Completely Smitten

by Susan Mallery

  “You all right?” Kevin asked.

  She glanced at him. “I’m fine. Just thinking about my dad.”

  “Want to use my cell phone to call him?”

  She shook her head. “Maybe later.” When she’d figured out what she was going to say.

  “Are you sure this is okay?” Haley asked for about the four thousandth time.

  “How often do I have to say yes?” Kevin asked.

  “I don’t know. I’ll let you know when I stop being nervous.”

  They’d left the interstate about an hour ago and were now on the outskirts of Possum Landing. Haley glanced around at the well-maintained houses and tidy lawns and tried not to notice the rock sitting in her stomach.

  This was crazy. “I should check into a motel,” she said. “I can’t stay at your house.”

  Kevin grinned at her. “Technically, it’s not my house. It belongs to my mom and Howard.”

  She tightened her grip on the steering wheel. “And that makes it better?”

  “It doesn’t make it worse.” He touched her arm. “Relax. I talked to my mom and she’s happy to have you stay with us. You heard my half of the conversation. Did it sound like anything bad?”

  “No, but…”

  But wasn’t it weird that he was taking her home with him? It wasn’t as if she were an old college friend, or even a lost dog he’d picked up somewhere.

  “Turn here,” he said, directing her.

  She came to a stop at the light, then turned right. Possum Landing reminded her a lot of her hometown, she thought, feeling more miserable by the minute. She half expected to start recognizing people. Which made her feel really guilty about having run away in the first place, and not having called and actually spoken with her dad.

  Kevin led her into the homey-looking neighborhood. Guilt and nerves grew by the second. When they finally came to a stop in front of a large, two-story house, Haley didn’t know if she was going to throw up or simply expire from the stress.

  “Ready?” Kevin asked as he pushed open the passenger door.

  She wanted to say no, but before she could speak, the front door of the house opened and two people stepped out onto the wide front porch.

  Haley didn’t remember getting out of the car, yet suddenly she was standing on the sidewalk being introduced to Kevin’s parents. She thought she might have spoken, smiled and shaken hands, but the moment was just a blur of impressions and terror.

  Kevin’s mother, Vivian, looked far too young to have thirty-one-year-old twins. Even knowing she’d given birth to them when she’d been seventeen, Haley thought she looked fabulous. Tall and slender, with thick dark hair and cat-green eyes, she was as attractive as her son was handsome. Howard was a few years older, balding, with a friendly face and an air of a man who is comfortable with himself in the world.

  After greeting her, Vivian and Howard turned to Kevin and hugged him. His mother cupped his face and looked more than a little worried, while Howard fussed over his cane.

  “I can’t believe you were shot,” Vivian said as she led them to the house.

  “Me, either.” Kevin could walk without his cane, but when Howard handed it to him, he took it and used it without saying anything.

  “Any side effects from that blow to the head?” Howard asked. He got to the front door first and held it open. “Should we call Doc Williams?”

  “I’m fine,” Kevin insisted with a grin. “We’ll all go square dancing tonight and I’ll prove it.”

  He waited for Haley to go in front of him. As she passed him, he winked at her.

  Inside, the house was tastefully decorated in earth tones. Family pictures were scattered around on tables and shelves. Haley saw a much younger Kevin with a boy about the same age. His fraternal twin, she thought, liking Nash’s broad smile and the glint in his eye.

  “You tired?” Howard asked Kevin. “You can lie down before dinner if you like.”

  “Thanks, but all I did today was sit. Haley did the driving.”

  “Then I’ll go get the suitcases.” Howard headed for the front door.

  “Oh, I’m only using the brown one,” Haley said, remembering the several large suitcases in her trunk. “Kevin’s is the duffel bag.”

  Kevin eyed the stairs. “I’m not looking forward to climbing those.”

  “Do you want to sleep on the pullout sofa?” his mother asked.

  “No. I can make it. Just ignore the groaning.”

  Vivian looked more than a little worried as she studied her son. He wrapped an arm around her and squeezed.

  “I’m fine,” he insisted. “Stop fretting. I’m here, I’m upright and I’m not bleeding. Didn’t you always say that was the best you could hope for with me?”

  “In the past few years, I’ve raised my expectations.”

  He grinned. “Big mistake.” He released her and gave her a little nudge. “Why don’t you show Haley her room? I’m sure she’ll appreciate that handmade quilt you bought a whole lot more than Nash and I did.”

  Vivian touched his cheek. “It’s good to have you home.”

  “I’m happy to be here.”

  Haley watched the two of them together and felt the love that flowed between them. She hadn’t much thought about Kevin’s relationship with his family, but if someone had asked, she would have assumed it was strong. Having that confirmed made her feel warm inside.

  “You must make yourself at home,” Vivian said as she turned her attention to Haley and motioned to the stairs. “The guest room was redone a couple of years ago, so I hope you’ll be comfortable.”

  “I’m sure it’s lovely,” Haley said. She quickly glanced at Kevin over her shoulder before following her hostess upstairs. He gave her a thumbs-up.

  “You’ve been so kind to take me in,” Haley said when she figured she was out of earshot. “I would really be fine at a motel.”

  “Nonsense.” Vivian turned left at the top of the landing. “Howard and I rattle around this old place. If the spare room didn’t have the television in it, we wouldn’t even get up here very often. Our bedroom is downstairs.”

  She paused in front of an open door. “Here you go.”

  Haley moved into a bright, cheery room filled with a queen-size bed, a white desk and double dresser. The quilt was done in yellows and blues and matching curtains hung at the wide window that faced the rear of the property.

  “The bathroom is across the hall,” Vivian said, “but you won’t have to share. Nash and Kevin each have their own room with a bathroom in between.”

  “It’s very nice,” Haley said sincerely. She heard voices downstairs and assumed Howard had returned with the luggage. She expected Vivian to go to the top of the stairs and call him, but Kevin’s mother only leaned against the door frame and studied her.

  “Thank you for bringing Kevin home,” she said. “Knowing him, he would have started driving before he should have and probably made his injuries worse.”

  “I was happy to help.”

  More than happy. The past few days had been the most incredible of her life.

  Vivian’s green eyes darkened slightly. “I don’t mean to pry, except I’m going to.” She smiled. “I’m curious about your relationship with my son.”

  Haley felt heat on her cheeks and had a bad feeling she was blushing. Oh, no. “Um, what do you mean?”

  Vivian shrugged. “He was never one to bring a girl home. I suppose he was always too much of a troublemaker for that. He would rather have been out racing cars or cutting school than court a girl. Of course, he’s grown up. Women have become more interesting and cars less so. Are you two just friends or can we hope for something more?”

  Haley had no idea how to answer that question. She desperately willed Howard to appear with the luggage, but he didn’t, which left her with an empty silence to fill.

  “We, ah…” She cleared her throat. “I guess we’re friends.” Did friends do what they’d done last night? “I like Kevin very much. He’s a wonde
rful man.”

  “I think so, but then, I’m his mother. What else would I say?” She straightened. “I won’t grill you any more. Just know that we’re very happy to have you here. Dinner is at six.” She glanced at her watch. “Which means I need to get cooking.”

  “May I help?”

  “We’re just having a lasagna I took out of the freezer and salad. Unfortunately, Howard and I have to go out tonight.” She wrinkled her nose. “I hate to be gone on Kevin’s first night back, but our bowling team is in the county championships and we can’t miss.”

  “He’ll understand,” Haley told her.

  Vivian smiled. “Plus he’ll have you for company.”

  She turned and walked down the hall. Haley watched her go. At least Kevin’s mother didn’t seem to mind that he’d brought her home with him. And she liked knowing that he hadn’t brought other women to the house. It made her feel special—which happened pretty much any time she and Kevin were together.

  “You wouldn’t believe how much trouble one dog could cause,” Vivian was saying. “Still, with freshly planted shrubs, a good rain and sharp claws, he created a disaster. Mrs. Wilbur went after him with a rake. Chased him right down the center of the street.”

  Kevin chuckled. “Tell me the dog got away.”

  “Of course he did,” Howard said, taking a second serving of salad. “She was spitting mad for weeks.”

  Haley listened to them talk over dinner. They’d brought Kevin up to date on the goings-on around town while he’d been gone. As everyone seemed to know everyone else’s business, she was reminded of home again. It was that way for her and her father. They often spent dinners talking about what dog got loose and what ten-year-old had fallen out of a tree and broken his arm.

  Kevin stretched back in his chair and patted his stomach. “Haley and I have had some fine meals on the road, but nobody beats your lasagna, Mom.”

  She smiled her thanks. “You’d think it would be good enough to tempt you home more often.”

  He held up his hands. “Give me another twenty-four hours before you light into me about that.”

  “Fair enough.” She sighed. “It’s just good to have you here now.”

  Howard nodded his agreement.

  “So what’s the big news you didn’t want to tell me by phone?” Kevin asked.

  Vivian and Howard glanced at each other. In the look that flashed between them, Haley saw silent communication that spoke of love and trust and many wonderful years together. She turned away, as if she’d glimpsed something intimate and private. But married people shared looks like that all the time. Even couples who were just dating connected like that.

  But not her and Allan, she thought. They’d never connected at all. She sat up a little straighter as she realized that in all the time she’d been gone, she hadn’t once missed him. She’d thought about him but only as someone she’d managed to escape. Despite the small diamond ring she’d left on her dresser when she’d fled, she’d never loved him. Not even a little.

  “Let’s talk in the morning,” Vivian said, interrupting Haley’s thoughts. “After that, we’ll go visit with Edie.”

  Kevin hesitated, then nodded. He turned to Haley. “Edie Reynolds has been a friend of the family since before Nash and I were born. Her oldest, Gage, is the same age as Nash and me. Quinn is just a year younger. The four of us grew up together, more like brothers than friends.”

  Howard glanced at his watch. “We need to get going.”

  Vivian motioned to the table. “You have to give me a minute.”

  “I’ll clean up,” Haley said quickly. “It’s the least I can do.”

  Vivian looked as if she was going to protest, but Kevin told her to head on out. “I’ll supervise Haley so she does the job right,” he promised.

  His mother laughed, then kissed his cheek. The couple waved as they picked up matching bowling bags and hurried out the back door.

  Kevin watched them go. “Why didn’t she tell me tonight?” he asked when they were alone.

  Haley didn’t have a good answer. “Maybe because they were rushed. Maybe she didn’t want to say whatever it was and then have to leave.” She looked at him. “Are you worried?”

  “No, but I could be.” He shook his head. “Whatever it is, she’ll tell me in the morning. In the meantime, let’s get the dishes done, then we can head upstairs and you can flip through the cable channels. Or we can watch a movie.”

  “Either,” she said, just happy to be with him.

  He rose, but instead of picking up a plate, he helped her to her feet and pulled her close. “You doing okay with my folks?”

  She nodded. “They’re great.”

  He brushed his mouth against hers. “What about me?”

  “You’re great, too.”

  He winked at her. “I know.”

  Kevin tried to sleep, but he couldn’t. Maybe it was because he was by himself instead of with Haley. After cleaning up, they’d watched a movie, then he’d sent her off to bed before their occasional kisses turned into something more dangerous.

  He sat up, reached for his jeans and pulled them on, along with a T-shirt. Then he quietly limped down the hall to the stairs.

  When he reached the main floor, he headed for the kitchen. His mom always kept cookies in the teapot-shaped cookie jar he and Nash had bought her for Mother’s Day about twenty years ago. He smiled as he remembered pooling resources with his brother and then arguing about what to buy.

  Headlights swept across the kitchen window as he poured himself a glass of milk and settled at the table. A couple of minutes later, his mom and Howard stepped inside.

  “You’re up late,” his mother said when she caught sight of him. “Is your leg hurting?”

  He shrugged. “No more than usual. How did it go?”

  Howard held up a gaudy trophy. “Second place. Not bad for a couple of old folks.”

  “Congratulations.”

  His mother set her bowling bag on the floor. “Want some company for your snack?”

  “Sure.” He passed her the plate of cookies.

  She took one but didn’t eat it. Instead, she set it on the table and stared at him. “You want to talk about it now, don’t you?”

  Kevin shrugged. “I’m not doing anything else.”

  Howard patted his wife’s arm. “I’ll be in our bedroom when you’re done.”

  Kevin was surprised that he left, but his mother’s expression told him that they’d already discussed this and had decided she would be the one to tell him whatever she had to say.

  He tried to shake off the uneasy feeling, but it wouldn’t budge. The cookies stopped tasting so good.

  “You said you weren’t sick,” he reminded her.

  “I’m not. It’s nothing like that.” Vivian laced her fingers together. “Actually this is about your biological father.”

  Kevin had been braced for a number of different topics, but not that one. “What about him? He’s a jerk.”

  He was a whole lot worse than that, but Kevin knew how his mother felt about swearing. Besides, there weren’t enough bad words around to describe a man seducing a seventeen-year-old, getting her pregnant and then abandoning her.

  His mother smiled. “I’ve always appreciated your support. Nash’s, too. You boys never blamed me for what happened.”

  “That’s because it’s not your fault. You were a kid. He’s the one to blame.”

  “I know. I tell myself that. I thought I was so in love with Earl Haynes. He was handsome and funny.”

  Kevin thought he was more of a bastard, but he didn’t say that.

  His mother sighed. “What I never told you was I went to see him again. The following year. I found out he was returning to Dallas for the convention. My parents had just thrown me out and I didn’t know what else to do. I thought if I explained what had happened he would help.”

  Kevin leaned back in his chair. His muscles tensed as he prepared to hear something that would make him want
to send the guy through the windshield of a car.

  “Let me guess,” he said. “He blew you off.”

  “Sort of. When I knocked on his hotel room, I interrupted him entertaining another woman. I was crushed. I’d thought it was love and I found out it wasn’t. Worse, he claimed you boys weren’t his and he said I hadn’t been interesting enough to stay in touch with.”

  His mother shook her head. “I still remember how much it all hurt. I found my way to the lobby, but I was crying too hard to leave. I could feel people looking at me. I had nowhere to go, no money. I didn’t know anything about social services or getting help. Then someone spoke to me. When I looked up, I saw the woman who had been in Earl’s hotel room. I’d never seen her before, but she took me under her wing. We spent the morning together, sharing sad stories about Earl.”

  “He’d seduced her, too?”

  “Sort of. She was a little older and married. It seems her husband couldn’t have children. They couldn’t afford cutting-edge reproductive treatment. Don’t forget this was over thirty years ago. Things weren’t as advanced as they are today. Her husband wanted her to find someone who looked like him and get pregnant.”

  Kevin flinched. “That’s barbaric.”

  “She wasn’t too happy about it, either. Eventually she agreed and headed up to Dallas where she met Earl the same weekend I did, the year before. He was real busy. We both got pregnant. The problem started when she realized she’d fallen in love with him. She came back to him, much as I had. They fell into bed again. That’s where I found them.”

  She shrugged. “I would have been lost without her. She brought me here and helped me get a job and an apartment. It was her idea to create a fake dead husband so people wouldn’t look down on me or you and your brother. When she found out she was pregnant a second time, her husband wasn’t happy. They almost split up over it.”

  Kevin’s bad feeling had been growing with the telling. There was one piece of information his mother hadn’t told him and he was starting to think it was damned significant.