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“Felicity, he’s just a boy. It’s wrong to judge him,” Miss O’Reilly said in a scolding tone. “He has plenty of time to buckle down and pull up his grades. You can’t determine his future at this point. It’s just not fair.”
Mrs. Craddock made a tutting sound. “I’m not trying to be unkind, Winnie. I’ll have to bring in his parents to discuss the situation with them. They’re lovely people. I admire them for adopting several of their children and having a blended family. And up to this point none of the Donahue children have had any academic issues. They’ve all been as smart as whips.”
“Maybe he can get a tutor. If there’s a specific issue perhaps he can be tested for it.”
Bless Miss O’Reilly’s heart. It was an expression Micah always heard his mother say. Miss O’Reilly really was as kind as she seemed to be. She wanted to help him. It seemed that she believed in him.
“It’s such a shame. His brother Daniel is brilliant. And I remember Jason getting straight A’s.”
“Felicity, it’s not right to compare him to his siblings. Every student is different.”
“Oh, he’s different all right,” Mrs. Craddock muttered.
He could hear the clicking of heels and their voices dying out. They must have left the classroom, Micah realized. He could no longer hear them talking. Micah sat in the closet until he felt certain they were gone. When he stepped out of the closet his legs felt unsteady and he knew it had nothing to do with crouching in the closet. Everything he’d overheard convinced him of his own unworthiness. He wasn’t smart. He was different from all of his siblings. He was dumb. Maybe his mother had dropped him on his head when he was a baby. Maybe something really was wrong with him. Sometimes when he looked at books things seemed all jumbled up.
What would he do for a job when he was older? Dumb kids didn’t go to college and he really wanted to go to the University of Miami. It was about an hour away and a few times his family had driven to the campus to visit their cousin Gary. Micah had fallen in love with it. Now he felt heartbroken. He wasn’t smart enough to go to college. Shoot! He wasn’t smart enough to even finish fifth grade.
Micah wiped away hot, salty tears as they streamed down his face. Why had he snuck in here to take Mrs. Craddock’s candy in the first place? He wished that he could go back in time and change his decision. He would have spared himself the embarrassment of having to hear the cold, hard facts about himself.
He slowly walked down the corridor and slipped outside to enjoy the last few minutes of recess with his classmates. Micah let out a sigh. He knew if he lived to be one hundred years old he would never forget the words he had overheard from inside the closet. It all made sense now. His parents had always tried to make him feel smart, although he never really had. They had tested him for something to do with his attention span. But no one ever knew what was wrong with him. Maybe they would never know why he was so dumb. Shame threatened to swallow him up whole.
Dumb. Not very bright. Stupid. Marbles for brains. It hurt so much. Although he wanted to give in to tears, Micah didn’t want his classmates to see him cry. Instead he would hold his head up high and pretend as if he didn’t have a care in the world. He was a Donahue. And he would put a brave face on as he headed outside to recess. After all, he might not be smart, but he still had his pride.
“Our ability to be loved is only surpassed by our ability to love.” Alec Donahue
Chapter One
Micah Donahue wiped a few beads of sweat off his forehead. His nerves were all over the place. His best friend was getting married and he had offered to throw the happy couple an engagement party. Now that the event was here, Micah was wondering why he’d even made the grand gesture in the first place. He didn’t have to ponder the question for long. Rafferty Fitzgerald was the best friend a person could ever have. Bar none. Ever since they’d met as kids on the playground, Rafferty had shown Micah loyalty and the utmost friendship.
The least he could do was host an engagement party for him. Micah wanted Rafferty to be happy. He deserved it almost more than anyone he’d ever known. Ever since they were kids, Rafferty had gotten the short end of the stick. His home had been full of dysfunction—alcohol abuse, parental arguments, not enough money coming in—which had led Rafferty to become an honorary member of the Donahue clan. The top bunk in Micah’s bunk bed had been Rafferty’s bed, to use whenever he needed. And he had needed to bunk there more times than not. As a result, Micah and Rafferty had bonded for life. They were blood brothers.
Nothing would ever change that. At least he hoped not. Micah struggled against the niggling feeling rising up inside of him. The truth was he didn’t like Rafferty’s fiancée, Pamela Carson. On the surface Pamela seemed like a great catch. She was attractive. Pamela said all the right things. She represented herself as a Godly woman. She seemed devoted to his best friend, but on a few
occasions Micah had felt extremely uncomfortable in her presence.
He hadn’t told a single soul, but Pamela had been flirty and suggestive with him several times. The first time Micah had convinced himself that it was all in his imagination, but by the second and third time he’d known something was very off with Pamela. He needed to confide in someone and get their opinion. One of his brothers perhaps? It was tough because Rafferty was the one he was used to confiding in and there was no way he could tell him about Pamela. He feared it might tear their friendship in two. Rafferty was so in love with his fiancée. And since Micah had always had the reputation of a player, he wasn’t sure his brothers wouldn’t give him a hard time about the situation. Although he could usually take a good ribbing, it would hurt if they thought he’d led Pamela on in any way. He would never do that in a million years to Rafferty.
Perhaps tonight would be different. Maybe Pamela would finally show Micah how much she loved his best friend. Perhaps it was all in his head after all. Maybe he could finally put all of his doubts to rest. He wanted Rafferty to be happy and walk down the aisle toward his soul mate. For the life of him, he just didn’t think Pamela was the one. And because Rafferty had inherited a sizeable amount of money from his grandfather—one he’d never even known until he passed away—Micah was a bit skeptical regarding Pamela’s sudden desire to be in a committed relationship with Rafferty. Pamela was the type of woman who liked the finer things in life. There wasn’t a humble thing about her.
But, he had to focus on tonight’s party and stuff down all of his doubts. He took a quick glance at his watch. Where was Shayla? She’d promised to show up this afternoon to help him get ready for the engagement party. It wasn’t like her to flake on him.
He heard his front door opening, followed by the thud of heavy footsteps. It didn’t sound like his sister’s light tread. Before he could even call out, his brother, Caleb, walked through the doorway of his great room where he was setting up decorations. With his tawny-colored skin, deep-set brown eyes and an athletic frame, Caleb was a man who turned heads on a regular basis. Happily married to Addie, they ran a bistro together called The Blue Bayou. Addie was loyal and loving—a perfect partner for his beloved brother.
Someday, he told himself, I’ll find a woman like that for myself. Someone who makes me feel stronger just for having her in my life. A woman who wouldn’t care about his looks. One who was head over heels in love with his soul.
“How’s it going?” Caleb asked, leaning in for a hug.
“Hey, Caleb,” he said, greeting his brother warmly. Caleb was the type of person who always made you feel better simply for being in his presence.
“What do you need me to do? I hear you need some help.”
Micah frowned at his brother. “Who told you that? Shayla? She was supposed to be here a while ago.”
Caleb nodded, his expression somber. “Yeah, she called me this morning. I’m subbing for her.”
“I appreciate you coming but why didn’t Shayla call me? Is something wrong? She’s been acting a bit funny lately.”
Caleb ducked his head, clearly avoiding eye contact. “It’s really something the two of you should discuss.” He held up his hands. “I don’t want to be in the middle of it.”
