“Yeah, Meryl up and left her son when he was a year old. Three years later, she married Pops, and a year after that, she had me.”
I wasn’t planning on going through the fucked up family tree, but she’d pushed every last one of my buttons defending the one woman who didn’t deserve it.
“It’s not possible. I’d have known…” she said on a gasp.
Once I made it to the cafeteria, I shuffled to the coffeemaker, plunked in the fifty-five cents, and shoved a paper cup under the spout. The coffee was wretched, but it helped keep me awake. Well, it did for about an hour, and then I’d make my zombie walk back over to the machine once more. This was another one of those routines I repeated several times a day.
I took a deep breath and planted my forehead against the machine as it whirred to life, spilling out the coffee. The buzz and hum felt good against my aching head. “Believe it. It gets worse, though.”
“Mia, no.” She sobbed, sniffed, and hiccupped into the line. Frankly, at that point, I didn’t care. I’d been through more shit the past couple weeks than any normal person should. She needed to share this burden of truth.
“Maxwell Cunningham. Not only is he our brother, he’s Maddy’s biological brother from both parents. You know what that means, Millie? Huh?” My voice rose, the anger and defeat controlling every word. “That means your sister cheated on my dad. She had an affair with Jackson Cunningham a decade after they had their first child, and she got pregnant with Maddy. That lowlife bitch passed off Maddy as Pops’s child, and she never bothered to come clean. That’s the type of woman your sister is. Learn to live with it. I sure as hell have.”
I clicked the phone off, grabbed my cup, and sucked down the entire thing in one go. The coffee was hot enough to burn my tongue, obliterating every taste bud in its wake. Not that I cared. Pain would give me something else to focus on besides the absolute dire straits my father was in.
Pulling out a dollar bill from my pocket, I fed it into the machine, added ten cents, and put my now empty cup on one side and a cup for Maddy on the other. Again, I pressed my forehead against the whirring, which lasted longer. For a minute, I succumbed to the blackness.
“Jesus Christ, sugar, come here,” came the sweetest sound, next to my Wes’s voice, before I was turned around and hauled into the massive arms of the man I’ve now come to know as my brother.
“Max,” I choked into his chest. I gripped onto his back and let the tears fall. They came fast and furious. Like a torrential downpour they fell, soaking Max’s black Henley, but he just held on tighter. For the first time since I received that call, I felt safe. Protected. “Thank you. Thank you for coming,” I said between sobs.
If possible, he held me closer, tighter. More warmth surrounded my frigid core. “Nowhere I’d rather be than here seeing my sisters through a hard time. You just lean on me, sugar.”
And for a long, long time, I did.
When a sob scraped its way up from my chest and out my mouth, he held strong. As my knees weakened and I lost the ability to stand, he lifted me up. When I begged and pleaded for my father to live and prayed to God, he whispered the words right along with me.
I’d never had someone to fall back on, a person who dropped everything to be there when I needed him. Right there, locked in the haven that was his arms, he imprinted on my soul. I had a brother, and now that I did, I never wanted to find out what life would be like without him.
Chapter Two
“Mia, sugar, you’re dead on your feet. You have to get some shut-eye or your body is just going to stop working for you when you least expect it.”
I pulled back from the warmth of his embrace, wiped my eyes on the sleeve of my shirt, and sucked in several calming breaths. “I’m okay. Really, Max, I’ll be fine.”
“No, she’s not,” came Maddy’s voice from about ten paces behind us as she made her way over. She looked at the coffee machine and pointed. “One of those for me?”
I nodded and followed her movements while she prepared both coffees. She actually made an effort to add cream and sugar. I’d just taken it black even though I hated black coffee. I couldn’t taste it anyway. Same with food. Pretty much everything had not only lost its flavor, but the world around me had lost a lot of its color.
Maddy shuffled over to Max and walked right into his chest. This was a first. Max put his arms around her and tentatively held her close, petting her hair. He closed his eyes as if the moment were a bit much emotionally. I knew he wanted to be close with Maddy and me, but everything in Texas had happened so fast they didn’t have much time to connect. From the moment we found out that Maxwell was our brother, to finding out she was his full biological sister, we got the call about Pops and had to bail.
She lifted her head, resting her chin on his chest. “Thank you for coming, Max.”
“Like I told your sister, there is nowhere I’d rather be right now.”
“Our sister.” Her voice shook a bit when she said the two words.
Max frowned and his eyebrows furrowed. “What’s that, sweetie?” Sweetie. Since he’d met us, he’d called her sweetie and me sugar. I kind of liked my endearment better.
“Our sister,” Maddy repeated. “Before, you said your sister. I was just correcting you. We’re all related, and I want to make it clear right now that no matter who’s got more matching blood running in their veins, Mia will always be one hundred percent our sister.”
Max’s lips pinched together. “You’re absolutely right. I didn’t mean to say it that way. I apologize.”
He apologized? What? “Max, no need to apologize, really. Maddy is just being a little oversensitive. Emotions are really high right now.”
Maddy’s eyes narrowed. “No I’m not. I’m telling it like it is. The same way you have always taught me growing up. Never hide behind a lie. Never hold your tongue when important information needs to be discussed. I don’t want to stew in this any longer. Max needs to know that you are more important to me than anyone else in this world. If we’re going to be a family in any way, no matter what, where you are in the lineup is where I’m going to be. And that’s just the way it is. Period. I don’t care who my biological father is.” She pointed down the hall. “That man in there is my dad. No blood test is ever going to change that.”
Max took a slow breath, and I scuffed the linoleum floor, leaving black streaks while I figured out how to best deal with this outburst. She was obviously feeling strange about her place, defensive over our relationship, and conflicted about Pops and her lineage.
“Maddy… Max, his wife Cyndi, and baby, Isabel, as well as the little guy on the way, are all now an addition to the Saunders clan, okay? Don’t think of it as a change as much as an addition. Just because they are Cunninghams doesn’t mean you are.”
That’s when Max made a fatal error. “Well technically, she is a Cunningham but didn’t know it.”
I could see the moment the statement hit my girl. Her body went ramrod straight, her chest puffed up, and daggers seemed to fly from her eye sockets as she stormed in front of Max, got out that pointing finger of hers—the one I absolutely hated to be at the other end of—and shoved it against his chest several times. Ouch. I knew from experience that boney ass finger hurt.
“Are you certifiable? I know they do things different in Texas, but hear me and hear me well. I am, always have been, and will always be Madison Saunders. Got it? I was fine in my skin before, and I’m not changing it because some DNA test proves something. I’ll admit that I’m shocked that I have a brother and am actually happy about that fact, but you will not win me as some kind of Meryl Colgrove consolation prize. Got it?”
“Baby girl…” My own voice was unrecognizable with the amount of sorrow rushing through it as I put an arm around my sister. Her whole body slammed into my chest, and her face went right into my neck.
“I’m Madison Saunders! I’m not a Cunningham,” she sobbed, the thick veil of my hair covering her face.
“Hey
, baby, nobody’s trying to change you, your name, or who you are. You’ll always be my sister. You’ll always be Pops’s daughter. Now, we just have a whole other part of our family to love and get to know. Nothing changes, Mads. Nothing. It’s still me and you against the world, okay?” She nodded but continued to cry. “I mean that. Max is not here to change anything, are you, Max?”
Maxwell cleared his throat and put a giant paw on the back of my sister’s head. “Sweetie, I already love you and Mia very much. You’re my little sisters, and from the moment we all met, I felt that tug of awareness, of family. I wanted you and your sister my whole life. Wanted that family. Now I have it, and I’m happy, honey. Cyndi, Isabel, and baby Jack are going to have some seriously awesome women in their lives, and I just feel fortunate. That’s all, darlin’. That’s why I’m here. To lend support while you and Mia take care of your dad.”
After a few moments, Maddy lifted her head. I cupped her cheeks and wiped her tears. “Nothing’s changed, okay?”
“F-Feels l-like a lot has c-changed.” She wiped her snotty nose on her sleeve. Yikes. We were both disgusting.
“Even though it feels that way, it really hasn’t. You’re still in school, you’re on the road to being Mrs. Matthew Rains, and you have me forever. Now, you just have a big, badass, rich cowboy brother.”
“Well, we’re all rich.” Max supplied helpfully, which really wasn’t helpful at all.
Jeez Louise. There had to be a shut-off button. Weren’t brothers supposed to come with one of those? I hadn’t had a chance to discuss the Cunningham Oil & Gas business when the news of Pops taking a turn hit.
Maddy’s eyebrows came together, leaving a cute little wrinkle above her nose. When she was little, I’d kiss that little wrinkle and tell her not to frown because it would stay that way and she’d hate it later on in life.
“We’re not rich, Max,” she scoffed. “Far, far from it.”
Maxwell directed a harsh look my way. “You haven’t told her?” He crossed those massive arms over his even wider chest.
I wanted to slink down into a puddle of goo at his feet. There had been way too much drama to deal with to be having this conversation right now. First Millie, now Max and Maddy. Criminy.
“Told me what?” Maddy pressed.
“Max, we’ve had some pretty severe shit going on. The last thing I needed to do was add yet another complication.”
“What complication?” Maddy asked.
“It’s really not a complication. More a benefit,” Max added.
“And that would be?” she asked.
Instead of participating, I was just too damned tired to figure out a way to ease into it, and Max seemed gung-ho, so why the hell not? Sipping on my coffee, allowing the creamy liquid that admittedly always tasted better when someone else made it—or it could be the addition of cream and sugar—I watched as Max explained to Maddy that we were all three going to own a piece of Cunningham Oil & Gas, though I did get him to agree to split Maddy’s and my amount in half so he’d still carry fifty percent of the company. It was his birthright and his legacy, not something we ever grew up wanting a piece of. The two of us would each have twenty-five percent, which would give us a crazy amount of money, but also not force us to make the everyday decisions and work the business if we didn’t want to. I sure as hell didn’t want to. Maddy on the other hand, with her degree, might be interested in the option in the future.
After Max spilled the details, she stood there, maybe in shock or lost in thought. I couldn’t be sure at that point. Eventually, the lights turned on and someone was home because her face lit up. A rosy hue covered her cheeks, and the sunny personality that was my baby sis came to the surface.
“I own twenty-five percent of one of the largest oil and gas companies in the nation.”
“Yes, ma’am.” A little smirk stole across Max’s lips.
“Get out!” Her hands came to her chest and she clenched them together. “That’s unreal.”
“Having sisters is unreal. It’s your birthright to be part of the family business,” Max announced proudly.
“So when I’m done with college, if I want, I could just come work for the company?” Just as I suspected, my book-smart, scientist sister would be all over that.
Max laughed. “Of course. I’d love for both of you to come work at the headquarters in Dallas.”
I cringed and shook my head. “Sorry, this Vegas girl is now a Cali girl.”
“We’ll see.” Max grinned and put his arms around Maddy and me. “For now, though, I need to get a real meal into both of you.” He sniffed my hair. “And showers. And at least four hours of sleep.”
Both Maddy and I were going to protest, but he walked us right past Pops’s room. Nothing had changed in the fifteen minutes or so we’d been in the cafeteria and he’d been alone.
“We can’t leave Pops alone,” Maddy said.
“You’re not going to. I ran into your fella. He and his mother we’re heading in to relieve you both anyway. They’re going to sit with your dad while you guys rest of up for a bit. No arguments. You’re no good to him like this. He’d be mad as hell if you weren’t taking care of yourselves, I’m sure.” Max’s tone was firm.
I made a sound that was between a laugh and a huff but didn’t respond. Pops cared. He definitely loved us, but usually he was so far gone in the drink that he wouldn’t notice if Maddy and I had gone days without food.
One time we didn’t eat for two days. I was twelve and not old enough to work, and Maddy was seven. We’d gone through all the food in the house, including the dry and canned stuff. After two full days had passed with nothing to eat, I was desperate. So I walked down to the main drag to an overly busy casino buffet and loaded my tote up with rolls and pieces of chicken when people weren’t looking. I made sure I stood real close to a family that had other kids, and no one was the wiser. I slipped out of the buffet, and Maddy and I ate for three days on what I’d pilfered until Pops came back from his binge and filled the house with food again. I did that several more times over the years when it got bad. The answer to Max’s statement before would be a resounding no. Pops likely wouldn’t have noticed we were hurting, tired, or any of that. He’d known me a month and Maddy a week and could already see what we needed.
Led by an overbearing brother, Maddy and I let him drag us across the street to the hotel with the plush two-bedroom suite he’d secured for us a week ago, a suite that hadn’t been slept in once. We’d only used it for showering, and not enough if the rank smell that filled the space was anything to go by. Max flicked on the air and sat on the bed. You two, showers, now.” He pointed at Maddy and me. Then he picked up the phone. “Yeah, I’d like…uh hold up. You two like burgers?”
My mouth actually watered at the idea of a meaty, cheesy burger. For days I’d lost my appetite. The same went for actually having eaten anything remotely close to a meal. It had been a strict diet consisting of coffee, Snickers bars, and trail mix, and that was when I could force myself to choke down something. Oh, Maddy’s new perfect mother-in-law-to-be had come bearing food every day, but I hadn’t been able to bring myself to partake. Pops wasn’t eating. Why should I? Now, a good few pounds lighter and a stomach eating itself, I knew I was no good to anyone like this.
“Burgers are fine, Max, thank you,” I answered, and Mads simply nodded. I could tell from her gait and the slump in her frame that she was losing her grip and the weight of everything was starting to show.
Since it was a two-bedroom suite, there were two bathrooms. I showered in one, Mads in the other. When I exited, a man’s T-shirt and a clean pair of boxer shorts sat on the vanity. It didn’t even dawn on me to think of pajamas and I definitely hadn’t packed any. I shuffled my way into the living area where Maddy sat, hands around a giant burger. She too wore a T-shirt and a pair of boxer shorts.
“Twinsies,” I joked, and Maddy almost choked on her burger when she giggled.
“Had to give you guys something to we
ar. You ain’t got nothin’ for bedclothes. What have you been wearing to sleep in?”
I gazed at the window, basically anywhere else in the room, to avoid the question.
Maddy went the route of honesty. “Max, we’ve been holding down the fort at the hospital.”
His head jerked back, and he gripped his knees. “You mean you haven’t slept in a bed since you left the ranch?”
Maddy, God love her, did not catch on to the warning hitch in his voice. “Nope. Most nights, I nod off on the love seat in there and Mia on the chair.”
His gaze cut to mine. “You’ve been sleepin’ in a chair for a week?” He pointed to me. “And you must have contorted into a pretzel to fit your length into a love seat,” he directed at Maddy. “For Christ’s sake, no wonder you two look like death warmed over. Where the hell are your men in all this?” He scowled deep and gripped his knees tighter.
“Good fucking question,” I mumbled around a salty French fry. It was the perfect crispness, salt to grease ratio, and potato awesomeness. After inhaling at least ten of them, I picked up the burger.
Maddy chewed and then spoke. “Mia refused to leave. I refused to leave Mia. We’re in this together, right, Sis?” she said as if watching our father die were something we needed to mark off our sisterly solidarity list. It was sweet though. I knew she wanted Pops to pull through this as much as I did, but we also feared what would happen when he found out that he wasn’t her biological father.
Max stood, paced the room, and shook his head. “Well, I’ll be here for up to two weeks or unless he turns the corner on this thing. Then I’ve got to get back to Cyndi. Can’t be gone in the last month of her pregnancy. Shoot, maybe I should bring the girls out here now. Then we’d all be together during this, no matter what happens.”
Could he have been more of a kind, generous human being? I didn’t think so. I’d never known a man like him, and I probably never would again. Yes, I’d met some pretty special men this past year, ones that would go down as best friends, exceptional lovers, and more in some cases. Max, though, was unique. His love for his family warred with Tai’s and his Samoan clan of Nikos back in Hawaii. They were a tight bunch, but the fierceness coming from Max, the way he held himself, doted on Maddy and me, took care of us like he wanted to and wanted to forever, meant so much more. There really wasn’t a way to describe it without sounding like an overly sappy Hallmark card.
September: Calendar Girl Book 9 Page 2