Mabe's Burden (29 page)

Meg raised an eyebrow. “Really? I’m so
glad. She deserves to be happy.”

“
I tried not to eavesdrop,
but I was standing outside the door. I think he asked her to marry
him,” Mara remarked, raising her goblet again.

Meg clinked her glass to her sister’s,
grinning “Oh, that’s wonderful! I’m so happy for her. He’s a true
stand-up kind of guy. I was wrong to be so judgmental.” She glanced
out into the night. She sensed her sister’s gaze on her.

“
What’s wrong?”

She frowned, pinched her
nose with her fingers.
How do I tell my
daughter Rod is her father? How do I tell him he has a daughter?
What a mess.

“
Meg?”

She sighed. “I saw Rod a few days
ago.”

“
What?” Mara twisted in her
chair to face her sister. “Why didn’t you say something
sooner?”

“
Uh, because we’ve been a
little pre-occupied.”

Mara joined her on the swing. “Okay,
spill it.”

Her eyes moistened. She swiped fiercely
at her cheeks. There’d been so many tears lately. “When Emma and I
drove by Shenanigans that morning on the way to the hospital, we
stopped to look at the damage. There was a crowd of people standing
around. I saw him, but didn’t recognize him until he approached
me.”

“
Oh, wow. I bet you nearly
crapped your pants.”

She faced her sister. “Ya think?” She
laughed bitterly.

“
What’s he doing
back?”

“
He was walking with a cane.
He’s been injured.” Meg shifted on the swing. “I felt so bad for
him. The Army was all he ever dreamed of. I guess that’s over
now.”

“
Did he say what
happened?”

She nodded. “He said he took some
shrapnel from a car bomb. I didn’t know what to say. I was
dumbfounded.”

“
I’m sure. Did he see Emma
in the car?” Mara wrapped an arm around her sister.

“
Of course,” she choked out,
dragging a tissue from her skirt pocket. “What am I going to do? I
know how wrong it’s been of me not to tell him, but I thought it
wouldn’t matter. I never expected to see him again.”

Mara sighed and sipped her wine,
pushing the swing with her foot. Meg rested her head on her
sister’s shoulder.

“
Do you think he
suspected?”

“
I don’t think so. We were
only with him a few minutes. He looked into the car, spoke to her.
I introduced him as Mr. Owens, a friend of mine.”

Mara rested her head on the back of the
swing, gazed up at the ceiling. “You’re going to have to tell
him.”

Meg cried into her tissue. “I
know.”

“
Tell who what?” The man’s
voice came out of the dark.

Meg jerked so suddenly her head
collided with her sister’s chin.

“
Ow,” Mara exclaimed,
rubbing her injured jaw. She twisted to see Rod standing on the
sidewalk.

“
I hope you don’t mind I
dropped by. It’s not too late is it?”

“
You just scared the shit
out of Meg,” Mara grumbled.

“
I’m sorry.” He chuckled. “I
didn’t mean to startle you, ladies. I just saw Meg in town
yesterday, so I thought I’d stop by to catch up.” He glanced at his
watch. “I guess I really should have considered the
time.”

“
Nonsense,” Mara told him.
“Come on up.”

He hobbled over, parking his
behind on the edge of the porch. Meg gripped her sister’s hand. Her
heart warmed at the reassuring squeeze she received in
return.
How in the hell did I ever get
myself into this mess? Who’d have believed he would have come home
to Monticello? What are the odds?

She glanced at her sister, who got the
signal.

“
I’m going to go put some
ice on my jaw. You kids have fun catching up.”

“
Good to see you again,
Mara,” he said. “Hope to see you around town.”

She nodded, gave him a finger wave
before going inside. The screen door slapped shut behind
her.

Meg couldn’t remember
feeling more awkward. With her sister gone, she was left on her own
to face this man she’d once loved. A man she’d have given her heart
and soul to. A man she had a daughter with.
Oh, God.
She thought back to their
high school prom night and smiled.

“
You just drifted back to
our high school days, didn’t you? I saw it in your
eyes.”

She glanced at the handsome
man in front of her. He wore jeans and an avocado green T-shirt
with the words
Go Army
in white letters
.
His blond hair was longer than she remembered. He’d always
worn a buzz cut for football season, but even after that, he’d
never let it curl over his collar. She liked it. His eyes were a
blue which changed hue depending on what he wore. Tonight they were
a deep blue-green like the ocean.

“
I must have been the only
girl home by midnight on prom night,” she commented, still
smiling.

Rod whistled. “Boy, your father put the
fear of God in me, I’ll tell you. I’m sorry for your loss, by the
way.”

She glanced away from his handsome face
out into the yard. “Thanks.”

“
Can you come down here, sit
by me?”

She stared at him, her heart beating
harder. Getting close to a man she’d once loved so openly was not a
good idea—especially when she had news that would rock his
world.

He patted the thigh of his right leg.
“I’m still having a hard time negotiating steps.”

Guilt swept through
her.
Here I am, only considering my needs,
when this wonderful man was injured doing God knows what in
Afghanistan. The least I can do is sit with him for a
minute.

She joined him on the edge of the
porch. “Does your leg hurt very much?”

“
Only when I move,” he
quipped, the edges of his mouth curving into the sexy half-smile
she remembered so well.

“
I really am sorry you were
hurt. Do you expect to make a full recovery?”

He sighed, tapping his cane on the
ground. “This is as good as it gets, I’m afraid. I may get a little
more mobility back if I keep exercising, but I’ll probably always
walk with a cane.”

Her glance swept from his cane to his
strong rugged face. “That sucks.”

He reached for her hand. It was like
grasping a bear paw, large and warm. “Where did you disappear to,
Meg?” He leaned the cane against the wooden decking to grab her
other hand, twisting to face her. “Your father came storming into
my house the day I left for boot camp, demanding to know where you
were. I was as shocked as anyone to learn you’d run away. I had to
leave worried sick something had happened to you.”

She sucked in a
breath.
He really cared about me.
The shock of that revelation set her back. She
knew how she felt about him, but never realized the depth of his
feelings for her. She was pregnant, so she ran. She was afraid of
her father’s reaction, sure, but she also loved Rod enough not to
ruin his future. Was that fair? Now, she didn’t think so, but at
the time she was a scared young girl.

He surprised her when he touched her
face. “After Mom wrote and told me Mabe knew you were safe, I
stopped worrying as much, but Meg….” He slipped his hand behind her
neck, edging her closer.

Her pulse raced, her palms
beaded with sweat.
Oh God. I should stop
this.

“
I can’t tell you how glad I
was when you said you weren’t married that day I saw you at
Shenanigans. You had a daughter, so I automatically
thought...”

Oh shit...Don’t go
there...please.

“
You were all I thought
about.”

Meg blinked. The conversation took a
completely different direction than she was expecting. She held her
breath, listening to this man, whom she’d once loved so
passionately.

“
It was your face I dreamed
of at night. You were the reason I fought so hard to live after the
bombing. I told myself if I could get back to the states, I’d do
whatever it took to find you. And here you are.”

She exhaled, her heart warming to his
words, but her brain set off wild warning bells in her head. In the
past she’d wanted to hear those words, to know how he’d felt about
her. But now...things were so different now.

Rod held her gaze, his soft blue eyes
staring straight into her soul. He leaned in, capturing her lips in
a warm, soft kiss.

About the Author

Kelly Abell is a romance author who
likes to explore all aspects of her genre. She's written Romantic
Suspense, Paranormal Romance, Romantic Fantasy, and Young Adult
thrillers. Her aim is to write about gripping characters in tense
situations that keep a reader turning the pages.

She also spends a great deal of time
helping other writers through her Writing Tips on her website, as
an officer of the Paranormal Romance Guild and a member of the
Florida Writer’s Association.

She lives in Florida with her
family.

Visit Kelly’s website for the more
information about her and her other titles

www.kellyabellbooks.com

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Thank you for purchasing this ebook. I
hope you enjoyed it.

-Kelly-