Raine stepped back, silently refusing his gesture. “I’ll still be angry years from now, and I mean every word I’ve said. I will not be coming around, and, as for the trust fund you’ve dangled over my head for years, keep it. You’ve tried your damnedest to get me to see your way, but I’ll never be like either of you.” She released a ragged breath. “I care about helping people and making my little part of the world a better place. And I couldn’t care less what others can do for me, and how far in life I will advance by lying and being deceitful.”
Raine brushed past her parents and headed toward the door before she turned over her shoulder. “Oh, and stop sending Marshall to my house. In fact, consider this our last contact unless you decide you can love me for me and not for how I make you look to your friends.”
* * *
Max wanted to feel sorry for himself, considering he was covered in spit up and smelled like baby powder after that very questionable diaper change. How many wipes were too many to use? And more to the point, would a hazmat suit be overkill? Because the stuff that had been in that diaper surely had to be toxic.
As Max laid Abby in her crib for a nap, he thought about Raine and wondered how her talk with her parents was going. But before he could dwell too much on that, Abby let out a wail, and Max had no clue what it meant.
He peered over the edge of the crib, and she looked up at him, her chin quivering, her face red.
“All right, little one,” he said, picking her up again. “You know I’m the newbie here, and you think you can sucker me into holding you the whole time your mommy is gone, right?”
When she instantly stopped fussing, Max laughed and patted her back as she laid her head against his chest and let out a deep sigh.
Being wrapped around her little fingers was just fine with him.
Max couldn’t stand the thought of her being upset. Yes, she was a baby; yes, they cried. But that special place in his heart, for that family of his own, was starting to be filled with this little bundle of sweetness.
He moved to the rocking chair in the corner of the room next to the window. Early morning sunlight streamed in, and Max cradled Abby in the crook of his arm as he rocked her. She closed her eyes, sucked on her chubby little fist and quickly fell asleep, trusting in him to keep her safe.
Max loved her. Right this moment, knowing he’d made her stop crying simply by his touch warmed a place in him that he had no idea existed. This is what he wanted...what he’d wanted years ago with Raine.
A family had never entered his mind until he’d met and fallen for Raine. Growing up, he’d known he’d been adopted, and he had also known how much his mother had loved him, but his father...well, if that man cared about Max, he had a very odd way of showing it. Max had always sworn, if he ever became a father, he would tell his child every day how much he was loved. Max studied Abby’s sweet face, her long lashes sweeping over the top of her full pink cheeks, her perfectly shaped mouth, her wisps of black curly hair. Everything about her was precious, and Max found himself being pulled deeper into her innocent world. First Raine and now Abby. As if resisting one woman wasn’t enough.
“You have more love than you’ll ever know,” he whispered to Abby as she slept peacefully. “Your mama will make sure of it.”
When his cell vibrated in his pocket, he carefully shifted to the side to get it out. Checking the screen, he saw Bronson Dane’s number. He couldn’t take the call. Not right now. Not when he was so confused about what the hell was going on in his mind...in his heart.
And if anybody had told him months ago that he would ignore a call from Hollywood hotshot Bronson Dane, Max would’ve called them insane. But Bronson would leave a message, and Max would call him back when he was ready. There was so much that hinged on his decision for the future.
He could no longer deny the fact he was totally in love with Raine. More than likely those feelings had never gone away; they were just buried beneath years of hurt. But he also loved Abby, loved being back in Lenox and loved performing at the theater like he used to. Granted he’d only performed the first night, and there were several performances left, but that one live crowd was enough.
There was no way he should’ve fallen in love with his hometown. He’d never been one for nostalgia or getting enveloped by old memories and letting them consume him. But here he was, wondering how he could make everything work—have a family and keep his career at the status level it was.
On the flip side, there was the movie waiting for him when he returned in a few weeks. And even though his mother was really doing fine and didn’t need his assistance, he wanted to stay and support her for as long as possible.
But there was no way he could be in two places at once, and Raine’s heart was here in Lenox. Here in her grandmother’s old home with these insane people-loving chickens, goats that goosed your rear end when you walked out and a host of renovations that required doing. Yet Raine had never needed the perfect, polished lifestyle that so many around her did. And he was just as guilty of looking for happiness in a lifestyle instead of being content with the blessings he had.
Looking back, he’d truly had it all when he’d been eighteen. Money didn’t mean much because he’d been miserable, if he were honest with himself, for the past fifteen years.
And now that he’d been staying in Lenox, mostly in his childhood home, but some of the time in a house that was so much less than what he was used to, he found himself free and happy.
But he was torn between following his heart and staying true to those dreams. The major question now was, which dream did he follow?
Eighteen
Max was ready to put Abby down again when the doorbell rang.
“Who in the world is that?” he muttered, walking from the nursery toward the staircase.
He held Abby against his chest as he opened the door without looking through the side window to see who the visitor was.
And the second he opened the door, he wished he would’ve looked first.
“Maxwell,” his father greeted.
He glared at his father as Thomas Ford eyed the baby, then brought his gaze back to Max’s.
“Dad. I’m surprised to see you here.” He shifted a restless Abby in his arms. “Is there a reason you came?”
His father stepped forward, causing Max to step back. “I stopped by the house to see you and your mother. When she said you were here, I decided to come see you.”
“Because you think your wife doesn’t need your attention?”
Max turned, disgusted with his father. Years of unresolved anger bubbled within him. He strode into the living room, leaving his father to follow or go away. He didn’t really care.
“I haven’t seen you in over a year,” Thomas said, following Max into the living room. “I’d think you’d be more excited to see me.”
Max placed Abby in her swing and turned it on low before turning back to his father. “And I’d think you’d have been here for Mom during her recovery, but I see even this health scare did nothing to alter your priorities.”
Thomas took a seat on the floral sofa and crossed his ankle over his knee. “I didn’t come here to argue. I just wanted to see my son, and your mother didn’t know how long you’d be gone.”
Max didn’t offer to take his dad’s coat because he didn’t intend on his father staying long, so he remained standing and rested his hands on his hips. “I’ll be here until Raine gets back.”
“Hmm, I had no idea you two were this...involved.” After a tense silence, Thomas cleared his throat. “Well, I came by because—”
Abby started fussing, and Max ignored whatever his father was about to say. He turned off the swing and eased Abby’s pudgy little legs from the seat and carried her into the kitchen. Thankfully Raine had premade bottles in the fridge. She claimed Abby was okay to take them cold, and it didn’t need to be warmed up in the bottle warmer.
Juggling Abby in one arm, Max pulled out a bottle and popped off the lid, letting it bounce onto the scarred countertops.
He lay Abby down in the crook of his arm and placed the bottle between her little pink lips. She greedily sucked away, and Max turned to see his father standing in the doorway.
“You’re looking pretty comfortable here,” Thomas claimed. “Your mother wonders if you’re planning on staying.”
“I’m not,” he answered. “I’m here for Mom, and I’m helping Raine, too. I have a movie to start filming at the end of next month. I can’t do that from here.”
“I was hoping I could talk to you about the future and your plans.”
For the first time Max really studied his father. The deep creases around his eyes, his heavy lids. The man was aging, and all he had to show for it was a chain of prosperous restaurants along the East Coast. More memories were made with his work than with his family. And this fact made Max feel sorry for his father. The man’s last moment on earth would be at work.
“What about my plans?” Max asked.
“I know you have no desire in taking over the restaurants,” his father stated. “And I’m not asking you to give up your life. But I was hoping I could get you to consider assuming the ownership in name only. I have a very well-staffed set of managers at all locations, and I don’t plan on retiring just yet, but I do need to slow down.”
Max was shocked. Never in his life would he have guessed his father would cut back on work.
“Why now?” Max asked, patting Abby’s bottom as she started to drift off to sleep.
“When your mother was diagnosed with cancer, I started rethinking my life. I haven’t been the best husband, certainly not the best father.” Thomas shook his head and sighed. “I can’t go back and change what I did or didn’t do, but I can make better decisions from here on out. And that’s why I want to set the wheels in motion so I can concentrate on your mother...and maybe even spend more time with you, if you’d like that.”
Max had to lean back against the counter, because his father’s heartfelt words really rattled Max. The man had come here, seeking Max out, to have this discussion. As much as Max wanted to ignore his father’s request, he couldn’t. The man may have had an epiphany late in life about what was important, but he was extending that olive branch and only a total jerk would knock it away.
“This is a surprise,” Max admitted to his father. “Is this something I can think about for a few days, or do you need to know now?”
“If you’re willing to think about it, take your time.” For the first time in longer than Max could remember, his father smiled. “I just want us to be able to be the family we should’ve been. And I want that no matter what you decide about the business.”
Abby’s lips fell away from the bottle, and milk ran down her rounded cheek as she slept. Max set the bottle on the counter and used the pad of his thumb to wipe the moisture away.
With his heart in his throat, he knew if his father was opening up about his emotions, then Max needed to, as well. He had questions, and there was only one person who could answer them.
“Why did you adopt me?” he asked, leveling his father’s gaze from across the room. “I know Mom couldn’t have children, but you were always so distant.”
Thomas crossed the room, pulling out a chair from the mismatched set around the kitchen table. He took a seat, raked a hand over his silver hair and faced Max.
“I never really wanted children. I wasn’t sure I’d make a good father. I was so intent on making a name for myself, making a nice income for Elise, because she never had a lot growing up. I was determined to provide more for her than her family had.”
Something tugged at Max’s heart. He’d been wanting to provide more for Raine than her family had...stability and—dare he say—love.
“I knew she wanted a child, and I was gone so much,” his father went on. “I guess I thought a baby would fill the void of my absence. Hindsight is so much clearer.”
Max eased Abby onto his shoulder and gently patted her back. Raine had told him if she didn’t burp she could get reflux. There were so many rules for babies, but, surprisingly, Max felt he was catching on...and enjoying this little slice of parenting.
The front door opened and closed. He straightened and met Raine’s eyes as she rounded the doorway into the kitchen. Her gaze went from Max to his father.
“Um...sorry, I didn’t know you would be here,” she said, slowly crossing the room. “Let me just take Abby and lay her down. I’ll stay out of your way.”
Thomas came to his feet. “No need to rush out. I need to get back to Elise.”
Max met Raine’s questioning look and offered a smile. “I’ll be home in a little while.”