Marta Perry - The Guardian's Honor

She should talk to Adam about it. Just explain her feelings calmly and rationally. He’d understand.

But no more private talks alone in dark kitchens. Her cheeks flamed at the memory. What had possessed her to tell him anything about her past?

At least she’d had the sense to keep it brief. She’d make sure he wouldn’t be hearing any more. And maybe she’d best be on guard that she didn’t start relying on him, either.

She was here for just one reason—to grasp any opportunity that would help Jamie. Nothing else mattered. She summoned up the image of Jamie walking. Think about that, nothing else.

Adam turned onto a narrow residential street that seemed to jog right and left without rhyme or reason. The antebellum-style houses were so close together that the neighborhood felt claustrophobic to her. It was a far cry from their isolated farmhouse.

Adam pulled up in front of a graceful brick home, its small front garden filled with flowers.

“Home,” Adam announced. “Let’s go meet the family.”

With a wordless prayer, Cathy reached out to unbuckle Jamie’s seat belt. This was what she’d wanted. Now she had to face it.

Adam was there suddenly, lifting Jamie out of the car. “There you go, buddy. Let’s go see if my mama got out any toys for you.”

Cathy took her grandfather’s arm. To her surprise, he didn’t pull away. Together, they walked up the brick path to the house and the people who stood outside, waiting for them.

The next few minutes passed in a flurry of introductions. Adam’s father, Ashton, was an older version of Adam, with chestnut hair touched with white at the temples and calm, judicious eyes that seemed to take her measure. His mother was casually elegant, so perfectly coiffed and clad that Cathy felt instantly disheveled and dowdy next to her.

Then a pair of warm arms encircled her as the third member of the welcoming party grabbed her in an unexpected hug.

“I’m Georgia, Adam’s sister. Welcome, Cathy. We’re so glad you’re here.”

Nobody could doubt the sincerity of Georgia’s greeting, and the cold ball of uncertainty in Cathy began to thaw. “Thank you.” She drew Jamie close to her. “This is my son, Jamie.”

Georgia knelt, dark curls swinging around her face. “Hey, there, Cousin Jamie. It’s so nice to meet you.”

Jamie seemed struck dumb by the attention. Then he looked up at Cathy. “Is she really my cousin?” he whispered.

Georgia chuckled. “Sugar, it’s too complicated to be anything else.”

Cathy reminded herself that they weren’t really cousins of hers at all, but if they were willing to see the relationship that way, she wouldn’t argue.

Georgia’s mother elbowed her aside and held out her hand to Jamie. “Why don’t you come with me, Sugar, and we’ll see if we can find some toys for you?”

Jamie looked up at her for permission. She fought back the urge to keep him close. “Go along, but don’t forget your manners.”

“Yes, ma’am.” He took Georgia’s mother’s hand tentatively.

Georgia grinned. “Mama loves having a child around to fuss over. Now, you come along, and Daddy and I will show you to your rooms. You just feel free to rest if you want. If I know my brother, he probably got you up at the crack of dawn to drive here.”

“Something like that.” She glanced at Grandpa and saw the tiredness and tension in his drawn face. “Maybe a little lie-down would be good.”

Georgia nodded, understanding in her eyes. “Come along, then, and we’ll get you settled. Adam can bring in your bags before he heads on home.”

She turned toward Adam, not that she hadn’t been aware every minute of exactly where he was, standing quietly behind her.

“I guess we should say thank you and goodbye, then.” She held out her hand, because if he followed his sister’s example and hugged her, it might weaken her resolve to keep him at arm’s length.

He took her hand in both of his, closing them warmly around hers, and she felt that warmth spreading through her. “Don’t be so eager to get rid of me.”

“I’m not.” Her cheeks warmed. “I just thought you…Well, you probably have things to do besides babysit us.”

“No chance. I’ll be back later with Miz Callie.” His fingers tightened on hers, and his voice lowered. “Relax, Cathy. You have family now.”

That hit her right in the heart. She wanted to believe that, but could she?

By the time supper was over, Cathy had hit a wall of exhaustion. Too little sleep and too much worry combined to rob her of even the ability to chat.

Fortunately nobody seemed to expect much of her at the moment. Adam had returned with his grandmother, and just now Miz Callie, as they all called her, sat next to Grandpa, talking away a mile a minute. To her relief, Grandpa looked more relaxed than she’d seen him in days. She’d been half-afraid he’d explode at these new relatives and ruin whatever chance they had.

Jamie sat on the floor of the family room, playing a game of Chutes and Ladders with Georgia. Georgia was apparently about to become the stepmother of an eight-year-old, and she’d said she’d learned to love children’s games again.

Adam had laughed at that, telling her she’d never stopped, and Georgia gibed back at him. For a moment, Cathy had thought they were on the verge of argument, but apparently this sort of good-natured teasing went on all the time between them.

Miz Callie had announced that they were giving them a little time before inflicting the rest of the family on them. Cathy could only feel grateful for that respite.

As it was, the talk, even the kindness of their welcome, was a bit overwhelming. Could anyone really be as warm to a bunch of unknown relatives as the Bodines seemed to be?

Feeling as if she’d fall asleep if she sat in the comfortable chair any longer, she rose. A cabinet against the wall held a dozen or more framed photographs, and she forced her fogged mind to focus on them.

“Admiring my mother’s gallery?” Adam’s voice came, soft at her shoulder, and her skin prickled in awareness at his nearness.

“This is you,” she said, pointing to a solemn young Adam in cap and gown.

“The self-important high-school graduation photo,” he said. “I wish she’d get rid of that.”

“This looks more like you.” She touched the silver-framed snapshot of Adam in Coast Guard blues, leaning against a boat of some sort.

“That’s the patrol boat I manned out of Miami for a while.”

Some tension entered his voice when he said that, and she looked up at his face, wondering what caused it. But he was moving on, identifying people in other photos. The names blurred in her mind, but…

“A lot of people in uniform,” she commented.

“That tends to be a Bodine tradition,” he said. “Mostly Coast Guard, like my grandfather. Miz Callie always says that Bodines are never happy too far from the sea.”

“My grandfather must be the exception, then. He settled inland, and never seemed to want to go anywhere else.”

Half-afraid that her grandfather might hear her speaking of him, she glanced his way, but he seemed engrossed in something Adam’s father was saying.

“Let’s step out into the garden for a minute.” Adam took her arm. “You look as if you can use some fresh air.”

Before she could protest, he was guiding her out the French doors onto a flagstone patio. At its edge was a rustic bench, and he led her to a seat in the shadow formed by a live oak draped with Spanish moss, silver in the dim light.

“You’ve been as tense as a cat in a roomful of rockers all evening. What’s wrong?” he asked.

“Just tired, I guess.” That was true, but it wasn’t all of it.

Adam surveyed her face, his eyes serious, maybe even caring. “It’s just been a few days, but I already know you better than that. What are you fretting about?”