Meant for Each Other

by Ginna Gray

  “Humph. He didn’t break the engagement. She did. Lyle made a fatal mistake. He insisted that Miss Leah choose between him and medicine.”

  “The guy was not only a jerk, he was stupid.”

  “That’s right. You ask me, he wasn’t good enough for her by half.” She lifted the golden brown chicken pieces from the skillet and placed them on a platter lined with paper towels, then turned off the burner and faced him. “The question now is, are you?”

  “Good enough for Leah? I doubt it. But I love her, Cleo.”

  She arched one gray eyebrow. “Do you?”

  “More than life itself,” Mike replied without hesitation. “And I give you my solemn promise, I’ll never hurt her. I swear it.”

  Cleo studied him. Mike returned her unwavering gaze with his own. After an interminable time, the elderly housekeeper nodded.

  When Leah entered the room a few minutes later, she was surprised to find Mike setting the kitchen table for three, while Cleo bustled around, putting the finishing touches on a tray for Quinton.

  Of necessity, because they could not eat with masks on, Quinton would have to take his meals alone for now.

  “Cleo is joining us for dinner. You don’t mind if we eat in here instead of in the dining room, do you?” Mike asked easily as he laid out the utensils.

  “Uh, no. No, of course not.” Before her brother’s illness and the arrival of her father and stepmother, Leah and Quinton had always eaten in the kitchen with Cleo. However, whenever anyone else was there, Cleo wouldn’t hear of joining them. Leah was amazed that Mike had been able to persuade her.

  When the housekeeper returned from delivering Quinton’s tray and they were all seated, Mike took a bite of chicken and groaned in ecstasy. “Mmm, I think I’m in love. Cleo, say you’ll marry me. Please.”

  “Humph. It would serve you right if I did.”

  “Just name the date.”

  “Oh, go on with you, you rascal.”

  Leah’s mouth fell open. A pink blush covered Cleo’s cheeks and she giggled like a schoolgirl.

  Leah couldn’t believe it. Her starchy, no-nonsense Cleo had fallen under Mike’s spell, too. Was no woman safe from that lethal Irish charm?

  The day set the pattern for the weeks that followed.

  Leah had feared that perhaps Mike’s visits with Quinton might become less frequent, now that he was no longer in the hospital, where it was easy to drop by. But she was wrong. Each evening after he made his rounds he dashed home to shower and change, then showed up at Leah’s door.

  Together, Mike and Quinton watched sports on television or played spirited, furiously competitive video games. Often, from other parts of the house, Leah could hear their muffled cheers and taunts.

  Cleo fussed over Mike almost as much as she did over Quinton. She cooked his favorite meals and made him cookies and fudge and clucked and worried about him when he worked long hours. She treated him as though he were a permanent fixture in their lives, which caused Leah concern.

  The elderly housekeeper did not give her affection easily or indiscriminately. That she had taken Mike so completely into her heart stirred mixed emotions in Leah. Because she loved Mike, she was glad that Cleo was also fond of him, but she couldn’t help but worry about how the dear old lady would take it when he no longer came around.

  Most evenings Leah and Mike dined at home, but once or twice a week they stole an evening for themselves, inevitably ending up at Mike’s home. Their lovemaking continued to be passionate and deeply satisfying. Mike had brought intimacy and a contented feeling of belonging to Leah’s life that she had never before experienced, and it was wonderful.

  With her father and Julia gone, she no longer lived with the constant fear of imminent discovery, which allowed her to relax and enjoy each day as it came. Once Quinton was fully recovered she would have to confess everything to Mike, but until then she intended to make the most of their time together.

  Things were so perfect between them that a faint hope had taken root in a corner of her heart and refused to let go. She tried to squash it, telling herself she was being foolish and setting herself up for even more hurt, but she couldn’t help it. There was a chance—remote, it was true, but still a chance—that by the time she told him the truth their love for each other would be deep enough and strong enough to withstand anything, even her deception.

  Day by day, Quinton grew stronger, and as summer slipped into autumn he began to chafe at the restrictions on his life.

  “I feel fine—except for being bored to death. I don’t see why I can’t at least have more visitors.”

  “What’s the matter, tiger? You getting tired of my company?” Mike chided.

  Chagrined, Quinton turned a deep shade of red and scuffed the toe of his sneaker against the carpet. “Aw, man. You know that’s not what I meant.”

  “I know.” Mike patted his shoulder. “Look, just be patient a little while longer. I’ll see what I can do.”

  Two days later, Mike showed up at Leah’s door with his sister, Molly. Surprise and a host of misgivings streaked through Leah when she saw the girl. She wasn’t quick enough to hide her dismay from Mike, but he misread the cause.

  “Don’t worry, I got Dr. Sweeney’s approval. And Molly has broken up with Steven,” he added with so much relish Leah almost laughed, in spite of the situation. “I figured she and Quinton could console each other.”

  “I’m really looking forward to meeting your brother, Leah,” the girl said earnestly.

  Left with no choice, Leah handed out masks from the box on the hall table. When they were in place she led the way into the living room, where Quinton was sprawled on the sofa, staring glumly at the television.

  “Mask up, tiger. You’ve got company.”

  At the sound of Mike’s voice Quinton glanced up, then did a double take, jerked up his mask and sprang to his feet.

  “This is my sister, Molly. She’s been wanting to meet you, and since you said you wanted more company, I got Dr. Sweeney to add her to your visitor list.”

  Molly stepped forward with her hand extended. “Hi, Quinton. I’ve heard a lot about you from Mike. I’m so glad you’re doing better. I wanted to tell you how much I admire you. You’re so brave to go through what you did.” A smile crinkled her eyes over the top of the mask. They were as big and brown and soft as a doe’s.

  “Thanks.” Quinton shuffled his feet and turned red to his hairline.

  Molly’s warmth and sweet personality soon overcame his shyness, however. Within minutes the two were seated together on the sofa, chatting away as though they’d known each other for years. Neither of them even noticed when Mike and Leah left the room.

  Frowning, she glanced back at the teenagers as they stepped through the door.

  “Hey, will you stop fretting? They’ll get along just fine.”

  “That’s what worries me.”

  “Don’t be silly. I’ve told Quinton how I feel about Molly. He knows I’ll break his neck if he steps out of line. The way I see it, he’s the ideal male friend for her.”

  He sounded so pleased with himself it was almost comical. Leah glanced at his smug face and shook her head. Mike had obviously forgotten what it was like to be seventeen. She sighed. Just what she needed, a teenage romance to further complicate the situation.

  “Cheer up,” Mike murmured as he snagged her waist and drew her to him for a quick kiss. “They’re going to be great friends. That’s all.”

  To Leah’s surprise, the prediction turned out to be correct. Quinton and Molly developed a close but purely platonic relationship, becoming pals and confidants.

  They had similar tastes in music, movies and books. They also shared an appreciation for the ridiculous, although Molly pretended to gag whenever Quinton laughed at Mike’s corny jokes.

  Molly told Quinton all about her latest crush, and he spilled his frustration and disappointment about being unable to play football during his junior and senior highschool years. As a sophom
ore, his coach had been grooming him to take over the starting-quarterback slot, before leukemia had sidelined him.

  At least three afternoons a week after school, Molly came to see Quinton. Though he had tried to keep up his schooling at home and while in the hospital, the virulence of his illness during the past year had taken its toll, and he was a full grade behind Molly. An honor student with her mother’s gift for teaching, she volunteered to tutor him in several subjects to help him catch up.

  The girl was like a tonic, and Quinton looked forward to her visits with more enthusiasm than he’d had for anything since his release from the hospital.

  As autumn deepened, weekly Dr. Sweeney allowed more visitors. When the added exposure caused no setbacks, after a couple of weeks the surgical masks came off. In late October, Mike was allowed to take Quinton on a fishing trip at an isolated lake. By mid-November it was obvious that Dr. Sweeney’s prediction of a full recovery by Thanksgiving would become reality, and the holiday was set for his “return to the real world.”

  Profound joy and relief filled Leah, along with a terrible dread. They had won the battle to save her brother’s life, but the time when she would have to tell Mike the whole truth was fast approaching.

  Molly and Mike were also overjoyed that Quinton’s long confinement would soon be over.

  “Just think, tiger, you’ll be able to celebrate Thanksgiving like everyone else,” Mike noted.

  Quinton shrugged. “Shoot, that’s no big deal around here. Mom and Dad never come home for the holiday and Cleo always spends it with her sister in Dallas. Leah usually covers for several other doctors so they can spend the day with their families. If there’s no emergency, sometimes we go out to a restaurant, but that’s it.”

  “What?”

  “That’s terrible!”

  Both McCalls looked horrified.

  “That settles it. You’re both coming to Crockett with us for Thanksgiving,” Mike declared.

  Chapter Thirteen

  “Really?” Quinton’s face lit up like a neon sign. “Hey, that’ll be great, man!”

  “Oh, Mike, what a super idea,” Molly squealed.

  Panic filled Leah. “No. No, really, we couldn’t.”

  “Don’t waste your breath arguing, sweetheart,” Mike said with a self-satisfied grin. “It’s settled. Thanksgiving is a time for families. Since yours won’t be here, we’ll share ours with you. Won’t we, Moll?”

  “Yes! It’ll be fun.”

  “I appreciate the offer—really, I do. But we couldn’t impose.”

  “Ah, Sis, why’d you have to go and spoil it?” Quinton whined in that disgusted tone only a teenager can achieve.

  “Quinton—”

  “Look, it’s no imposition.”

  “Mike’s right. Grandma McCall and Aunt Dorothy will love it if you come. The whole family has heard about you from Dad and Tess and Uncle Reilly and everyone’s dying to meet you. And don’t worry about crowding us. There’s plenty of room. Gran and Aunt Dorothy have turned their attics into dormitories, one for the boys and one for the girls. We have a blast. And between the two houses, there’re plenty of bedrooms for the adults.”

  Leah’s answering smile was wan. That was going to be her next argument.

  The thought of being inspected by Mike’s large family put a knot in her stomach the size of a fist, but in the end she had no choice. Unable to come up with a valid reason to refuse, and faced with Quinton’s pleading eyes and her own desire to spend the holiday with Mike before she had to confess what she’d done, she gave in.

  Leah’s nerves were wound as tight as an eight-day clock. She tried to hide her anxiety, but Mike knew her too well. He glanced at her as he drove around the old courthouse in the center of Crockett. On the surface she appeared serene, sitting with her fingers laced together looking around at the storefronts facing the square, but her knuckles were white and a pulse at the base of her throat throbbed in double time.

  Mike wondered what was behind the attack of nerves. Surely meeting his family wasn’t that traumatizing.

  On the north side of town he turned off the highway onto the country lane that led to his grandparents’ home. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Leah stiffen and bite her lip.

  “Hey, relax, sweetheart.” Smiling encouragement, he reached over and squeezed her hands. They were icy. “There’s nothing to worry about. They’re not going to bite you. They’re nice people. Honest. You’re going to love them.”

  Leah glanced over her shoulder at Quinton in the back seat, but he was immersed in a book and seemed oblivious to their conversation. A wan smile wavered on her lips when she looked back at Mike. “I’m sure that’s true. But will they like me?”

  “Is that what’s bothering you?” He laughed and turned into the driveway leading to an ornate Victorian house set far off the road in a grove of trees. “Honey, take it from me, they’re going to love you. Now, stop worrying.”

  Mike had barely brought his car to a stop when the front door of the rambling old house opened. Someone yelled, “Mike’s here!” and almost instantly a horde of shouting children burst out onto the porch and came loping down the steps. By the time they climbed from the car, Mike’s young relatives were swarming around him, all talking at once, demanding his attention.

  Laughing, he hugged all the teenagers, kissing the girls and thumping the boys on their backs, and tossed the younger ones up in the air and twirled them around, which produced squeals of delight and earned him smacking kisses.

  As he set the last child on her feet Mike noticed Leah and Quinton standing close together off to one side, observing the greetings. The identical wistful smiles on their faces wrung his heart.

  His gaze dropped to their clasped hands, and his throat tightened. In that moment he realized that growing up as he had in a large, close-knit family, he had taken for granted the love and support that had always been a part of his life.

  Leah and Quinton had only each other. Since Quinton’s birth it had been the two of them against the world, and instinctively they clung together, drawing strength from each other. But the unconscious yearning in their eyes was so raw and poignant it was painful to see. Mike’s chest felt as though it were being squeezed in a vise and he couldn’t swallow around the lump in his throat.

  “Here now, you kids, where’re your manners?”

  The shout broke the spell, and Mike looked around in time to see his grandparents, Maggie and Colin McCall, hurrying down the front steps.

  “Mike has brought guests with him, and here you all are, behaving like a bunch of little heathens. Some impression you’re giving of this family,” the spry woman scolded as she bustled down the walkway. “Now, stand back and behave yourselves and let him introduce you properly.”

  Heeding the voice of authority, the youngsters began to step aside, but before Mike could do his part, his grandmother cleared a path through the children and approached him with her arms outstretched and a beaming smile on her face. “First, though, let me give my grandson a hug.”

  She didn’t get a chance. The instant she came within reach, Mike scooped her up in a bear hug and swung her around.

  Hoots and laughter erupted from the children. Maggie McCall squealed and slapped at Mike’s shoulders.

  “Michael Patrick McCall, you rascal! Put me down this instant!” she yelped, but the laughter in her voice robbed the command of any sting.

  “You’d better do as she says, Mike,” his grandfather advised with a chuckle. “Your grandma isn’t as young as she used to be, you know.”

  “Okay, Granddad,” Mike agreed, but he took his time about obeying. When he finally set her on her feet he gave her a kiss, then smiled into her eyes. “Hiya, gorgeous. Miss me?”

  “Not a bit,” she countered saucily, even as her face softened with love. Going up on tiptoe, she patted his cheek tenderly.

  Then, in a blink, her demeanor changed. “And as for you, Colin McCall, I’ll have you know I can outlast any of these y
oungsters and still have energy left to take you on, so watch it.”

  “Ah, Maggie, love, don’t I know it,” the elderly man replied with a twinkle in his eyes.

  “As you’ve probably guessed by now, these are my grandparents, Maggie and Colin McCall,” Mike drawled with a teasing grin for the elderly pair. Putting an arm around each of their shoulders, Mike drew Leah and Quinton close to him. “And this is Leah Albright and her brother, Quinton.”

  “My dears, we’re so happy you both could join us,” Maggie said sincerely, squeezing Leah’s hands as she looked her over. “Oh, my, but you are a pretty thing. Reilly told us you were.”

  “That figures,” Mike muttered. “Did he also tell you that she’s a doctor and as smart as a whip?”

  “Of course he did. But then, I would expect no less. The McCall and Blaine men have impeccable taste in women, after all.”

  “Amen to that,” his grandfather said, stepping forward to take Leah’s hand.

  When his grandparents finished welcoming Leah and Quinton it was Mike’s turn to introduce the children. The instant the last name left his mouth his young cousins would have whisked Quinton away had their grandmother not stopped them.

  “You’ll just have to wait a bit. Quinton and his sister have others to meet before you kids go dragging him off. Now, come along, my dear,” she said, looping her arm through Leah’s. “The family is anxious to meet Mike’s sweetheart.”

  Leah cast a panicked look over her shoulder at Mike. He merely grinned and gave her a thumbs-up sign and sauntered along behind the two women, confident that his gregarious family’s openness and warmth would quickly cure her jitters.

  Bedlam. Mike’s long-ago description of his family’s gatherings came back to Leah the instant she walked through the front door.

  The huge old house teemed with people and rang with the sounds of boisterous conversations and laughter, the happy squeals and giggles of children. Adding to the din, from somewhere upstairs, presumably the teenagers’ attic dormitory, came the throbbing beat of rock music. The noise level was horrendous; nevertheless, there was a joyfulness about it that lifted the spirits.