Fortune's Heirs: Reunion

by Marie Ferrarella

  Whoa, Alex. You don’t know that Sierra ever loved you. She made love with you. But that could have been just sex. And even if it had been love, you blew it. You showed her what a selfish bastard you really are.

  Thankfully his mother began to chatter and Alex was forced to thrust the miserable thoughts from his mind as best he could. But later, as he and his parents drove to the Calloway home, the accusing little voice inside him kept coming back again and again.

  Two days later, on Sunday morning, Sierra took Bowie and herself to early mass, then drove out to her parents’ home for breakfast. She’d not seen any of her family since Alex had moved out and dread was boiling in the pit of her stomach. Even though she doubted any of them was aware how much she and Alex had shared those two weeks, she knew that her mother had her mind set on the two of them getting together romantically.

  That idea was enough to make her groan out loud. If her mother only knew just how close she’d been with Alex, she’d be shocked. Or would she? Her mother wasn’t a prude. She understood what it was like to love a man with all your heart. And that was the way she loved Alex. She might as well face the dismal fact.

  When Sierra walked into her parents’ kitchen, she was surprised to find her two sisters sitting at the breakfast table. Both Gloria and Christina got up from their chairs to greet her with a hug and a kiss.

  “Let me hold Bowie,” Gloria said, already reaching to take the baby from Sierra’s arms. “My, my, he’s growing in leaps and bounds. And he’s so bright eyed. I think he’s actually picking up our images.”

  “He’s probably picking up all that cackling you girls are doing,” Jose teased from the end of the table where he was trying to read the Sunday morning paper.

  “Oh, Daddy, that’s awful,” Christina scolded him. “Your daughters have always been quiet and refined.”

  As Gloria took a seat with Bowie carefully cradled in her arms, Jose eased down his paper and laughed.

  “Quiet and refined? Honey,” he called to his wife. “Do you hear your daughter? Maybe we should bring out some of the old home videos.”

  Maria approached the table with a platter of chorizo sausage and eggs. As she placed it next to a stack of warm tortillas, she said, “Jose, if we let them see what a handful they were to raise we might never get grandchildren. Just let them keep on thinking they were quiet, obedient girls.”

  Except for Sierra, everyone around the table laughed. But she wasn’t in the mood for laughter. She’d hoped that being with her family would lift her spirits. She’d thought the visit might actually help rid her heart of the misery she felt over Alex. But being here with her parents and siblings was only reminding her of all that she’d lost when he’d walked out the door.

  Picking up Bowie’s diaper bag, she headed to the cabinet counter. “If we’re ready to eat,” Sierra said, “I’d better heat up Bowie’s formula. I don’t think he’s up to chorizo yet.”

  “Oh, yes, Sierra, and let me feed him,” Gloria called over to her. “I need the practice. And he needs to eat more than I do.”

  Christina shook a finger at her sister. “Gloria, when are you going to remember that you’re eating for two? You can’t have a healthy baby eating like a bird.”

  “A bird,” Gloria said with a laugh. “I’ve gained five pounds already! You just want me to look like a sow at my wedding, so that you’ll be the most beautiful bride when your wedding comes around.”

  Christina groaned with amused disbelief. “Bologna! Derek and I will probably wind up eloping. Planning a big, grand wedding is such a bother.”

  Maria stared openmouthed at Christina while Gloria laughed loudly.

  “Oh, sure, Christina, that’s the biggest whopper you’ve ever told.”

  Sierra glanced over at the two of them just in time to see Gloria patting her thickening stomach and Christina giggling with amusement.

  A pang of envy hit Sierra hard. But on the other hand, she could acknowledge that she was happy her sisters had found love and happiness. Maybe the same sort of joy would come to her someday. But she couldn’t imagine loving anyone other than Alex. So where did that leave her? Single for the rest of her life?

  With everyone lingering around the table to finish their coffee, breakfast lasted more than an hour. Sometime during the meal, Bowie fell asleep in Gloria’s arms and she carried the child to the couch and carefully covered him with a light blanket before she returned to her seat next to Sierra.

  Eventually Jose announced he’d had enough female conversation to last him awhile. He left the table and went outside to get the riding lawn mower out of the garage.

  As soon as the door closed behind him, Maria turned a worried look on her youngest daughter. “All right, my little one, now that your father is out of hearing range, what is wrong with you this morning? We haven’t seen or heard from you in days and now that you’re here you act like the world is coming to an end.”

  Her world had come to an end, Sierra thought sadly. Maybe the sooner she admitted her fate the sooner she could accept it.

  “I don’t know why you think there’s anything wrong. Daddy didn’t.”

  Maria pursed her lips as she tore off a piece of flour tortilla. “There are some things that fathers just can’t read in their daughters. And I didn’t bring this up in front of him because I knew it would worry him to think you’re having some sort of trouble.”

  Sierra studied her half-eaten breakfast while wondering if she was really that transparent or if her mother was the only one who could see the pain tearing through every part of her.

  “There’s no trouble, Mom,” she did her best to deny. “I’m just a little wrung out from caring for Bowie. And I’ve been having more insomnia lately.”

  Maria was hardly convinced. “You’ve always suffered from insomnia, Sierra. And a few minutes ago, you told us Bowie was a wonderful baby. You said he rarely cried unless he was hungry and that he woke up only once during the night. It doesn’t sound to me like he should have you all wrung out. Maybe you should go to the doctor and see why you’re feeling so tired.”

  Sierra sipped at the last of her coffee. “I don’t need a doctor, Mom. I’m fine. Just fine.”

  Her voice was so brittle the sound of it caused both her sisters to stare at her.

  “Sierra!” Gloria gasped.

  Christina leaned toward her youngest sister and placed a concerned hand on her shoulder. “Honey, what’s the matter? Are you sick of hearing about Gloria and me getting married? Does that bother you?”

  Feeling awful, Sierra bent her head and pinched the bridge of her nose. “No—it’s nothing like that. I’m happy for you two. Really—very happy.”

  In spite of Sierra’s struggle to appear normal, her voice broke on her last words, causing the other three women to exchange worried glances.

  “All right,” Maria spoke up firmly. “This is not like you, Sierra. Tell us what’s happened. Is it Bowie? Is someone trying to take him away from you? The mother?”

  Shaking her head fervently, Sierra lifted her head and sniffed at the tears threatening to pool in her brown eyes. “No. Nothing like that has happened. At least not yet.”

  “You’re expecting it to?” Gloria spoke up.

  Sierra looked at her. “Maybe. Hopefully not. I can’t be certain, though.”

  “Dear God,” Christina said softly, “that’s enough to make you a nervous wreck.”

  “Yes. But—” Knowing she couldn’t keep the truth from her family any longer, she paused to draw in a deep, bracing breath. “That’s not the thing that has me so—miserable. It’s Alex. He’s—he’s broken my heart.”

  Chapter Twelve

  Maria grimly jerked her head up and down while Christina and Gloria looked at each other with arched brows.

  “You’ve had an argument?” Maria questioned.

  Sierra choked on a sob. “No, Mom. It’s worse than that.” Before she could change her mind, she began to blurt out everything from Alex staying with her, to
how she’d fallen in love with him, to their argument, and finally his leaving.

  By the time she was finished, her mother was quietly crying while her two sisters were ranting and raving about no-good men.

  “Sierra, this is awful,” Maria said with a sad sniff. “So awful. I had hoped that you and Alex were going to get together. You seem so right for each other.”

  Sighing heavily, Sierra got up from her chair, carried her plate to the kitchen sink and began to wash the dishes that were already piled there. She had to move her body, to do something or else she was sure she was going to break right down the middle.

  “Yes, I thought so, too, Mom. But it wasn’t meant to be. Alex doesn’t want to be a family man and it would be wrong of me to try to turn him into one.”

  “But he must care about Bowie,” Maria reasoned. “Why would he be so against you adopting him?”

  Sierra scrubbed at a tiny spot of dried egg on the edge of a plate. “He’s adopted himself, Mom. Remember?”

  “Yes,” Christina spoke up. “I remember you talking about him once. You said he felt very bitter about his parents keeping the truth from him and you were trying to encourage him to forgive them.”

  Sierra nodded. “That was a long time ago. And I believe, for the most part, that he has forgiven his parents. But he doesn’t want to have to be the one to tell Bowie that his real parents deserted him.”

  Gloria cast a worried look at her younger sister. “Maybe he believes Bowie would grow up to resent the two of you like Alex did his own parents?”

  Pausing with her hands in the dishwater, Sierra stared thoughtfully out the window over the kitchen sink. Her father was going back and forth on the lawn tractor and enjoying every second of it. Even though Jose was a brilliant businessman, he was a deep family man. From all that her mother had told her, he had looked forward to having children and once she and her sisters had been born, he’d embraced the three of them with all his heart. If only Alex had those same traits, she thought wistfully. Perhaps then he wouldn’t have been able to turn his back on her and Bowie. But she had to remember that her father had loved her mother from the very beginning and that was the key. Alex didn’t love her. He’d only wanted her, desired her.

  “I don’t know,” she mumbled. “It doesn’t matter anyway. I’m going to forget about Alex Calloway. I’m going to concentrate on adopting Bowie. And as for Alex, he can go jump in the river.”

  Leaving her seat at the table, Christina walked over and put her arm around Sierra’s slender shoulders. “Honey,” she said in a voice only for Sierra’s ears, “do you remember when I was going through that horrible sexual harassment case?”

  “Of course I remember it,” Sierra spoke quietly. “You went through hell at that time. Nobody believed you.”

  “Except for you,” Christina said with affection. “You believed in me and you wouldn’t let me give up. So I’m not going to allow you to give up and turn into a sob sister. If you love Alex, you’d better go after him. Make him see that the three of you are meant to be a family.”

  Sierra looked up from the sudsy water and stared at her sister through teary eyes. “Alex has always said I’m too soft. Maybe I should show him I’m not a complete marshmallow.”

  “Now you’re talking, sweetie,” Christina said, then happily turned to Gloria and their mother. “Relax, you two, I’ve made her see reason. She’s gonna fight for her man!”

  “It’s about time,” Gloria muttered.

  “Thank you God,” Maria said reverently as she crossed herself. “Rosita’s dream will come true now.”

  Sierra understood what dream her mother was talking about, but she didn’t bother to point out that Rosita’s dreams were just that—dreams. And Alex wasn’t a marrying man.

  Later that afternoon in Dallas, Alex was in his parents’ backyard putting golf balls into a tin cup his father had sunk into the ground. He’d never been one to play the game in earnest, mainly because he was too busy trying to keep the electric bill paid at the office so that Pauline wouldn’t have to resort to a hand fan. But his father loved the game and he enjoyed showing off his putting skills to Alex.

  “Hey, you can’t make that,” Alex challenged good-naturedly as he watched his father place the ball about eighteen feet from the hole.

  Across the yard, reclining on a lounger, Emily glanced up from the paperback book she was reading. The day was sunny and hot and his mother was wearing a pair of black capri pants with a matching shirt and a pair of white sunglasses with rhinestones dotting the rims. She looked like something out of a James Bond movie and Alex realized that next to Sierra his mother was the most beautiful and caring woman on earth. Why had it taken him this long to realize that?

  “Don’t bet on it, Alex,” Emily said. “He does this for hours every day. He’s an expert.”

  Mitch took his time lining up the shot and eventually gave the ball a solid nudge with his putter. To Alex’s amazement the ball rattled around the lip of the hole, then fell in, and he laughed as his father pumped a triumphant fist in the air.

  “I’m glad I didn’t bet. You’re getting salty, Dad. I won’t be challenging you to eighteen holes anytime soon.”

  Smiling at the two of them, Emily tossed her book aside and stood up. “I’m going in to make iced tea,” she announced. “You two want a glass?”

  “Sure. Bring the pitcher,” Alex answered.

  Once his mother had disappeared into the house, Alex walked over to his father. “Dad, can I talk to you a minute?”

  Picking up the seriousness in his voice, Mitch laid his putter aside and motioned for Alex to sit beside him on the porch steps where a sycamore dappled them with cooling shade.

  “Let ’er rip,” he invited.

  As he looked into his father’s strong face, Alex was suddenly overcome with emotions he’d never expected to feel.

  “I—this is going to sound strange to you probably. But I—” He paused and shook his head in a helpless gesture. “Have you and Mother always been glad that you adopted me?”

  Mitch’s whole forehead jerked upward with surprise. Then he studied his son’s solemn face for long moments before he finally broke into a wide smile.

  “We’ve always been very glad and very proud that you’re our son. You don’t doubt that, do you?”

  At one time he had, Alex thought. Back when he was an impressionable, moody teenager he’d had this idea that Mitch and Emily had adopted him just so they could say they had a child like the rest of their friends. Not because they loved him. And later, well, he’d dwelled on the fact that they’d kept his adoption a secret rather than concentrate on all the wonderful things they’d done for him.

  “No. I don’t doubt it. But was there ever a time, in the very beginning, that you weren’t sure about taking on a son who wasn’t conceived from your genes?”

  Mitch thoughtfully rubbed his chin. “Alex, I’ll be honest with you. There were moments, before we ever signed the adoption papers, that I worried. Raising a child is a huge responsibility. I kept wondering if I could do it right. I asked myself what would happen if I couldn’t take care of you financially. What if I suddenly died and left your mother with a baby to rear on her own. All sorts of questions like that ran through my head. But I never worried about your blood or your genes. I don’t care about any of that,” he argued gently. “The bond between us is what makes us father and son.”

  Until this moment Alex hadn’t realized how closed off his heart had been. Now he could feel a heavy door slowly creaking open and a warm light flooding him.

  “I’m lucky to have you, Dad. You and Mom both.”

  Mitch squeezed his shoulder and looked out across the manicured lawn. “Was there some reason you were thinking about all of this, Alex? All weekend I’ve gotten the sense that your mind has been occupied with something.”

  Alex nodded glumly. “There’s this woman—I’ve known her for a long time and I care about her. She’s—she’s caring for a newborn who she
wants to adopt. I told her she should wait and have children of her own. We ended up arguing bitterly—and I walked out.”

  “Why?” Mitch asked.

  Alex sighed. “Because I’m a selfish bastard, I guess. Walking is easier than facing a woman with tears in her eyes.”

  “No. I mean why did you oppose her adopting the baby?”

  Alex shrugged. Now that his father put the question to him point-blank, his reasons seemed foolish and selfish. “I don’t really know. I just kept thinking that someday I’d have to tell him that his real parents hadn’t wanted him. And I couldn’t imagine having to see his pain.”

  Mitch gave his son’s shoulder another encouraging squeeze. “The love you’ll give him will make up for all of that. Don’t you agree?”

  Alex had to think only for a second before a slow smile began to spread across his face. “Yeah. I agree.”

  “So what are you going to do about this young woman?” Mitch asked.

  The smile fell from Alex’s face. “I don’t know, Dad. I said some pretty awful things to her.”

  “I’ve said some pretty awful things to your mother, too. But thankfully for us men, most women are forgiving creatures.”

  “I can only hope,” Alex told him.

  Monday afternoon Sierra dressed carefully in a flirty knee-length skirt and a matching blouse. She secured the left side of her hair behind her ear with a pearl studded comb and allowed the rest to fall in curls around her shoulders.

  Once she had finished with her makeup and gathered up Bowie and his diaper bag, she left the house and drove straight to the Stocking Stitch, her mother’s knitting store in downtown Red Rock.

  Upon hearing Sierra’s plans to drive to San Antonio to see Alex at his law office, Maria had insisted on keeping Bowie while she made the trip. At first, Sierra was reluctant to leave the baby with her mother. She’d intended for Bowie to be with her when she faced Alex again. After all, the baby had been at the center of their argument and she wanted him to see that Bowie was still a part of her life. But her mother had finally convinced her that she needed to talk to Alex without the distraction of a baby.