Читать книгу Single With Twins - Joan Elliott Pickart - Страница 9

Two months later

Heather Marshall leaned back in the chair in front of the computer and rotated her head, attempting to relax the tightened muscles in her neck. She gave up relief as a lost cause and directed her attention to the row of numbers on the monitor.

Nodding in satisfaction, she pressed the save button, then exited the program. A moment later she turned off the computer and sighed as blessed silence fell over the bedroom, the hum from the machine stilled after another day of work.

She got to her feet and glanced longingly at the double bed that beckoned to her to crawl between the cool sheets.

“I’ll be back,” she said to the bed, pointing one finger in the air.

Leaving the cramped bedroom, she walked down the short hall to the living room, her destination the kitchen where she would pack the girls’ lunches for school the next day. The brown bags would be waiting to be grabbed from the refrigerator as the twins prepared to make their usual last-second dash to catch the school bus.

When she was halfway across the living room, a quiet knock sounded at the front door, causing Heather to stop and glance at her watch.

It was nearly ten o’clock, she thought, frowning. Who on earth would be knocking at her door at this late hour? There must be an emergency with one of her friends in the neighborhood.

Heather hurried to the door, then hesitated as she gripped the doorknob.

Slow down and think, she told herself. Granted, the people in the dozen houses on her short block looked after one another, were like a family of sorts, but that didn’t erase the fact that this section of Tucson was not the pride and joy of the chamber of commerce.

The small homes were old, the people who lived in them were low-income, struggling-to-get-by folks, just as she was. It was a high-crime area and only a dope would fling open the door at ten o’clock at night without knowing who was on the other side.

She went to the front window and peered through the drapes, clucking her tongue in disgust as she saw that the light had burned out—again—leaving her tiny front porch in total darkness. There was definitely something faulty in the wiring in that socket that caused the bulb to burn out within a few days of being replaced.

The knock was repeated.

Heather went to the door. “Who is it?”

“Mrs. Marshall?” a man’s voice said. “Heather Marshall? I realize that it’s late but I saw your lights on and…I was wondering if I might speak to you? It’s really very important.”

Heather narrowed her eyes and planted her hands on her hips.

“Are you selling something?” she said. “At ten o’clock at night? I’m not interested, thank you.”

“No, no, I’m not a salesman,” the man said. “Look, my name is Mack Marshall. I’ve been trying to locate you for weeks and now that I have I didn’t want to wait until tomorrow to speak with you. Did you catch my last name? It’s Marshall. We’re related…kind of. I’ll explain everything if you’ll open the door.”

Marshall? Heather thought, frowning. Mack Marshall? And he was claiming to be related to her? That was nuts. Her husband, Frank, hadn’t had any relatives. No one. Like her, he’d been alone in the world, just one more thing he’d claimed meant they were to be together.

“You have the wrong Marshall,” Heather said. “My husband has no family. Good night, Mr. Marshall. I hope you find who you’re looking for.”

“Wait,” the man said. “Your husband’s name was Frank. This is obviously as much of a surprise to you as it was to me, but I’m Frank’s half brother. I didn’t even know he existed until a few weeks ago. Then I discovered he died nearly seven years ago, but that he left a wife and children. I’ve been searching for you ever since. Please, Mrs. Marshall, won’t you let me speak with you?”

Frank had a half brother named Mack? Heather thought incredulously. Was this some kind of scam? Oh, that was silly. What was this Mack Marshall person going to scam her out of? Her millions?

Mmm, she thought, pressing one fingertip to her chin. What to do? What to do? Mack Marshall had piqued her curiosity, that was for sure. It wasn’t every day—well, night in this case—of the week that a long-lost relative popped up out of the woodwork.

Why hadn’t Mack Marshall known until now that he’d had a half brother? And by the same token, why hadn’t Frank been aware of Mack’s existence?

Mmm. The safest thing to do would be to tell this Mack guy to come back in the morning, when she wouldn’t feel as vulnerable as she did now when it was pitch dark outside.

Right, Heather thought dryly. That would result in a long night of tossing, turning and the piling up of unanswered questions regarding the mystery now standing on her porch.

“I give up,” she said, then opened the door a crack to peer out.

Darn, she thought. That decisive action had accomplished nothing more than to give her a glimpse of a tall person barely silhouetted in the darkness.

“I’ve frightened you, haven’t I?” The man said. “I’m very sorry, Mrs. Marshall. I’ve waited this long to talk to you so I’ll come back in the morning, if that’s all right. It certainly wasn’t my intention to make you uneasy about letting me into your home. Is there a time tomorrow that would be good for you to speak with me?”

“Oh, for heaven’s sake,” Heather said, flinging open the door. “Come in. But, I swear, if you’re selling something, you are out of here.”

“Fair enough,” the man said, stepping into the living room. “I really appreciate this.”

Heather closed the door, then turned to look up at Mack Marshall.

This man, she thought, feeling her heart do a strange little two-step, could not possibly be related to Frank. This man was without a doubt the most ruggedly handsome, well-built specimen of the male species she’d ever seen in her twenty-seven years on this earth.

Oh, mercy, look at the square cut of his jaw, the straight blade of his nose, lips that were perfectly proportioned to his other features and…hair. Hair that was thick and black and needed a trim, and eyes that were so dark she could hardly discern the pupils.

His broad shoulders filled out the pale blue dress shirt opened at the neck, and his long, long legs were encased in nice-quality gray slacks, and—

Nope. No way. This Mack Marshall, or whoever he really was, couldn’t possibly be Frank’s brother, half or otherwise. Frank had been hardly taller than her own five-foot-six, and he’d gained weight just looking at a piece of cake, resulting in a large bulge that covered his belt within a few months of their marriage.

True, Frank had had very dark eyes, but his hair had been brown and thinning. He’d been rather good-looking, in a pleasant, ordinary sense, and he could be extremely charming when the mood struck but—

Heather folded her arms beneath her breasts and tapped one foot.

“The jig is up, Mr. Whoever You Are,” she said. “You don’t look one bit like Frank Marshall, not even close. I don’t know what you’re attempting to accomplish here, mister, but it isn’t going to work. I’d like you to leave my home. Now.”

Mack Marshall raised both hands in a gesture of surrender, then lowered his left hand to his side. He removed his wallet from his back pocket with his right hand and flipped it open.

“Take a look at my identification,” he said. “New York driver’s license, press card, voter registration, credit cards, the whole nine yards. I am Mack Marshall and your late husband was my half brother. I have a folder full of documents in my vehicle if you’d like more proof.”

“Press card?” Heather said. “Wait a minute. Wait just a minute here. Are you saying that you’re the Mack Marshall, the one who has received a zillion awards for your photographs? You had a book published, too. I read every word when I looked at the book at the library and it was very moving, very… That Mack Marshall?”

He smiled. “Guilty.”

What he was guilty of, Heather thought, was having a drop-dead smile to go along with his other incredibly masculine attributes. Forget it. That was beside the point. Apparently, Mack really was Frank’s half brother and, for reasons yet to be explained, had been determined to find her.

Heather sighed. “I’m being rude and I apologize. Please, have a seat, but it’s getting rather late and I have to be up early in the morning. I’d appreciate your explaining as quickly as possible your reasons for going to such lengths to find me.”

“Fair enough,” he said, nodding.

Mack waited until Heather had settled onto a rocking chair before sitting on the faded sofa opposite her, sweeping his gaze over the room at the same time.

This entire living room, he thought, would fit into the master bathroom in my apartment in New York City. Man, this place is small and shabby. It was clean, though, and he could detect the faint scent of lemon polish. Heather Marshall took pride in her home, such as it was.

And Heather herself? She was lovely, in a wholesome, fresh way. She didn’t appear to be wearing any makeup, had very dark eyes and black hair that hung down her back in a thick braid.

Her features were delicate and her figure was slender, well suited to the faded jeans and equally faded T-shirt she was wearing. She was a very pretty woman, his sister-in-law, or was it stepsister-in-law, or ex-stepsister-in-law since she was Frank’s widow?

“Why are you staring at me?” Heather said, snapping Mack back to attention.

“Oh. I’m sorry,” he said. “I was just trying to figure out what your official title is. You know, sister-in-law, stepsister-in-law. It’s not important. What matters is that I’ve found you at long last.”

“Why?” Heather said, frowning. “Why is that important, Mr. Marshall?”

“Mack. Please, call me Mack and I’ll call you Heather. After all, we are related.”

“Back to the question…Mack,” Heather said. “Why did you go to such lengths to find me?”

Because he’d nearly died in the dirt halfway around the world, Mack thought, and had been deeply shaken by the fact that he had no family, no one who cared enough to cry at his funeral. That was the truth of the matter, but he wasn’t about to bare his soul to a woman he didn’t even know.

“I, um, I had some unexpected time on my hands,” he said, “and I remembered that I had some old boxes that belonged to my father when he was alive. I’d stuck them in storage and forgotten about them for years. When I finally sifted through the stuff, I discovered documents that proved my father had been married briefly before he met my mother. That first marriage produced Frank. For reasons known only to my father, he never told me he’d been married before and had a son older than me.

“I was determined to find Frank. But after weeks of frustration and dead ends, I learned that he was deceased. Then I finally located you and your daughters. And—” Mack shrugged “—here I am.”

“Well, that makes sense, I guess,” Heather said. “I suppose I’d do the same thing if I suddenly found out I had a relative I hadn’t known existed. Except I’m not certain we’re actually related, given the circumstances.”

“You’re a Marshall,” Mack said firmly. “That makes us family as far as I’m concerned. My investigation also uncovered that you have no relatives. You, Melissa, Emma and I are it…the full contingent of the Marshall clan.”

“You know my daughters’ names?” Heather said, her voice rising slightly.

Mack nodded. “And their birthday. I also know your date of birth and…” He frowned. “You don’t look exactly thrilled with what I’m saying here.”

“Well, my stars,” Heather said, throwing up her hands, “how would you feel if a perfect stranger appeared on your doorstep and proceeded to inform you that not only is he a relative of yours, he also knows everything about you? What else did you find out? When I had my last dental appointment? What kind of vehicle I drive? What?”

“Your car is twelve years old,” Mack said, then cleared his throat. “I’m sorry, but the information was right in front of me on the computer and—”

“You’ve invaded my privacy, Mr. Marshall,” Heather said, “and I’m going to report you to…to— I don’t have the slightest idea who I’m going to report you to. Oh, this is ridiculous.” She paused. “Look, I’ve had a long day and I’m tired. I think it would be best if you left now.”

“May I come back tomorrow?” Mack said, getting to his feet.

Heather stood and crossed her arms, her hands wrapped around her elbows. “I really don’t see any purpose to be served by it. So, okay, we’re related, we’re…we’re family, if you want to stretch the point. But we come from entirely different worlds. You’re a famous photojournalist, a globe-trotting celebrity. I’m a single mother who runs an accounting business out of my home and pinches pennies to provide for my daughters. We have absolutely nothing in common. We’ve met, said hello, but we have nothing to talk about.”

“What about Frank? I’d like to hear about my half brother.”

“That will take all of sixty seconds,” Heather said, rolling her eyes heavenward.

“Heather, I’d really like to meet your daughters, have a chance to get to know them…and you. You’re all the family I have and…well, I’m all the family you have. Doesn’t that mean anything to you?”

“No. Yes. Oh, I don’t know,” she said, shaking her head. “This is all rather overwhelming. I have to give serious thought to what is best for my daughters. Our family, for all intents and purposes, consists of the people who live on this block.

“I rented this house right after the girls were born and no one has moved away from this street since then. We look out for one another and…I don’t want to upset or confuse my daughters by saying, ‘Hey, guess what? You have an uncle, or stepuncle, or whatever. Say a quick hello to Mack, girls, before he takes off for parts unknown and we never see him again.’ Why disrupt their peaceful and consistent existence like that?”

Heather shook her head. “I’m sorry. You’ve really thrown me for a loop, and I’m not behaving well. I apologize for being so rude, but I have to think about what is best for my girls.”

Mack nodded slowly. “I understand, but perhaps it will help you to reach a decision if I tell you that I won’t be doing any traveling for a while. I’m self-employed and I’m on an extended…vacation. I’ll definitely be around for a few weeks at least.”

“Oh,” Heather said. “Don’t people in your tax bracket usually go to more exotic places than Tucson, Arizona, for their vacations?”

“Not when they discover that the only family they have is in Tucson, Arizona,” Mack said quietly, looking directly into Heather’s eyes. “I want—I need—to connect with you and your daughters, Heather. I hope you’ll grant me that privilege.”

She couldn’t breathe, Heather thought suddenly. The soft, rumbly timbre of Mack’s voice, combined with those mesmerizing dark eyes of his, was stealing the very breath from her body.

Mack Marshall was so big, so powerful, so blatantly male, that his very essence seemed to fill the room to overflowing, leaving no space for her, no air to breathe.

Oh, this was frightening, yet somewhere deep within her was a hum of excitement, as well. A heightened awareness of her own femininity as nothing she’d ever experienced before.

No, she didn’t want to see Mack again, didn’t want him in her home, close to her, unsettling her, throwing her so off kilter. No.

“Heather?” Mack said. “May I come back tomorrow? You name the time and I’ll be here. Please?”

“Three o’clock,” Heather heard herself say, then shook her head slightly, stunned at her own response. She sighed in defeat. “The girls get home from school about two-thirty. I’ll explain things to them while we’re sharing our snack, then you can arrive and—oh, I hope I’m doing the right thing.”

“You are. Believe me, you are,” Mack said, smiling. “Thank you, Heather, more than I can begin to express to you. I’ll see you tomorrow afternoon at three o’clock sharp. Good night.”

Mack extended his right hand toward Heather and she stared at it for a long moment before placing her right hand in his. He gripped her hand firmly, but didn’t release it from his grasp.

“Thank you again,” he said.

Heather nodded, told herself to retrieve her hand, but didn’t move.

Heat, she registered. There was a strange heat traveling up her arm and across her breasts, causing them to feel heavy and achy, so strange and— She could feel the calluses on Mack’s hand, which was so large it totally covered hers. There was power in that hand, but he was holding hers with just the right amount of gentleness and, dear heaven, the heat.

Heather pulled her hand free and hoped Mack didn’t see the shuddering breath she took in the next instant.

Mack turned and moved to the door, and Heather followed to lock up behind him.

“Until tomorrow,” he said.

“Yes,” she said, her voice hardly above a whisper.

Mack left the house and Heather closed and locked the door behind him. She leaned her forehead against the worn wood.

How was it possible, she thought, that a simple knock on the front door could turn her entire world topsy-turvy?

Oh, Heather, stop overreacting, she admonished herself as she spun around and headed for the kitchen to make the almost-forgotten lunches. Anyone would be a tad shaken up to have a stranger suddenly appear on the doorstep and claim to be a long-lost relative.

Her world wasn’t topsy-turvy, as her mind had so dramatically described it. It was simply changed a little by the arrival of Mack Marshall. She could handle this. She just needed some rejuvenating sleep, would have this development in its proper perspective in the light of the new day.

“Right,” she said dryly as she yanked open the refrigerator door. “If that’s true, then why do I have a sneaking suspicion that as of three o’clock tomorrow afternoon my life is never going to be quite the same again?”