“It never crossed my mind,” Kari said honestly.
“Good. I intend to win him. I just need a little time.”
“I’m sure things will work out perfectly.” Kari itched to get back in her car and drive away. More than that, she wished this conversation had never taken place.
The other woman sighed. “Don’t take this personally, but I wish you’d never come back.”
Kari was starting to have the same wish. She wasn’t sure if she felt sorry for Gage or not. He was a big, strong guy—he should be able to handle Daisy. She also felt unsettled, but couldn’t say why. Nor did she know what to say to end the conversation.
Finally she opened her car door. “For what it’s worth,” she said, tossing her purse onto the passenger seat, “I’m not back. Not permanently. So you don’t have to worry about me.”
“Oh, I didn’t plan to.”
Daisy waggled her fingers, then turned and headed for the sheriff’s office. Kari considered calling out “good luck,” but she knew in her heart that she would be lying.
“I don’t know. Australia.” Edie fingered the glossy travel brochure in front of her. “It’s very far.”
John, her fiancé, smiled indulgently. “Travel does tend to take one away from one’s regular world. That’s the point.”
Edie rolled her eyes. “I know that. I just never thought…” Her voice trailed off. “Australia,” she repeated softly.
Gage watched her from his place on the opposite side of the kitchen table. He’d joined his mother and John for dinner. Once the plates had been cleared, John had pulled out several brochures for trips to exotic places. He and Edie had yet to pick a honeymoon destination.
As Gage sipped his coffee, he couldn’t help being pleased with his mother’s happiness. His father’s death had nearly destroyed her. For a while he’d worried that he was going to lose her, as well. Eventually, she’d started to heal. But she hadn’t returned to anything close to normal until she’d met John.
Physically, John wasn’t anything like Gage’s father, Ralph. The retired contractor was several inches shorter, stocky to Ralph’s lean build, and blond with blue eyes to Ralph’s dark coloring. But he was a good man with a generous nature and a loving heart. He’d wanted to sweep Edie off her feet and marry her that first month. Instead, he’d courted her slowly, giving her all the time she’d needed. It had taken over a year for her to agree to marry him, but since she’d admitted her feelings, they’d been inseparable.
While their budding romance had been strange to Gage, he’d tried to stay open to the idea. He’d quickly come to see that John wasn’t trying to take anyone’s place. And his mother deserved a chance at happiness.
“After touring Australia, we board the cruise ship. There are stops in Singapore, Hong Kong and other parts of China before heading to Japan. We’ll fly back from there.”
Edie shook her head. “Of course it sounds lovely.” She glanced at her fiancé and smiled lovingly. “I won’t even mention that it will be very expensive.”
John gave a playful growl. “Good.”
“I’ve always wanted to see that part of the world,” she said wistfully.
“Then, you should say thank you, give your fiancé a big kiss and start making plans,” Gage said easily. “Go for it, Mama.”
They could both afford the time the long trip would take, and John had retired a millionaire. Even after settling money on his daughters and grandchildren, there was still plenty to keep him and his new wife in style.
Edie glanced from him to John, then nodded tentatively.
John grinned. “Where’s that kiss your son suggested you give me?”
She brushed his mouth with hers.
Gage sipped at his coffee again. There had always been good times around this table. Years before, when his father was still alive, they’d often talked long into the night. Ralph had been devoted to his wife in many ways, but he’d been a stubborn man who didn’t bend on many things. He hadn’t liked to travel, and Edie’s pleas to see if not the world, then parts of the country, went ignored.
Ralph had been born and bred in Possum Landing, and as far as he was concerned, a man couldn’t do better. Gage knew he had a little of his father in him. He loved the town where he’d been born, and he never wanted to live anywhere else. Unlike his father, though, he hadn’t made Possum Landing his whole world. He enjoyed going to different places. He supposed that was because he was also his mother’s son.
Edie opened the brochure and spread it over the kitchen table. “I can’t believe we’re going to do this. Gage, look. We can take a trip to the Australian out-back. Oh! There’s snorkeling on the Great Barrier Reef.”
“Watch out for sharks,” he teased.
She gave him a loving smile and returned her attention to the pictures.
While his mother and John planned their trip, Gage stared out the open window into the night. He hadn’t been very good company tonight, probably because he felt distracted. He didn’t want to admit the cause of the problem, but he knew exactly what it was. Or rather who.
Kari.
She was back from her interview. Her trip had taken her away for three days, but she’d returned that morning. He’d seen her car. While he’d told himself that her comings and goings didn’t matter to him, he’d acknowledged an inner relief at knowing she was once again in the house next door.
Trouble, he told himself grimly. Way too much trouble.
He knew at some point he was going to see her. No doubt he would continue to help her with the work she was doing on her grandmother’s house. But something had changed between them. He didn’t know if it was the fight or what had happened right before the fight. Passion had ignited and they’d both nearly gone up in flames. After all this time, he wouldn’t have thought that was possible.
He finished his coffee, then stood and stretched. “It seems to me you lovebirds need to be alone,” he teased.
Edie looked up. “Oh, Gage. Don’t go. Are we ignoring you?”
He circled around the table, bent down and kissed her cheek. “You’re planning your honeymoon, Mama. I don’t think you need your grown son hanging around while you do that.”
He shook John’s hand. “Don’t let her talk you into a dark cabin in the ship’s hold. She’ll try.”
John grinned. “Don’t I know it. But I’m going to insist on a suite.”
“Oh, John. That would be so expensive.”
The men shared a quick look that spoke of their mutual affection for Edie.
Before leaving, Gage headed for the trash container under the sink.
“You don’t have to do that,” John told him. “I’ll take it out later.”
Gage shook his head. “Don’t sweat it. I have years of practice. Besides, once you two are married, I plan to let you take over all the chores.”
“It’s a deal.”
Gage called out a good-night and walked out the back door. The porch light illuminated his way. He whistled tunelessly as he went to the trash can and pulled off the lid. He was about to set the plastic bag inside when he saw a beautiful cloth box resting on several paper bags. While the floral print made him want to gag, he recognized the container. His mother kept pictures and other treasures inside. She’d had it for as long as he could remember. Why would she be throwing it out now?
Must be a mistake, he thought as he took it out of the trash can and put the kitchen bag in its place. He set the lid down and turned toward the house. But at the bottom porch step, he stumbled slightly. The cloth box went flying out of his hands, hit the next step up and tipped open. Dozens and dozens of pictures spilled out onto the concrete.
Gage swore under his breath. As he bent to retrieve them, he recognized old photos of his mother, back when she was young. So damn beautiful, he thought as he started to pick them up. He saw her with Ralph and with her family. There were several—
Gage frowned as he shuffled through the pictures. There was his mother with a man he di
dn’t recognize. At first he dismissed the pictures as taken before she’d married, but there was a wedding ring on her finger. Yet the man had his arm around her in a way that implied they were more than just friends. The man—
Gage stared at him. He was a stranger, yet there was something familiar about him. Gage picked up more pictures and flipped through them. The man appeared in several different shots. Always close to Gage’s mother. Always looking pleased about something.
And then he got it. The man looked like Quinn, Gage’s brother. Now that Gage looked closer, he saw a lot of himself in the man, too. So he must be a relative. But who?
The back door opened. “I didn’t hear your truck start,” his mother said. “Is there—” She gasped.
He glanced up and saw the color drain from her face. She pressed a hand to her mouth. Her eyes widened, and for a second he thought she was going to faint.
“Mama?”
She shook her head. “Dear God,” she whispered. “I threw those out.”
“I know. I saw the box. You always kept your treasures in it. I thought it was a mistake.” But looking at her stricken expression he realized it hadn’t been anything of the sort.
Something went cold inside him. Suddenly he wished he’d never picked up the box. He could be home by now. But instead of backing away, he held up a picture of the stranger with his mother.
“Who is this guy?”
She stared at him as if he held a gun. “S-someone I used to know.” Her low voice was barely audible.
Gage had the sensation of walking through a mine-field.
“Who is he? He looks a lot like Quinn, and I guess a little like me. Is he a relative? An uncle?”
He kept asking even though she didn’t answer. He asked because if he didn’t, if he allowed himself to think anything, he might figure out something he didn’t want to know.
John stepped outside. He took one look at the pictures, then pulled Edie close. “It’s all right,” he murmured to her.
Gage’s gut tightened. John knew. Whatever the secret was, the other man knew. Suddenly Gage had to know, too.
“Who is he?” he repeated.
Tears spilled from her eyes. She turned to her fiancé and clung to him, her entire body shaking with her sobs. Gage hadn’t felt afraid in a long time, but he felt a cold uncertainty now.
“John?”
“We should all go inside,” the older man said quietly. “Let’s talk about this inside.”
“No. Tell me now.”
John stroked Edie’s hair. “Gage, there are things…” He broke off and sighed. “Edie, what do you want me to do?”
His mother looked at John. Whatever the man saw in her eyes caused him to nod. He turned to Gage.
“Please come inside, Gage. I don’t want to tell you like this.”
“I’m not going anywhere until you answer the question. Who is this man?”
John took a deep breath. “He’s your father.”
Chapter Eight
Kari paced the length of the parlor, pausing every trip to glance out the front window to see if Gage had returned yet. She knew that he was having dinner at his mom’s tonight and that she could stop pacing because as long as she stayed at the front of the house, she would hear his truck approach. But logic didn’t seem to eliminate her need to keep walking.
She wanted to see him, she admitted to herself. She wanted to talk to him and joke with him and just plain be in the same room with him. She’d only been gone three days, but it felt longer than that. Somehow, reconnecting with Gage would make her homecoming more complete.
Well, not a homecoming, she told herself firmly. This wasn’t home and she wasn’t back. It’s just that she was in Possum Landing temporarily and he was a part of that. Or something.
She crossed to the window again and stared out into the night. She had so much she wanted to tell him. Her interview had gone really well. She’d met with the principal and several of the teachers. The following day she’d met with a small committee from the board of education. On her second interview with the principal, the woman had hinted that an offer more than likely would be forthcoming. So things were going really great. That’s why she wanted to see Gage. She wanted him to help her celebrate. Or something.
“Where are you?” she muttered aloud, dropping the curtain and resuming her circuit of the parlor. The restlessness had returned and with it a longing for something she couldn’t define or name. It filled her until she wanted to jump out of her skin.
Just when she knew she couldn’t stand it one more second, she heard his truck pull into the driveway next door. Kari ran to the front door and pulled it open, then hurried across the porch and down the front steps. Her heart quickened, as did her footsteps.
As he stepped down from the cab, she crossed the last few feet between them. They had agreed to no more kissing, but was it permissible to throw herself in his arms? Because that’s what she felt like doing. Just launching herself in his general direction and—
He turned toward her. Light from the house spilled into the night, illuminating a bit of the driveway and part of his face. She came to a stop as if she’d hit a brick wall. Something had happened—she saw it in his eyes. Something bad.
“Gage?”
He stared at her, his expression bleak, his mouth set. Instead of speaking, he shook his head, then walked toward his house.
Kari hesitated, not sure what to do. Finally she followed him up the steps, so much like those at her grandmother’s, into a house that mirrored hers.
Same front room, same hallway, same stairs—only reversed and modernized. Several floor lamps provided light. She had a quick impression of hardwood floors, overstuffed furniture and freshly painted walls, before Gage captured her attention by crossing to a cabinet at the end of the parlor. He opened it, pulled out a bottle of scotch and poured himself a drink. He downed it in two gulps, poured another and moved to the sofa, where he sank down.
“Help yourself,” he said, his voice low and hoarse.
She watched him take another gulp, then set the half-full glass on the wooden coffee table, leaned back and closed his eyes.
Fear flickered inside her. Instead of claiming the drink he’d offered, she headed for the sofa and settled next to him. She was close enough to study him, but far enough away that she didn’t crowd him.
After a few minutes of silence, she lightly touched his arm. “Want to talk about it?”
He shrugged. “I don’t know what to say.”
“Is everyone all right? Your mom? Quinn? Did you hear from the government?”
He turned toward her and opened his eyes. Anguish darkened the brown irises. He looked like a man who had been to hell and faced the devil.
“No one’s dead,” he said flatly. “At least, no one who wasn’t dead before.”
She didn’t know what to say to that. But without knowing the problem, how could she help? Or could she? He hadn’t told her to go away, which relieved her, but she had a bad feeling that if he did finally spill the beans, she wasn’t going to be any happier for knowing.
He rubbed his temples, then reached for his drink. After finishing it, he set the glass back on the table.
“I’ve only been really furious once before in my life,” he said, his voice still lacking expression or emotion. “I’ve been mad and angry, just like everyone else. But I’m talking about that inner rage that burns hot and makes a man want to take on the world.”
She stared at him. He didn’t look angry. He didn’t look anything.
“When was that?” she asked.
“When you left.”
She winced.
He shrugged. “It’s the truth. I read and reread your note about a hundred times, then I went and got skunk drunk. I decided to go after you. It’s a little fuzzy now, but I think I had this plan to chase down your bus and drag you off. I was going to tell you exactly what I thought of you. I knew better, but I wanted to do it, anyway. I’d never been so angry in
my life.”
She swallowed. “What happened?”
“I got lucky. When I crashed, I only hurt myself. I totaled the car and walked away with a few scars.” He glanced at her. “I learned my lesson. I may get drunk tonight, but I won’t be driving.”
“Okay.”
She was no closer than she had been to getting at the problem. No one was dead and he didn’t plan on getting drunk, then chasing someone down in a car.
“If you’re keeping me company, it’s going to be a long night,” he said. “You might as well pour me another and get yourself one, too. You’re going to need it.”
Kari took his advice. She carried his glass back to the cabinet, got one for herself and poured for both of them. When she returned to the sofa, she said, “Tell me what happened.”
Gage stared into his drink. What had happened? Nothing. Everything. How was he to explain that his entire world had shifted on its axis? Nothing he knew as true was as it had been before. Nothing was as it had been just an hour before. In a heartbeat—with less than half a dozen words—everything had changed.
“I was at my mom’s for dinner,” he began slowly, not looking at her, not wanting her to see inside of him, not wanting to know what she was thinking. “When I left, I took the trash out, like I always do. There was a box in the trash can outside. A cloth-covered one my mom had kept for years. She always stored important pictures and stuff in it, so I thought it must be a mistake. I started to carry it back inside, but I tripped on the steps and it went flying. Everything fell out. There were pictures inside.”
He fell silent. His brain didn’t seem to be working. He could speak the words, but he wasn’t thinking them first. They simply came out on their own. He thought about what had happened, but it was as if he were viewing a movie. That man on the stairs wasn’t him. The woman wasn’t his mother. They hadn’t had that conversation.
“A man.” He continued before he could stop himself. “My mother with a man.”
Kari leaned close and touched his arm again. He liked that. She was warm and steady in his cold, spinning world.
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