Only You (23 page)

“Someone went to great lengths to keep your birth a secret. I can’t begin to guess why, but their reasons may still exist.

“So you think the detectives were hired by my birth parents?”

“We don’t know what the score is, and until we do, you’re going to have to put up with someone being with you at all times. I’ll try not to get in your way.”

Her stomach heaved. “Who’s we?” she asked through closed lips.

“Me, Jesse, Clay, Ellie, Gwen, Claire and Sammie when they get back. Ethan, too, seeing as he’s the one who stirred the hornets’ nest.” JD turned his eyes to Maggie. “Uh, oh, you don’t look so good.”

Maggie nodded weakly, jerked the truck door open and tumbled out. She made it into the backyard before her stomach protested. After her upchuck, she knelt at the foot of an old apple tree and leaned her head against the rough bark until she felt it was safe to stand up. The second she moved, JD took her elbow and helped her to her feet.

“You okay to walk into the house?”

She leaned against his broad chest. “Yes. Sorry.”

“Better not say that too loud. Blueberry might start getting the wrong idea.”

“She’s never going to doubt for even a second how much I love her.”

“I know.” JD let go of her arm as she unlocked the door, but held her back so he could enter first.

When he finally beckoned her to come in, she ran the water at the kitchen sink and drank two glassfuls, then thumped the glass down on the counter before she turned and glared at JD. “It’s creepy that a stranger can mess with my life. I’m calling the cops. At first I didn’t think I should, but I’ve had enough. No one’s going to push me around.”

A sharp rap on the door interrupted whatever JD was about to say.

“Back here,” Maggie called out.

JD shook his head. “Door’s locked. Until this is straightened out, we keep both doors locked, and you don’t get to answer them.” He looked out the back. “It’s Jesse. I imagine he’s already talked to the police.

“Hey,” he greeted Jesse as he yanked open the door.

“How’s she doing?”

“See for yourself.” JD moved to one side and let Jesse into the kitchen.

“There’s our girl.” Jesse stuck his hands in his jeans pockets and rolled back on his heels. “You don’t look so good, doll.”

Maggie sagged against the counter. She liked Jesse well enough, but what she longed to do was have a hot bath and curl up with JD on the couch. Just the two of them, doing nothing more energetic than watching a boring show on TV and eating popcorn. Or toast. Her stomach rumbled.

She sank into a kitchen chair. “Did you talk to the police?”

She bristled when Jesse glanced at JD first, as if for approval. “She needs to know everything,” JD said.

Jesse grabbed a chair and swung it around to straddle it. “Not much to tell. I went into the police station and gave them the lowdown on what’s happened so far. They didn’t much like that we didn’t call them when those guys were around. But I still think it was better to let them go. I have a couple friends in the Frisco area, and from the description I gave them, they think the detectives are legitimate. They’ll get back to me if they hear anything else.”

JD sat beside her and rubbed her back. “ Ethan said he heard they worked for actors.”

“Like I said.” Jesse leaned forward. “I’ve got a friend looking for them right now. As soon as they return to San Francisco, we’ll know more details.”

“There’s only one way to find out if this is connected to my parents.” She stood. “I’m going to call the Kennedys. They have to tell me who my parents are.”

When neither man said anything to stop her, she went upstairs to her bedroom. It had never been easy to speak with her parents, and in the last year, it had gotten much worse, almost as though they were ashamed of her. Wait until they learned what she was up to now. No one answered at their house in San Francisco, and on impulse she called her stepbrother, Declan, at his office. A receptionist answered, and she was put on hold.

“Hey, it’s me, Maggie,” she said when he finally came on the line. She wondered if she should state her entire name in case he’d forgotten who she was.

“Maggie, as in my sister Maggie?”

“Yes, Declan. Your sister.”

“What do you want?”

Oh, hell. What a time to start feeling weepy. “Do you know who my real parents are?”

“Whoa. Didn’t see that coming. What’s going on? Are you okay?”

“No, I’m not okay, Declan. Two very scary men with guns followed me and stopped when my car broke down by the side of the road. Apparently, they’d been hired to check me out. I think they may have been hired by my birth parents because of stuff that went on before that. Do you know anything about my parents?”

“They didn’t hurt you, did they?”

“I’m fine, just shook-up and wanting answers.”

“Do you have someone to stay with you? Do you need me to . . . I don’t know, send someone to stay with you?” He laughed a derisive laugh. “I doubt you need me. You were always so good at looking after yourself.”

This was a side of her brother she’d never seen. What had changed in his world to make him . . . dare she say, sensitive?

“I have lots of people around me. Thanks for asking.”

“You always did.” Was that jealousy she heard in his voice? “Did you phone Mom and Dad?”

“They’re not answering.”

“Of course they’re not. Just a sec.” She heard a muffled sound as if he covered the receiver with his hand, but she still heard his deep voice instructing someone to give him a few minutes.

“Okay, here’s the absolute truth. I don’t know for sure who your parents are, but I remember overhearing Mom and Dad talking about you when I was too young to understand what they were saying. You were adopted privately as a favor to someone, and Mom and Dad were paid to take you, not the other way around. So, I don’t know what that means as far as finding a record of the adoption. My guess is there is no official record.” He stopped for a minute. “Maggie? You still there?”

“Yes,” she managed to say around the lump in her throat. She’d always wondered why the Kennedys had gone to such trouble to adopt her when they never really connected with her, but now she knew. They’d been paid. Hearing it put so bluntly hurt.

“I know your father was famous. You sure got a rotten deal when you ended up with us. I’m sorry I was such a prick to you all those years. If it’s any consolation, they treated me like I was an inconvenience, too. No matter how hard I tried, I could never live up to their standards. I think you had the right idea, Mags. Going your own way was the best thing you could have done for yourself.”

He cleared his throat. “I’ll try to get your father’s name from them, but they’ve always been closemouthed about your adoption.”

“Thanks, Declan. And thanks for being so honest.”

“Least I could do after being such a shit all those years. Are you still in the Bay Area?”

“I moved to Wyoming.”

“Have you got yourself a horse again?”

Against her will, her mouth curled into a smile. “Just bought one.”

“Good for you. You said your car broke down. Do you need help getting another one?”

“I’m fine. It was Sammie’s car that broke down. I still have my Porsche.”

“Sammie’s with you?”

“And Claire.”

“The three Musketeers. Maybe I’ll come visit you someday.”

“That would be interesting.”

“I have to go. Got a meeting on hold. If I can get you that name, I’ll call. Hell, maybe I’ll call just to say hello sometime. Say hi to the girls.”

“Take care of yourself, Declan.” She hung up the phone, more confused than ever. She’d disliked Declan for so long, it felt weird to feel . . . well, sorry for him. He sounded lonely. Which made sense, because he’d always pushed everyone away.

She tried her parents’ number one more time and left a message that she hoped didn’t sound as shaky as she felt. She wandered into the baby’s room and eased down into the rocking chair she’d found in the old carriage house when she’d cleaned it out.

“I just wanted a peaceful life, tucked away in this little town.” She cradled her belly. “Is it too much to ask to start a fun business, have a few friends around? Maybe even have your daddy love me someday? Well, that might not happen.” She patted her tummy. “But I promise you, your daddy and I will always be friends, and we’ll both love you. You’re going to know who you are, who your parents are, and you’re going to belong. You’ll never, ever have to wonder if anyone loves you. That’s my promise to you, Blueberry.”

JD stood outside Maggie’s bedroom door and held his breath as he listened to her speaking to their unborn child.
Her
unborn child. He was still waiting on his family doctor to get back to him about having a fertility test, although he’d admitted to himself by lashing out at Maggie and denying he could be the father, he’d really been lashing out at the past. He still struggled emotionally with Donnie’s birth and his death, and that he hadn’t been his biological father. Discovering Donnie wasn’t his son had made it almost impossible for him to trust people. Until now, that lack of faith in human beings hadn’t mattered all that much. But now he needed to believe Maggie when she said she was carrying his child. He
did
believe her. It was himself he didn’t have faith in. He didn’t deserve a second chance after losing a son because he’d failed at being a father.

And, hell, he might as well throw in his strong feelings for Maggie. Given the choice, he’d have said he was ready to have a serious relationship. He rubbed a hand over his face. Safe to say he was an emotional wreck.

Hearing Maggie make those heartfelt promises to the baby—man, why not just drive a stake through his heart? She deserved everything she wanted and more. He’d been so goddamn busy protecting his own feelings, he hadn’t taken into consideration where Maggie was coming from. She’d never had the security of unconditional love. No matter how much he’d messed up in his life, his parents had always been there to catch him. Ethan had tried to fill in for them after they died, and he’d returned the favor. But it wasn’t the same.

He was ashamed of himself. He decided to leave her alone for now and crept down the stairs. His head—and heart—were all turned around, and he didn’t know what was the right thing to do. Ask Maggie to marry him and be the father her child needed? Or get out of her way so she could live a full and happy life without him? He was stuck. He wasn’t capable of doing either.

“How’s she doing?” Jesse turned from the kitchen sink, a dish towel over his shoulder.

JD’s stomach tightened. Jesse looked so at home in Maggie’s house, like he belonged. He knew the man wouldn’t make a move on Maggie as long as JD stood between them. But if JD got out of the way, Jesse wouldn’t waste any time letting her know how he felt. Hell, he probably already had. Jesse was no one’s fool. Unlike him.

“I didn’t bother her. I think she’s resting.”

“You okay, JD?”

JD hesitated with his hand on the doorknob. What a question. He wasn’t sure what would come out if he honestly answered it. Hysterical laugher, likely.

“I don’t want her to be by herself,” he said without looking at Jesse. “Are you free to stay for a while?”

“Sure. I think Ellie is coming over in a bit, too. Are you coming back? She’ll ask, you know.”

He put one foot outside. “Of course. I just need a bit of time.”

“You got it. I’ll tell her you’ll be back in three, four hours.”

JD studied the street in front of the house and the side yard. There were a couple cars parked across the street behind Jesse’s truck, but he thought he recognized the Mazda. It belonged to the Aster’s son, who was home from college for a few days. And the Volkswagen parked behind it belonged to the mail lady. He couldn’t remember her name, but he often saw her driving her old car around town.

He climbed into his truck and headed for home. He wouldn’t mind getting out on the range for a few hours. Dave had mentioned needing a hand to bring in some of last years’ heifers for market. The herd was growing too fast, and they needed to cull a few head. But he didn’t want to drive out too far. He wanted to be able to get back to Maggie if she needed him.

His phone rang as he pulled onto the secondary road that led to the ranch. He adjusted his headset and answered the phone.

“JD Cooper?”

“Yes.” He didn’t recognize the woman’s voice.

“This is Dr. McCall.” When he didn’t respond right away, she added with a hint of humor in her voice, “Your GP.”

“Right. Sorry. Thanks for getting back to me.”

“My receptionist’s note says you inquired about getting a fertility test done.”

His foot pressed inadvertently on the gas, and he yanked it off the pedal and tapped the brake. “That’s correct.”

“I’d be happy to discuss the test with you, but you’ll have to come into the office.”

“I’m free right now. You’re in Jackson Hole, right? I’m fifteen, twenty minutes away.”

“I was finishing up for the day, but if you can get here within the half hour, I’ll see you.”

“I’m on my way, Dr. McCall.”

Thinking about the possibility that he could be Blueberry’s father, JD braced himself for an onslaught of depression that had dogged him since Donnie had died. But a strange feeling of hope crept in. Imagine being Blueberry’s father. Holy God! Was there honestly a chance he and Maggie could be together? Get married? Raise their child, and—