Raining In My Heart (Book One of the McKay's) (5 page)

"Thanks
.
"
Wendy
acted as though
guilty for not greeting her sister properly, but words seemed to fail her for the moment.
She had been stiff in
Julie
's arms and so
Julie
knew she was indulging her.

Julie
smiled at her
.
"It's been a while, hasn't it?"

"Yes, it has
.
"
Wendy
managed a small smile.
"A little too long."

"Too bad it's under these circumstances,"
Julie
inserted, glancing around the room at two men who occupied the huge
McKay
desk and one man who sat in the far corner, watching,
Wade
.

Silent, good looking, always in control,
Wade
.

However, she saw him in a different light today. Today he was tough, good looking, but not at all a temptation for her. And instinctively she knew she could tell the difference in
Wade
and Cade now. Maybe it was the authoritative way
Wade
wore his hat, the stubborn set to
Wade
's chin, or the cold eyes that never held the warmth that Cade's had, she wasn't sure.
Anyone l
oving
Wade
had their job cut out for them,
Julie
smiled inwardly.

Just from the corner of her eye, she saw the magnificent build of a man who worked in the sun all day, tanned by nature,
a furrowing
brow, and eyes like a summer sky
. Yet cold and unseeing eyes too
.
The difference in his hair and eyes made his features stand out like perfection
, but then his twin brother had the same great looks and she had to admit a much better personality
.

She didn't look directly at him to know it was
Wade
, but she knew.
His silence said everything she needed to know from him.
Nothing had changed, and for the first time in her life,
Julie
was glad.

Not that she was under any impression it might. She knew what to expect from
Wade
.

"
Wade
,"
Julie
acknowledged, barely looking at him.
The temptation to see those blue eyes once more had her head raising to meet his gaze. It was a mistake. God
,
one look into those cold blue eyes and his piercing stare told her he could
no longer melt
her
with
a glance. Blatantly, there was nothing between them, either of them.
Julie
doubted
Wade
had ever been in love.

"
Miss
Julie
.
"
Wade
tipped his finger to his Stetson.

Julie
found a seat on the soft leather sofa and sat down, crossing her l
egs and looking up at everyone, e
veryone but
Wade
. She couldn't handle it as well as she thought she could.
After all these years, he sti
ll seemed so removed from her and her sisters
.
How could
she
have fallen so hard for him?

"I received a letter to be here,
and
Cade
called,
or I wouldn't be, of course.
I'd planned to drive out tonight and stay in town
'til
the funeral.
"

"Stay in town?
But this is your home, why wouldn't you stay here?"
Sandy
insisted.

"Well, I didn't really know who all was here and what might be taking place, so I didn't want to intrude
,
" Julie exclaimed.
"It's been a while since I've been home.
I figured you'd all be married by now.
"

The
unassuming
man behind the
huge
desk stood up and came around to stand in front of her.
Julie
almost laughed at the contrast in the men in the room, but it didn't take height to measure a man, she'd learned that early on.
"Yes, I sent the letter.
Your father wanted you all here.
No easy feat since the only one living here at the time was
Wendy
. But he wanted you here, and I'm complying with his every wish.
So there were no secrets from any of you."

"Good ole
D
ad, he always was fair about things,"
Julie
murmured.

"I'm
Seth
Wymer
, your father's attorney
,
"
h
e introduced himself with a big smile and extended his hand.

Julie
grasped it and nodded.
"I've heard
D
ad mention you.
I think I even remember meeting you once, but I was pretty young then.
"

"When you signed the adoption papers, I believe."

"Now that everyone is here, we can begin."

Seth
glanced around t
he room, and with a faded smile he
added, "I'm terribly sorry about the circumstances which brings us all to this point. Tomorrow
you will lay
George
into the gro
und, and I only wish….well, anyway. Let's get on with this.
I was very close to your father for many years, and it isn't a pleasant experience to preside at the reading of the will.
My assistant,
Mr.
Ramsey
,
has all the details laid out of the will.
It's a simpl
e will, made in his own words, signed by him personally, t
o be carried out to the letter.
"

Mr.
Ramsey
nodded and stood up, a little man, with a birdlike quality to him,
Julie
noted.
But his demeano
r was all business.

"I
,
George
Bennett
McKay
,
being of sound mind…"

Julie
cringed.
The words seemed to echo in her head, bringing home the fact that her father was no longer a part of this giant ranch.
Julie
's glance fell on a bust of
John
Wayne
,
nearly knocking it over. As she straightened and moved the bust, she smiled
;
her father had purchased
it
at a
n
auction she had attended with him
. Her father had thought so much of the actor, he had collected many things through the years, but that bust was his pride and joy.
Julie
had nearly knocked it over and busted it when she was twelve
;
her father gave
Julie
her last spanking. She smiled. No more spankings, scoldings or reprimands.
The fact that
George
McKay
had died just now seemed to sink in.
She hadn't even allowed herself to think of the word, death.
And the reality of his leaving met
Julie
squarely.
She silently wished he was here to spank her once more.
She suddenly fought to hold the tears at bay.
She'd ignored the letter Letty had sent. She barely acknowledged the obituary.
But now, faced with a will, it all sunk in and no matter how hard
Julie
had tried to squash her feelings for the man, they didn't stay squashed.
Plain and simple
,
she had loved him.

There was something
so final about this reading, a
nd
Julie
felt her throat constrict several times to push down the tears that threatened to make a fool of her.
Would anyone here believe how desperately she loved her father? It seemed the only one that might was
Cade
.

Recalling his call to her to inform her of her father's demise, the gentle tone he'd used, the compassion in his words sent a strange red flag through her.
After all that had happened Cade still showed compassion. More than she ever expected.

And
Wendy
, wow, what a cold shoulder she had given, and
Julie
not expecting that either.

She shrugged the feelings away.

But here, in her father's
den, with his daughters around her, she suddenly realized just how much she had lo
ved that old man
with his uneven temper and at times uneven love
. She'd been four
-
years
-
old when she first met
George
Bennett
McKay
. He towered over her so, but he didn't hesitate to pick her up and cradle her in his arms. He played with her as a child, and took care of her when her mother got sick.
Even after remarrying a year later, he still continued to treat her just like the others.
But above everything else, he'd given
Julie
a name she could be proud of and that mattered to
Julie
, both then and now.
That was his greatest gift to her, and the only one she needed.

"It is my humble wish to admit something before the rest of the will is read.
So you will all understand."
Ramsey
cleared his throat and glanced up at
Julie
, who'd gone quite gray.

"I met Mary Summers,
Julie
's
mom during my tour of service in the Army. We had a fling.
Well, more than a fling.
I fell
madly
in love with her sweetness, but I was only on lea
ve and due back to my station.
Our love affair wasn't practical, but it was true nonetheless.
We talked about everything during those t
wo days together, our families,
our hopes
,
our dreams.
I never knew that during that time I had gotten her pregnant.
My mind was on a military career at the time. I couldn't see anything permanent in our future together.

"
I told
Mary
at the time there was someone back home, but
that
I wasn't in love with her. Georgina could be co
ld and distant, but our families
sort of expected us to get married.
Mary
seemed to accept the fact that we on
ly had those two days together, a
beautiful thing that looking back I almost wonder why she so completely accepted those two days.
And although I regretted leaving her, loving her, I was obligated at home.

"
I never lied to
Mary
;
she took me at face value.
Mary
understood completely and had vowed to never fall for a soldier, little good that did. But
we had agreed it would be best not to stay in touch until the tour of duty was over.
After all, we'd gone into the relationship with our eyes open.
We thought we were being very adult about it.
Meanwhile
,
I'd married Letty's mom
, Georgina
,
about six months later
, and she was pregnant by th
e time I got out of the service, since I'd been home a time or two in between.

"
Georgina
was not a coun
try woman
, at least not at heart, she'd been raised in the country but she sought a much higher level of life
and she left before I could explain about
Mary
.
As time had passed I really wanted to explain about
Mary
.
When Ge
orgina
left, I filed for divorce and went to get
Mary
.
For
Mary
was truly my love, my heart.
My first love.
It was then I learned we had a daughter together. I couldn't believe my good fortune, for aside from my work, children were a dream for me. I wanted lots of children.