Substitute Daddy

Leigh had been waxing poetic about Gary’s perfect younger brother for weeks. He was funny, kind, handsome as sin and twice as wealthy. He was supposed to have been perfect for Melissa. And she had actually gotten her hopes up when she’d seen the way Brett looked at Leigh and Gary. She could have sworn she saw a deep yearning in his eyes for what they’d found together. Then he’d been all smiles and loving hugs for his aunts and cousins while making Melissa feel like part of the family. Handsome had been so great an understatement that Melissa had planned to tease Leigh over it later.

She and Leigh were dressed alike for the first time since their parents died. Leigh had bought the dresses, done Melissa’s hair and makeup so they could have fooled even Gary himself. But, of course, it had been Gary’s plan. He’d wanted to mislead his parents, who believed Leigh had been raised in the lap of luxury, not on a beaten-down farm in southern Maryland. He’d assured Melissa that proper breeding would matter to them.

Melissa had thought she’d feel self-conscious all dressed up in a sophisticated costume. But it had been worse than that. Leigh and Gary had been wrong to hide the truth and so had Melissa. Wrong to think she could pretend to be someone and something she wasn’t. Wrong to get so caught up in the excitement of the game that she forgot some games come with penalties and consequences.

Melissa shook herself from her reverie. What was she doing, thinking about that whole humiliating episode? It had been a long time ago and she was older now and much, much wiser. It was time to think of the future. And as she and Izaak planned the renovations, the future began to look bright again. She refused to think about the shadow on the horizon called Brett Costain.

The old swing creaked as Melissa rocked in the shade of the big “Johnny Smoker” tree off to the left of the house. She smiled at the Philadelphia nickname and reminded herself for the umpteenth time to find out the real name for her favorite tree on the property. She looked up into the boughs as the evening breeze ruffled the big leaves, creating the sound Aunt Dora had always called the song of summer.

Melissa’s stomach growled, reminding her that it was dinnertime and of the astounding sensation that had awakened her that morning. Her baby had moved, and for the first time she’d felt a little flutter of life. Her first reaction had been to call Leigh—but then she’d remembered.

She was alone. Completely alone, with all the responsibility that bringing a precious life into the world entailed. She had to secure the baby’s future and guard its present.

She was alone. Alone to face the unknown in the form of pregnancy and labor and delivery.

She was alone. Alone to see first smiles, hear first laughter and worry and thrill over first steps.

She’d been close—so close—to calling Hunter and telling him she’d changed her mind. That marriage to a friend was better than going forward alone. But she hadn’t called. A good and generous man like Hunter Long deserved a wife who not only loved him but who was in love with him and who desired him as well. She’d caught a brief glimpse of those feelings one magical night and even though the object of her affection hadn’t returned her feelings she knew what was missing with and from her old friend.

It was ironic that only hours later Brett—the man who’d inadvertently taught her so much—had swept back into her life to teach her another truth. In threatening to take her baby away just as it had become real and not a little frightening to her, he had revealed to her just how precious this baby was.

She sighed and sank a little deeper into the swing. Today had been a very long day.

It had started early with the joy of new life. Fear had come upon her, and then Brett had arrived and drawn anger bursting from the depth of her being. But then Izaak had come by, full of good news and support.

Because his elders had approved their venture, Izaak and his brothers and cousins would be allowed to convert the barn nearest the road and dismantle the others. He had carefully inspected the building and had declared it strong and sound. They had paced off and marked an office and rest room in the loft area, deciding to leave an open-floor plan on the ground floor because it would be more flexible in the future. They decided to add a staircase and a balcony railing at the front of the loft for the display of Margaret Abramson’s quilts.

Izaak was so proud of his wife’s skilled artistry that Melissa had felt a little surge of the old childhood jealousy. And she’d teased him about it. But he had patted her hand, his mood serious, and told her that God would send a man for her and her baby.

This time he didn’t mention Hunter, for which she was grateful. He understood that while she and Hunter could build a family for the baby, they could not build a life on friendship alone.

She sighed again, regretful but resigned. At least this way she’d have the home and child she’d always dreamed of to soften the loss of Leigh.

She closed her eyes, reaching inside herself for the memory of Leigh’s bright laughter and her wide smile. She relived the wonderful scene the day Melissa’s pregnancy had been confirmed. She and Leigh had both been waiting in the couple’s living room when Gary got home. Leigh had given him a silly T-shirt about fatherhood. Gary had stared down at it for a long moment then let out a joy-filled whoop before lifting Leigh in the air and spinning her around. When he’d put Leigh down, he rushed to Melissa and engulfed her in a bear hug, thanking her with grateful tears in his eyes.

The sound of an engine and the crunch of gravel disrupted summer’s song and Leigh and Gary slipped silently back into Melissa’s memory. She wiped away her tears and stood, then walked around the side of the porch and froze. It appeared the day would end the way it had begun—with the annoyance of Brett Costain.

Melissa stalked forward to meet him, studiously ignoring the way the sun glinted off his blue-black hair. “Did you think I was kidding about calling Hunter Long?”

“No. But I thought talking to you again and settling things more amicably would be worth the risk.”

“And I told you we have nothing to talk about.”

“Which is my fault. I shot my mouth off. My only excuse is that all of this threw me more than just a little.” He gestured to the house and surrounding buildings. “You have to admit this is pretty far removed from the world I was raised in.”

Melissa looked around and tried to see the scene from his point of view. Gary and Leigh’s four-bedroom colonial had been far removed from his upbringing. She supposed her house, scraped and not yet painted, with its broken shutters not back from being repaired, looked rather shabby. Add two barns whose only virtue could be found in their salvage value, and she could guess what he thought. But that was no excuse for the way he’d acted or the things he’d threatened.

“This is my home. It will be my child’s home. This isn’t Philadelphia. It isn’t Devon. This is St. Marys County, Maryland, where a lot of people are poor. No judge is going to take away my baby because my house needs painting and repairs.”

“And neither would I,” he said quickly. “I’m sorry about the threat. I wasn’t out of your driveway before I realized what I’d said. I didn’t come here this morning to upset you or threaten you. I came for answers. And to offer help. Now that I see your situation I can see you need it.”

She’d meant what she said about the judge and the courts but his reappearance was still upsetting. No mother took his kind of threat lightly, especially considering the things she knew about his family. But that wasn’t why her legs were shaking and her heart was pounding in her chest.

It was him.

Melissa didn’t know why his nearness always affected her like this. It was the same now when she was angry with him as it had been five years ago when all she’d wanted was to feel his lips on hers.

Knowing it would be stupid to antagonize him by again asking him to leave, and needing desperately to sit, Melissa gestured toward the porch. “I don’t want your help but I’ll see what I can do about those answers you mentioned.” She turned and walked up the steps, sinking gratefully into one of the big wicker rockers, the one Uncle Ed used to sit in for hours. She could almost feel his comforting presence surround her.

Brett followed and pulled the mate to her chair so it faced hers more directly. He leaned forward, propped his elbows on his knees and laced the long fingers of his beautiful hands. He was such an incredibly handsome man. No wonder women nearly swooned at his feet—the rat.

“I needed to know why you lied to me,” the rat asked.

Melissa sat back in the chair and crossed her arms, pinning him with a hostile glare. “I told you, I didn’t lie. I left. My stay with Gary and Leigh was temporary. I was under no obligation to walk in the front door of Bellfield again or to remain in Pennsylvania. But you know all that.”

“No. That isn’t what I mean. I’m talking about the lie five years ago when you almost destroyed my relationship with my brother.”

She could feel and hear his suppressed anger. The fingers which had looked graceful and relaxed only moments ago were now clenched tightly. Had she nearly come between the brothers? It had never been her intention. Had Leigh not felt her pain and anger at the wedding reception, Melissa would never have told her sister what had happened with Brett.

Melissa told Brett all of that now, adding, “But I don’t understand how you think I lied to you.”

“You aren’t the same person. This you is the real you. The person I met shouldn’t have been so upset when one night was all I could offer. She wouldn’t have been hurt because our stolen moments in the pool house weren’t about happily ever after. The person I met lived in the real world, not the back of beyond with rocking chairs and porches and barns. She was a designer. She had plans to open an antique store. She was glamorous and worldly and cosmopolitan. She wasn’t you.”

Melissa nodded, seeing for the first time that Brett hadn’t been unaffected by that night or the masquerade. “Oh what a tangled web we weave…” she thought.

“The way I was dressed was the facade. One Leigh and Gary created. It shouldn’t have been necessary, but, because all your family cares about are appearances and bank accounts, it was necessary for Gary. He was sure they’d use Leigh’s upbringing after our parents died as a new source of ridicule. He didn’t want the love of his life used as a weapon against him. He knew it would hurt her. Leigh and I knew it would hurt him. And Gary had been hurt enough.”

Brett sat back in his chair slowly, taking the words in, thinking about them solemnly. “I agree and I understand what and who prompted it. They’re my parents too. But Gary lied to me. Then he was furious with me for treating you like the person you pretended to be without bothering to tell me you’d been playing dress up.”

She could see beyond his anger to the hurt in his light-gray eyes. They were filled with pain.

“What I don’t understand—” he continued “—is why he kept it from me. We didn’t keep secrets from each other. Why do you think I’m the only one who knows for sure that there’s a baby on the way?”

Melissa leaned back in her chair also, letting her face rest in the shadows as she spoke. “He said the two of you were always having to keep secrets from your parents. He wanted to let you off the hook with this one. That’s all it was, Brett. His commitment to Leigh was a lifetime one. If Gary had told you, he felt he would be forcing you to keep his secret for just as long. We’d originally come up with a scenario in which I would pretend to move to the farm I’d inherited from a distant relative. I was going to say I enjoyed the area and had decided to stay. Since it turned out that I preferred not to visit when you’d be around, he decided updating you and your parents with the story no longer mattered.”

Brett pursed his lips and nodded, then looked off, staring at the barn closest to the house. “I would never have touched you if I’d known the truth. I wish to God he’d told me.”

“Well, you aren’t the only one,” she snapped. She still smarted from his incredulous look when she’d found him in the arms of another woman not twenty-four hours after he’d held her, kissing her in the same way. He’d so dazzled her that she’d almost compromised her principles for him. And that had hurt.

“I didn’t mean to hurt you,” he said quietly.

Melissa hated that he saw the truth. “Don’t flatter yourself. You infuriated me. That’s all there was to it,” she lied.

“I didn’t mean to do that either,” Brett said, his voice solemn. “But I know I hurt you. I saw your tears before you turned away. Plus Gary had a lot to say on the subject.” He grimaced. “And I’m sorry, but I was misinformed.”

“Only about my clothing. I’m not a country bump-kin just because intimacy means something to me.”

He nodded. “Fine. I think, considering present circumstances, it’s time we bury the hatchet somewhere other than in each other’s backs.”