Sweeter Than Wine (14 page)

Kasie brought the tea back into the living
room, "Do you always travel with your girlfriend?"

"Uh, no, but she hasn't been up here and I
promised to show her the redwoods. So I brought her along."

"I see. Well, now let's see. Dad graduated
the University of Washington, back in…"

Kasie began.

Sam frowned glancing about.

"Is something wrong?"

"Uh no…I just wish I'd have brought my
recorder with me. I do need some paper and a pen, if you don't
mind."

Chayton nodded, "I'll get you some, just sit
tight."

Kasie was open and warm and Sam liked her
right away. His itch to tell her who he was was getting to him.
First he needed to know about his dad and mom.

"How many times has he been married?"

"Three." Kasie frowned. "I hope you won't
play that up. It seems everyone wants a story from that angle."

"Oh no, just the preliminary questions." Sam
assured her.

After Kasie nodded and smiled she continued.
"He married a little local girl first. Her name was Susan. They
were terribly in love and very young. He'd just finished high
school and was about to go off to college on a football
scholarship, when he met her and fell instantly in love."

Sam felt his heartbeat quicken. His mother.
Her name was Susan, his heart squeezed a bit.

"What happened to them?"

Kasie shrugged, "Rosie told me they got
married before he left and she was pregnant. He went off to college
and left her at home with her folks. When it came time for the
baby, her folks took her to the hospital. The baby was still born.
Naturally she was a complete wreck, she never recovered from
it."

"That's terrible," Sam felt his heart
breaking for his mother and the lie. Tears sprang to his eyes
thinking of the woman who bore such an agony. "Go on…"

"Dad came back and found his beautiful bride
in shambles. She never was right after that. He tried to help her
in every way, but she kept getting worse, wanted her baby. Dad had
to put her in an institution."

"An asylum?" Sam shrieked.

"A Sanitarium, yes. She never came out of the
post partum depression. She died a couple of years later."

"From what?"

"I don't know I'm sure it's on record
somewhere."

"Could you tell me what asylum?"

"I can find out for you, yes. I hope you
don't dwell on that angle of the story, Mr. McKay. My father was a
very rich and prominent man in this area, very well respected. I'd
hate to think you would print anything that would hurt that
reputation. No matter how many mistakes he made, he did a lot of
good for the folks on this mountain."

"No…no of course not. However, I do need all
the facts to tell the story correctly. Don't you agree?"

Kasie seemed skeptical, "I suppose."

Kasie told him everything she could think of,
all the awards and recognition her father won over the years. Sam
seemed to only half listen.

When she was done he asked, "What hospital
was she taken to?"

"Who?" Kasie asked.

"Susan Douglas."

"I'm not sure, is it important."

"It could be yes."

"Well, you might have to ask Rosie these
questions because I don't know all the answers to that part of his
life."

"Of course, I want to thank you for being so
frank with me, for not trying to whitewash his entire career."

Kasie stared at him, "I'll be the first to
admit that dad was a workaholic. You couldn't drag him away for
anything he considered as work. My father was a determined man. A
good man, a controlling man. However, don't misunderstand, I loved
him. So we will not stand by and see his name blackened. You do
understand, don't you?"

"Of course. I can assure you, it won't be.
However, some things might come out of all of this. You see,
there's reason to believe that the child he had with Susan is
alive."

Kasie stared at him for a long moment, turned
her head and her mouth fell open. "I-I don't know what to say.
Where did you get such an idea?"

Sam came toward her when she went pale,
"Because, you see, how can I put this without being downright
blunt. But, I am John Douglas's son."

Kasie's legs went out from under her and Sam
reached to catch her. Her husband went to her side and picked her
up in his arms and then gave Sam a thunderous glance. "Are you some
fortune seeker?"

"I assure I am not," Sam said and Lacey
joined his side.

"He's telling the truth. But the truth only
came out when Sam's father died and admitted he was adopted."

Chayton carried his wife to the sofa and sat
her in his lap. She came to and stared into Sam's eyes.

"If this is true, then your, my brother?" she
murmured.

"Yes, ma'am. I am."

"Call Rosie Chayton, or better yet, go get
her." Kasie demanded.

"Okay sweetheart, anything you want. Just
take it easy, okay. I don't want you straining yourself. You just
rest easy. And don't drop any more bombs till I get back,
understand." Chayton eyed Sam with a frown.

"I am sorry, I certainly didn't mean to
startle you, but I didn't know how to say it without just saying
it."

"I'll be fine," she said and stared into
Sam's eyes. "Now that I really look at you, you resemble him some,
only you don't have the Douglas eyes." She murmured aloud.

"I'm sorry, I know this is a shock, but I had
to know. You see, my father, Mr. McKay admitted when he was dying
that I was not his son. However, because he was dying, I didn't get
much information out of him. Only his name and general location.
That's all. Naturally, being grown, I wanted to find out what had
happened. I didn't know how to approach you with this. Because John
Douglas was famous, I figured you would think me a fake or
something. However, I assure you, I'm not. I just want to know what
happened." Sam said his hand on Lacey's. "And to put your mind at
ease, I'm not a reporter and I'm not doing a story on him. I just
want to know what happened. My being alive means my mothered died
not knowing it. I want to know why. And I want to find out what
happened."

"If you are his first wife's son, then that
means, she never knew you were alive, nor did he. How could that
have happened?" Kasie shook her head in disbelief.

"Switched at birth of something maybe?" Lacey
offered.

"Oh my God, the poor woman went out of her
mind worrying about you, and never knew you were alive. But who,
who could be responsible?" Kasie asked.

Chayton had already left to go get Rosie.

Sam stared into her face, "I really didn't
want to upset you so." He explained again. Especially in your
condition, but I couldn't stop myself."

Kasie nodded, "It is quite a shock, but I'll
be fine. Wow!" she looked at him. "You're my half brother then,"
she said with a smile.

"Who raised you?" she asked curiously.

"My father and mother were John McKay, and
Anne McKay. I had, or have a brother too."

"And you never knew?"

"No…I never had a reason to suspect anything.
Oh…my brother and I didn't look alike and I didn't really favor
anyone, but you know how families sometimes are. I learned to just
think I was sort of an odd ball."

"And you're not a reporter. I'm glad of
that," she asked looking from Lacey to Sam.

"No, and I’m sorry I lied. I just didn't know
how to face you. It's not something you just blurt out, and yet I
did. Didn't I?" Sam said with a sigh.

Kasie shook her head, her look of confusion
stifled now and some other emotion replacing it. "A brother, after
all these years."

"This Rosie, how come you think she might
know something?" Sam asked.

"Rosie has known dad all her life. If anyone
does know anything, it will be her. But I would think if she knew,
she'd have said something to me, by now." Kasie smiled.

Lacey held Sam's hand in hers, and squeezed
it, "See, this wasn't so bad, was it?"

Sam smiled at her, "No, I guess not."

Sam glanced about the place, out the window
to the beautiful scene of forestry.

"Can you tell me any more about him?"

Kasie leaned back and relaxed, putting her
feet under her now, "Dad had your complexion, even your eyes just
not the coloring. They startled me a bit, when you first walked in,
but I thought I was being silly for noticing. Dad was a very busy
man, his business came first I'm afraid. I don't know why. I never
understood it. Even when he married Margaret, he didn't have time
for all of us. My mother was an actress an in some ways the two of
them were just too much alike, it's no wonder they couldn't stay
married. She had her career and dad had his. When he married
Margaret, I thought he'd change, but not much. He was a workaholic.
He didn't have time for family. Even though he managed to help most
of the people in this area in one way or another. He just didn't
have the time to spend with them. He controlled me tightly for
years. Then I went back to live around my mom. When I decided I
wanted to marry, Dad politely had me kidnapped. By Chayton. Chayton
and I had a romance earlier and almost married. However, at the
last minute I chickened out. After that I went to live with my Mom.
However, thrown together again, we knew it had to be real to have
lasted for eight years without seeing one another. We've been
happily married ever since. I hope Rosie can tell you more, because
I am sure you are just brimming with questions."

Lacey nodded, "He is…."

"Let me show you to your rooms upstairs and
you can rest for a while. I forgot all about you walking up the
mountain here. I know Chayton and Rosie will be here soon." Kasie
started up the stairs and Sam seemed reluctant to follow.

"We really don't want to put you out…."

"Family is never an imposition." Kasie
smiled. "And, it is nice to have a brother. Would you mind very
much if I hugged you?"

Sam smiled, "Not at all."

They grabbed each other and held on for a
long moment, then smiled into each other's face. "I have a
brother," she cried aloud her smile broadening.

Finally Sam followed and motioned for Lacey
to come with him.

"You can use this room, it's our only
guestroom, and it's a regular size bed, I hope you two don't mind."
she gestured.

Lacey started to object but Sam nodded, "This
is great, thank you."

Kasie stared at him for a long moment, "I
think I'd like another hug about now." Kasie chuckled and reached
to pull Sam to her.

"I wish you had been around when I was
younger, I always wanted an older brother."

Sam held her and smiled. Her warmth was so
much more than he expected, and there was an unshed tear in his eye
when she pulled away.

Kasie stared at him, "I'm so sorry, this has
got to be hard for you."

"I'm fine, just didn't expect such a warm
welcome." Sam explained.

"We Texas girls tend to be that way, so get
used to it," she chuckled and hugged Lacey too.

"I've got some old movies of Dad, if you're
interested in watching them after supper?" she called.

"That would be nice," Sam smiled at her.

When she closed the door, Lacey looked at him
and shrugged, "They are nice people, Sam."

"Yeah, they are." Sam admitted.

He glanced about the room, looked out the
window and then sat on the edge of the bed.

"I guess they don't care if we…" Sam smiled
at her.

Lacey hesitated, "Yeah, I'm a little
surprised at that."

"Come here," he called to her.

Slowly she moved towards him, he reached out
and took her hand, looking at it for a long moment, and then
looking up at her. "Thanks for coming with me." His voice was raw
and husky.

"I promised I would," she faltered, but Sam
was having a difficult time and she knew it. Her heart went out to
him.

"What's wrong? They are wonderful people, so
obliging and all. Why aren't you happy?"

Sam hung his head, and still stared at her
hand. "It's much nicer than I ever thought it would be. However,
.now I need to know how the McKay's got hold of me. What happened?
Was it merely a mistake or was it deliberate?"

"Yes, that is strange, unless like I said you
were accidentally switched at birth. I mean you see on TV all the
time how it happens." She sat beside him on the bed.

"That would be the natural assumption. All I
want to know now is, was it an accident or on purpose?" Sam
said.

"You think it wasn't?" she gasped.

"I don't know. All I know is my mother went
insane thinking I died at birth. I didn't die. And someone switched
me with the baby that did."

"Sam, what you're suggesting is a crime."
Lacey gasped.

"I know. And I'm sorry, but it caused a
woman's sanity. It destroyed a life."

"Honey, don't go there. There's no proof
whatsoever that it was deliberate." Lacey said.

"No, there isn't. But I do intend to find
out."

Lacey felt herself weakening, if what Sam
said was true then a crime had been committed when he was born. A
terrible crime and Sam wasn't the kind to be satisfied until he
knew.

She kissed his cheek, "Let's don't jump to
conclusions."

He looked into her eyes and smiled, "You're
right. It is wonderful to know I have such a sweet sister, isn't
it?"

"Yes, a family to look forward to," Lacey
encouraged trying to take him away from that dark suspicion.
However, he had her worried.

What if it was intentional?

He pulled her against him, and buried his
head against her shoulder. "You smell terrific." He whispered.

"Kiss me Sam," she begged.

He reached up to touch his lips to hers and
she moaned as she went into his arms. The kiss was long, hot, and
searing. His hands wandered over her, going under her t-shirt to
find the hard pebble of her breast. He circled it with the palm of
his hand after pushing her bra away.