Always a McBride (23 page)

But knowing that and doing it were two different things. She wanted to hate him, but that was impossible. Regardless of how he'd lied to her, she still loved him. She dreamed of him, she ached for him with every breath she took. She couldn't step into any room in the house without thinking of him, and it was driving her crazy.

When the next round of guests came on the weekend, she hoped she'd be too busy to think about him, but in the meantime, she needed a distraction. Ed's was it. Checking the mirror one last time to make sure her makeup covered the dark circles under her eyes, she grabbed her purse and stepped outside. It was only two short blocks to the diner, and the morning was beautiful. She walked.

Not surprisingly, Ed's was packed. All the local ranchers liked to meet there in the morning for coffee, gossip and one of Ed's great breakfasts. Smiling at the sight of all the pickup trucks parked out front, Phoebe stepped inside to a hail of greetings.

“Hey, Phoebe! Just the girl we wanted to see.”

“Why didn't you tell us Taylor Bishop was Joe McBride's half brother? And don't tell us you didn't know. He was staying with you. He must have mentioned it.”

“I thought he was a writer, but now everybody's saying he's a lawyer. Is that really true?”

“Of course it's true! Didn't you hear? He's going to help Sara and the kids fight the government. They wouldn't trust him to do that if he wasn't some hotshot fancy lawyer from San Diego. What I want to know is who his mama is. Has anybody heard?”

Stunned by all the questions and comments that hit her as she made her way to the lone seat at the far end
of the counter, Phoebe sank down onto the red vinyl bar stool in a daze. Taylor was still in town? But how could he be? He'd left four days ago, and there was no other place in town to stay.

Unless he'd gone to the McBrides'.

He couldn't have, she thought, shaken. The McBrides were furious with him. They wouldn't have taken him in. What was going on? This all had to be a mistake.

“Well?” Preston Star, a friend of her grandmother's and one of the more colorful local ranchers, demanded with an arch look. “Have you got your grandmother's blood in you or not, young lady? Taylor Bishop was at Myrtle's for weeks. By now, you ought to know everything there is to know about that old boy, right down to his shoe size. So what gives?”

“I was going to ask the same thing,” she replied. “Where did all of you hear this? Taylor checked out days ago. I thought he'd gone back to San Diego.”

“That's not what Joe said.”

“Joe?” she said, shocked. “
Joe
told you Taylor was his half brother?”

“He sure did,” Augie Montgomery said from across the room before Preston could say a word. “I heard him myself this morning in the feed store. He said Taylor was one hell of a lawyer, and with his help, they were going to send the feds packing.”

Dozens of questions whirling in her head, Phoebe couldn't believe what she was hearing. Augie had to be mistaken. She'd witnessed Sara's reaction to Taylor's announcement that he was Gus's son. She'd been devastated. And when Joe had called later that evening and asked to speak to Taylor, Phoebe hadn't imagined the anger she'd heard in his voice. He'd been outraged that Taylor had upset his mother, and she couldn't say she'd
blamed him. Taylor had been incredibly insensitive when he'd told Sara who he was.

So how had he made peace with the McBrides so quickly? she wondered, frowning in confusion. And then there was the matter of trust. Even if Taylor had found a way to convince the McBrides to forgive him for tricking them into letting him into their lives, earning their trust back wasn't something he was going to be able to do easily. Trust, especially trust that had been carelessly destroyed, wasn't automatically restored with an apology. If anyone knew that, she did. Taylor may have apologized to her, but she wasn't sure if she could ever trust him again. So how could Zeke and Joe and the girls?

What was going on? Had she somehow misunderstood the entire situation? She didn't see how she could have, but what other explanation was there? The McBrides were putting the ranch itself in Taylor's hands, and for the life of her, she didn't know why. Confused, sick at heart at the idea that she might have totally misjudged Taylor, she completely lost her appetite.

“I've got to go,” she choked, and turned to hurry toward the door.

“Hey!” Ed called after her. “Where're you going? This is the first time you've been in since Myrtle left. I was going to make some chocolate chip pancakes for you!”

“I just remembered I left something on the stove,” she fibbed, and rushed outside.

Later, she never remembered the two block walk home—it passed in a blur. Pain squeezing her heart, all she could think of was Taylor. She had to talk to him, had to find out what was going on, but she didn't have
a clue where he was. She'd have to call the McBrides….

Lost in her thoughts, she didn't see the Mercedes parked at the curb in front of her grandmother's house until she was almost there. Then she looked up and felt her heart lurch in her breast. Immediately, her gaze jumped to the front porch, and she wasn't surprised to see Taylor standing there, obviously waiting for her. He had, no doubt, watched her rush down the street all the way from Ed's.

She wanted to run to him, to throw herself into his arms and never let him go. But her heart was still bruised from the way he'd misled her, and she couldn't just act as if nothing had happened. Halfway up the front walk, she stopped in her tracks. The thunder of her heartbeat loud in her ears, she couldn't bring herself to go one step further. The next move was his.

Aching to hold her, Taylor knew that any chance he had of finding happiness with her was riding on what happened in the next few minutes. God, he'd missed her! Did she know how much he'd wanted to call her? To come to her? Every minute that he was away from her seemed like an eternity. But he wouldn't risk losing her, so he'd kept his distance.

Had she forgiven him yet? He panicked just at the thought of spending the rest of his life without her. There had to be a way to make her understand why he'd done what he had…and what she meant to him. All he asked was that she just listen to him.

“Are you busy?” he asked huskily. “I was hoping maybe we could talk.”

For a moment, he thought she was going to say no. She hesitated, then nodded. “I have a few minutes.” Stepping up to the porch, she took a seat in the old-
fashioned wicker porch swing. “I just heard you were representing the McBrides in their fight against the government. I was shocked.”

“To be perfectly honest, so was I,” he replied. “I thought they would send me packing. They gave me a chance, instead. I hope you will, too.”

“I want to,” she admitted honestly, “but I'm afraid to trust you. You already hurt me once. I can't let you do it again.”

She didn't pull any punches, and he appreciated that. As long as they were able to communicate, he had a chance of winning her back. “I can understand why you don't trust me,” he said quietly. “I lied to you, and even though I felt justified at the time, nothing justified hurting you. I would like to explain everything to you, and if you don't want anything to do with me after that, I promise I won't bother you anymore. Okay?”

“That sounds fair enough,” she replied.

He thought it would be easy, telling her about what it was like, growing up without a father, but suddenly, emotion was clogging his throat. “For as long as I can remember, I always wondered who my father was,” he said roughly. “All my mother would ever say on the subject was that he was a wonderful man. I could never understand how she could say that. If he was so wonderful, why wasn't he with us? Why wasn't he at least sending a child support check so my mother didn't have to work two or three jobs just to support us?”

Just thinking about how hard his mother had worked set anger burning in his gut. “You know something? She never made more than eight dollars an hour in her life. She never had a new car—until I bought her one once I graduated from law school—and it took her years of scrimping and saving to have a home of her own.
Don't get me wrong,” he told her. “I'm not telling you this to make myself look good, or to make you feel sorry for us. I just want you to understand what it was like for my mother. Imagine yourself with a baby, and no one to help you raise that baby. No boyfriend or husband, no parents. My grandparents disowned her when they discovered she was pregnant.”

“Oh, Taylor, I'm sorry,” she murmured. “That must have been awful for her.”

“She never complained,” he said huskily. “But I knew how hard life was for her, and I hated my father for that. The problem was…I didn't have a name or face to put with whoever the man was who fathered me. My mother would never tell me who my father was. I think she was afraid I would go looking for him,” he confided. “She was right.”

“But she left you a letter when she died,” she said.

He nodded. “That's right. That's when I decided to come to Liberty Hill to find Gus. I had no idea he was dead until I got here.”

Phoebe's heart hurt for him. “I'm sorry things worked out the way they did for you,” she said quietly. “Gus really was a remarkable man. Everybody liked him.”

“All I wanted was revenge,” he said simply. “Then, through you, I met the McBrides, and I found myself liking them. That, of course, was the last thing I wanted. They were supposed to be these horrible people who'd stolen my father from me, but I still couldn't make myself hate them. They were just too likable. The more I got to know them, the more I realized that it wasn't revenge that I wanted. I wanted a family. And you.”

Those two little words slipped right past her guard
and caught her unawares. Her heart suddenly pounding in her breast, she stiffened, afraid to hope. “Taylor—”

“I hadn't counted on falling in love with you,” he said huskily, “but I couldn't stop myself. Before I met you, all I cared about was work…and making my father pay for not being there for me and my mother. I never took any time for myself or did anything fun. You showed me another side of life.”

A rueful smile curled the corners of his mouth. “I thought I knew what I wanted. I was a partner in the city's biggest law firm, lived in the right part of town, and dated women who were rich and beautiful and could help my career. Then I met you and it all seemed so empty and shallow. You helped me see that happiness had nothing to do with money or success and everything to do with love and family and liking who you are as a person.

“I didn't like the man who came to Liberty Hill for revenge,” he admitted huskily. “Or the man who lied to you and used you to get close to the McBrides. That's not who I am or who I want to be. I have family now, something I never thought I'd have, and someone to love.”

Stepping over to the swing, he took her hands and drew her to her feet. “I love you so much I can't find the words to express it. I never thought I would say this to a woman, but I want the kind of life with you that Sara had with my father. They had a home and children and a love that grew stronger with every passing year, and that's what I want with you.”

Tears threatening to choke her, Phoebe couldn't doubt his sincerity. She only had to see the love shining in his eyes to know that he meant every word. “I love you, too,” she said huskily, “but—”

“Whatever it is, we can work it out,” he assured her. “Just tell me what it is.”

“I'm not sure love is enough,” she blurted out as tears spilled over her lashes and trailed down her cheeks. “You know as well as I do that we're as different as night and day. You're a class-A personality who is obviously very ambitious, and I just want to have my own bed and breakfast so that I can do what I do best…help people relax and enjoy life.”

“But you can do that, sweetheart.”

“No, I can't. The two don't mix. I don't have a clue how to be the wife of a big-city lawyer, let alone a senator or governor or—knowing how ambitious you are—the president. I'm a tree-hugger, Taylor. Look at me. I dress like a hippie. I'm a throwback to a different century, one that your law partners would never understand. How can a relationship between us possibly work? We'll only end up hurting each other, and that's the last thing I want to do to someone I love.”

Any last lingering doubts Taylor had ended with her words. Delighted, he snatched her into his arms for an exuberant kiss. “Dear God, I love you!” he laughed when he finally let her up for air. “We're going to have a great life together!”

Confused, Phoebe frowned. “What are you talking about? I just told you—”

“I know, sweetheart. I heard every word. You love me and would never deliberately do anything to hurt me. I feel the same way about you. If we go through our life together remembering that, then there isn't a doubt in my mind that we can make it.”

“But I can't be the kind of wife you need me to be!”

“Yes you can,” he insisted, kissing her again. “My plans for the future have changed. I don't need to get
ahead to prove myself any more. I know who I am—the son of Gus McBride and Alice Bishop, and they were both great people. I have brothers and sisters, a stepmother, a family history. I know who I am and have everything I want…as long as you agree to marry me.”

“But—”

“I know,” he interrupted her with a grin. “You don't know how to be the wife of a big-city lawyer. You don't have to worry about that. I'm resigning from the firm and hanging out my shingle in Liberty Hill. I'll be a small-town lawyer, and you can help your grandmother run the bed and breakfast, and we'll live happily ever after as Mr. and Mrs. So what do you say? Will you marry me?”