by Ginna Gray
The moment she entered the McCalls’ spacious Georgian-style home Leah knew she’d been right to worry. The McCalls were everything Mike had said: friendly, gracious, full of life and good humor, and though they teased one another unmercifully and the children often squabbled, there was a strong current of fierce familial love and loyalty running just beneath the surface that even a stranger like her could detect.
For years, Leah had listened to Julia’s complaints about her first husband and his family. According to her, the McCalls and Blaines were cold, domineering, manipulative and selfish. Leah knew Julia well enough not to put much stock in that description, especially after discovering for herself how wrong her stepmother had been about Mike. Even so, the reality took her by surprise.
Far from being the unfeeling tyrants that her stepmother claimed them to be, Mike’s family were, in fact, the epitome of what Leah had always thought a family should be, the kind of family she had always dreamed of having.
Everyone greeted her with warmth and openness, with the exception of Mike’s father. Though not unfriendly, there was a certain constraint to Ryan McCall’s greeting that let her know that, regardless of how his son felt about her, he was reserving judgment. Perhaps it was guilty conscience on her part, but she felt as though those blue eyes of his could see right into her soul. Leah had to resist the urge to squirm under his stare.
Though they had met only briefly at the hospital months before, Tess hugged Leah as if she were an old friend.
“It’s so good to see you again, Dr. Albright. Mike tells us your brother is recovering well.”
“Please, call me ‘Leah.’ And yes, Quinton is doing beautifully, thanks to your son. In fact, his doctors say he can come home soon.”
“Oh, that’s wonderful news. I’m so happy for you both. I’m still amazed at what a stroke of luck it was that Mike turned out to be a match for him. It just proves that miracles do happen.”
“Yes, I suppose so.” Leah wondered what Tess’s reaction would be if she knew the truth, that there had been nothing miraculous or lucky about the match, only deviousness and lies and manipulation.
She wasn’t given a chance to dwell on the subject as Tess introduced her to her husband’s twin brother and his wife, who, it turned out, had been Tess’s best friend since they were toddlers.
Leah was a bundle of nerves, and meeting Amanda Sutherland McCall only increased her jitters. The local TV anchorwoman had been a fixture on the six o’clock news for fifteen years. Though in her midforties, she was one of the most strikingly beautiful women Leah had ever seen.
“Ms. Sutherland, it is such a pleasure to meet you,” she began nervously.
“Please, sweetie, it’s just plain Amanda. Ms. Sutherland exists only on television. At home I’m just another one of the McCall clan. Just ask my husband and kids.”
“That’s right,” fourteen-year-old Trent and eleven-year-old Margaret Mary agreed in unison, flashing that infectious grin that all the McCalls seemed to share.
When Leah turned her attention to Reilly, her first thought was she’d never be able to tell Mike’s father and his twin apart. Both men were tall and lean and ruggedly handsome, with identical vivid blue eyes, chiseled features and black hair that was going gray. It was like looking at two older versions of Mike, she realized with a pleasant sense of shock.
Reilly stepped forward and took Leah’s hand in both of his. His twinkling gaze ran over her with obvious appreciation. “My, my, what a winner you are. Brains and beauty, all wrapped up in one tiny package. But then, the McCall men always could pick ’em. I tell you, though, if I were single, I swear I’d take you away from that nephew of mine.” Shooting Mike a taunting grin, he lifted Leah’s hand to his mouth and placed a courtly kiss on the back.
“Hey. None of that, now. Let go of my girl,” Mike commanded, but he grinned at his uncle as he slipped his arm around Leah’s waist.
“All right. Come along with you, you big Irish lug,” Amanda ordered in a long-suffering voice, slipping her arm through her husband’s. “Honestly, Reilly, you are such a flirt. I can’t take my eyes off you for a moment.”
“Ah, sugar, I was just jerking Mike’s chain. You know you’re my one and only love.”
“Idiot. Of course I know. And lucky for you that I do. If I thought for a minute that you’d so much as look at another woman I’d skin you alive.”
Reilly grinned and winked at Leah and Mike as his wife led him away. “The woman’s crazy about me.”
Amused, Leah watched the striking couple walk away. Never again would she confuse Mike’s father and his twin. In looks the two might be identical, but Ryan McCall was serious and intense, almost brooding—a legacy from Julia, no doubt. Reilly, on the other hand, had a sunny, mischievous personality and didn’t seem to take many things seriously.
“He’s right, you know. She is crazy about him,” Mike murmured in Leah’s ear. “And he’s nuts about her, too. Uncle Reilly was a real ladies’ man until he met Amanda, but one look at her and he fell hard. He still has an appreciation for feminine beauty, mind you, but Amanda is and always will be the only woman for him.”
“That’s wonderful.” Touched by the story, Leah looked up at Mike with a smile and found he was watching her in that same intense way that his father watched Tess, his gaze devouring, primitive, utterly possessive, as though he would absorb her into his soul if he could.
“That’s usually the way it is with all the men in my family.”
His words, the look in his eyes, made her chest tighten painfully. Oh, Mike, my darling. What have I done?
Until that moment, she hadn’t known it was possible to feel elation and pangs of conscience at the same time. When this thing between her and Mike had started she had not intended to hurt him. That such a thing was even possible had not occurred to her, given his reputation as a carefree bachelor. Now it seemed inevitable.
For his sake, she should tell him the truth. The longer she waited, the worse his heartbreak would be.
But how could she? Only two days before, when Dr. Sweeney had given her the good news that Quinton could go home soon, there had also been several conditions attached.
“Your brother’s blood count looks good and his immune system seems to be functioning well, but we must remain cautious,” Dr. Sweeney had explained. “Remember, Quinton has been living in a sterile environment all these months. His immune system has not yet been put to the test, and we don’t want to suddenly bombard it with everything that comes down the pike. Therefore, for the first couple of months he is to be exposed to no more than six people, including family and household staff, and they must wear surgical masks in his presence, as will Quinton,” he had cautioned her with a stern “I mean business” look over the top of his glasses. “After that, if all continues to go well, we will gradually allow more contact with others, until he is fully integrated into the world again. In all likelihood he should be able to resume a normal life by Thanksgiving.
“However, in the meantime, it is most important that he not undergo undue stress of any kind. As a doctor, you know how much a patient’s mental attitude and emotional well-being have to do with recovery. I am counting on you, Dr. Albright, to see to it that Quinton remains happy and stress free.”
Leah chewed on her bottom lip, oblivious to the chatter all around her as she and Mike followed the other members of his family into the large den at the back of the house. Even if she somehow found the courage to do so, she couldn’t possibly reveal the truth to Mike and Quinton now.
Tears threatened, but she blinked them back. What was she going to do? The deeper she got into this relationship, the more complicated and hopeless it became.
“Well, that was the last one for the day, thank heavens.”
“Mmm. It seems like every pregnant lady on the south side of Houston has been in here today.” Leah arched her back and rolled her shoulders, then headed down the hallway toward her office. Sandy fell in step beside her.
&n
bsp; “So, how did you like Dr. McCall’s family? We’ve been so busy all day I haven’t had a chance to ask until now.”
Leah glanced at her nurse. She knew that look; Sandy was so curious she was about to burst. “I liked them just fine.”
“I see. Then you had a good visit?”
“Yes. It was nice.” Which was the understatement of the decade. Despite nerves and guilty conscience and all the other things worrying her, she’d had a wonderful time. Mike’s family had a way of putting you at ease and making you feel welcome that made you forget your troubles and relax.
Conversation over dinner had been lively and interesting, if a bit on the noisy side, nothing at all like the polite and proper dinners she shared with her father and Julia. Mike’s family had talked freely, and sometimes argued, about everything. And not just the adults. The children were allowed, even encouraged, to join in any discussion.
In her office, Leah shrugged out of her lab coat and hung it on the coatrack, a hint of a smile tugging at her mouth. Somehow she doubted that sixteen-year-old Molly, fourteen-year-old Trent and thirteen-year-old Ethan would appreciate being called children. But especially Molly. The girl was struggling so hard to appear grown-up.
All day the other children had vied for Leah’s attention, but Molly had been disdainful of their childish behavior and told them so several times throughout the day. Nevertheless, when they took their seats at the dining-room table, the girl had elbowed her younger sister aside to get the seat beside Leah.
“Now, what’s that smile about, I wonder.” Sandy stood in the doorway, eyeing Leah with her arms crossed and one shoulder propped against the frame. “You wouldn’t be keeping secrets from me, now would you?”
“Of course not. I was just remembering the conversation I had with Mike’s little sister. She’s sixteen and as pretty as a picture. I think she was suspicious of me at first. During dinner she gave me the third degree. Evidently, my answers satisfied her, because all of a sudden she started chattering away. I’m not kidding, that child talked nonstop throughout the whole meal.”
“Mmm. Sounds like you won over the baby sister. That’s a big hurdle. So what did she say?”
“What didn’t she say is more like it. Let’s see...she told me all about her boyfriend, Steven, and how Mike refuses to accept that she’s old enough to date, how he’s being a bear about the whole thing and totally impossible and rude to the boy, and how she’s afraid that her brother is going to drive him away and would I please talk to him for her. All that, mind you, in one breath.”
Leah rolled her eyes and made a face, and Sandy chuckled.
“What did you say?”
“I said I would. What else could I do with those soulful eyes looking at me so pleadingly?”
Leah’s teenage years had been spent taking care of Quinton, which had left her with little time to socialize with other girls her age. The one-sided conversation with Molly had been her first exposure to “life-or-death” teenage angst, and by the end of the breathless recital, she had been so dazed and overwhelmed she hadn’t had the heart to refuse.
. “Anyway, now I have to talk to Mike about something that’s none of my business, and he’s probably going to tell me to butt out, so what good it will do, I have no idea.”
“Actually, I think it’s kind of sweet that Dr. McCall is so protective of his sister.”
Privately, Leah agreed, though his attitude was undoubtedly old-fashioned and probably chauvinistic.
“If you think it’s so sweet, then you speak to him.”
“Oh, no. This is your party. So go to it, girl.”
“I guess I don’t have a choice. I promised I’d talk to him the first chance I got.” She had meant to after they’d left his parents’ home the night before, but they had stopped by Mike’s place for a drink and a few moments alone together. Inevitably, the few moments had turned into two hours of lovemaking. At the first touch of Mike’s lips on hers, all thought of Molly’s problems had flown right out of Leah’s head.
“I suppose I might as well get it over with.” With a resigned sigh, Leah retrieved her purse from her desk and headed down the hall toward the front exit.
“Give my love to Dr. McCall.” Sandy’s laughter followed Leah out the door.
As she walked down the hospital corridor Leah silently rehearsed over and over what she would say to Mike. She was so preoccupied she was three steps inside Quinton’s room before she noticed that Mike was not her brother’s only visitor. But something in her brother’s voice got her attention.
“Hi, Sis, look who’s here,” Quinton said in a rush.
Leah jerked to a halt. “Julia!”
Chapter Eleven
“Hello, darling.” With a defiant smile, Julia rose from the chair beside Quinton’s bed. In a move calculated to show off her size-six figure, she smoothed down the jacket of her suit and patted her close-cropped platinum hair. “I was just having a nice chat with your young man. Really, Leah, you should have brought Mike home long before now so that your father and I could get to know him. It was very naughty of you to keep him to yourself.”
“I...I...”
Leah glanced at Mike, but she couldn’t tell anything from his closed expression. Surely if Julia had told him the truth he would not be so calm.
Quinton chewed on his lower lip and sent Leah a worried look.
“How long have you been here, Julia?”
“For about an hour, but now I’m afraid that I really must run. Peter and I are having dinner with the Van Demeers tonight and I’ll have to rush as it is to be ready on time.
“It was lovely talking to you, Mike. I do hope Peter and I will see you again before we leave town.” She sent Leah a false smile and a look filled with defiance. “We won’t be home until late, so I shall see you tomorrow, dear. Bye-bye, now.”
Paralyzed with shock and fear, Leah stood motionless and stared as Julia sailed past her and out the door. She shot a quick look at Mike. “Excuse me a moment. I have to talk to Julia.”
She caught up with her stepmother at the elevator and grabbed her arm, spinning her around. “Julia, have you gone completely mad? What do you think you were doing in there?”
“Leah, you’re hurting me. Let go of my arm.”
“Answer me, dammit. We agreed that you would stay away from Mike.”
Julia shrugged. “I changed my mind.”
“You changed your mind? That’s all you have to say?”
“I got curious.” Julia pouted. “It’s perfectly natural for a mother to want to see her son, you know, especially after all these years. I wanted to see how Mike had turned out. That’s all.”
Leah wanted to scream at her that she’d had almost twenty-six years to find out how Mike had turned out, but she wisely held her tongue. “And what about your other son? I told you that Quinton can’t be subjected to stress right now. How could you endanger him this way just to satisfy your curiosity?”
“Oh, for heaven’s sake. I don’t know why you’re making such a big thing out of this. Mike didn’t recognize me.”
Relief almost buckled Leah’s knees, but she didn’t back down. “But what if he had?”
In answer, Julia lifted her chin a notch higher and looked away.
“What if his father hadn’t destroyed all your pictures, and Mike had known what you look like? What then?”
Julia snapped her head around. “What makes you think he destroyed my pictures? Ryan would never do that. He was crazy about me.” She sniffed. “He probably still is.”
“Oh, for—” Leah raked both hands through her hair and clasped her head, pressing her palms hard against her temples. Talking to Julia was like trying to reason with a spoiled child. “Julia, that is not the issue here,” she began again through clenched teeth. “The point is, you broke your word and endangered Quinton.”
“Oh, pooh. There was no harm done. And I must say, I don’t appreciate you criticizing me this way. I intend to speak to your father about this
as soon as I get home.” She frowned at her wristwatch and made an aggravated sound. “Oh, just look at the time. You’ve made me late. I really must run.”
“But—”
Julia punched the Down button, and immediately the doors of a waiting elevator opened and she stepped inside. As the doors whispered shut she tapped her foot while checking her watch again, pointedly ignoring Leah.
Staring at the closed doors, Leah shook her head and sighed. How typical of her stepmother to create havoc for her own selfish reasons, then blithely walk away. After having met Mike’s father, she was amazed that Ryan McCall had put up with Julia for five years. Leah couldn’t imagine two people who were more polar opposites. Why her own father was so besotted with the woman, she would never understand.
Quinton was alone when Leah returned to his room. Whatever concerns he’d had over his mother and Mike meeting were apparently gone. He sat cross-legged in the middle of the bed, watching a baseball game, cheering on his favorite team with typical teenage enthusiasm.
“Where did Mike go?” Leah asked, darting a useless look around the room.
Without taking his eyes from the television screen, Quinton shrugged. “I dunno. Yes! Yes! Atta way!” he yelled, and pumped his arm as an Astros player hit a line drive past the Padres’ third baseman and sent the runner on second streaking for home plate.
“Oh.” Surprise zipped through Leah. Hard on its heels came uneasiness. They didn’t have any particular plans for the evening, but it wasn’t like Mike to just leave without a word to her. “Uh, did he say anything? I mean, did he give you a message for me or anything?”
Tensing, her brother leaned forward as another Astros batter walked up to the plate. “Okay, Jose, let’s go. Let’s go. Knock the cover off the ball this time.”
“And here’s the windup and the pitch,” the announcer reported in a mellifluous singsong. “And it’s strike one.”
“What? Whaddaya mean, strike! Are you blind? That was high and outside, you jerk!”
“Quinton, did Mike leave a message for me?”