by Gina Wilkins
“That’s probably Trent,” Mac said, raising a hand to the back of his neck, which had tightened almost painfully. “He said he might stop by.”
Her head down, Sharon took a step back from him. “I guess I’d better go. I just…I just wanted to thank you.”
“It wasn’t necessary. But it’s good to see you,” he added, thinking again how pretty she looked. She brightened the dark, gloomy room just by standing in it in her pale yellow dress. The only drawback was knowing she would soon be gone again.
Without speaking, she walked with him to the front door. Mac couldn’t think of anything to say. He assumed the same was true for Sharon.
They were both struck truly speechless when he opened the door to find Caleb McBride standing on the other side.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
SHARON FELT her heart stop when she recognized the man on Mac’s doorstep. What was Caleb doing here? Had he somehow found out why Mac was in Honoria?
“Sharon,” he said, spotting her with a bright smile. “This is a nice surprise.”
“It’s good to see you, too, Caleb,” she said, presenting her cheek for his kiss of greeting. “How was your vacation?”
“Bobbie enjoyed it,” he said, his expression wry. “I found it very pleasant, but I was ready to come home about a week ago.”
“I’m sure you couldn’t wait to get back to work,” Sharon teased lightly, though from the corner of her eye she watched Mac watching them.
Mac had to be asking himself the same question that kept repeating in her mind. Why was Caleb here? She had no doubt that Mac recognized the older man; he’d done his homework quite thoroughly. How did it feel, she couldn’t help wondering, for Mac to meet his uncle for the first time this way?
Caleb turned to Mac and extended his hand. “I’m sorry. I was distracted by your lovely guest. I’m Caleb McBride.”
Sharon thought Mac hesitated for a fraction of a moment before taking Caleb’s hand. “Mac Cordero,” he said. “It’s nice to meet you.”
“I hope you’ll forgive the surprise visit. My curiosity made me impatient. My mother grew up in this house, which is why I was very intrigued when I heard you planned to restore it. And especially since my son is a member of your renovation team.”
“A valued member,” Mac said graciously. “Your son does beautiful woodwork. It’s hard to find anyone these days who puts so much time and effort into his work.”
“Yes, he’s very talented. We’re quite proud of him.”
Standing to one side of them, Sharon thought Caleb appeared to be watching Mac very closely, studying his face as if something there intrigued him. Or was she letting her imagination run away with her?
“Is your contracting business based here in Georgia, Mac?” Caleb asked.
Mac nodded. “I was born and raised in Savannah. I still maintain a home there.”
For some reason, Sharon found herself holding her breath as she watched Caleb’s expression change. The genial, country-lawyer smile he always wore so easily seemed to slide off one side of his face. Her breath left her in one long, shaky sigh.
“I once knew a woman in Savannah whose name was Cordero,” Caleb murmured, his voice not quite steady. “Anita Cordero.”
As still as he was, Mac could have been carved from wood. There was no expression on his face. And Sharon thought she might be the only person in Honoria who could read the emotion in his eyes. “Anita Cordero was my mother.”
Caleb swallowed audibly. “Was?”
“She died three years ago.”
“I’m very sorry to hear that.” Caleb lifted a hand to wipe his mouth. His fingers shook. “Your—er—father. Is he still living?”
“I don’t know. I never met him.”
“Do you mind if I ask how old you are?”
“I’m thirty-three.”
“My God.” Caleb put out a hand to press it against the nearest wall.
Sharon reached out to him quickly. “Caleb?” She glanced worriedly at Mac. “He had a heart attack two years ago.”
“No.” Caleb held up his free hand. “I’m all right. Just…shaken.”
Mac took a small step forward, looking worried. “Do we need to call for medical help?”
Still holding the wall, Caleb ignored the question. “Why did you come to Honoria, Mac?” he asked, his voice husky.
Mac looked at Sharon. She shrugged helplessly. He drew a deep breath. “I came to find some answers. I had no real plan about what to do with them once I found them.”
Caleb couldn’t seem to take his gaze off Mac’s face. “You have your mother’s features. Her eyes.”
“I know.” As if he was becoming overwhelmed by all the emotion in the room, Mac stuffed his hands in his pockets. “I don’t imagine I look at all like my father’s family.”
Seeming to gather his strength, Caleb straightened, his voice steadier now. “Sharon, dear, I wonder if you would excuse us for a little—”
“No.” Mac’s tone was sharp as he took a step closer to her. “Sharon knows my story. She stays.”
Sharon looked uncertainly from one man to the other. “I don’t mind,” she said. “We can talk later, Mac.”
“No.” He reached out to take her hand, and despite his almost arrogant tone, something about the gesture was oddly pleading. As if he needed her with him. There was no way, of course, that she could leave now. She nodded and curled her fingers around his.
Caleb glanced at those locked hands, and at Sharon’s face for a moment. Then he turned to Mac. “I met Anita Cordero almost thirty-five years ago. I was consulting on a very lengthy, complicated legal case in Savannah, and it was necessary for me to stay in a hotel room for weeks at a time. My marriage was going through a difficult period and Anita became very special to me. I wanted to spend the rest of my life with her—and then my wife told me she was pregnant.”
With Tara, Sharon thought, her heart in her throat. Dear God, Caleb McBride was Mac’s father.
Caleb continued firmly. “My wife and I had tried for several years to have a baby, but we’d begun to believe it would never happen. Her announcement staggered me. She was carrying my first child—and I was in love with another woman. I told Anita everything. She told me I had to go home to my wife. She wouldn’t break up a family, she said. She told me that we were never meant to be together. That the time we’d shared was never really ours. And then she asked me never to call her again. She made me promise I would never look back. And she became furious when I stupidly offered to send her money. She was a very strong-willed woman. And I was a very weak-willed man.”
He must have been attracted to strong women, Sharon thought. Bobbie was one of the most domineering women she’d ever met. Everyone had always thought Caleb and Bobbie’s marriage worked so well because he very contentedly allowed her to have her own way. Sharon had never dreamed that Caleb had concealed so much behind that fatherly-lawyer image he had perfected.
“She never told me about you,” Caleb finished, looking straight into Mac’s eyes. “I never knew.”
So Mac’s father hadn’t deliberately abandoned him. He had never known he left a son behind when his love affair ended. Did knowing that ease any of the hurt and anger Mac had carried around for so long?
Mac sighed very faintly. “You never looked back.” It wasn’t a question.
“I tried very hard not to,” Caleb corrected him. “It was all Anita asked of me. I’ve made a good life for myself here with my practice and my family, I’ll admit that. But I can’t say that I never looked back.”
Mac’s fingers tightened almost imperceptibly around Sharon’s, as though seeking strength for what he needed to say next. “Just over two years ago, I lost my six-week-old son to a very rare genetic birth defect. A problem with his blood. The doctors told me the condition was hereditary, that it would have shown up somewhere in my family history. Does that sound familiar to you?”
Looking understandably distressed by Mac’s loss, Caleb shook his h
ead adamantly. “There’s absolutely no history of genetic birth defects on either side of my family. I would know if there was.”
Sharon hoped Mac had found some comfort in that reassurance. She couldn’t imagine the pain he must have gone through when he’d lost his child. The anguish of not knowing whether it had been his absent father who had passed on that gene.
Still without expression, Mac nodded. “Then you’ve answered all the questions I had when I came here. There’s no need for you to worry. I no longer need the revenge I once thought I wanted.”
Caleb wiped his face with his hand again. “Mac—she named you Mac?”
“Miguel Luis. She called me Mac—after you, I know now, though she never told me your name. When she died, I learned that my father was a McBride from Honoria. I didn’t know until you told me that it was you, and not one of your brothers.”
“So you literally came here on a private quest for answers. That must have taken a great deal of courage.”
Mac shrugged. “I just needed to know.”
“Your mother was a very special woman, Mac. I’m sorry I caused her, and you, so much pain with my weaknesses.”
“My mother bore part of the blame—but you’re right. She was very special. She gave me a good life.”
“I’m happy to hear that. And now that we all know the truth—”
Mac broke in with a shake of his head. “My mother didn’t want to break up your family, and neither do I. I’ve met all your children and your grandchildren. They’re nice people. From what I’ve heard, your wife is a fine woman. There’s no need to hurt any of them by stirring up the past. I plan to leave town soon. You needn’t worry that I’ll cause you any trouble.”
Still holding Mac’s hand, Sharon rested her free hand on his forearm, bringing them closer together. It had been a very gracious concession. She was as proud of him as she was saddened for him.
This time it was Caleb who shook his head. “I intend to tell Bobbie the whole story. Our children, too. Your siblings have a right to know that they have another brother, and you deserve to get to know them. I’ve lost thirty-three years of my eldest son’s life. I don’t want to waste any more time.”
Sharon felt her eyes well with fresh tears. The emotion in Caleb’s voice was so strong, so touching that it went straight to her heart. Was Mac equally affected?
The gruffness of his voice told her that he was. “I doubt that either your wife or Trevor would appreciate hearing you refer to me as your ‘eldest son.”’
“Bobbie will have the most difficult time with it, of course,” Caleb admitted honestly. “But she’s a strong woman with a few old secrets of her own. We’ve made a comfortable life together here. She won’t throw it away easily. As for Trevor—all of my children have big, generous hearts. And there is nothing they value more than family. You are their brother, Mac. Once you get to know them, you’ll understand how important that is to them.”
“And what about you?” Mac challenged.
Caleb blinked rapidly. “You’re my son. Once you get to know me, you’ll understand how important that is to me.”
Sharon could almost feel Mac begin to panic. “I didn’t come here to join your family,” he said bluntly. “I’ve gotten by just fine without a father, without siblings. It’s too late for me to learn how to deal with them now. I think it would be best if we all just agree to keep this to ourselves.”
Caleb squared his shoulders, and Sharon realized that Mac hadn’t inherited all his stubbornness from his mother. “I let Anita talk me into leaving without looking back,” he said. “I know now what a tragic mistake that was. I won’t make it a second time. I’m telling my wife the truth. You do what you have to do, Mac—but I hope you’ll choose to stay for a while. God knows you don’t owe me a thing, but I’d like to find out if there’s a chance you can ever forgive me.”
Mac released Sharon’s hand and stepped away from her, causing her arm to fall to her side. “I’ve hurt too many people in my life. I won’t cause any more pain. You were all getting along just fine before I came here,” he said, glancing at Sharon to include her. “You’ll do the same again after I leave.”
Sharon decided it was time for her to join the conversation. She faced Mac with her hands on her hips. “Don’t you think it’s up to us to decide how we were getting along before you came here? Maybe we think our lives will be better for having you in them.”
“And if I think you’re wrong?”
“Then maybe we’d like the right to try to change your mind.” She stepped toward him and placed her hand on his rigid arm again. “You’re a good man, Mac Cordero. You care about other people, even though you sometimes try to hide your feelings. But that stiff-necked pride of yours is only going to hurt you in the long run if you aren’t very careful. It sounds as if you got it from your mother. But perhaps it would have been better for everyone if she hadn’t let her own pride rule her actions.”
She knew she had taken a risk with even that slight criticism of his mother. To her relief, Mac didn’t seem to take offense—maybe because he was simply too distracted by his own confused emotions.
“No one here is asking for any lasting commitments from you, Mac,” she added gently. “We only want the chance to get to know you better. To see what the future has to hold for us all.”
She hadn’t forgotten that Caleb was there, that he heard every word she was saying. But reaching Mac now seemed much more important than protecting her own pride. Something told her that if she missed this chance, there might not be another one. And she wasn’t willing to risk that.
“Maybe it’s too late for me to be your father, Mac,” Caleb added quietly. “But I hope it’s not too late for me to be your friend.”
Mac drew a deep breath, his shoulders seeming to relax a little. “I need some time to think.”
“Of course.” Caleb cleared his throat, then glanced at Sharon before looking back at Mac. “It would take a very special man to win this fine young woman’s heart. And a very foolish man to reject that gift. Since I have no right to offer you fatherly advice, I’ll leave it at that.”
Mac only scowled, reminding Sharon very much at that moment of her notoriously stubborn younger brother.
“I’ll see you both around,” Caleb said after a momentary pause, moving backward toward the door, his eyes still locked on Mac’s face as if he was reluctant to look away. “I have some long-overdue things to take care of at home.”
“Caleb—good luck.” Sharon didn’t know what else to say.
“Thank you, dear. Good luck to you, too.”
Sharon suspected she was going to need it.
THE OLD HOUSE was almost eerily silent after Caleb left it. Filled with soundless echoes of raw, painful emotions. Sharon stood as still and quiet as one of the ghosts that probably haunted the place, watching Mac as though afraid he would disappear if she took her eyes off him.
He was filled with a sudden, bone-tired weariness. “I need a drink,” he said. “I have some sodas in a cooler in the kitchen. Do you want one?”
She seemed only momentarily taken aback by the offer. “Yes, I’d like that.”
He motioned for her to proceed him. He noted that she glanced over her shoulder a time or two on the way. Was she concerned that he would take the opportunity to escape while her back was turned? As tempting as that was in some ways, he had no intention of doing something like that. Not just yet.
The cooler was a small, electric unit he’d set in the kitchen to hold cold drinks for himself and the work crews. He didn’t allow beer on his sites, but cold drinks, juices and water were always available. He noted automatically as he opened the door of the unit that the supply had been almost depleted. He would have to restock before the crew returned Monday morning.
“What do you want?” he asked Sharon.
She reached past him and took out a diet soda. He selected a beverage for himself, then closed the door. He popped the top on the can, then just stared at it, h
is thirst gone. Suddenly, he wasn’t sure he could swallow.
“Mac?” Sharon set her own can on the plywood-covered countertop. “Are you okay?”
He avoided looking at her, uncertain what his expression might reveal. “I’m fine.”
Very gently, she removed the untouched can from his lax fingers and set it beside her own. And then she went up on tiptoe and wrapped her arms tightly around him. He stiffened for a moment in surprise, but then gathered her closer and buried his face in her soft hair.
He was tired of fighting, tired of trying to resist her.
Without a word, she pressed a kiss to his throat. How could she know what he needed most right then? Could she actually read his mind, or had she learned him so well in such a short time?
She lifted her head to look at him, and pressed a cool hand against his warm cheek. Her smile was tremulous. Completely understanding. As if she knew what he was feeling even better than he did.
He lowered his mouth to hers, hesitating just before he made contact. She slid her hand to the back of his neck and brought their lips together. And he almost groaned with sheer pleasure. It had been days since he’d last kissed her. It felt like weeks.
Tenderness flared almost instantly into passion. Mac was almost consumed with the need to make love to her, to lose himself in her. To make the rest of the world disappear, leaving only the two of them in it.
Had he really thought he could walk away from her so easily? He knew now that he’d only been fooling himself.
He reached beneath the short hem of her dress, sliding his hands up her bare legs to her hips. His fingers curled in the fabric of her sheer panties, kneading her tight bottom. She really was perfect, he thought. Even her pale little appendectomy scar was perfect to him.
She moved in response to his touch, pressing against him, inflaming him further. The setting couldn’t be more wrong for this. They were in a half-gutted old house, surrounded by the scent of sawdust. For Sharon, there should be flowers, candles, silk and lace. Someone better than a battered ex-cop with so much emotional baggage he practically needed a bellhop.