Ready-Made Bride

CHAPTER ELEVEN

“DAD, what does illiterate mean?”

Kane lowered the forkful of scrambled eggs midway to his mouth, grateful that Megan was taking a shower. A slow burning sensation crept from the collar of his work shirt and over his face.

“Why do you want to know?” He winced. Damn, he hadn’t meant to sound so gruff.

Frowning, Andrew pushed his eggs around on his plate. “‘Cause I heard you and Mom fighting because you’re…” He scrunched up his nose, concentrating. “Illiterate.”

Kane squirmed in his seat, chagrined and uneasy that his son had overheard their argument and that he was about to learn his father couldn’t read. He wasn’t about to lie to Andrew. There had already been too many deceptions that had torn this household apart.

“I don’t like it when you guys fight, Dad,” Andrew said before Kane could answer his first question, giving him a brief reprieve.

“I don’t like it, either.” Having Megan emotionally shut him out for the past three days bothered him more than he cared to admit. The irony of their situation struck him, because now he knew exactly how he’d made her feel all those times he’d pushed her away. Isolated. Lonely. Empty. After he had experienced how warm, open and giving his wife could be, her withdrawal was killing him.

He carried her wedding band in his pocket, and there wasn’t an hour that ticked by that he didn’t think about what she’d said or recall how devastated he’d felt when she’d removed the ring. Except he feared he lacked the finesse to patch things up. He feared it was too late for apologies.

He briefly squeezed his eyes shut to ward off the throbbing in his temples. Somehow, he knew an apology wasn’t what Megan was looking for.

“I think Mom feels bad.” Andrew picked at the crumbs on his piece of toast, giving the task more attention than it warranted. “She doesn’t smile half as much anymore, and she always looks like she’s been crying.”

Kane swallowed a gulp of hot coffee, trying to save himself from responding to that observation. What was he supposed to say? “Yeah, son, I’m the one making Megan miserable. I’m the one with more pride than sense.” He inwardly groaned at the truth of that statement.

Even though Megan had pried his deepest, darkest secret from him, not once did she ridicule him, nor had she rejected him, even when he wanted her to so he wouldn’t have to face his own failures, his own shame. The woman was incredible, unwavering in her support even as she walked away from him. When you’re ready to face your illiteracy, and you’re ready to trust me, then we can have a real marriage and be a real family.

She’d put the ball in his court, and he was floundering, grappling to find just the perfect backhand to return the serve. He was scared of screwing up, but most of all, he feared losing Megan.

“So what does that big word mean, Dad?”

They were back to his illiteracy. Drawing a deep breath, he said, “It means I can’t read.” He held what little breath was left in his lungs, waiting for his son to burst out laughing, tease him or slink away in embarrassment

Andrew looked at his father thoughtfully. “Oh,” he said, then brightened marginally. “I could teach you to read.”

His son’s unconditional acceptance relieved him. “I’ll think about that”

Andrew’s support, combined with Megan’s, should have given him enough self-confidence to tackle the world. Yet he couldn’t stop the doubts and the memories of another woman’s rejection.

Megan was nothing like his first wife, his conscience argued. From the moment he’d met her she’d been nothing but giving and understanding, believing in him even though he gave her no reason to.

“I hope you guys make up real soon,” Andrew said, bringing Kane back to their conversation. “I want to see her smile and laugh again. And you, too, Dad.” Tears filled his eyes. “I don’t want you and Megan to be like how it is between you and Grandpa and Grandma Linden.”

Aw, hell. Lately, it seemed he’d caused the people in his life nothing but heartache and tears. Megan was right. He was selfish, thinking only of himself and not the needs of his family. He’d used his illiteracy as an excuse not to confront his past, he realized. He’d kept the rift between him and the Lindens fueled by keeping the truth buried beneath layers of resentment.

The school bus horn blared, and Andrew slid out of his seat, mumbled a goodbye to Kane and pushed out the back door. Kane let him go, unwilling to make his son promises he didn’t know if he could keep.

Sighing deeply, he cleared their dishes from the table, thinking about the woman who’d become his wife. A woman who’d wanted to be his wife. He hadn’t realized how empty and lonely he’d been until he met Megan, hadn’t known a woman’s love could be so good.

He loved her. There was no sense denying the warm, fuzzy emotion wrapped around his heart. And if he loved her, didn’t he owe it to her to do whatever it took to make their marriage work? To shelve his pride for her and give her the trust she’d worked so hard to earn?

His first marriage had ended tragically, and he couldn’t change that. But he had the ability to try to make amends with the Lindens and start fresh, not only for Andrew’s sake, but for the sake of his new marriage.

Because, ultimately, he wasn’t willing to risk losing the best thing that had ever happened to him and his son.

He’d been acting strange all morning.

Megan stole a sideways glance at Kane as they pulled out of Jeff and Karen’s driveway after dropping Andrew off to spend the night. She’d learned from Karen that Kane had made arrangements to pick Andrew up tomorrow, after they attended church services.

That left her alone with Kane for a good twenty-four hours.

Under normal circumstances she would have thoroughly enjoyed a day and night with her husband all to herself. But it wasn’t as if they were experiencing wedded bliss at the moment, the kind where you couldn’t keep your hands off each other and you spent every waking hour thinking of ways to be with the one you loved. No, their marriage had become one of convenience, and she hated it.

He hadn’t said two words to her since this morning, when he’d told her they were going out that afternoon. She had no idea where out was, and by the look of concentration on Kane’s face and his white-knuckled grip on the steering wheel as he drove through town, it wasn’t somewhere fun, exciting or romantic.

“Do you plan on telling me where we’re going?” she asked.

He never took his gaze off the road. “You’ll see when we get there.”

She sat back in her seat, stared out the passenger window and waited until Kane finally braked to a stop in front of the Lindens’ house.

She glanced from the two-story structure to Kane, feeling curious as well as cautious. He turned off the ignition, removed the key and took a deep breath that did nothing to ease the tight lines around his mouth and eyes.

“What are we doing here?” she asked quietly.

He met her gaze, and the vulnerability in the depths touched a tender chord in her. “I think it’s past time we all had a dignified conversation, don’t you?”

Hope swelled in her heart. “You already know how I feel about that.”

A crooked smile claimed his lips. “I guess I’m taking you up on your advice. Ready?”

She glanced at the house, wondering how the Lindens were going to react to this impromptu visit. “Are you sure you want me to go with you?”

Sincerity darkened his eyes. “I can’t do this without you by my side. You give me an incredible amount of courage.” He opened his door, but before he could slide out, she grabbed his arm. He looked at her. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing’s wrong.” She dampened her bottom lip with her tongue. “I think what you’re about to do is important, for so many reasons, but…”

“Yes?” He frowned, emphasizing his sudden apprehension.

“Kane, I need to know, are you doing this for me?”

He reached out and gently brushed his knuckles across her cheek in a feather caress. His eyes glowed with a deep, abiding emotion she’d never seen before. “No, I’m doing it for me, so I can put the past to rest. And for us, so we can be a family.”

The heaviness weighing on her heart the past week lifted. No matter what happened here today, she knew they were going to make it together. Kane’s unselfish gesture was proof that he cared enough to make their marriage work.

She followed him up the walkway. After he rang the doorbell, she slid her hand into his, giving him whatever support she could, even if it was a physical connection of warmth and love. He stared at the door as if it were a portal into his past and he wanted no part of it. His palm was damp against hers, and he shifted anxiously as they waited.

“Are you nervous?” Stupid question, but she wanted to keep him talking so he didn’t freeze up when the door opened.

“A little,” he admitted, then added wryly, “I’m fully expecting Patricia to slam the door in my face.”

Luckily, Harold answered the door, looking at first startled, then concerned. “Is Andrew okay?”

When Kane just stared without answering, Megan said, “Andrew’s fine.” Come on, Kane, don’t back out on me now!

“Who is it, dear?” Patricia’s voice drifted from behind Harold, then she appeared next to her husband in the entryway. Her eyes widened when she saw who her guests were. The only word she managed to utter was a surprised,

“Oh!”

Kane retreated a small step, and Megan tightened her grip on his hand. She felt him take a deep breath, then he said on a rush of expelled air, “Patricia, can we come in? We…I’d like to talk to you and Harold.”

Patricia fingered the string of pearls around her neck, her mouth pursing. “Whatever you have to say, you can say it from where you are.”

Megan’s gaze shot to Harold, silently imploring his assistance before they lost what little ground they’d gained.

“Give the man a chance, Patty,” Harold said hastily. “Come on in, both of you.” Grabbing his wife firmly by the arm, he led them all into the living room.

They sat opposite each other on the couch and matching love seat. Patricia shifted uncomfortably on the sofa cushion, Kane rubbed his palms down his jeans-clad thighs, and Harold gave Megan a helpless look that said, Now what are we supposed to do?

Awkward was a generous description for the tension filling the room. She prompted Kane with a gentle nudge to his side.

He cleared his throat and stopped the nervous motion of his hands by clenching his fingers into his thighs. “There’s…” His voice cracked and he cleared it again. “There’s something I need to tell the both of you,” he said in a steady, determined tone. “Something I should have told you a long time ago. I…I’m illiterate.”

There was a moment of silence as Harold and Patricia stared in disbelief.

“Good God!” Harold said, looking more miffed than appalled by Kane’s declaration.

A horrified expression transformed Patricia’s expression. “You can’t read?”

Megan winced at her high-pitched, condescending tone and fought the urge to jump up and defend her husband.

“No, I can’t,” Kane replied calmly.

Patricia’s hand fluttered to her pearls. “You can’t be serious!”

“I’m very serious.” He took a deep breath, as if to build up more fortitude to continue. “It’s the reason I had to refuse the job Harold offered me at the bank.”

Patricia gasped. “But…but Cathy never told us!”

“She led us to believe you flat-out refused the job because you didn’t want to accept any handouts. It was never a handout, Kane.”

“I know.” Kane’s mouth stretched into a grim line. “Cathy didn’t tell you the truth because she was humiliated that I couldn’t read and had to refuse the job. She didn’t want anyone to know I was illiterate, and I was too embarrassed to say anything.”

Harold cocked his head curiously. “So why are you telling us this now?”

Kane looked at Megan, and she gave him an encouraging smile that she hoped conveyed all the love in her heart.

He met his in-laws’ gazes. “Because I was hoping we could bury the hatchet and start over with a clean slate.”

“Don’t you think you’re five years too late?” Patricia stood, tears brimming in her eyes. “This hardly brings Cathy back!”

“I’m sorry about Cathy,” Kane said with quiet compassion. “But I’m not responsible for her death. I loved her while we were married, but she’s gone, and nothing any of us say or do will change what has happened.”

“Cathy was all we had!” The accusation escaped on a watery sob of despair and maternal anguish.

“I know.” Kane hung his head for a moment, hands clasped between spread thighs, then raised his gaze to Patricia’s. “All we have left of Cathy is Andrew, and I know he loves all of us. Can we try and be friends, or at least be civil with one another, for his sake?”

Harold grabbed his wife’s trembling hand and gently tugged her to the sofa beside him. “I think we should try,” he said to his wife.

“I do, too,” Megan echoed.

Patricia broke down, clinging to her husband for comfort. “I love that little boy more than anything!”

“Then let the resentment go, Patricia,” Megan said. “There’s no reason we can’t be a family together.”

“Family?” Patricia’s voice cracked with uncertainty.

“Yes, a family,” Kane said, securing his hand within Megan’s. “Megan is my wife, and she’s a part of Andrew’s life now, too. We come as a complete package.”

“We’ll take it,” Harold said before his wife could issue any objections. “This rift has gone on too long. It’s time that it ends, here and now.”

Much to everyone’s surprise, Patricia gave a shaky nod and whispered, “Yes, it’ll end here.”

As soon as they entered the living room at home, Megan turned and wrapped her arms around her husband’s neck, positive the love and adoration she felt for him was reflected in her eyes. “I’m very proud of you.”

His hands swept down her spine, molding her body to his. His gaze was clear, free of the emotional barriers that had kept them separated for so long. “Yeah?”

She nodded, threading her fingers through the soft hair at the nape of his neck. “You were wonderful.”

“How wonderful?” he asked, his darkening gaze zeroing in on her mouth.

She liked this new, unreserved Kane. “Wonderful enough to make me want to kiss you.”

“Yeah?” he asked huskily.

She smiled, welcoming the warm, melting sensation pooling low in her belly. “Yeah.”

“Go ahead,” he murmured, lashes falling to half-mast. “Show me how wonderful I was.”

He was a scoundrel, but she loved him, and she certainly couldn’t refuse his request. She drew his head down, and their lips met and parted on twin sighs. The silken slide of his tongue against hers sent a shiver coursing down her spine, ending where his hands linked and held her to him.

There was an awesome tenderness to the kiss, a special spark that transcended everything they’d shared before this day. No longer did she taste a loneliness that made her ache, and the need she sensed was of a different variety-more intimate and less urgent, as if they had the rest of their lives to satisfy every craving they had for one another.

He lifted his mouth from hers, but she didn’t mind, because she knew there would always be more, anytime she wanted it. She slid her hands down until they pressed against the strength of his chest. The wild heartbeat beneath her palms matched the staccato rhythm of hers.

He rested his forehead against hers, both of them breathless but in no hurry to rush the inevitable when they had the rest of the day and night alone.

“There’s something very important I want to ask you,” he said.

“Anything.”

He chuckled, his grin a combination of wickedness and sin. “I’ll hold you to that later, sweetheart, but for now… I want to know if you’ll help me learn to read.”

His hesitant request touched her. “I would have been hurt if you hadn’t asked me.”

Relief relaxed his features. He pulled back to look in her eyes but didn’t let go of her. If anything, his hold tightened. “There’s so much I want to do, so much I’ve missed as a result of being illiterate. I want to experience it all. With you.”

“I’d like that. Very much.” She smiled, tilting her head. “You know, there’s something I’ve been wondering.”

“What’s that?”

“How do you manage everyday life without being able to read?” She felt her cheeks flush at her personal question, but Kane didn’t seem to mind. “I mean, everywhere you look there’s something that requires reading of some sort.”

“You rely on other talents.” He shrugged, not knowing any other way to deal with his handicap. “I’m not exactly proud of how I’ve gotten by, but you learn where your limitations are and stay within them. You recognize labels, signs, packaging, that sort of thing.”

She found that aspect of his life fascinating, but knew something better lay ahead for him. “You won’t have to do that any longer.”

“Mm.” He claimed her lips and kissed her again. When he finally lifted his head, a pleasant buzz shimmered through her body.

“There’s something else I forgot to tell you,” he said, nuzzling the sensitive spot just below her ear.

She automatically tensed, thinking he had more secrets he hadn’t shared with her. “There’s more?” she asked cautiously.

“Yeah, lots more.” His lips skimmed her throat, and his hands began to roam. “Lots of love,” he murmured.

Cupping his face in her hands, she made him look at her. Striking green eyes shone with desire and a more powerful emotion that stole her breath.

“What are you saying, Kane?” she whispered, afraid to put too much stock in his words or that wonderfully cherishing look in his gaze.

“That I love you, Megan Fielding,” he said, as if she should have known.

Her heart soared, and tears of joy filled her eyes. “Oh, Kane, I love you, too.”

“Oh, and there’s more.”

This time she wasn’t worried. Releasing her, he dug into the front pocket of his jeans and withdrew a ring-not her wedding band, but a new band encircled with glittering diamonds.

The elegant, extravagant gift astonished her. Peeling her gaze from the ring, she looked at Kane. “It’s absolutely beautiful, but you didn’t have to, I mean, it must have cost a small fortune, and I don’t need anything fancy. Your mother’s simple gold wedding band is just fine-”

“I wanted you to have it,” he said, cutting off her babbling. “And you’re worth every penny. To hell with being practical.”

Practical? She raised a brow. “Am I missing something here?”

“I told myself that I married you for practical reasons, but our marriage has been anything but practical.”

“Or predictable.”

“Especially predictable.” He grinned, but his gaze was soft with the love he’d professed. “Practical bit the dust the moment I realized I love you. Now we’re partners.”

“I like the sound of that.”

He picked up her left hand and slid the ring onto her ring finger, making her his wife once again. “The woman at the jewelry store told me they call it an eternity band. And since you’re stuck with me for eternity, I thought it was appropriate.”

“Very appropriate.” She laughed and threw her arms around him for a hug as warm as sunshine, and a soul-deep kiss that wrapped around their hearts.

They came up for air, and Kane gazed at her reverently. “Ah, Megan, I didn’t realize how lonely and empty I was until you came into my life. I love you and I need you,” he said, his voice rough with passion. “But right now, at this moment, I want you.”

She gave him a sultry, upswept glance full of sass and desire. “How much do you want me?”

“More than my next breath.”

And then she stole his breath with a kiss that promised an eternity of love and laughter and tender, special memories.

Andrew could hardly believe his eyes. His mom and dad were talking to Grandma and Grandpa Linden. And they were all smiling!

The church bells tolled, announcing the beginning of Sunday service. Everyone started filtering into the white building. Megan turned, her gaze scanning the yard. When she found him playing with Corey and Tanner, she smiled and waved at him to come join the family.

He skipped toward them, joy nearly filling him to bursting. He had a family! It had taken some time, and his father had been very stubborn at first about Megan, but he’d known his dad would eventually fall in love with her. How could he not?

He slipped his hand into Megan’s and beamed at her. He had a mom he loved. His dad had a wife who made him laugh and smile a lot. At night, when they thought he was sleeping, he heard their soft laughter and whispered words drifting from the living room. And his grandma and grandpa weren’t angry with his dad anymore.

He’d found the perfect woman for all of them.

Now, there was only one thing left to do. He glanced at Megan and blurted, “When can I have a brother or sister?”

His mom blushed and his dad chuckled. Delight sparkled in Grandpa’s eyes, and a smile touched Grandma’s mouth.

His mom and dad exchanged that special look he’d seen them share before, then his dad ruffled his hair. “We’ll get to work on it, son,” he promised.

Andrew grinned. He could hardly wait for the stork to arrive.