The Hometown Hero Returns Read online

  “No, no,” Mari assured. “He’ll only be volunteering an afternoon or morning every week, but, given what happened in the parking lot the other night, I thought I should mention it.”

  “I see.” She seemed to consider. “Well, I can get past it if he can. We don’t have to be best friends to work together for a few hours a week.”

  Mari sighed with relief.

  She caught movement out of the corner of her eye and saw Marc’s car coming up Sycamore Avenue. Colleen’s glance followed Mari’s.

  “I’m sorry, Mari,” Colleen said.

  She gave Colleen a smile of reassurance. Of course, Colleen didn’t know what had been happening between her older brother and Mari, but she must have sensed the tension.

  “It’s okay,” Mari assured her. “I was making dinner for Marc tonight, anyway.”

  “You were?” Colleen asked. She seemed pleased.

  A moment later, Brendan bounded up the porch steps wearing swim trunks, flip-flops and a towel around his neck.

  “Uncle Liam dared Uncle Marc to do a back somersault off the dunes, and he did it!” Brendan told his mom in a rush of excitement. He noticed Mari sitting next to his mother and said a polite hello before he launched into a description of his uncle’s dive.

  “Marc,” Colleen scolded as her brothers came up the steps. “You’re going to hurt yourself. You’re too old to be doing stuff like that.”

  “That’s what Liam thought,” Marc replied. His cocky grin at his brother froze when he saw Mari sitting there.

  She realized he hadn’t noticed her because of the porch railings. Mari tried to look calm, but suspected she failed awfully. He was wearing a pair of board shorts, a white T-shirt and a pair of sunglasses. For just a few seconds, the man and the boy of her memories blended seamlessly.

  “Hey, Mari,” Liam greeted her pleasantly, as if it was the most natural thing in the world for them to find her there. “You should have come with us. Marc could have pulled off a double if you’d been watching.”

  He flinched and laughed when Marc flicked his towel at his calf.

  “What?” Liam asked his brother, eyes wide with innocence. “That’s the way it always worked, wasn’t it? Mari Itani comes around, and Marc suddenly has to double anything he’s doing…dive twice as high, swim twice as fast, flirt twice as much…”

  “Tackle his brother twice as hard,” Marc muttered under his breath as he came the rest of the way up the stairs.

  “Man,” Brendan muttered in awe as he looked at Mari. “You should come with us next time, Mari.”

  Colleen snorted, but Marc seemed to have forgotten Liam’s teasing as he leaned against the rail, his arms loosely crossed, his stare on Mari.

  “What are you doing here?”

  “Catching up,” Mari replied, nodding toward Colleen.

  Marc nodded slowly, his laserlike gaze never wavering from her. “You never called me today.”

  “Oh…” She furtively glanced over at Colleen and Liam, suddenly feeling like she and Marc were in a spotlight on a stage. “I…I forgot.”

  His eyebrows arched. “Not about dinner, too, I hope.”

  “No,” she replied, trying to be nonchalant. It was difficult with not only Liam and Colleen, but Brendan watching their exchange with apparent interest. Mari wondered if Brendan thought his uncle was going to do a double somersault from the porch to the front yard. “I went shopping earlier and have some salmon marinating in the fridge.”

  Liam clapped his hands together loudly. “Great. I love salmon.”

  “Shut up, Liam,” Colleen said without heat.

  Mari was staring at Marc and laughing when a vehicle pulled into the drive. She recognized Brigit behind the wheel and hopped up from her sitting position like she was on springs. She’d been enjoying herself so much she’d forgotten the time.

  “I should be going,” she said as she hurried toward the stairs.

  Both Colleen and Marc called out to her. Ignoring them, she rushed down the steps. She realized she’d stood up too abruptly. It seemed as if she was walking underwater as she made her way down the sidewalk. Her sense of unreality only deepened when she heard a man’s voice coming from down the street.

  She knew that voice.

  She peered at her house. Wearing jeans and a dark red T-shirt, her brother Ryan stood next to a blue car. He stared back. Even at this distance, she sensed his surprise…his shock. Her feet slowed. Her vision blurred. Oh no…not again…not now, she thought in dazed irritation, recognizing the symptoms from this morning in Dr. Hardy’s office.

  Suddenly, a pair of arms encircled her from the back. Somehow, despite her disorientation, she knew it was Marc. She didn’t resist when he took most of her weight and leaned her body back against the length of him.

  “It’s okay, Mari. I’ve got you. Take a some nice, easy breaths,” Marc’s voice rumbled near her ear.

  She did what he said and soon the green canopy of the giant sycamore tree overhead resolved into separate, rustling leaves.

  “I’m okay,” she murmured. She tried to straighten and resume her flight from the Kavanaugh house. Marc allowed her to take her weight back on her feet, but he refused to move the circle of his arms from around her waist. In her new, upright position, she could see directly in front of her.

  What she saw made her wish she’d passed out.

  Brigit Kavanaugh stood to her right, her face pale and stony as she stared at them. To the left, her brother Ryan stalked down the sidewalk toward the scene. Despite her disorientation, she was so happy to see him. He was safe. Ryan was home. She gave a soft moan when she saw Eric Reyes jog up behind Ryan. She realized it was Eric’s car her brother had stood next to a moment ago.

  “Ryan? What are you doing here?” she asked through numb lips. She still wasn’t entirely convinced she wasn’t hallucinating.

  Her brother’s mouth was clamped tight in a straight line.

  “I got sent home early,” Ryan said stiffly. “I’ll explain later. Let’s get you home.”

  Out of the corner of her vision, she saw Brigit walk past them. Most of her attention was on her brother’s fixed, furious expression as he looked over Mari’s shoulder. She felt Marc’s arms stiffen around her waist when Ryan reached toward her.

  “Come on, Mari,” Ryan said, never removing his gaze from the man who held her.

  “Let go of her this instant, Marc. I don’t want them here,” Mari heard Brigit say behind them.

  “You heard her,” Ryan said in such a soft, deadly tone that Mari doubted anyone else heard him.

  Still, Marc showed no signs of relaxing his hold. If anything, it seemed as if his arms hardened into steel bands.

  “Mari?” she heard Marc ask from behind her.

  “It’s okay.” She twisted until she caught a glimpse of his face. He looked every bit as tense and angry as Ryan. Every bit as dangerous, too. “I said, let go,” Ryan seethed.

  Fear swept through her when she saw the blazing look of anger in Marc’s eyes.

  “I’m all right. Let go, Marc. Please,” she implored before he said something volatile and this whole keg of gunpowder exploded in their faces.

  Marc’s gaze flickered to her face. His arms slowly loosened around her.

  Mari turned toward him and whispered without meeting Marc’s eyes. “Maybe…maybe we ought to cancel for tonight.”

  Ryan grasped her hand and led her down the Kavanaugh’s front walk, Eric joining them at the boundary of the Kavanaugh yard. She glanced back furtively as they reached the sidewalk. Looking young and bewildered, Brendan stood on the front steps. Brigit, Colleen and Liam Kavanaugh formed a semi-circle around Marc. Brigit appeared angry, Colleen and Liam tense.

  Mari turned away. She didn’t want to interpret the expression on Marc’s face as he watched her walk away with Ryan and Eric on either side of her.

  Chapter Nine

  Mari glanced up after dinner that evening when her brother walked onto the shadow-draped terrace a
t the back of their house.

  When they’d first arrived, Ryan had suggested that Mari go upstairs and rest following her episode of dizziness. Mari had insisted she wasn’t an invalid, and that she wasn’t going to go lay down when her brother was just returning home from a yearlong tour of duty in Afghanistan. She scolded him for not giving her warning about his early release, but Ryan said he’d wanted to surprise her. Apparently he and Eric—who were correspondents—had been conspiring over the matter. Ryan had wanted to return to Harbor Town to help Mari with The Family Center project. Her happiness at seeing Ryan home and healthy did a lot to ease her disappointment about what had happened at the Kavanaughs, but a sense of unease still lingered as her brother sat down across from her.

  “It’s strange to be back here, isn’t it?” he murmured.

  “Yeah, so many memories,” she replied in a hushed tone.

  A silence ensued. Ryan was six foot three inches tall, a hard-as-nails Air Force pilot, charming and courageous in equal measure. Nevertheless, Mari sensed how he hesitated to bring up the explosive topic of finding her in Marc Kavanaugh’s arms. Mari had to admit, she was feeling uncertain around her brother, as well.

  She suddenly regretted nothing more than blurting out that she was pregnant to Eric Reyes this morning. Had Eric told Ryan that volatile news on their drive to Harbor Town from the airport? If so, what conclusions was Ryan making? Mari could only imagine, as the news still didn’t seem quite real to her, either.

  Ryan nodded toward the overgrown trellis. “Dad’s hydrangea finally took,” he said.

  Mari smiled in the darkness. “He fussed over that plant daily, remember? It looks like all it wanted was to be left alone,” she said.

  “Mari, what were you doing down at the Kavanaughs’ house today?”

  She blinked. Apparently memories of their father had dislodged the crucial question from Ryan’s throat.

  “I…I’d been visiting with Colleen. I’ve invited her to be the clinician and educator for The Family Center. She has excellent qualifications. She said yes.” Enough light was leaking through the windows so that she could clearly see how tense Ryan’s face had become. Mari slowly let out the air in her lungs. “I see you don’t agree with my decision.”

  “I don’t, but since when does that matter? I’ve always made it clear what I thought of you using all the lawsuit money for this. That money was meant for your future, Mari. Not for some philanthropic project.”

  “And yet you came,” Mari challenged softly. She refused to start up their old disagreement now. What was the point? “You said you wanted to help.”

  “I do want to help. You. If it’s important to you, then it’s important to me.”

  “Thank you, Ryan.”

  “But I think it’s a huge mistake to involve the Kavanaughs.”

  Mari sighed tiredly and her brother stirred.

  “Forget about that damn Family Center and the Kavanaughs for the moment. Let’s talk about you,” Ryan said.

  She glanced up warily. “Me? What about me?”

  “Eric told me on the drive from Chicago that you haven’t been feeling well. He said I should ask you about it.”

  “He…he didn’t say anything else?”

  “No. He didn’t. But the moment I arrive in Harbor Town, the first thing I see is you running away from the Kavanaughs and nearly fainting in their front yard. What the hell is going on, Mari? Are you sick?”

  “I’m fine. Really. I just… One second, Brigit Kavanaugh was pulling into the driveway and the next—”

  Ryan leaned forward intently. “Has Mrs. Kavanaugh been giving you a hard time since you returned? She always did have a strong personality—”

  “Ryan, let me finish,” Mari interrupted sharply. Her brother clamped his mouth shut, but he still seemed agitated. Mari closed her eyes. This was the last thing she wanted. Ryan was her only living family. She hated the idea of arguing with him when she hadn’t seen him for over a year. She was so thankful he was home and safe.

  “What I was trying to say,” Mari resumed in a quieter voice, “is that I didn’t plan on being, or want to be, at the Kavanaugh house when Brigit returned. I’d gotten up too abruptly from a sitting position, and then I looked down the street and saw you. The combination of all the things—the whole situation in general—made me a little dizzy, that’s all.”

  “What about what Eric said?”

  “Eric is worrying too much, Ryan,” Mari said wearily. “This has been a whirlwind trip. I’ve had a lot to do.”

  “It’s been too much for you. I’ll take over the sale of the house. I can do anything you need done at the center, as well. Grass mowed, pictures hung, desks moved—I’m your guy.”

  Mari reached across the table and grabbed her brother’s hand. “Thank you,” she said earnestly. “You don’t know how much that means to me, Ryan.”

  “Like I said. If it’s important to you, I want to be here to help.” Ryan’s brow crinkled as he stared at her. “You look exhausted. Why don’t you go to bed?”

  “It’s your first night back,” Mari protested.

  “I’m not going anywhere. At least not for a while. Not until the Air Force has decided I’ve had enough rest and relaxation and decides to ship me off again.”

  Dread settled in her belly like lead. “You’ve just completed your third tour. Surely they won’t send you for a fourth?”

  His dark eyes narrowed on her face. He seemed to regret his words. “Probably not, it just depends. One thing is for certain. I’m back for a long stretch, if not for good.” He squeezed her hand. “Go on to bed. Come tomorrow, you can start ordering me around to do your grunt work.”

  Mari rolled her eyes and stood. Maybe Ryan was right. She really did need some privacy to sort out her thoughts. She loved Ryan like crazy. How—and when— was she going to tell him that she was pregnant with Marc Kavanaugh’s baby?

  How and when was she going to tell Marc, for that matter?

  She slowly went up the stairs to her bedroom feeling like the weight of the world was on her shoulders. She washed and brushed her teeth mechanically and remembered to take one of the prenatal vitamins Dr. Hardy had given her. When she got to her bedroom, she changed into a short, gold satin gown. The image of the Kavanaughs’ tense faces as they stood in the front yard earlier suddenly rose in her mind’s eye and caused a swooping sensation in her belly.

  Maybe the wisest thing would be to say nothing to Marc at all. Was it really fair to subject a child to all the historical baggage and hurt that existed between their families?

  The thought made her feel like two squeezing hands had wrapped around her throat.

  She glanced at her bed. She envisioned their impassioned lovemaking last night. How fair was it to not tell Marc about his own child? She couldn’t do that to him. She loved him too much.

  Mari sat down heavily on the mattress and stared blankly into her open closet. It’d been the first time she’d admitted it to herself. Of course, she’d known she’d loved Marc once, but she’d been a girl…an infatuated, wide-eyed teenager. To acknowledge that the powerful force that throbbed in her breast at that moment was nothing less than the deep, passionate love of a grown woman shocked her to the core.

  She was so stunned by her private admission that she was surprised to realize she had the capacity to be shocked even further. The branches on the old elm rustled in the stillness of the night, and Marc’s face appeared outside her window.

  “What in the world do you think you’re doing?” Mari whispered when she’d opened the window.

  She stepped back as Marc clambered across the sill. Marc tried to suppress his laughter when he met her stare. She’d looked poleaxed when she’d seen his face in the window.

  “I couldn’t think of how else to see you.”

  Mari made a repressive motion with her hand and walked over to a fan that sat on top of the dresser.

  “For God’s sake, why didn’t you just knock on the front door?” Mar
i scolded him.

  His amusement faded. He nodded significantly at the fan she’d turned on so that Ryan couldn’t hear them speaking. “You really have to ask me that after what happened today?”

  She placed her hands over her eyelids and sat on the edge of the bed. Guilt rushed through him when he realized how fragile she looked. His gaze lowered.

  Fragile and beautiful. The little gown she wore left her smooth arms and legs bare and gifted him with the sight of her breasts pressed against very flimsy fabric. He yanked his eyes off the tempting sight of Mari sitting on a bed wearing next to nothing and tried to focus on what was important. She’d almost passed out cold on his mother’s sidewalk today, and here he was gawking at her like a horny teenager.

  He sat next to her on the bed. “I had to see if you were okay. I was worried.”

  “I’m fine,” she said, sounding exasperated.

  “You almost fainted today. What did you find out at the doctor’s? Are you sick?”

  He saw her throat convulse. “Dr. Hardy said I was perfectly healthy.”

  “Then why did you almost pass out?”

  “Is it really that surprising?” she exclaimed, pulling her fingers away from her eyes and meeting his stare. “Your mother doesn’t want me in her house any more than Ryan wants me to be there. This is a stupid, tangled-up mess and I can’t believe I was so dumb as to put myself smack dab in the middle of it. I was an idiot to come back to this town!”

  “You’re not an idiot. You’re compassionate and you’re brave. I can’t tell you how proud I am of you.”

  She just looked at him, her mouth gaping open in amazement. He resisted an urge to send his tongue through the tempting target of her lush, parted lips. He cleared his throat and forced himself to meet her incredulous stare. “Colleen told me about the center you plan to open for victims and survivors of substance abuse.”

  “She…she did?” Mari asked him slowly. “I wanted to be the one to tell you. I’m sorry.”

  He nodded. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

  “I was planning on doing just that, tonight at dinner,” she whispered. “But then—”