The Best Bride (72 page)

She stared up into his brown eyes. Eyes the same shape as her own. He was tall and good-looking, with a warm, kind smile. She wanted to throw herself at him and have him hold her until all the little hurts went away. What would it have been like to grow up with Craig as her big brother? She had a feeling it would have been wonderful.

“I…” She raised her hands, palms up. “This isn't about Nick?”

“Nick?” Louise asked. “No. But if you'd be more comfortable with him here, we'll understand.”

“We figured just the five of us would be less intimidating,” Travis said, also coming to his feet. Like the rest of his brothers, he was dressed in jeans and a T-shirt. The casual clothing emphasized his strength and muscular build. “Maybe we should go get Nick to even out the numbers.”

Hannah shook her head. Whatever they wanted, it obviously wasn't to confront her about her pretend marriage. “That's fine. I wasn't sure at first, but I think I can manage on my own.”

“Have a seat,” Craig said.

She slipped past Louise and settled on the center sofa cushion. Travis was on her other side. Kyle and Jordan had pulled wing chairs close and Craig sat down on the coffee table in front of the sofa.

He rested his elbows on his knees. “I'm not sure where to begin.” He glanced at Louise.

The older woman nodded. “I'll go first.” She angled toward Hannah. “Earl—your father—doesn't know about you.”

Hannah was surprised to feel a rush of disappointment. “Why?”

“We don't talk anymore. It's been years. Since before
he retired and moved to Florida.” Louise's blue eyes darkened with concern. “I wasn't sure what to say to him. You would have…complicated things. It's selfish of me, I know.”

Hannah stared at her for a long time. She turned her attention to each of her brothers. No one would meet her gaze.

For a moment, she wondered what they were hiding, then the truth burst through and lit up her mind like a floodlight. “You think he's not going to care about me.”

“That's not true,” Louise said quickly.

Craig shook his head. “Louise, we discussed this before you ever wrote to Hannah.”

“I know.” Her voice was small. She cleared her throat, then continued. “I'm not sure what Earl will think about you. I don't want you hurt by him. He's not the most sensitive man.”

Hannah hadn't realized she was hoping to meet her father until the chance was taken away from her.

“We all thought it was best to wait,” Travis said. “Give yourself a couple of weeks to come to terms with all of this. When you're ready to get in touch with Earl, we'll be happy to give you his phone number and smooth the way.”

“I'll call if that's what you want,” Louise said.

“I'm overwhelmed,” Hannah admitted. “I hadn't thought about getting in touch with him until now. I don't know what to think.” She touched Louise's hand. “You loved him.”

“That was a long time ago. He wasn't someone I could depend on.”

“None of us could,” Craig said bitterly. “My father used to brag that he spent every night in his own bed. The fact that he'd been with other women before he got to that bed didn't matter to him.”

Kyle shifted in his chair. “Obviously we're not sorry he's gone.”

“You've never tried to reconcile with him?” she asked. For her, it was inconceivable that a child would want to be apart from a parent. She'd spent so many years alone, praying for someone to come along who would care about her.

“He was violent,” Jordan said simply.

Hannah repressed a shiver. She'd spent a few weeks at a foster home like that. What she remembered the most was being afraid all the time. Each breath had been thick with the fear that the next blow could come at any moment.

“How did you four turn out to be so normal? You're all married, with great wives and happy kids. Someone must have done something right.”

Craig smiled. “It wasn't easy. We're not exactly experts at relationships. Our father and uncles didn't respect women or believe in love. We had to figure that out on our own. I tried to do the opposite of my father. Unfortunately, I ended up married to a woman just like him. My life was a disaster…until I met Jill.”

Even his voice changed as he said her name. His love for her was a tangible force in the room. She wondered what it would be like to be loved that much, and then to have the courage to love that person back. The level of trust required amazed her. But people fell in love all the time. How could they risk everything based on a feeling?

Had Nick ever been in love? She didn't know very much about his past. Mostly because she hadn't bothered to ask. Maybe there was a special someone he'd lost along the way. Oddly enough, that thought made her uncomfortable.

“I never knew how to care about someone,” Travis said. “I thought I knew what love was, but I was wrong.”

“I left women before they left me,” Kyle said. “I refused to let anyone walk out on me the way my mom did.”

Louise sighed.

Kyle looked at her. “Sorry. I didn't mean—”

She cut him off with a wave of her hand. “It's not your fault, Kyle.”

“It's not yours, either,” Jordan said quickly.

“I know. Sometimes, though, it's hard.” She looked at Hannah. “Sorry. I still feel guilty, I guess. I never wanted to cause the family any hurt. So when I found out the boys' mother left because Earl wanted to marry me…” She shook her head. “It was awful. I never encouraged him when I came back to town. I even refused to see him. It wasn't enough.”

“It's over,” Jordan reminded her.

“You're right. I have to keep telling myself that. At least I have my daughter here.” She touched Hannah's hand.

“A girl,” Kyle said. “The first one in four generations.”

“You're not going to start with that silly legend again, are you?” Hannah asked. “You don't really believe it, about girls being born when Haynes men are in love?”

Jordan grinned. “We're not sure it's only Haynes
men,
so you'd better be careful.”

She opened her mouth to tell him it wasn't likely to be a problem, then quickly caught herself. She'd nearly forgotten that no one knew her marriage was a sham or that she and Nick had never been intimate. Even if their kiss had been hot enough to make her bones melt and her…

She forced her mind away from that erotic train of thought just in time to notice Craig handing her four sheets of paper.

“What are these?” she asked, staring at the legal-looking documents.

“We're transferring stock to you.”

“Stock in what?”

“Austin's company,” Travis explained. “The four of us
own forty-nine percent. Years ago, when he was first starting up his research firm, he needed capital. We gave him all we had in exchange for shares in the company.”

Kyle grinned. “It's been a hell of an investment, Hannah. Austin is brilliant. We want you to share in that.”

She continued to study the papers. “I don't understand. Why would you do this?”

“You're family,” Jordan said as if that answered everything.

“I couldn't,” she said, confused by the gesture. What was going on?

Louise gave her a look of concern. “Don't be so quick to turn down the shares. Austin's company might be private, but it's worth millions. The shares pay a generous dividend.”

Hannah looked at her brothers, then at the woman who had given birth to her. Too much was happening too fast. “This is impossible,” she said and thrust the papers at Craig. “You know so little about me. I could be an awful person, a fraud. You can't just give me this.”

Craig touched her hand. “You're family,” he said as if that explained it all.

But she wasn't. Not really. She
was
a fraud and an awful person. She was lying about her marriage—deceiving them all. If they knew the truth…

She couldn't bear to think about it. “No,” she said, rising to her feet. “I just can't. It's not right. I know you don't understand, but it's true.”

She felt burning behind her eyelids and knew tears threatened. She refused to cry in front of them. Most of the time, she refused to cry at all, but it didn't seem as if she was going to get a choice in this matter.

“Hannah?” Louise said.

“What's wrong?” one of her brothers asked. She wasn't
sure which one. She didn't bother to look up and figure it out.

“Excuse me,” she said and fled the room.

* * *

Nick found Hannah huddled in a corner of the wide porch. There was a beautiful restored antique swing, but she'd ignored that in favor of a plain straight-back chair tucked next to the kitchen window.

She had her arms wrapped around her body, her legs pressed tightly together. From the porch steps, he could feel her misery. As he walked closer, he saw the traces of tears on her cheeks.

She looked up as he approached. He saw the visible effort it took for her to pull herself together. Her shoulders straightened and she quickly wiped her face.

“Louise said I'd find you out here,” he told her as he moved next to her and leaned against the porch. He glanced up at the blue sky. “It's a great afternoon. Warm, but not hot.”

“Lovely weather,” she murmured automatically. She twisted her fingers together and stared at her lap.

Her thick hair, pulled back in a sensible braid, gleamed in the bright light. Hannah was strong and capable, but right now she needed a good hug and maybe a couple of kisses to put the color back in her cheeks. He was just the man to do it, if only she would let him.

But he knew Hannah; she was prickly and stubborn. She would rather bleed to death than admit she'd been hurt and wanted comfort.

“Did she tell you what happened?” she asked, her voice barely audible.

“Yes.”

Louise hadn't gone into details, but Nick heard enough to get the picture. Hannah wasn't reacting well to her
instant family. She felt guilty about lying to them, confused by her mixed emotions. Their offer of stock shares had been more than she could handle.

“You probably think I'm crazy, right?” she asked. “I should just take the stock shares and pocket the proceeds. So what if I've been given them under false pretenses?”

“What's false? You're Louise's daughter and their half sister.”

“But I'm not really your wife.”

“A small detail.”

She glared at him. “Maybe to you, but I don't act like that. I don't lie to people, cheat them, steal from orphans.”

He raised his hand. “I've never stolen from an orphan in my life. Don't you think you're being a little overly dramatic?”

“Okay. Maybe just a little.”

“Holly said they've got a couple of bikes. Why don't we go for a ride?”

Hannah sniffed. “I don't think that's a good idea.”

“Your alternatives are to go back inside and face your brothers or go to the gatehouse and be alone with me.”

He didn't bother pointing out that they would be alone on the bike ride. He figured in her book, that wasn't nearly the same as being along in a small gatehouse.

For a moment, he hoped she would opt for the apartment. An afternoon of passionate lovemaking was just what she needed to take her mind off her troubles. After the kiss they'd shared the previous evening, he was having some troubles of his own—mainly getting his mind off her. Without wanting to, he could feel her in his arms and taste her sweet kiss.

She'd responded with the passionate heat of a sensual woman. He wanted to explore all the possibilities their
mutual attraction suggested. If that wasn't an option, he was willing to settle for a bike ride.

“A ride sounds great,” she said, standing up and heading toward the porch stairs.

She moved with the easy grace of a natural athlete. Long legs, swinging arms, swaying hips. When they'd walked the bikes out to the driveway, she climbed onto hers and began pedaling.

“I haven't done this in years,” she called over her shoulder. She wobbled a little, but by the time they reached the end of the long driveway, she was steady and pedaling easily.

Nick rode next to her when traffic allowed, dropping behind when cars approached. Sunday afternoon in Glenwood was quiet. He could hear families playing together outside and smell the tempting aroma of barbecues. Leafy green trees sprouted in front of houses and along the sidewalks. Some of the graceful branches stretched across the street and touched.

After about fifteen minutes, they reached a large, grassy park. There were picnic benches, a baseball diamond, more trees and a pond complete with a score of little ducks and toddlers offering bits of bread.

Hannah came to a stop and straddled her bike. She smiled at him when he caught up. Her face was flushed, her eyes bright. “Thank you,” she said. “I needed to get away. This is great.”

She wore a peach short-sleeved shirt tucked into worn jeans. Nothing fancy or obviously provocative, yet looking at her was enough to make him want her. He watched the rise and fall of her chest as she caught her breath. Her lips parted and he caught a glimpse of white teeth. A couple strands of hair had slipped free of her braid.

“You're beautiful,” he said without thinking, then could have kicked himself.

Hannah reacted predictably. She rolled her eyes. “Yeah, right. I expected something more original out of you, Nick. Are you losing your touch?”

He was and she was the reason. Not that she would believe him if he told her the truth. “Simply stating the obvious,” he said lightly, then glanced around the park. “What do you think of Glenwood?”

“Seems nice. Kind of small and quiet.”

“Great when you're a kid or a parent, hell for teenagers. There's not a whole lot to do.”

“You sound as if you speak from experience.”