A Child Changes Everything

by Stella MacLean

  “You wash your car every day, but you never invite me to parties,” she teased, relief visible on her face.

  Although he suspected she might be anxious about seeing his family again, Mason felt unreasonably pleased that he could make her smile under the circumstances. “I wash it every other day, but today’s will be a thorough scrub-down, all for my best girl,” he said and then could have kicked himself.

  That had been his nickname for her when they were together. With four sisters and three nieces, he’d kidded Lisa that calling her his “best girl” put her at the top of his list.

  “Are you reminding me of better times?”

  She glanced toward her back door as Anne Marie came out carrying Katie.

  “We said our goodbyes to Mom,” Anne Marie said, passing Katie to Lisa. “Hi, Mason. It’s good to finally meet you.”

  “You, too. And congratulations on your release.”

  “Thank you for all your help. Lisa’s lucky to have you in her life.”

  While they chatted, Katie squirmed in Lisa’s arms as she smiled up at Mason. “Read me a story?” she asked.

  “Sometime soon. I’ll read you a whole bunch of stories,” he said, watching Lisa’s face for her response.

  Lisa chewed her lip as she held Katie close. “We’ll have lots of chances to read stories when you come to visit again.”

  Without looking at Mason, she took Katie to the car, and put her in her car seat. “We’ll see you soon, Katie, I promise. In the meantime, you take care of your mommy, and we’ll talk on the phone every day. Okay?” she asked as she fastened Katie into the seat.

  “Thanks again, Lisa. For everything. Come visit us in Florida on your vacation. I’m hoping the police will let me back into my house soon, but for now I’ve rented the house next to Cindy’s,” Anne Marie said, hugging her sister.

  The way Lisa clung to Anne Marie tightened Mason’s gut. As the car moved down the driveway and turned onto the street, Mason moved closer to Lisa, his arm automatically going around her shoulders.

  “They’ll be fine,” he said, attempting to console her.

  “I won’t,” she said, putting her arms around his waist and squeezing him so hard he could barely breathe.

  LISA HAD ALMOST canceled their dinner date. She’d been so emotionally and mentally exhausted after Anne Marie left that all she wanted to do was go to bed. But seeing Mason sitting across from her now—dressed up in a suit, no less—made her glad she’d kept the date.

  Although their conversation had been a little stiff so far this evening, he seemed to be enjoying himself. She was, too. She also appreciated the time away from her thoughts of Katie’s departure and its impact.

  The waitress appeared at the table, her full attention on Mason. “Will there be anything else?” she asked, her smile inviting.

  Mason didn’t seem to notice as he took the check and tucked it next to his napkin. With dinner nearly over, disappointment made her anxious. Mason hadn’t said one word about them as a couple, or anything very personal.

  “This has been so pleasant, and I’ve had a nice evening,” she said, smiling at him as the waitress brought more coffee.

  “So have I. One of the nicest in a long time, actually,” Mason said as he shifted in his seat, and rested one hand on the table. “I just landed a major new client, so it looks like Stephens Investigations will live to see another week.”

  “Congratulations! That’s terrific news. And it was a smart move to change the name of the company.”

  “Yeah, I needed a new image.”

  Mason rubbed his jaw, a frown of concentration on his handsome features. “But I had no idea how much tact and interpersonal skills it takes to run a business. It’s sure different from being a police officer.”

  “Are you regretting what you did?”

  “No. Although there are challenges, especially the client who expects instant results.” He rolled his eyes. “But I enjoy being my own boss. And Tank has been good to me, sending clients my way.”

  “Tank’s been good to both of us,” she said, remembering that day in his office. “And I want to thank you again for finding my mother…and Anne Marie.”

  “And Katie?”

  “Yes, Katie most of all. Anne Marie called to say they were stopping at some friends’ in Savannah and would be home tomorrow.”

  “That’s good.” He paused. “And, Lisa, I want to apologize for some of the things I said about Anne Marie when we were in Florida. I was wrong. Anne Marie’s a decent person who deserves a break in life.”

  “You were concerned that I was getting involved in something I couldn’t handle,” she said, looking into his eyes. She was surprised and encouraged by what she saw there—the same vulnerability she’d seen the day he’d comforted her after Katie fell in the pool. A vulnerability he’d never shown when they were dating.

  “That’s partly true,” he said deliberately.

  Was he going to say anything about their past? What would she do if he did? A lot had changed between them since that trip to Florida, including how she felt about children being part of her life. For the first time, she wanted them to talk about it, and the thought made her excited, if a little uneasy.

  “And?” she asked, hoping he would share more of himself with her.

  “Oh, you know, my good old white-knight thing.” He smiled ruefully as he played with the knife at the side of his plate. “There’s been quite a bit going on in my life the past few months and I’ve come to see that my take-charge attitude can be more of a hindrance than I realized.”

  “You? Being introspective?” she asked and could have bitten her tongue when she saw the look of embarrassment on his face. What had made her blurt that out? But Mason questioning his behavior was a new development, and it had taken her by surprise.

  In the past, Mason Stephens had never shown much inclination to examine his motives.

  HE COULDN’T BLAME Lisa for being a little skeptical of a change in him, especially one like this. He had to admit he’d been pretty determined, not to mention bossy, when they were together.

  So far, the evening hadn’t gone the way he’d planned. He’d had every intention of easing into the topic of their breakup, but there never seemed to be the right opening in the conversation. The hovering waitress didn’t help.

  Lisa had talked about Katie, which he enjoyed, but it left little room to move the conversation to any adult discussion. But deep inside, he had to admit that he was reluctant to bring up that night in case he spoiled the intimacy between them.

  He and Lisa were getting along well, and he didn’t want anything to change that. Remembering his promise to himself to go slow, he said, “Have you decided to take the head nurse’s job?”

  “I was seriously considering it—until the pool incident. Now I’m not sure if it’s a good idea. The position carries a lot of responsibilities.”

  “Do you believe they would have offered you the job if they weren’t certain you could do it?”

  She caught her lower lip between her teeth. “You’ve got a point.”

  “Then why don’t you—” He blocked any further words of advice. Lisa had to make her own decision.

  She nodded her head slowly, the beginnings of a smile framing her mouth. “Accept the job? I just might do that.”

  As he began to organize his thoughts to broach the topic of their breakup, he glanced at his watch. Damn! They were going to be late to his parents’ party, and he’d promised his mother he would be on time. “We better go if we want to make the party at my parents’. You’re coming, right?”

  “Sure. I love your mother, and I want to thank her for the food she sent for the playdate. What’s the party for, anyway?”

  “My sister Evelyn’s leaving for Denver tomorrow. She’s got a new job there as head librarian at the city library. She gave up her apartment, and has been staying at Mom and Dad’s until she goes. I promised to see her before she left and it turned into a family dinner.”
<
br />   “Mason, do you think this is a good time for me to go to a family party with you?”

  “I didn’t mention you were coming, but I want you to be there. I’ll explain everything else when we get there. Okay?”

  “I don’t want to impose,” she said, sounding uncertain.

  “You won’t. Besides Mom was asking about you the other day. She didn’t realize that I was working on a case for you.”

  Lisa’s expression softened. “How is your mother?”

  “She’s fine. Spending her days cooking, bossing Dad, complaining when I don’t come and see her. I’m at the top of her ‘you don’t visit me anymore’ list.” He caught the eager look in her eyes. “So, what do you say?”

  She gave him a lopsided grin. “What’s it worth to you?”

  “Oh, so this is how we’re going to do it,” he said jokingly, remembering how they once kidded each other about making things “worthwhile.” It had been their way of dealing with the conflicting schedules of Lisa’s nursing career and his police duties. “Okay, let’s see. I’ll trade you one thirty-minute visit with Mom and Dad for one afternoon of staying with your mother when you need it. Do we have a deal?”

  She slipped her purse strap over her arm. “What are we waiting for?”

  WHEN THEY REACHED Mason’s parents’ house, Lisa accompanied him into the kitchen where everyone was laughing and waiting to dig into a late-night meal of fried chicken.

  “Mom, you’re the best cook around, but we just had dinner,” Mason said in response to his mother’s request that they have something to eat.

  “Who’s with you? Sara?” his father, Leonard, asked, entering the kitchen from the den. “Oh, hi, Lisa.” He glanced at Mason, then back at her. “Good to see you.”

  “It’s nice to see you, too,” Lisa said, feeling awkward as the various Stephens siblings and their families greeted her, while the unspoken question of what she was doing here with Mason hung in the air.

  “Evelyn’s upstairs finishing her packing. She said she wanted to see you as soon as you got here,” Leonard informed Mason before sitting down to the huge plate of chicken his wife had placed on the table. This seemed to be the cue for everyone else to follow suit, talking loudly among themselves as they did.

  “I’ll go up and see her. Is that okay with you, Lisa?”

  “Of course. I’ll talk to your mom,” she said, raising her voice over the convivial din.

  Mason disappeared upstairs while Lisa took the chair beside Leonard and enjoyed the lively conversation about the latest antics of the Duke Blue Devils. Finally Mason’s mother joined them.

  “I was sorry to hear about your mother,” Mary Stephens said, sitting next to her.

  “Thank you,” Lisa said. “I miss her.”

  Mary placed her hand on Lisa’s. “How are you doing?”

  “Not bad. I’ve been pretty busy getting my mother—my birth mother—settled at my house,” Lisa said, and everyone at the table stopped talking and fixed their collective gaze on her.

  She glanced around uncomfortably. “Mason helped me find my mother in Florida—and, as it turned out, my sister and niece, too.”

  “Yes, Mason mentioned he’d been working with you. He hasn’t told us much about it, though,” Leonard said, his voice controlled.

  If her pleasure at finding her family meant anything to Mason, why hadn’t he mentioned it to someone in his family? And why had Leonard assumed that it would be Sara with Mason? A hard ache started behind her heart and spread through her chest.

  Feeling totally alone and hurt, she did her best to make conversation until Mason reappeared.

  But by the time he did rejoin her, it was getting late. “I need to get home. Mom’s waiting for me,” she said, keeping her tone neutral.

  They drove in silence through the city, a silence Lisa found harder and harder to bear. The reaction of the Stephens family toward her had been awkward, leaving her feeling like an outsider. A distinct change from when she’d been dating Mason and the Stephens house was her second home. She missed feeling part of his family, the closeness, the warmth, being included.

  “You’re very quiet,” he said as he swung the Corvette into her driveway.

  “Why hadn’t you told your family about my mother and sister, and why did your father expect Sara to be with you?”

  He hesitated. “Lisa, my life has been chaotic lately, too. Dad’s not the easiest person to talk to, even under the best of circumstances,” he said, shutting off the engine.

  As they sat in the darkened car, she pushed for an answer. “So, why didn’t you tell them my good news? They may not be part of my life anymore, but I thought you’d want them to know I was happy.”

  Mason tightened his grip on the steering wheel as a deep sigh rushed past his lips. “Lisa, I haven’t had an opportunity to visit my parents in weeks because I’ve been busy at work. As for Dad, he’s worried about what’ll happen to Peter if Sara goes through with her plans. In Dad’s mind, a child is worth doing whatever it takes to keep both parents under the same roof. When he realized I had a woman with me, he probably just assumed Sara and I had been out somewhere together.”

  He reached over and took her hands, pulling her toward him. “Please don’t go looking for what isn’t there where Sara and I are concerned.”

  “But obviously your parents are holding out hope for the two of you,” she said, annoyed with herself and angry at him for how the visit to his family had made her feel.

  “Sara is out of my life—except as the mother of my son.” He looked directly at her. “I want to be with you. I’ll let my parents know about us when the time is right. Tonight was too chaotic, I’m sorry.”

  “You want to be with me even after everything that’s happened over the past couple of years?” she couldn’t help asking.

  “Lisa, we need to work out what’s going on between us—the sooner, the better. I know you have to get back to your mother right now, but I’d like to see you tomorrow night,” he said, his voice low, his body way too close to hers.

  Why did it bother her so much that Mason hadn’t told his family about her changed circumstances? Why did what his family knew about her life suddenly matter?

  Mason leaned toward her and kissed her lips before she had a chance to respond, a kiss that lit the need burning inside her.

  Starved for him, she drew him to her, sliding her fingers over his shirt. Urged on by his intake of breath, she returned his kiss.

  “When we do talk, I hope it starts off like this,” he said, settling back in his seat.

  Caught in a vortex of need, she couldn’t match his light bantering tone, so she said nothing. In the silence of the car, she fought to control the thudding of her heart, her burning desire. Mason was the only man she wanted, but wanting someone wasn’t always enough.

  “I’ll walk you to the door.”

  With the taste of him still on her lips, she slipped the key in the lock and went inside.

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  “A PENNY FOR YOUR thoughts, dear,” her mother said as she wheeled into the kitchen where Lisa sat staring at the newspaper the next morning.

  “Oh, Mom, my thoughts aren’t worth much.”

  “Would I be right if I guessed either Mason or Katie?”

  She sighed and smiled at her mother. “Both, actually.”

  Her mother wheeled her chair next to Lisa. “Please don’t worry about Katie. Anne Marie is a good mother, and Cindy will be looking after Katie while Anne Marie is in her classes. I’m more concerned about you.”

  “Me?”

  “Dear, I hope you don’t feel I’m a busybody, but how are you doing?”

  Aware that her mother was scrutinizing her pretty closely, she sat up straight in her chair. “I’m fine.”

  “How was your date with Mason last night?”

  “The dinner was lovely. Afterward, we went over to his parents’ house. His sister Evelyn is moving to Denver,” she said, keeping her eyes on the cup of
coffee she passed to her mother.

  “Did you enjoy yourself?”

  “I did.” She didn’t want to involve her mother in this right now.

  “Then, honey, why the long face?”

  She sighed in resignation—apparently her mother did want to be involved. “Because nothing seems to be working out the way it should.”

  “Between you and Mason?”

  Taking a sip of her coffee, she put the cup down. “We’re never on the same page. It seems that whenever we get a chance to talk, we don’t. It’s my fault as well as his, but if one of us doesn’t open up soon, it may be too late.”

  “I’d like to lock you two in a room until you talk this all out. But let me tell you something about your dad.”

  Lisa nodded, placing the newspaper on the counter.

  “Your father was the warmest, most affectionate man in the world, and I always felt so cared for when he was around. Everyone who met him loved him.”

  “You weren’t just a little biased?” Lisa teased, awed by how her mother described her father.

  “I certainly am. Grant worked with the local power utility, and he would often pay the bill for a family in need rather than see their power shut off.”

  “He must have been a very kind man.”

  “He was. Your father had this incredible ability to make me feel special, even when we argued. We didn’t argue all that often—mostly we worked things out.”

  Lisa sighed. “I wish it could be the same where Mason and I are concerned.”

  “Lisa, love isn’t the same for everyone. We all have our own story. What’s yours?”

  “I don’t really have a story, Mom. I loved Mason from the moment we met, and I wanted us to be a couple. Then one day he asked me to marry him, and I was ecstatic, and things were perfect—or so I believed.” She winced. “Then Mason insisted that we discuss a timeline for having a family. But it was less of a discussion and more of a dictation. I didn’t have any say in the matter. Back then I couldn’t see myself as a mother, and to be honest even if he had agreed to wait, I wouldn’t have considered it.”