“Joshua, I’d like you to meet the rest of your family.” With Joshua’s hand in his, Cameron took him first to his mother, who visibly fought tears. “This is my mother, your grandmother, Stella McBride.”

  Tenderly, she palmed Joshua’s little face, then looked at Cameron. “No wonder you recognized him.” Then to Joshua. “Would you like to call me ‘Grandmother’?”

  He nodded, then found his voice. “Yes, ma’am.”

  “And this is my father, your grandfather, Paul McBride.” His father hunkered down to eye level. “I’m proud to know you. Maybe we could go fishing together someday.”

  “I never been fishing before,” Joshua said.

  “We’ll have to remedy that,” Grandfather McBride said, and pushed up to his full height of six feet.

  “And this is my sister, Faith, and her husband and my best friend, Brandon,” Cameron said. “Your aunt Faith and uncle Brandon.”

  Faith enveloped him in a hug. “You’re a handsome young man. I know we’re going to be great friends.”

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  “Hello, Joshua. I can tell you that your aunt Faith makes a great friend,” Brandon said, smiling down at Joshua.

  “And this is my brother, your uncle Duncan.”

  “When you come to visit, I’ll teach you how to ride and we’ll go camping,” Duncan said.

  Six feet four of conditioned muscles, Duncan wore a white shirt, jeans, and a denim jacket. He seldom left his ranch. If he kept busy, he didn’t have to think of the woman who had married and left him within a year.

  The McBride curse had left its mark on both brothers. Thank goodness Faith had escaped the curse, but then she was the first female born to the McBride family in seven generations.

  “You have a horse?” Joshua asked.

  “Yes,” Duncan answered, his handsome face wreathed in a smile. “I live on a ranch in Montana.”

  The little boy looked from one new relative to the other. “Now it just won’t be me and Mommy.”

  Cameron’s mouth tightened. It shouldn’t have been that way in the first place. He’d missed—they’d all missed—so much because of Caitlin’s fears.

  Duncan scooped up the little boy. “I have a surprise for you. Let’s see if they fit.”

  Sitting the little boy on the chair, Duncan produced a pair of cowboy boots. “Every cowboy needs boots.” Slipping off Joshua’s tennis shoes, Duncan lifted Joshua back down and helped him slide his feet into the boots. They fit.

  Grandfather McBride placed a fishing rod in Joshua’s hands. “I know just the spot for our first fishing trip. There’s nothing like feeling the tug on your line, then reeling in your catch.”

  Joshua’s eyes kept getting larger and larger. Caitlin knew he wanted a father, but she hadn’t realized how much an extended family would mean to him. Her father’s parents had died when she was an infant, and her mother’s parents were cordial, but they weren’t loving. They lived two hundred miles away and seldom visited.

  Her hand flexed. Trying to protect him, she had also deprived him. It was difficult to weigh one against the other.

  Joshua was the center of attention. He had a father, and now he had his family to love him. It was his birthday and Christmas all rolled into one. His eyes sparkled. He couldn’t stop grinning.

  “He’s a bright, handsome young boy, just like Cameron was at his age,” his mother said from beside Caitlin.

  “Thank you,” Caitlin answered. She’d hung back from the celebration. She hadn’t wanted any hard feelings Cameron’s family had about her to interfere with Joshua’s celebration. She needn’t have worried. There wasn’t one look of censure—which made her feel worse.

  “No wonder he recognized him immediately,” Mrs. McBride commented. “Cameron said Joshua even kicks the covers off and sleeps on his stomach.”

  “And he’s just as fearless.”

  “I’m glad he found you and my grandson,” she said, staring straight ahead at Joshua laughing with his grandfather. “Life has given you another chance.” Her face pinched, she looked at Caitlin. “Don’t throw it away.”

  She stared at Cameron’s mother. Behind the strained smile, she saw the loneliness and the love shining in her eyes. She hungrily watched Cameron’s father, the man she had divorced.

  “The car should be outside, I have a few more surprises for my son.” Scooping Joshua up in his arms, Cameron headed for the front door. “I don’t want you to forget this day.”

  “I won’t, Daddy.”

  Caitlin knew she wouldn’t, either.

  Chapter 9

  Cameron came through on his promise. Even before they all piled into the stretch limo, the driver had taken a family picture. Cameron’s long arm had drawn Caitlin to his side. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Cameron’s dad place himself farthest from his ex-wife. Sadness touched Caitlin.

  She’d come to admire both of them. She didn’t want her and Cameron to end up polite strangers.

  “Everyone in the car.” Taking the camera from the driver, Cameron waited until they were all inside and then set Joshua on his feet. “The fun begins.”

  They went for a boat ride, to the petting zoo, played miniature golf, stopped at a pizza parlor with games. It was late in the afternoon when they arrived back home.

  Faith crouched down to Joshua and blinked back tears. “I’m glad you’re my nephew. You come visit me real soon.”

  “That goes for me too,” Duncan said.

  “I will,” Joshua promised.

  Brandon glanced at his watch. “We better head to the airport. We’re supposed to take off in an hour.”

  Caitlin’s eyes widened in alarm. “You should have left an hour ago. You’ll never make it through security in time.”

  “Don’t worry,” Faith assured her. “Blade and Sierra happened to be in Santa Fe and he offered us his Gulfstream. We couldn’t coordinate everyone’s air flight. And we have to get back to work.”

  Blade Navarone, the once reclusive billionaire, was the man Cameron mentioned that would help take her son. Blade’s wife was Brandon’s sister.

  Brandon, his arms around Faith’s shoulders, smiled tenderly down at her. “I’m not sure if Sierra or Faith got us the airplane.”

  “The important thing is that we’re here.” Mrs. McBride hugged her children, then Brandon. “I’ll see you two in a couple of weeks and you the following week, Duncan.”

  “Good-bye, Dad,” Faith said, hugging him.

  Her father frowned and looked at his ex-wife. “You aren’t leaving?”

  “No.” She touched the heavy turquoise necklace at her throat. “I’ve decided to stay the night.”

  He didn’t say anything, but his mouth flattened into a thin line.

  Duncan stepped forward to stand beside his mother in the awkward silence. “If you want to come visit sooner, you know the door is always open and you’re welcome.”

  Cameron shook his head. “Wait your turn. Joshua and I have her now.”

  “Well, I’ve reserved Mom a suite at the hotel and you know how I hate a cancelation, so next week she’s mine and Brandon’s,” Faith said. “She’ll get to see the changes I’ve made since she was there for our wedding.”

  “I’m sure it’s beautiful,” Mrs. McBride said. “You’re a natural at running the hotel and taking care of the guests. The hotel is in good hands.”

  “It’s not like we gave her a choice,” Mr. Bride muttered. From the sharp intake of his ex-wife’s breath, she heard him.

  “Come on, Dad. You can see us off,” Duncan said, taking his father by the arm and leading him out the door. Brandon and Faith walked behind them.

  Cameron, with his mother, slowly followed everyone to the waiting car. “Thank you for coming.”

  “Good-bye Aunt Faith, Uncle Brandon, Uncle Duncan,” Joshua called, waving as they climbed in a big black Lincoln.

  “Why don’t you and me go out back to the lake and practice casting with your new rod?” Mr. McBride suggested as soon as the limo pulled away.

  Wide-eyed, Joshua looked excitedly from his mother to his father. “Can I?”

  “Sure.” Cameron put his hand on his son’s shoulder. “Mind if I go with you?” Wildly, Joshua nodded his head. “Then let’s go.”

  Caitlin trailed behind them to the back of the house. A wall of glass allowed an unimpeded view of the lake. A thirty-foot pier extended from the bank into the man-made lake. A few sailboats were on the lake, but most were speedboats.

  Halfway there, Cameron stopped on the green lawn and hunkered down to eye level with Joshua. From the shaking and nodding of his head, she suspected Cameron was reminding Joshua that he was forbidden to go near the water without one of them with him.

  “My first grandchild,” Mrs. McBride said softly. “Thank you.”

  Caitlin still felt it difficult to comprehend that none of them wished her ill. Especially Faith, who adored her brothers. “You don’t hate me for not telling Cameron?”

  “You didn’t have to have Joshua,” Cameron’s mother said.

  Caitlin gasped. “Not having him never occurred to me. Joshua has given me far more than I ever imagined.”

  Mrs. McBride nodded. “Loving the man makes the love for the child even stronger.”

  “Cameron and I—”

  “Still have feelings for each other,” she finished, finally turning to her. “You can tell by the way you look at each other.” She turned back to see Joshua bring the rod over his right shoulder, then forward. Her mouth curved. “Joshua brought you two together, but you’ll need more if you’re to make it this time.”

  Caitlin wrapped her arms around herself. “It will never work. I don’t want Cameron racing and he wouldn’t be happy doing anything else.”

  “At first I was frightened as well. I thought his wanting to be a NASCAR driver would pass. There weren’t many African Americans in the sport, but that only made him more determined,” his mother recalled fondly.

  “He began racing quarter-midgets. He won his second time out and never looked back. The first time I saw another driver intentionally bump Cameron when he refused to give up the lead, I was irate at the other boy and scared because Cameron had to fight for control.”

  “They’re still bumping. Only now he’s racing a thirty-four-hundred-pound car going in excess of one hundred eighty miles per hour,” Caitlin said, her voice strained.

  “And relishing every moment,” Mrs. McBride said. “You’ll have to face and fight your fears. Otherwise you’ll be alone.” Her arms wrapped around herself. “Take your second chance, Caitlin. You and Cameron were once as happy as Faith and Brandon.”

  “As you said, that was then. Joshua and I can’t stay here.”

  Cameron’s mother sighed sadly. “Then you’ll lose, and regret it every day for the rest of your life.” She lowered her head, then lifted it. “Believe me, I know.”

  “Mrs. McBride—”

  She shook her head. “I think I’ll join them.” Opening the door, she started down the path. Mr. McBride looked up to see her. The smile on his face died. He turned his back to her. Mrs. McBride paused briefly, then continued.

  If Caitlin didn’t miss her guess, Cameron’s mother regretted the divorce. The sad thing was, Mr. McBride didn’t appear to care. She’d lost him.

  Caitlin ached for Cameron’s mother, and was afraid one day soon, whether or not she wanted to admit it, she might be in the same position—loving a man who no longer loved her back.

  “Dad, what’s going on?” Cameron and his father were sitting on the terrace off the great room after dinner. The built-in television over the unlit fireplace was on, but neither man was watching the movie.

  “I take it you mean your mother,” Mr. McBride said, his hands linked over his stomach.

  “You know I do.” Cameron blew out a breath in frustration. “A blind man can see she’s trying to let you know she’s interested in you.”

  “Too little. Too late,” his father said flatly.

  “Dad, if—”

  “No.” His father cut him off. “You know, when she left me, I wasn’t sure I could go on. I wasn’t worth warm spit. Faith was fresh out of college and had to run the hotel by herself. I’ll always regret that I dumped it on her. I knew full well she had planned to travel after she graduated.”

  “I admit it was challenging for her at first, but she loves running Casa de la Serenidad. She’s proven that she can handle it.”

  His father nodded. “She took the hotel from three stars to five. I couldn’t be prouder of her.” He faced Cameron and reached over to place his hand on his shoulder. “Of all of you.”

  “The same goes for the way we feel about you.”

  Mr. McBride’s hand fell. “It wasn’t always that way, and we both know it. Your mother leaving shattered me. It wasn’t until I became interested in competition bass fishing that I finally began to come out of my downward spiral. Something about the water and testing my skill against the other fishermen helped take the hurt away. But I guess you know what I mean.”

  Unfortunately Cameron did. “You know I lost fifteen races straight before I pulled it together.” Only Faith and Duncan knew he had been fired. He hadn’t wanted his parents to know he was so close to the edge.

  “And since then you’ve always finished the season in the top ten and last year you won the Chase Cup. This year you’re going to win a second,” his father said proudly.

  “I want that win, and I have the car and crew that will help me get it,” Cameron said with conviction. “We’re going to do everything to make it happen.”

  “This might sound harsh, but having Caitlin around with nothing settled is going to mess with your concentration,” his father said. “With the new point system for the Chase, wins are going to count more toward the total scoring than the years before. Number twenty-three needs to consistently win.”

  “I can’t have Joshua without Caitlin,” he said, well aware that there was more to it than that. “She won’t affect my concentration. I’ll win.”

  “Then you’re a better man than your old man.” Mr. McBride blew out a breath. “There is no way I’m letting your mother back in my life. I couldn’t, won’t go through the hell she put me through again.”

  “I know it’s tough, but if she wants to get back with you, can’t you at least talk with her?” Cameron suggested.

  “Would you, if Caitlin wanted to start over?” his father asked.

  Even before the question formed clearly in his mind he knew the answer. “Caitlin is afraid for me when I race. There is no future for us unless I can change her mind and, frankly, I’m not sure I can accomplish that.”

  “I’m sorry to hear that, especially with Joshua.”

  “Caitlin did a great job raising him and it couldn’t have been easy for her,” Cameron mused. “She used her savings to pay for the doctor bills. Coming up with the comic strip was a godsend, she says, because it allowed her to stay at home with Joshua. He’s smart and loving.”

  “I agree. He’s a wonderful little boy who needs both parents.”

  “For the time being, that is what he has,” Cameron told him flatly. On that, he didn’t intend to budge.

  “At least your mother waited until you were all grown before she divorced me.”

  Cameron heard the anger and hurt in the clipped words. “And she obviously regrets her decision.”

  “I could care less. In fact, I’m seeing another woman.”

  The motion lights flooded the terrace. Cameron and his father turned to see what had activated them and saw his mother. From the strained, hurt expression on her face he knew she had heard everything.

  “Caitlin sent me to get you two,” she said in an unsteady voice. “Please come up. Joshua won’t go to sleep until his father and grandfather come up and say good night.” After delivering the message, she went back inside the house.

  “Dad—”

  “We better go see Joshua so he can get to sleep.” His father walked to the terrace door. “Then I want to call my friend.”

  Cameron picked up the control and shut off the television. “Are you sure that is what you want to do?”

  He paused. “I’ve never been surer of anything else in my life.”

  Cameron stared at his father’s steadfast gaze, then headed for the stairs. He wished things could have been different for his mother, who apparently still cared about the man she’d divorced. Unfortunately, it showed that some decisions were irrevocable and carried far-reaching consequences.

  If he didn’t want the same unhappy consequences, he had to figure out a way to help Caitlin overcome her fears or there would be no future for them as a family.

  Caitlin had never felt so heartbroken for anyone as she did for Mrs. McBride. The older woman had looked shattered when she’d returned from getting Cameron and his father. As soon as Joshua had climbed into bed, she’d gone to the guest bedroom on the ground floor. Unable to get her mind off Cameron’s mother, Caitlin had gone to see her. She’d found her packed and ready to leave.

  “Mrs. McBride, your flight isn’t until the morning. Please stay. I can take Cameron’s truck and drive you,” Caitlin told her.

  “No. I’ve already called a cab and secured a room at a hotel at the airport.” She picked up her luggage from the bed. “Please tell Joshua good-bye for me.”

  “What do I tell Cameron?” she asked.

  “Not to make the mistake I made and that goes for you as well.” She gave Caitlin a brief hug, started from the room, and ran straight into Cameron.

  “Mom, don’t do this.”

  Her smile trembled. “I don’t think I can face him after—Please.”

  Cameron took the suitcase from her hand. “There is no reason for him to come downstairs until breakfast. I can call my travel agent, get you an early flight, and take you to the airport.”