Lost and Found Family

by Jennifer Ryan

  The unexpected laugh that absurd joke evoked caught in his throat when she smiled right at him. All that warmth and humor directed right at him. Damn. “Don’t believe the rumors clogging the local grapevine.” His voice sounded harsher than he intended, but he was out of practice at being lighthearted and making jokes.

  Sarah gave him a mischievous look. “I think she could give you a run for your money. After all, she’s had a lot of practice, having had three previous husbands who couldn’t keep up with her. I’m sure she’ll keep you on your toes.” She winked to let him know she was truly teasing.

  Luke laughed out loud. When was the last time he laughed like that? “First of all, Margaret’s a great woman, but we are not an item. Second, I could be her son.”

  The smile vanished from Sarah’s face and it looked as if a curtain had been drawn in those beautiful brown eyes.

  Yeah, he needed to polish his rusty social skills.

  “Excuse me, I have to check on my boys.”

  Sarah sidestepped to go around him, but he blocked her way. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to upset you. I see there’s bad blood between the two of you regarding Sean, but I didn’t mean anything by what I said. I’m sorry.”

  The urge to touch her, offer some comfort to make her believe he meant it, overtook him, but he locked in his control once again. He hoped he could back up without crushing her to him. His whole body begged to pull this woman close.

  Sarah’s rosy lips tilted in a small smile. “I accept your apology. I’m tired and a little on edge.”

  He nodded, glad the tense moment had passed. “Can I help you get your luggage from the car?”

  “I can manage.”

  “I’m sure you can, but it wouldn’t be very neighborly of me not to assist.”

  She stretched sideways and pressed a fist to her lower back. “If you don’t mind, I’d appreciate the help.”

  “How much does that little guy weigh?”

  “I think thirty-six pounds at his last pediatric visit. Maybe a bit more. My back says more.” She rolled her shoulders and grimaced.

  Damn. Her tight jeans and pink top concealed the strength of her slight frame.

  She opened the back of the SUV, revealing three suitcases, a backpack, and two large computer cases. “Did you enjoy the drive down?”

  “Once the kids settled in and I finished a conference call, I got lost in the beautiful scenery.” The big yawn punctuated how tired she looked.

  “Were you up late last night because of the trip down here?”

  She shrugged. “Kinda. Work last night, the kids, more work this morning. A couple fires I had to put out that couldn’t wait. We got a late start on the road, but I managed.”

  Luke wished she’d say more about work. He really wanted to know if she actually contributed to the company or just made a good show of it while others did everything. Still, all that plus a call in the car. “You must have had one hell of a day.”

  “Every day is one hell of a day.”

  Before Luke could ask her about that exhaustion-fueled comment, the boys ran down the steps calling for her.

  “Mama, can I have my tablet now?” Jack asked, his eyes pleading with her.

  “I’m tired. I want cartoons.” Nick yawned.

  “Who are you?” This came from Jack, the more curious one.

  Sarah looked up with the question in her eyes, too.

  He should have properly introduced himself. His mother raised him better.

  “Luke Thompson. I own the ranch behind your grandma’s house.” His eyes fell on her again and he said, “It’s nice to meet you.”

  Hers narrowed with anger and suspicion, but she didn’t say anything about him being the lawyer who’d contacted her about this visit because Jack jumped up and down at Luke’s feet. “Grandma says you have horses, and barn cats, and fields of corn. I like to take the leaves off corn. Can we see your horses? We’ve never seen a horse.”

  Luke took the rapid-fire questions and statements in stride. “Yes, I have horses and barn cats. There is a vegetable garden that has corn growing in it. You’ve never seen a horse? What kind of place do you live that you’ve never seen a horse?”

  “We live in a city and Mama won’t let us have a dog.” Jack and Nick looked accusingly at her.

  “Outnumbered again. You can’t have a dog until you can take care of it yourself. Mama is too busy to take care of any more little ones all by herself. You two are more than enough.” Sarah ran a hand over each boy’s head. She tickled both of them and handed Jack the backpack.

  “Grab your tablets out of the back seat, then back up to the house.” She waved her hands to get them moving.

  Luke watched the pair do as they were told, then run up the porch steps. He thought of his own brother and how they were always together when they were young. “The boys are great.”

  “And yet you want to take me to court and try to take them from me?”

  Luke regretted that she’d put two and two together and blamed him for Margaret’s actions. “I don’t want to take you to court. I don’t think it’s good for anyone involved to fight over children. Which is why I convinced Margaret to let me send the letter requesting the visit.”

  “Yes, it was a very nicely worded order to bring them here.”

  He tried to explain why he got involved, even though he didn’t really want anything to do with this family drama. “Sean and I were childhood friends. Margaret was devastated by his death and she misses her grandkids.”

  Sarah held her hands out wide. “Yet she’s given me the cold shoulder for the past two years. If she wanted to see them, all she had to do was call and ask.”

  “Would you have brought them to her?”

  “Yes. Because I’m a reasonable person.”

  He actually believed her. “She doesn’t think so.”

  “Because she doesn’t know me at all.”

  He wondered if the things Margaret said about her were really true. “Well, she’ll get to know you over the next six weeks.” Despite the circumstances, and because of his overwhelming attraction to her, he’d like to, too.

  “All she wants to know is anything she can use against me. That’s why you’re here. Right? To dig up all the dirt you can to present in court.”

  “I came by to lend some moral support because she’s expecting you to make this . . . difficult.”

  “Me. She’s the hostile one.”

  “I have to say, you showed restraint.”

  She mellowed. “I will make sure my boys have the best time they can with her because they deserve to know their grandmother. But if she thinks she can take them from me, then both of you will find you’re in for the fight of your life.”

  Luke liked a challenge, but he didn’t want to fight with her. “It’s my hope, and I think Margaret’s, too, that you two will work out your differences for the kids’ sake.”

  Sarah rolled her eyes. “Yeah, she seems like she wants to work things out.”

  “Give her a little time.”

  “I think it’s obvious I’ll be the one doing all the giving.”

  Luke wondered about the pampered princess Margaret described and whether she and the woman standing before him were really one and the same.

  Maybe over the last few years Sarah had changed.

  Maybe she wasn’t at all like Margaret described.

  “Now you’ve seen that I’ve delivered them to her. I assure you I will stay out of her way and let her enjoy her time with them. If you’ll excuse me, I need to get our things inside. The sun is setting, and I need to feed my bottomless boys.”

  Luke wasn’t quite ready to go.

  He liked a good puzzle, and Sarah was like a thousand pieces sitting on a table just waiting for him to sort out and fit together. It would nag at him until he figured out who this woman truly was. And he would find out.

  Chapter Five

  Sarah didn’t know what to make of Luke. He didn’t seem quite sure of her, and she
could only blame Margaret for that.

  Sean had never mentioned Luke as a childhood friend. Then again, he really only liked to talk about himself. And he’d been a live-in-the-moment kind of guy. She’d liked that about him, because she often thought about her crummy past and found herself wallowing in all the bad instead of focusing on how far she’d come and all the good in her life.

  Once the boys came along, she had so much good to focus on with them.

  She wanted to place some of the blame on Luke for Margaret threatening to take her to court, but he seemed sincere that he thought they could resolve their issues with this voluntary visit. Even if it had been forced.

  Luke didn’t take the hint to leave and pulled all three suitcases out of the back of her SUV. “I’ll take these in for you. You grab the other stuff.”

  “You don’t have to do that.”

  He started toward the house. “I know. Just being neighborly,” he reminded her.

  She wondered if there were indeed ulterior motives at play.

  Fine. Let him and Margaret watch her. She expected to be scrutinized by Margaret the whole time she was here anyway. So be it. They’d see. She loved her boys. She was a good mother. No one could say any different.

  She grabbed the computer bags out of the back of the car, slammed the lid, and caught up to Luke on the porch. The second they walked in the front door, Margaret called out, “Take the two bedrooms at the top of the stairs on the left.”

  Luke followed her up the gorgeous oak staircase.

  She walked into the first bedroom on the left and found a beautiful cream-colored room with a king-size bed. A stack of sheets and blankets sat atop the bare mattress. The huge antique dresser had a beveled mirror above it. Crystal vases stood on each end of the dresser and a huge crystal chandelier hung in the center of the room. A cream-colored rug stood out against the dark wood floor. Everything had a thick layer of dust covering it. Stuffy; the air smelled stale.

  Margaret had definitely not rolled out the welcome mat for her.

  The pictures of Sean overwhelmed her with feelings of resentment and anger. Several stood grouped in old silver antique frames on each dresser and night table. They showed him as a boy up until his college graduation.

  Clearly his life before she had stolen him away.

  “Set the suitcases down anywhere. I’ll go through the bathroom and check out the boys’ room before I move their stuff in there.” Dust bunnies skittered across the floor as she walked toward the Jack and Jill bathroom.

  Concern filled Luke’s eyes. “Maybe Margaret meant the rooms on the other side of the staircase?”

  No, she didn’t. “Thank you for bringing up the bags. I appreciate it, but you don’t have to stick around.” And witness my embarrassment. “I’ll be just fine.”

  “Let’s see the other room first. Margaret’s arthritis has been getting worse, but I can’t believe she’d allow company without getting the rooms ready.”

  Sarah knew better and continued on through the bathroom and found two twin beds in a forest-green room. A nightstand stood between the two beds with a crystal lamp, pictures of Sean, and the same gorgeous wood floors that were throughout the house. An antique dresser and chest of drawers lined the walls around the room and above the dresser was an oil painting of a little boy playing with a dog in a field. Jack would be happy to find the television and DVD player with the small love seat in front just waiting for him to plop down and enjoy. She could hook up one of her computers to it so they could watch Netflix on the TV screen.

  Each bed had a new-looking blanket. A toy chest in the corner held several wrapped packages waiting to be opened.

  Unlike her room and the bathroom, this room had been cleaned and made ready for two little boys. “It’s perfect. They’ll love it.”

  Luke hooked his thumbs in his jeans pockets. “She’s certainly made sure to let you know who’s welcome and who isn’t. Aren’t you going to say anything about your room?” Luke seemed to be waiting for her to throw a tantrum like a spoiled child who required everyone to jump at her every whim.

  That wasn’t her, never had been, no matter what Margaret’s opinion.

  Or Luke’s, for that matter.

  And she wouldn’t give him something to use against her if Margaret pushed forward and took her to court.

  Margaret must have told him a convincing tale about who she thought Sarah was. But she wasn’t about to dignify Margaret’s lack of hospitality with the least bit of outward frustration.

  What did Sarah expect? Margaret hated her. She wasn’t welcome here. Not surprising, but it still hurt.

  Luke stared at her, confusion in his eyes, waiting for her to say something.

  “I don’t mind dusting and making the bed. I’ve got to get the bathroom ready for the boys’ bath tonight. Thanks for your help. Please excuse me.”

  Luke raised one eyebrow, the earlier confusion turning to anger. “Aren’t you even just a little put out that she got things ready for the boys and neglected to get the room ready for you?”

  Was he baiting her? Hoping she’d lose her temper and play right into his hands? Not going to happen.

  “I’m sure after marrying Sean you got used to the finer things in life.”

  Sarah met his incredulous gaze and held it for a good long minute. Margaret had certainly made him believe that about her.

  She didn’t have the energy to change his mind. She didn’t really care what he thought. But maybe if she showed him who she really was, he’d somehow convince Margaret she didn’t need to drag them to court for nothing.

  “I’m sure she’s told you I’m the wicked witch who deceived, manipulated, and took advantage of her son. She’ll spend the next six weeks slighting me at every turn, just enough to get to me, but not so that the boys notice. Each time they aren’t around, she’ll remind me how much I stole from her.

  “I didn’t come from money and Sean did. So what? Do I like nice things and having someone to clean up the house? Beats shoveling manure and sleeping on the floor, that’s for sure.”

  Luke held her gaze. “So that’s how it is? You met Sean and saw an opportunity for a better life?”

  “That’s a little simplistic, don’t you think?”

  “Is that what you did? Deceived, manipulated, and took advantage to get what you wanted?” He sounded disappointed in her.

  “That’s exactly what Margaret would like you to believe, but that’s not me. Either you believe me or you don’t.”

  “Margaret is my friend. I don’t want anyone taking advantage of her.”

  She held her hands out. “I brought the boys to visit their grandmother. That’s all. I don’t want anything from her.” At the very least, she wished he’d believe that.

  His lips went flat. “Every woman I ever met was after something.”

  “Sounds like you pick the wrong kind of women.”

  His hands sank deeper into his pockets. “So my family keeps telling me.”

  She appreciated his honesty and the reluctant admission. “We’re here for six weeks. Thanks to her thoughtlessness about them having school, I’ll be mom, teacher, and run my company remotely, all the while hoping she’ll see taking me to court is pointless and unnecessary. Six weeks,” she repeated, “then I’ll take the boys home, and we’ll be out of Margaret’s life.”

  “You aren’t going to let her see the boys again?”

  Sarah rolled her eyes and let out a heavy sigh. “I’m not the bad guy you think I am. Margaret can see the boys whenever she wants, but that doesn’t mean I’ll drop everything to facilitate it the way I did for this extended stay.”

  Her phone rang. She dug it out of her pocket, resigned to another long night. “Excuse me, I have to take this call, and I still need to feed the boys.”

  “I thought you were on vacation?”

  “I have a business to run.” She tapped the screen to accept the call. “Hi, Abby, put me through.” She left the boys’ room with the phone at he
r ear waiting to be connected to the board meeting.

  Luke followed her into the bathroom and studied her while she retrieved cleaning supplies from the linen cupboard and filled the basin with hot water all the while listening to her phone. “I could help you get things in order.”

  She tapped the mute button, but continued to listen as the minutes from the last meeting were read to all the members of the board. “That’s very nice of you, but I’ll take care of this. Really, I expected much worse.”

  Luke touched her arm. “It’s not right.”

  She appreciated the sentiment. “Her son is dead. She holds me responsible. I can’t change that. To her, I am the person she believes me to be. I promised the boys six weeks with their grandmother and that’s what they’re going to get. If she wants to see them, then I come as part of the package. Thank you for the help with the bags. I can manage from here.”

  She couldn’t quite make out the mixed emotions in his eyes, but she appreciated the hint of sympathy.

  She unmuted her call. “George, could you go over the quarterly figures with everyone. I want the latest numbers.” She kept her gaze on Luke as she addressed her CFO and he recited the company’s financial information.

  She yawned and the sympathy in Luke’s eyes turned to concern.

  She muted the call again. “Please, just go. I’ve had a really long day and it’s going to be a long night.” Overwhelmed by Margaret’s hostility, Luke’s attention and need to know her intentions and digging into her past, along with the cleaning she had to do, feeding the boys, and running her company, she couldn’t take it all at once and not feel the burdens taking more than she had to give right now.

  “Margaret should have at least been hospitable and grateful you brought the boys to see her.”

  Yeah. It would be nice if they could be civil and Margaret hadn’t left more work for her.

  She gave him a weak smile, but had nothing to say before she unmuted her call and forged on with work because that took precedence to making a stranger like her. “George, those figures are off from the projections. What’s the difference? And how did it affect our profits?” She listened to George’s explanation and scrubbed the sink and counter, all the while watching Luke watching her in the mirror.