Claiming Colleen (Home to Harbor Town 3) - Page 42

Don’t be paranoid, Colleen scolded herself. She and Eric hadn’t even gone on a date, and she was already jumping to marriage, divorce and abandonment.

Other worries rushed in to replace that one. At last, she was being forced to confront her negative attitude about Eric’s expensive home. Of course her emotions were all tied up in the usually unspoken knowledge that Eric’s status was at least partially a result of her father’s fatal mistake sixteen years ago. That night, the fortunes of both the Kavanaughs and Reyeses had been altered drastically, and not just in a financial sense. Both families had suffered extreme loss and grief.

But it was foolish to deny that Eric’s house on a beach where Colleen was now banned by law symbolized the Kavanaughs’ fall from grace. Maybe most people wouldn’t see things that way, but Colleen admitted to herself on that drive over to Eric’s that it was precisely what she’d been thinking in some vague, unformed fashion.

She recalled Liam’s incendiary words toward Eric in the parking lot of Jake’s Place about Buena Vista Drive two summers ago.

What’s the matter, Reyes? Worried about bruising those delicate surgeon’s hands? Why don’t you just hurry back to that slick house on Buena Vista Drive that my mom’s money paid for?

Colleen winced at the memory. At the time, she’d wholeheartedly agreed with Liam’s taunt. She felt differently now. Very differently.

Pulling into Eric’s driveway, she turned off the engine dispiritedly. She sat in the car, thinking as she stared at the lovely lakefront home.

Was she jealous of Eric Reyes?

She cringed at the thought. His mother had been killed. He’d worked his butt off in order to support himself and his injured eleven-year-old sister. They’d been young, alone and essentially penniless, orphans with nothing but their brains and a willingness to work hard. But Eric hadn’t just done what it took to make Natalie and him survive. They’d thrived.

How shallow could she be to envy him because of his lifestyle? He’d earned every bit of his right to live in this lovely home, to buy his sister a luxurious wedding gift, to occasionally show the staff at The Family Center his appreciation with an expensive catered meal. She knew how smart he was, and not just in his job as a physician. He’d alluded to the fact that he’d done well for himself with investments. In this economy, that showed some real guts and savvy. His financial status might indirectly be related to Derry Kavanaugh’s actions, but Colleen was suddenly sure that the young, intense, hard-working young man she’d known so long ago would have found a way to make a success of his life no matter what had happened to him when he was eighteen.

No…it wasn’t jealousy, what she felt toward Eric. It was something more elemental. It was shame. She’d been putting Eric down in her mind all these years in order to make herself feel better. It was easier to think of him being pompous and arrogant than to face her own guilt, anger and sadness about what her father had done; more comfortable to condemn him than to face how helpless and lost she’d felt as a teenager after the crash.

The profound realization of her selfishness hurt. Colleen was used to being the selfless one with her kids, her family and patients. Tears welled in her eyes.

She was so lost in her turbulent emotions, she didn’t notice anyone approaching and jumped when someone tapped on her passenger window. Her eyes went wide in shock, tears spilling down her cheek when she saw Eric himself through the glass. He peered at her through the window, his facial features tight with puzzlement that quickly morphed into concern. He wore jeans, a white T-shirt and a blue flannel shirt over it. She hadn’t seen him in work clothes since he was a teenager laboring for the landscaping business. Memories of her adolescent admiration of him swamped her consciousness.

“Are you okay?” he asked, his deep voice muffled by the door.

Colleen blinked, and the memory faded. The adult version of that young man looked at her through the window, even more vibrant and compelling than the boy had been. She just nodded helplessly and swiped at a tear.

The next thing she knew, he was opening the car door and sitting in the passenger seat. He mumbled a curse when his long legs wouldn’t fit in the compact car, causing Colleen to grin despite her tears. He moved the seat back and slammed the door shut.

“Where are the kids?” she asked.

“Don’t worry. Your mom is with them in the garage. They’re working on the boat. Brendan dropped by my office last week after a P.T. session and asked if he could help with Lucy, and of course Jenny had to come once she heard.”

She stared at him in amazement. “Was anyone going to bother to tell me?”

“We did. This evening is the first time they’ve come. Why are you crying?” he changed subjects abruptly, leaning toward her.

Colleen stared through the front window.

“I always seem to be crying around you,” she mumbled. “I hope you’ll take my word for it that I don’t normally go to tears at the drop of a hat.”

“Does that mean the tears have something to do with me?”

She inhaled slowly and sighed. “Inadvertently, maybe,” she admitted. She avoided his laserlike stare, but she felt it like a touch on her cheek. “To be honest, I was sitting out here in the driveway trying to figure out why I’m so defensive about going into your house.”

“My house?” he asked flatly, clearly not understanding.

Colleen sniffed and nodded.

He made a frustrated sound and turned. He grabbed a box of tissues from the backseat. “Here,” he said, offering her the box.

“Thanks,” Colleen murmured, taking one

“So, what’s my house got to do with anything?” he asked after she’d dried her cheeks.

“The house is really just a symbol of it all, I guess. The truth is…” She paused while she withdrew another tissue and dabbed at another falling tear. She felt so ashamed of her idiocy. She could be stubborn at times, but once she’d taken ownership of her failings, her contrition was absolute. Still, this wasn’t easy.

Tags: Beth Kery Home to Harbor Town Billionaire Romance
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