Part 25 (1/2)
Yep, she was definitely a piece of work.
Mac rubbed the back of his neck and evaluated his options. The first time he'd met Alison Cavanaugh, he'd claimed to be an orphan, and in all the years since, he'd never deviated from that story. He was ashamed of his youth, about who he'd been and what he'd done. He was ashamed to be this woman's son.
He was ashamed for having lied about it for so long to the most important person in his life.
And yet he had lied to Alison all this time. That wouldn't be something she would easily forgive or forget. The last thing he wanted at this particular time was to introduce another issue to fight about into their marriage.
Oh, h.e.l.l. Mac's stomach took a nauseated roll, and he wished he had the power to pack another year or two onto Sandberg's sentence for opening this can of worms. ”Brenda, whether I like it or not, you are my mother. I intend to respect that even if I don't respect you.”
”You wound me.”
If only. ”Let me make certain I understand what we're talking about here. You want me to arrange legal representation and give you one hundred thousand dollars or you will introduce yourself to my family as my children's grandmother. Correct?”
”I want you to pay for the lawyer, too.”
”Of course.” Mac closed his eyes and tilted his head toward the heavens. Yep, she's a real piece of work. ”All right, then. I think we're done here. I'm sure Ali is wondering what's happened to us.”
”So you agree?”
His heart heavy, his conscience clear, Mac nodded once. He knew what he had to do. ”Let's get this done, Aunt Sally. Once and for all, I need this behind me.”
As Ali peeked through the front curtains of the New Place, she decided that they needed to be replaced sooner rather than later. She'd had no clue they were this dingy.
In fact, if Mac didn't show up soon, she just might take them down and start was.h.i.+ng them herself in the kitchen sink.
Where had they gone? What were they discussing? Just how angry was her husband, really? Pretty darn angry, she thought.
”I think we should go ahead and eat, Mom,” Chase said. ”No telling how long he's going to be, and cold lasagna doesn't do it for me like hot lasagna.”
”The boy is right,” her father added. ”Besides, my mouth has watered so much since I walked through the front door that I am about to expire from dehydration.”
Ali frowned at her son and her father. ”It would be rude to start without them.”
”I'm sure Sally will understand. She's a lovely woman.”
Ali eyed her father sharply. ”Chase isn't so sure of that.”
Chase swiped a black olive out of the salad bowl and earned a hand slap from his mother for the effort. ”Mom's right. That lady was eyeing you like steak on the grill, Granddad.”
Charles look surprised, then he preened a bit. ”You think I'm too old for a woman to find me interesting, young man?”
Chase flashed his father's grin. ”Not at all. You are a silver fox. It's just that she strikes me as a wolf and you know what wolves can do to foxes.”
”Ah, but foxes are sly, are they not?”
”You don't have to worry about Granddad,” Ali said. ”I've watched him avoid wolves pretty much all my life.”
Charles smiled and said gently, ”Come away from the window, Ali. Let's sit down to eat.”
Ali knew she wouldn't be able to eat a thing, but the process of serving the meal did provide a welcome distraction. Nevertheless, she was unable to stop herself from reliving the moment she told Mac that his aunt had come to visit. He'd gone hard and cold as the granite cliffs on the north side of Murphy Mountain in February.
I really screwed this one up.
Ali joined her father and son at the table without filling a plate for herself. She did, however, pour a gla.s.s of wine before second-guessing herself. She should have gone straight for the vodka.
Her father sang her culinary praises and asked for a second helping of pasta. Chase plowed through three servings and half a dozen breadsticks. Watching his grandson, Charles shook his head. ”Don't they feed you up in Boulder?”
”Not like this.”
Ali sipped the spicy Chianti and waited, thoughts whirling through her mind as time crawled by. Finally the front door opened and Mac and his aunt stepped inside.
EIGHTEEN.
Ali lowered her winegla.s.s to the table and studied her husband. He didn't look like he wanted to murder her for springing this surprise. When he met her gaze and gave her an uncertain little smile, some of her inner tension dissipated. Most of it remained, however, due to the lines of tension bracketing his mouth. He wasn't furious, but he certainly wasn't happy, either. Aunt Sally, on the other hand, appeared downright smug.
Ali didn't like it. Or her, she decided.
Once the door closed behind Mac and his aunt, he looked at Sally, then at Chase, Charles, and finally Ali. ”I want you all to know that this woman is not my aunt. Her name is Brenda Timberlake. She is my mother.”
In the echo of that bombsh.e.l.l, Ali absorbed a variety of reactions. Her son's mouth gaped open. Her father's eyes narrowed. Mac stood straight as an aspen. Brenda Timberlake-his mother!-jerked her head around to look at Mac, fury filling her face.
Ali's own reaction was a combination of shock and antic.i.p.ation. Mac had told her his mother was dead! Why had he lied? And kept lying? What was the big secret? She knew her husband well enough to realize that this story was just beginning.
”Um, Mackenzie?” Brenda asked. ”What are you doing?”
”I'm telling my family the truth. Finally. It's long overdue.” He stared straight at Ali, holding her gaze like a man facing a firing squad. ”I was always too ashamed to tell you. I grew up panhandling. Picking pockets. And, to my dying shame, stealing from the elderly.”
Ali's chin dropped. Mac? Her Mac? A thief? He had stolen from old people?
Even as Ali processed his words, Brenda warned, ”You better stop right there, boyo.”
He totally ignored her. ”She came to Eternity Springs to extort money from me. If I didn't give her what she wanted, she threatened to sell her story to the tabloids and create a nifty little scandal that would hurt my family and my career. I refuse to bend to the threat of blackmail, so here we are. Now you know that my mother was ... still is ... a grifter.”
Now he broke eye contact with Ali and glanced at his father-in-law and son. ”Do you all have any questions? I'm prepared to answer them thoroughly and completely.”
Ali watched her mother-in-law. Brenda looked furious and a little bit afraid and definitely shocked. Obviously she hadn't antic.i.p.ated this sort of reaction from her son.
Seated at the table, Chase looked confused as he set down his fork. ”You always told me that your parents were dead, Dad.”
”I lied, son. I'm sorry. It was wrong of me, and I apologize to you, to all of you, for it.”
”He always was a liar,” Brenda snapped.
Ali's father took another bite of lasagna, chewed thoughtfully, then said to Mac, ”Pickpocket and thief, hmm? You don't have a record, so I a.s.sume you were never caught?”
”No.”