Marrying a Delacourt by Sherryl Woods

that scent in the air is,” he admitted. “Take a deep breath and see if you can tell.”
    Josh gave an exaggerated sniff. “Must be those roses over there,” he said, indicating a garden Michael hadn’t noticed before. “They smell real sweet, just like that.”
    Michael laughed.
    Josh stared at him. “What’s so funny?”
    “Some would say it’s about time I stopped to smell the roses,” Michael told him.
    “What’s that mean?”
    “It means I’m usually too busy to pay attention to what’s going on around me.”
    The boy nodded. “One of my foster dads was like that. He was never home. Sometimes he stayed out all night. When he did, my foster mom would cry.”
    Michael doubted Josh had any idea what the man had probably been up to on those nights away from home. Obviously, though, seeing his foster mom cry had troubled him. He gave the boy’s shoulder a sympathetic squeeze. “That must have been tough on you.”
    “Yeah, well, when you’re a foster kid, you get used to stuff,” he said with a shrug.
    Michael resolved then and there that there would be no more stuff for Josh and Jamie to learn to take in stride. He would do whatever it took to see that they landed in a good home this time, maybe even try to make them eligible for adoption if their mother wasn’t ever going to get her life straightened out. The courts were looking more favorably on making that happen these days, rather than leaving children in limbo forever. Whatever he and Grace decided to do, though, they had to move quickly, before logic got all tangled up with emotion.
    He glanced down and saw that Josh was mimicking his wide stance, his hands locked behind his back just as Michael’s were. He bit back a sudden desire to smile.
    “Where’s Jamie?” he asked Josh.
    “In the barn. He’s not touching anything,” he assured Michael hurriedly. “Just looking.”
    “Looking is fine,” Michael assured him. “Does he like horses?”
    Josh’s head bobbed up and down. “He loves horses more than anything. He really, really wants to learn to ride,” he confided. “Even more than me. Do you think we could? Could you teach us?”
    What was it with everyone trying to get him on a blasted horse? Michael wondered.
    “We’ll see,” he hedged, then felt terrible when he saw the disappointment rising in Josh’s eyes. Maybe he could get someone from White Pines over here to give the boys lessons. He couldn’t do that, though, until he and Grace had made some progress in finding out their legal status. That had to be cleared up before everyone landed in a heap of trouble.
    “I’ll make you a deal,” he said, hunkering down until he was at eye level with Josh. He’d pulled off multimillion dollar negotiations with less finesse than this conversation was likely to require.
    “What kind of a deal?” Josh asked, regarding him with innate distrust.
    “You tell me your last name so Grace and I can get your situation straightened out, and I’ll get someone over here to give you riding lessons.”
    “I don’t know,” Josh replied, clearly torn. “Jamie would be real mad if he found out.”
    “Jamie wants to ride. Maybe he’d consider it a fair trade-off.”
    Obviously tempted, Josh brightened. “Let’s go ask him,” he said, tugging on Michael’s hand.
    Michael had a feeling Jamie’s hide was tougher than Josh’s. No matter how badly he wanted the riding lessons, Jamie might not be willing to tell Michael what he needed to know.
    “No,” Michael said, halting their forward motion. “This deal is between the two of us. I won’t tell your brother you told me.”
    “But he’ll know,” Josh reasoned. “How else could you find out?”
    “If he asks, I’ll tell him I had my brother do some research. He’s a private investigator.”
    “But that’s a lie.”
    Michael winced at his shock. “I know, but once in a very long while, when it’s to protect someone’s feelings, a very small lie is okay.”
    Josh was still