When We Found Home. Susan Mallery
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reached for one of the feather-on-a-stick toys and waved it in front of Lizzy. The kitten immediately attacked.
“Have any of your friends been by?” Delaney asked.
Keira looked at her. “No, but we’ve texted. They wanted to know I was okay. I didn’t feel very good until yesterday and now I have Lizzy. I’m fine.”
“I worry about you.”
“I know.” Keira ducked her head.
Delaney wished she could be more sure about her friend. Keira’s home situation was unconventional at best. Not awful, but maybe not as nurturing as it could have been.
“Carmen seems nice.”
“She’s great. She’s fussing over me even more than usual and she’s really excited about Lizzy.”
At least Keira had someone watching over her.
“Okay, I’m going to let you and Lizzy get to know each other,” she said as she stood. “You have my number. Text me if you need anything. Even if it’s just more cat toys. I’m happy to bring them by.”
“I will.”
Keira carefully closed the door behind them so Lizzy wouldn’t get out. Carmen met them on the landing.
“Malcolm would like to speak with you,” she told Delaney. “If you have a minute.”
Delaney’s breath caught. He was home? Why hadn’t someone warned her before now? Not that it mattered, she told herself. She wasn’t sure how she felt about him. Annoyance and maybe a little outrage had replaced attraction.
“Of course,” she said, trying to sound neutral. She hugged Keira goodbye and reminded her to text or call if she needed anything, then followed the housekeeper down the long second-floor hallway.
Carmen knocked once before entering the suite of rooms. Delaney followed and saw his living space was very similar to Keira’s although instead of entering a bedroom, she found herself in a study/home office. There was a comfortable sofa, a good-sized desk and lots of bookcases. A door stood open and she caught sight of a king-size bed with a bathroom beyond. Malcolm looked up from his computer, smiled and rose when he saw her.
“Delaney, I’m glad you stopped by. I’ve wanted to talk to you.”
Carmen excused herself and shut the door as she left. Malcolm motioned to the sofa.
“Please. Have a seat.”
He looked different, she thought. Instead of a suit, he wore jeans and a long-sleeved shirt that emphasized his broad shoulders. His eyes were dark blue, his jaw firm. Dammit, he looked good and she did not want to be sucked in by that. She hadn’t liked the way he’d been so clueless about his own sister. He wasn’t charming, she reminded herself. She wasn’t the least bit attracted to him.
But sitting only a few feet away on a very comfortable leather sofa, it was difficult not to notice how her chest seemed just a little tight and her nerves were slightly on edge. Annoyance, she reminded herself. With annoyance came energy.
He reached in his pocket and pulled out a hundred-dollar bill, then handed it to her.
“Before I forget,” he said with a smile. “For the cat supplies.”
“I didn’t spend anywhere close to this.”
One shoulder rose. “You also took care of Lizzy. That can’t have been convenient.” The smile faded as he leaned toward her. “I also want to thank you for being there for Keira. I’m not sure I did at the hospital. Things were happening too fast. We all appreciate that you stayed with Keira until she got to the hospital. She must have been terrified. You were a comforting presence. Thank you.”
He seemed so genuine, so caring, she thought, more than a little perplexed. What had happened to the cold stranger who knew almost nothing about his sister?
“I’m confused,” she admitted. “At the hospital you were so distant and, um, stern.”
“The asshole brother?” he asked drily.
“Something like that.”
He sighed. “Yeah, it’s been hard with Keira.”
“She’s a good kid.” Delaney had a feeling her tone sounded fairly defensive.
“She is. I was talking more about myself than her. I’m not exactly a kid person.”
“She really just showed up two months ago?”
“Uh-huh. My father died a couple of years ago.” He hesitated. “There wasn’t a will so everything went to my grandfather and me. Around the first of the year, Alberto decided to get Jerry’s papers in order. He found information about two daughters no one knew about.”
He looked at her. “I should backtrack a little. My father was a salesman for the company and traveled all over. Apparently he liked women and they liked him. The three of us are the result of various relationships he had. Jerry wasn’t interested in his children or paying regular child support. I didn’t meet him until my mother brought me here when I was twelve. Alberto welcomed me right away, but Jerry resisted the connection. He and I were never close. I didn’t actually know him very well at all.”
There was something about the way he said the words, she thought. As if there was more to the story.
“Where’s the other sister?” she asked instead.
“Arriving tomorrow. That’s going to be interesting. She’s older—twenty-six. I don’t know that much about her. Keira was easier to locate. As she told you, she’d been living in foster care. Once we established paternity, I went and got her. She’s lived here ever since.”
She couldn’t imagine finding out about a sibling after so many years. Maybe Malcolm wasn’t as awful as she’d feared. Maybe he was just unprepared.
“And now what?” she asked.
“Now we make it work.” He raised a shoulder. “What I mean is I make it work. The accident showed me I haven’t been involved enough in Keira’s life. She seems to have it all together, but the truth is she’s a kid. I was her age when my mom brought me here. I remember how lost I felt and I had my mother with me. She might feel as if she doesn’t have anyone and that’s not right.”
Delaney relaxed a little more. “It’s her air of competence. It’s a great disguise, but you’re right. She’s just twelve. She needs to know people care about her and that this is her home. Having Lizzy will help.”
“I know nothing about cats.”
“Keira’s been doing research on the internet. You can ask her all about it.”
“I will.”
They smiled at each other. Tension seemed to swirl between them—the boy-girl kind, which was kind of nice and strange, all at the same time. Or maybe not. Maybe she was the only one feeling it and wouldn’t that be both awkward and pathetic?
What was wrong with her? He was just a guy. Except she knew the problem—there hadn’t been anyone since Tim and before Tim, she’d been a kid. All she knew about men and love and dating had been learned with Tim. What if they’d done it all wrong?
“Delaney?”
“Huh? Oh, sorry. I got distracted by something. What were you saying?”
“That I owe you.”
If only, she thought wistfully. “Not really. I like Keira. Helping out with her was easy.”
“Still. I’d offer to buy you coffee but that wouldn’t be very exciting for you. How about dinner?”
D-dinner? As in...dinner?
She felt herself flushing and hoped her light makeup kept him from being able to tell. “That would be nice,” she said,