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“Don’t worry, sis. You aren’t very likely to see him again.”
Mel averted her eyes. And Maya knew—she just knew—that Mel had learned something. “What is it?’’
“Nothing.”
Sitting up, Maya held her sister’s gaze. “Don’t you know better than to test the patience of a woman as pregnant as I am?’’
Licking her lips, Mel finally looked down, and sighed. “You have a right to know. I just…didn’t want to have to be the one to tell you.”
“To tell me what?”
Mel got up off the bed and reached into her sweater pocket, pulling out a folded-up newspaper. She opened it, turned it and laid it on the bed facing Maya.
Maya looked, and the babies kicked her so hard she gasped. A grainy black-and-white photo of Caleb Cain stared back at her from the page. And the caption read Will He, Or Won’t He?
Blinking back tears of surprise at seeing that face again…at seeing it on the body of a man dressed in an expensive designer suit and tie, with his hair all slicked back, and no battered hat in sight, Maya read the words underneath out loud.
‘“Cain Caleb Montgomery III, former mayor of Springville, is still refusing to say whether or not he plans to enter the race for the U.S. Senate, though political insiders say it’s only a matter of time before Montgomery makes the formal announcement declaring his candidacy. If that’s true, he’ll be following in the footsteps of his father and grandfather before him. There is no doubt, that should he enter the race, campaign finances will be the least of his worries. Montgomery is ranked the third richest man in the United States. But just where does he stand on the issues?’’’
Mel took the newspaper out of Maya’s hands. “Come on, Maya. Do you really care where he stands on the issues?”
Maya closed her eyes. “I can’t believe this. He let me think he was a penniless drifter.”
“Well, of course he did. He didn’t want you coming back to haunt him later. Now that we know who he is, however, he’s got some explaining to do. When I see him, I—”
“God, no! Mel, you wouldn’t. You won’t, I won’t let you!”
Mel went silent and blinked down at Maya. “Well, gosh, sis, you have to tell him….”
“No, I don’t. I’m a daughter of Vidalia Brand. I don’t have to do a damned thing I don’t want to. And I don’t want to tell him about these babies.”
Frowning until her brows touched, Mel said, “But why?”
“My God, Mel, can’t you see what would happen? I’d be the biggest tabloid target since Monica Lewinsky, for God’s sake! The man’s going to run for the Senate! No. No, if I thought the scandal of being an unwed mother was bad, it’s nothing compared to the scandal of being at the center of a sex-and-politics story. Forget about it…and for God’s sake, don’t tell Mom.”
“Don’t tell Mom what?”
They both turned to see Vidalia stepping into the bedroom. She had a newspaper in her hand. “You wouldn’t mean this, by any chance, would you?” she asked, holding it up.
Maya sighed. “Mom, I don’t want to be dragged out and flogged by the press. I don’t want my babies born in a flurry of political scandal and tabloid gossip. I won’t have it.”
“I don’t blame you.”
Maya met her mother’s eyes. “Then you…you agree with me?”
“Oh, sure, hon. But that doesn’t mean the man doesn’t have a right to know he’s going to be a father.”
Pressing her lips tight, Maya shook her head. “I…kind of thought he gave up that right when he lied about his name and skipped town without a word,” she said. She met her mother’s eyes. “These aremybabies. Not his.”
Her mother held her gaze for a long moment, and Maya knew she didn’t approve. She might make a lot of tacky, off-color remarks and come off as an irreverent, outrageous woman old enough to know better—but the truth was, her mother’s moral code ran deep.
“Maya, darlin’ I’ve made some giant mistakes in my life. I’ve got no right to tell you the right thing to do when I’ve so often done just the opposite. But honey, it’s that experience of getting it wrong that makes me know what’s right.”
She frowned, having no real idea what her mother was referring to. Her own father had known about all his daughters, he just hadn’t particularly cared. “I have a right to make my own mistakes, though. Don’t I mom?”
Vidalia heaved a sigh and said, “You’re an adult. Soon to be a mamma yourself. I think you’re making a mistake, daughter, but that’s your right. So we’ll do this your way.”
Maya sighed in relief. “Thank you.”
