“What truth?” Her brow cranked tight. Thane wasn’t making a lot of sense. “You mean about our one-night stand?”
He paused. “Yup,” he said wistfully.
Marg could easily see the doubt in Thane’s expression. The cocky handsome young man had more going on deep inside, but that’s where he usually kept it. Hidden from the outside world.
“Between feeling guilty as hell, I listened to my best friend tell me he’s worried because he thinks he’ll turn into his old man. Doesn’t matter what I say.” He paused. “Shit,” he hissed.
“What?” She straightened, seeing Thane glance out the window behind her.
“Fuck.” Thane waved and Marg turned in her seat.
When she saw Patrick looking at them from the sidewalk, she muttered her own curse.
Thane shoved his wallet in his back pocket. “Marg, he already suspects something. Tell him the truth. Get it over with. I don’t want this on my conscious either. If we’re all going to be friends for a long time, I want this in the past.”
He pushed his mass from the seat and walked out the door. He stopped to talk to Patrick for a moment with his hand on his shoulder.
Patrick looked angry. The conversation was short and then Thane gave him a shake and walked away.
Marg didn’t know what to do. Patrick kept his gaze on her. She waved him to come in, but he wouldn’t. My God, what had this training done to them? She ran to the door and stopped short of throwing her arms around him. Something was really wrong.
“You passed your S.E.R.E training,” she squealed. Her heart dissolved into a puddle of disappointment when Patrick gave her a solemn nod. “Is everything alright with your mom?”
Pat’s gaze drifted toward the street. “Dad left her. Packed a bag and shacked up with one his whores.”
“Oh, no. Patrick, we need to be with her.”
Pat shook his head. “No. You don’t need to be part of this.”
She took a step back. Her heart dove, feeling as if he’d slapped her face. “Part of what. You? Your family? I care about your mom.”
“You barely know her,” he said coldly.
“Well, you can stand here on the sidewalk all night. I don’t give a shit. I’m going to see your mom.” She turned and walked to her car.
As she drove down the highway toward City Heights, she glanced in her rear view mirror. Patrick wasn’t far behind. She wondered whether he would stop her from visiting, but unless he planned to physically hold her back, she was going in.
Marg slowed to a stop in front of Patrick’s house. Evening shadows fell across the street and a street light popped to life. She expected to see Patrick, but he was nowhere to be found. A dim light shone through the front window and Marg waved, seeing Karen sitting in her chair reading a book. When she knocked, Karen opened the door.
“Hi, Karen. Dropped by for tea, if that’s all right.”
Marg’s heart broke. The disappointment in Karen’s eyes was heaped on top of her plight and fight for her life, but Marg also saw a raw strength.
“Come in, dear,” she said.
Marg made them some tea and wondered where Patrick had gone. He’d escorted her into the Heights and then disappeared.
Handing Karen her mug of tea, Marg settled down on the dirty old couch beside her. “It’s going to be all right, Karen.” She added a smile for reassurance, but her heart hurt for Patrick’s mom.
“Patrick told you, I suppose.”
“He did. You know, my dad cheated on my mom. Dad apologized and mom let him come home, but my parents have never really been in love, as far as I can remember.”
Pat’s mom took a sip of tea and set down the mug. “Kevin wasn’t always a drunk. When we were young, we were like you and Patrick.”
Marg swallowed past the lump of unease.
“Don’t worry, honey. My Patrick would never turn out like his father. I know he worries about it, but he won’t. His determination to succeed would never let him.”
“Has Mr. Cobbs ever tried to stop drinking?”
She shook her head slowly. “Kevin’s father, Patrick’s grandfather, was a small but successful businessman. He had a hardware store here in town. Kevin didn’t have a mind for business and that frustrated his father. He always called him down and eventually Kevin believed it. He gave up trying to be something his father wanted him to be, and then he gave up on our marriage and himself. It was a slow, painful decline and nothing I said had any effect on him.”
“Did you ever think about leaving him?” she asked.
“No. We’re Catholic and I married him until death do us part. I guess now, we’ll just be apart until my death.”
Marg slid from the couch and kneeled in front of her. “I think it’s sad for all of you, but I also know you’re not alone. You have Pat and Chalise, and now me.”
Karen patted her hands. “You’re a sweet girl. My son can get broody sometimes, and he’s learned to hide his feelings. Don’t let him hide anymore. Make him feel, Margaret.”
“He passed his S.E.R.E. training and before we know it, he’ll be gone again on his first mission as a SEAL. I know he’s going to pass his probation, and we’ll both be there to see them pin the Trident on his uniform.”
Karen nodded. Tears filled her eyes. “I’ll try.”
Marg stayed for another two cups of tea and then Karen had to lay down. She helped her to the bedroom and stayed a little longer to clean up the kitchen. Turning the lights off, she opened the front door and saw Patrick sitting on the top step, his head bowed and his hands clutched together. She tugged the front door shut and sat down beside him.
For the longest time, they lulled in silence until Marg finally said, “Your mom is a strong woman.”
Patrick’s head rose and his eyes stared ahead at nothing in particular. She imagined he held the weight of his family’s welfare on his shoulders. While most of his team mates were celebrating tonight, Patrick stayed close to his mom. Probably worried about having to leave her to finish his training.
“While you’re gone, I’ll be here,” she said. “Your mom’s agreed to call me when she has a doctor’s appointment, and she says the new treatments are helping. I’m going to come over every couple of days and take her grocery shopping or for whatever she needs.”
Patrick’s eyes closed and his shoulders loosened a little. Marg stood up, and then leaned over and kissed the top of his head. “Congratulations on passing your training.” Lingering wouldn’t help Patrick, it was time for her to go.
Halfway down the broken walk, he finally spoke. “Thank you.”
She turned and smiled. “You can thank me by coming to visit my parents. Dad called and he said mom has arranged a family dinner. Will you come?”
The silence stretched on for a long time, but she waited until he finally nodded.
* * * *
Marg turned the car radio down as the landscape and mansions announced they were nearing Beverly Hills. “We won’t stay long. I’d like to think this dinner is my parents’ way of holding out an olive branch. It’s going to be fine.”
“Sure,” he said, his fingers gripped tight around the steering wheel.
“Patrick, my parents will love you once they get to know you. And Grams is going to be there.”
Patrick shot a quick look at her before lowering his speed to take the next off ramp. “Your parents don’t support the military. They’re dead against it. That’s not going to change.”
“If they want me in their life, it will.”
“You can’t force something like that on them. You’re their daughter. You might not agree on the topic, but giving them a do or die option won’t make the situation any better.”
“I know what you’re trying to say, but that’s not what I’m doing. Whether they accept that we have a relationship is up to them.”
Pat’s jaw flexed to a hard carved angle. “This is a mistake. I’m just rubbing it in by coming to dinner. I already received a distinct warning from
your father. Doubt he’s changed his mind.”
Marg urged his hand to the console between them. “I met your parents. You’re going to meet mine. We have our own goals and our own minds.”
Patrick didn’t agree or disagree. He followed her directions. His Adam’s apple bounced in his throat when she told him to turn right into the long winding driveway to the mansion.
He drove three quarters around the circle drive and stopped the car, throwing it into park with a rough push.
Marg twisted onto her hip and glared at him. “Patrick Cobbs, you passed the Resistance and Hostage training for the United States Navy SEALs. No interrogation from my parents could be harder than that.”
Patrick grinned and turned his head to gaze at her. “You sure about that?”
She leaned over and kissed him, wishing it were true. If she had her choice, she didn’t want him to leave, but tomorrow he’d be gone. Tonight would be their last night together, and tonight she was going to throw herself at him if he didn’t take her to bed and make love to her. His will of steel was about to be melted to molten liquid.
Hand in hand, they walked up to the front door.
“There’s a lot of vehicles parked here, Marg.”
“I noticed,” she said. Pat’s brows rose when she rang the doorbell. “Not my home anymore.”
“Uh-huh.”
Hellena, one of her mother’s maids, opened the door and gave her a sweet smile. “Welcome home, Margaret. It’s so good to see you.”
She gave the older woman a hug. “Hellena, this is Patrick Cobbs.”
“Nice to meet you, young man. Your parents are in the living room, Margaret, but umm,”—she looked over her shoulder—“they’re not alone.”
The sizzle began in her heels and worked its way to the top of her head. Hellena hurried away and she turned to Patrick. His expression remained stoic. “Ready?”
“For a hanging?”
Grams thankfully sat in her line of sight when Marg and Patrick entered the grand living room.
“There they are. My darlings, come in,” Grams greeted.
Marg didn’t look left or right, but walked into her grandmother’s arms for reassurance. Turning, she saw her father talking with Bruce. Family dinner, her ass. Everyone’s eyes were on her, and she let out a silent breath as Patrick took a step to stand beside her.
“Patrick, you look good enough to eat,” Grams said and winked at him.
He chuckled and shook his head. “Hello, Sally, good to see you again.”
“Margaret, you look beautiful,” her mother trilled, all smiles as she and her father approached.
“Good evening, Mother.” She leaned in for a chaste kiss on her cheek. “Hi, Dad.”
“Sweetheart, we’ve missed you.” He gave her a big hug and nodded toward Bruce. “Bruce is climbing the ladder faster than any young exec I’ve worked with,” her father said, not even acknowledging Patrick.
Worse, her mother completely ignored Patrick as if he wasn’t even in the room.
Bruce joined them looking confident and well put together in a casual suit.
“Hi, Bruce, nice to see you again. I’d like you to meet my boyfriend, Patrick Cobbs.”
Her dad’s subtle smile vanished. Finally, her mother’s fake expression she wore at all her parties slipped. All of them gazed at Patrick for a moment.
“Nice to meet you, Bruce.” Patrick offered his hand.
Bruce hesitantly accepted it.
Her father stalled just long enough to let Marg know he wasn’t going to give Patrick a chance. “We didn’t realize Margaret had continued to spend time with you.”
Bullshit, she thought.
Hellena stood by the living room door and introduced three more couples as they glided into the room. Associates of her father’s. This was definitely not a family gathering. Marg parlayed a look at the patio and saw her mother had it decked out for one of her parties. Unable to keep a polite charade, her mother swooped off to greet the new guests.
Marg closed in on her father. “I thought this was a family dinner?”
He gently gripped her arm. “Would you mind getting my daughter a drink, Bruce? I have to join your mother, Margaret. We’ll talk in a minute.”
As soon as her father stepped away, she hissed at Bruce. “What kind of game are you playing?”
“Trying to stay alive, Marg, don’t give me a bad time. I’m caught in the middle.”
“You said you didn’t care what my father thought. If you had any balls, you’d be farther ahead. I’ll get my own drink.” A drink appeared in front of her and she turned to see Patrick, holding it.
“Thought you might need this.”
Patrick looked relaxed and unaffected by her parents’ rudeness.
“Thank you. Bruce Pepperhill works for my father.”
Bruce bowed his head. “Junior executive producer.”
Patrick swallowed a healthy gulp of beer and nodded. “Don’t know what that is, but congratulations.”
Bruce didn’t expand on his job title. “Marg, I don’t know what to say, your father wanted me to accompany you tonight. I didn’t know you were…” he paused. “bringing him.”
“Maybe not, but my father did. We should leave right now,” she grouched, putting her attention on Patrick and suddenly sorry she dragged him into this.
Patrick shook his head slowly.
The room filled with new guests wandering in. “Patrick, neither of us need to put up with this.”
Her father appeared from behind. “Patrick, could I have word?”
Marg shook her head. “Father…”
He raised his hand. “Margaret, your grandmother wants to speak with you.”
She’d brought Patrick into the lion’s den and wasn’t about to leave his side. When she tried to follow, her father’s expression turned to stone. “Your grandmother is over there, Margaret.”
Bruce stood beside her and they watched as her father guided Patrick to the smaller patio on the east side of the living room.
Bruce pulled the glass she’d emptied in one gulp from her hand, and slid in front of her. “I’m sure he can handle himself. He’s a SEAL, isn’t he?”
The weight of pomp and facades took roost on her shoulders. Everything in this house was about image, concealed or obvious.
Bruce watched her over the top of his glass as he took a sip. “Your father had a private investigator look into the Cobbs’ family.”
“I know. It’s pathetic,” she hissed.
“Marg, he’s worried about you.”
“Worried about what, exactly?”
“He doesn’t want someone taking advantage of his daughter.” Bruce coursed an imploring look across her face. “I’d do the same thing for someone I loved. The guy is going to be gone for months on end, fighting for this country. Is that the future you want?”
He tried to take her hand and she pulled it away.
“He has a name, Bruce. His name is Patrick, and it’s because he’s willing to fight for this country that he has my respect.” She cast a scathing look across the lavish surroundings. “It’s because of men like him that my parents can have all of this. And my future is none of your business.”
“Marg, don’t take your anger at them out on me. I’m worried about you, too.”
She stilled her tongue from slapping him with a poisonous remark. “And it wouldn’t hurt your position at the studio either if we were a couple.” Guess her tongue found a way after all.
“Why don’t we step away from your parents’ needs and give ours some free air,” Bruce said, appealing to her as a friend who wanted more than she’d ever give him.
Marg nearly gaped with realization. This had all been planned by either her mother or dad or both. Divide and conquer. They wanted Patrick to feel out of place. They’d never intended on giving him a chance nor see him as anything other than the wrong man for their daughter. A sickening twist knotted her stomach. She’d been deceived by her own blood. Their mo
tivation had nothing to do with love, but everything to do with their discrimination. Patrick’s family was poor. His parents’ marriage splintered. They were the type of people her mother considered only good enough to clean her floors while she shopped for her next Prada hand bag.
Marg’s anger screeched to an all-time high. Enough!
Chapter Twenty-Four
The murmur of conversation from all the guests who loitered around the room rose in volume. Enough that Marg wouldn’t be overheard. “I don’t have needs, Bruce. Maybe you do. Maybe you’ve got things all planned out for the next twenty years, but I like living not knowing what might come next.”
As soon as Marg voiced her thoughts, a chill ran across her skin. Part of that was a lie. A huge one. Knowing Patrick would be stepping onto a plane tomorrow and right into harm’s way made her wish he’d decided to become an accountant. She didn’t care what he did, as long as he didn’t put himself in front of an enemy’s barrel, but that’s exactly what he was doing.
Bruce got closer and drilled her with his gaze. “Heartbreak might come next if you tie yourself to Patrick. He’s a SEAL, not some sailor on the deck of an aircraft carrier. His chosen profession is the ultimate in dangerous. He’ll walk out the front door one day and never come back.”
“That can happen going to work in the morning.” She turned her full attention on him. “I grew up in this house with enough regimented rules to choke me for a lifetime. I don’t want to be leashed. I want to live. This is your lifestyle. You want all of this,” she said, sweeping a hand through the air. “I don’t.”
Bruce shook his head and took in a lungful of air, his expensive suit looking elegant and comfortable on his model-like frame. “Marg, you walked out the front door of this place and now you’ve got one foot hovering over a landmine. If you decide Patrick is the man you want, it could bring a world of misery if you put pressure on a guy like him.” Bruce gently urged her to follow him out to the patio and toward a quiet corner where the rest of the guests didn’t linger. “I know the reasons why your father is against the military. I’m not going to judge whether they’re valid or not.”
Code Name: Forever & Ever (A Warrior's Challenge series Book 5) Page 27