Читать книгу Meeting Megan Again - Julianna Morris, Julianna Morris - Страница 11

Warning tension crept though Tyler and he shook his head. It was wiser, not to mention safer, to concentrate on something else.

Anything else.

Megan might be a widow now, but she was his cousin’s widow, however distant that relationship might have been. Tyler cleared his throat, looking for something to change the subject. He finally decided it was the direction of his thoughts that needed changing.

“Look, why are you so bothered by Eleanor’s matchmaking?” he asked.

Megan blew a strand of hair from her forehead. “I just don’t want Grams getting her hopes up. About either of us.”

“Don’t worry. I’ll only be here for a few days, then things can go right back to the way they were.”

“You don’t know anything about the way things were,” Megan countered. “I mean…not that you should know, and I’m not criticizing or anything, but you’ve been gone and I’ve been here and…and…,” she stuttered to silence.

Interesting.

She looked flustered and tongue-tied, a condition that made Tyler want to smile. “Yes?” he prompted, enjoying this previously unseen side of Megan.

“Uh…that is, I know I’m not blood family, but…” She stopped again and lifted her shoulders in a helpless shrug.

“The O’Bannons don’t care about blood ties.”

“Then why did…you…uhm…” Megan stuttered into silence a third time and Tyler couldn’t control his grin.

“Why what?”

She ran her palms over her thighs in a nervous gesture. “Eleanor mentioned it was a little tense when you lived with them—that you kept saying you weren’t really family, and why should they bother? And…well, you did stay away for a long time.”

Tyler’s grin faded. The issue of his childhood was a sore subject, though not because of the O’Bannons. He’d been raised in a boys’ group home, made to feel like a charity case because he didn’t have any “family.” By the time Grady and Eleanor arrived on the scene his pride had grown to such immense, angry proportions that even an army tank couldn’t have put a dent in it.

And what could they have said, anyway? They’d taken him out of duty, not love. He might respect that choice now, but it didn’t make any difference.

“Staying away is my concern,” he replied stiffly, then kicked himself. The charming, flustered expression on Megan’s face vanished and she bit her lip.

“Sorry. But you did ask.”

“Yeah.” Tyler ran his fingers through his hair and sighed. Some things never seemed to change. His pride continued getting in the way, especially in relation to Megan. He couldn’t have pursued her nine years ago because of his cousin, but it still rankled to think he wouldn’t have had a chance. There was so much that had never been said between them, he was at a loss, not knowing what to say now.

“I didn’t mean to offend you,” she murmured, sounding more tentative than before. “It means so much to Eleanor that you’ve come to the reunion. Grady will be thrilled, too.”

Tyler looked at Megan, a frown creasing his forehead. He’d built up a lot of ideas about her over the years, ideas about her marrying Brad mostly because he was charming and handsome and belonged to the right social class. He supposed it was a way of protecting himself, because he’d taken one look at Megan at her engagement party and found himself thinking about fairy tales and happy endings.

Impossible endings.

Now Megan belonged to the family in a way he never could, and it was still impossible. “You really love them, don’t you?” he asked quietly. “The O’Bannons.”

Megan’s head snapped back, irritation swamping other emotions in her eyes. “Of course I love them. You don’t understand. You never understood,” she muttered angrily and not too clearly.

“Understood what?”

“Nothing. It’s not important.”

“It seems important to you.”

She gave him a look that suggested he was a low-level moron. “Go outside and visit with everybody. If there’s anyone you don’t recognize I’m sure Grams or Kara will make the necessary introductions.”

“What are you going to do?”

“Check on dinner.” Without giving him a chance to say anything else, Megan hurried away.

It was on the tip of Tyler’s tongue to call after her, asking why she didn’t have a maid or cook to handle that kind of detail, but he stopped himself just in time. The California Gold Country was a beautiful place and attracted interesting tourists, but bed and breakfast inns were hard work. If Brad had left Megan a ton of money, she probably wouldn’t be in the hotel business in the first place.

Tyler whistled under his breath. That was something he hadn’t considered. He’d assumed Megan and her daughter were well-provided for, but what if they weren’t?

He walked back into the garden and gazed around. The afternoon sun filtered through the trees, putting warmth into the crisp October air. Various members of the family were heading for the house and they stopped, greeting him. They didn’t say anything about his long absence, just how glad they were that he’d made it to the reunion.

“Tyler? Has Megan thoroughly warned you off?” Eleanor asked as she stood and draped a quilted lap robe over her arm. “She puts up huge No Trespassing signs, but underneath she’s a very sweet girl.”

“I’m sure.”

Eleanor chuckled at his wry tone. “You never understood Megan, but that’s all right. Give it some time.”

You never understood….

Tyler frowned thoughtfully. Megan had just accused him of the same thing, or at least of generally not understanding. It was probably a feminine thing. And he couldn’t disagree—women were damned hard to understand.

“Tyler?” Eleanor said, putting her hand on his arm. “You do like Megan, don’t you? I know she can be prickly, but that’s because she’s been hurt.”

He winced, realizing Megan was right about one thing—Eleanor was matchmaking. “Of course I like her,” he said automatically, knowing it was the only answer he could give that wouldn’t make things worse.

“Good. It’s been hard for her since Brad…” Eleanor’s voice shook.

“I know you miss him.”

“Mostly I miss what he should have been,” she said sadly. “The boy made such a mess of things. Then he got himself killed that way and made things worse.”

Tyler’s eyes shot wide open.

Brad O’Bannon had been an extremely charming playboy with parents who indulged his every wish. Apparently he’d never changed. He was the one member of the family Tyler had never really cared for, but it was a surprise to hear Eleanor say something critical about her grandson. It also sounded as if there was more to Brad’s death than a simple car crash.

“Well, now, look who’s here!” Grady O’Bannon exclaimed suddenly, charging across the garden with the energy of a man half his age.

“Hello, sir.”

Grady drew Tyler into a hug, thumping him on the back with hearty enthusiasm. “It’s good to see you again, lad. We missed you.”

“It’s good to be here,” Tyler said uncomfortably. He was coming to the conclusion it was easier to run a marathon than visit the family he’d never known that well in the first place.

“Tyler,” Kara called, offering a welcome distraction. “Mom said to give you time to settle in, but we’re getting ready to go to the ball field.” She held out her hand with shy anticipation in her eyes. “Are you ready?”

“Sure. Let’s go.”

“I want Tyler on our team,” Kara exclaimed. They’d just arrived at the ball field and the youngster tumbled from the car with more enthusiasm than grace.

“Maybe I’ll just watch,” Tyler said. “There seem to be more than enough players.”

“Oh. But are you sure?” she asked. “It’s loads of fun.”

“Sweetheart, don’t pester Tyler,” Megan said. “He doesn’t have to play if he doesn’t want to.”

“Sorry.”

Kara looked so disappointed that Tyler sighed and found himself agreeing to join the team.

“Yippee! I’m going to tell Reece. He’s the other captain.” Kara immediately dashed away, heading for the tall, brown-haired man who had arrived at the field ahead of them. They’d come in a dozen different vehicles, most of them filled to capacity. Nobody wanted to miss one of the family softball games, even if they didn’t actively participate.

“Isn’t Kara a little young for softball?” Tyler asked.

“Anyone who wants to participate, gets to,” Megan murmured. “But you don’t have to go along just for Kara. I know you aren’t used to children and don’t play softball that often. Not in San Francisco. Besides, you work in an office with secretaries and stuff all calling you sir. That magazine said you—” The words froze in her throat as Tyler caught her elbow and swung her around.

“So you think that’s why I don’t want to play? Because of an idiotic magazine article?”

His eyes blazed at her and she swallowed. Well, too bad. Megan lifted her chin. He wasn’t going make her tongue-tied and incoherent. Not this time. She tried to shake his fingers away from her elbow, but without success.

“Jeez,” she muttered. “You don’t have to make a federal case out of it.” Maybe if she annoyed Tyler enough he’d leave her alone. It was too confusing having so many different responses to the man. Her body was going hot and cold, her mind was screaming “don’t give him an inch,” and her heart was in full retreat. Tyler wasn’t safe, he was like a panther in the wild—lean and dangerous.

“For your information, my business is property development,” Tyler said. “We specialize in restoring old buildings. That’s how I started out, buying old places, fixing them up, and selling them. I wasn’t born rich and I haven’t forgotten how to swing a hammer and work hard.”

“Like I said, you don’t have to make a federal case out of it,” she snapped. “What’s wrong with you? I was trying to be considerate, that’s all. I love my daughter, but kids can be exhausting and Kara isn’t any exception.”

“Sorry.”

She looked at him suspiciously but he seemed sincere. His fingers gentled, stroking the soft inner skin of her arm.

“Did I hurt you?” he whispered.

“No…of course not.”

“I’m just sensitive about that article.” Tyler grinned lopsidedly. “I thought the magazine was going to write a real story about the importance of dedication and hard work, instead they made it sound like I did nothing but eat caviar and chase women all day.”

“Not exact—”

“Mo-o-om, aren’t you guys coming?”

The insistent shout from the softball diamond made Megan jump. “They probably want to get started,” she said.

“Er…right.”

Tyler shook his head as he followed Megan toward the other players. Lord, he was losing his grip. Two hours of exposure to the woman and he was acting like a raving lunatic. On the other hand, it didn’t excuse his behavior, or the things he’d said.

“Hey.” He caught up in two long strides. “Am I forgiven?”

“Don’t worry about it. I’m not.”

The careless answer tightened his gut, but Tyler gritted his teeth rather than say something else he’d regret. It was much harder than he’d expected to pretend Megan didn’t mean anything to him. Though…male hormones and pride being what they were, he should have realized seeing her again wouldn’t be easy.

Hell, why couldn’t she have grown a third eye or something?

Glancing down at Megan, Tyler knew that wasn’t the answer. He had a dismal feeling she would attract him no matter what. It was as if she exuded some type of chemical that messed with the normal functioning of his brain.

“You’re on our team,” Kara said the minute they got close. “I already told Reece.”

“I see.” Tyler smiled at the child. One of his friends had a daughter close to her age, so he had some experience with kids. Not that much experience, but at least he knew better than to ruffle her hair or treat her like an infant. “How good are they?” he asked, gesturing toward the group clustered around Reece O’Bannon.

“We beat ’em two out of three times last year,” Grady declared. “Nobody gets a run off one of my pitches.”

“Granddad, you know the doctor said you couldn’t play so soon,” Megan scolded. “You’re benched.”

“I can pitch. The shoulder is as good as new.”

“You don’t want to tear that rotator cuff again, so go sit with Grams.” She pointed toward the small stand of bleachers with a no-nonsense look on her face.

Grady muttered something beneath his breath about uppity youngsters who thought they knew better than their elders, but Tyler detected a twinkle in the old man’s eyes.

“I heard that,” Megan said. “And it was your idea to make me captain this year. Now go.”

Grady retreated, though not before offering another protest.

“Eleanor writes every couple months, but she never told me Grady had had surgery,” Tyler said. “He’s what—at least seventy-five? How did he get hurt?”

Megan smiled. “He did it golfing, only he won’t tell us the whole story. And he’s eighty-one.”

Tyler looked toward the bleachers and whistled. If he could be that active at the age of sixty he’d consider himself lucky.

“All right,” Megan said. “Let’s get set up.” She swiftly gave directions to the team, assigning them positions and a batting order.

Good-natured jeering passed between the two teams, and they tossed a coin to determine who would bat first. Megan’s team lost the toss and they scattered to their positions on the diamond.

From his spot at first base Tyler watched her take her place as shortstop. He shouldn’t have taken her comments so seriously, but he didn’t have good sense when it came to Megan.

He was so deep in thought that the crack of a ball hitting wood made his head jerk around. A teenager he didn’t recognize was charging toward first base, determination in each step. There were shouts of “hurry,” “run” and “easy out” from all sides.

The right fielder scrambled after the moving ball and threw it in time for Tyler to tag the first out of the game. The next two outs weren’t so easy, and they barely prevented the other team from scoring, tagging the runner as he rounded third base, headed for home.

“Told ya we’d get you,” Megan told the other captain as they exchanged places on the field.

Reece tugged the braid that had fallen forward over Megan’s shoulder. “It’s just the first half of the first inning, kiddo. We have six and a half to go.”

“I’m not worried. By the way, I like your fiancée,” Megan said, nodding toward the slender blond woman by third base. “She seems really nice.”

“Thanks.” Reece looked uncomfortable for some reason, but there wasn’t time to ask questions, so Megan gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. “Don’t worry, you’ll get used to the idea of being married,” she murmured, guessing it might be cold feet affecting him.

“Right.”

He didn’t sound convinced and Megan supposed she wasn’t the most reliable source on the subject of wedded bliss. Most of the family knew about Brad and the way he’d played around. She squeezed Reece’s hand, wishing she could promise him happily-ever-after. Problem was, she didn’t believe in happily-ever-after. She wasn’t sure she ever had.

As for Tyler…Megan watched as he leaned against the fence, ten feet away from the dugout where the rest of the team was waiting. His arms were crossed over his chest and his posture reminded her of someone braced for something.

What?

A blow?

An unwelcome overture from the family? That seemed most likely considering the way he’d never visited. He probably didn’t want to get too friendly.

A small frown gathered between Megan’s eyes.

Tyler confused her; he always had. And his continued resistance to the O’Bannons confused her most of all. Eleanor and Grady loved him and worried about him. They wanted Tyler to be part of the family, but he acted as if they were little more than strangers.

Against her better judgment, Megan walked around the backstop and headed straight for Tyler.

“Why don’t you come over and sit with the team?” she urged softly. “The benches aren’t that comfortable but it gives us all a chance to visit.”

“I’m fine.”

His expression said it all. I’m a loner. Big and tough and able to take care of himself. Megan turned to join the rest of the family, then glanced into the small rise of bleachers and saw Eleanor smiling and nodding encouragement.

Terrific. Grams was bent on matchmaking and she’d played right into the scheme by approaching Tyler for no reason. At least not for a reason that made any sense.

Sighing, Megan shrugged out of her sweatshirt and tied it around her waist. She wasn’t certain whether she liked Tyler, and she was fairly certain he didn’t like her, but she could be a good hostess for the next few days. It wouldn’t kill her.

“It’s a family reunion,” she murmured. “Visiting is our major recreation.”

Tyler looked at her and she saw layers of emotion in his brown eyes that she couldn’t begin to fathom. “People who know each other ‘visit.’ They talk about their lives and the kids and catch up on news since the last time they were together.”

Megan opened her mouth, then closed it just as quickly. Jumping to conclusions would just get her in trouble, and she had a feeling she’d already drifted into deep water. Not that it was a new sensation, Tyler always made her feel out of her depth. After all this time, he still made her feel things she’d rather not think about…things that made her breathless and uneasy in the pit of her stomach.

A chorus of encouraged cries were a welcome distraction and Megan saw that Kara was coming up to bat. “You can do it,” she called.

Kara jauntily balanced the bat over her shoulder and Megan’s heart filled with love. In many ways Kara was older than her years, yet she was sweet and loving and full of enthusiasm. But time was passing so quickly it wouldn’t be long before she was grown. A mixture of pride and pain squeezed Megan’s throat and she sniffed.

“Oh, dear,” Tyler muttered in a low voice. “What’s wrong?”

She blinked away a hovering tear. “Nothing.”

“Right.” He slipped her a handkerchief. “That ‘nothing’ is getting your face wet.”

He sounded gruff but sympathetic, so she sighed. “It’s just that children grow up so fast.”

“So my friends say.”

It was an innocent comment, but it caught her attention.

So my friends say.

Why did that sound so lonely? A man like Tyler probably had more friends than he could count. Still…friends weren’t a substitute for family, she knew that better than anyone.

She looked up and saw him focus on the game with a kind of hungry intensity. Megan pressed a hand to her stomach, unnerved by more than physical awareness.

“I noticed the pitcher is taking it easy on Kara,” Tyler said, motioning toward the mound. “Nice, slow pitches that go straight across the plate.”

She swallowed, trying to get control of herself. “I…I know we sound competitive, but this isn’t the World Series. It’s more important for everyone to have fun than to win,” she said finally.

“I see.” Tyler nodded, his gaze still fixed on the game.

Kara took a swing at her third pitch. The ball connected with a dull thud and bounced toward third base, just inside the foul line. With a gleeful “hurray,” she dropped the bat and ran.

“Go, Kara, go,” cried a dozen voices.

Tyler leaned back against his fence and surveyed the field. It was plain the opposite team wasn’t reacting as quickly as they did with the older players. They were giving Kara a chance to reach first base. To be a part of the game, just as Megan had said.

He didn’t know if child psychologists would approve of their tactics, but it was rather nice. At the same time he would have been furious with the O’Bannons if they’d done anything like that when he was a teenager—he would have accused them of treating him differently, of giving him charity.

Yet all they were doing was being kind.

It was the same round robin of arguments he’d fought since his boyhood, and Tyler tiredly brushed his hand over his face. Coming to the reunion was a mistake. He didn’t know how to talk to these people, and Megan still affected him to the point of irrationality. Hell, he would have done anything to wipe the melancholy expression from her face when she was talking about Kara.

“By the way, is there anyone here you don’t know?” Megan asked. “It seems strange, I guess, since they’re your family, not mine. But you haven’t been…” She stopped, looking uncomfortable all over again.

“I’m slowly putting names to faces, though there are a few I don’t recognize, especially the kids,” Tyler said, ignoring the last part of her statement. They were both tiptoeing around the subject of his absence from the family. “And I haven’t seen Rick and Sue yet.”

At the mention of her mother- and father-in-law, Megan smiled and shook her head. “They aren’t coming. They decided to spend a year at a monastery in Colorado, finding their ‘inner peace.”’

Tyler lifted his eyebrows. “I guess they haven’t changed.” It was a polite way of saying Rick and Sue were just as flaky as ever. Nice, but flaky. He’d certainly liked them better than their son.

Brad…

Tyler’s hand tightened into a fist. He kept remembering Brad, probably because his cousin was inextricably connected to Megan, who was alive and standing close enough that his senses were infused with her uniquely feminine scent.

“I…” Tyler cleared his throat. He shouldn’t have thought about his close proximity with Megan. It wasn’t wise. “Actually, I don’t remember that guy,” he murmured, motioning to a man sitting among the other players.

“That’s Jack Carter. He’s an in-law, like me. Hey, Jack,” Megan called. “Come and meet Tyler.”

Jack came over and gave Tyler an affable grin. “Nice to meet you. My wife is Kara’s second cousin, once removed.” He looked at Megan and scratched his balding head. “Or is it third cousin, twice removed?”

“Second cousin, Jack. I’m glad you could make it.”

The two men shook hands, then Jack walked to the mound and proceeded to strike out spectacularly. He returned with the same friendly expression as before and stood next to Megan. They chatted about his growing family, which was about to increase again. Megan craned her neck and waved to her daughter’s second cousin, who’d been benched by eight months of pregnancy. Tyler did remember Antonia O’Bannon—now Carter—though she’d changed considerably in the intervening years.

“Your kids are beautiful, Jack,” Megan said.

She had the same wistful look she’d had when she’d watched Kara and nearly started crying. Tyler shifted uneasily and tried to think of ways to change the subject. Motherhood was a powerful thing, practically beyond male comprehension, or so he was told. And looking at Megan’s beautiful, yearning face, he was willing to believe it.

“Yup,” Jack agreed. “My looks and Toni’s brains. They got the best of both worlds.”

The outrageous statement startled Tyler, then he realized it must be a family joke. Jack was a pleasant-looking fellow, but Toni was so gorgeous she probably stopped traffic on a regular basis. It was one of the things that made him uncomfortable about these family gatherings—not knowing the inside jokes and reasons for laughing.

The inning ended with a single run scored by Kara, who was so proud she nearly burst when she landed on home plate.

They only earned one more run in the next five innings, with four scored by the opposing team. It left them two behind at the bottom of the seventh and final inning, softball being played with two less than standard baseball.

“Okay, we can still do it,” Megan said.

“Yeah, tomorrow or the next day,” Jack Carter said drolly.

“Ha. A defeatist attitude.” She shook her finger with mock severity. “I say we’re going to win.”

But it didn’t look promising when their first batter struck out. The next several plays earned them one run though, putting Tyler on third with Megan on second, and one out left. The next batter came up to the plate, making a big show of warming up. Megan called something from second and Tyler glanced at her, smiling faintly. Her spirit was infectious. He wanted to win the game, just for Megan.

Tyler didn’t even wait to see where the ball was headed when the next hit came. He just put his head down and charged for home plate. He hit the backstop, then turned and watched Megan racing for home.

Everyone was shouting and from the corner of his eye he saw Reece O’Bannon bringing his arm up to throw the ball.

“Slide, slide,” the team screamed in unison.

No. Tyler cringed at the thought of Megan hitting the dirt. Despite the growing chill in the late afternoon air she’d left her sweatshirt tied around her waist, so there was nothing to protect her arms or face. Not that she would slide. Women didn’t get that physical.

Putting on a burst of speed, Megan flung herself forward, hands outstretched. A split second later the catcher had the ball in hand, but not before she’d touched the plate, making the winning run.

For an instant Tyler sagged against the backstop, then he strode forward and hauled her to her feet.

“Are you all right?” he demanded.

“Of course.” She laughed and brushed dust from her T-shirt and jeans. A like amount of dust smudged her face, but it didn’t seem to bother her.

The rest of the team came out with a victory yell, along with the opposing players who cheerfully offered their congratulations. Tyler accepted his share of the praise, but he couldn’t keep from watching Megan.

He hadn’t wanted her to hit the dirt, because he hadn’t wanted to see her get hurt. Just then something on his hand caught his attention and Tyler looked down. A streak of red kicked the adrenaline in his veins into overdrive.

“Megan!”

He dragged her out of the family group and not-so-subtly examined her for injury. At the sight of a long scratch on her forearm, he scowled.

“Look what you did.”

“Oh, pooh.” She shook her head. “The cat does worse than that on a good day.”

“Then you should have the wretch declawed.”

Megan put a hand on her chest. “Sacrilege. Ninety percent of his personality is in the tips of his claws. It would be like Delilah cutting Samson’s hair.”

Tyler didn’t want to examine why he felt so protective of her. He’d spent a good deal of his adult life trying not to feel anything at all for Megan, and now his gut was twisted in a knot over a mere scratch. He did a mental calculation of the remaining three days of the reunion and groaned. If she could put him into a tailspin in just one afternoon, he was in serious trouble.

“I suppose the women you know would never slide into home plate,” Megan said after a moment. Her merry expression had altered subtly, becoming more cautious.

“Actually…no.”

“I’ll just have to survive not living up to such a high level of perfection,” she murmured.

Tyler wanted to explain it wasn’t a criticism, but she turned away before he could say anything.

“Grams,” she called. “I need to go back to the house early. Can you take Kara and Tyler in the van?”

“Of course, dear.”

He watched Megan’s departing back and sighed. Considering her impact on him, he ought to be relieved she was angry.

But he wasn’t. A part of him want to grab her and make her listen, then kiss her senseless. It wasn’t too civilized of him, but none of his feelings about Megan were civilized, so it wasn’t surprising.

“Going to do something about that?” asked a voice and Tyler turned his head.

“About what?”

Jack Carter smiled shrewdly. “About Megan.”

Tyler wasn’t about to answer. He definitely needed to do something about Megan…he just had to decide what that something might be.