There's Only Been You (9 page)

Mike sat back and linked his fingers behind his head. “So Nicky, tell me, what've you been up to all these years? I assume you're not married since you still live at home."

"Never been married, no kids. In fact, I've never even dated a woman for more than a few months. I'm a computer programmer which takes up most of my time. I guess you could say I'm married to my work."

Mike just stared at him for a moment, then they both burst out laughing. “Damn, man, that's pathetic. You do get laid once in a while, don't you?"

"Once in a while,” Nicky admitted. “Although it
is
a little tough bringing a woman home to the bedroom I'd had since I was six-years-old."

They both burst out laughing again.

"Nicky, I'm beat. I think I'll head back to my parents’ house and try to get some sleep. I have a feeling tomorrow's going to be one of the longest days of my life."

Sara had just finished weeding her garden when Danny stepped out the back door and waved her over. She glanced at Ethan who was busy kicking and chasing a big rubber ball around the yard. She swiped the sweat from her brow with her forearm and made her way up to the porch. “What is it?"

Danny cast Ethan an odd look, then said, “Garrett needs to talk to you."

"About...?"

Danny continued to stare at Ethan. “You'll have to ask him. I'll stay out here with Ethan."

Sara frowned. With a shake of her head, she walked past him into the house.

She turned the kitchen faucet on and started scrubbing the dirt from her hands. Casting a quick glance over her shoulder, she saw Garrett, Nicky, and Uncle Luke all seated at the table, and all grim-faced.

Her stomach twisted just like it had Friday morning when she'd found out Mike was back in town, and again when he'd walked into her shop. “Danny said you needed to talk to me about something, but from the looks on your faces, I'm afraid to ask what it is."

"Have a seat, Sara,” Garrett said.

She dried her hands on the dishtowel that hung from the refrigerator door. “Good Lord, Garrett, I feel like I'm ten years old again. What in the world is this about?” She walked over and took the seat directly across from him.

"Nicky got a call from Mike last night."

Sara looked expectantly at Nicky. “Well? What did he want?” Suddenly, it dawned on her and her voice rose an octave. “Oh my God, he knows about Ethan, doesn't he?"

"Sara, calm down. He doesn't know about Ethan,” Nicky assured her. “At least, not yet."

"What the hell does that mean, ‘not yet'?” She turned to Uncle Luke. “Please, just tell me what's going on."

Uncle Luke reached over to grasp her hand, but it was Garrett who said, “Sara, the night Mike left town, it wasn't for the reasons you were led to believe by that so-called friend of yours. She was never pregnant, and Mike never laid a hand on her."

Sara sat there, staring at Ethan through the picture window that framed the backyard. Her hands went numb, and she absently rubbed her palm against her leg.

"Honey, are you all right?” Uncle Luke asked.

"But I saw her face,” she said, unable to accept that everything she'd believed for the past eight years had been a lie. “Her cheek was swollen, and she had a black eye."

"Turns out that was an accident,” Nicky explained. “She got hit in the face with the camcorder when Mike smacked it from her hand."

Sara frowned. “Camcorder?"

Garrett cleared his throat. “Sara, there's more to the story, and ... it has to do with the real reason Mike left town."

Her brow wrinkled as she flipped through the pages of her mind. “He'd accused me of sleeping with Rachel's brother. He was so angry..."

"He would've never hurt you,” Nicky stated softly.

"Although it galls me to have to stick up for the idiot,” Garrett said, earning a scowl from Nicky, “it turns out his anger was ... somewhat understandable. The night before, you'd slept over at Rachel's house, do you remember that?"

"Vaguely. I spent the night there quite a bit. Why?"

"Rachel put sleeping pills in your drink. When you passed out, her brother carried you into his room, put you in his bed and..."

When Garrett's words trailed off, Sara gasped and clapped a hand to her chest. “A-Are you trying to tell me I was raped by Jimmy Montgomery?” Bile rose in her throat.

"No! My God, I'm sorry, I didn't mean for you to think that. It's just, as your brother, it's not easy telling you the rest."

"Please, Garrett, just say it."

He blew out a deep breath. “They made a videotape. Jimmy pretended to have sex with you while Rachel stood in the doorway and taped it. The next day, she showed the tape to Mike. That's why he accused you of sleeping with Jimmy."

"He was devastated, Sara,” Nicky added. “He loved you very much. I believe he still does."

Sara was in complete and utter shock. She could barely catch her breath. “But-but how did he figure this all out? And why the hell did it take him so long?” A tear slipped from the corner of her eye and she angrily swiped it away.

"He's been beating himself up over that very question,” Nicky said. “He couldn't understand why Garrett and I were so pissed about something that happened eight years ago. Especially since, as far as Mike was concerned,
you'd
betrayed
him
. So, when he ran into Jimmy last night, he took it as a sign of fate and forced a confession out of him, which he recorded."

"You've heard this confession?"

"Yes."

She glanced around the table; all three of them were waiting for her reaction, afraid she would burst into tears, praying she wouldn't. She knew they all loved her dearly, but also knew they felt completely helpless whenever she was upset or emotional.

And this was so much bigger than PMS.

Sara's whole world shifted on its axis and she thought she might faint from the dizziness of it. Rachel, that sick, twisted witch, had actually drugged her so she could make a videotape of her in bed with Jimmy. She'd lied about Mike sleeping with her, lied about being pregnant. But worst of all? She'd accused Mike of something Sara should've known he was incapable of—raising his hand to a woman. Not after watching his mother suffer all those years.

Although Mike certainly wasn't blameless. He'd accused her of something
he
should've known
she
could never do then ran out of town like a coward, without giving her a chance to defend herself.

Sara pushed back from the table with more force than necessary and shot to her feet. “I need some time to think. Figure out what I'm going to do."

"Sara, you have to tell him. He has a right—"

"Dammit, Nicky, don't you dare say it. Mike Andrews has no rights as far as Ethan is concerned. He's my son.
My
son. I raised him, I fed him, I clothed him, I love him. Mike did nothing."

"Look, I understand where you're coming from, but this isn't any more Mike's fault than yours. He was as much a victim as you were, and he's already missed out on more than seven years of Ethan's life. Isn't that punishment enough?"

It was Garrett who answered. “This isn't about punishing Mike. It's about doing what's best for Ethan. Period."

"And what's best for Ethan is getting to know his father,” Nicky insisted. “Mike is a good man who'd make a great father if given the chance."

"You've always defended him,” Sara accused, her eyes stinging.

"And now we know I was justified. Sara, please, don't use Ethan to punish Mike."

Sara gasped, her brother's words like a knife in her chest. “How could you even think I'd do such a thing?” She stormed off for the sanctuary of her bedroom.

Sara sat on the bed, arms hugging her knees as tears spilled down her cheeks.

Angry as she was, her heart rejoiced over the revelation that Mike hadn't betrayed her. For so long she'd had to imagine him making love to another. And not just anyone, but her supposed best friend. She'd cried countless tears over him those first few months after he'd left, mostly in the middle of the night when she'd hoped no one could hear her. But she knew they could. She'd been able to see it on their faces the following morning.

The day Ethan was born, Sara decided she'd cried her last tear over Mike Andrews. She had her son to take care of, and he was all that mattered.

But as the months went by, fate seemed to mock her as that beautiful little face became more and more like his father's. He had Mike's nose, his full lips, his ears. He had the exact same cleft in his chin, the same thick, near-black hair. And those incredible blue-green eyes surrounded by absurdly thick sooty lashes. He was Mike's spitting image, and it was only a matter of time before Mike saw him and figured it out for himself.

She had to tell him. She had to tell both of them. For years she'd believed that even if Mike knew about Ethan, he wouldn't want anything to do with him. So she'd been able to justify, at least in her own mind, lying to her son that his father was dead.

Because, in her mind, he was dead. But now, knowing the truth, how could she deny Ethan his father? Or Mike his son? They'd both already missed out on so much. She knew Ethan would be angry and confused, but it would only be a matter of time before he started following Mike around like a lost puppy, gazing up at him as if he'd hung the moon and stars.

Exactly the way he looked at his uncle Garrett.

Garrett
. This was going to be as hard on him as it would be Ethan. Garrett couldn't love Ethan more if he were his own son.

She sighed and swiped away her tears. Who knew, maybe this would be good for Garrett. She'd always worried the main reason he'd never become serious with anyone was because he felt responsible for her and Ethan. And Garrett was such a wonderful man. He deserved a good woman and children of his own.

Rolling to her side, she stretched out and tucked her hands beneath her cheek.
He loved you very much. I believe he still does.
The thought excited her as much as angered her. On one hand, she wanted to smack him senseless for leaving before giving her a chance to defend herself. If he'd just taken the time to cool off, they could've talked and avoided all of this.

Sara sat up and snatched the tattered stuffed monkey off her dresser—Ethan's very first toy. She'd bought it when she was four months pregnant and felt him kick for the first time. She hugged it against her chest as tears welled up again.

How dare Mike come back now and tear her entire life apart!

Someone knocked on her bedroom door.

"Sara? Honey, can we come in?”
Uncle Luke
.

She sat up, set the monkey aside, and used the edge of her shirt to mop up her tears. “Is Ethan still outside?"

"No, Danny took him downstairs to play video games. I'm opening the door, all right?” The door slowly swung open.

"It's fine, come in. I just didn't want Ethan to see me like this.” She leaned over to glance at her reflection in the mirror. Her eyes were red, as was her nose, but overall, not too bad. Nothing a little cool water wouldn't fix.

Uncle Luke and Garrett both came in, each taking a seat beside her on the bed. Nicky followed them in and leaned against the corner of her dresser.

"You okay?” Garrett asked as he massaged her shoulder.

She nodded. “I just have a headache from trying to figure out how to tell my son his father's alive. And how to tell Mike about Ethan. I'm scared to death of what his reaction will be."

"He'll be shocked and then thrilled,” Nicky assured her. “You have nothing to worry about."

"Aren't you the least bit concerned about how he'll treat Ethan?” Garrett demanded. “I mean, let's be honest because we've all thought about it. Mike's old man was an evil son-of-a-bitch. What if it's hereditary? I'll say it again, if I even suspect he's put his hands on that boy, I'll break every bone in his goddamn body."

Sara's gaze flew to his face. Garrett was right—the thought
had
crossed her mind, though she'd hated herself for thinking it. “You don't really think he'd hurt Ethan ... do you?"

It was Uncle Luke who answered. “I honestly don't think we have to worry about that. Mike was a good kid. I never saw any signs of violence from him."

"Tell that to Jimmy Montgomery,” Garrett muttered under his breath.

Nicky shot Garrett a look before admitting, “I wondered about it and just as quickly came to the same conclusion Uncle Luke did. Mike is nothing like his father, and there's no way in hell he'd ever harm a hair on Ethan's head."

"I watched him attack Jimmy,” Sara reminded them, her voice barely above a whisper. “I'd never seen him that angry before. Who knows what would've happened if they hadn't been broken up right away."

"Honey,” Uncle Luke said, “I'm not condoning Mike's actions, and of course I wasn't there to see it, but jealousy can do ugly things to a man."

"He'd just seen a video of you and Jimmy in bed together,” Nicky added. “I can only imagine how much that had to hurt. And you didn't exactly deny it, Sara."

"I never got a chance to!"

Garrett gave her shoulder a squeeze. “Calm down. You don't want Ethan to hear you."

A fresh batch of tears threatened to spill, and Sara angrily shot to her feet. She took a few deep breaths as she gazed out her bedroom window.

Uncle Luke cleared his throat. “Sara, why don't we invite Mike over for supper tonight. We'll eat, and when you feel comfortable enough, we'll give you two your privacy so you can talk. Ethan's going to the movies with Billy and his folks, so that'll be one less complication."

Sara thought about it for a moment. She knew she couldn't put it off for long. And honestly, no matter how awkward it would be, she wanted to see him again. She wanted him to admit he was just as responsible as Rachel and Jimmy for missing out on the first seven years of Ethan's life. Because he hadn't had faith in their love. And no matter how much her heart still ached for him, Sara didn't know if she could get past that.

"Nicky, tell him dinner's at five. I'll give Billy's mom a call right now. It'll definitely ease my mind to have Ethan out of the house."

Garrett and Uncle Luke both rose from the bed. Uncle Luke assured her, “Everything will work out fine, honey, you'll see."