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something her father had said. That was the one bridge she hadn't yet crossed. It
would have to be faced. But, she thought, clinging to Micah in the warmth of the
sun, not right now...
Micah drove her by the pharmacy on the way back to her apartment. He stood with
her while Nancy, the dark-haired, dark-eyed pharmacist filled the prescription,
trying not to grin too widely at the picture they made together.
"I suppose you know what these are for?" Nancy asked Callie.
Callie smiled and looked up at Micah, who smiled back with the same tenderness.
"Oh, yes," she said softly.
He pulled her close for an instant, before he offered his credit card to pay for
them. "We're getting married Sunday at the Methodist church," Micah told her and
the others at the counter. "You're all invited...2:00 p.m. sharp."
Nancy's eyes twinkled. "We, uh, heard that from the minister already," she said,
clearing her throat as Callie gaped at her.
Micah chuckled at Callie's expression. "You live in a small town, and you didn't
think everybody would know already?"
"But you hadn't told me yet!" she accused.
He shrugged. "It didn't seem too smart to announce that I'd arranged a wedding
that you hadn't even agreed to yet."
"And they say women keep secrets!" she said on a rough breath.
"Not half as good as men do, sweetheart," Micah told her gently. He glanced
around at a sudden commotion behind them. The two remaining bachelor Hart brothers,
Rey and Leo, were almost trampling people in their rush to get to the prescription
counter.
"Have to have this as soon as possible, sorry!" Rey exclaimed, pressing a
prescription into Nancy's hands with what looked like desperation.
"It's an emergency!" Leo seconded.
Nancy's eyes widened. She looked at the brothers with astonishment. "An
emergency? This is a prescription for anti-inflammatories..."
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DIANA PALMER
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"For our cook," Leo said. "Her hands hurt, she said. She can't make biscuits. We
rushed her right over to Lou Coltrain and she said it was arthritis." He grimaced.
"Pleaaase hurry? We didn't get any breakfast at all!"
Callie had her hand over her mouth trying not to have hysterics. Micah just
looked puzzled. Apparently he didn't know about the famous biscuit mania.
Leo sounded as if he was starving. Amazing, a big, tall man with a frame like
that attempting to look emaciated. Rey was tall and thin, and he did look as if he
needed a feeding. There had been some talk about a new woman out at the ranch
recently who was rather mysterious. But if they had a cook with arthritis, she
surely wasn't a young cook.
Nancy went to fill the prescriptions.
"Sorry," Rey muttered as he glanced behind him and Leo at the people they'd
rushed past to get their prescription filled. He tried to smile. He wasn't really
good at it. He cleared his throat self-consciously. "Chocolates," he reminded Leo.
"Right over there," Leo agreed somberly. "We'd better get two boxes. And some of
that cream stuff for arthritis, and there's some sort of joint formula..."
"And the We're Sorry card," Rey added, mumbling something about shortsightedness
and loose tongues as they stomped off down the aisle with two pairs of spurs
jingling musically from the heels of their boots.
Nancy handed Micah the credit card receipt, which he signed and gave Callie a
pert grin as she went back to work.
Callie followed Micah out the door, letting loose
a barrage of laughter when they reached the Porsche. By the time they got to her
apartment, he was laughing, too, at the town's most notorious biscuit eaters.
Jack Steele was overjoyed at the news they had for him. For the next week he
perked up as never before, taking a new interest in life and looking forward to
having a daughter-in-law and a grandchild. The news that he was going to live with
them disturbed him, he thought they needed privacy, but they insisted. He gave in.
There was no mistaking their genuine love for him, or their delight in his company.
He felt like the richest man on earth.
Callie, meanwhile, had an unexpected phone call from her father, who was back in
town and anxious to see her. She met him in Barbara's cafe on her lunch hour from
the law office, curious and nervous after so many years away from him.
Her father had black hair with silver at his temples and dark blue eyes. He was
somber, quiet, unassuming and guilt was written all over him.
After they'd both ordered salads and drinks, her father gave her a long, hesitant
scrutiny.
"You look so much like my mother," he said unexpectedly. "She had the same
shaped eyes you do, and the same color."
Callie looked down at her salad. "Do I?"
He laid down his fork and leaned forward on his elbows. "I've been an idiot. How
do I apologize for years of neglect, for letting you be put through hell in foster
homes?" he asked quietly. "When I knew what had happened to you, I was too ashamed
even to phone. Your mother had only just told me the truth and after the private
detective I hired gave me the
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file on you, I couldn't take it. I went to Europe and stayed for a month. I don't
even remember what I did there." He grimaced at Callie's expression. "I'm so
ashamed. Even if you hadn't been my biological child, you'd lived in my house, I'd
loved you, protected you." He lowered his shamed eyes to his plate. "Pride. It was
nothing but pride. I couldn't bear thinking that you were another man's child. You
paid for my cruelty, all those years." He drew in a long breath and looked up at
her sadly. "You're my daughter. But I don't deserve you." He made an awkward
motion. "So if you don't want to have anything to do with me, that's all right.
I'll understand. I've been a dead bust as a father."
She could see the torment in his eyes. Her mother had done something unspeakably
cruel to both of them with her lies. The bond they'd formed had been broken,
tragically. She remembered the loneliness of her childhood, the misery of belonging
nowhere. But now she had Micah and a child on the way, and Jack Steele as well.
She'd landed on her feet, grown strong, learned to cope with life. She'd even
fought off drug dealing thugs, all by herself, that night in Nassau when her child
had been conceived. She felt so mature now, so capable. She smiled slowly. She'd
lectured Micah about forgiveness. Here was her best chance to prove that she
believed her own words.
"You're going to be a grandfather," she said simply. "Micah and I are getting
married Sunday afternoon at two o'clock in the Methodist church. You and Jack
Steele could both give me away if you like." She grinned. "It will raise eyebrows
everywhere!"
He seemed shocked. His blue eyes misted and he
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bit his lip. "A grandfather." He laughed selfconsciously and looked away long
enough to brush away something that looked suspiciously wet. "I like that." He
glanced back at her. "Yes. I'd like to give you away. I'd like to get you back even
more, Callie. I'm... sorry."
When he choked up like that, she was beyond touched. She got up from her seat [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
