“Hello, Dax. Merry Christmas.”
“Shane. Same to you.” If Dax Traub was surprised at the two of them together, he didn’t show it.
“What can I do for you?”
“I have a favor to ask.”
“What?” Shane’s voice was neutral, but the rest of him tensed.
“I’d like to talk to you.”
“My family is in from L.A.”
“Sorry to interrupt your Christmas.” Dax glanced into the room behind them. “Here isn’t what I had in mind, anyway. Can you meet me at the Rib Shack? It won’t take long.”
The bad stuff didn’t usually take very long to say. Shane’s peace-on-earth expression disappeared, replaced by the intensity he’d worn like armor for the past six months. And Gianna couldn’t blame him.
The two men stared at each other for several moments while Shane thought it over. Finally he said, “I’ll meet you there. Is now okay?”
Dax nodded. “Thanks, Shane.”
Gianna watched him walk down the hall to the elevator and her bad feeling got bigger. “Don’t go, Shane. Whatever he has to say can wait until tomorrow when it’s not Christmas.”
“I want to get this over with. The sooner, the better.”
Never would be better as far as Gianna was concerned.
Chapter Fifteen
On the short drive to the Rib Shack, Shane kept picturing Gianna’s face, the stubborn tilt of her chin, the way her full mouth pulled tight with anger. He couldn’t help thinking she was beautiful when she was angry. First, she’d been revving up to talk him out of leaving town, when he’d told her that things would be awkward with the Traubs.
They’d lived in Thunder Canyon for a long time. He was the newcomer who’d had ulterior motives and was the son of their enemy. It was a stigma that would stick; it would rub off on Gianna and her family. She’d found her way back and knew what she wanted. He wouldn’t jeopardize that for her, which was why he had to do the right thing and go quietly.
He loved her too much to ruin her life by being in it.
Second, he’d had to talk her out of coming with him for this conversation with Dax. She would take his side against the Traubs. It’s just the way she was and he couldn’t let her do it. What finally convinced her to stay put was when he asked her to watch over his family. With her they were in good hands. And now it was time for the showdown.
The Rib Shack parking lot had a few cars, but it looked pretty quiet this late on Christmas. Holiday hours were posted inside for the guests staying at the resort, but he knew the restaurant was closed to the public now. He parked by the outside entrance; it would make for a quick exit.
“Best get this over with,” he muttered.
“This” being the portion of the holiday entertainment where he was run out of town. He was stubborn enough to tell them to shove it, but for Gianna’s sake he would listen politely then walk away. He wouldn’t ask her to choose between the town and family she loved.
But, he’d learned something from his biological mother. Grace Smith Traub had shown him that the greatest love of all is letting someone go to give them a better life.
He walked through the parking lot as snowflakes started to fall and his breath made clouds in front of his face. As he opened the door and went inside the restaurant, the sounds of talking, laughter and children playing drifted to him. It pierced the loneliness that pressed heavily on his heart.
In the Rib Shack’s main dining room, tables were pushed together to accommodate a large group—all of them Traubs as far as he could tell. He recognized Jason, who’d come from Texas to settle here. Clay, Antonia and their little ones were next to him. Forrest Traub and Angie Anderson sat so close together you couldn’t see space between them. There were a couple more guys he didn’t recognize, but they were Traubs, what with that strong family-resemblance thing.
As he moved farther into the room, conversation around the table stopped and everyone looked at him. When Dax angled his head, D.J. and Clay stood up, as if it was a strategy agreed on ahead of time. The three of them moved to meet him.
Dax slid his fingertips into the pockets of his jeans. “Thanks for coming, Shane.”
“No problem. Looks like the gang’s all here,” he said.
“Not everyone could make it.” Clay glanced over his shoulder at the group. “But there were too many to fit in anyone’s house. D.J. volunteered the Shack for Christmas dinner.”
Shane looked at the man in question who still hadn’t said anything. The last time he’d been here, D.J. had thrown him out.
“We’ve got some things to say. Let’s sit over there where it’s quiet,” Dax suggested, pointing to a far corner. “Otherwise the kids will drive you crazy.”
That was a kind of crazy Shane wanted, but had given up hope he would ever have. Without a word, he followed the other men to the table all by itself in the big room. He had a feeling this wasn’t so much about quiet as it was about protecting the women and children from the ugliness of the past, the flaw in him that was all about who his father was.
After the four of them took seats around the table, Dax looked at his cousin Clay, a look that said “get ready.” “Some information has come to our attention.”
Shane knew Clay was from Rust Creek where another branch of the family lived. He had the same Traub features—tall, muscular, dark hair and brown eyes. He was a little younger than the other two men and more boyish-looking. Although not now with intensity darkening his eyes and tension in his face.
Dax nodded at him. “Tell Shane what you told us.”
“When I was a little kid...” Clay blew out a breath, then continued. “I overheard my parents arguing about Aunt Grace and Uncle Doug, Dax and D.J.’s parents. My mom just didn’t understand how Grace could give away her own child then act as if he’d never existed. She was angry that Uncle Doug didn’t support her through it. Dad said that his brother would have had a hard time raising a child that wasn’t his, but that ticked Mom off even more. She said Doug should have been man enough to put that aside for the sake of the baby, the child of the woman he loved.” He shrugged at his cousins. “I only remembered recently. But when I was clear about the memory, I knew Dax and D.J. had a brother out there somewhere.”
“Me.” Shane looked at each man.
Dax nodded. “Clay wasn’t sure whether or not to say anything to D.J. and me. Obviously that wasn’t our father’s finest hour.”
“Or our mother’s,” D.J. added.
His brother nodded darkly. “We had a get-together last night for Christmas Eve and were talking about why the two sides of the family have been estranged all these years. Clay told us what he remembered. Then D.J. mentioned the conversation with you.”
Shane looked at the man who looked so much like him. “The one where I told him about your mother and Arthur Swinton having an affair.”
He waited for the explosion, but the two men didn’t say a word. They looked shell-shocked and he realized the revelations were too recent. They needed time to take it all in.
“Look, I didn’t come to Thunder Canyon to make trouble, just to find my birth parents. I did that. I’m sorry it involves your mother. I get that you don’t want to believe it. But that doesn’t change—”
Clay held up a hand. “D.J. told us what he said to you, but if you could cut him some slack... Just put yourself in his place. He had no reason to believe you. His mom died when he was a kid and his dad wasn’t likely to bring up the subject
.” He rubbed a hand across the back of his neck. “But my parents knew Grace Smith had a baby and gave him up for adoption. They confirmed everything and it’s why the two families had a falling out all those years ago.”
“I didn’t know any of this,” D.J. confirmed. “Then you tell me my mother had a thing with Arthur Swinton. I thought you were lying and I couldn’t figure out why you’d do that.”
Shane figured he’d have felt the same if someone came to him with a wild story like this. All he could do now was reassure them. “I’m not looking for anything but the facts. If you want, we can do DNA tests to prove the truth once and for all.”
“No.” D.J. shook his head. “As soon as I calmed down, I realized all the evidence was right in front of me. Our personalities clicked. Similar sense of humor. I felt an almost instant connection.”
“Then there was the strong resemblance that Allaire saw,” Dax said.
His brother nodded. “We bonded right away, without even knowing the family link. It struck a chord that felt true. Then Clay tied everything together with what he remembered and we talked to Uncle Bob and Aunt Ellie, who confirmed his memory and everything else. We don’t have any doubts.”
Maybe not about being brothers, Shane realized. But there was still the fact of his father. He met their gazes, but this had to be said. “I know how you feel about Arthur Swinton.”
The statement hung in the air and he knew they were filling in the blanks. His father was a criminal. But Gianna was right about him. “There’s no reason you should believe this, but Arthur isn’t a bad man. He loved our mother. Still does.”
“You saw him in jail?” D.J. looked surprised.
“Yeah. He didn’t know about me. She never said anything about being pregnant. No one should be too hard on her. Think about it. She was just a teenager. Scared. Under pressure from her family. I’m not judging and you shouldn’t, either. No one’s perfect and she was just doing what she thought was right for her family.”
“I hear you,” Dax said. “But it will take some time to work this through.”
Shane nodded. “And I’m not saying Arthur deserves forgiveness, but he’s a broken man. When she turned her back on him, he went off the deep end. He only saw that you all had her and he was left out in the cold.”
“I’m not sure I can ever forgive him. He put me, my family and this town through a lot,” D.J. said quietly.
Shane nodded. “I’d never tell you what to do, it’s just that—”
“You’re not like him,” D.J. finished. “He couldn’t handle what life threw at him, but it’s not in the DNA.”
“Pretty much.” Shane was grateful he didn’t have to make the case, that they got it. “I couldn’t have said it better.”
“It’s a brother thing, I guess.” D.J. stood and held out his hand. “I’m sorry for what I said.”
“You mean the part where you threw me out of here?” Shane teased.
“That, too. I realized that in your shoes I’d have come looking for who I was. I’m sorry I was so hard on you.”
“Forget it.” Shane stood and took the other man’s hand.
“Welcome to the family.” D.J. pulled him into a quick bro hug.
Then it was Dax’s turn. “Better late than never.”
“Can’t argue with that.”
Shane remembered his dismissive comment to Gianna that you couldn’t have too much family and knew now he was right about that. “This is a pretty good Christmas present.”
“You’re not getting mushy, are you?” D.J. joked.
“Of course not. You couldn’t handle it.”
And just like that they slipped into the teasing, macho banter thing that brothers did. It finally felt as if the last loose piece inside him clicked into place.
“Come on over and join the family,” Dax said, indicating the gathering on the other side of the room.
“Can I get a rain check?” Shane asked. “Gianna is waiting for me—”
“I knew it,” D.J. said. “There’s something between you two, isn’t there?”
“You’re not matchmaking, are you?” Shane answered without answering.
“I don’t have to. It’s too late for that.”
Shane just grinned at his brothers. The only thing that could keep him from joining the family group was Gianna. She’d been with him almost every step of the way. Even tonight she hadn’t wanted him to be alone meeting his brothers and he wouldn’t leave her alone any longer.
He had some things to say to her.
* * *
When she wasn’t pacing, Gianna stood in front of the tall windows in Shane’s living room, staring outside. It was a serene view most of the time, but not now. His family was watching a Christmas movie in the media room and had asked her to join them, but she couldn’t sit still.
She shouldn’t have let him go alone. D.J. was her friend. Maybe she could have been a bridge, helped the Traubs understand why he’d quietly gathered information instead of walking into their lives with guns blazing.
“Gianna?”
She turned and saw his mother. “Mrs. Roarke—”
“Please call me Christa. We’re going to be seeing a lot of each other.” There was a twinkle in her eyes.
Just a guess, but it seemed as if his mother was thinking there was something serious going on between her and Shane. It was serious, all right, but not in a good way. After learning that love had destroyed his father, it wasn’t likely Shane would give it a try.
If Dax hadn’t interrupted them, he would have told her he was leaving and they were over before even really getting started. Any second she expected Shane would come back and do just that. It was about protecting himself as well as her, but that didn’t take the hurt away.
“Please tell me what’s going on,” Christa said.
“I’m not sure what you mean.” That was lame and Gianna knew it. The woman was an attorney, for God’s sake. Like she couldn’t tell when someone was stalling?
“All right. I’ll put a finer point on it. A man comes to see my son and he leaves. Now you’re about to wear a hole in the floor from pacing.” The woman’s eyes narrowed on her. “Is he in some kind of trouble?”
“No.” Probably not. She didn’t think any punches were being thrown. All of them were too civilized for that, right? Except the information Shane had uncovered challenged all the Traubs’ beliefs about their mother.
“Then why did he leave?” Christa asked.
Gianna didn’t know what to do. This was Shane’s journey, his story to tell, and should be done his way.
“He just went to the Rib Shack. It’s a restaurant at Thunder Canyon Resort where they serve—ribs.” She was babbling. And stalling.
“Imagine that.” The woman gave her a “mom look,” the expression specially designed to intimidate anyone under the age of forty.
“They’re really good ribs,” she said, all confidence leaking out of her voice. “A special sauce. Secret recipe.”
“Uh-huh.” Christa moved closer and there was understanding in her eyes. “Look, sweetheart, it’s clear that you’re trying to protect him and as his mother, I’m all for that. But if he needs help we need to go to him—”
At that moment the front door opened and closed, and Shane walked into the room. “Hi.”
“You’re back.” Duh.
Gianna studied him and thank goodness he looked all right. No bruises or blood, but his expression gave no clue about what had happened.
>
“Shane, what’s going on?” Christa asked. “Why did you disappear with that man?”
“Don’t worry, Mom. Everything’s fine. I’ll tell you all about it later.”
His mother studied him for several moments and seemed to see what she needed to. “You look all right. I’d know if you weren’t. When you’re ready to talk I’ll be watching that hilarious Christmas movie about the little boy and the gun.”
“Okay, Mom.” When she started to walk away he said, “I love you.”
She smiled. “I love you, too, son.”
When she was gone, Shane said to Gianna, “We need to talk. Privately.”
“Okay, but first—”
Without another word he took her arm and steered her to the French door. After opening it, he linked his fingers with hers, then led her outside.
“It’s snowing,” she said, blinking away the flakes that drifted into her eyes when she looked up at the sky.
“A white Christmas. That makes this an almost perfect day.” He took off his jacket and dragged it around her shoulders. “There’s just one more thing.”
Perfect day? Not from her perspective. “What happened with Dax and D.J.?”
“I found my brothers,” he said simply.
“That’s not a news flash. What did they say?”
“That they’re my brothers. If Ryan were here he’d say, ‘What am I? Chopped liver?’ The thing is, I love him, my whole family. I’d do anything for them.”
“They feel the same about you.” His mother had been this close to going to the Rib Shack to do battle with whoever might be hurting him.
“That’s what makes it so hard to explain why getting to know the brothers who share my blood was so important.” He dragged his hand through his hair. “I feel as if I’ve found the missing part of myself. But that implies that Mom, Dad, Ryan and Maggie aren’t enough. And that’s just not true.”
The Maverick's Christmas Homecoming Page 20
