“He’s fine. He—”
“Bring him back, Alex. Please, hurry.” Her hand on her chest where the ache still lingered, Megan drew the first relieved breath in over an hour.
“He’s pretty tired, Megan, and upset. I’m almost to my condo. I’m going to keep him overnight and take him back in the morning.”
“No! He’s my son, Alex. You turn around and bring him back this very minute.” Anxiety had her breathing hard again. What was wrong with the man’s thick head?
Alex tried speaking slowly, calmly. “Didn’t you hear what I said? The boy’s beat. He’s hungry, too. I’m going to get us some dinner, talk with him and have him back before noon tomorrow.”
Fury rose inside her, strong and sharp. “Listen here, Alex Shephard. You have no right to keep my son from me. I’ve called the sheriff and—”
“You can call the marines for all I care. But you might want to think this through a bit. Your son hid in my car because he didn’t want me to leave. He needs a little understanding right now, not two people squabbling. I promised him I wouldn’t take him back until morning. I don’t break my promises. We’ll see you tomorrow, Megan.” He disconnected.
“What’d she say?” Ryan asked, looking worried.
“She’s still upset, but she’ll be fine.” He stood, indicating the passenger seat. “You might be more comfortable riding the rest of the way over there.”
Gratefully, Ryan scooted over, reached for the seat belt and buckled himself in. “Is Mom mad at me?”
“No, she’s mad at me, but she’ll get over it.” He hoped. He handed Ryan his handkerchief, which was getting to be a habit. “Here, wipe your face. And don’t worry. Your mom and I will work things out. Now, what’ll it be—burgers or pizza or chicken?”
“I like cheeseburgers. And fries. Is that too much?”
“Not for a growing boy.” Alex smiled and slipped into gear.
In Twin Oaks, Megan stared at the dead phone in her hand. “He hung up on me,” she said incredulously.
“Who did?” Grace asked, coming from the kitchen with two glasses of iced tea. She was worried about Megan. If something happened to Ryan, she’d never get over it. “The sheriff?”
“No, no. I’ve got to call the sheriff and tell him Ryan’s been found.” She turned to her friend. “He hid out in Alex’s car. Can you believe it?”
“Sure I believe it. I know he’s nuts about Alex. Was that him on the phone?”
Megan’s lips were a thin line. “Yes, and he refused to bring my son back until morning. Says Ryan’s tired and upset. Then he hung up on me.”
Grace had a feeling her friend was leaving something out. “Well, makes sense to me. He’s being considerate and giving you both a cooling-off period.” But Megan still looked mad enough to chew nails. “You wouldn’t have caught Neal doing something to inconvenience himself for the sake of the boy. No, sir. He’d have dumped Ryan back here and been on his way. Alex is thinking of Ryan’s feelings. Pretty mature, I’d say.” Strolling off, she wondered if that had been blunt enough.
Mature, my eyebrow, Megan thought. Selfish, obstinate, arrogant. He wanted things his way and to hell with what she wanted. She was the boy’s mother, but Alex was deciding what Ryan needed.
He needs
a
little understanding right
now.
What did he think she was going to do? Give Ryan a thrashing? She didn’t believe in spankings. There were better, more effective ways of punishing children, like removing privileges.
Not that Ryan deserved drastic punishment for this, although he’d easily taken a year off her life. However, she truly understood why he’d done it. He loved Alex and didn’t want to lose him. And he blamed his mother for Alex’s departure. She—The ringing phone stopped her racing thoughts.
“Hello?”
The voice was deep and somewhat gruff. “Ms. Delaney, this is Sheriff Collins. My deputy tells me you called, that little Ryan’s run off and he’s missing?”
“Oh, Sheriff, I’m sorry to have bothered you. We’ve found Ryan, thank goodness.” She felt contrite and a shade stupid for calling for help so soon.
“No problem, ma’am. Happens a lot. Kids that age often run away to punish their parents, don’t you know. Glad he’s back.”
“Yes, thank you.” Slowly, she hung up.
Kids run away to punish their parents.
Was that what Ryan was doing? Punishing her for causing Alex to leave? In the boy’s mind, Megan was certain that she wore a black hat while Alex had on a big white one.
Wandering back to the kitchen, she was preoccupied with her disturbing thoughts. Of one thing she was certain: Alex would take good care of Ryan. He cared almost as much for her son as she did. He’d told her as much, and although he hadn’t been honest in some ways, she believed him regarding his feelings for Ryan. All a person had to do was see the two of them together to notice the caring, the genuine affection between them. A special rapport, actually.
Sitting down at the table, she wondered what Alex would tell Ryan tonight about why he left. Would he lay the blame on her shoulders? That didn’t seem like him. Would he try to explain the real situation, about the transplant switch and subsequent deception? Surely not, for Ryan was too young to grasp all that.
Standing at the sink where she was certain Megan hadn’t even noticed her, so engrossed in her thoughts was she, Grace studied her friend. The tears and the trembling had stopped. Even the anger seemed to have dissipated. What was she thinking?
“What do you plan to say to him when they return tomorrow?” Grace asked, knowing she was prying, not much caring.
Megan took a sip of tea and leaned back. “I wish I knew.”
“I’m full. I can’t eat any more.” Ryan sat back at the kitchen table and smiled. “It was great.”
Finishing his coffee, Alex had to agree. The kid had polished off a big plateful and so had he. “Glad you liked it. I’ve been told I make the best cheeseburgers for miles around.” Instead of stopping for fast food, which Alex wasn’t fond of, he’d taken Ryan to the supermarket near his condo and bought the makings. “We can have some ice cream later, if you like.”
“Okay.” As he’d been taught, Ryan got up and began clearing his dishes.
“Just set them on the counter and I’ll load the dishwasher.” He, too, rose, went to the sink. “You want to watch some TV?”
“No, thanks.” He glanced out the window alongside the table. All the windows in Alex’s condo looked out to the sea, which was quite calm tonight. “This is a great place. I wish we lived close to the water. Do you go swimming every day?”
“Not every day.” He wasn’t quite sure how to entertain a young boy away from his own environment. “You want to go down and walk in the surf, get your feet wet?”
“Yeah!”
Minutes later, they were walking along a twilight beach, both barefoot. The spotty moonlight afforded a small measure of illumination. Ryan chased a wave or two and yelped when he got wet, laughing at the surf frothing around his bare ankles. It was a warm evening with a few gulls dipping low, looking for a late dinner. Ryan was fascinated.
“Haven’t you ever been to the beach before this?” Alex asked.
“No. Mom keeps saying we’ll go one day, but she’s pretty busy. Dad used to go out on his boat a lot, but he never took me or Mom. I...I don’t know how to swim, so Mom wouldn’t let me go except that once when he first got it.”
“Well, we’ll have to get you some lessons. Or I can teach you.”
Eagerly, Ryan looked up at him. “When?”
Alex kept forgetting how literally he took everything. “Soon. We’ll talk it over with your mother.”
They walked in silence a while, Ryan kicking at the sand. But there was obviously something on his mind. “Alex, what’s going to happen tomorrow? Are you going to take me back and just leave me, then come back here?”
Unconsciously, Alex’s arm slipped around the boy’s slender shoulders. “No, Ryan. Your mom and I are going to have a talk and hopefully we can work things out.”
Disbelief and hope mingled on the small, serious face. “You promise?”
“I promise to do my best.” Ryan needed him and, surprisingly, he needed Ryan. And Megan. She would listen if it took him all day, Alex vowed.
Megan glanced at the digital clock on her nightstand. Two a.m. and she still hadn’t closed her eyes. Sighing, she watched the moonlit shadows that trailed in through the slatted blinds of her window dance on the ceiling.
She’d gone through the motions tonight, making dinner for herself and Grace, which they’d both barely touched. She’d done her baking and run it over to Emily. And there at the Cornerstone, she’d done something she hadn’t planned on doing. Yet it felt right. She quit.
Emily was sorry to lose her daily delivery of baked goods, but when she saw that Megan was serious, she wished her well. That was one step in the right direction, Megan now told herself. She had too many irons in the fire, was too tired evenings. She didn’t have enough time and energy left over for her son, which was probably why he’d gotten so quickly and thoroughly attached to Alex.
Who was she kidding? Megan asked herself as she bunched the pillow behind her head for the umpteenth time. Ryan had fallen for Alex just as she had, because he was good and caring and fun and kind. A born father, Grace had labeled him. Not just because he taught Ryan to catch and hit better, or because he attended a few games. Not even the model cars. It was because he was so good at reaching the boy, teaching him things Ryan wasn’t even aware he was learning.
Like the explanation of his fight with Bobby. Like instinctively knowing how much the boy would want to ride in his Porsche. Like keeping him overnight so he could calm his fears.
That’s what parenting was about—doing what was right even though doing the opposite was far easier. Neat had always taken the easy way out. Because he hadn’t cared, hadn’t known how to be a father. Alex was a better substitute father in a few weeks than Neal had been a real father in seven years.
Megan shifted again. All right, so he’d come to her under false pretenses. He’d had lots of opportunities before today to tell her the truth, but he’d been afraid she’d overreact. And, when he had told her, she
had
overreacted just as he’d predicted. Then she’d lashed out at him, hurling accusations, sounding like a fishwife. She’d tuned out his explanations and nursed her hurt pride.
And she’d almost missed hearing the most important words he’d said, that he loved her and her son, that he wanted to make a life with them, be a family, have a real home. Tears came to Megan’s eyes again, only this time, they were cleansing tears. She’d been wrong not to listen, not to forgive. Surely she’d made mistakes aplenty. Don’t we all? as Grace had pointed out.
Tomorrow, she’d have a second chance—to let him know, to make things right, to forgive and be forgiven. “Don’t blow it,” she whispered out loud.
From an upstairs bedroom, Megan heard the purr of a powerful car engine pull into Delaney’s lot, the sound she’d been listening for all morning. After stopping to check her hair in the mirror and add a dab of lipstick, she drew in a deep breath and ran downstairs.
She’d just reached the foyer as Ryan got out. Hesitantly, he started toward her. Megan crouched down, opened her arms wide and he ran into them. She hugged him to her, blinking back tears she’d vowed not to shed, holding him close.
“I’m sorry I worried you, Mom,” Ryan said into her neck.
“It’s all right, sweetie.” Over his head, she looked up into eyes as green as the sea on a sunny day. “I knew you’d be all right with Alex.”
Ryan pulled back to look at her. “We walked in the ocean last night. It was cool.”
“Was it?” She found herself smoothing his hair, touching his wonderful face, reassuring herself he was truly back.
“His place is really neat. I slept in Alex’s T-shirt last night.” He looked down at his shirt and shorts. “He washed my clothes, too.”
“I see that.” She swallowed around a lump. “I’m awfully glad you’re back. Please, Ryan, don’t do anything like this again.”
His face sobered. “I won’t, Mom. Alex made me promise to never worry you again like that.” He put his mouth close to her ear. “He’s so great, Mom. Don’t be mad at him, please?”
Again, she raised her eyes over her son’s head to Alex’s watchful face. “I know, and I’m not mad anymore.”
“Good.” Ryan turned to Alex, excited again. “Is it time for our surprise yet?”
“Not yet, sport. Why don’t you go find something to do while I talk with your mother?” He winked at Ryan.
“Okay.” Spotting Grace in the doorway, Ryan grinned. “I have a secret, Grace. Only I can’t tell you yet.”
“Is that right? Let’s go out back,” she said, taking him with her so Megan and Alex would have some privacy. “Bobby’s been looking for you.”
“Really? Wait till I tell him about...whoops! Never mind.” He rounded the corner with Grace.
Alex nodded toward the hillside. “Can we go for a walk? Have you got time?”