He could no longer postpone the inevitable heartbreak of the truth. The right thing to do. The healing of the McGrath hurt, no matter how much it hurt her.
Was it possible she would understand? Could they find a compromise? A way she could stay in Callie’s life but have his mother’s and his brother’s wishes fulfilled?
He waited until both of their breathing had slowed, until their mingled perspiration had left them chilled.
He started by pulling her into his chest, close to his heart. “Jo, I need to tell you something.”
“I don’t want to talk,” she said sleepily, sitting up to unbuckle the shoes she still wore. “I need to get under the covers. I’m cold. I’m tired.”
While she sat on the edge of the bed and removed the last vestiges of her sex-kitten act, he straightened the comforter and waited for her to join him.
Turning on his side, he studied her stiff movements in the lamplight. He recognized an uncooperative witness when he faced one. “I want to ask you a question.”
“I sense a cross-examination, counselor.”
He laughed at how well she knew him already, but continued. “Do you believe me?”
They both knew that he referred to his admission of love. She waited a moment before answering.
“Here’s what I think,” she finally said. “I think you’re floating in an unreal state of euphoria because you have finally rid yourself of the biggest heartache in your life. And you think I’m responsible for this newfound joy. But all I did was tell you—”
He sat up and touched her arm. “All you did was drop into my life and force me to grow up and feel things that have petrified me for years.”
She turned to him, her eyes wide and sincere. “Are you petrified of love?”
He nodded. “I was.”
“Well, I still am.”
At the catch in her throat, he pulled her into his arms and laid her next to him. She’d told him of her first husband leaving. He knew about her father taking off when she was a baby. No wonder she was scared.
But, damn, if he didn’t tell her now about his mother’s will, he could rightfully be accused of being the most deceptive, immoral man in the world, raising her distrust of men to a new level altogether.
He took a deep breath. “I have to tell you something that I think is going to upset you.”
“You already have.” Her lips kicked into a droll smile.
“My mother left a will.”
He felt her whole body stiffen.
“She stipulated that if she should be…incapacitated in any way during a time when she was in custody of Callie, that said custody should revert to me.” He swallowed, hating the lawyerly tone that had taken over.
Slowly she lifted herself to a half-sitting position. “Excuse me?”
“Your mother showed me the will.”
She blinked at him. “What are you saying? What difference does it make? They are both dead.”
“My mother lived for hours after Katie died, Jo.” He forced his voice to be gentle. “Technically, what she foresaw actually happened.”
“She said that because Katie was a flight risk!” Jo practically shouted. “She was immature and given to stupid decisions. She thought Katie might leave town, if the pressure of being a mom was too much, and she was worried about the baby. Not because she thought…she thought—oh!” She dropped her head into her hands and let out a low moan. “Even she didn’t think I was a suitable mother.”
“What?” He sat up and took her shoulders. “What are you talking about?”
“They always joked about it. They teased me about being a tomboy, about not having maternal instincts, about holding a man’s job.” She blew out a frustrated breath. “Deep inside, Aunt Chris didn’t even think I could be Callie’s mother.”
“No, no,” he insisted, trying to fold her into him. “She thought Callie would bring our family back together. To finally close wounds that my dad created through sheer stupidity and stubbornness.”
Her eyes flashed in the dim light. “Do you believe that? For one second, do you really believe that?”
“I don’t know what I believe anymore,” he admitted. “I just know that…” He took another long, slow breath. “My brothers are coming here on Saturday to get Callie.”
She jumped out of his arms, the raw, real pain on her face visible even in the dim light.
“But I don’t agree with that, Jo, and I—”
In a flash she was off the bed. “Stop talking, Cam. Just don’t say another word.”
She bounded to her closet, yanked open the door and pulled on jeans and a T-shirt. Slowly he started to climb from the bed, but she twirled around and held out one hand.
“Stop. Don’t move. Don’t talk.”
He froze and watched her slide into little brown boots. Then she stared at him.
This was his sentencing. This was his punishment. Would she ever give him a chance? All he wanted to do was work this out. Be with her.
Marry her and raise Callie together.
The realization almost knocked him over. God in heaven, that was what he wanted. He started to speak, to tell her, to propose to her, but then she held both hands up.
“I’m leaving now. When I come back, you’ll be gone. Do you understand?” Her voice didn’t so much as quiver.
He just looked at her. If he asked her to marry him now, she’d laugh in his face. No matter how much he meant it. And he did. He would leave New York in a heartbeat. He wasn’t happy at his job anymore. He’d take the California Bar. Live here, in the mountains, with Jo and Callie and—
“Do you understand?” she repeated. “I want you to be gone by morning when I come home with Callie.”
“Jo. Listen to me. I’m serious—”
“Gone.” He could see her clench her jaw as she raised her face to him. “And don’t you ever throw around the word love in front of me again.”
Without another word she walked out of the room and clunked down the creaky steps in her boy boots. He heard the truck start up and the gravel spew as she drove into the night.
Before he packed his bag, he wrote one long, honest e-mail to Colin and Quinn and hoped they read it before they went to sleep that night. They needed to know where he stood.
The first thing Jo intended to do when she arrived at her mother’s house was wake up Callie.
“What are you doing, Jo?” Her mother was hot on her heels as they traveled down the hallway, her tone revealing that she was none too happy with her daughter’s near-midnight arrival, and doubly unhappy about waking the baby. “I just gave her a bottle an hour ago. Don’t you dare wake up that child.”
But Jo ignored her mother and dipped into the portable crib she kept in Jo’s childhood bedroom of the tiny ranch house. Callie stirred and gurgled, then snuggled into Jo’s arm.
“Hey, peanut, I missed you,” Jo whispered, kissing the black curls and closing her eyes to inhale the scent she loved. “I really missed you.”
Her mother leaned against the doorjamb, and Jo shot her a long, angry look. She was as much a part of this conspiracy as Aunt Chris and her masters-of-the-universe sons.
But first, all Jo wanted to do was suck in a deep breath of Callie. She dropped onto the twin bed where she’d slept as a little girl, and cuddled the baby closer. Then she looked up at her mother.
“They’re taking her.”
Alice nodded slowly. “I thought they might.”
Jo felt her eyes narrow in fury. “Why would you do this to me? To Callie?”
Shaking her head slowly, Alice stepped into the room. “Baby, I’m not doing anything to you.”
When she sat on the bed, Jo instinctively turned the baby away and her mother’s eyes darkened with hurt.
“You’re not? You didn’t even tell me about this will. You told him.” She shook her head. “You told him first.”
And the next thing he did was make love to her on the mountainside, she realized with a jolt of anger and indignation.
Alice sighed deeply. “Honey, that’s what Aunt Chris wanted. And you have to understand something. For the last twenty-six years, I’ve carried the burden of Chris McGrath’s secret. All she wanted in the whole world was for her daughter to know her sons. But she was so scared those boys had developed such a hatred for her, that they would shun Katie. So she waited and waited.”
“She waited too long,” Jo said softly. “Anyway, she was dead wrong. They would have loved Katie as much as we did.” Cameron would have, anyway, and she suspected the other two were made of the same stuff. Fair. Good. Kind.
Her heart squeezed, and she tugged Callie a little tighter into her chest.
“Yes, she did wait too long,” her mother agreed, reaching over to touch Callie’s little head. “But I owed her closure and peace. She was my closest friend. My dearest, dearest friend. She came to my rescue as much as I came to hers all those years ago. I was still smarting from your father walking out, wondering how on earth I would raise a child alone. And she swooped into Sierra Springs and we were unified. A better friend never existed.”
Jo shifted to look at her mother. “That’s fine, Mom. I respect that. But do you really think she belongs with the McGraths and not us?”
Alice drew in a long, deep breath, her gaze moving from the baby to Jo. “Chris obviously believed she belongs with blood. That family has been ripped in half, and it appears those boys are just coming out of years of pain. And finding happiness, from what your Cameron told me the other day.”
“He’s not my Cameron,” she corrected. “But what about Katie? She was Callie’s mother. Would she have wanted her baby to be raised by strangers, even strangers whose blood she unknowingly shared?”
“That’s a good point,” Alice acknowledged. “But you know what Katie was like. Always searching for that man to be the father she never had. I suspect finding out she had three big brothers who could love her might have made her happier than any of the short flings she indulged in over the years.”
Jo silently agreed. Katie would have adored Cameron. And he, she knew, would have been just as charmed by Katie. He might have finally set her on the straight path—one that Jo had tried, but failed, to show Katie.
A hard, painful lump formed in her throat, and she attempted to get rid of it by kissing Callie.
Maybe she wasn’t cut out to be a mother. Or a girly-girl.
Just a tomboy collision-repair expert.
And maybe Callie’s destiny was more closely tied to the McGrath family than Jo was willing to admit.
A tear slid down her cheek and landed on Callie’s forehead.
The baby stirred as Jo dabbed the moisture gently and Callie opened her eyes. For a moment they stared at each other. Then Callie smiled and reached a dimpled hand to Jo’s nose.
“Jojojojojo.”
Jo closed her eyes and lifted Callie into her chest, burying her little face with kisses.
“I’m going to lose everything,” she whispered to her mother, the tears flowing freely now. “I’ve lost Katie. And I lost Cam. And now I’m going to lose Callie.”
Her mother wrapped an arm around Jo’s shoulder. “They won’t keep you out of her life, honey. You can visit her and write to her and always be her aunt Jo.”
But she didn’t want to be Callie’s aunt Jo.
She wanted to be Callie’s mother.
“She lived for a reason, Mom.” Jo looked hard at her mother. “She has a destiny.”
Alice nodded slowly. “Yes, she does. And you know what that is.”
Yes, Jo thought quietly, yes. She did know what Callie’s destiny was. And she just couldn’t fight it anymore.
“You brought the baby?” Mary Beth Borrell raised both eyebrows, her sharp features easily communicating her displeasure. “There was no reason to bring the child.”
Defiantly Jo hoisted Callie a bit higher in her arms and met the green-eyed glare of the Child Services social worker she’d come to know all too well over the past three months.
“Yes, I did,” she said, walking to the single guest chair in Mary Beth’s tiny office. “We won’t be long today, Mary Beth, and I thought I’d take Callie for new shoes while we’re in Sacramento.” A whole new wardrobe, actually. That she could wear in Florida. Or Rhode Island. Or New York.
“Don’t sit down.” Mary Beth stopped her with another sharp look. “We’re all in the conference room.”
Jo’s heart dipped. All? Had Cam come after all? Didn’t he trust her to come forward with the truth?
Mary Beth indicated for Jo to follow her into the narrow hallway of the old government building, their heels tapping on the buckled linoleum floor. Just before they reached a single door with a milky glass panel, Mary Beth turned, her displeasure having morphed to something akin to disgust.
“I wish you’d told me sooner,” she said. “I trusted you from the beginning of this.”
Jo backed up an inch and felt the blood drain from her head. So Cam was in that room. He really didn’t trust her.
“I only recently learned about the family,” Jo said quietly. “And I have all the necessary paperwork to arrange for him to have custody of Callie.”
Mary Beth frowned, confusion darkening her green eyes. “We don’t need these kinds of complications, Ms. Tremaine.”
“No.” Jo tried to keep the sarcasm out of her voice. “We certainly don’t, Ms. Borrell.”
“I thought this was a cut-and-dried case.”
Callie turned in Jo’s arms and looked at the other woman, somehow sensing the hostility between them. Grab her nose, Cal, Jo thought. Go ahead.
But the baby dropped her head on Jo’s shoulder in an uncharacteristic bout of shyness.
Mary Beth’s face softened. “We can handle it,” she said quickly as she turned the doorknob. “I was just a bit overwhelmed by the three of them.”
The three of them? Jo barely took a breath before the door opened to reveal three striking, large, handsome men sitting side by side at a conference room table.
They stood in unison, like a six-foot-two wall of masculinity, and she could practically feel the balance of power slide to that side of the room.
As if she ever had a chance against these guys.
Forcing herself to focus, she looked at the man in front of her. Tall, with the lanky build of an athlete, he had close-cropped dark hair except for one loose lock over his handsome brow. His lip curled in a half smile as his gaze dropped just far enough over her face to feel completely checked out.
Quinn, the ladies’ man.
He confirmed it by reaching out his hand and introducing himself. She shifted Callie into her left arm and shook his hand. “Hello, Quinn.”
She looked to his left and met the dark-chocolate gaze of Colin McGrath. His grin was warm and immediate, and he tilted his head as he reached out his hand. She noticed a tiny gold earring and a ponytail, but her focus was on those eyes. That smile. For a second she was so overwhelmed with the loss of Katie, she couldn’t speak. They really could have been twins.
Colin, the rebel.
“I’m Colin,” he said, his expression as warm as his handshake. “And this must be Callie.”
She shifted Callie in her arms so they could see her. “Yes. This is your niece.”
Both men’s faces brightened as they focused on the baby, but Jo just froze. She had to face Cam. He stood next to Colin, and she could feel his gaze on her.
Would he be cold? Mean? Call her Ms. Tremaine as if they hadn’t shared hours of ecstasy and days of… love?
Finally she looked up at him. “Hi, Cam.”
“Jo Ellen.” His voice was low, his expression tender.
She swallowed and managed a weak smile, but his gaze moved to Callie.
“Hi-ya, kid.” He grinned at the baby, who beamed right back at him.
“Cacacaca!” She held both arms out to him.
Cam laughed and reached for her, and Jo didn’t even fight it. She hoisted the baby over the table and gave Cam a look of pure defeat. Callie cooed with delight when he took her.
Even Callie knew where she really belonged.
“Well, now.” Mary Beth noisily scraped out the chair at the head of the table and took her seat, nodding to everyone to do the same. “It seems our little Callie has family after all.” Her stern gaze moved to Cameron. “Or so they say.”
Jo sat up at the comment and looked at Mary Beth. “They are telling the truth. These men are Callie’s blood uncles. I have everything you need to see to prove it.”
Callie’s pudgy hands curled around Cam’s index fingers, and she stood her little legs on his lap, doing her march as if to prove that someday, very soon, she could actually walk like all these other people.
Colin cracked up and glanced at Quinn, who stared at the baby like he’d never seen anything so adorable in his whole life.
A strange flood of relief washed through Jo. This would be fine. This would be fine.
Most important, this would be right.
She leaned forward and looked hard at Mary Beth. “Obviously, I was premature in seeking custody and starting the adoption process of Callie McGrath.” She willed her voice to be steady and strong, aware of Cam’s unwavering gaze on her. She didn’t meet it. “After a great deal of consideration, I have elected to drop those efforts and will move forward at the court’s direction to arrange for a representative from the McGrath family to adopt Callie.”
The room went silent. Mary Beth’s jaw fell open. The stunned looks of the McGrath brothers burned her.
“What?” Cam finally broke the tension and set Callie on the table, holding her tiny waist with his massive hands.
“I’m not going to fight you, Cam,” she said softly. Her gaze traveled to Colin, then to Quinn. “Callie should be raised with…family.” She praised her inner strength for being able to say that without her voice cracking.
That must be because she finally believed it.
“Well, this is highly unusual.” Mary Beth’s voice rose at least an octave. “I’m not sure we’ve ever had a case quite like this before. I may have to get a supervisor in here.”
“Why?” Jo asked. “There’s plenty of precedent.” She glanced at Cam. “Ask the lawyer.”
But Cam’s eyes had turned an intense shade of blue. “We’ve already signed the petition, Jo. She’s yours. We’re not taking her.”
All her inner strength melted like powdery spring snow at his words. “Are you serious?”
He nodded, punctuating the confirmation with a kiss on Callie’s forehead. “We decided she needs to stay with you. You’ve been a mother to her, Jo. I can’t…” He exchanged a meaningful glance with his brothers, and when he looked back at her, she saw a lifetime of pain in his eyes. “We can’t be responsible for separating a child from its mother.”
The unfamiliar burn of tears stung her eyelids. If she so much as blinked, the waterworks would fall. She swallowed again, hoping her voice would be there when she needed it.
Quinn leaned forward, reaching across the table and putting his hand over hers. “We’ve agreed on this, Jo. Cam convinced us it’s the right way to proceed.”
She looked up at him and tried to smile. Damn the tears. All she could do was nod.
“We’d love it if you brought her back east once in a while,” Colin added with a devilish grin. “So we can spoil her rotten.”
That did it. She blinked. Great. The one time in her life she needed to act like a tomboy and she turned into a virtual crybaby.
She took a deep breath and looked from one McGrath to the other. “Katie would have—” her voice caught and she sniffed a little “—Katie would have loved you all.”
Colin’s eyes glimmered and Quinn smiled sadly. She stole a look at Cameron, who just warmed her with an expression she recognized as well as her own face. The look he gave her after they made love. Or when she made him laugh. That look of admiration and respect and…love.
She sternly reminded herself that he credited her with some miraculous healing of his heart. Not love. Not real love, anyway. She had to remember that, because it would make saying goodbye easier.
“I promise that you’ll know her, and see her,” she told them. “I promise that she’ll always be part of your family.”
Mary Beth stood up. “All righty, then. We’ll proceed with the formal adoption of Callie McGrath by Jo Ellen Tremaine. Thank you.”
As soon as Mary Beth left the room, Colin and Quinn descended on Callie, making silly sounds and jokes and vying for her attention. And just like her mother, Callie treated them to a megawatt smile that elicited a round of appreciative laughter.
Cameron handed the baby to Quinn. “Better practice, bro. I’ll be right back.”
Quinn responded with a questioning look. “Where are you going?”
“To jump off a roller coaster,” he said, and they shared a knowing look.
“Good luck,” Quinn replied, taking the baby.
“It’s a good ride,” Colin added.
A roller coaster? Jo ignored the inside joke, slowly standing on legs that threatened to buckle from the wild happiness that danced through her. She was keeping Callie. Forever.
She reached for the Winnie-the-Pooh diaper bag on the floor, and when she straightened, Cam was inches from her.
“Can I talk to you for a minute?” he asked, his voice low with solemnity.
She tilted her head toward the hallway where they could talk. Of course she had to thank him. She had to apologize for the way she acted the other night.
As she turned, she noticed Colin and Quinn grinning at each other. More inside jokes. She might not get the joke, but she understood what Cam wanted. A more pleasant, civil goodbye.
Because their goodbye had always been inevitable.