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Theo stayed where she was. Maybe it would be better to give Mac a chance to explain her presence. But her initial shock was being eroded by curiosity now, and she did wonder what Mac would tell his family. And so, she padded quietly down the staircase.
Nobody noticed her at first, too involved in argument. Mac didn’t shout, but it was clear he was furious. “This is my house, you moron.”
“Which I was defending,” Sam growled in return. “You should be thanking me! For chrissake, this place could be taken in seconds.”
Caleb leaned against the wall, his arms folded. He seemed amused. “She speaks funny.”
“She’s Australian,” Mac said his eyes still on Sam.
“She doesn’t look Australian. She’s—”
“My guest. You don’t pull a gun in my house. You certainly don’t pull it on one of my guests.”
“One?” Nancy Etheridge interrupted. “There are more?”
Sam cheered his approval. “Go, Mac!”
“Grow up.” Mac shot him a withering glance, which had no effect at all.
“Who are these people?” Nancy demanded. “And why have you taken them in?”
“You’ve met Gus,” Mac said tightly. “Theo is his sister.”
“Really?” Caleb again. “They don’t look alike. Are you sure, or is that just what she told you?”
“Well, what are they doing here?” Nancy interrupted as Mac turned on Caleb.
“That’s really none of your business, Mom. They’re my guests. What the hell are you doing here?”
Nancy straightened to her full height, which couldn’t have been much more than five feet, and yet, she did not seem small. “Language, Cormac. I did not raise you to be foul-mouthed and disrespectful, regardless of the company you’re keeping.”
“What do you expect from the Left!” Sam added fuel to the fire.
Mac tipped his head back and sighed. “Would you all just go? Mom, that key was for emergencies…not for you to bring the rednecks out for an excursion!”
“Don’t call your brothers names, Cormac. This might have all been avoided if you’d let me know you’d put someone in my room. I’d like to know what else you’d expected your brother to do when he discovered your home had been invaded!”
Theo smiled faintly as Mac expressed his frustration. He seemed to sense her presence then, and looked up to the stairs.
“Theo, hello. Allow me to introduce my mother and brothers.”
What followed was to Theo a little surreal. It was a perfectly normal introduction, with polite inquiries as to how she and Mac knew one another. Sam wouldn’t stop grinning, and Mac seemed a little tortured, but otherwise it was utterly conventional aside from the fact that she now knew the family with whom she was becoming acquainted were all armed.
Of course, this was America, where people had a constitutional right to be armed. But it was, for an Australian, unsettling.
Sam apologized for holding her at gunpoint. “For all I knew, you’d already buried Mac in the backyard,” he said by way of excuse. “But I wouldn’t have shot you,” he assured her.
Mac shook his head. “Idiot.”
Nancy raised a reproving finger at Mac. “Don’t start.”
“What are you doing in town, Mom? More to the point, what are you doing here?”
“We came to pick up some supplies. They’re being delivered here.” She smiled. “And of course, we thought we’d visit with you awhile.”
“Interesting that you arrived while I was at work then.”
“Don’t be petulant, son. We intended to call you once we got here.”
