An image of Raine pregnant with his child nearly brought him to his knees.
Max swallowed, raked a hand over his face and planned his next move. First, he needed to talk with those three hypocrites in the room behind him. Then, he’d go have a very long talk with Raine.
Dear Lord. He’d been a father?
Between that crushing blow and the fact these people—who supposedly cared about Raine—were trying to prevent her adoption, Max needed to clear his head and fast. He had come here for a reason, but his motives had just changed.
Stepping around the door frame, Max met the eyes of Marshall and Raine’s father. Then her mother turned, her mouth dropping open as she gasped.
“Not expecting company, I see,” Max said easily as he crossed the room to stand with the three people he loathed most in the world. “I was able to hear enough of your little powwow to know that Raine’s life is still being manipulated by the people who are supposed to love and care for her the most.”
“This is really none of your concern.” Her mother lifted her chin, then crossed her arms over her chest. “And it is extremely rude to just barge in here.”
Max glared at her. “You really want to lecture me on manners? I don’t think you want to go there.”
“What do you need, Max?” Raine’s father asked.
With a shrug, Max met the man’s gaze. “I’m just here to stand up for Raine. To let you all know that I’ll be leaving soon, but I know enough now to realize that I need to make a few things clear before I go.”
Marshall laughed. “You have no business here, no matter who you are.”
In a flash, Max reached out and had Marshall by the collar, eliciting another gasp from Raine’s mother. “Don’t even think of running your mouth to me. What kind of a man would purposely try to keep a child away from a loving mother? You’re a lowlife, spineless jerk, and you belong with these two.”
He shoved the man away and looked back to Raine’s father.
“Get out, Max.”
“I will,” he agreed. “But first let me tell you, if this adoption doesn’t go through, I will raise all kinds of hell in this town. I never use my status to get what I want, but I will do that, and more, if Raine doesn’t keep Abby. You remember that the next time you all try to play God with Raine’s life.”
“She could have a much better life,” her mother pleaded. “If she’d just listen to her father and me. She could have her money and find someone worthy to settle down with.”
“First of all, Raine doesn’t care about the money. She cares about people, though I have no idea where she learned that fact of life from.” Max shoved his hands in his jean pockets, rocked back on his heels. “Second of all, you don’t get to decide who is worthy for her. Raine is happy with her life, and, when she wants to settle down, she will.”
And it would kill him. Knowing she’d fallen in love and made a life with another man would absolutely crush him.
“You altered our lives years ago,” he went on. “Now stay away from her if you’re not going to be supportive.”
“Supportive?” Marshall piped up. “You left when she was pregnant.”
Waves of fury coursed through him. “If you don’t shut the hell up, I’m going to punch you in the face. I think we all know why I wasn’t around for the baby.”
His eyes found Raine’s parents as he forced himself to remain calm and not go all Alpha male and start throwing things.
“You won’t tell Raine—”
Max laughed at her mother’s final plea. “About you trying to sabotage her future again? You bet I will. I don’t lie to those I care about.”
He turned to walk out the door and glanced back over his shoulder. “Oh, and, Mayor? I wouldn’t worry about running for reelection. I have a feeling things wouldn’t work out for you.”
“Did you just threaten me?”
Max smiled. “Not at all. Just letting you know how it feels to have your dreams and future altered.”
He all but ran down the stairs and out the door. He needed air. He needed to think.
He needed to get to Raine.
A baby? They’d been so ready to start their future, and she’d been pregnant. Had she known when he’d left? Why hadn’t she said anything...then or now? How could she keep something so vital from him?
Nausea welled up, and he had to remember to take deep breaths as he slid behind the wheel of the car. Gripping the steering wheel, he closed his eyes and prayed for strength...because, God help him, if Raine knew about that baby before he left, he wouldn’t be able to look her in the eye again.
Twenty
Raine carefully sprinkled two little seeds into each of the small pots lined up along her workstation on the enclosed patio. The small heater kept the space warm enough for the plants to thrive in the winter months and warm enough for Abby to enjoy her little bouncy seat while Raine worked.
The side door to her home opened and closed. Raine eased her head around the patio door to see in through the kitchen. Max stomped the snow off his boots and shrugged out of his coat, laying it over the back of a kitchen chair. He never failed to make her heart skip, make her stomach get all tied in wonderful knots. He was beautiful, all tall and broad.
“I’m out here,” she called before taking bits of rich soil and covering each of the seeds. He hadn’t mentioned coming by today, but she was glad he had. With his evenings taken up with the performances, she treasured their time together during the day.
“Hey,” she said with a smile as he stepped down onto the patio. “What’s up?”
“I just came from your parents.”
Raine’s hands froze in the dirt. “What?”
“I wanted to have a talk with them before I go back to L.A.”
Dread settled into her stomach. “But you’re not leaving for another month.”
He rested a shoulder against the wall beside her workbench. “Bronson called this morning, and he wants to start filming as soon as possible. With my father taking a break from work, and my mother doing so well with her radiation, I’ve decided to head back at the end of the week when the play wraps up.”
She knew this moment was coming; she just hadn’t planned on it being so soon. They were supposed to have more time.
Tears pricked her eyes as she tried to focus back on planting. “What did you need to see my parents about?”
“I wanted them to quit making your life miserable,” he told her. “But when I arrived, Marshall was there, and I got some bombshells of my own.”
Covering the last seed in soil, Raine slid off her gloves and turned to face him. “What’s that?”
“Your parents were trying to stop this adoption, and Marshall was helping them.”
“What?” she gasped. “They wouldn’t do that to me.”
Max quirked a brow. But didn’t offer a response.
Raine’s eyes darted to Abby who had fallen fast asleep in the bouncy seat. Fear clutched Raine, squeezing the breath right out of her lungs.
“Why?” she whispered.
“Because they still want to control you, and you’re not the daughter they wanted you to be. You have a mind of your own, and they don’t like it.”
Raine rubbed her forehead, feeling a headache coming on. How could her parents be so cruel? At what point would they stop trying to ruin her life?
“I learned something else while I was there,” he said, his voice low.
She met his gaze, and a muscle ticked in his jaw. The way he looked at her with heavy lids, flared nostrils...something was wrong.
“What is it?” she asked.
“We had a baby.”
He knew. Her parents had taken one last stab at killing anything she and Max may have shared. Raine gripped the edge of her workbench and willed her knees not to buckle.
“Yes, I was pregnant.” Her eyes met his and held. “We had a little boy.”
Max’s shoulders sagged, and he exhaled as if he’d been holding it, waiting to hear the truth from her.
“I’m sorry, Max. I’m so sorry.”
Raine couldn’t stop the tears. Couldn’t stop from thinking of that dark time when she’d wanted that baby and this man in her life. And she’d ended up losing both.
“When would you have told me?” he asked. “Ever?”
Raine swallowed, trying to get her emotions in check, because this conversation was happening whether she was ready or not.
“Someday,” she said honestly. “I couldn’t yet. We were still so emotionally damaged from everything in our past. I just couldn’t pile on more hurt. And I was scared.”
“Of what?”
Her eyes held his. “That you’d hate me.”
Max wiped a hand down his face and pushed off the wall. Closing the space between them, he gripped her shoulders and forced her to look at him.
“Did you know before I left?” he asked.
She stared up at him and shook her head. “No,” she whispered. “I found out after you left. We’d made love that night before. That’s when I got pregnant.”
Tears glistened in his blue eyes, and Raine wrapped her arms around him, as if she could absorb some of the hurt.
“I wanted to tell you, Max. But I waited to hear from you and...well, you know how that panned out.”
“I hate them,” he rasped. “I hate them for destroying something we had. Just tell me, what happened to our son?”
“I went into labor at twenty-eight weeks. He wasn’t developed enough, and they couldn’t save him.” Raine forced herself to keep talking through the pain. “He was so tiny, and to me he was perfect. I planned a funeral out of town for him a few days later, but I had to stay away because my parents would only agree to pay for it if I still kept the secret. Heaven forbid people in the town know.
“Ironically, my parents didn’t even come to the graveside service. It was pretty much me, Jill, my grandmother and the pastor.”
He studied her face and swiped away her tears. “You must hate me for not being here. I can’t even imagine what you went through, because right now my heart is breaking.”
“It was the worst moment of my life,” she admitted. “That’s why keeping Abby is so important to me. I can’t lose her.”
“You won’t. I’ve made sure of that.”
His hardened tone told her that he had indeed done something to make sure this adoption would go through. She didn’t need to know what, just knowing this man was in her corner was enough to have her heart swelling.
Silence enveloped them before Max eased back, dropped his hands, forcing her to drop hers. “Why not tell me about the pregnancy when I came back?” he asked.
Raine shrugged. “I really didn’t know how to tell you. It was so long ago, yet the emotions are still just as raw. Seeing you, it brought all of that back again, and I wanted to get a better grasp on it before I opened up to you.”
“I deserved to know, Raine.”
She hitched in a breath. “Yes, you did. But I know how much I still hurt over the loss, and I couldn’t stand the thought of hurting you that way. Not when I’d fallen in love with you again.”
Max shook his head. “Don’t. Please don’t tell me you love me, Raine. I can’t stay here, and I don’t want to leave you hurting again.”
Too late.
“I can’t keep my feelings inside, Max. I know you’re leaving, but you have to know how I feel.”
“I can’t give you what you want, what you deserve,” he said. “It’s not fair for you to give your love to me again, when I’m not going to be here.”
Raine wanted to know; she had to know.
“Do you love me?” she asked. “Honestly?”
Those magnificent blue eyes held hers. “More than I thought I could.”
God, was it worse knowing? She choked back a sob.
“I knew you did,” she whispered. “I knew it by your actions, but hearing you say it...”
As much as she hated it, she started to cry. Her hands came up to shield her face as Max’s warm, strong arms enveloped her. She sobbed into his chest for the love they shared, for the love that couldn’t be bridged through the distance. All the years apart had driven an impossible wedge through them.
Raine stepped back, wiped her face. “I’m sorry. I just...I hate this. It’s like we were given a glimpse at a second chance, but I knew it wouldn’t work.”
Max swiped at his eyes, too macho to have a sniveling crying fit like she’d done. “I can’t ask you to leave here, Raine. And I can’t stay.”