A Family Affair: The Gift (Truth in Lies Book 10)

by Mary Campisi

  “Perfect.” She smiled up at him. “And I think Harry’s learning how to be more discriminating with his purchases for the girls.”

  “Really? Is that why he bought the stroller and the playhouse? And what about the new wristwatch? Do you classify as one of the girls or are we speaking of the ones with the bows in their hair?”

  She swatted his arm and frowned. “Nathan Desantro, you’d better watch your mouth or you’ll be in trouble.”

  “Ah. With you?” When she nodded, he leaned close, whispered in her ear. “Trouble with you is the best kind.” He was about to tell her just how much he looked forward to getting into trouble with her and some other silliness she loved to hear when Anna yanked on his pant leg.

  “Daddy. Look!”

  Nate released Christine and turned toward his older daughter. “What is that?” He accepted the plastic box filled with plastic ferns and pebbles and two shells…that moved. “Hermit crabs?” He glanced at his wife and said, “You have got to be kidding? The goldfish wasn’t enough?”

  “Jinxy died. Uncle Harry said it was because Jinxy was a bad name for him. He said we have to think of happy names like Dancy and Fizzy, stuff like that.”

  “Uh-huh.” Wait until he got hold of Harry; he’d have a talk with him about filling his daughter’s head with BS. “So, what did you name the crabs? Dancy and Fizzy?”

  Anna giggled. “No, I named them Harry and Greta.”

  Christine stifled a laugh, but Nate nodded and said in a serious tone, “I like those names. Now why don’t you take Harry and Greta and show Joy so Daddy can talk to Mommy about big- people talk?” He handed the plastic house container back to his daughter and waited until she’d settled on the blanket next to her sister’s stroller before he said, “Big trouble in the Casherdon household.”

  “What do you mean? Did Cash find out Tess was on the baby blogs?”

  Baby blogs? He clasped Christine’s hand, sucked in a breath, and blew it out. “We’d be lucky if it was only about a baby blog. This is a lot worse. Some woman showed up the other day with a boy she claims is Cash’s. Kid’s about nine years old.”

  Christine paled. “Oh, no.”

  “Yeah. Not good. Cash said he’s still reeling and the woman’s sick, too. Cancer, not going to make it. That’s why she looked him up.”

  “I’m so sorry to hear this. What’s going to happen to the boy?”

  Typical Christine, trying to figure out how life would move forward for an innocent kid. Well, he didn’t have one damn idea other than what Cash had told him and that sounded improbable. Still, it was a plan even if it was a half-baked one. “I guess the woman was hoping Cash and Tess could take the boy in and raise him.”

  “Oh.” She seemed to consider this a few seconds before she said, “What does Tess say?”

  What would any wife say if a child she didn’t know existed appeared on her doorstep? “I’m sure she’s struggling with it.”

  She shook her head, her black hair shimmering in the sunlight. “This is so sad, Nate. Bad enough she hasn’t been able to have a child, and now to find out Cash is a father?” Her voice cracked, pierced his soul. “I can’t imagine.”

  Nobody could until it happened, and then it was a whole new reality. Thank God he and Christine did not have to deal with this. “I know.” He stroked her cheek, forced a smile. “I know.”

  “They love each other so much, and all they want is their own child. Why this?”

  He had no idea why some people got bombarded with heartache and challenges and others never faced a single day of struggle. There were no answers, but he thanked the Man Upstairs for sparing him this pain, and he would do whatever he could to help Cash and Tess get through this. “I tried to talk him into a DNA test but he refused, said the boy looks just like him. He’s not thinking straight. Maybe I’ll talk to Ben; see if he knew the woman or her husband. Cops are usually pretty tight.”

  “Good idea.” She gnawed on her lower lip. “Should I tell Gina and Bree? Or maybe get in touch with Tess? You know, lately she’s been more distant, and she’ll need her friends now more than ever.”

  “I’d give it until tomorrow morning. By then, the whole town will know about the new visitors at the Heart Sent, and they’ll all be talking about the boy who looks like Cash.

  4

  When a woman shows up in a small town with a child who resembles one of its residents, people start talking. Not out-and-out accusations, but under-the-radar, have-you-noticed-this-or-that comparisons. All a place like Magdalena needed was for one person to get the speculation ball rolling and in a day, most of the town had started making comments: Have you noticed the similar shape of the eyes? Same color, too. Then there were the bolder speculators, the ones who pulled out calendars and compared dates and timelines. Wasn’t he in Philly then? Did that make him two years gone from Magdalena? Even if a resident was horrible at math, when the gossip started to swirl about dates and such, watch how fast that person figured out his math or pulled out a calculator.

  The presence of Stephanie and Mason Richmond in Magdalena got that kind of talk going, and talk turned into a wildfire when the resident in question was seen with them—more than once. Now that did bear some thinking on and it didn’t bode well for the man in question or his wife, especially when the wife wanted her own child so bad she’d become what some might call obsessed.

  The boy looks a little familiar, don’t you think?

  Kinda, sorta.

  More than kinda, sorta. Admit it.

  Well…

  Yup. Did you see those eyes? And the hair?

  I remember when someone else was that age…

  Dang.

  Think the wife knows?

  How could she not know?

  Poor girl.

  Yup. Damn shame.

  Now what?

  Exactly. Now what?

  Of course, nobody other than Pop Benito would ask the bold-faced question. What was a pretty young thing like that doing here with a boy who looked like Daniel Casherdon? Did she want money? Or did she just want Cash to know he was a father? Could be the woman wanted him to buy into some sort of shared parenting or whatever new-fangled term people used that meant splitting the childcare duties. Pop shook his head, bit into a pizzelle.

  “It’s not looking good, Lucy.” He stared at the portrait of his wife hanging over the mantel. She’d have clobbered him with a cast-iron frying pan if a woman showed up on their doorstep with a child who was the spitting image of Pop. “Tess was shaky before this woman showed up and now I hear she’s close to going over the edge. Agitated and ill-tempered, too, especially with her husband. We know all about what pride and holding onto hurt can do to a couple, don’t we? I almost lost you and that would have been the saddest day of my life, worse than the day you closed your eyes for the last time.” It might sound strange, but it was the darn truth. What could be worse than losing the person who owned your heart because you’d been a prideful fool? He’d come close to doing just that, and it had taught him about respect, humility, and choosing his wife over being right.

  Lord, but those were times he did not want to remember.

  Still, he might have to dust them off and share them with Cash and Tess if the couple were going to get a chance at moving past this dang thing. One way or another, he planned to pay a visit to Miss Stephanie Richmond and her son, Mason, so he could find out the why, the when, and the how behind their sudden appearance.

  STEPHANIE RICHMOND SAT in the recliner in the Casherdons’ living room, the same recliner where Tess curled up on Cash’s lap and watched television most nights, the one they even occasionally made love on. Had he and this woman made love on a recliner? Had those capable hands of his roamed Stephanie’s body, made her moan? Tess blinked hard, settled her gaze on the armrest. The woman was dying and whatever had happened between Stephanie and Cash was buried in the past, never to be revisited or resurrected. That wasn’t exactly accurate. There was a flesh-and-blood reminder nam
ed Mason who kept the past right below the surface, and that’s what Tess struggled with when the house was too quiet and she had too much time to think.

  “Thank you for being so generous about all of this. I know it can’t be easy.” Stephanie’s voice drifted to her, pulled her in. “You’re a special woman.”

  Tess slid her gaze to Stephanie’s, worked up a smile. “You’re welcome.” How she wished she could speak the truth. I don’t want you here. I’ll take your son because he belongs to Cash, too, but I want you to go back to Ohio so I can pretend you don’t exist. Of course, I can’t do that because you’re dying and I have to remain civil and concerned, even if that’s the last thing I want to do. Besides, Cash wants you here, probably out of guilt or duty. What else could it be? I don’t want to think about it, and yet it’s all I can think about.

  “Most women wouldn’t even speak to a woman who’d had a baby with their husband.” Stephanie shook her head, the curls framing her face dark and glossy. “But not you. You’re special, and that’s why Cash chose you.”

  “Actually, we’d chosen each other years before.” Emotion coated her words, clung to them. “We say we were always meant to be together, but it took longer than we thought.”

  Stephanie sipped her tea, rested a hand on her belly. “I knew there was someone when I met him. So sad, so lonely. Same with me.” Her full lips curved into a faint smile. “I like to think we were there for each other and if grief and fear hadn’t clouded our vision, we might have had something together. Who knows? He’s a special man, but you already know that.”

  “Yes.” Tess did know how special her husband was, and she didn’t need a past lover to tell her.

  “I remember when I first met him. Goodness, but he was so handsome and so darn angry. It was obvious he was keeping some deep, dark secret inside, and that’s what made him so irresistible.” She lowered her voice. “And compelling, even for us married women. Of course, he had no idea he possessed such magnetism, but isn’t that part of the push and pull that makes him unique?”

  Tess clasped her hands in her lap, squeezed until her fingers hurt. “I’m not really into the habit of analyzing my husband’s sensuality with other women.” Stephanie Richmond might be a former lover, the mother of Cash’s child, and she might be dying, but the woman was out of line. Her next comment moved on to yet another sore topic.

  “Did you notice the way Mason watches him? The boy has never had a father figure in his life, and it does my heart good to know Cash will do right by him.” Pause. “And you, too. You’ll love him like your own, won’t you?” When Tess nodded, Stephanie went on. “It must be even more special since you can’t…I mean, since you haven’t been able to have one of your own. What? Oh, I’m sorry. Cash told me you’re having a little trouble, said something about an ectopic pregnancy.” Her dark eyes turned bright. “That must have been devastating. I can’t imagine not being able to have a child. It would be so difficult and hard to accept.” A sigh spilled from her lips, drizzled over Tess like hot oil. “Some couples don’t survive.”

  “We’re solid.” Why did she get the feeling Stephanie wasn’t as sympathetic as she sounded? Was it the tremble in her voice when she said Cash’s name or the extra gush of air she put into her comments about Cash’s son? Or was Tess imagining all of it because she hated to think of her husband with another woman, one who’d had his child and who at this very minute sat in his recliner? And if it was the latter, what did that say about Tess?

  “I’m glad you and Cash are strong. Too many couples can’t get past it.” Her voice slithered closer, wrapped itself around Tess’s brain, snuffed out her logic. “Some women would be jealous and refuse to let a child from another relationship into their lives. Thank you for not being that kind of woman.”

  Tess nodded. “Mason will have enough to deal with in the coming months without having to worry about a stepmother who doesn’t accept him.”

  The woman’s eyes sparked seconds before she smiled. “That’s right.” She sipped her tea, set her cup on the end table Nate made for them last Christmas. “Did Cash ever tell you about us?” She must’ve seen Tess’s shock because she quickly changed her question. “I mean, did he tell you how we got together and why?”

  “He said he was friends with your husband and when he died—” she paused, cleared her throat “—you turned to each other for comfort.” She didn’t like to think about it but people slept with each other for so many reasons, and a lot of them made no sense.

  “Ah. Well, that’s true, but there’s more.”

  Why did she say it like there was a big secret she might or might not reveal, as if Cash had been lying? “More?” How much more could there be than a child her husband didn’t know about?

  Stephanie ran a hand through her hair and spoke in a voice thick with emotion and maybe a hint of regret. Or was it wistfulness? “From the first time Cash and I met, we had an instant connection. Of course, neither of us ever spoke about it, but we both knew it existed.” The emotion grew thicker, poured from those full lips with conviction. “Everything was so easy when we were together; the talking, the laughing, even the annoyances.” She lifted a small shoulder, placed both hands on the armrests. “We used to talk for hours and yet it only seemed like minutes.”

  Tess didn’t change her expression as Stephanie expounded on the closeness she and Cash had known, how he’d opened up and shared with her. Had talk of Tess been part of that sharing? The possibility made her sick, but she would not show it. She’d always believed she was the only one he’d ever really talked to, the only one he’d ever really loved. Had she been wrong?

  “I’m sorry, maybe I shouldn’t have told you.” Regret covered Stephanie’s face, soaked her next words. “It’s just that I want you to understand that what Cash and I shared might have been brief, but it meant something to both of us. I think we were scared of that.” She let out a laugh as tender as a caress. “Cash was not big into the commitment thing and I’d just lost my husband.”

  The words spun through the room, pounded into Tess’s head. He’d told her it was a mistake, that it should never have happened. That it meant nothing. Tess swallowed as bits of dread and saliva crept up her throat. How many men say the sex meant nothing when they’re in a compromising situation, like one they shouldn’t be in? Had he loved this woman? Would he have stayed with her, maybe even married her if he’d known she was pregnant? Would Tess never have had another chance with him? The woman’s next words instilled greater doubt in Cash’s claim that he’d never felt more than remorse for a bad decision based on sympathy and the need to forget.

  “I remember the last time we were together,” she said, her voice carrying a faraway wistfulness. “I’m sure it’s when I conceived Mason. That night was so…powerful…and terrifying. How could we have such feelings when I’d just buried my husband? Cash is an honorable man and the guilt must have eaten at him because I know it tore me apart for weeks. I packed up and left Philly shortly after, determined to forget what we’d done. How do you live with knowing you had more feelings for your husband’s friend than for him?”

  Tess did not want to hear any more, but this might be the only opportunity to learn about the past Cash refused to talk about. While she’d been buried in self-help books, work, and therapy sessions to deal with losing the life she’d always wanted, Cash had been healing his wounds in a whole different manner that ended in a pregnancy. Still, why stay away so many years? It made no sense. Yet. “Why didn’t you tell him you were pregnant? I think he’d want to know.” What was she saying? She’d done the same thing…

  “I thought of Cash every single time I looked at Mason.” Stephanie pinched the bridge of her nose, blinked hard. “I looked at Mason’s eyes and remembered how Cash’s lit up when he told a joke or laughed. I ran a hand through Mason’s curls and it could have been Cash’s hair.” Her voice softened. “The hands, the jaw, the way he stood, and the sounds he made when he was annoyed.” A tear slipped down her
cheek, spilled onto her shirt. “Day after day, the haunting went on. I did think about telling him but I couldn’t give my son up or share him with anyone, even his father.” She swiped at her cheeks, held Tess’s gaze as though willing her to understand and not judge. “Love is a desperate emotion, but love of a child is boundless and unfathomable. Until and unless you’re a parent, you can’t understand.”

  The unintentional jab hurt Tess. Did the woman really think Tess was unaware that she wasn’t a parent and might never know the joy, the worry, the potential sorrow of being a parent? And did she not know Tess would do just about anything to be one, whether she carried the child in her womb or not? “I want the opportunity to understand.”

  She must not have been entirely successful scrubbing the emotion from her voice because Stephanie eased out of the recliner and made her way to the couch to sit next to Tess. “That was horribly cruel of me. I’m so sorry.” She clasped Tess’s hand, squeezed. “I wasn’t thinking.” Another squeeze, followed by a smile. “I really want you to get to know Mason. When I’m gone, he’ll turn to you.” She paused, blinked back tears. “And one day he’ll call you Mom, I know he will, and I’m okay with that.”

  Mom. Tess swiped at her eyes as visions of life with a son filled her. She and Cash would love Mason, and while he would never forget his mother, they would form a family. A real family. She pictured the boy learning to drive, taking a girl to the prom, playing high school sports, and looking at colleges. Somewhere along the way, they could adopt a child or two, add to the family. Her heart filled with hope, welcomed the possibilities she’d once refused to imagine.

  “It wasn’t just a random hookup,” Stephanie whispered. “I know he might have told you that, but I can’t lie. It was so much more than that.” She sniffed, pressed a hand to her belly. “Please don’t tell him I told you. He wouldn’t want you to know but I think you needed to hear the truth.”