Matchmakers Box Set: Matchmakers, Encore, Finding Hope (53 page)

Trevor took a moment to watch David as his wife spoke. He’d smiled though his eyes, that kind of smile that told the world your heart belonged to that special person.

Sophia had done an amazing thing by taking on the role of Carissa’s mother and raising Hope. He genuinely wondered if there were times when it slipped her mind that she hadn’t actually given birth to them.

“Trevor, how long will you be in Kansas City?” Carissa asked.

Trevor caught the tone. Carissa Kendal didn’t trust him. Why should she? “Until my work here is done.”

He saw Hope’s head dip down, diverting her eyes from the conversation. His stomach was twisting into knots. “But I really like it here. New York is too big. I’m going to give some thought to making a move this way.”

Her head came up and he was glad. It was something he’d have to give some serious thought to. He’d been very careful not to lie to Hope or her family. Leaving out details was not lying, he told himself yet again.

“I thought your sister lived here? Or was moving here,” Thomas innocently added.

Trevor swallowed hard and smiled. “I would love them to, but she wouldn’t think of it until the baby is born.”

Thomas nodded and Trevor willed his heart rate to lower. If he survived the evening without hanging by the tree in the yard, he’d call it a success.

Sophia finally sat down and began to eat her meal. “I heard you commissioned a painting from Hope for your mother.”

“Yes. I’ve never seen such talent. She’s amazing.” He smiled as her eyes settled on his. There was hope that he hadn’t completely made an ass of himself.

“I have her first portrait in my office at the house.” Thomas’s smile showed the pride he had in Hope.

“Yeah, you were a glutton for punishment. First I nearly killed him with my lack of talent for the piano, and then I made him sit for hours and hours so I could attempt to paint him.”

“I’d do it all over again,” he said with love in his eyes, and Trevor knew that he meant it. He knew Thomas would do anything for Hope, her whole family would. And he’d have to assume that also meant they’d protect her from harm—or anyone who put her in its path.

Trevor stood on the porch looking out over the quiet street. Streetlights illuminated the lawn and he could still hear the sound of children playing in dark yards. Hope walked out of the house and directly behind him. She wrapped her arms around him and rested her cheek on his back.

“Thank you,” she whispered.

“For what?” He laid his hands over her hands, which were pressed to his chest.

“For coming.” She let her arms slide around him as he turned around to face her. Her eyes lowered from his, and after a moment she looked back up at him. “I’m sorry about Carissa’s inquisition.”

“She’s looking out for you. Your entire family is.”

“But I didn’t like the way she said things to you.”

He brushed the wisps of hair from her forehead. “I’m not worried about it. I’m not sure I passed with flying colors tonight, but as long as you still like me.”

“I’m finding I like you an awful lot.”

“I really like the sound of that.”

“Why don’t I go inside and tell Carissa to take my car home. I want you to come home with me.” Her were dark, and passion and need stirred in them.

His heart and his body were in a battle. The heart told him to kiss her good night. His body urged him to accept the offer. How could he refuse? He’d been infatuated with her from his dreams. Then the picture of her had haunted him. Now, standing with her in his arms, he was feeling a powerful emotion he’d never felt before.

He held her tight, then made himself step back from her. “No.”

“No?” Her brows knit and it was adorable.

“No.” He kissed her again, this time on the top of the head. “I won’t let you choose me over your father. Not tonight. You owe him a chess game and you owe your sister some idle gossip when I’m out of sight.”

Hope blew out a breath and pouted.

He brushed her lips with his thumb. “Promise me I can have a rain check?”

“I promise.”

“Good night, Hope.” He lowered his lips to hers and softly kissed her. He’d love to take more, but knowing he’d not won any prizes with her family, he didn’t want to have any eyes watching from inside decide he was after Hope for the wrong reasons.

She stood in the glow of the house, her arms folded over her chest. He’d never seen anyone so beautiful.

“Hey,” he called from the car as he opened his door. “You forgot to tell me where you were when I got here,”

“I finished your painting.”

“Already?”

“Inspiration strikes when it feels like it.”

“I can’t wait to see it. Can I come by in the morning?”

“I kinda hoped you would,” she said, placing a kiss on the tips of her fingers and blowing it toward him.

God, he had completely lost his heart. He needed to call Donald Buchanan and end the wait tonight. He couldn’t hide things from her anymore.

CHAPTER FIVE

Hope walked through the door to the kitchen and watched as her parents passed admiring looks at one another over sudsy water.

David gave her a glance. “Game’s all set up. Are you ready?”

“Yep.”

“Let’s get it started. I don’t think Carissa’s going to let me keep you too long.” He winked and then kissed his wife.

Wrapping his arm around Hope, he walked her toward the chessboard that sat in the corner of the living room. He’d pulled up the two wingback chairs, as usual. Hope sat down across from her father and moved her pawn.

David answered with his pawn and waited for Hope’s next move. “Trevor seems like a nice man.”

“He is, Dad.”

“Looks like you’d like to get to know him better.”

“Uh-huh.” She moved her knight only to see it whisked away. “Darn!”

“We should play when your head is full of other things more often.”

“Bite your tongue.” She moved her rook into place and laughed as she took his knight. “Watch your back, old man.”

“And I thought you were playing nice since your head was in the clouds.” David smiled as he moved another pawn.

“I wanted to ask you a question.” She kept her voice low, making sure her voice wouldn’t carry to the kitchen.

“What is it?”

“I don’t want to hurt your feelings.” She rolled the king in her hand, taking it off the board and inevitably ending the game. “I don’t want to hurt Mom either.”

“Hope, is everything okay?” David reached across the board and laid his hand on hers. His brows had drawn together, leaving worry lines streaked across his forehead.

“Yes. Everything is fine. I didn’t mean to scare you.”

“Well, you are.”

“I’m sorry.” She blew out a breath and looked up at him. His chocolate eyes creased with age and wisdom. With a smile she hoped conveyed her love for him, she said, “I want to find out about my birth parents.”

He didn’t speak or move right away. But when he did, it was fury she saw in his eyes, followed by the hurt she hadn’t wanted to cause.

“Why don’t we take this conversation out to the front porch.” He stood and walked toward the front door.

Hope closed her eyes and took a deep, cleansing breath, but it didn’t take away regret she felt from telling him what she’d wanted to do. How could she feel so small?

When she walked out of the house, he was sitting on the porch swing looking out over the dark street. He lifted his head to acknowledge the seat next to him. She knew he expected her to take it.

The deep breath he took and the clearing of his throat said he was ready to discuss what she’d said. Hope braced herself for the calm and grueling argument that loomed before her.

“I thought perhaps this would have been a phase you’d have gone through at thirteen, not twenty-three.”

“I don’t want you to be disappointed in me.”

“Hope Katherine, I’m not.” He set his jaw. “If I had wanted to hide your birth mother from you, I would have. There hasn’t been a day in your life that you didn’t know you were given to us as a gift.” He reached to her face and touched her chin with is finger and thumb, as he had when she was a small girl. “I love you. Your mother loves you. As long and you are not going to replace us as your family, I will listen to what you have to say.”

“Dad, I would never think of doing that.”

“I know,” he said, releasing his grip. “It’s still going to sting.” David took a deep breath, laid his arm across her shoulders, and pulled her into him.

Hope rested her head on his shoulder. It was stiffer than it had been any time before. She was hurting him and she couldn’t help it, but he was trying not to show it. Hope nuzzled in even closer to her father and gathered her thoughts. “I know she’s dead. I know there isn’t a lot of good to her, but Dad, there’s another part. Someone else was involved. Curiosity has the better of me. I want to know that other half. I want to know why she couldn’t or wouldn’t tell him about me.” Hope felt him shift away from her the slightest bit. She sat up and looked into his eyes again. “I don’t want to replace you. I couldn’t have been happier with my life. It’s always been perfect. I just want to know whose blood runs through my veins.”

He only nodded. She was sure he wanted to stop her. Had he asked her to, she would probably have dropped the whole thing, but he wasn’t asking her to drop it. Worse, he wasn’t saying anything.

“I love you and Mom. And Carissa and Thomas and the kids are my life.”

“Shh.” He put his finger to her lips. “Are you ready for it? Are you ready to either have your answers or to be disappointed in what you learn?”

“I think I am.”

“It’s going to change you, Hope.”

“I’m not looking for it to change me.”

“What I mean is you’ll have so much more information than you do now. Look at how your sister reacts when you even mention Mandy Marlow. Her face loses its color and her lips get tight. What she remembers isn’t positive. You are the only thing about Mandy that was ever positive to Carissa. She would have fought me to keep you if she’d had to.”

“I know.”

“Then take what you know and consider it might get worse. What if the man who fathered you is some drug pusher? What if he’s a drunk or a serial killer?”

“What if he’s some even-mannered pilot who met a woman?” she asked, and David shook his head.

“You certainly can give as well as you get.”

“I’m not replacing you.”

“So you’ve said.”

“I just want facts. And I want to be open and honest about this. I don’t want to hide it from you.”

“I assume Trevor is going to help you do this?”

She nodded, and David took his arm from her shoulders and ran his fingers through his hair.

“He’s already given me a file full of information, but I think he has more. I just think he’s afraid to show me. I’ll find her family myself if I have to.”

“You’ll what?” The voice came from the front door, and both Hope and David turned their heads toward Sophia.

“Mom…”

“You’re contacting her family?”

“Mom…” Hope stood and David followed.

“What are you doing? We’ve been open and honest with you. You know everything we’ve ever known about the woman. Why are you trying to build another family?”

“I’m not,” she started.

“Hope, why would you want…”

“Sophie.” David laid a gentle hand on her shoulder. “She just wants to know who the people were that gave her life.”

“We gave her a life,” her mother snapped back.

“Not a life, Mom. Life. I don’t need a new mother. I don’t want another father. I want to know about the people who created me. When I have children I would like to know if they should be screened for certain things or if I might carry some gene for disease.”

“Children? Now you’re having children?” Sophia clasped her hands to her chest.

“No.” Hope shook her head and walked toward her mother. “Yes, someday I’ll have children. Right now, I want to know who gave me to you so you could be my mother. Even Santa leaves tags on gifts, Mom. My tag was half torn off.” She reached for her mother’s hand. “I need to know. I need your blessing.”

Sophia looked at David, who silently nodded.

“Please, Mom.”

“Fine.” She pulled her hand back. “You have my blessing.”

Hope’s heart felt like it was tearing in two when her mother turned back to the house and walked inside.

“She’ll be fine,” her father assured her. “I’ll talk to her.”

“Thank you.”

“You’d better talk to your sister. This will affect her.”

“She knows.”

David nodded. “I’ll try and remember everything I can to help you but something tells me Trevor will have more luck.”

“I know he will.”

“Be careful,” he warned. “Don’t be afraid to back away if you have to.”

“Okay.”

“I’d better get in with your mother. I love you.”

“I love you too.” She stepped forward to hug him, but he’d already walked through the door and disappeared to find his wife and comfort her. Hope fought back the urge to cry. She couldn’t give up. She had to know the truth—she only wished it didn’t hurt those she loved.

Trevor flew through the door and headed straight for the desk. He might be a slob in the rental car, but his paperwork was immaculate. His fingers tore through the papers until he found Donald Buchanan’s phone number. It was time for him to come clean or Trevor would do it for him.

“Hello,” a woman’s voice answered. Shit!

“I’m sorry, ma’am. I was looking for a Mr. Buchanan. I think I have the wrong—”

“This is his wife. What can I do for you?” The voice was clear and sharp. The image of the grandmother from Flowers in the Attic flashed in his mind. The hair on his arms stood and his skin chilled.

“I’m a business associate. I can call at a later…”

“I said what can I do for you?”

“Nothing, ma’am. I’ll call another time. Thank you,” he said and disconnected the phone call.

What had he gotten himself into? Donald Buchanan had warned him against letting his wife know what was going on. He’d said he feared for Hope’s safety.