The Color of Love (The Color of Heaven Series) (24 page)

I wasn’t sure how to introduce the subject, so I decided to begin with this: “You must be wondering why I’m calling.”

Aaron was quiet for few seconds. “I am a little curious, yes.”

I inhaled deeply and gazed up at the ceiling. “This is going to seem like a strange question, but do you know a woman named Meg Watson? She lives here in Boston.”

Again, Aaron was quiet. “Yeah. She’s the woman I told you about. The one I lived with after college. I haven’t seen her in years, though. Why?”

“When, exactly, did you live with her?” I asked. “I know you told me, but I just want to check again. How long ago was it?”

He paused to think about it. “Eighteen, nineteen years ago. Why, Carla? What’s this about? Is she okay?”

I sat up and slowly answered, “Yes, she’s fine, but…” I paused. “Aaron, she has a son.”

My heart thumped against my ribcage.

“I knew she had a child…” he replied, trailing off. “But what are you saying?”

I sat back in my chair and gazed up at the ceiling. “Maybe I should just tell you about him. His name is Malcolm and he’s seventeen years old. Kaleigh met him at guitar class.” I hesitated briefly before continuing. “I’m not sure how to tell you this, Aaron—it seems I’m always delivering difficult news to you—but I think there’s a chance you might be Malcolm’s father.”

o0o

After about twenty minutes of disbelief, anger, sorrow and happiness—and a continuous discussion about what this could mean for Aaron and Malcolm’s future—I insisted on driving Malcolm up to Claremont the following morning.

“He’s sleeping on my couch right now,” I said, “and he’d like to meet you.”

“I’d like to meet him, too,” Aaron replied, his voice choked with emotion.

Chapter Sixty-five

Though Aaron had given us excellent directions on how to find his house and I had GPS in the car, it still took help from Kaleigh as my front seat navigator to find it.

Malcolm had been content to ride in the back. He was noticeably quiet during most of the two-hour drive. Every time I glanced in the rearview mirror, he had his earbuds in. I suspected he was nervous about meeting Aaron.

After talking at length with Malcolm the night before, I’d come to the conclusion that he was a polite young man, but shy and introverted—which could be misconstrued as surly.

I’d felt bad about our first meeting and apologized to him for how I behaved. “You must have thought I was the meanest mother on the planet,” I said when we picked him up at the park.

He laughed at that. “Not even close.”

When at last we turned onto the wooded lane that led to Aaron’s house, I looked in the rearview mirror again and said to Malcolm, “We’re here.”

He pulled his earbuds out, turned off his music and gazed out the window at the hazy beams of sunlight shining into the otherwise shady green forest.

o0o

Though it was early summer, the blooms were out in full color. I pulled to a stop in the yard, removed my sunglasses and leaned forward over the steering wheel to peruse the property, which was located on the banks of a large, private lake.

The house was rustic-looking with pale gray cedar shakes and white trim. The yard had been lovingly landscaped with a wide green lawn that appeared freshly cut, classic evergreen shrubs, plenty of colorful flowers and a screened-in gazebo.

I opened the door and got out. A tremendous and unexpected feeling of joy flowed through me at the peacefulness—except of course for the sounds of the birds chirping and the insects buzzing in the trees.

The screen door on the house opened and slammed shut. Aaron was coming to greet us.

My whole body came alive with a zap of electricity at the sight of him, so different from how he’d looked when we last parted.

He appeared strong, healthy and robust, and there was color in his cheeks. He’d gained back the weight he’d lost during his time on the island, but still looked slender and fit. I could barely think or move as he crossed the lawn toward us, approaching with a smile and a wave.

Kaleigh was the first to run toward him and throw her arms around his waist. I was shocked by this—that she would feel so at ease with him.

“I can’t believe it’s really you!” she said. “You don’t look the same at all!”

“I certainly
feel
better,” he cheerfully replied, never taking his eyes off mine.

Those penetrating, smiling blue eyes… They still knocked me over, just like before.

No. Even more so now.

“Hi Aaron,” I said warmly, and walked toward him.

Kaleigh stepped aside and I wrapped my arms around his shoulders, felt him take me by the waist and pull me close. His lips touched my neck and he whispered in my ear, “It’s so good to see you.”

“You, too,” I replied as I forced myself to draw back and look him in the eye, so that I could introduce him to someone else.

“This is Malcolm,” I said.

Malcolm, dressed in his usual Gothic black ensemble, with lip ring and tattoo on fine display, strode forward reservedly.

“Malcolm, this is Aaron Cameron,” I added.

They shook hands.

“It’s nice to meet you, Malcolm,” Aaron said. “Do you all want to come inside? I don’t know if you’re hungry. I was thinking of boiling some mussels.”

“I love mussels,” Kaleigh replied, and we followed Aaron into the house.

o0o

The interior was cozy and cottagey, like something out of a dream, with large French windows overlooking the lake, and floor-to-ceiling bookcases along the far wall. Soft upholstered sofas and chairs sat on a wide plank floor of aged pine, with plenty of nicks and stress marks under our feet.

“It’s so peaceful,” I said, moving closer to the windows to look out. There was a small wharf with a shed and a single Adirondack chair facing the water. “Do you fish?”

“All the time,” he replied. “It’s funny, I was so sick of eating fish on the island. I thought if I ever made it home, I’d never eat fish again, but now I crave it. And I can’t seem to go more than a few days without casting a line.”

“Looks like they’re jumping,” I said, pointing to the circular ripples on the water.

“They’re catching insects.” He moved to the kitchen area and dumped a bowl of live mussels into a large pot on the stove.

“Malcolm, do you like to fish?” Aaron asked.

I turned to see Malcolm perusing the bookshelves, and was eager, myself, to go and see what Aaron liked to read.

Malcolm turned. “I don’t know. I’ve never tried it.”

“We could give it a go today if you want?” Aaron replied. “Sometimes I sit out on the dock, but I have the best luck when I take the rowboat out to the center of the lake where it’s deep.”

“I’ve never been in a rowboat before either,” Malcolm quietly said, then he spotted Aaron’s guitar on a stand in the corner of the room and approached it. “Do you play?” he asked with interest.

“Yes,” Aaron replied, moving toward him. “I used to give lessons, but now I just play for fun.”

Malcolm squatted down before the guitar to look at it more closely. “It’s a Gibson J-29. That’s a fine instrument.”

“I just bought it last month,” Aaron replied, “because I had to get everything new after being presumed dead. You can give it a try if you like.”

“Maybe later.” Malcolm rose to his feet.

Meanwhile, Kaleigh had plunked herself down on the sofa and was examining a brain teaser on the coffee table.

As I watched Aaron return to the kitchen and set a stack of four plates on the counter, I marveled at the fact that this situation could have been dreadfully awkward, but everything seemed effortless and relaxed. I didn’t know what it was about Aaron Cameron that made everyone feel so at ease. He must be a fantastic therapist, I thought.

“Can I do anything to help?” I asked, strolling into the kitchen.

“Sure. Why don’t we get the kids to help us take everything out to the gazebo? There’s a picnic table out there. It’s screened in, no bugs. These mussels will only take a few minutes to open up. Would you like a glass of wine?”

“I’d love one.”

He opened the fridge and withdrew a bottle of white and opened it with a cork screw. Then he poured us each a glass and said to Kaleigh and Malcolm: “Why don’t you two make yourselves useful and carry the plates and bread outside?”

Kaleigh leaped off the sofa to help, while Malcolm sauntered over casually.

“Do you like to swim?” Kaleigh asked Malcolm as she backed out the door.

“Yeah,” he replied, following with the cutlery. “Especially when it’s hot.”

“I wonder if it’s deep enough to jump off the dock,” she added.

As soon as they left the house, I turned to Aaron. “I hope this is okay,” I said. “I wasn’t sure how to handle it.”

“You handled it perfectly,” he said. “Let’s just have a nice time. Maybe I’ll take him out in the boat later.”

“So you can talk, and figure out how to handle things from here?” I added, and he nodded at me.

o0o

We had a nice time in the gazebo eating mussels and dipping bread in the creamy broth. Malcolm was curious about Aaron’s experiences on the island, and Aaron regaled us with tales of the plane crash and stories of how he caught hares and lit fires without matches.

Malcolm was utterly fascinated and I was pleased to see how they interacted with each other, without awkwardness or resentment.

There were moments, however, when I found myself thinking of what the nurse had told me about Aaron’s first night in the hospital when he’d become agitated and had required a sedative. I wondered how he was coping since his return to normal life. He seemed fine, but I wasn’t sure if some of that was just for show. Or maybe he really was fully recovered, now that he was home again and living in a spot like this.

After we polished off the mussels, Malcolm and Kaleigh went outside to explore the yard and dock. The gazebo door swung shut behind them, and Aaron and I found ourselves sitting alone with the bottle of wine between us.

He poured me a second glass and refilled his own.

“I don’t know how I can ever thank you,” he said as he leaned forward over the table, regarding me intently. “Sometimes I wonder if you’re some kind of angel from heaven. I feel like you keep saving me.”

I shook my head. “You saved yourself on that island. How are you coping, by the way?”

He took a deep breath and let it out. “I still have nightmares sometimes, and occasionally I can get a bit emotional, but I’m working through it. Each day is better than the last, and
this
particular day… This is the best by far.”

I smiled. “Well, the fact that we found Malcolm…” I shook my head in disbelief. “It’s crazy, isn’t it? Maybe there is some element of fate at work here. What are the odds that Kaleigh would end up in a guitar class with your son? And that they would figure out the connection?”

“How
did
they figure it out?” he asked.

I sighed heavily. “It’s a long story and I’m not even sure where to begin.” I reached for a piece of bread and tugged it apart with my fingers. “I can’t lie. He had a rough childhood, Aaron, and from what I understand his mother never told him the truth about you, not until she saw news about the plane crash over a year ago. That’s when she told Malcolm that his father had been killed in the crash. Kaleigh happened to ask him what happened to his dad, and when he told her about that, she immediately put two and two together. I should also mention that she had a bit of a crush on Malcolm. That’s why they got to talking about personal stuff.”

Aaron frowned. “She’s only thirteen.”

I ran a hand through my hair. “I know, and believe me, I wasn’t happy about it when I found out, but I think it’s okay now. He didn’t even know how old she was because she lied about that. When he found out, he was pretty angry with her.”

“I’m glad,” Aaron replied, still frowning with concern as he turned to look out the screened windows. Malcolm and Kaleigh were skipping stones on the pebbly beach. “I’ll talk to him,” he said.

“Don’t make a big deal about it,” I replied. “I don’t want him to feel like he screwed everything up. It wasn’t his fault, it was Kaleigh’s, and he hasn’t had much luck in life so far.”

“Him and me, both.” Aaron turned to face me again and took another sip of wine. A small breeze blew a part in his brown hair and I felt a funny little sensation in my belly at how handsome he looked.

“So are you still seeing What’s-His-Name?” Aaron asked.

“Josh?” I replied with a chuckle. “Yes.”

Aaron bowed his head. “I hope he’s a good guy. No wait… No I don’t.” His eyes lifted and he gave me a heated look. “I’d prefer it if he was an ass, if you really must know.”

I laughed and raised an eyebrow. “Are you flirting with me, Dr. Cameron?”

He recognized the question as a replay from a moment we’d shared many months ago, but this time he answered differently.

“Yes, I am, Ms. Matthews. And it’s a good thing Officer Josh isn’t here. He might slap a set of cuffs on me.”

I took another bite of bread. “So you know he’s a cop. Did I tell you that before?”