It Had to Be Him (2 page)

Men.

Who needed them?

Anything they could give her, she could take care of herself with the right machinery and a fresh set of batteries.

After cranking the car door open, she lifted her adorable blonde Tasmanian devil onto her shoulder, then kicked the front door to the guesthouse open wider. Moonlight filtering through the windows guided her to the bedroom.

Warmth filled her as she tucked her beautiful baby under the sheets. Technically, Haley wasn’t a baby anymore. She was a precocious two-and-a-half-year-old who proudly declared that extra half year to anyone who asked. And she looked just like her father.

As Meg unloaded the few things they would need right away, thoughts of Josh still sent waves of hurt to her heart. He’d wormed his way into her life when she’d been giving a talk about management software at a resort trade show. When his mesmerizing, tiger-like amber eyes had locked onto hers, she’d totally forgotten her next bullet point. During the two drinks they’d shared after her presentation, she had connected with him like she’d never done with any other man.

But it was his shoes that should have been the giveaway.

Josh stood well over six feet, with thick blond hair worn just a tad too long, working-man broad shoulders, and a naughty you-know-you-want-me grin, all in stark contrast to his slick Armani suits and Italian loafers. Any straight man who paid that much attention to his shoes wasn’t going to have time for love.

She’d been an idiot, thinking she’d finally found the
one
. An upstanding guy who, when he made time for her, made her laugh like no one else. After dating a few months, she had moved into his upscale downtown condo that she then shared with him for about four more months. But when she’d accidentally gotten pregnant, the door hadn’t had time to hit him on the butt on his way out of their relationship.

Probably because he couldn’t stand the thought of baby puke on his shiny Ferragamos.

She’d have to remember to add the shoe thing to her “do not date these kinds of guys ever again” list.

Unfortunately her heart rarely paid attention to her list.

After getting ready for bed, she crawled in beside Haley, pulling her close for a comforting snuggle. Why, after three years without a word, had Josh sent her a text asking where they were and could they please talk? He wouldn’t be looking for
her
; he’d made it clear they were through. Maybe he’d grown a conscience and wanted to be a father to Haley? Too late for that. He’d abandoned them, and Haley belonged with Meg.

When she hadn’t responded to Josh’s text, he’d called the receptionist from her last job and asked about them there too. It was all the incentive Meg needed. She’d been considering coming home anyway. If the residents of Anderson Butte could keep their yaps shut about all the celebrities who returned to the hotel year after year because of the absolute privacy the town provided, then hopefully they’d make sure Josh wouldn’t find her and Haley
either. No way was she going to let the man who’d charmed her, made her fall in love with him, and then shattered her heart do the same to her daughter.

The next morning, Meg snuggled into her pillow and sighed as the pleasant aroma of coffee filled the air. She cracked an eye open and winced at the bright morning sun streaming through the window, then grabbed the mug her sister, Casey, held out.

Meg whispered so as not to wake Haley beside her. “Ryan has a big mouth. It’s probably not even six yet and everyone knows we’re here?”

“Hi to you too,” Casey said softly as she sank to the edge of the bed. “It’s six thirty and yes, everyone knows you’re here. Want to talk about it?”

“Can’t a girl come home for a visit without getting the third degree?” Taking a deep drink, Meg admired the beautiful sight known as Casey Anderson Bovier. Her sister was tall, willowy, and elegant. The exact opposite of Meg. “Thanks. This is really good.”

“You’re welcome.” Casey’s face scrunched into that mom look. The one that told Meg her sister/surrogate mother knew something was up. “What’s going on, Meg?”

“Maybe I just wanted to come home for a while?”

Casey sighed. “To the place you can never wait to escape from after you and Dad have another argument? Where people still hold grudges about some of the monumental stunts you’ve pulled? Sure. That makes perfect sense.”

“It’s been years since I’ve tipped cows, egged cars, or thrown rocks through windows at Town Hall in misguided attempts to gain Dad’s attention. I’m over begging for his love.” Meg reached
out and took Casey’s hand. “Maybe I miss my brothers and sister. Isn’t that enough of a reason?”

“I suppose. And I’ve missed you too.” Casey squeezed Meg’s hand. “There’s more to this story, though, so I’ll just wait you out. You’ll give in to my nagging ways eventually.”

Meg took another drink, working up the courage to ask her sister what she really wanted to know without exposing the real reason she was there. “You
are
a champion nag. But can I ask you something?”

Casey’s right brow cocked in surprise. “This is a first, but sure. Anything.”

“How long did it take you to get over Tomas after he ran off with she-who-shall-not-be-mentioned? And how did you get to a civil place where you can share the boys with him?”

“I assume this is about”—Casey glanced at Haley to be sure she was still sleeping—“he-who-you-have-
never
-mentioned? Haley’s f-a-t-h-e-r?”

Meg appreciated Casey for not mentioning the F-word in front of Haley. Meg’s daughter had never asked about her father, so Meg was waiting until Haley was older to explain things to her.

Meg said, “As bad as your breakup was, you and Tomas seem to get along now.”

“He’s the boys’ father. I’ll always care about him to some degree, so I’m civil to him. But I don’t
like
him anymore. And I wouldn’t mind if he became impotent to pay him back for all the fooling around he did on me.” Casey stole the mug from Meg and took a drink. “It’s been three years since your breakup. Do you still love him?”

Tears burned Meg’s eyes, but she blinked them back. “I used to love him. When we spent time together between his long bouts of work, he was the greatest guy I’ve ever known. We even talked
about getting married. But then one day, out of the blue, he announced he was leaving. I thought we were happy, but he said he feared being a bad father, and we were better off without him. So that was that.”

Meg waggled her fingers for the mug. After Casey handed it back, Meg took another drink. “Haley and I are fine without him. I know I’ve been irresponsible in the past, but now I’m focused on trying to be a good mother.”

“You are a good mother, Meg. None of us would have ever believed it if we hadn’t seen it for ourselves. So now it’s time to get the rest of your act in gear, right? Show Dad he’s wrong about you?”

Before Meg could explain she’d been working on that for some time, Haley awoke and said, “Hi, Aunt Ceecee.”

Haley still couldn’t get Casey’s name right. They’d have to work on that too.

Casey’s concerned expression morphed into a cheerful one as she turned toward Haley on the other side of the bed. “Good morning, sunshine.” Casey scooped Haley up and gave her a tight hug. “Want to come to the hotel with your favorite auntie and find something yummy for breakfast?”

“Yay! Pancakes?”

“Anything you want, darlin’. Say bye to your mom.” Casey dangled a laughing Haley upside down over Meg for a kiss.

“Bye, Momma.”

“Bye, Bug. See you in a bit.” She kissed her daughter’s upside-down lips. “Haley needs her asthma medicine after she eats, so bring her right back, okay? And do I get pancakes too?”

Casey stood and flipped Haley right-side up. “Depends. Get settled, then come talk to me. Ryan mentioned you’ve brought pretty much everything you own with you.”

Meg called out to her sister’s retreating back. “Hey, you have two of your own kids to boss around now, so how about sticking
to them and leaving me out of it for a change?” Why did her brothers and sister think it was their duty to poke into her business like that?

“And give up one of my life’s greatest pleasures?” Casey laughed. “The boys are in France with Tomas and the new rich bimbo wife. You’re all I’ve got at the moment.”

Lucky me.

Throwing the covers back, Meg aimed to finish her coffee on the dock. Slipping into a pair of flip-flops, she considered putting on some real clothes, but her tank top and gym shorts would do. She was on vacation, after all.

For the day anyway. She needed a job after she’d been fired from another one for missing too much work because of Haley’s asthma.

Meg grabbed her phone, then stepped outside and drew in a deep breath of fresh Rocky Mountain air mixed with the familiar scents of pine needles, lake water, hot summers, and cool, dewy morning grass.

She sipped her smooth roasted blend and strolled toward the quiet lake. Mornings were the best, before things got hopping for the day.

The birds flew inches above the water, searching for their breakfast. Little sets of rings slowly grew larger after the insects disturbed the glassy, smooth water. The occasional plop of a fish jumping and the steady crank of a fisherman’s reel slowly winding in the bait punctuated the quiet.

Studying the calming view, she drew another deep breath, and the tension slowly eased from her shoulders.

Home. For better or worse.

The half of the town not related to her would sigh and shake their heads when they saw the former bad girl was back again. The other half, her blood relatives, would just pretend they were one big, happy family, even though they knew the truth about Meg’s
non-relationship with her father. It had taken Meg years to realize that her father, a distant and hands-off parent since her mother’s death, either hadn’t been willing or was incapable of raising his children. Thankfully her sibs had all banded together and supported one another growing up.

And then there was Amber, her nemesis from high school.

Amber had most everyone in town fooled by her innocent act. But Meg knew the truth. They’d once been best friends, until Amber revealed the black-hearted troublemaker she truly was.

Their friendship was doomed from the start. Amber was a Grant, the family who owned the mine and most of the land surrounding the town. Meg’s father owned all the buildings on Main Street, and most of the rest of the town. The power struggle between the Grants and the Andersons went back to Meg’s great-grandfather’s time.

The only thing that had changed in Anderson Butte in the last decade was Meg. Getting everyone else to believe it was going to be the trick.

Settling on the end of the dock, she dangled her feet over the edge. She was checking her phone, relieved there were no new texts from Josh, when the familiar thump of a cane followed by the shuffle of soft-soled shoes signaled that her tall, cranky, beloved grandmother was approaching from behind.

Meg laid the phone next to her mug, then lifted her hands over her head. “Don’t shoot. I’m unarmed.”

Grandma grunted. “That joke’s getting old, Meggy. You know I didn’t mean to shoot you in the patooty.” An orthopedic shoe landed between Meg’s shoulder blades and she went tumbling over the edge and into the water. “But I meant that!”

Meg found herself at the sandy floor of the icy cold lake. She bounced off the bottom, holding back her laugh until she broke
the surface. Flipping her long hair out of her face, she said, “Nice to see you too, Grandma. Just as feisty as ever, I see.”

Grandma pointed to her cane. “Next time you want to stay in my guesthouse you can just call and ask like polite folk do. I don’t appreciate squatters, so you can get your tiny heinie up here and paint my fence as rent, you hear? And bring Haley with you. I like that girl.”

So much for her one-day vacation.

“I was going to call but it got too late. You go to bed before the sun sets these days.”

“A woman needs her beauty sleep. The paint’s in the shed.”

Meg swam to the wooden ladder and pulled herself up. When she got to the top, her grandmother eyed the phone by the mug. Hopefully the text from Josh was low enough on the list she wouldn’t see it.

“Paint the fence and you can stay as long as you like. But you should probably know once your daddy found out you were back, he called an emergency family meeting for this afternoon at one. You’re not on the guest list because it’s about you, but show up anyway. Without Haley. That’d just irritate your father more.”

A family meeting? One she wasn’t invited to? That couldn’t be good.

Her father only called those when something was dire.