In the Eye of the Storm (22 page)

“Tell them I said congratulations!” the young man said and then he was gone.

Mac slumped down into his plush leather chair and turned to face his wall of windows.  The sun was setting ever so slightly and the view of downtown Charlotte was one of bustling activity.  Glancing at his watch he saw that it was just after five and he knew that he should get going and head to the hospital where the rest of his family had congregated to welcome the newest Montgomery. 

A girl.  Mac couldn’t help but chuckle.  His big former NFL brother, who had been so certain that he was going to have a son to teach all of his moves to, now had a tiny baby girl.  There was a joke in there somewhere but right now Mac couldn’t seem to find it.  He’d go, he’d meet the newest member of the family and pat Lucas on the back and hug Emma and remember to smile and at all of the excitement that was sure to be going on around him when all he wanted to do was go home, have a beer and just relax.

The drive to the hospital was short and he even remembered to stop and pick up a bouquet of flowers for his sister-in-law.  The noise level as he headed toward Emma’s room told him that he was right on the money with what was going to happen.  He was greeted by his father first, then his brother Jason and then he made his way to shake the new father’s hand before handing the lilies to Emma.

“Oh, Mac,” Emma said as tears swam in her eyes.  “They’re perfect.  Lilies for our Lily.”

Right; the baby’s name was Lily.  Happy coincidence. Or maybe he had subconsciously remembered his father telling him that was what they had named her.  Neither here nor there, the fact was that he had done a good thing and now everyone was staring at him with sappy grins on their faces.

Great.

“Do you want to hold her?” Emma asked, nodding toward the bassinet that was next to her bed. 

Mac was about to break out in a cold sweat.  Hold her? 
The baby
?  Wasn’t that against the rules or something?  He wasn’t the father!  He could have germs or drop her!  Lucas must have seen the look of pure terror on his face because he chuckled and said, “I’m not ready to entrust my princess with him yet.  He can’t even catch a football!”  The room erupted with laughter but Mac took it all in stride since it got him out of infant holding. 

“Were you planning on throwing her at me?  Because I’m pretty sure that the hospital has rules against that,” he teased and then smiled when his mother came over and looped her arm though his and pulled him close. 

“You’ll have to hold her eventually,” she whispered with a sassy smile.

“Sure, when she’s talking in complete sentences, I’m sure I’ll be fine.”  Off in the distance he heard his father’s cell phone ring and then watched as William quickly exited the room.  Mac quirked an eyebrow at his mom but she simple shrugged and then walked over to gaze lovingly at her new granddaughter.

His brother Jason walked over and pat him on the back.  “Nice side-step with the baby;  for a minute there I thought you were going to cry.”

Mac took to ribbing but his mind was on his father.  Was something wrong? Was there an emergency at the office?  “Is there a problem at the office that I’m not aware of?” he asked his brother, ignoring his earlier comment.

“Not that I’m aware of,” Jason said.  “Why?”

“Probably nothing but dad got a call and sort of bolted from the room.”  Mac looked toward the doorway to see if his father had returned.

Before Jason could offer any input, Lily let out a small cry and all attention was on the newborn.  Mac never understood the attraction to babies, particularly newborns.  They were tiny and wrinkly, fragile and terrifying and they cried a lot.  He watched in amazement as Lucas walked over and picked up his daughter with such gentleness that Mac almost couldn’t look away.  He was used to seeing Lucas being rough and physical; after all, years of high school sport and a career in the NFL had toughened him.  But watching him now?  He seemed at ease handling the tiny pink bundle and handing her to his wife.  A collective sigh went out as Emma took the baby and cuddled her.  Even Mac got a little misty at the sight of mother and child. 

What in the world?

Taking a step back, he saw his father walking back into the room.  “Everything okay, Dad?”  William’s face was drawn and sad.  “Dad?”

William reached out and touched Mac’s arm and pulled him aside.  “Son,” he said, his voice cracking slightly, “I need you to do something for me.”

****

There were a million reasons why Gina Micelli should be anywhere else but where she was at the moment.  She had a job that needed her, social engagements that she had committed to, plants that needed to be watered, bills to pay…but the fact was that she was walking through the Charlotte-Douglas International Airport on her way to see a man who had been vastly absent from her life for the last ten years.

Her father.

Arthur Micelli was a good father on paper; Gina had been given everything she had ever asked for.  Except his time.  When her parents divorced when she was fifteen, her mother had taken her clear across the country and her father had let her.  Gina went to the best schools and had a wardrobe that was the envy of all of her friends.  She vacationed all over the world and had a new car every three years. 

She glanced down at the Rolex watch her father had given her for her last birthday and saw that it was a little after two in the afternoon and she was scheduled to meet William Montgomery in baggage claim at two-fifteen.  That made her smile slightly.  The Montgomery’s were always such good friends to her parents and Gina had nothing but fond memories of the countless times they had gotten together for barbecue’s and holidays and even several vacations. 

She often thought about the family and where they all were now.  She knew that Lucas had played professional football and although Gina was not a fan of sports, she remembered reading about the injury that had ended his career.  She had been devastated for her old friend and could only hope that he was doing well.  Jason Montgomery was a couple of years older than her and she had seen him a couple of times in the last few years when he had flown out to the West coast for business.  It had never been intentional, but they ran in some of the same social circles and she usually got the Reader’s Digest version of what was new with his family.  While hearing how his parents were doing was always nice, she somehow managed to listen politely until he got to news about Mac.

Mackenzie Montgomery.

Sigh.

Mac had been her reason for living when she was a teenager.  He was so much older and they had absolutely nothing in common but she had always been drawn to him.  He was serious and studious and much more reserved than his brothers but Gina found that even at a young age, she was attracted to that in a man.

He had always been polite to her and had treated her like a kid sister but by the time she hit puberty, the last thing she wanted was to have Mac think of her like that.  Gina had had big plans for when she turned eighteen and how she would find the courage to engage with Mac on an adult level but her mother had moved her thousands of miles away before she ever had the chance.

Sighing, Gina picked up her pace and navigated her way through the throngs of people to get to baggage claim.  Her father was in serious condition and there was little hope of him living beyond the next three months.  The thought caused a tightening in her chest.  Even though Arthur Micelli was an absentee father, it didn’t mean that she wasn’t devastated by the thought of him dying. 

William had promised to set up an appointment for her to talk with her father’s doctors so that they could better explain Arthur’s condition.  It was not something that Gina was particularly looking forward to.  She was here because Arthur was her father; she had no idea how to be with him or how she was supposed to act with his medical team.  When she made arrangements at work for a leave of absence and her boss had asked how long she’d be gone for, Gina had shrugged and said,
“I don’t know; a couple of weeks, I guess.”
  Surely she wasn’t expected to stay until the end?  What good would that do?  Wouldn’t it be better for her and Arthur to settle their differences so that he could die in peace?

A shudder ran down her spine at her own callous thoughts.  Gina couldn’t think about her father dying; not now.  She wasn’t ready.  In her mind, it was better not to know and to act as if he was going to recover and be okay. 

Yes, that was what she was going to do.  She would thank William for his efforts but then graciously decline his offer to meet with the doctors.  The less she knew, the better.  No, her time would be better spent just being with Arthur and making peace. 

Looking up she saw the signs signaling where her luggage was being unloaded and anxiously looked around for William Montgomery.  Knowing that it had been well over ten years since she’d last seen him, Gina had no doubt in her mind that she’d recognize him.  Her gaze went over the crowd of people standing around and waiting and that’s when she saw him.

Mac.

What was Mac doing here?  Where was his father? Why didn’t someone tell her there was a change in plans?  She wasn’t ready for this!  She wasn’t dressed to meet up with the object of her every teenage fantasy.  The flight had been over six hours; she stunk like plane and had dressed casually for the flight.

With a quick duck through the crowd, Gina ran for the nearest ladies room and did her best to freshen up.  Her long, black hair had been haphazardly pulled back into a ponytail and the curls were begging to be let loose.  Pulling the band from her hair, she shook it out and finger combed it to try and tame it.  Unfortunately, the hair gods were not on her side and Gina felt like she looked like something out of an eighties hair band video.

Sighing with frustration, she gave up the fight against her hair and pulled out her small makeup bag from her purse and retouched her lipstick and blush and used her travel toothbrush to do a quick brush and rinse to freshen her breath.  The final touch was a spritz of perfume to her wrists and then she straightened and turned to look at herself in the full-length mirror. 

“Let’s hope that he doesn’t hold too much stock in first impressions,” she muttered as she squared her shoulders, took a deep breath and made her way back out into the crowd and toward one Mackenzie Montgomery.