Her Kind of Hero (19 page)

Her heart skipped. “What father? What truth?” she asked huskily.

“Your father was going to phone you and ask you to meet him. Did he?”

She moved restlessly back to her packing. “He phoned and left a message. I didn't have anything to say to him, so I didn't call him back.”

“He knows that you're his child,” he told her. “Your mother sent him your birth certificate. That's why he's trying to contact you. I imagine he wants to apologize. Your mother does, too, to you and Dad, but she told me she wasn't that brave.”

Her eyes met his, haunted. “I went through hell because of her and my father,” she said in a tight tone. “You don't know…you can't imagine…what it was like!”

“Yes, I can,” he said, and he sounded angry. “He's apparently
counting his regrets. He never remarried. He doesn't have any children, except you.”

“Then he still doesn't have a child,” she said through her teeth.

He didn't reply for several long seconds. “I can understand why you feel that way, about him and your mother. I don't blame you. I just thought I'd tell you what I know. It's up to you, what you do or don't do about it.”

She folded one last shirt and put it into the case. “Thanks for telling me.” She glanced at him. “Lisse wanted to make trouble.”

“Yes, she did, and she was entitled. She's right. I did use her, in a way. Your mother left me very embittered about women,” he confessed. “I loved my own mother, but I lost her when I was still in grammar school. In later years, your mother was the very worst example of what a wife should be. She made a very bad impression on me.”

“On me, too.” She closed the case and turned back to him, her eyes trying to memorize his lean face. “I wish you'd liked me, when I lived in your house,” she said abruptly. “It would have meant more than you know.”

His eyes narrowed. “I couldn't afford to like you, Callie,” he said quietly. “Every time I looked at you, I burned like fire inside. You were just a teenager, a virgin. I couldn't take advantage of you that way.”

“We could have been friends,” she persisted.

He shook his head. “You know we couldn't. You know why.”

She grimaced, averting her face. “It's always sex with you, isn't it?”

“Not anymore.” His voice was quiet, solemn. “Those days are past. I'm looking ahead now. I have a future to build.”

A bigger army of mercenaries, she decided, and more money. She smiled to herself. Once a mercenary, always a mercenary. He'd be the last mercenary who would ever be able to give up the lifestyle.

“I wish you well,” she said. She picked up her case and looked around to make sure she hadn't left anything. “Thanks for saving my life. Twice,” she added with a forced grin.

“You're welcome.” He moved forward to take the case from her. He studied her face for a long time with narrowed eyes. It was as if he was seeing her for the first time. “It's amazing,” he murmured involuntarily. “that it took me so long.”

“What took you so long?”

“Never mind,” he murmured, and he smiled. “You'll find out soon enough. Come on. I'll drive you into Nassau to the airport.”

“Bojo could…”

He put his fingers against her soft mouth, and he didn't smile. “I'll drive you.”

She swallowed. The tip of his finger was tracing her upper lip, and it was making her knees weak. “Okay,” she said.

He took her hand and led her out to the car.

T
wo weeks later, Callie was back at work and it was as if she'd never been kidnapped by Lopez's men or gone to Nassau with Micah. Despite the excitement and adventure, she hadn't told anyone except Mr. Kemp the truth about what had happened. And she let him think that Lopez had died in a freak accident, to protect Micah.

Micah had walked her to the concourse and kissed her good bye in such a strange, breathlessly tender way that it had kept her from sleeping much since she'd been back. The look in his eyes had been fascinating, but she was still trying to decide what she'd seen there. He'd said he'd see her soon. She had no idea what he meant. It was like leaving part of herself behind when she got on the plane. She cried all the way to Miami, where she got on a plane to San Antonio and then a charter flight to Jacobsville from there.

Micah's father was much better, and so glad to see her that he cried, too. She dismissed the nurse who'd been staying with him with gratitude and a check, but the nurse refused the check. She'd already been paid her fee, in advance, she told a
mystified Callie. She left, and Callie and Jack Steele settled back into their comfortable routine.

“I feel better than I have in years,” Jack Steele told her with a grin at supper one evening. “It makes me proud that my son wanted to protect me as well as you.”

“Micah loves you terribly,” she assured him. “He just has a hard time showing it, that's all.”

“You really think so?”

“I do. I'm sure he'll come and see you, if you'll let him.”

He gave her a peculiar look and pursed his lips. “I'll let Micah come here if you'll do something for me.”

“What?”

He leaned back in his chair, and his features reminded her of Micah in a stubborn mood. “If you'll make peace with your father,” he said.

She let out a surprised gasp.

“I knew you'd take it like that,” he said. “But he's phoned here every single day since you left. He told me some cock-and-bull story about a drug dealer named Lopez. He said he'd heard from a friend in law enforcement that Lopez had kidnapped you and taken you to Mexico. I thought he was full of bull and I told him so. But he kept phoning. I guess it was a good excuse to mend fences. A man that persistent should at least have a hearing.”

She gaped at him. “You…didn't believe him, about Lopez?”

Her tone surprised him. “No, of course not.” Her expression was very disturbing. He scowled. “Callie…it wasn't true? You really did go to take care of that aunt Micah told me about?”

“Jack, I don't have a aunt,” she said heavily. “Lopez did kidnap me. Micah came and got me out himself. He went right into Lopez's house and rescued me.”

“My son, storming drug dealers' lairs?” he exclaimed. “Are you kidding?”

“Oh, I didn't want you to have to find out like this,” she groaned. “I should have bitten my tongue through!”

He was shocked. “Micah got you out,” he repeated.

She leaned across the table and took his arthritic hands in hers and held them tight. “There's no easy way to say this, but you'll have to know. I'm not sure Micah wants you to know, but I don't have a choice anymore. Dad, Micah is a professional mercenary,” she told him evenly. “And he's very good at it. He rappelled from Lopez's roof right into a bedroom and rescued me from a man who was going to kill me. We're both fine. He got me away and out of the country, and took me home with him to Nassau. He lured Lopez in, and…Lopez's boat was blown up in a freak accident.”

Jack let out the breath he'd been holding. “The things you learn about people you thought you knew. My own son, and he never told me.”

She grimaced. “I'm not sure he ever would. He's very brave, Jack. He isn't really money-hungry, although it sounds as if he is. I'd never have survived without him. His men are just the same, dedicated professionals who really care about what they do. They're not a gang of thugs.”

Jack sat back in his chair again, scowling. “You know, it does make some sort of sense. He came home bandaged, you remember that time? And he said he'd had a bad fall. But I saw him accidentally without the bandage and it looked like a bullet wound to me.”

“It probably was,” she said. “He has scars on his back, too.”

She frowned, trying to understand how she knew that. She'd
seen Micah with his shirt unbuttoned in Nassau, but never with it off completely. How would she know he had scars down his back?

She put that thought out of her mind. “There's something else I found out,” she added. “My mother was there last year, staying with him.”

Jack's face hardened at once.

“No, it's not what you're thinking,” she said quickly. “That was my thought, too, but she asked Micah for help. She's married to a British earl who has cancer. There was a clinic near Micah and he let them stay with him while the earl was treated. He's impoverished, and I suspect that Micah paid for the treatments, too, although he didn't admit it.” She smiled. “He says Mother is really in love this time. She wanted to make peace with both of us, as well, but she didn't think it would be possible.”

“Not for me,” Jack said quietly. “She cost me a lot.”

“She cost me more,” she agreed. “But you can't hate people forever. It only hurts you in the end. You have to forgive unless you want to live in torment forever.”

“How did you get so wise, at your age?” he asked, smiling as he tried to lighten the mood.

“I had a lot of hard knocks. I learned early how terrible a thing hatred is.” She touched his hand gently. “Micah loves you so much. You can't imagine how it hurt him when we thought he'd betrayed you with Mother. He's been bitter, too.”

“I wouldn't let him talk about it,” he said. “I should have listened. He's never lied to me, except maybe by omission.” He sighed with a wry smile. “I never would have guessed he'd have been in such a profession.”

She laughed. “Neither would I.” She sighed. “He can't give it up, of course. He told me he had no ambition whatsoever to
settle down and have a family. I never really saw him as a family man.”

He studied her curiously. “But you wish he was,” he said perceptibly.

Her gaze fell to the table. “I love him,” she said heavily. “I always have. But he's got all the women in his life that he needs already. Beautiful women. One of them took me shopping when we first got to Nassau.”

“You have ties with him that no other woman will ever have. If he didn't care about you, he certainly wouldn't have risked his own life to rescue you,” he remarked.

“He did it for you, because he knows you love me,” she said. “That's why.”

He pursed his lips and his eyes narrowed as he studied her. “Think so? I wonder.”

She got up. “I'll fix dinner. Then I guess I'll try to phone my father.”

“Remember what you said, about forgiving people, Callie,” he reminded her. “Your mother told him a lot of lies. He believed her, but maybe it was easier to believe her, when he knew she was taking you away. He was going to lose you anyway.”

“She didn't take me away,” she said coldly. “He threw me out, and she put me in foster care immediately.”

He grimaced. “Yes, I know. Your father told me. He'd only just found out.”

“Found out, how?” she exclaimed.

“Apparently he hired a private detective,” he said gently. “He was appalled at how you'd been treated, Callie. He blames himself.”

She moved restlessly, her eyes glancing at him. “You're the only father I've ever known.”

He grinned. “You'll always have me. But give the man a chance. He's not as bad as you remember him being.” The smile faded. “Maybe, like your mother, he's found time to face himself and his mistakes.”

She turned away. “Okay. I guess it wouldn't hurt to talk to him.”

 

She phoned, but her father was out of the country. She left a message for him on his answering machine, a stumbling sort of greeting and her phone number. If he hadn't given up on her, he might try again.

The next week dragged. She missed Micah. She felt tired. She wondered if all the excitement of the past few weeks wasn't catching up with her. She also seemed to have stopped having a period. She'd always been regular and never skipped, and then she remembered that odd spotting in Nassau. She grimaced. It must be some sort of female problem. She'd have to make an appointment to see Dr. Lou Coltrain.

She made the appointment from work, just after she got back from lunch. When she hung up, her boss, Blake Kemp, was speaking to someone in his office, the door just having opened so that he could show his client out.

“…yes, he phoned me a couple of days ago,” the client was saying. “He used to hate Jacobsville, which makes it even stranger. We were all shocked.”

“Yes,” Kemp replied. “He had a whole island, didn't he? He's already sold up there, and he's got big plans for the Colbert Ranch property. He owns several thoroughbreds, which he's having shipped here from New Providence. He plans to have one of the best racing stables in Texas, from what he says.”

“He says he's giving up the business, as well and coming back here to live.”

“That's another odd thing, he mentioned going back to medical school and finishing his residency,” Kemp chuckled.

“He's good at what he used to do. He's patched me up enough over the years.” The tall man with the green eyes, favoring a burned forearm and hand glanced at Callie and noted her shocked face. “Yes, Callie, I'm talking about your stepbrother. I don't guess you and Jack Steele knew a thing about this, did you?”

She shook her head, too stunned to speak.

“That's like Micah.” The client chuckled. “He always was secretive. Well, Callie, you look none the worse for wear after your ordeal.”

She finally realized who the client was. That was Cy Parks! She knew that he and Micah were friends, but until recently she hadn't known that they shared the same profession.

“Micah's moving here?” she asked involuntarily.

“He is,” Cy told her. “But don't tell him you heard me say so,” he added with a twinkle in his green eyes. “I don't need to lose any more teeth.”

“Sure thing, Mr. Parks,” she said with a smile.

“He couldn't stop talking about how brave you were, you know,” he added unexpectedly. “He was so proud of you.”

She flushed. “He never said so.”

“He doesn't, usually.” He smiled. “Your father will enjoy having him home, too.”

She nodded. “He's proud of Micah. I had to tell him the truth. He'll be over the moon to think that Micah's coming home. He's missed him.”

“That cuts both ways. I'm glad to see him making an attempt to settle down,” he added with a chuckle. “I can recommend it highly. I never expected so much happiness in my own life. Lisa's pregnant, you know,” he added. “It's going to be a boy. We're both over the moon.”

“Babies are nice,” Callie said wistfully. “Thanks for telling me about Micah, Mr. Parks.”

“Make it Cy,” he told her. “I expect we'll be seeing each other again. Kemp, walk me out, I want to ask you something.”

“Sure thing.”

The men walked out onto the sidewalk and Callie stared at her computer screen with trembling fingers on the keyboard. Micah had sold his island. He was coming to live in Jacobsville. Was Lisse coming with him? Had they made up in spite of what he'd said about her? Was he going to marry the beautiful blonde and set up housekeeping here? If he was, she couldn't bear to stay in Jacobsville!

She felt like bawling. Her emotions had been all over the place lately. Along with the sudden bouts of fatigue and an odd nausea at night, and a missing period, she was likely to cry at the drop of a hat. She remembered a girlfriend having all those same symptoms, but of course, the girlfriend had been pregnant. That wasn't possible in her case. An erotic dream did not produce conception, after all. She was going to see the doctor the next day, anyway. She'd know what was wrong then, if anything was. She hoped it was nothing too terrible.

 

When she got home that evening, the doctor, the office, everything went right out of her head. There was a black Porsche convertible sitting in the driveway. With her heart pounding
like mad, she got out and rushed up the front steps and into the apartment house.

She opened her own door, which was unlocked, and there was Micah, sitting at the dining-room table with Jack Steele while they shared a pot of coffee.

“Micah!” she exclaimed, everything she felt showing helplessly on her face.

He got to his feet, his face somber and oddly watchful. “Hello, Callie,” he said quietly.

“I thought…I mean, I didn't think…” The room was swirling around her. She felt an odd numbness in her face and everything went white.