How indeed? Silken could only stare at the woman in disbelief - their mother, the one who would never claim them as her own because she’d created a whole new life for herself, the perfect life with a husband, two kids and the white picket fence. The perfect pastor’s wife. And how could she and Suave dare come in and disturb that idyllic picture?
“So you don’t want us in your life?”
Silken closed her eyes. Please, Suave, don’t sound so pathetic. She expelled a slow breath and, her hand hidden under the table, she reached over to give her sister’s leg a sympathetic squeeze.
“I’m sorry,” Meredith said and this time her voice was resolute. “I can’t. I only came here to make you understand why.”
“I’m sorry,” she said again but this time she was rising as she spoke. “Please don’t try to contact me again.”
She gave Silken and Suave one last look and Silken could not help wondering if there was a glint of regret there…or maybe it was just a figment of her still desperately hopeful imagination.
She never got a chance for a second look. Meredith turned, purse clutched to her breast, and hurried out the door.
For long moments they just sat there, staring at the door through which their mother – no, Meredith – had departed. Then finally Silken let out her breath on a grunt. “Well, that’s that, I guess.”
Suave didn’t answer. Her shoulders slumped and she dropped her forehead onto her palm. “It’s over,” she whispered, the hurt in her voice almost breaking Silken’s heart. “We’ll never be part of her family.”
And although her own heart was bleeding tears right then, Silken shifted closer to her sister and put her arm around her shoulder. “It’s all right, Suave. You and me, we’re family and always will be.”
Her head against Silken’s shoulder, Suave nodded but she said nothing. She probably couldn’t say a word.
And Silken could relate to that because in her own throat was a lump that was growing bigger with each passing moment and if she didn’t get out of there, and soon, she was afraid that lump would choke her…or she would burst into tears.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Max caught himself pacing back and forth in his living room. Again. He had to stop this.
With a sigh he walked to the den and flopped down then flipped the TV to the sports channel. He was wound tight and he would not relax till Silken walked in the door.
She’d got back from Wisconsin late the night before, calling to say the flight had been delayed, but that she and Suave were home safe and they were heading to bed. He’d immediately asked how things had gone but her answer was noncommittal, just a mumble that she’d come over and see him next evening and she’d tell him all about it then.
And now it was evening and she still wasn’t here.
Heaving a sigh, he put his feet up on the rest, trying to relax. Truth be told, he couldn’t figure out why he was so anxious. This was all about their mother, not his. But the fact that Silken was involved put him on edge. He just wanted to know that she was all right.
It was the strangest thing but this girl had dug so far under his skin that it was like she was a part of him, a part he could not live without. She’d carved out a place inside his heart and its every beat reminded him of her.
Max laughed, just thinking about it. He’d heard the phrase, ‘the taming of the shrew’ but in this case the shrew had done the taming and he was the one at the receiving end of the lesson…a lesson in love.
Because as much as he loved to play the tough guy, Silken McCullen was the only woman who could ever bring him to his knees.
It wasn’t until almost seven o’clock that Max finally heard Silken’s car pull up in the driveway. He met her at the door and when he saw her face he knew that her meeting with Meredith Albright had gone all wrong.
He led her into the den. “Speak to me,” he said, watching the emotions flash across her face – anger, frustration, sorrow and pain. And then her mouth tightened in a determined line.
Silken didn’t sit. Like a caged tiger she began to pace the room just like he'd done just hours before. “She doesn’t want us,” she said, her nostrils flaring. “She’s got a new life as First Lady of her church. She doesn’t want us messing up her fairy-tale life.”
Max frowned. “Did she say that?”
“Not in those exact words but that was pretty much her position. She only agreed to meet with us so she could make us understand.” The last words came out like a snarl.
But as Max watched Silken he could see that she wasn’t quite as tough as she was pretending to be. Even as she bristled, her brows furrowed, her lips tight and her back tense, she would not look him in the eyes. And it was the eyes that said it all.
Max walked over to her and put his hands on her shoulders, stilling her agitated movements. Then, gently, he placed a finger under her chin and raised her face toward his.
Silken’s eyelids fluttered then she looked up at him and the pain, the soul-searing pain she was suffering, brimmed up in her eyes and spilled over onto her flushed cheeks.
“Silken,” Max said as he looked into her eyes, “I’m sorry.”
At his words her face crumpled and a sob burst from her lips. “I’m sorry, too, Max. So sorry. I wish she could have loved us.” Then she dropped her face to his chest and cried like her heart was breaking in two.
And there were no words to comfort her. All Max could do was hold her, press her to his heart and let her wash away the pain with her tears.
“Let it all out, my darling,” he soothed. “Let it all out. I’m here for you.”
Minutes passed before the racking sobs quieted and Silken’s body stilled in his arms. Then she heaved a sigh that seemed to come from the depths of her soul. “I’m okay now,” she whispered. “I’ll be fine.”
She made to pull away but he tightened his arms around her then bent to lift her up. He carried her up the stairs and straight to his bedroom. There, Max made love to Silken – slow, gentle, sweet love. It was his way of drying her tears, making her forget. When she clung to his shoulders and exploded with him deep inside her, he’d never heard a sweeter sound than Silken calling out his name. And he wanted to keep hearing that sound over and over and over again, for as long as he was on this earth.