To Honor Read online

  Carla frowned, her gaze following Cassie’s. Sure enough, her mother was sitting on a bench in front of the Quilt Shoppe beside Leon Tate. They were very close to each other, looking as if they spent a lot of time chatting.

  “Grandma, guess what?” Cassie ran over to the older couple. “My daddy is Jesse McNally!”

  Her mother’s face paled, her gaze pinning Carla’s with a sharp look of betrayal.

  6

  The daggers being aimed at him from Carla’s mother spoke volumes. It was clear that a friend of Leon Tate’s was no friend of the McNallys.

  Carla stiffened beside him, and he knew that her life had irrevocably changed for the second time in the past nine years.

  And both were his fault.

  “I’m sorry,” he said, putting a hand on her arm. “I guess your mom hates me as much as Leon Tate does.”

  “Yeah. And all this time, I thought it was only my father who hated your family.” Carla’s expression was pained as she watched her mother give Leon Tate a hug before standing up to take Cassie’s hand in hers. “Guess I’ll take a rain check on the ice cream.”

  “Don’t.” He gently held her arm to keep her from shrugging him off. “Let’s not ruin this for Cassie. Look, it appears your mother loves Cassie more than she hates me.”

  “I wouldn’t be too sure of that.” Carla’s voice held a note of desperation that made his heart ache for her. He would have done anything to make this situation better.

  But he couldn’t change who he was. Or who his father had been. And he didn’t want to. Despite Carla’s mother’s feelings toward his family, he was proud of his grandparents and what they’d accomplished. He and his siblings were good people and didn’t deserve to be hated with such intensity.

  Helplessly, they stood and waited for Cassie and Carla’s mother to approach. Irene Templeton looked pale and drawn as if she’d aged ten years in the past five minutes.

  “Carla? Is it true?” Irene sent him a vengeful look as if everything that had gone wrong in the world was his fault. He wanted to think Carla’s mother would be upset at any man who’d irresponsibly gotten her daughter pregnant, but he didn’t believe it.

  “Yes, Mom.” Carla gave the woman a pleading look. “How about we discuss this more later, tonight, okay?”

  In other words, not in front of Cassie.

  The two women stared at each other for a full minute before Irene relented. Without saying a word to Jesse, the older woman turned to Cassie.

  “I’ll see you later, dear. I know you have to walk Bucky, but don’t forget, dinner is at six.”

  “Okay, Grandma.” Thankfully, his daughter didn’t seem to notice the level of tension between the adults.

  Without another word, Irene turned and walked away. Carla held herself stiffly, and he longed to draw her close for a reassuring hug.

  “We’re still having ice cream, right, Mom?” Cassie’s tone was hesitant as if finally understanding everything wasn’t quite normal.

  “Of course.” Carla’s smile didn’t reach her eyes. “Raspberry for me and mint chocolate chip for you and—” She stopped abruptly as if unsure how to refer to him.

  “Listen, you both wait here, and I’ll get our cones.” He reluctantly let Carla go and headed over. The ice cream and hot dog stand wasn’t far. It was a portable set up, only available on Main Street during the summer months. He paid for three cones, then carried them over to where Carla and Cassie waited.

  Their outing wasn’t turning out quite the way he’d hoped. Cassie’s excitement at having him as a father was wonderful and more than he could have asked for. Yet seeing Carla’s mom with Leon Tate explained a lot. He wondered if Carla’s dad had been good friends with Leon Tate back in the days when his father had dated Leon’s younger sister, Lucy.

  “Thanks, Dad.” Cassie took one of the mint chocolate chip cones from his hand and began to lick the melting cream from the edge of the brown sugar cone.

  Hearing her refer to him as Dad made him smile. But his joy faded when he caught the glitter of tears in Carla’s eyes.

  “Are you okay?”

  “Yes. Of course.” Carla quickly swiped at her eyes before taking her raspberry ice cream.

  He didn’t like seeing her upset. “Maybe I should come over tonight so we can provide a united front.” He chose his words carefully, hoping Cassie wouldn’t pick up on what he meant.

  “Um, no.” Carla grimaced and avoided his gaze. “I’m fairly certain that would only make things worse.”

  He wanted to point out that they couldn’t be much worse when he caught sight of a man standing off to the side, watching them intently.

  Well, mostly watching Carla.

  Was it possibly the same guy who’d hit him while riding past on a motorcycle? He narrowed his gaze, trying to remember. But the motorcycle rider had been wearing a helmet, and honestly, the guy watching them didn’t seem the type. He was older than he and Carla were, in his estimate roughly eight to ten years.

  “Who’s that?” He jutted his chin toward the guy.

  Carla followed his gaze, then let out a low groan. “Can this day get any worse?” she muttered.

  “Worse?” Her comment hurt, more than it should. “Why? What’s his problem?”

  “Look, Mom, it’s Principal Thomas.” Cassie was gobbling up her ice cream faster than the adults were. “I told you he wants to ask you out on a date.”

  A date? Jesse frowned as a shaft of jealousy shot deep.

  “Cassie, you need to stop saying that.” Carla’s tone was sharp. “I told you before we are just friends, nothing more. Now zip it.”

  “Okay, okay.” Cassie’s expression was chagrined. “Sorry.”

  Jesse filed that tidbit of information away for a future discussion. He told himself that he wasn’t Carla’s boyfriend anymore. That it shouldn’t matter to him one way or the other whom she spent time with.

  Yet thinking about Carla seeing another man made him want to punch something. It was ridiculous, they were both single adults with the right to date whomever they wanted.

  But he didn’t like it. Not one bit.

  It hit him then how much his impulsive decision to move to McNally Bay was related to rekindling a personal relationship with Carla as much as being close to Cassie.

  Unfortunately, he didn’t get the impression Carla felt the same way about him. Especially given her mother’s reaction to the news of his being Cassie’s father.

  He supposed he couldn’t blame her. He’d been a jerk, moving on with his life and not calling the way he’d promised. Although, she hadn’t called him either.

  But Carla had driven up to see him. Only to find him kissing another girl.

  Enough. There was nothing they could do to change the past. He decided that from here on it was more important to focus on the future.

  A future that included spending time getting to know his daughter.

  Carla forced herself to finish the ice cream, despite the growing pit of despair in her stomach. When they were finished, she ditched Jesse as soon as possible, making sure Cassie headed home to be with her grandmother before returning to the grocery store.

  She dreaded the inevitable confrontation with her mother over Jesse being Cassie’s father. Her mother had been so supportive nine years ago, never passing judgment upon having an eighteen-year-old daughter drop out of college because she was pregnant and alone.

  But her mother’s scathing glare only proved that her nonjudgmental attitude was a thing of the past. Apparently, Jesse being Cassie’s father was unforgivable.

  As she worked on the minute details that she needed to attend to, she found herself wondering if her mother would finally reveal the truth about why her father hated the McNallys so much. Was it too much to ask why the animosity existed between the two families for so many decades?

  Although, did it really matter? No matter what had happened in the past, it didn’t change that Jesse planned to be involved in their daughter’s life.
>
  She hoped Jesse would be a good father to Cassie. Not distant and remote like hers. The way he’d grown teary while telling Cassie the truth had been humbling. He intended to be there for Cassie, and frankly, he was well within his rights to do so.

  Her mother would just have to find a way to deal with it.

  Brave words, but the impending sense of doom got worse as the day wore on. Even the fact that her second order of sparklers arrived on the four o’clock truck couldn’t brighten her mood.

  After locking up the store, she turned and headed home. Doing her best to brace herself for the worst, she opened the door of her mother’s house and walked in.

  “Hi, Mom!” Cassie tossed aside her book and rushed over to greet her with a hug. “Do you think it’s okay if I spend the day with Dad tomorrow? He wants to take me out for a boat ride.”

  “You—uh—spoke to him?” She glanced over Cassie’s shoulder to her mother.

  “He came by with pizza from Gino’s for dinner. He said he wanted to talk with Grandma.” Cassie grinned. “He brought pepperoni, my favorite.”

  “He did?” Carla felt a bit as if she’d landed in another dimension. For some reason, it irked her that Jesse had bulldozed his way in without giving her a chance to talk things over with her mother.

  Then again, it was in Jesse’s nature to try to fix things. The same way he now fixed computer software issues.

  “Grandma said she didn’t like pepperoni pizza, but there’s leftovers for you, Mom.”

  Oh boy. She could practically see the waves of anger rolling off her mother.

  “Cassandra, it’s time for you to get ready for bed.” Her mother’s tone was icy. “Go put on your jammies and brush your teeth.”

  “But, Grandma, it’s not even dark outside yet.”

  “Listen to Grandma, I’ll be in soon to tuck you in.” She gave her daughter a nudge.

  “Fine.” Cassie stomped off toward her room.

  “How could you?” her mother asked in a low voice the moment Cassie was out of the room. “Of all the boys in the area to give your virginity to, you had to pick Jesse McNally?”

  “Stop it.” Carla couldn’t believe her mother was saying these things to her. “I loved Jesse. I . . . we didn’t mean for it to happen.”

  “That’s because you weren’t thinking at all.” Her mother’s tone dripped with sarcasm.

  “I’m not going to listen to you call me names.” Carla tried to hide the way her hands were trembling. This was worse, so much worse than she’d anticipated. “Cassie is a blessing, not a mistake, and I won’t allow you to treat me like dirt because I fell in love.”

  “Love.” Her mother’s tone was laced with bitterness. “You don’t know the first thing about it. Where has he been all this time? Why is he just showing up now to take responsibility for what he’s done? He should have been paying child support for the past eight years.”

  “That’s enough.” Carla lifted her chin and looked her mother directly in the eye. “If you must know, I didn’t tell Jesse about Carla. He figured it out for himself. And so, by the way, did Betty Cromwell. You’d better brace yourself. The entire town will know the truth by morning.”

  The red flush of anger in her mother’s face drained away as the realization sunk deep.

  “You need to find a way to get over your hatred of Jesse McNally because he intends to relocate to McNally Bay. He wants to live here so he can be a part of Cassie’s life.”

  “That can’t be.” Her mother swayed in a way that caused a flash of concern.

  “Sit down, Mom.” She hurried over to take her mother’s arm, but she shrugged it away, stumbling over to the closest chair under her own power.

  Carla curled her fingers into helpless fists. She loved her mother and couldn’t stand the thought of something happening to her.

  Being the cause of her father’s death was bad enough.

  She dropped to her knees beside her mother’s chair. “Why, Mom? Why did you and Dad hate them so much?”

  Her mother shook her head, then buried her face in her hands.

  “Mom? Are you coming?” Cassie called.

  She hesitated, waiting for her mother’s response, but there was nothing forthcoming. Feeling as if she’d been battered by a tornado, she rose to her feet and went down the hall toward Cassie’s room.

  “Were you and Grandma fighting?” Cassie asked, her expression troubled.

  “We’re fine, nothing for you to worry about.” She sat on the edge of Cassie’s bed, smoothing a lock of hair from her face. Her daughter was a mini-me, looking so much like Carla had as a young girl. But after watching Cassie and Jesse together, she knew her daughter displayed many of the same McNally mannerisms.

  It was surprising the lineage hadn’t been discovered before now. Still, she hated knowing how much she’d upset her mother.

  “Can I spend the day with Dad tomorrow?” Cassie persisted. “Please?”

  Tight bands of emotion cinched around her chest, a mixture of anger and resentment that Jesse had brought the subject up with Cassie without running it past her first. But despite her annoyance, she knew she couldn’t deny her daughter’s request to spend time with her father.

  “Sure. But you can’t forget your promise to take care of Bucky. Miss Daisy is counting on you.”

  Cassie’s brow furrowed, then cleared. “I’ll ask Miss Daisy if she’ll let me take Bucky with us. He’ll like that better than being in his crate.”

  Trust her daughter to come up with a reasonable solution. She nodded her agreement, then bent down to kiss Cassie’s forehead. “Good night, Cass.”

  “Night, Mom.” Cassie yawned, her eyes drooping as the excitement of the day finally caught up with her.

  After leaving Cassie’s room, she returned to the kitchen to talk to her mother, but she wasn’t there. The door to her mom’s room was closed, and Carla knew that as far as her mother was concerned the conversation about Jesse McNally was over.

  It didn’t make any sense that her mother had carried such a deep-seated grudge all these years. Made worse by the fact that her mother wouldn’t provide an explanation.

  Feeling restless, she went into her room. Sleep would be impossible, yet she still had an early day tomorrow. Resentment bubbled up in the back of her throat at the idea of Jesse and Cass spending the day together. Logically, she knew it was only fair, but she didn’t like the thought of them being together without her.

  A light tapping on her window had her jumping around in surprise, her heart thudding loudly in her chest. When she saw Jesse’s face through the glass, she blew out her breath in a loud sigh. She crossed over and lifted the sash.

  “What are you doing out there?” she asked in a loud whisper. “We’re not eighteen anymore.”

  A wide grin split his features. “You remember.”

  She rolled her eyes in exasperation. “Of course, I remember. This is how we got ourselves in trouble. I should have sent you away.”

  His smile faded. “I know. You should have. But if you had, we wouldn’t have Cassie.”

  That much was true. She sighed. “What do you want?”

  “Come outside and talk to me.” Jesse’s engaging grin reminded her of how impossible it had once been for her to resist him.

  But that was a long time ago.

  “I have to be up early. Besides, I’m mad at you.”

  “I thought if I brought dinner your mother would maybe see that I’m not that bad,” he protested. “But it didn’t work.”

  “Not that.” Although, she could have told him he was wasting his time. Her mother hadn’t forgiven her, much less a McNally.

  “Then what?”

  “You had no right to invite Cassie out for a boat ride without talking to me first.”

  “I see.” He nodded thoughtfully. “I’m sorry. This being a dad is new to me.”

  “Yeah, well, sharing Cassie with her father is new to me, too.”

  “I get it.” He shrugged. “It did
n’t occur to me that you’d be upset. Carla, will you please come outside for a bit?”

  She shouldn’t, but she thought it wouldn’t hurt to set some ground rules. “Okay, give me a minute.”

  “What, you’re not going to crawl through the window like old times?” The hopeful expression on his face made her want to laugh, but she managed not to.

  “No.” She shut the window without saying anything more and then walked through the silent house to meet him outside.

  Jesse was leaning against the wall outside her room, waiting for her. He straightened when she approached, and the way he looked in the dim light brought an avalanche of memories.

  “Thanks for agreeing to talk,” he said, his voice low and husky.

  She nodded and crossed her arms over her chest as they walked away from the house. “I need you to check with me before making plans with Cassie, okay? And that includes dropping by with pizza.”

  “Yeah, well, your mother made that perfectly clear.” He hesitated, then asked, “Did she you give you a hard time?”

  “Yes.” The argument came flooding back, and she was hurt by her mother’s attitude all over again. “Nine years ago, she was sweet and supportive. Tonight, she was a different woman.”

  “It’s because of me.” Jesse took a step closer, reaching up to tuck a strand of her hair behind her ear. “I’m sorry she hates me. If there was something I could do to change it, I would.”

  “I know.” She tried to smile but felt tears sting her eyes. Nine years ago, her mother had been her staunch supporter. And now the woman who’d loved her wouldn’t look her in the eye.

  “Shh, don’t cry.” Jesse pulled her into his arms, tucking her head beneath his chin. “We’ll get through this. I’ll kill her with kindness. She can’t hold out forever.”

  She let out a choked laugh at his never-ending optimism. His familiar scent filled her senses, making her realize how much she’d missed this.

  Missed him.

  “Don’t hold your breath,” she said, her voice muffled against his soft T-shirt.

  “I won’t. But I don’t intend to give up either.” He stroked his hand down her back, causing every nerve ending in her body to come alive.