by Mary Campisi
A FAMILY AFFAIR: THE GIFT
MARY CAMPISI
MARY CAMPISI BOOKS, LLC
CONTENTS
Introduction
Title Page
Dedication
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Afterword
Intro to The Betrayed Trilogy
Pieces of You
Prologue
16. Chapter 1
17. Chapter 2
About the Author
Other Books by Mary Campisi
INTRODUCTION
Heartache. Betrayal. Forgiveness. Redemption... It's time to head back to Magdalena, New York, and spend a little time with the people we love to love and even a few we love to hate.
Only one thing is missing from Tess and Daniel “Cash” Casherdon’s perfect life—a child. Oh, how they long for one to make their life complete. But what is it people say about being careful what you wish for…? Their wish will come true, but not in the way they think.
Daniel Casherdon’s past is about to catch up with him. It’s bad enough when a woman arrives in Magdalena with a nine-year-old boy she claims is his, but confessing to a terminal illness and asking Tess and Cash to raise the boy when she’s gone? Well, that’s going to require a big leap of faith that won’t be easy or without repercussions. How can anyone refuse a dying mother such a heartbreaking request? Tess is torn between doing right by the child and acknowledging that another woman has given the man she loves something she may never be able to—a child. As the woman pulls Cash closer into her emotional circle, it is Tess who becomes the outsider, and soon she wonders if the woman has secrets she’s not telling.
More than one resident is suspicious of anyone who drives a wedge between one of Magdalena’s favorite couples. The newcomer may look and act like the girl next door, but something isn’t right, and Pop Benito is going to gather ammunition and find out what that something is. But he’d better do it fast, before it’s too late.
And Cash isn’t the only one who’s gotten a visitor from his past. Pop Benito encounters his nemesis and is forced to face some hard truths about himself and the choices he made years ago. It’s going to be one very interesting summer in Magdalena! You’re not going to want to miss it!!
Truth in Lies Series:
Book One: A Family Affair
Book Two: A Family Affair: Spring
Book Three: A Family Affair: Summer
Book Four: A Family Affair: Fall
Book Five: A Family Affair: Christmas, a novella
Book Six: A Family Affair: Winter
Book Seven: A Family Affair: The Promise
Book Eight: A Family Affair: The Secret
Book Nine: A Family Affair: The Wish
Book Ten: A Family Affair: The Gift
Book Eleven: A Family Affair: The Weddings, a novella
Book Twelve: A Family Affair: The Cabin, a novella
Book Thirteen: A Family Affair: The Return
That Second Chance Series:
Book One: Pulling Home (also prequel to A Family Affair: The Promise)
Book Two: The Way They Were (Also prequel to A Family Affair: The Secret)
Book Three: Simple Riches (Also prequel to A Family Affair: Winter)
Book Four: Paradise Found (Also prequel to A Family Affair: The Wish)
Book Five: Not Your Everyday Housewife (Also prequel to A Family Affair: The Gift)
Book Six: The Butterfly Garden (Also prequel to A Family Affair: The Return)
BONUS MATERIAL: Included in this e-book is the first two chapters of The Betrayed Trilogy.
TITLE PAGE
A Family Affair:
The Gift
Truth in Lies, Book Ten
by
Mary Campisi
To Nicole—my miracle baby. You have filled my heart and given me such joy. Thank you for being you.
1
Some people said if a couple loved each other enough, they could get through anything, no matter how difficult or insurmountable the obstacle. As long as the couple stayed strong and fought together, they’d make it; they’d hang onto their love and battle through the challenges. Tess Casherdon believed that right up until her then fiancé shot and killed her baby brother. That’s when she stopped believing love was enough to dig through hate and pain. She would not think otherwise until years later, when she and Cash got another chance and love found a way past the hurt and old wounds. That’s when she started to believe love could indeed conquer anything, even a childless womb.
But Tess had not counted on the petite brunette with the almond-shaped eyes standing outside her door, holding the hand of a young boy who had Cash’s DNA stamped all over his face. No, she hadn’t considered that at all.
“Is Daniel Casherdon here?”
Tess dragged her gaze from the boy’s dark eyes and wavy, light brown hair. She guessed he was nine or ten. Long and lanky, a typical boy in jeans and a T-shirt, except he wasn’t typical. “My husband’s working.” Part of her wanted to invite them inside so she could pick around their lives, but another part wanted to send them away so she could protect the life she and Cash shared for a few more hours. The second part won. “I don’t know when he’ll be back.”
The woman’s face flooded with disappointment and what looked like suspicion. “Of course.” She reached in her pocket and pulled out a business card. “Would you tell him Stephanie Richmond stopped by? He’ll remember me.”
Tess took the card, slipped it into her jeans pocket. “I’ll let him know.”
A brief nod and the woman turned and left, the boy a step behind her. Had she heard him say, “What about Cash? When do I get to meet him?” Tess closed the front door, locked it, and peeked through the blind slats, holding her breath until the car rumbled down the drive. “Dear God, how can this be?” She sank into the recliner, squeezed her eyes shut, and pictured her husband and the woman together—in bed—and then she imagined the swollen belly, the maternity tops, the indigestion. What she wouldn’t give to know that feeling, to hold a baby in her arms, one with dark curls and dark eyes—one who looked like Cash. Now it looked as if another woman could claim that honor, a woman who shared a past with Cash that Tess knew nothing about.
Why was Stephanie Richmond here? Why now? Would she and her son present one more obstacle to Tess and Cash’s happiness? She sucked in a breath and made her way to the bedroom, eased onto the bed, curling into a ball, small and tight, snuffing out visions of Stephanie Richmond and her son. She would not tell Cash about them, not yet. Not tonight.
Tomorrow would come soon enough and with it, the truth. When the tears came, Tess let them suffocate her last chance for true happiness. Four years ago, Daniel Casherdon had found his way back into her life and pledged his heart to her. Not for a day or ten, but forever. She’d believed that this time nothing could separate them, not even the unlikelihood that they’d be able to conceive a child together. But she’d never counted on Cash having his own child or that the boy and his mother would find their way to Magdalena.
Cash had always attracted women; not that he tried or listened to the comments they made about his sun-streaked hair, his breath-stealing smile, or his you’re-mine-if-I-want-you gaze. The more he didn’t care, the more they wanted him. He’d told her it was all “bull
shit nonsense,” as he called it and threatened to shave his head and wear goggles with an elastic band if it would get them to stop. But the truth was, that wouldn’t have stopped them, because it was the essence of Daniel Casherdon that drew women in, and that didn’t come in a smile or an eye color. That was pure Cash. She loved that man, but she also loved the one he kept hidden from everybody but her, the one who still had the scars of being abandoned by his parents, suffered the guilt of shooting her brother, battled anger issues and bouts of fear because he could not protect her from illness, accidents, or natural disasters.
He hadn’t counted on the need to protect her against a woman from his past or the child who could be his. That was the danger that flattened marriages like a tornado: unexpected, all-consuming. Deadly. She had to fight back but not until she figured out who these intruders were. Then the battle would begin. As Tess drifted off to sleep, she vowed to protect what was hers, no matter what…
A trail of kisses along the back of her neck woke her. “Hey, sleepyhead,” her husband whispered. “Time to wake up.”
For just a second, life slipped back to a time before today’s visit; worries centered on Tess’s despair that another month had passed without a pregnancy. Such a worry seemed almost manageable when compared to what she’d encountered earlier today. What was the saying about throwing your worries in a pile along with everyone else’s? The bet was you’d choose your own every single time. There was certainly truth in that. Tess inched her eyes open, turned toward her husband. “Hi. What time is it?”
Cash smiled down at her, stroked her cheek, kissed her. “Almost dinnertime.” Those beautiful eyes clouded, filled with concern. “Are you okay?” His gaze shot to her belly, darted back to her face.
He asked the same question every month, though lately it had escalated to once a week. When they first started trying to get pregnant, he’d been cautious with the inquiries, dropping them in after she’d gotten her period. As the months passed, he grew more concerned about her mental state, and later, her emotional well-being. She’d cried as he held her and promised her a child—no matter what. It was the no matter what that she hadn’t considered. “I’m fine. Just tired.”
Cash tucked a lock of hair behind her ear, traced her jawline. “I want to see you smile again.” His gaze burned into her, captured her soul. “We need to talk.” He let out a quiet sigh. “Mimi Pendergrass called me; said you broke down in Sal’s Market the other day when you saw the Milanovich twins.” Another sigh, this one longer, softer. “She gave me the name of a therapist.” Pause. “I’ll come with you, babe, anything to get us through this.”
Tess touched his lips, trailed a finger to his neck. Cash really believed he could battle every problem and win. Hadn’t he promised to keep her safe and guard her happiness? It had been an impossible promise; she’d known that when he’d made it, but Cash had believed it. How would he protect her from Stephanie Richmond and her son? The boy who might be his son? Tomorrow would be soon enough to tell Cash about today’s visitors. Tess inched his T-shirt from his jeans, slid her hands along his firm belly, settled them on his belt buckle. “All I need is you.”
He hesitated. “I think we should talk. There’s too much going on that I’ve let slide. I’m worried about you.”
She worked up a smile, unbuckled his belt, and placed a hand over the bulge in his jeans. “This doesn’t feel like you’re in the mood to talk.” One more time, that’s what she wanted before his past threatened what they shared.
“Tess.” He sucked in a breath, the brackets around his mouth deep, his expression fierce.
How many times had he told her he’d never been able to resist her touch, that when she looked at him a certain way, the need to possess her drove him crazy? What if he hadn’t been able to resist any woman’s touch or look? What if, when a woman sent out a take-me-I’m-yours signal, he’d done just that? Logic told her she was reacting to the shock of today’s visit, that Cash had possessed self-control and discretion during the years of their separation. Fear reminded her of the reckless streak that still surfaced every now and then. Desperation beat out fear as she unbuttoned her shirt, placed his hand on her breast.
His eyes grew bright, his voice rough. “I love you so damn much and we are going to get through this.”
He meant the baby. Tomorrow, he might add a few more people to that list, but right now she didn’t want to think about it. “Make love to me, Cash. Make me forget.”
CASH ROLLED over and inched an eye open. “Tess?” She’d only beaten him out of bed twice since they’d been married, and one of those times was because he had the flu. Maybe she was up and thinking about the “talk” he’d told her needed to happen. He pictured her on the back deck, sipping coffee, pale blond head bent in thought. This couldn’t go on, month after month of sidestepping issues. They needed to address the widening gap between sadness and potential solutions before the gap became a damn canyon. It happened to couples all the time, but it wasn’t going to happen to them. No damn way. He tossed back the covers and slid out of bed, his gaze narrowing on the center of his wife’s pillow and the small card resting on it. What the hell was that? He made his way to her side of the bed and snatched what looked like a business card. Stephanie Richmond and a phone number along with his wife’s scrawl: I found this in the mailbox.
Stephanie? He hadn’t seen her in…Cash ran a hand through his hair, scratched his neck. How long had it been? Ten years? Eleven? He couldn’t remember and that bothered him because she’d been married to his buddy, Lewis. Cash and Lewis had served on the force in Philly together. They’d been friends, and when Lewis died of a heart attack at thirty-eight, Cash had tried to help Stephanie deal with her grief, but what had he known back then about providing comfort and support? After Tess ripped his guts apart and shredded his heart, he’d lost the capacity to feel. Still, he’d tried to be there for Stephanie and they’d ended up in bed, but it was no good, because he was no good at fixing things like people or relationships. She’d been so damn desperate to soothe her grief and loneliness, but sleeping together had been wrong on every level. Factor in guilt that he’d slept with his dead friend’s wife and toss in Cash’s inability to get through a day that didn’t start and end with thoughts of his ex-fiancée, and the idea of a relationship was pretty much screwed. He and Stephanie didn’t make it past three weeks and a month later she packed up and headed north. That was the last he’d seen her.
Why was she here? And how did Tess happen to have her card? Where the hell was Tess? Had the early up-and-out-of-the-house been another avoidance tactic? Well, if that was her plan, it wasn’t going to work. Cash had too many questions bouncing around in his head and he’d get answers to all of them. First, though, he needed a cup of coffee. He yanked on his boxers, grabbed his cell phone, and went in search of his wife. “Tess?”
The note on the kitchen counter said she had a dentist appointment and planned to head to Renova to pick up printer paper and a few office supplies. “Huh.” Cash scratched his stubbled jaw, glanced at Stephanie’s card, and punched out her number. Lewis had been his friend and he owed it to the man to make sure his wife was okay. Factor in the smear of guilt coating his conscience because he’d slept with her, and that made the phone call a necessity.
Two cups of coffee and a shower later, Cash pulled into the Heart Sent and hopped out of his truck. He spotted Stephanie sitting in one of the rockers Nate had made a few years back. She waved and stood, a smile spreading over her small face. Lewis had called her his pixie because she didn’t quite reach five feet and he’d been able to lift her up with one arm. “Well, look at you!” Cash bounded up the steps and pulled her into a big hug. “How the hell are you, Steph? Long time no see.”
Those dark eyes turned bright, filled with tears. “It’s been a long time, hasn’t it?”
He grinned, touch her cheek. “Too long.”
She clasped his hand, squeezed. “It’s so good to see you, Cash.” Her voice shifted, g
rew hoarse. “I’ve thought of you often.”
Something in her tone put him on alert. Was she in trouble? Did she need his help? Her parents were both dead, she had no siblings, and as far as he knew, no living relatives. He understood the no-family-ties thing because if it hadn’t been for Ramona, he would have been all alone. But those days were gone. Now he had Tess, his everything. “Steph, are you okay?”
She worked up a half smile and nodded her curly head. When she lived in Philly, she’d worn her dark hair in a long braid and Lewis had joked that it was one third of her body weight. “You know me, I cry at weddings, birthday parties, and funerals, and I don’t discriminate.”
He laughed, motioned for her to sit. “What’s it been, ten years?”
“Hard to believe, isn’t it?” Aside from the short hair and a few lines around her eyes, she looked like the same Stephanie Richmond he remembered.
She leaned back in the rocker, let out a sigh. “Some days it seems like yesterday that Lewis and I got married.” Another sigh, this one softer than the last, filled with enough sadness to cover a cemetery. “I still miss him.”
“I know.” Cash folded his hands over his belly, thought of the tragic and sudden death of his friend. “It’s such a damn shame.” Weren’t heart attacks supposed to happen to the elderly, not thirty-eight year olds? Lewis had been a good cop who loved his wife so much he wrote her poems and didn’t care if his coworkers made fun of him. Cash hadn’t understood that kind of love back then; he’d been too raw and angry and bent on self-destruction. But he got it now, hell yes. He understood how a guy would do anything for the woman he loved, even risk looking like a complete fool. “So, where’d you end up? And how’d you find me?” And why exactly are you here? It was the last question he really wanted to know and bet it would be wrapped in comments like “need your help” and “no place else to turn”.
“I’ll bet you’re wondering why I’m here.”
“Well, yeah, I am a little curious.” He slid her a look and a smile that usually got women telling him way more than he wanted to know, but in this case, he actually wanted the unabridged version.