Connor joined them few minutes later, and Olivia wondered if Mr. McConnell himself would show up. Connor instantly fell into roll of bartender, mixing drinks for everyone and laughing when Mimi tested his knowledge on basic mixology. He aced all the questions she threw his way.
The elegant society woman Olivia envied and always wanted to be turned out to be a woman who loved her family. Being with her family, laughing with them, put an extra twinkle in her blue eyes. Her smile had nothing to do with the big house, the amazing view, or the designer glasses she drank from. It was her family.
Olivia couldn’t believe how wrong she had been. She didn’t need money to be happy. Everything she needed to be happy, she already had.
The tension in the air shifted, and Olivia turned just as the patriarch himself stepped onto the patio. “Are we eating or what? I have a conference call in an hour.”
Mimi grabbed her martini glass and shuffled toward the door. She kissed Mr. McConnell on the cheek. “Olivia, darling, come help me. Let the men fraternize.”
Shane squeezed her hand, and she headed toward the door.
“I have work to do. Call me when dinner is ready.” Mr. McConnell went back inside and disappeared down the hall.
“He’s always so busy.” Mimi waved her hand in his direction like she was used to making excuses for his departures.
“What’s left to cook?” Olivia asked, hoping it was something she could handle.
“Oh sweetie, I don’t cook. But I’m a pro at calling for takeout. We just have to empty the containers onto serving plates.”
“I like your style,” Olivia said.
“Stick around, darling, and I’ll teach you all my tricks.”
The thought warmed Olivia’s heart. She didn’t even care anymore about the McConnell name and what it represented. Just the idea of being a part of Shane’s family was enough for her.
***
Grandfather, as Shane learned he liked to be called, finally joined them at the table. Shane couldn’t help but wonder if he was the reason Grandfather had stuck to his office. God forbid he opened himself up for dialogue.
Shane moved his food around his plate. It was all delicious, but his appetite was nonexistent.
The ring weighed heavy in his pocket. He had so many questions, and the only people who could answer any of those questions were at this very table. Someone had information, knew something that he didn’t, and it was time that he knew. He slipped the ring from his pocket and rolled it between his fingers.
There was a pause in conversation, and he decided it was now or never. “I found this at the house I’m staying at.” He held up Mom’s long missing ring.
“Must be from one of the past tenants,” Mimi said.
“Except it’s not,” Shane said. “It’s my mothers.”
Mimi’s eyebrows fought the Botox and rose. “That’s not possible.”
“I didn’t think so either. She wore this ring every day. Only took it off to put lotion on her hands. It was given to her by my father the night before he died.”
“I’m sure there are thousands of rings that look like that,” Grandfather said. “It’s just a coincidence.”
“I thought so too. Except for the inscription. My father proposed by giving my mom this ring and pointing to these words.” Shane looked at the inscription and read it aloud. “Forever you and me. It was then she told him she was pregnant with me. It was the happiest day of Mom’s life other than when I was born. And I know this because she told me. Because she never took this damn ring off. Until one day after I was in the hospital, and she told me she had to go away for a few days, but not to worry, she’d be back soon. And when she came back, the ring was gone. She never told me where she went, but now I know. She came here.”
Every expression at the table filled with shock except for a select few. Those few knew something. They were keeping secrets, and Shane was done tiptoeing around. He wanted answers, and damn it, he was going to get them.
“Tell me I’m wrong,” Shane said. “Tell me this is all just some crazy coincidence, and my mother’s ring just magically appeared.”
“She was here,” Uncle Grady said, and Shane’s attention snapped to him.
“How do you know?” Grandfather asked, voice steady and unwavering, but Shane could see the flicker of shock in his eyes.
“I heard you two the day she showed up on the doorstep. Mom was at one of her luncheons. It was raining, and you were waiting for a call from your investor. I came by to talk about the bar, but when I had seen the mood you were in, I thought better of it. I ran upstairs to grab something out of my old room. I don’t even remember what anymore, but that’s not important anyway. When I was coming back down, I saw you at the door with her. She was drenched, hair hanging down, dripping on the threshold. You wouldn’t even let her in out of the rain. She told you who she was, and you denied her—told her to get off the property and never come back. I was curious, so I went after her.”
Olivia’s hand landed on Shane’s thigh, and he gripped her hand like a lifeline as his uncle continued.
“You didn’t believe her, but there was something in my gut that told me I needed to find out myself. She didn’t have a car—must’ve had a cab drop her off—so it was easy to catch up to her. I convinced her to let me give her a ride, and she told me everything. And I believed her. She knew things about my brother that no one else would.”
“So, you just let her go?” Shane didn’t even attempt to hide the anger and frustration in his tone. His hand came free of Olivia’s, and he shot up from his chair.
“No.” Uncle Grady met his eyes. “She was desperate to get back to you, but she was wet and tired. I could see the exhaustion consuming her. She’d been going on adrenaline, and she was crashing, so I took her to the rental. It was vacant at the time. I told her to get some sleep, and I’d send car service to pick her up early in the morning before the neighbors would be up and snooping out their windows. She must’ve dropped the ring then. I’m surprised in all these years, no one had found it.”
“It was wedged in a crack between floorboards.”
Uncle Grady nodded.
“So, you gave her a place to crash, and then you dismissed her, too?” Shane asked. It was a shame he was starting to like Uncle Grady.
Uncle Grady shook his head. “No. I wrote her a check for ten thousand dollars and gave her my personal phone number in case she ever needed anything else. I told her never hesitate to call.”
Shane remembered that trip. Remembered when Mom returned and how she suddenly didn’t seem like the entire world was pressing in on her. She had a softness to her smile, a lighter demeanor overall. The money helped but… “You gave her hush money.”
“It wasn’t like that,” Uncle Grady said.
“No? Then why is it that I didn’t know you existed until a few months ago? Why didn’t you go to him?” Shane flung his hand out and pointed a stern finger at Grandfather. “Convince him that I was his grandson. If you believed it then why keep me secret?”
“I was young,” Uncle Grady said. “Just about your age now. I hadn’t come into all the money in my trust, and I was afraid to lose it. Thinking back, I realize how selfish that was, but I didn’t think then the way I do now. But I kept in touch with your mother.
She never accepted money from me after that, but I still sent her things. Gift cards mostly. After she died… I had no way of knowing where you were or if you were still healthy. Which is why last month I had hired a private investigator to find you. You showed up here before he found you.”
Shane stared at Uncle Grady in disbelief. All this time, he believed he had no family other than his mother. And all along he had an extended family. His uncle had looked out for him just as family was supposed to.
“Why didn’t you ever tell me this?” Mimi demanded from Grandfather.
Grandfather sighed and dropped his fork. “She came here that one time. Took me by surprise. I have a temper; we all know that
. By the time I calmed down and could think rationally, she was long gone. I had no address, no contact information. There was nothing I could do.”
“But she sent you a letter. I saw it in your office,” Connor said, tossing his napkin on the table.
Uncle Grady looked at his son. “Wait a second, you knew?”
“I didn’t know if it was true. Thought maybe it was someone trying to swindle money out of Grandfather. Until Shane showed up. Look at him. There’s no denying he’s a McConnell. That he’s Uncle Shane’s son. I’ve seen pictures. His complexion is darker, but come on… same eyes.”
“What letter?” Mimi asked. The confusion in her brow told Shane she knew as little about the letter as he did.
Even after being cast aside by this man, Mom reached out again. Shane knew the strength and desperation she must have felt in order to do so.
“Where’s the letter?” Shane asked. Grandfather didn’t budge, his stature rigid as ever, eyes cast forward, blank and emotionless as usual. “I want to see it.” When he didn’t respond, anger surged through Shane, and he slammed his fist down on the table. Plates jumped and clattered, glasses nearly tipped over, and Olivia beside him diverted her gaze to her lap. He should have given her shoulder a reassuring squeeze, but he was too angry right now.
Mimi leaned in her chair, arms crossed over her chest. “I’d like to see this letter, too.”
“Oh, all right,” Grandfather growled and stormed out of the dining room.
Tension filled the large space, making it impossible to breathe comfortably, but Shane didn’t care. He’d gone his whole life not knowing these people even existed, yet they knew he did. His mother reached out more than once, and they didn’t care. At least Grandfather. Uncle Grady did the best he could, and for that, Shane would forever be indebted to him.
“Here.” Grandfather handed him a folded piece of paper.
Shane reluctantly took the letter in hand and unfolded it. The familiar handwriting punched at his heart, and he held back a stinging sadness that burned his throat.
I write to you now as a mother about to leave her only child in the world with little to no family. Other than my uncle in Portugal, Shane has no family to speak of—except that he does. He has an entire family he doesn’t know exists…an entire family who doesn’t know he exists. It is my dying wish that you push aside whatever malice you have in your heart toward me and open your arms to your grandson. Give him the family he could have only dreamed of, a chance to get to know you, the mother of the father he never met. Share with him stories I couldn’t because I simply didn’t know. Share your love because he will share it right back.
He is a man now, and with each day he grows more and more like his father in not only his appearance, but in his mannerisms, his kind heart, and his love of adventure. Shane is the greatest gift given to me by your son before his untimely passing, and now I hope I can share that gift with you.
As my days near their end, I can’t help but to reflect on the past and question so many choices, conversations, everything really. I’m sorry I couldn’t have gotten to know you. I honestly think we would have gotten along. Maybe even liked each other. If only things were different. If only Shane didn’t leave us so soon.
I can’t do anything about the past, but I can do something about the future. Which is why I beg you… Don’t leave my son without a family.
Truly Yours,
Aurora Sanchez
Tears pressed at the back of his eyes; heat filled his lungs and clogged his throat. Even on her deathbed she worried about him. By the date at the top of the letter, she’d written this less than a week before she died. She knew she didn’t have much longer to live, yet she took that precious time and did what she always did. She tried to make sure he wasn’t alone in life.
His lip quivered, and he dropped the letter on the table. His eyes met Grandfather’s, and he spun away from him and headed to the door. He stopped midway and turned back to the man that denied him for so long. “All she ever wanted from you was for you to believe her. For you to reach beyond the blackness in your heart and accept me. It’s no wonder my father left. I wouldn’t want to be around a miserable, selfish prick either.”
Grandfather glared at him, hard lines cutting deep into the sides of his mouth, showing his deteriorating age. “How dare you speak to me like that in my own home.”
“And that’s your problem. You’re up so high and mighty on your goddamn thrown that no one can say or do anything. Everyone tiptoes around here, so they don’t upset you. Well, thanks to you I’m not a McConnell, so I don’t give a shit what you say or do to me. I’ve already lost everything. I have nothing left.”
“You’re just like your father,” he barked.
The corner of Shane’s mouth tilted. “I know you mean that as an insult, but it’s the only nice thing you’ve ever said to me. I’ll be out of the house tomorrow.”
Shane stormed out of the dining room, unable to look at that man for another second.
Chapter 20
Olivia shifted awkwardly in her chair before jumping up to go after Shane. He was so upset, but on top of that, she had questions of her own. Hospital. Health.
She stopped and faced Mimi. “Thank you for a lovely dinner.”
“Oh sweetie, who are you fooling? This was a goddamn shitshow.” Mimi downed the rest of her martini and slammed her glass down on the table.
“I still appreciate the invitation.” Despite everything, Olivia still couldn’t believe she’d finally stepped foot in the elusive Bayview Estate.
Mimi pushed up from her chair, glared at her husband and stormed out of the room. Olivia smiled to the rest of the table and saw herself out. To think all this time, she considered these people the ultimate dream. In reality, they were filled with secrets and without even realizing it, or maybe they did, they were slowly destroying their family.
Olivia might not have grown up in the big house on the bay, and they might not have owned more than half the town, but her family—as intrusive as they were—would never act toward one another as the McConnells did. They didn’t keep secrets from each other. Her father never spoke about Shane’s father, but only because it pained him too much. The minute Olivia asked him, he told her everything. Despite his own reservations, he told her.
Olivia headed for the door in a hurry to get to Shane and make sure he was okay. Grady McConnell met her at the door.
“Don’t let him leave,” he said. “I just got my nephew back, and I don’t want to lose him.”
Olivia squared her shoulders. “Maybe you should have thought about that years ago. If he leaves that’s his decision, not mine.”
“Do you not want him to stay?”
What kind of question was that? She’d fallen in love with Shane, but she didn’t want him to feel obligated to stay. She already allowed one man to stay in her life out of an obligation. Though it wasn’t as much for her as it was for his career, it still was an obligation no less. If Shane was to stay in Morgan’s Bay that had to be his decision.
“Of course I do. But I also know what it was like to stay in a situation because I was convinced it was the only way to be happy. Because on the surface that was exactly what it seemed, but if I'd just opened my damn eyes for two seconds, I would've realized I wasn't happy. Not at all. And I don’t want that for Shane. I want him to make his own choices. I don’t want to guilt him in to staying. I want him to stay because he simply wants to stay. I can’t make that choice for him and neither can you.”
He rested his hand on her shoulder, an empathetic sadness in his green eyes. “I understand. Still, he needs you right now. Go to him.”
Olivia had every intention of doing just that. She gave Mayor McConnell a nod and hurried out of the house.
She found Shane sitting on the bumper of his car. She went to him, and he looked up at her with such pain in his eyes. “I’m sorry I left you in there.” His voice cracked, and his head bowed, pressing against her stomach. She held h
im, hugging his head to her and assured him it was okay.
“Hey.” She rested her hand on his chin. “Look at me.”
He glanced up, brownish green eyes locking on hers.
“You okay?”
“I don’t know.”
She reached into his pocket, and his eyebrow arched. She grabbed his keys and pulled them out. “Let’s get out of here.”
“After everything that just went down, you don’t want to bolt?”
“Why would I?”
“My family is a dysfunctional mess.”
“Last Thanksgiving my sister locked herself in the bathroom for an hour because my dad made a joke about her forehead wrinkle. My dad also wears monster slippers, and my parents ride a golf cart around town. We all have our fair share of crazy.” She kissed his forehead like he’d done to her so many times. She’d found it comforting, and she hoped it had the same effect on him. “Come on. Let’s get out of here.”
She got in the driver seat, turned the car on, and pulled out of the long driveway. Unsure of where to go, she headed toward the beach. “Want to talk about it?”
Shane kept his eyes on the road in front of them. “I don’t know.”
Olivia always felt better when she could talk things out, but Shane was different. He didn’t wear his emotions on his sleeve for everyone to see like she did.
He snapped at dinner, but it wasn’t enough. He ran out before any real healing words could be spewed from his mouth. She almost wanted to bring him back, so he could finish. Cutting himself open and bleeding the thoughts and insecurities he’d been feeling for a while would rid him of the poison.
She turned down a side street and drove toward his place instead. It had become their sanctuary away from the outside world. She didn’t know what to say, so she waited for him to speak, but he never did. She pulled into the driveway and put the car in park.
They went into the house in silence. Olivia wanted to say something. Anything. There was so much that had happened, but the thing that stuck out to her the most was what his uncle had said to him. “What did your uncle mean by not knowing if you were still healthy?”
All Because of You (Morgan's Bay Book 1) Page 17
