Single With Twins

“Well, be forewarned that Emma won’t forget about that. Once she gets something in her mind, it’s there to stay until she deals with it.” Heather frowned. “You really don’t have any hopes and dreams?”

“Until today,” Mack said, “I never thought about it. But, well, no, I guess I don’t.”

“Just humor Emma for a while on the subject,” Heather said. “We place a great deal of emphasis on our dream to have our own home. I realize now that Emma and Melissa assume that everyone has, or should have, a dream, too, but I have to admit that I agree with that philosophy.”

“Why?”

“Because a dream gives you a purpose, a goal, a whimsical sense of a magical time yet to come. A dream provides hope when you’re trying to survive, just make it day to day.”

Heather sighed. “Never mind, Mack. I’m not certain you can understand all this, because your lifestyle is so very different from ours. If you want something, I imagine you can go out and buy it as the mood strikes.”

“Well…”

“Please don’t think I’m doing an oh-poor-us routine here, because I’m not. It’s just that we’re from such different worlds that I’m not certain we can connect on any level. That wouldn’t be your fault, nor mine, it would just be the way things are. You’re welcome to visit us, if you choose, while you’re on vacation here in Tucson, but I don’t expect we’ll find a common ground while you’re in town.”

“Oh, that’s not true, Heather,” Mack said, looking directly at her. “We’ve already connected on a couple of things.”

“Such as?”

“Your daughters have staked a claim on my heart that feels great. It really does. I may grow old before my time just trying to keep up with them during a conversation, but I like them very, very much.”

“Well, that’s one,” Heather said, smiling. “You said a couple of things.”

Mack nodded. “It’s come to light that I don’t have a dream, and this—” he swept his right arm through the air “—is the place where I’m going to get the help I need to find one.”

Chapter Three

The next afternoon Buzzy’s mother, Susie Jenkins, and Heather were in a used-clothing store, sifting through the jumble of merchandise on a large table. Melissa, Emma and Buzzy were playing in the corner of the shop, building a tower from wooden blocks.

Heather held up a T-shirt with a smiling Garfield on the front. “Melissa.” The next item she found was a pink top boasting a cute gray kitten with a white bow around its neck. “Emma.”

“Buzzy,” Susie said, showing Heather a shirt with a multicolored dinosaur.

“We’re on a roll,” Heather said, laughing. “The last time we were in here we came up empty.”

“Keep digging through the goodies,” Susie said, “but don’t stop with the story. What you haven’t told me is whether or not you like this Mack Marshall who showed up on your doorstep.”

“He’s…nice,” Heather said with a shrug. “It’s a little early to say whether or not I like him as a person, because I don’t really know him. I got all choked up because he brought me flowers, but that was silly of me. It was a lovely gesture on his part and no one has ever given me flowers before and—

“I think Mack is very sincere in his desire to get to know Melissa, Emma and me, to feel connected to a family…his family…us. I’m not sure why he’s determined to do that, but I believe he means what he says about wanting to do it.”

“Maybe it’s because he was shot and nearly died,” Susie said, holding a pair of jeans at arm’s length. “Too short. You know, his life passed before his eyes and—”

“Shot?” Heather interrupted. “Mack didn’t say anything about being hurt.”

“I read it in the newspaper at the library,” Susie said. “He was in…oh, I forget where…some war-torn country doing his photojournalist thing and he got shot. It happened about a month or two ago. I’m surprised he’s well enough already to be winging his way out here to meet you. They showed a file picture of him along with the article. Heather, that is one dreamy-looking guy.”

“Where was he shot?” Heather said.

“I told you. In some remote place—”

“No, no, I mean, on his…person. He wasn’t limping or anything. I mean, shot?”

Susie narrowed her eyes. “I think…yes, it was his shoulder, his left shoulder. He was saving an old couple from the rebel gunfire and—pow—Mack Marshall got shot. It took forever to get him the help he needed way out there, but the article said he was finally recuperating in a hospital in New York City.”

“He said he was on vacation,” Heather said, forgetting to look at the clothes.

“Well, gee whiz, Heather,” Susie said, “it wouldn’t be very macho for him to sit in your living room and go on and on about his boo-boo.”

“Getting shot is not a boo-boo, Susie,” Heather said, none too quietly.

“Who got shot, Mommy?” Melissa yelled from the play area.

“We’re just talking about a movie, Melissa,” Heather said.

“Oh.” Melissa placed another block on the teetering tower.

“Heather Marshall,” Susie said, laughing. “You just lied to your very own child. Shame on you.”

“I can’t tell the girls that Mack was shot,” Heather said. “It’s too violent, harsh, and they don’t really need to know.”

“Whatever,” Susie said. “But why are you so shook up about Mack Marshall being hurt? He obviously didn’t die. But I betcha when he thought he was going to buy the farm, he realized he didn’t have any family to bury him. It makes sense, don’t you think? He dug up the info on your husband, discovered you and the girls existed even though his half brother is deceased and—ta-da—he’s here in Tucson.”

“Yes, it does make sense,” Heather said, “but it’s rather disconcerting, Susie.”

“Why?”

“Well, I figured he was just bored. He’d gone through his father’s belongings, was curious about the half brother he never knew he had and wasn’t in the mood to lounge on an exotic beach somewhere so he came here to hang around for a few weeks. But…shot? That changes everything.”

“You’ve totally lost me,” Susie said. “Oh, hey, look at this frilly dress. Emma would love this.”

“Thanks,” Heather said, absently placing the dress in the pile of clothes she intended to buy. “Susie, listen to me. If Mack wants to be part of our family because he nearly died and realized he didn’t have anyone to call his own, that puts a tremendous burden on me and the girls. We have to be for Mack what he needs us to be, don’t you see? He’s not just filling idle hours, the man is on a very focused mission.”

“So?” Susie said. “What’s the problem with his wanting to be part of your family?”

“We have nothing in common. Nothing. Mack is rich, he’s famous, he’s a celebrity. Yes, I think he sincerely wants to know he has a family, but I figured once he spent a little time with us, he’d go merrily on his way, satisfied that he’d found his long-lost relatives. But if he’s wanting, needing, to really bond with us because he nearly died, it isn’t going to work.”

“You think he’ll leave and go back to being a jet-setting playboy,” Susie said.

“Oh, yes, he’ll leave, but I’m worried about the girls,” Heather said. “What if…somehow…they get the impression that we didn’t measure up to Mack’s standards? My girls are not dumb. It isn’t going to take many more conversations for them to realize that their uncle Mack is from a world far removed from ours. I will not allow my daughters to feel inferior in any way, shape or form, just because we don’t have a lot of money.”

“Heather,” Susie said, “I don’t think that Mack would do anything to make his newfound family feel inferior, for heaven’s sake. Besides, he’s with you on your turf, in your home, your neighborhood. Did he rave on and on about his house in New York City?”

“Well, no,” Heather said, “he just said he rented an apartment, and Emma told him he needed a dream piggy so he could save his pennies to buy himself a house.”

Susie laughed. “I love it. Oh, Heather, you’re worrying about nothing. Mack is recuperating from a gunshot wound. He’ll get better, then be on his way, knowing he has a family in sunny Tucson, Arizona. You’ll probably get a Christmas card from him in the future, and that will be that. The girls aren’t going to come to any harm by spending some time with the man.”

“I suppose you’re right,” Heather said, frowning. “But I’m definitely going to stay on alert whenever we’re with him. I’ll make certain the conversations don’t get centered somehow on how much money Mack has, the kind of lifestyle he enjoys, anything like that.”