“I kind of like the sound of that.”
“And no matter what you do in the future, we’re keeping you. You won’t like the consequences for bad behavior, so you might as well decide to be an angel.”
Nick laughed. “I don’t think there’s any way anyone could ever call me an angel. A fallen one maybe, but not the good kind.”
“Just remember, what’s happened to you in the past is not what defines you. What you do to change your life, to make yourself better, those are the things that matter. You’re Nick, a strong, intelligent, young man. Never again can those people hurt you, because you belong to the McClains now.”
“And do the McClains belong to me?” Nick asked, his voice filled with humor.
“Every single one of us.” Caleb knew the boy had been joking, but he wasn’t. Nick needed to understand that as much as he was theirs, they were his. He was loved, and that was all there was to it.
Chapter Seven
After dropping Nick off with his mom, Caleb headed to Adam’s office. When he got there, Brittany looked at him skeptically. “Again? You’ve been here as much as I have this week.”
Caleb grinned. “Sorry. I need to talk to Adam.”
“All right. He said to send you back when you got here.”
“Thanks.” Caleb went down the hall and knocked on his brother’s office door, going in before Adam called him. “We need to talk.”
“Did you get there in time?” Adam asked.
“Yup. Nick’s with Mom.”
“Ouch. Was his day that rough?” Adam knew as well as the rest of them that a day with Mom was saved for the very worst of days.
“There’s a kid at school tormenting him about how no one wanted him so he had to come to us. And we don’t want him either, and we only keep him because we get paid. He would have fought him this afternoon. No doubt in my mind.” Caleb shook his head.
“You convinced him otherwise.” It wasn’t a question. Adam knew his brother would never let one of their boys believe that he wasn’t cared about.
“Yup. And I took him for some sweets at the new candy store in town. And then I took him for a walk in the park.”
“He opened up?”
“His stepdad used him to put out his cigarettes.” When Adam flinched, Caleb knew he understood his meaning. “I saw a burn on his arm, but he said most of them are on his back. He locked him in his room. A lot, from what he said. But…he told me that’s not the worst of it.”
“You think it was sexual abuse?”
Caleb shrugged. “I’m not sure, but that’s my guess. I hate that he went through that, but I’m thrilled we finally have a starting point. We can begin rebuilding now.”
“Does he know you were going to tell me?” Adam asked.
Caleb nodded. “I told him I had to tell you and Mom. I asked permission to tell the others, and he said I could tell anyone whose name was McClain. I think we’re building some trust.”
“It hasn’t taken as long as I thought it would, honestly. I feel for him. The first day he was here, I could tell he’d been through a lot, but I wasn’t sure how to get through to him. Good work, Caleb.”
“Thanks.” Caleb let out a whoosh of air. “I need to get some lunch.”
“If I give you cash, would you go to Taco Bueno and get food for me and my lady? She would kill for Taco Bueno.”
Caleb shrugged. “Sure. I don’t have anything against Bueno.”
Adam pulled a twenty from his wallet. “Get your lunch, too. I’ll buy since you’re picking stuff up.” He quickly wrote down his order as well as Tiffani’s. “Thanks, bro.”
“No problem. I’ll be back in thirty.” Caleb was happy to have a few minutes in the truck by himself. He was still angry about the way Nick had been treated. It had been everything he could do to not show it to the boy. Why did people think it was all right to treat their children that way? He’d never understand it!
He understood all the theories about cycles of abuse, and he had never been hurt, so it was impossible for him to truly understand. It wasn’t his job to understand why the abuse happened. It was his job to pick up the pieces after the abuse. And he was getting very good at his job.
It was shortly after nine that evening when Caleb pulled up in front of the small apartment Natalie lived in. He wanted to go to her and spill his guts, telling her everything about the family and announcing they were destined to be married. He’d learned from his brother’s mistakes, though, and he would be careful about any information that he gave her until it was absolutely necessary.
He knocked on her door, a copy of Singing in the Rain in his hand. He was sure she’d seen it at least as often as he had, but it was a feel-good movie, and that night, he needed to feel good.
He waited and when she opened the door, he grinned at her. “Hi, you.”
“Hi.” Natalie opened the door wide, inviting him in. “Did you have a good day?”
Caleb laughed. “The absolute worst, but I can’t talk about it, so we should just change the subject now.”
“All right. Do you want to talk? What’s that movie?”
“Singing in the Rain, but I’m sure you’ve seen it a bazillion times like I have. It just always pulls me out of my moods.” Caleb looked around her tiny apartment. The kitchen was so small, he was shocked. He’d never seen anything quite that small.
She invited him to sit on the couch. “Would you mind if we talked for a bit before the movie?” She had to ask him about the accusations Sheila had made. If she was satisfied with his answers, they could watch the movie afterward.
“Sure. What do you want to talk about?” he asked, frowning a bit.
She sighed. “I hate even asking, but I’m not one to take rumors at face value. I’d rather confront the person they’re about and find out the truth.”
“And you heard rumors about me today.” He scrubbed his hands over his face. He wasn’t quite ready for the conversation he knew they were about to have, but it would be better to get it out of the way. If she rejected him after she found out the truth, then so be it. It would be the perfect ending to the day he’d just had.
She nodded. “Not just you. About your whole family.”
“Sheila has hated us ever since Benjamin wouldn’t go out with her, and she’s one of the biggest gossipmongers in all of Bagley.” Caleb’s eyes met hers. “Tell me exactly what she said, and I’ll tell you how close to the truth it all is.”
“She said that your family is odd.”
“Isn’t everyone’s? I don’t deny it.” He gave her one of his half-grins that made her heart beat just a bit faster.
“You don’t?” She took a deep breath. “She said something happened in English when you were in high school. You stood up in the middle of class and said there would be a fire, and the whole school was evacuated. And then the fire came.”
“That’s true.” He sighed. “Okay, I’m going to lay it all on the line with you, and you can decide if you want to believe me or not.” He hated the defensive tone in his voice, but this was just too much more on top of the bad day he’d already had. “I’m the son of a seventh son. Every generation of men in my family, going back as far as we can tell, has had seven sons. Each seventh son has seven sons. And the seventh son always has some sort of mystical power. My dad has the ability to see the future.”
Her eyes widened, but she nodded. “I’d heard something about the seventh-son thing.”
“It’s true. Anyway, every seventh generation, it’s not just the seventh son that has powers. All of the sons do. And I’m part of that seventh generation.” He ran his fingers through his hair and got off the couch, starting to pace back and forth. He was going to need sugar or danger pretty quick. “I have the ability to foresee danger. I sense when I’m near it. Nick didn’t have a doctor’s appointment today. Well, he did, but not one he needed to be pulled out of school for. I sensed that if he stayed in school, he’d be in danger. He was going to get into a fist fight. He’d hit his head on something,
and he wouldn’t ever fully recover.”
“Really?”
He nodded. “Really. When I sensed that would happen, I drove to the school and pulled him out. Then he and I got candy and went for a walk in the park.” He sat down beside her again, being careful not to touch her at all. He had never told this entire story to anyone before, though he knew it well. It was strange sharing the secret that had been hidden by his family his entire life. “Adam is an empath. He senses others’ emotions.”
“That would make him a good psychiatrist, wouldn’t it?” She wasn’t sure she believed him, but it certainly made sense with what Sheila had told her earlier that day.
“It makes him a very good psychiatrist.” Caleb leaned back, sensing she was actually listening to him and not just shutting him out. “Benjamin has the ability to commune with the earth and make plants grow.”
“Really?”
“Yup. It’s how he met his fiancée. Her pumpkin patch was dead, and he made it grow. Overnight she went from a dead patch to perfect pumpkins.”
“That must have been a little bit freaky for her.” Natalie couldn’t imagining learning about them that way.
“More than a little bit,” Caleb acknowledged with a wink. “Then Daniel has the ability to heal. He can’t heal huge things like cancer, but he can mend a broken arm or a cut. Very helpful with thirty rambunctious boys running around the ranch.”
“I can see that.” Natalie wasn’t sure she could believe him, but she found she didn’t disbelieve him, which surprised her.
“Ephraim can talk to and heal animals, big and small. Frank has one of those powers that was made for a boys’ ranch. He can project an aura that calms down everyone around him. So if I’d known we would be having this discussion tonight, I probably would have brought him along and had him use his powers before I started explaining.”
She laughed softly. “I think that would have been wise.” Though she wasn’t nearly as upset as she would have thought she’d be. Everything he was telling her seemed true to her. “And Gideon?”
“Gideon is the truly special one. He’s got all of our powers, just to a lesser degree. So he can calm the boys with him if necessary. He can sense danger, but only if a person is with him. He’s an empath, but he’s not clobbered over the head with people’s emotions, he just feels them when they touch.” Caleb shrugged. “If I was going to be jealous of any of my brothers, it would be Gideon, but I wouldn’t want the responsibility he has.”
“What responsibility?”
“The next generation of seven sons will come from him. He’ll be the one running the ranch. It’s all on Gideon’s shoulders.”
Natalie shook her head. “I wouldn’t want to have to deal with all that.”
“Me neither.” He frowned at her. “You believe me, don’t you?”
“I do. I’m not sure why I do, but I do.” She studied him for a moment. “This seems like it’s a secret you would tell no one. Why me?”
He shrugged. “Dad said you were safe.”
“The other thing she said was that you’d all marry in birth order, and now that Adam and Benjamin have found wives, you would be on the look-out for a wife.”
“She was wrong about that. I knew I was next, so I avoided women. I decided I wouldn’t go anywhere I could possibly meet a new woman, but I wanted your homemade candy so badly…so I walked in not looking up. I didn’t know if it would be a man or woman in the store, but I knew if I kept my gaze locked on the display case, I couldn’t meet someone new. And if I couldn’t meet someone new, I couldn’t fall in love, so I couldn’t marry. It was a good plan, don’t you think?”
She frowned. “But you looked at me.”
“I did. And I immediately knew that if I was ever going to marry and be happy, it would have to be to you. You’re the only woman in the world for me, Natalie.”
“No pressure, though, right?” Natalie stood and walked across the room, needing to put some distance between them. “You think we’re destined for each other?”
“I know we are. After I met you, I mentioned you to Mom, and she told me Dad had told her about you. You’re the one for me.” Caleb watched her face, wondering if she was going to pull a Melissa and run.
Instead she watched him. “What if I don’t want to marry you?”
“Then you don’t have to. If you’ll notice, I haven’t even asked you. I’m just telling you that what she said was partially true. I wasn’t looking for a wife, though. I was trying to avoid finding one.”
She laughed. “And how did that work for you?”
Caleb shrugged. “I don’t know. I felt something the moment I saw you. I know that you’re the woman God intended just for me, but I don’t know what I should do about it. Not yet, anyway. I was trying to take things slowly and just watch a movie with you. I never planned to discuss destinies with you this evening.”
“I’m aware I forced the talk on destinies. But…I do want to take it slowly and get to know you better. Is there a time frame that you all need to be married within?” She didn’t want to mess up his destiny, but she wasn’t ready to jump into a marriage without having both eyes open.
“Not at all. If I marry or don’t marry is up to me. I think the other brothers could all marry anyway, though it’s never happened that way. I know this is all a little bit crazy, but that’s my life.”
Natalie walked back over to the couch and sat beside him. “I’m sitting beside a man I’ve never even kissed, and he tells me we’re destined to be married. Do you have any idea how strange that is?”
“Is that your way to ask me to kiss you? Because you really don’t have to ask twice. I’ve been dying to kiss you from the first moment I saw you.”
“I’m not asking, but I won’t say no if you do.”
He laughed. “I like you, Natalie Smythe. I’m not in love with you yet, but the pull is strong.” He cupped her cheek with his hand. “So am I allowed to kiss you?”
“I already said I wouldn’t say no. Weren’t you listening?”
He leaned down and gently brushed his lips against hers. It was as if electric shocks went straight through his body. How had she caused such intense feelings so quickly?
When he lifted his head, her aquamarine eyes were warm and inviting him to lean down for another kiss. “I think I should probably go. I never intended to stay for super long, because we both have early days tomorrow.”
Natalie stared at him for a moment. “Does that mean you didn’t enjoy kissing me?”
“I enjoyed it too much. I’m going to go home. May I come back tomorrow night?”
She nodded. “I think that would be all right.”
“I’d like it if you’d come to the ranch for supper on Friday night. My mother does a huge cookout, and we all go. Every son, every boy, and every ranch employee.”
“How often does she do that?” Natalie asked, thinking of all the work that would entail.
“Every Friday night. Please come. I want you to meet all my brothers. You’ll love them.”
Natalie nodded, walking him to the door. “Sounds lovely.”
He leaned down and kissed her once more, quickly this time. “I’ll see you tomorrow evening, if I can manage to stay away from your candy store all day.”
She stood and watched as he got into his truck and drove away. He’d given her a lot to think about. Why didn’t it bother her that she was destined to marry him? Probably because she’d felt it from the first moment they’d met, just as he had.
As she got ready for bed, her thoughts were consumed with everything he’d told her. She was his destiny. But that didn’t mean she didn’t have full control of her future, which was good. She wasn’t sure she was ready to marry him or anyone else. She’d moved there to start a candy store, not be wrapped up in the destiny of a man she hadn’t known existed.
Chapter Eight
The following day went smoother for Caleb, though he was constantly worried about how Natalie would feel after she’d though
t about what he’d told her. Nick was back in school, and he wasn’t even a little bit nervous. His partial day off the day before had really helped him.
At lunch time, he decided to go to the diner in town, and he stopped by the candy store to see if Natalie could break away to join him. When he walked in, he saw Sheila at the front counter. She was always friendly to his face, but not necessarily behind his back. He treated her the same way he’d treat a poisonous snake. Very cautiously.
“How can I help you, Caleb?” Sheila asked.
“Believe it or not, I’m not here to buy any candy. I was hoping I could steal your boss lady away for lunch at the diner. Today’s special is chicken-fried steak.” He could see Natalie in the kitchen, her hair pulled back into a ponytail, and a big white apron covering her clothes.
Natalie tilted her head to one side, considering his offer. “Sounds delicious.” She untied her apron and hung it on a hook. “I’ll be back soon, Sheila. Do you want me to bring you anything?”
Sheila shook her head. “No, I’ll just go to lunch after you.”
“All right. Hold down the fort.” Natalie hurried around the counter and took the hand Caleb held out to her. She knew Sheila would be nervous seeing the two of them leave hand-in-hand, and truly she hoped the other woman thought a bit about her gossiping ways.
When they were settled in his truck, Caleb turned to Natalie. “Does this mean you’re okay with everything I told you last night?”
Natalie nodded. “I’m not sure okay is the right word, but I believe you. I probably shouldn’t, but I do. And I’m all right with it, as long as I know that free will is still involved. If I decide you’re a freak of nature who shouldn’t be allowed to speak to humans, I don’t have to marry you.”
Caleb laughed. “I promise, you can choose if you want to marry me or not.”
“Sounds good. Tell me, Caleb, is Sheila still watching us?”
Caleb glanced toward the front of the candy store and sat that she was definitely still watching. “Yup.”
Caleb (Seven Sons Book 3) Page 6
