Too soon their ride was over. Now he would have to share Rainey, then let her go. She would take all the sunshine with her.
Though she hadn’t left yet, he could already feel his desolation. It shook him to the foundations.
“Uncle Payne!” His niece hurried across the back lawn with Lady at her heels. “We thought you’d never get here!”
She opened the limo door to hug him. Then her gaze caught sight of the surprise he’d brought with him.
“Catherine Boyce? Meet Rainey Bennett.”
“Hello— It’s nice to meet you,” his niece said with a friendly smile.
Rainey smiled back. “I’ve been looking forward to meeting you, Catherine. You’ve got an uncle who’s crazy about you.”
“I love him too.”
“Sweetheart? Rainey’s the artist who painted those romance covers including Manhattan Merger. Since you’re the one who brought that particular book to my attention, I thought you’d like to meet her. She’ll be spending the night here as our guest.”
“You’re kidding.” Her light blue eyes stared at him. “You’re not kidding.”
Her gaze flew to Rainey’s once more. “You did the pictures of Uncle Payne?”
By now Mac held the door open for Rainey while the other men took the bags and paintings in the house.
His guest remained in the seat. “Guilty as charged.”
“You’re an amazing artist.”
“It’s not true, but thank you.”
“Nyla’s not going to believe it.”
“Who’s Nyla?”
“She’s been with our family for years. When she’s through reading her monthly mailing of romance novels, she gives them to me. The cover on Manhattan Merger worried her enough to say something about it. I couldn’t believe how much it looked like Uncle Payne, so I showed it to him.”
A shadow darkened Rainey’s expressive features. “I’m sorry it frightened all of you so much. You have no idea how badly I feel.”
“It’s over,” Payne declared. “I’ve assured my niece there’s nothing to fear. Why don’t we go inside and eat dinner before it’s ruined.”
Within seconds they’d alighted from the limo and the three of them started toward the back door of the house. Payne paused midstride because Lady had made Rainey’s acquaintance and was now enjoying a nice scratch behind the ears.
With her tail wagging in excitement, it appeared Ms. Bennett had just acquired another admirer.
“I cooked hamburgers and potato salad for us, Uncle Payne. You should have told me you were bringing company. I would have made something special.”
Rainey caught up to them. “Hamburgers have always been a favorite around my house,” she spoke up. “In fact my brother still lives on them. If you tried to feed him something like chicken cordon bleu, he’d slip it to our dog.”
Catherine laughed. “What kind do you have?”
“An English bulldog.”
“Oh how cute. Uncle Payne once had a bullmastiff.”
“I know. I saw the picture of him on his desk. The two dogs’ faces look a lot alike.”
“What’s his name?”
“Winston.”