He thought of Liam, of the lost and angry look in the kid’s eyes, and he saw himself. He saw the broken kid he’d been, and it filled him with such blinding rage that for a moment he couldn’t see clearly.
He took a step toward his sister, his face black and angry. “How the hell can you do this to your kid? How can you be that goddamn selfish?”
“Mac,” her voice trembled. “Please, listen to me.” She blew out a long breath and wiped at her face. “I need to do this but give me some credit. I’m not Mom, and he’s not Dad. We need to figure some things out and just need a few days. A week or two at the most. Just David and I. I just need to…”
He’d heard that before too.
“You know what? I don’t give a shit.”
And he didn’t. He didn’t want to get involved. What the hell was the point? He could write the ending to this story in his sleep. Mac took a step back and shook his head. If his sister wanted to be that pathetic, well, she could go right ahead. She was an adult, and it was her life.
He glanced out the windows that faced the water and spied Liam standing at the edge of the beach.
“Why’s the kid here? Why can’t he stay with Mom?”
Becca’s bottom lip trembled a bit. “Mom is teaching Bible School all week and well, Liam’s a bit old for it. He…he asked if he could stay with you. He had fun the other night, and I think that he thought you would be okay with him staying for a few days, but obviously I was wrong.”
Something twisted inside Mac, something hard and painful, and he glanced out the window again. He didn’t have time for a kid. Christ, he was in the middle of this big project for Jake, and there was Lily…
Liam tossed a rock out over the water, and it skipped a few times before disappearing beneath the surface. He shoved his hands into his pockets again and hunched his shoulders, head down as he stared at his feet.
It was like looking at himself when he was young.
Mackenzie dragged his eyes back to his sister. He was probably going to regret this—what the hell did he know about kids?
“He can stay,” Mac said. “I’m going to be busy and probably won’t have much time for him but…”
His sister launched herself at him and wrapped her arms around his chest in a hug that was hard and desperate. “Thank you, Mac. I knew I could count on you.”
Everything inside him was coiled tight, but after a few seconds, that part of him that still cared loosened up a bit, and he slipped his arms around his sister, holding her, supporting her when the tears started up again.
Chapter 19
Lily waited until Mac’s sister left before she ventured out of the bedroom. The cottage was empty, and for a moment, she stood in the middle of the kitchen not really sure what to do.
She was still reeling from what she’d overheard and felt awful for listening in on a private family conversation, but it’s not as if she’d done it on purpose. Mac’s loud voice had woken her, and at that point, there was no way she couldn’t listen—not even if she’d shoved her head under the covers and slid beneath the pillows.
Dressed in an old T-shirt she’d found in the bedroom, Lily pushed her hair out of the way and peeked out the window that overlooked the lake. Mac was down there talking to a young boy who looked about nine or ten. They stood at the edge of the water, both of them with their hands shoved into their front pockets.
The boy was as blond as Mackenzie with the same build—wide shoulders, tapered waist, and long legs—and if she’d never met them before, she would think he was Mac’s. She watched them for a few more minutes and decided it was time for her to go when she felt something stirring in her breast. She didn’t know what the hell it was, but she sure as heck knew she needed to shut it down.
Last night had been amazing, but it was over and time for her to go. She and Mac had a sex thing—nothing more—and a relaxed morning together wasn’t in the cards.
Her overnight bag was still in the truck, along with her cell phone and purse. She moved gingerly because there were a lot of parts on her body that ached, which, considering the night she’d had, was par for the course. She opened the door and slipped outside, spying a pair of Mackenzie’s sandals—thank God. She slipped her feet into them, nearly falling on her ass twice as she made her way up the uneven path that led to the driveway, but it was worth it—the path and driveway was strewn with rocks.
As luck would have it, the truck was locked—when the hell he’d had time to think about locking the stupid thing she had no clue—and she stared through the window at her bag.
“Dammit.”
She’d never been in this situation before. Not really. When she’d been “good-time Lily,” any sex she had was at a party or in a dorm room or some back alley of a club. She had sex for the express purpose of having sex because she was a St. Clare, sister to the crazy Maddison St. Clare, and well, why not give them what they all expected? It had seemed somehow easier.
Lily never thought she deserved better anyway, and considering sex wasn’t exactly something she liked, doing the nasty with a stranger didn’t matter. At least not back then. It was more of a way for her to mean something to someone, even if it was only for a few hours.
So there’d been no sleepovers. No waking up in bed with someone. No awkward morning conversations…or continuations of the previous night’s activities. She’d never wanted any of that.
Which is why she was a little shocked that she’d been so disappointed to wake up alone, with no sight of Mac. Instead, he’d been arguing with his sister, and now he seemed to have forgotten all about Lily.
Carefully making her way back down the path, she slipped back inside the cottage. Mac was still down at the dock with the boy, but now they were sitting side by side, gazing out at the water.