Chapter Eight
Adam woke as Meg tried to move away from him. He tightened his arms around her. “Cold?”
“I have to leave.”
“Stay.” Rising on an elbow he looked over her to the clock. “It’s just after two.”
She rolled to her back. “I need to get home.”
He looked down at her in the soft glow of the alarm clock. “Tomorrow’s Sunday.” He splayed his hand on her stomach. He liked touching her, needed it even more as he felt her emotionally withdrawing from him. “Tell me why you didn’t want me at the country club tonight.”
“We agreed—”
“Cut the shit, Meg. You had a deer in the headlights expression when you saw me. And later when I asked you to dance, you nearly panicked at something Lawrence was saying to you.” He hadn’t missed that; he just needed Meg too much to focus on it then. “What are you hiding from me?” He didn’t think it was her mentor. Yeah, the guy wanted Megan, but Adam believed her when she said she wasn’t interested.
She pulled her mouth tight. “Tell me why you hate Raven’s Cove.”
That…what? He snatched his hand off her. “Don’t change the subject.”
“This is how it always was. I was good enough for a movie, going dancing, playing a game of tennis, and of course, sex. But you never talked to me. I guess in college I was too romantic to get it.”
“I talked to you. I told you I wanted to be a Marine.”
She glanced at his right biceps. “But not why. You even tattooed the emblem on your arm, your only tattoo. That’s a serious commitment.”
“My dad was a Marine. I told you that.” That was enough for everyone else. Should be for her, too.
“The parents whose house you want to sell, to sever ties with their memories? That’s not what drove you to be a Marine.”
Adam’s guts churned. She’d seen a hell of a lot more than he’d realized. Too much, including her observation about that tattoo. It made his skin itch with the need to get away. “I’m not talking about this.” His voice was too sharp. Like orders given on the battlefield.
She jerked away, sitting up on the edge of the bed. With her hands gripping the mattress, she said, “You never really wanted me around your house or parents. And the few times I was there, you were tense, withdrawn.”
“Let it go.” He stared at her rigid back, willing her to just leave it alone.
Her shoulders slumped for a second, then she found her panties and pulled them on, stepped into her dress and zipped it. Finally she faced him. “I’m not letting it go. I can’t. This,” she waved at the bed, “it’s over. You’re right, the sex is great, but that’s all it is. All I ever was to you.”
He jackknifed off the bed. “Damn it.” He found his pants, yanked them on. “Don’t do this, don’t make this ugly. Another ugly memory.” He had enough shit haunting him.
She froze like someone had slapped her. Then without a word, she walked out.
Fuck. Adam caught her at the door and saw the sheen of tears in her eyes. They didn’t fall, but she was hurting. He’d hurt her. Again. In that moment, he hated himself like never before. He should have stayed away from her. But he couldn’t bear her pain.
He pulled her to him, wrapping his arms around her, desperately trying to make this better somehow. “God, baby, I’m sorry. You don’t know, can’t know…” He trailed off, burying his face in her hair. The scent of her, sweet pear binding with the musky scent of their lovemaking burned through him. Not a sexual burn, but pure pain.
“Know what?” she asked softly.
He hadn’t talked about Brady in all these years. Not once. His throat locked up at just the thought of it. He couldn’t. Instead, he lifted his head, and gave her the only truth he could. “I’m not capable of being the man you want me to be.”
Sadness emanated from her, but only one single tear rolled down her face. “What about the man you want to be, Adam? Maybe that’s what you should figure out.”
He had no words for that. Couldn’t even remember what he’d wanted to be before Brady died.
“I have to go.” She pulled from his arms.
He nodded. It was better for both of them and he knew it. “I’ll walk you to your car.” He caught her arm. “Don’t argue. I might be broken in a lot of ways, but I will make sure you get into your car with the doors locked.”
And then he’d be alone. The way it had to be. No matter how hard he tried, he kept hurting Meg. Even if he managed to tell Megan how he had failed his brother…how could she continue to care about him?
His own parents hadn’t been able to love him or forgive him.
…
Megan’s head ached. Too little sleep, too many tears, and too much heartbreak.
“You have to tell Adam about Cole,” her mother said.
Megan sipped her coffee, thankful that utter fatigue blanketed her emotions. She glanced out the sliding glass door. Cole was outside playing with Hayden. The man had only been married to her mom a few years, but he acted like a real grandfather to Cole.
“You make it sound so easy.” Meeting her mom’s gaze, she asked, “If you could go back and never have Dad in our lives, keep us from that pain, would you?”
Catherine reached out and put her hand on Megan’s leg. “Oh, honey. Would you really want to go through your life being told a lie?”
“Maybe.” She was acting like a child and she knew it. She just couldn’t seem to stop it.
“I tried to shield you when you were little, but even then, you wouldn’t have it. You had to find out for yourself what your father was made of.”
Even now, Megan cringed at that. And the times she’d found his checks with the notes… She shut down that line of thinking. This wasn’t about her, it was about her son. “I’m trying to do what’s best for Cole.”
Catherine squeezed her thigh gently. “Are you, Megan?”
She lowered her coffee cup. “Yes. What else would I be doing?”
“Protecting yourself. You obviously slept with Adam last night.”
Megan opened her mouth.
“Don’t bother. I, and about a hundred and fifty guests, saw you and Adam on the dance floor. Many of them saw you kissing on the patio before the two of you disappeared across the golf course. Given that you haven’t dated in nearly three years, that caused quite a stir.”
“I’ve dated.” Of all that things she could have said, that was what came out of her mouth?
Her mom rolled her eyes. “Two lunch dates with different men. That doesn’t count. My point is that you care for Adam. You’re not the type to have indiscriminate sex.”
Megan leaned her head back on the couch. “It doesn’t matter. He told me he can’t be a family man. Ever.” She glanced out the window, watching as Cole tried to throw the ball to Max. The ball went about two feet. Hayden was crouched next to Cole and helped him throw it again.
She could picture Adam there, his and Cole’s dark heads touching as he taught their son to throw a ball.
She turned back to her mom. “But I didn’t give him the full truth.”
“No. You didn’t.”
She stood up and pulled out her cell phone. “I’ll call him.” With her heart pounding, she left Adam a message to call her back. She was scared, but she had to stop avoiding the truth. It was time for her full confession. She prayed it wouldn’t scar them all.
Somehow, Megan’s obligations went on just the same as she waited for Adam to return her call. She went to work, then spent her lunch hour giving the deposition for Celtic Fire’s custody battle. Finished with that, she walked with Debbie McCray to the parking lot. “I’m so glad to have that over with,” Megan said.
“Thank you for doing it, Dr. Young.”
She smiled at the other woman. “It was the truth, Debbie. I know you love Celtic Fire.” Standing in the parking lot by her car after the hearing, Megan’s thoughts wandered to Adam. She’d left him the message yesterday and he still hadn’t called her back. Was he really being that childish? Or busy? Now that she was out of the courthouse, she pulled her phone out.
Missed message. Adam?
“I’m still worried. Nathan is vindictive.”
She pulled her attention from the phone to Debbie. She was thirty-something, childless, and lines of worry bracketed her mouth. “What do you mean?”
“I don’t know. His public image is everything to him. First I left him, and he only wants Celtic Fire to get back at me. Then making him look bad in court…” She shook her head. “I don’t know.”
“He won’t hurt you, will he?”
Debbie frowned. “I don’t think so. But he has Celtic Fire. I tried to take her when I left.” She broke off, compressing her lips. “He grabbed her from me, not caring if he hurt the dog. She was scared.” She looked up into the cloudless sky. “If the judge decides in my favor, he won’t like being forced to let me take her.”
“He tried to bribe me. That didn’t work,” Megan said. “He’s going to have to accept the judge’s decision.”
“I know. I just want her back.”
Meg squeezed her arm. “The judge should decide soon. I have to get back for my afternoon appointments.”
“Thanks again,” Debbie said and headed toward her car.
Megan jumped in her own car, and accessed her voice mail. Adam’s voice said, “Megan, got your call, but I’m out of town on business until Tuesday or Wednesday. And I have a friend staying at the house with Ellie, in case you were wondering.”
Well, she had a day or two to figure out how to tell Adam about his son.
A tap on her windshield made her heart stutter. She jerked her head around and laughed when she saw it was her mentor. She rolled down her window. “Lawrence, what are you doing here?”
Resting his forearm on her car door, he leaned in. “You don’t know? I’m giving a deposition for Nathan.”
“What? But why? I mean…” She trailed off, studying his face. His eyebrows were pulled in and his mouth tense. Angry. “Nathan pulled you into this?”
He sighed. “I thought you knew. Once the McCrays split, and after your recommendation that Celtic Fire no longer show or breed, Nathan brought her to me for another opinion.”
A hot sense of betrayal began to burn in her gut. She kept her voice cool. “And what is your opinion?”
He raised his eyebrows slightly. “Megan, are you in trouble? You know you can come to me, right? If it’s money problems—”
“What are you talking about?” Her cool professionalism changed to confusion.
“I asked Nathan about the bribe. He said it didn’t happen. He told me you demanded two thousand dollars in cash for your testimony. He refused, but he thinks Debbie is paying you.”
A hot flash of rage blasted through her. She shoved the door open.
Lawrence jumped back.
Megan stood up. “You don’t believe him. You can’t.” This man was her mentor. She’d interned with him in school, and gotten a job with him once she’d graduated.
He pulled his mouth into a grim line. “You’ve been walking a fine line of ethics for a while now. I tried to warn you that you weren’t ready to go out on your own. But you insisted. Okay, I could understand that. But poaching clients from me?”
“Are you accusing me of unethical business practices?” This couldn’t be happening.
His eyes were shadowed with sadness. “Your actions speak for themselves. Nathan told me you took Debbie to dinner and convinced her to switch Celtic Fire’s care to you. I overlooked it because, frankly, I care about you. And you’re still young, but refusing to clear Celtic Fire for show, Megan?”
“Her heart is damaged from the infection!” What was happening here? She stared at the man she’d known for a decade. The man she’d trusted. Her throat tightened. No, she would not get emotional. Forcing herself to calm down, she took a breath. “I did not poach Celtic Fire. You know I didn’t. I wouldn’t do that. And I do not shake down my clients for money. I charge legitimate fees for my services.” Never before had her ethics been questioned. She hadn’t done any of those things. What’s more, she wouldn’t do them. She’d become a vet because she loved animals.
“Megan, you’re in over your head. Let me help you.” He reached out, touching her arm. “I can say you made a legitimate error, an understandable one given your inexperience, in your diagnosis of Celtic Fire. And I’ll claim no knowledge of you approaching Debbie about moving Celtic Fire to your care.”
A sick, dizzy feeling made her want to crawl into bed and stay there. This testimony could destroy her practice. How could she defend herself against a well-established veterinarian like Lawrence? “How can you believe this?”
He dropped his hand. “Look at you, Megan. You’ve changed. Everyone saw the way you behaved at your mother’s fund-raiser. What’s gotten into you?”
Disappointment and disgust bled through his voice. Pulling herself together, she slid back into her car and pulled the door shut.
“Megan.” Lawrence leaned into the window. “I’ll help you. I’ve always been there for you. You know that. We can fix this.”
She looked directly into his cold eyes. “I didn’t do anything wrong. If you believe Nathan McCray over me, then there’s really nothing else to say.” She started the car, put it in gear, and drove away.
Two days later, Megan was feeding Cole breakfast when there was a loud knock at the door.
Max jumped up, barking.
Who was at her door so early? It was barely eight a.m.
Adam?
Her heart stuttered as she quickly wiped Cole’s hands and lifted him out of the high chair. No, it couldn’t be Adam. This wasn’t how she wanted to tell him. What would she do—just hand him Cole and say, “Congratulations, you’re a father”?
Another round of sharp knocking sent Max into a frenzy. He stood with his nose at the door, his fur ruffling at the aggressiveness of the sound. Summoning her courage, she went to the door and looked out the peephole.
Not Adam.
It was the police.
“Sit, Max.” The dog sat. With Cole on her hip, she opened the door. Two men stood there, stern and official. She recognized one of the officers as a client of hers. “John, what’s going on?”
“We have a report of a stolen dog.”
“I don’t understand.” Cole buried his head in her neck, wrapping his little fist around a thick lock of her hair. Max sat at her side, alert and ready.
John sighed. “Megan, it’s Celtic Fire. Mr. McCray says either you or his ex-wife took her. Do you have her?”
Outrage heated her blood, but she answered calmly. “Of course not. That’s ridiculous. Why would I steal her?”
“Look, if there’s been a misunderstanding, we need to clear it up. That dog is worth a lot of money. Stealing her, or hiding her, is a felony.”
They were seriously asking her if she stole a dog. Two cops came to her house and all but accused her. One of them was a client of her practice. “If the dog is missing, I had nothing to do with it.”
“You’re sure?”
“The only dog here is Max. As you can see, he’s not Celtic Fire.”
“We’ll be in touch.” They walked back to their squad car.
Slowly, Megan shut the door, then walked across the floor with Cole in her arms. What the hell was going on?
First, Lawrence turned on her, which was just too weird. But she’d come to the conclusion that she was professional and respected, and nothing would come of Lawrence’s ridiculous claims. But now Celtic Fire was missing…
Nathan McCray’s words came back to her. I made Raven’s Cove the town it is today and I can destroy you and your veterinary practice with a few phone calls.
Setting Cole on the floor to play with Max, her thoughts spun. Nathan had tried to bribe her, but she hadn’t taken the money. Then he’d told Lawrence that Debbie had paid her for her testimony. But in the end, it was just her word against Nathan’s. It wasn’t enough to destroy her. Maybe she was being paranoid.
Megan forced herself to breathe in and—
Her phone rang. Reaching over, she picked up the cordless at the end of the table.
“Dr. Megan Young?”
“Speaking.”
“This is Derek Hahn with Raven’s Cove Press. I’m following up on an anonymous tip that you are accepting bribes in exchange for expert testimony in a dispute over custody of a show dog. Do you confirm or deny?”
Goose bumps broke out on her arms as she sat there, trying to process what she heard. Who would…Nathan. It had to be him who phoned in an anonymous tip. He’d threatened to destroy her, and framing her for stealing Celtic Fire would do just that. It was the only explanation she could come up with.
She watched Cole and Max playing on the floor, while trying to think how to respond.
“Dr. Young? It’s a straightforward question, did you accept…”
“No comment.” She disconnected, got up and paced, trying to think. What else was Nathan doing? How could she protect herself? Worry gnawed at her belly. How long until there was enough evidence for her to be arrested?
Cole’s giggles broke into her frantic thoughts. She turned to see her boy laughing at Max as he pawed at a ball. Another worry slammed her. Cole! If she was arrested…nausea ripped through her guts. She was the only parent the authorities knew of. He could be placed in protective custody. Cole was barely two years old. Panic tightened around her until she was panting.
She was not the scared, desperate girl she’d once been. The one so desperate for love, she’d convinced herself Adam would love her. She’d finally grown the hell up. Determined to be a strong mother for her son, she’d taken control of her life.
And now her first priority was to protect her son. For that, like it or not, she needed Adam. His father.