Baby It's You (Seven Brides Seven Brothers Book 6)

by Calhoune, Belle

  His gaze wandered to the empty stands. In a couple weeks the seats would be filled with the most vociferous, boisterous sports fans any team could ever pray for. Bombers’ fans were the best in the league and loyal to a fault. His chest swelled with pride. He couldn’t express in words how much he wanted to be a part of it all.

  Kaitlyn’s eyes were wide in her face. “I can’t imagine what it must feel like to be out here with the park filled to capacity and everyone chanting your name.”

  “It’s an adrenaline pumping, heart thumping thrill ride.” He winked at her. “And if anyone tells you it isn’t, they’re not doing it right.”

  Kaitlyn snapped a few pictures on her phone and posed with him for a few selfies in front of the scoreboard. He pulled out his phone and took a few pictures of them together. He told Kaitlyn to pose and took a sweet picture of her standing on the pitcher’s mound. With a few taps on his phone he made the photo of the two of them together his screen saver. Good thing his brothers weren’t around! They’d tease him until the sun went down. After all the trash talking he’d done in the past about relationships, he suddenly found himself happily coupled up.

  As they walked off the field Wyatt led her inside to show her more of the interior. After poking around the building, they found themselves in the tunnel leading to the locker rooms. Although it wasn’t very exciting or eye catching, it was part of the whole Bay State Bombers experience. He’d spent many a day walking these halls.

  “See that little spot over there? Right after one of the best games I ever played I was heading down this hallway when I came face to face with my birth father.”

  Kaitlyn’s cornflower blue eyes widened. “He came looking for you?”

  He clenched his hands at his side. Just the thought of his birth father threatened to send him down a dark road. With the help of prayer and the goodwill of his adoptive parents, he’d managed to overcome the feelings of anger toward his birth parents. Every now and again those feelings cropped up. During those moments he needed to center himself and focus on what his life had become and not on everything he’d endured.

  Kaitlyn’s jaw dropped. “When did this happen? What did he want?”

  “It was about four years ago. And he wanted a payday. Somehow he’d weaseled his way into the area and past security. I knew him instantly.” A tremor danced in his jaw. “Those eyes…they hadn’t change a bit. Small, beady and full of mean, even though he tried to schmooze me. He kind of reminded me of a shark. Predatory. Unpredictable. And completely without scruples.”

  “What did he say after all those years? After the way he abandoned you?”

  “He kept calling me Wyatt McCarthy. Like he was trying to put me in my place and squash me down into that nine year old kid he abandoned. Said he was sorry about leaving me but it wasn’t his idea. Claimed he wanted a better life for me. He told me my birth mother died of an overdose a year after they left me.” He sucked in a steadying breath. It wasn’t easy to talk about this, even with Kaitlyn. So far she was the only person he’d confided in about the visit from Danny McCarthy. “Then he went in for the kill. He wanted fifty thousand dollars.”

  “He had the gall to ask you for money?” Kaitlyn asked.

  “Yep,” Wyatt said, casting a lingering glance down the dimly lit hallway. “I told him to go to hell. I’ve never said those words to a single human being in my whole life. I always thought wishing someone to hell was the worst thing a person could every say. But after everything he’d put me through, I couldn’t stop myself. I was garbage to them. They didn’t care whether I lived or died. And he had his hand out, wanting a piece of everything I’d built.”

  Kaitlyn blinked her eyes furiously. “What did he say?”

  Wyatt locked gazes with her. His eyes were shuttered. “He threatened to go to the tabloids and tell them some story about me that would get him some fast cash.”

  “How could he be so cruel?” Kaitlyn’s face crumpled with dismay.

  “How could he not? It’s who he is right down to his non-existent soul. So I told him to go for it, to sell the rags his most disgusting, despicable story.”

  “And did he?”

  Wyatt clenched his teeth. “Nope. Not when I told him it could open him up to more charges of child abuse against him. I told him I’d press charges even though I knew the statute of limitations was over. Thankfully, he didn’t know that fact. He’s not exactly book smart. The thought of going back to jail made him run like the devil.”

  She touched his arm. “I’m so sorry. No child should ever have to endure what you did. And then to have your nightmare come back into your life all those years later. I can’t imagine how that felt.”

  “It was nightmarish seeing him again, but after he left I realized that he hadn’t won. When I was a kid living under his roof I was helpless. And unloved. And vulnerable. The tables had turned a bit since I was nine years old. He couldn’t take my power away from me. Not now. Not ever again.”

  Kaitlyn threw herself into his arms and clung tightly to him. He reached down and ran his hand along her hair, relishing the feel of her burrowed against him.

  This was his pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. This beautiful, spirited woman who showed him grace every single day. He hadn’t been looking for a Kaitlyn O’Malley to enter his world, but God had shown He had other plans in mind for him. Sometimes when you least expected it, God showed you what you needed to make your life complete. Right now, all he could do was feel thankful.

  ***

  Receiving a tour of Brimley Park from Wyatt was like having a rock star grant you a private concert. He’d given her his undivided attention today and confided in her something about his past that he hadn’t ever shared with anyone else. She’d been blown away when he’d admitted on the way back to his place that he’d never told another person about his visit that day from his birth father. That had been incredibly powerful.

  She felt bonded to Wyatt in a way that now felt sacred.

  When they arrived at Wyatt’s place Mac was sitting in the kitchen heating up some Chinese food. With his commanding height and brawn, Mac looked like he might work as a bodyguard or a football player. His hands were long and powerful, perfect for a man who was a woodworker by trade. She wished there was some easy way of befriending Mac. She sensed a loneliness hovering over him like a shroud. Wyatt had alluded to trauma in his past, which made her heart ache for him.

  “How was the tour of Brimley?” Mac asked her, startling her by speaking to her directly. So far he’d been on the quiet side, not even making eye contact with her.

  “It was great. Your brother is a fantastic tour guide. And Brimley Park is all kinds of fabulous.” She sat down at the counter across from Mac. Wyatt came and joined them, planting himself in the stool right next to her.

  “What have you been up to?” Wyatt asked Mac. “Did you make any headway with tracking down Mrs.Worther? I know you said you were going to poke around online and we could go from there.”

  Mac made a face. “I actually went down to the foster care agency.”

  “Hey. I thought you were going to wait for me,” Wyatt said in a surprised voice. “We were going to tackle it like the Hardy Boys used to do in those books we used to read as kids.”

  Mac chuckled, showcasing a pair of dimples that she’d never noticed before. Probably because Mac didn’t smile very often. At least not that she’d ever noticed. Whoa. Mac Donahue should smile more often, Kaitlyn realized. He’d have the single ladies in Cape Cod doing cartwheels to get his attention. Not that they weren’t already sniffing around one of the last two eligible Donahue brothers, she imagined.

  “I think those were the only books we didn’t complain about reading,” Mac scoffed.

  “So what did you find out?” Wyatt asked, his expression intense.

  So far Wyatt hadn’t told her exactly what business had brought Mac to Boston. But it didn’t sound like it had anything to do with his woodworking business. Especially since he’d r
eferenced a foster care agency. She needed to excuse herself so the two brothers could speak openly without being inhibited by her presence.

  She made a move to get up from her seat. “I’ll give you guys some privacy if you’d like.”

  “No, it’s fine, Kaitlyn. You can stay,” Mac offered.

  “Are you sure? It sounds personal.”

  “I’m trying to track down the head of the foster care agency who placed us with our adoptive parents,” Mac explained.

  “We lost touch with her over the years,” Wyatt added. “And now Mac needs some answers about his past, so finding Mrs. Worther might answer some pressing questions.”

  “I think I might have a sister.” Mac’s expression was shuttered as he made his announcement.

  “Wow. A sister. That would be incredible,” she said, immediately noticing the look of tension etched on Wyatt’s face.

  “It’s not so cut and dried,” Wyatt explained. “Mac...he suffered a lot of abuse as a child, combined with the fact that there are no records to prove that a sister existed—”

  Mac leaned forward across the counter. “My family isn’t sure I didn’t imagine her. That’s what Wyatt is getting at.”

  Kaitlyn shot a quick glance at Wyatt. She couldn’t read his expression. If she had to guess she would have to say he appeared worried.

  She swung her gaze back toward Mac. “Do you think she’s real?” Kaitlyn asked.

  Mac nodded his head emphatically. “Yes. I do. I don’t just remember her face. I remember the way she smelled. Like baby powder. I remember braiding her hair for her and tying her shoes for her. And I protected her from the bad things...the best I could.”

  Chills raced down Kaitlyn’s back. The expression on Mac’s face was haunting. It seemed as if he had stepped back into the past right before their very eyes. And she could tell that there was darkness in his past.

  On impulse, she reached across the table and squeezed Mac’s hand. He didn’t pull away, even though it seemed as if he might. “If you believe she’s real, that’s good enough for me. And I’m willing to wager it’s good enough for Wyatt also.”

  A slow grin broke over Wyatt’s face. “Yeah. It’s good enough for me, Mac.” Wyatt reached out and fist bumped Mac. The two brothers shared a smile ripe with hidden meaning. They were talking their own secret Donahue brother language now and it was a beautiful thing to behold.

  “Donahue strong,” Wyatt said.

  “Donahue strong,” Mac repeated.

  “So what did you find out at the agency?” Kaitlyn asked, curious about the whereabouts of their guardian angel.

  “Well, I have some bad news. Mrs. Worther was living in the Boston area, but she lost her home to foreclosure a year ago. No one at the agency can say for certain what happened to her.”

  “No way!” Wyatt cried out. “Foreclosure? Oh, that’s terrible.”

  “What’s even worse is that no one knows what happened to her or if she managed to land on her feet,” Mac added.

  “I don’t know about you, Mac, but getting this news makes me want to find her all the more. This is a woman who saved all seven of us. Maybe now it’s Mrs. Worther who needs the Donahue boys to ride to her rescue.”

  “I like it,” Mac said. “But how?”

  “We first have to find her.” Wyatt scratched his chin. “Thankfully we have two resources in our family that are very helpful in tracking people down. A journalist…and a tycoon. Between the two of them, Blue and Brandon should be able to help us find Mrs. Worther.”

  Mac nodded. “Sounds good to me. Now we have two reasons to find her.”

  Wyatt stared at his brother intensely. “We’ll get to the bottom of all this, Mac. I promise. And if your sister is out there somewhere, we’ll find her.”

  “Thanks, Wy. For having my back.” Mac turned toward Kaitlyn. “I appreciate your believing me, especially when you don’t know me at all.”

  “Oh, that’s not true,” Kaitlyn said. “Your brother has told me a lot about you. He thinks the world of you. And if you’re such a vital part of Wyatt’s heart, there’s no way I couldn’t stand behind you.”

  There she went again, wearing her heart on her sleeve for all to see. Mac nodded at her, and she could swear she saw a look of recognition flash in his gray eyes. Was it so obvious that she was madly in love with Wyatt? At the moment, she didn’t care if the whole world knew where her heart resided. She was leaving it all in God’s hands and praying that He would bring her a love that would never forsake her.

  “Knowing who you are and being comfortable in your own skin are the keys to a happy life.”

  Brandon Donahue

  Chapter Ten

  Leaving Boston behind in his rearview mirror caused a slight ache in Wyatt’s soul. It was a strange feeling since he was excited about returning home to Breeze Point. His time in Boston had been well spent. He’d grown even closer to Kaitlyn, which left him in awe of their powerful connection. Finishing each other’s sentences, anticipating the other’s needs, being open and vulnerable with one another. They were all firsts for Wyatt. He’d never been down this road before.

  Was this tight sensation in his chest a sign that he was falling in love? Or was the fact that he couldn’t stop thinking about Kaitlyn all the proof he needed?

  Kaitlyn had been the perfect date for the event to honor Finch. Everyone had loved her spirit and spunk. Alejandro had even pulled him aside to ask him if he and Kaitlyn were getting engaged. Wyatt had laughed out loud at that notion. He wasn’t quite ready to walk down the aisle. Yet.

  Even Mac had enjoyed the party. He’d actually socialized a little bit with some of the players and managed to have a good time. And Kaitlyn and Mac had gotten along incredibly well.

  Now that they were back in Cape Cod, Wyatt knew he had to call a meeting with his brothers to discuss the Mrs. Worther situation. If their guardian angel had fallen on hard times, he knew they would all want to pitch in to help her out in any way possible. It would have to wait for another night since Kaitlyn was swinging by to pick him up so they could do dinner and a movie. Somehow she’d gotten him to agree to see a romance flick. Oh yeah, he was in big trouble. The things a person did for love.

  His cell phone began chiming his ring tone. He grabbed the phone, frowning at the unknown Boston number that popped up on his screen.

  “Wyatt, it’s Coach.” Coach’s strong New England accent blared in his ear.

  “Hey, Coach. How’s it going? Hadn’t been expecting to hear from you.”

  “It was great to see you the other night. I appreciate you being there for me, Wy.”

  “I’m hoping you’ve got some good news for me, Finch.” Coach had to be calling about his return to the team. Nothing else made any sense. God, please let this exile be over.

  Finch cleared his throat. “So, I’m going to cut to the chase, Wyatt. I wanted to call you directly out of respect. There’s a problem with clearing you for Spring Training. The docs are afraid of you reinjuring yourself if you come back too soon. So, it’s a no go for Spring Training. We’ll have to wait and see if you can return this season.”

  No way! He hadn’t heard Coach right. There must be some kind of a mistake. He was ready. What was he talking about?

  “What does this mean big picture?”

  “I’m saying that they can’t clear you for Spring Training. They don’t think you’re ready to come back yet. This isn’t a life sentence, Wyatt. It’s just for the here and now.” Finch’s tone was somber.

  Silence stretched out between them as he struggled to process Coach’s words.

  “Did you hear me, Wyatt?”

  “Yeah,” he said dully. He didn’t know what to say. How could this be happening? He’d been so sure. He’d had such a fantastic feeling about this. How had he been so absolutely blindsided? Why had he been so stupid to believe in rainbows and lollipops and happy endings?

  “They didn’t rule you out for the entire season. It’s just not happening anytime so
on. They’re recommending you continue your PT sessions and strength training.”

  “I know what it means,” he mumbled.

  “Hey kid, it’s a tough break. But I believe in you. You’ll be back for sure next year. Maybe even sooner.”

  Next year? He couldn’t wait that long. It was supposed to have been the Bay State Bombers’ year to make it to the World Series. All those dreams had gone up in a puff of smoke. The dream team. That’s what the media had called them. Everything had gone down the drain with his meniscus injury and then the accident. But then he’d started to have hope again when Kaitlyn came into his life. She’d made him believe in this pipe dream. She’d dangled this carrot in front of his nose that was now being cruelly taken away from him. What a fool he was!

  “Thanks for the call, Finch.” He hung up the call just as Finch was saying something. It didn’t matter anymore. He’d heard everything he needed to hear from his coach. It was all over for him. Pain ricocheted through him like a bullet. He’d worked so hard his entire adult life to make this baseball dream a reality. And now it was slipping through his fingers like grains of sand. Every time he thought he was getting his life back, something came along to knock him down.

  God, please. Don’t take this away from me. It’s the only thing I’ve ever been good at. It’s the one thing that makes me special.

  Hot tears ran down his face. Sounds were coming from the depths of his soul that he barely recognized. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d wept like this. Maybe when his sister-in-law Lena had passed away. Crying didn’t come easily to him. It made him feel way too vulnerable.

  Big boys don’t cry. Only little sissies cry. Are you a big boy or a sissy? His birth father’s voice buzzed viciously in his ear, transporting him back to a place in time he’d rather forget. Danny McCarthy had tortured him with those words, over and over again until they’d been engrained in his little head. Crying had been a weakness in his birth father’s eyes, one he’d punished with verbal abuse and beatings.