The Family Plan (The McClouds of Mississippi 1)

Caitlin nodded and checked the bread, which wasn’t quite done.

“What I’m trying to say,” Lenore added, “is that I want to apologize for the things I said to you that day in your office. I was rather emotional, and I don’t remember everything I said, but I know I was angry with you for not helping me talk Nathan out of taking Isabelle in. I believe I said he was sacrificing his happiness and that you were being heartless not to help me rescue him. I was wrong.”

She cleared her throat. “I know now that you understood better than I did that Nathan could never be happy if he made any other decision. He would have been haunted by regrets, and he would most likely have blamed me for it, eventually. Either way, I was in danger of losing my son, and you saw that more clearly than I did.”

“You were never really in danger of losing Nathan, Mrs. McCloud. He loves his little sister, just as he loves all his siblings and you. If there’s one thing I can say with certainty, it’s that family is the most important thing in the world to Nathan.”

Lenore turned from her cooking to study Caitlin’s face. “And what is the most important thing in the world to you, Caitlin?”

The shrill beeping of the oven timer saved her from having to answer. She didn’t have a clue what she would have said.

Nathan entered the kitchen then, rubbing his hands and sniffing exaggeratedly. “Smells delicious.”

Setting the pan of bread on a hot plate, Caitlin glanced at him and found him looking back at her with an expression she couldn’t quite read. How much, she wondered, had he overheard?

Lunch was a fairly comfortable affair, not as awkward as Caitlin had feared it might be. That was mostly thanks to Nathan, whose relief at having his mother there to reassure him about Isabelle had changed his mood from frightened to almost exuberant.

Lenore was considerably more subdued than her son, of course, but she was obviously making an effort to keep the conversation pleasant. She talked about her community work, her activities at church and her other two offspring.

“We simply must get him out of the house more,” she said of Gideon. “The boy is in danger of becoming a crusty old hermit.”

“I’ll keep working on him,” Nathan promised. “He said he would play racquetball with me soon.”

“As for Deborah, I don’t know what’s going on with her,” Lenore admitted. “She calls at least once a week, but she doesn’t actually say anything. I know she’s unhappy, but I honestly don’t know why.”

“I’ve been talking to her,” Nathan said, looking as concerned as his mother. “She hasn’t opened up to me, either, but I’ll keep trying.”

If he put as much effort into his business as he did into making sure his family members were all safe and happy, he would probably head the hottest law firm in Mississippi by now, Caitlin found herself thinking. Yet, in the long run, which cause was really more important?

That was such a radical question for her that she momentarily lost track of the conversation. Toying with a crusty slice of bread, she drifted in her own thoughts until Nathan recalled her attention by saying her name.

“I’m sorry.” She set the bread down. “What did you say?”

His gaze was intent on her face again, but he spoke lightly. “I asked if you would like some more iced tea.”

“Oh. No, thank you, I’m fine.”

After studying her for another moment, he nodded and changed the subject by asking his mother for more details about the virus that had been going around and for further reassurance that serious complications were very rare. Caitlin suspected he had deliberately drawn Lenore’s attention away from her, and she was grateful.

She really needed some time alone to think about the dramatic changes that had taken place in her life lately. And maybe to come up with a definitive answer to the question Lenore had asked her: What is the most important thing in the world to you, Caitlin?

Lenore didn’t stay long after lunch. Caitlin had the feeling that Lenore simply needed to go home and be alone for a while, perhaps to come to terms with the knowledge that her ex-husband’s child would from this day on consider her a surrogate grandmother.

Caitlin certainly understood the need to be alone to think.

She was standing in the den when Nathan jo

ined her after checking on Isabelle. “She’s still sleeping,” he reported. “I felt her face. I think her fever might be down a little.”

“Your mother left the thermometer and the medicine.”

He nodded. “She certainly knew what to do, didn’t she?”

“Of course she did. She raised three children of her own.”

“I have to admit I was a little surprised that she came right over when I called her.”

“I think maybe she was subconsciously looking for a reason to reach out to you. This gave her an excuse to do so and still keep her pride intact. She’ll be able to tell all her friends that of course it’s painful for her to be reminded of her husband’s betrayal, but she simply couldn’t turn her back on a helpless child being raised by a clueless bachelor. Everyone will admire her selflessness and generosity so much they’ll probably give her another award.”