Harlequin Heartwarming December 2020 Box Set

by Cari Lynn Webb, Linda Warren, Mary Anne Wilson

  Cole came out of his office and stood behind him. Now he knew the reason his mom was staying out so late. She was spending time with Mason and didn’t want Bo to find out. In that moment he realized Kelsey was right. His mother had to make her own decisions, and he and his sister were grown and had their own lives. He was through getting angry over something he couldn’t change.

  “Thanks, Bubba.”

  Bubba sat at one of the desks in the outer office and Cole looked at Bo. “Where’s the fireworks? The anger?”

  “I’m tired of fighting this and I don’t want to fight it for the rest of my life. If my mom is happy, that’s all that matters. I’m just beginning to wonder what kind of dark cloud is hanging over my head. I don’t need anything else to mess with my mind.”

  “Let’s go get a beer.”

  “No, I don’t need that either. I need to be an adult and handle the situation on my own. I’ll talk to you tomorrow.”

  As Bo walked home darkness crept in, easing the heat of the day, and he breathed a little easier. He’d left his phone at the house so he couldn’t call anyone. He didn’t really want to talk, but he braced himself for what was to come and he didn’t know which situation to address first. He didn’t have anything to say about his parents. He was through fighting that battle. But with Becky and Luci he had a lot to say. And tonight was the night to unravel the mystery that he was caught in.

  CHAPTER NINE

  TUESDAY WAS SURGERY day for Dr. Eames and Becky always assisted. They had two patients who needed to have lumps removed. It was a full morning and then they saw patients in the office in the afternoon.

  The day ran longer than Becky had planned. She wanted to be home to talk to Bo before he left her dad’s house. His playtime with Luci was proving very beneficial, but once the DNA results came back she didn’t know how long Bo’s time with Luci would last. She just hoped he believed her when they talked.

  As she turned the corner onto Liberty Street she saw Bo’s truck and she hurriedly parked and ran in. Her dad was sitting in his chair watching television.

  She threw her purse on the sofa and looked around. “Are Bo and Luci outside?”

  “No. Luci’s in her room playing with her dolls and Bo left a long time ago.” Her heart sank almost into her shoes and that reaction made her angry. Just as she had thought—if she let her emotions get involved it would be the same old thing, ending with her getting hurt. She’d managed to protect herself all these years and now she was caught between her love of Luci and her desire to never see Bo again.

  Becky walked down the hall to see her daughter and stood in the doorway, watching her for a moment. Dolls were all over the place and Luci knelt on the floor, feeding one and combing the hair of another one, her face soft and loving. Her daughter was a very affectionate child and Becky wanted to do all the right things for her.

  Luci noticed her. “Mom-my.” She got up and ran to Becky.

  Becky lifted Luci into her arms. “How’s my baby?”

  “Good. Got. Wet.”

  “Did you? Was Bo here?”

  Luci nodded. “Play.”

  Becky thought she would leave the Bo situation alone.

  Luci nodded and they set off to the kitchen. Her dad met her in the hallway.

  “I forgot to give you this. Bo left it.”

  Luci ran to get her iPad and Becky turned to her father. “This looks like a small digital recorder. Did you listen to it?”

  “No. He said it was for you.”

  “Please watch Luci. I’m going to play this in my room.”

  Becky sat on the bed and turned the recorder on. By the time it ended, tears were running down her cheeks. Her baby was speaking in sentences, over and over with Bo’s prompting. She played it again. Luci could speak. She just had to be pushed and Bo did it in such a gentle way Luci didn’t know she was being pushed. She had to talk to him and let him know what a special gift this was. In doing so she would break every rule she’d ever made about Bo Goodnight.

  Her dad was sitting on the sofa with Luci, watching cartoons on the iPad. “I’m going across the street just for a minute.”

  She knocked on the Goodnights’ door and Ava answered. “Becky, what a surprise.”

  “I’d like to talk to Bo. Is he here?”

  “Come in. Those are words I haven’t heard in almost eighteen years.”

  “I know, but he did a really nice thing and I wanted to thank him.”

  “He’s not here and I’m not sure where he is. My guess is he’s out running because his phone is in his room. I tried to call him and let him know I’m going back to the store and it rang in his bedroom. He should be back soon.”

  Becky couldn’t believe how disappointed she was. Some habits were just too hard to break. “I’ll catch him later.”

  “Does this mean you and Bo are talking?”

  “Yes, about Luci. That’s it.”

  “I don’t understand my son’s interest in Luci.”

  “He’s just being Bo, sticking his nose in everything with his unwavering persistence because he wants to help. I’ve been waiting a long time for Luci to speak in complete sentences and she does that with Bo.”

  Becky slowly walked back across the street feeling drained and vulnerable. Ava probably could see right through her. Her eager face gave her away. She and Bo were getting just a little too close for Becky’s comfort and she didn’t know how to stop it.

  She made supper and afterward gave Luci a bath. Luci chatted on and on about Bo. “Bo. Play. Fun. Water. Hose. Bo.” She paused after every word. The doctors and the therapist said Luci should be talking in complete sentences by now and her resistance to do so was stubbornness and laziness. And Becky had let her get away with it. The doctor had said that Luci was comfortable speaking that way. It was her pattern and she didn’t want to change and that it would take discipline on Becky’s part to get her to speak correctly. So far Becky hadn’t accomplished that. Bo had. That should make her very angry, but she just wanted her baby to speak in full sentences. And she was on the edge of doing that, thanks to Bo.

  Tucked in bed in her pink princess nightgown, Luci smiled at her and Becky’s heart swelled to double its size. She sat on the bed beside Luci. “What book do you want Mommy to read?” She gathered several off Luci’s nightstand. “Cat in the Hat, If You Give a Mouse a Cookie, Green Eggs and Ham, To Catch a Mermaid or…”

  “Mer-maid!” Luci shouted.

  Becky read the book all the way through and Luci listened closely. Becky thought she would use some of Bo techniques. “Let’s read it together.”

  “No! No!” Luci covered her ears.

  Frustration overtook Becky. There was no way Luci was going to talk for her. They’d done this a hundred times and Luci reacted the same way every time. Becky now had to face the fact that she needed Bo’s help. It was either that or hire a professional to work with her every day. But she was afraid that would be too stressful for her daughter. She sucked at being a mother.

  Feeling deflated, she took a shower and dressed in short pajama bottoms and a T-shirt. Looking out her window she saw the Goodnight house was in darkness. Bo hadn’t come home. He’d been gone too long for him to be just running. He must be out with Cole.

  In high school, she’d been jealous of Cole. Bo had seemed to want to spend more time with his friend than he did with her. That had been so childish of her and it had caused a lot of arguments. It was as if she always needed Bo to prove that he loved her. Oh, heavens, could she have been any more immature?

  She tucked her hair behind her ear and returned to the living room, sitting cross-legged on the sofa with her laptop in her lap. She stared into space as their relationship unfolded before her eyes.

  When she was a young girl, dreams and fairy tales had filled her head about a wild, dangerously handsome boy. The boy wanted freedom and the
girl wanted a home and a family. At no time had Bo ever said he wanted the same things she did. He’d just wanted her to be happy, and her happiness was him. Memories were personal views of the past. Sometimes you could see them clearly and other times you couldn’t see them at all. She could now see her childish behavior and foolish expectations had been very unrealistic.

  She jumped as the front door opened.

  In running shorts, T-shirt and sneakers, Bo stood in the living room, his dark eyes aflame with fury. “You lied to me.”

  She swallowed hard and got to her feet, carefully placing the laptop on the sofa. “Did you ring the doorbell? I didn’t hear it.”

  “No. I didn’t want to wake Luci and the door was unlocked.” His words came out as abruptly as a whiplash.

  “What did I lie to you about?”

  “You led me to believe that Luci was mine.”

  “I did not. I told you repeatedly Luci wasn’t yours and you refused to believe me. That’s why I gave you her hair to do the DNA test and obviously the result has come back.”

  “Who’s Luci’s father?” The three words were fired at her like bullets and she felt their sting. “And don’t give me that crap about it being none of my business. You made Luci my business and now I want to know who her father is. No lies. No deception. Just the truth.”

  She weighed her options every which way from Sunday, but she could only find one that worked for her and Luci. She had to be honest and tell Bo the whole truth, and in doing so she would never be the same again. Bo would be forever embedded in her life. She knew that much about him. He wasn’t going to walk away without another word.

  Standing straight with her dignity intact, she replied, “Bradley Taylor.”

  Bo frowned. “The name sounds familiar. Do I know him?”

  “You don’t know him, but you’ve met.”

  “Does he work for the police department?”

  “No.”

  “How did you meet him and why isn’t he a part of Luci’s life?”

  “I’ve only met him a couple of times.”

  “That doesn’t make any sense. Who is Bradley Taylor?”

  “Think, Bo. You’re a better police officer than that.”

  “Now it’s a guessing game?”

  “Think, Bo.” She wanted him to get it on his own and not shove it down his throat.

  He ran both hands through his hair. “Bradley Taylor… Bradley Taylor…” He snapped his fingers. “Bradley Taylor and Melissa Tate. I got it. They’re the couple who were holed up in a house having a baby and no clue of what they were getting into. What does this have to do with Bradley Taylor? He’s a teenager.”

  “You’re not getting it.”

  His eyes narrowed. “You mean…?”

  “Yes, Luci is that baby. I adopted her.”

  Disbelief sapped his strength and he struggled to understand the truth. That was the connection he and Luci had. It wasn’t biological. It was something much deeper. He’d been there to save her life. God had put him there at that moment for a reason.

  He went down the hall to Luci’s room. He could see by the night-light that she lay on her back with the big stuffed bear in one arm. He bent down and placed his hand on her small chest and felt the thump against his palm. Thump. Thump. Thump. He knew this little girl by the beat of her heart. Oh, man.

  Becky stood in the doorway watching him and his anger floated away on a cloud of gratitude. Gratitude Luci was alive. He left Luci’s bedroom and Becky followed him back into the living room.

  “How come you couldn’t say you adopted her?”

  “It was complicated and I didn’t want you involved in my life.”

  “You asked me to help her. Tell me where any of that makes sense.”

  Becky sat on the sofa and he noticed for the first time she was in her nightclothes. His mind went in a completely different direction, but he curbed it quickly. “Why all the secrecy, Bec?”

  She looked down at her hands clasped in her lap. “After you brought her in that day, I couldn’t stop thinking about her so I went to the pediatric ICU to see her. She was so tiny and had the most gorgeous blue eyes. I fell in love instantly.

  “I was there when the police brought the father because he wanted to see his daughter. He wanted to keep her, but his mother wouldn’t let him. He had a scholarship to Harvard and she made sure he was going. He cried and I felt sorry for him, but his mother wouldn’t budge.

  “Then his father came and he agreed with the mother that Bradley was too young to raise a child. He eventually signed away his paternal rights. He came again to see her when I was there, and I told him that I would make sure a nice family adopted her. I knew that I would try to keep her myself and I did. I was approved all the way down the line. She’s my little girl and I love her just as much as if I’d given birth to her. Her happiness, health and well-being are my main concerns.”

  “Does my mother know Luci is adopted?”

  “No. Very few people do. Luci became a ward of the state and when she was well enough to leave, she went into foster care. I visited with her every day, waiting for the paperwork to be finalized. When the approval finally went through, I took her home.”

  “Does Kelsey know?”

  “No, just a few of my friends and the people in the office.”

  He sat beside her. “I went every day after work to see her and had to put on scrubs, a mask and a cap. They’d let me sit with her for a while. She had so many tubes in her and I had my doubts about her surviving, but each day she grew stronger and stronger.

  “I would sit with my hand on her stomach and talk to her, and she would turn her head in my direction and her blue eyes just lit up the whole world. The nurses said someone was trying to adopt, but I never dreamed it was you. I was disappointed the day I went there and she was gone. I often wondered where she was and I sincerely hoped she was happy and had a good life. All the time her adoptive mother was just across the street. Is that ironic or not?”

  “I wasn’t across the street. I was in Austin.” For some reason she seemed to want to make that clear.

  “You will always be across the street to me.”

  She jumped up and paced in front of the coffee table. “Okay, you’re not going to like this, but I’m going to tell you the truth. I didn’t want you to know I had the baby.”

  “Why?”

  “The nurses told me about your visits to see Luci and I knew she meant something to you. I didn’t want to have to deal with you wanting to see her and spend time with her. I couldn’t handle that.”

  “Why? I told you many times I’m sorry for what happened when I joined the army. I wasn’t thinking. I just wanted to get away.”

  “And you forgot about me.” The words were thrown at him like a dead fish, the stink hitting him in the face.

  “I never forgot about you. You were the first person I went to see when I came home on leave. You were the first person I went to see every time I came home, even after you married that doofus. And I tried through all the intervening years to talk to you and I hit a brick wall every time. You carry a grudge like the devil carries a pitchfork, and with each rejection you stabbed me through the heart. I’d like to know why.”

  “So now you’re the hurt one?” Her voice rose in defiance.

  “No, I’m the one who did wrong, but I need to know why you can’t forgive me. Why is that so hard for you?”

  She sat beside him again and the scent of her hair drifted to him. Mimosa Rain. She’d used that shampoo years ago and it still triggered his senses. “Okay. Back then my whole world was you. My dad was busy at the bank, late meetings, card games with his friends and I was alone a lot. But I really wasn’t alone, I had you. All my hopes and dreams were centered on you and our lives. I would never, ever love anyone like I did you. I wanted a home and lots of children, and to se
e your face every morning when I woke up. I thought you wanted the same things, but evidently you didn’t. I didn’t realize it until I woke up that morning and watched you drive away without even saying goodbye one last time.”

  “We said goodbye the night before.”

  She turned to face him, brushing tears from her eyes, and his heart shattered like a target hit by an M24 rifle. “I stood at my window and watched you leave and not once did you look back. Did you not even think about coming over here for a hug or a kiss? You were going to be gone for a long time. And don’t say you’re sorry. I don’t want to hear it. I heard it about a hundred times or more and it still doesn’t have any effect on what you broke in me. I can’t get those feelings back. They died that day.”

  His throat closed up. He had no words to explain his actions. That morning he hadn’t even thought of her. Adrenaline had been pumping through his veins as he anticipated the new phase of his life, and he couldn’t wait to pick up Cole and get his new life started. He hadn’t even thought about her. As the memory ran through his mind, words from his grandfather came to him and he had to tell her about his misguided thinking.

  “I went to see my grandmother the other day.”

  “Oh?” She sounded confused and was probably wondering what that had to do with what they were talking about.

  “My grandpa was my hero. He was there for me when my dad wasn’t and I put him up on a pedestal.”

  “You talked a lot about him.”

  Bo rubbed his hands together, trying to gather words that would make sense. “My grandmother was saying bad things about my grandfather and I told her I didn’t want to hear them. Then she unloaded on me, some home truths I also didn’t want to hear. I thought she didn’t remember the past like I did, so I called my sister and she confirmed what my grandmother had said.”

  He took a deep breath. “My grandfather had issues with women. He treated them like second-class citizens. I never saw that. I guess I was blinded by my love for him. When I got the results of Luci’s DNA test, I was upset and took off running. I found myself on the old county road where my grandparents used to live.