessarily shy, but soft-spoken, Domini was the picture of calmness. It seemed nothing rattled her even in the sea of chaos that was their life raising a big family.
“Domini, you’re lookin’ as pretty and happy as ever. I trust my son is takin’ good care of you?”
She blushed. “Always. And I’ll say again, it’s obvious where your son got his charm.”
He smiled and swigged his Dr. Pepper.
“Any change with Carolyn?”
“Nope. They’re still plannin’ on slowly bringing her out of the coma whenever the hell they deem it so.” That didn’t sound bitter at all.
Domini gazed at the small space and his corner of the room where he’d literally set up camp. Those calm eyes bored into him. “What are you eating?”
“Some stuff from the cafeteria.” When he remembered to eat. “I’m getting by.”
“Have any of your children been by to make sure you’re all right? Or are they boycotting this place like Cam is?”
“Haven’t seen any of them.” He reached for another cookie. “Is it an organized boycott?” Carson had a funny mental image of his grown children holding protest signs, marching in front of the hospital, shouting at passersby that they wanted their mommy.
Getting punchy, McKay.
“I have no idea. And no offense, but I’m just as mad at your other kids as I am at your son. So you can quit wondering if I’m here to plead for visitation rights on his behalf.”
Carson bit into the cookie. Chewed. Swallowed. “Domini, darlin’, I don’t want to put you at odds with Cam.”
“I’m at odds with him because he’s a freakin’ hypocrite.” She rattled off a Ukrainian phrase he doubted flattered his son. “Anton and Liesl are steering clear of him after he went on a tear about his rights and they asked if he’d apply that same argument if I was in the hospital.”
“What’d Cam say?”
“Nothing. He just snapped at them. But Oxsana informed her father that if Grandpa wanted to ban everyone from Gran-gran’s room, that he shouldn’t argue because he’s supposed to honor his mother and father no matter what, no matter how old he is.”
Touched, he said, “My little I-haven’t-found-a-rule-that-can’t-be-broken Oxsana said that?”
“Yes. Evidently she’s been paying attention in Sunday school,” Domini said dryly. “And Dimitri told Cam he should listen to you because you know everything. And he emphasized everything twice.”
Carson grinned. “Bet that put a knot in Cam’s shorts.”
Domini laughed. “Yes, it did. I thought you ought to know your grandkids have your back.” Her smile slipped away. “That’s not to say that the kids aren’t worried about Carolyn. We told them what happened. And trust me, they’re all super healthy right now—” she knocked on the wooden chair leg, “—or even I wouldn’t have risked coming here.”
“I’m glad you did. And not just because you brought me cookies.” He paused. “Why’d you call Cam a hypocrite?”
“He made decisions after his war injuries about keeping his family away due to health issues that served his needs. Not just for a few days, but for years. He can’t fault you for making a decision that serves your needs first.”
“He’d still be pushin’ us away if not for him findin’ you, darlin’, I fully believe that.”
“Thank you. Cam is a strong man, but he’s a worst-case scenario guy. I don’t know if that’s because he’s in law enforcement or what. Even if he could see Carolyn, I’m not sure I’d want him in there because he’d be a Negative Nancy.”
“Cam has been that way since he was a kid. One time he had Colt convinced that the mosquito bite on the back of his neck was filled with an egg sac and if he scratched it a hundred bugs would fly out and bite him a hundred more times.”
“Good Lord. Now I know where Markus gets it.”
Cam’s youngest boy was a serious little kid. A deliberate thinker. Oddly enough, he reminded Carson of Cord, not Cam. “What else is goin’ on?”
“Anton is competing this weekend in Gillette. Since Cam is on duty, I’ll probably end up driving Anton and Gib to the event to get them registered. Channing and Colby plan to come later, depending on…”
What happens with Carolyn.
As far as Carson was concerned, he’d be loading up his wife and taking her home. “Tell the boys I’m sorry I won’t get to watch them compete. Anton has come a long way in his bull doggin’ skills this summer.”
Domini sighed. “It’s because he’s shot up four inches in the last six months. With this growth spurt I cannot keep enough food in the house for that boy.”
“I remember them days.”
“Dimitri, Oxsana, Sasha and Markus have art and science camp at the community center all next week. Oh, and Macie and I decided to go to a restaurant management conference in Denver for four days at the beginning of August. Which will leave Cam home with the kids by himself for the first time. I’ve already informed him that I expect him to deal with our children by himself. No passing off babysitting duties to Anton and Liesl. No dumping them off with Aunt Keely or with Grandpa and Gran-gran or any of his other brothers.”
“Aren’t those decisions about what he does or doesn’t do with the kids when you ain’t around his choice?”
She picked at a stray thread on the bottom of her shirt. “Normally I’d agree with you. Cam is a great father. He’s involved with every aspect of our kids’ lives. But sometimes he says things before he thinks them through.”
Now it made sense. “Jesus. What did my thick-tongued boy spout off about?”
“Something that made me want to punch him in his smart mouth. Hence the ‘no relying on your massive family and overly kind sisters-in-law’ to pull his butt out of the fire. He will deal with his children all by his little self if he thinks it’s so easy.”