Page 34 of A Man for Mia

"You have no idea how grateful we are to you, Drew. Evie’s been talking about nothing else but getting these pictures all year."

Drew forced a smile, thinking they shouldn’t have to be grateful. He was family. Taking all the pictures around here should’ve been expected of him. But, no, everyone was so polite and so frustratingly distant.

"Felix!" Amanda yelled from beside him, making him jump. "Stop hitting Jack."

The six youngsters continued to play tag across the yard as if they hadn’t heard her. Down from Evie at seventeen to Felix at four, they all laughed and darted away from Lucy who was obviously "it."

"Oh, they’re fine. They get along so well together," Candace said, sounding pleased. When she turned back, she paused dramatically to stare between Mandy and Don. "You know, I think it’s amazing the similarities between you and your dad, Amanda."

Drew frowned and eyed his stepmother. Just what kind of similarities was she talking about? Drew was the one who’d ended up looking like a replica of his father.

But then Candace continued. "You both have two girls and a boy. Natalie, Lucy, and Felix pair off so nicely with Evie, Jack, and Bri."

Jaw dropping, Drew glanced toward Amanda. She gave a slight shake of her head, warning him to keep his mouth shut. But the indignation burned its way down his throat and he ached to say something.

Candace never purposely left him and Amanda out of the family, but it was always t

he little things she did that let him know he was an outsider. Without fail, she always forgot to set him a place when Amanda drug him along for Christmas. And now … saying Don Harper only had three children … Evie, Jack, and Brianna. Guess that left Drew an orphan now. Abandoned by his mother and thrown over by his father for some other woman’s kids.

His dad must’ve sensed the tension rolling off Drew, because he completely changed the subject, glancing at Amanda and asking, "How’s Jeff doing these days?"

Amanda and Drew exchanged a quick look. He half hoped she’d open up and confess her suspicions. His dad would understand all about having a faithless spouse. Drew couldn’t remember how many times his mother had cheated before she’d finally run off with some used car salesman.

But Amanda kept her problems to herself and smiled graciously. "He’s just fine. Been going on a lot of business trips lately. But I say that’s a good thing. Must mean a promotion is coming up."

As Candace and Don chuckled, Drew met Mandy’s gaze. Jeff had been gone a lot? Why had he not known this? Guilt smacked him across the face. How long had his sister held suspicions about her husband’s faithfulness? How long had she kept it inside without anyone else knowing? And would she still be keeping it all in now if Drew hadn’t caught her marching from her house with a gun?

"We should probably be going soon," Amanda said, stepping closer to him.

He lifted his face, wondering how long he’d been spacing out and how much of the conversation he’d missed.

"Well, we’re glad to spend so much time with you today," Candace said. She patted his shoulder. "And Drew. We can’t thank you enough for Evie’s pictures."

He nodded, once again the outsider. "No problem."

As his dad took Candace’s hand and called a goodbye to his three grandchildren, Drew caught Amanda’s arm and drew her to the side. She looked up at him in surprise.

There was nothing like a fresh reminder why he was so grateful to her.

"Okay," he relented. "I’ll talk to Mia and see what I can find out from her. Just … give me a few days to decide how I’m going to do this. All right?"

•

The nightmare that struck came to her in wicked Technicolor. It was so vivid, she could still smell Ryan’s aftershave as he tried to push her away.

"Ryan." she clutched his arm desperately. "Please don’t do this. Don’t go. You have to be strong for me."

But he only worked more vigorously to pry her off him. She didn’t like the clingy Mia much either, but she didn’t care about how pathetic she must look. She needed his support.

Finally shrugging her away, he stepped back and shook his head. "And who’s going to be strong for me, Mia?" he wanted to know. "I lost a child too."

She gasped, sitting straight up in bed. Sweat had matted the back of her hair to her neck. She shuddered out a trembling breath and lifted her hand to her neck to feel her erratic pulse. Shaking her head, she shoved away the covers and stumbled off the mattress to hurry into her bathroom. Once the light was on and she started the faucet, she lifted her face to the vanity mirror. Large grey eyes stared back, looking frightened and alone.

"You’re so pathetic," she told the image, cupping her hand under the stream and splashing water onto her cheeks.

Once she’d dried her face and changed into something that wasn’t drenched in sweat, she crawled back between her warm sheets and closed her eyes. Wanting to see anything on the insides of her eyelids besides Ryan shoving her away, she concentrated on breathing. One breath in and one breath out.

Avoiding the beach scene, she focused on her past, looking for a happy memory instead. Lexie’s face appeared in her head and she smiled instantly. But as soon as the precious little girl giggled her precious little baby laugh, awful memories followed and she sobbed out a moan.

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