She checked her watch and realized she had at most an hour at her parents’ before she had to return to town. Max didn’t make idle threats. She knew he was telling the absolute truth. He’d come to her parents’ and then all hell would break loose.
Never had she chafed at being under Max’s dominance. But now his arrogance and confidence that she’d do as he commanded was like acid in her stomach.
Willingly submitting and being blackmailed were two different matters entirely.
She sat a moment in her car as she willed herself to contain her battered emotions. She pulled the visor down and checked her appearance in the mirror, and then, satisfied that she looked the best she could given the circumstances, she opened her car door and got out.
She was halfway up the walkway with the bags of groceries when the front door opened and Ethan Colter stepped onto the porch.
A genuine smile worked over her face when she saw his tall, lanky form that age hadn’t diminished one bit. Aside from the touches of silver at his temples and the smattering layered into the dark brown, time had been very good to him and he’d only grown more handsome with age. Her mom always said that she hadn’t thought it possible for her husbands to get more lethal than they were when she met them but they’d proved her wrong.
“Hi Dad,” she called.
He went to meet her and pulled her into a tight hug around the bags.
“Hi baby girl.” He pressed a kiss to her temple and then drew away, taking the bags with him.
They mounted the steps together and went inside. As she always did whether it had been one day or months since she’d last been home, she inhaled deeply and allowed the scent of home and comfort to surround her in its warm embrace.
Adam was in the kitchen when she and Ethan trekked in, and his face lit up into a smile when he caught sight of Callie. He opened his arms and she walked into his hug.
“Hey baby girl,” he said, echoing Ethan’s endearment. It was what she’d been called for as long as she could remember and it always brought a smile to her face.
“Hi Dad. Where’s Mom and Ryan?”
“Your mother is in her bedroom. I’ll call her. Ryan’s probably with her,” he added dryly.
Callie suppressed a chuckle at the implication. Her parents were still so in love that it made her ache, and they evidently still enjoyed an extremely healthy sex life. Not that she wanted to dwell on that, but it warmed her heart that after so many years her mom still had her husbands solidly wrapped around her little finger.
“So how have you been?” Ethan asked as he started putting away the groceries. “We haven’t seen much of you lately.”
There was gentle reproach in his voice and she sighed. Sadness and relief warred with each other. Relief that she was home where she felt safe and loved. Sadness that she had put such a distance between her and the people who loved her most in the world.
She stared at two of her fathers and felt something loosen inside. “Have I told you how glad I am to be home?”
They both turned to look at her and love shone in their weathered expressions. Ethan came to stand beside where she sat on the barstool and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. He squeezed and she leaned her head against his shoulder.
“We’re glad you’re home too. We always miss you when you’re gone, and we worry.”
She chuckled. “When don’t you worry?”
Adam glared at her. “It’s a father’s prerogative to worry about his only daughter.”
“Callie!”
Callie turned to see her mom burst into the room like a whirlwind. Her face was alight with a delighted smile as she closed in on her daughter.
Ethan relinquished her and Holly Colter enveloped Callie in a hug. Callie sighed with delight and let her mother cluck and pat and love on her. There really wasn’t a better feeling.
When Holly finally let go, Callie looked up and saw Ryan leaning on the doorframe of the kitchen, a satisfied smile on his face. “It’s always nice to see both my girls in the same room.”
“Thanks for picking up the groceries,” Holly said as she walked around the bar. “Not that I’ll have much use for them, but your fathers will need the stuff to make dinner tonight.”
Adam chuckled and shook his head. Holly’s cooking skill, or lack thereof, was a family legend. It was generally accepted that she was encouraged to stay as far away from a stove as possible. Which was fine with her husbands, because there was nothing they liked better than pampering her shamelessly. A habit they’d continued with their only daughter.
Callie wasn’t ashamed of the fact that she was hopelessly spoiled by her fathers. And to a degree, by her brothers as well.
“What time would you ladies like to eat?” Ethan asked.
Callie hesitated and dread tightened her throat. For just a minute she’d been able to put Max and her inevitable meeting with him from her mind.
“I know I said I was coming for dinner but I won’t be able to stay after all,” Callie said softly.
Her mom turned sharply, a frown creasing her pretty features. “Why not?”
“I totally forgot I told a friend of mine I’d meet them in town tonight. But I’ll come home afterward. Seth said they were all coming for lunch tomorrow and I don’t want to miss it.”
She noticed the look that flowed between her dads but she didn’t react.
Her mom checked her watch and then said, “You better be running along then. I worry when you’re on the mountain roads late at night. Try not to be too late.”
“Is your phone charging?” Ryan asked with mild exasperation.
Callie nodded. “It’s charging in my truck now.”
She rose from her stool and locked her knees to keep them from shaking. She hated that Max had made her so unsure of herself. What she really wanted to do was get this over with so she could move on and get over him. What she needed was a hot date. Unfortunately, there was a shortage of hot guys around Clyde, and the few that existed were either already attached or Callie had grown up with them.
“Love you guys. I’ll see you later.”
“Love you too, baby girl,” Ethan called softly as she walked toward the front door.
She brooded the entire way into town. Then as she drove into the parking lot of the small motel, realization struck her. Maybe a little too hard.
She needed this face-to-face with Max. She needed closure. Seeing him hurt. A lot. A damn lot. But with the way they’d parted, seeing him again was the only way she was going to truly get over him.
Feeling marginally better, she steeled herself, took a deep breath and strode from her truck to Max’s room and knocked crisply on the door.
She had but a moment to wait. Max opened the door and stood holding the edge, his gaze stroking up and down her body like he was memorizing her—or reacquainting himself with her.
Some of her courage died when she realized the close quarters they would be conducting their conversation in.
“Come in,” he said quietly.
She shook her head and his eyebrow went up in surprise. No, he wasn’t used to her saying no. When had she refused him anything?
The ache was back in her throat and she swallowed desperately against it.
“I think we should go somewhere public.”
“You want what we have to say aired in front of others?”
“We can be in public and still have a private place,” she said with a frown.
His hand tightened on the wood of the door and he cursed under his breath. “Do you think I’d hurt you? Do you honest to God think I’d ever hurt you?”
She shrugged. “You’ve already hurt me.”
His breath hissed through his lips, and she saw some of his composure slip as fury brewed in his eyes. “Physically, Callie. Physically.”
She wouldn’t lie. “No. I don’t think you’d hurt me. That’s not what this is about. I just don’t think a hotel room is the best place for us to talk about anything.”
His eyes narrowed and then gleamed with quick understanding. “It isn’t me you’re afraid of, is it? It’s yourself.”
“Leave me my pride, at least,” she whispered. “When have I ever been able to resist you? You know it. I know it. There’s no reason for you to be so smug about it.”
“Goddamn it,” he swore. He swung the door open and gestured inside. “I won’t touch you if you don’t want me to. You have my word on that. It’s your pride I’m trying to salvage by having this conversation in private. I don’t really give a damn if people know how I feel about you. But I’d never humiliate you by airing our business in public.”
Feeling chastened, she stepped inside his room and edged over toward the one chair by the desk. She didn’t want to be anywhere near his bed. It was unmade and the indention from where he’d slept was still outlined in the mattress and on the pillow. She’d bet anything his scent still lingered.
He sat on the edge and faced her, his eyes still glittering. For a long moment he simply stared at her. Then shadows crept over his face. “I’ve missed you.”
She flinched and turned her face away, determined not to break down in front of him.
“Look at me, Callie.”
The soft command in his voice was her undoing. It brought back too many nights where he’d commanded her over and over. She turned back to see answering grief in his eyes and it left her feeling unsettled.
“I need to explain why I left you in Greece.”
She sucked in her breath and waited silently. It didn’t really matter why he left. What mattered was why he’d never come back. Why he hadn’t called. Why he’d done nothing to make her think any differently than he’d dumped her flat.
“My mother had been ill for quite some time. Even though she was ill, none of us expected her to have such a dramatic turn for the worse. She should have had years yet. She didn’t.”
Callie remained silent, unsure of what she was supposed to say. So she said nothing at all.
“My sister tracked me down in Greece. It was the first time I’ve ever purposely been out of contact with my family, or my business for that matter. I wanted nothing to intrude on my time with you.
“She told me I needed to come home…to say goodbye. My mother was dying and there wasn’t a damn thing I could do about it. I went home and held my sister while our mother slipped away from us.”
“I’m sorry,” Callie said, not knowing what else to offer.
“I know I hurt you, Callie,” he said quietly, pain echoing in his voice.
She curled her fingers into tight fists. “You couldn’t tell me any of this then? What was so wrong with telling me why you had to go home? Did you think I wouldn’t understand?”
He shook his head. “No, I never thought something so badly of you. I knew if I told you that you’d want to come with me.”
His answer shocked her into silence and she stared at him as hurt crashed through her all over again.
“Damn it, Callie, don’t look at me like that.”
“Like what? Like it sounded like you had no desire for me to meet your family? What was wrong, Max? It’s okay to f**k me all over Europe but heaven forbid your family is exposed to me?”
His eyes warned her she was going too far, but she continued on recklessly, her anguish blinding her to all else.
“I loved you, Max. I thought you loved me. Of course I would have wanted to go back with you. I would have wanted to be with you, to support you during such a horrible time. That’s what love is all about.”
She shuddered violently and clutched her arms over her chest as she hugged herself against so much hurt.
“I waited,” she said painfully. “I waited for a month. I wouldn’t go anywhere because I was afraid you’d come back and I’d be gone. I wouldn’t let myself believe that you’d dumped me after all we shared. After I trusted you.”
Max rubbed a hand over his face and closed his eyes.
“I finally had no choice but to leave because I was out of money. You never called. You knew where I was and you never even so much as called to say what happened. To tell me you weren’t coming.”
“I was wrong,” he said softly. “I was grief-stricken. My sister was inconsolable. We’re the only family each other has. It took time to see to my mother’s affairs. There were matters to settle. I had to ensure my sister’s well-being. I knew I would never let you go. I knew that once I was able, I’d track you down no matter how long it took.”
“Well, here I am,” she said, spreading her arms, her hands palms-up. “As you can see, I’m fine. Your duty is done. You can leave now.”
“You’re not fine. Any fool can see that. You’ve lost weight. You have bruises under your eyes.”
She shrugged. “I’ve moved on. I appreciate you coming all this way to let me know you didn’t really mean to dump me and that you never gave me a thought during your haze of grief.”