by Lily George
Shona gave a quiet sigh, her dark gaze automatically studying the crowd with all the focus of a secret service agent. “I broke up my marriage. I made the wrong choices. I have only myself to blame.”
“Have you seen Geoff lately?”
“Every night on the news channel. He’s an anchorman now.”
“When is the divorce final?” Karah Lee asked.
Even grimacing, with the sun in her face, Shona was a stunningly attractive woman, whose appearance concealed well her thirty-eight years. “There’s been no date set. I’m tired of being reminded about the divorce. I’m not pushing it, and neither is Geoff. Let it rest. If you’d stop blaming Dad and get on with your own life—”
“I’m getting on with it.” And it was true. Although Taylor didn’t know it, their discussion had stayed with her. She’d sat with him on that same bench so many times, arguing and debating, sharing and praying together. She hadn’t realized it so clearly until last night, but they had begun forming a strong bond months ago. A bond…
She found herself automatically searching the crowd for a glimpse of the one person she most wanted to see. “Last summer my relationship with Taylor seemed to kick into high gear when we started praying again, after years of avoiding God. To me it proved that a relationship is strongest when God is a vital part of it.”
“Well, there you have it, then.” Sarcasm weighted Shona’s voice. “We can blame all our family problems on our godless heritage.” Though their mother had been a church-going Christian, Kemper only gave lip service to God when he wanted the vote from that sector of the population. “How do you explain all the divorces that take place among Christians these days?”
“Studies show that among couples who pray together daily, only one in a thousand ends in divorce. How often did our family pray together when we were growing up?”
The crowd laughed at something their father said, and Shona was obviously relieved at the chance to change the subject again. “If your relationship kicked into high gear, then what’s this problem between you now?”
“How do you know there’s a problem? You just got here last night.”
“Fawn told me.”
“Of course. I don’t think the problem between us is as big as it appears,” Karah Lee said softly. They had something going for them that she hadn’t considered. It was what could give them lasting strength. It was God.
Kemper roused the crowd to still another round of cheering and hearty applause, then waved at the people and stepped down from the bandstand.
Karah Lee finally caught sight of Taylor, and to her shock she saw Jerrod with him. As Kemper continued to wave at the crowd, Taylor and Jerrod approached him.
“Warning,” she said to Shona. “Fireworks about to erupt.”
Shona nudged her arm. “Come with me and be amazed.” She led the way through the dispersing crowd toward their father.
“Are you a glutton for punishment?” Karah Lee exclaimed.
“Dad and I had a talk last night after you showed him those pictures. He’s actually eager to meet his son. He wants to take responsibility for what he did.”
“That wasn’t what he told me.”
“You don’t have a lot of patience. You left before he even had a chance to think about it.” She turned her attention to Jerrod as they approached the men. “So this is our long lost brother,” she said, ever in control in even the most awkward of situations as she took Jerrod’s hand.
As Kemper MacDonald drew his son aside, Taylor took Karah Lee by the arm. “Could we talk for a few minutes before you go to work?”
She glanced toward her father and hesitated, as if she thought she might have to intervene in a fight.
“They’ll be fine,” he said.
Finally, she relented and walked with him. “Somehow I get the feeling I’ve missed out on some interesting action.”
“You could say that. To begin with, your brother finally admitted this morning to hacking into your personnel file, though he told me he did not intentionally eat nuts to make himself sick. He simply took advantage of the situation. Given his intentions—and the fact that he also offered to program security into the system—I don’t think there’s a need to press any charges. And as for him and Kemper…well, you were the one who got the ball rolling in the first place. This morning your father called and asked me to find Jerrod and arrange for a meeting after the speech.”
“Did he say why?”
“Yes, and my estimation of your father has had to undergo a major overhaul.”
“He’s ready to admit Jerrod’s his son?”
“More than ready. He told me this morning that he was ashamed of many things he’s done in his life, but he’s not going to apologize for Jerrod’s existence. He wants to get to know his son. He had a change of heart, Karah Lee. People can do that, you know.”
For a moment she was silent, then she said, “You’re right. People can change their minds.”
“Even someone as stubborn as a MacDonald.”
“You’re pushing it.”
“Sorry.”
Again, she walked a few more steps in silence, head bowed, studying the grass in front of them as if it were the most fascinating thing she had ever seen.
“Taylor,” she said at last, “I’ve fought hard my whole adult life to be independent of my father’s money and influence. Because of his interference in the past, I still question how much of my career I’ve earned on my own terms and how much input he had on my grades and my school rank.”
“You are an excellent physician, caring and bright. Your father had little to do with that. He also had no input when I asked you to marry me.”
She looked up at him. “Did you know that a bond of three cords is not easily broken?”
He reached for her hand. “Where did that come from?”
“When I was talking to Shona a moment ago, I remembered a verse I chose to memorize when I was a kid because it was short. Or so I thought. I think God had other ideas.”
“Our bond would have three cords.”
She gazed into his eyes, and he realized something had changed. He no longer saw the telltale sign of wariness in her expression. What he saw was love and trust.
“Does that mean you think we should get married?” she asked softly.
“That’s what it means.”
“A bond of three cords?” she asked.
He took her into his arms then, not the least bit concerned that half the town was probably paying a great deal of attention. “Exactly.”
Her smile lit her whole face. He couldn’t resist. He kissed that face, cheek to cheek to forehead to lips.
A bond of three. It was the perfect prescription for happiness.
The End
* * * * *
ISBN: 9781459221239
CAPTAIN OF HER HEART
Copyright © 2012 by Sarah Baker
A FATHER’S SINS
Copyright © 2005 by Harlequin Books S.A.
All rights reserved. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of publisher, Harlequin Enterprises Limited, 225 Duncan Mill Road, Don Mills, Ontario, Canada M3B 3K9.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events or locales is ent
irely coincidental. This edition published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.
® and ™ are trademarks of the publisher. Trademarks indicated with ® are registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office, the Canadian Trade Marks Office and in other countries.
www.Harlequin.com
