The Bachelor's Brighton Valley Bride (Return to Brighton Valley) (15 page)

Tyler simply scuffed the toe of his sneaker along the worn
carpet.

Clay tried a different approach. “You know, Tyler, I’m really
sorry about everything that went down between me and your mom. A lot of it is
grown-up stuff, and I can’t expect you to understand. But I never meant to lie
to her or to any of you about who I was.”

“So then why did you? I would have liked you just fine if you
would have told us that you were
the
Clay
Jenkins.”

“See, that’s thing. I didn’t want people liking me just because
I was Clay Jenkins.”

“Why?”

“Because when you have a lot of money or a lot of power,
sometimes people treat you differently and don’t always act like themselves. I
just wanted people to think I was normal.”

“I guess that makes sense. Sometimes I wish I could pretend I
was someone else so people would treat me like I was normal, too.”

“But, Tyler, you’re
not
normal.
You’re ten times
better
than normal. I think you’re
great. And I bet if your dad were here, he’d think you’re pretty great, too. So
if you still want to find him, I’ll help you.” It killed Clay to say it, but the
kid deserved to find out for himself, no matter how disastrous it could end up.
And hell, maybe Tyler would be one of the lucky ones. Maybe Todd had learned to
value others, especially his family....

No, that wasn’t very likely.

“Nah,” Tyler said. “I’m kinda over all that. I was looking at
some stuff online and there was this blog that said it takes more than DNA to be
a real dad. And I would rather have no dad at all then have some guy who ditches
his family.”

“I wish that when I was twenty, I knew half the stuff you know
now. You are one smart kid.”

“Smart enough that you’ll let me look at that PC on the
workshop counter over there?” Tyler said, hope filling his eyes.

“I’ll tell you what, if you can fix that old PC, I’ll buy you a
jumbo cotton candy at the Fourth of July Festival.”

Tyler smiled and stuck out his right hand. “A jumbo cotton
candy
and
a new Geekon500 of my very own—and then
you’ve got a deal.”

* * *

From the moment Megan and the kids had unloaded their
truck and begun to set up her display table at the festival, Tyler had started
scanning the crowd, and she’d known who he’d been looking for.

Clay.

The boy hadn’t stopped mentioning the man since they’d driven
home from Lisa’s game the other night. If she had to hear another word about the
new computers Clay had donated to the school or how he’d promised Tyler that he
could come into Zorba’s a few times a week to help with repairs or about the new
bleachers that were being erected at the community center gymnasium, she would
scream.

Well, not really. She knew Clay was a generous man. She didn’t
need her son, Caroline, Sally, the mayor and even the Franco sisters singing his
praises every time she turned around, which they all had. But being a generous
and an upstanding citizen didn’t take away from the fact that he’d lied to her
about who he was.

Unlike Todd, whose lies had masked a selfish, deceitful man,
Clay’s lies had masked a kind, generous heart.

But that didn’t change the fact that he hadn’t needed to lie to
her or to perpetuate it more than a few days. He could have trusted her with his
secret.

And worse, he’d seduced her while pretending to be someone
else.

Megan had no more than set up her booth when Lisa asked for
permission to play on the soccer field with a group of her friends. Since Megan
knew the other mother overseeing the children, she agreed.

“Hey, Mom,” Tyler said, “I’m going with the guys to walk around
and check out some of the other booths. Okay?”

Megan looked around to see which guys Tyler was referring to
and noticed a couple of boys she recognized from his summer enrichment
program—one tall and overweight, the other thin and gangly like Tyler. They both
looked as though they’d be more comfortable reading books and tapping away at
laptops than they would be on the soccer field. And she realized that her son
had finally found friends he could relate to, boys with the same interests he
had.

She probably had Clay to thank for that, as well. Not only had
he provided her son with bragging rights because he’d hung out with and worked
with the world-famous computer entrepreneur Clay Jenkins, but he’d also helped
boost Tyler’s self-esteem.

Clay had been great with both of her children, as well as
Pancho—and the kids were crazy about him.

Even if she were ready to forgive him, the fact remained that
they were worlds apart, and that there could never be anything lasting between
them.

It wasn’t until later in the afternoon, when the kids were
helping her dismantle her empty booth, that she gave up hope of seeing Clay. He
clearly wasn’t coming to the festival, and Megan was surprised that the knot of
anger that had been cycling in her belly was being replaced with
disappointment.

“Looks like you sold out again, Megan.”

She recognized Don Carpenter’s voice and turned in surprise to
see him and his wife, Cindy, standing there holding a blanket.

“Hi, you two.” She smiled warmly, glad to see the couple out
and about around town. “You’re both looking better and better each time I see
you. How are you feeling?”

“Great. We just got back from a trip to San Antonio. Cindy
finished her chemo, and the doctors are very optimistic. And I’m back to
fighting weight.” Don patted his ample belly. “In fact, my bride just told me it
was high time I got back to the shop and stopped driving her crazy at home.”

Megan laughed, but she envied the loving, caring glances that
passed between the couple. That was what marriage was about. Being with someone
who loved you and who would always look out for you, no matter what.

“It’s good to hear that everything is getting back to normal.”
She didn’t come out and say it, but with Don returning to work, that meant Clay
would be leaving. And the sooner he did, the quicker her broken heart would
mend.

“It’ll be better than normal,” Don said. “Thanks to Geekon
Enterprises, we won’t have a single medical bill to pay—or any bills, for that
matter. And the shop is now in better shape than ever.”

“That’s wonderful.” And really, it was.

No one deserved it more than the Carpenters, and Megan had to
acknowledge that if it weren’t for Clay, things could have ended much, much
worse.

Chalk up another point for the guy. He was definitely digging
his way out of that deceitful hole he’d dug for himself. Well, not completely.
But it wasn’t nearly as deep as it once had been.

“Anyway, I’m happy you were able to make it to the festival,
even though I think most of the vendors are winding down and closing up
shop.”

“That’s okay,” Don said. “We didn’t come to buy anything. We
came for the fireworks.”

“That’s right.” Cindy slipped her arm through his. “We never
miss them.”

“Oh, but didn’t you guys hear? They’re not having the fireworks
show this year.”

“Actually, they weren’t going to have them.” Don lowered his
voice to a whisper. “But an anonymous donor came through at the last minute, so
the show is back on.”

Lisa and Tyler, who’d just shoved the last empty crates into
the back of the old farm truck Megan usually used only out on the orchard and at
the farmers’ market, shouted in unison, “Yes!”

“Can we go, Mom?” Lisa begged.

“Please.” Tyler batted his eyes and clasped his hands.

Megan knew exactly who the donor had been. It couldn’t have
been anyone else. And it had been nice of Clay to do it, but if he wasn’t
careful, he’d have every charity case in East Texas shaking him down for
favors.

Was that why he’d kept his identity a secret? To keep everyone
from hitting him up for donations?

Megan hated to admit it, but she almost felt sorry for the
guy.

“Okay, kids, let’s get this stuff home and we’ll come back for
the fireworks.”

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” Cindy said. “The parking
lots are already full. They’re having a concert in the park beforehand, and
people brought picnic baskets and plan to stay. You should probably leave your
truck here and get over to the park so you can find a good spot.”

Megan thanked the Carpenters and sent them on their way. After
securing everything in the truck, she dug around for one of the old quilts she
used as a tablecloth from her booth display. She put Lisa in charge of finding
the jackets and gave Tyler some cash to go over to the Kiwanis Club’s food booth
to buy them some homemade fried chicken and biscuits for a picnic dinner.

By the time they made it to the park, they had to step around a
sea of blankets and folding chairs and small children before they could find a
small square of grass to claim.

Megan sent the kids after lemonade from the stand with the
smallest line while she unpacked their food. She’d just spread everything out
when they returned—with an extra cup and an extra guest.

Clay.

“Look who’s here,” Lisa said, nearly spilling her lemonade in
her excitement. “It’s Mr. Johnson. I mean Peyton. I mean...” She bit down on her
lip and gazed up at him. “What’s your name again?”

“Maybe we should just all start over. Let me introduce myself.
I’m Clay Jenkins. And I’d really like for you to call me Clay instead of Mr.
Jenkins.”

He looked better than ever, wearing jeans and boots and a dark
blue T-shirt. She’d never seen him so casual before and if she hadn’t known
better, she’d think that he looked just like any other Brighton Valley local—one
who was drop dead gorgeous, of course.

“Down in front,” someone yelled at Clay, who was standing up,
blocking the stage from the view of the people behind them.

“Please.” Megan gestured toward the quilt. “Do you want to join
us?”

“Thanks.” As he knelt, she rearranged the food to make space
for him.

“Here, Mom.” Tyler handed her two cups. “Can you watch our
drinks while we head over to see Mrs. Caroline and Sheriff Sam?”

“Don’t you guys want to eat?” Megan asked, wishing they
wouldn’t leave her alone with the man who still made her pulse beat like
crazy.

“Nah,” Lisa said. “We had corn dogs earlier. And Mrs. Caroline
said she and the sheriff would buy us cotton candy if we came and sat with
them.”

The kids took off running before Megan could even give them
permission to go.

So that was the way of things. Her older friends had plotted to
get her and Clay alone—and it had worked.

“I heard about your jam deal,” Clay said.
“Congratulations.”

She’d told only the kids and Caroline, so she wasn’t sure where
he’d heard it. But that was what happened in small towns. People talked, and
news spread like warm butter. “It was just an offer. And I really don’t know any
of the details yet.”

If things were different, if Clay and she... Well, she’d love
to take him to Dallas with her to that meeting. As it was, she’d have to go
alone. Either way, she’d have an attorney look over the paperwork before she
signed anything. She was a long way from having a “jam deal.”

When it seemed as though there was nothing else to say—other
than bringing up his big lie—she moved on to a safer topic. “The band is really
good.”

“Uh-huh.” He shifted so that they were side by side and could
both watch the lead singer.

“Almost too good,” she added.

“What do you mean?”

“It’s a classic-rock cover band. Normally, most of the bands
that play at these local events are strictly country and western. Plus, I’ve
never seen a band with this much talent play in Brighton Valley. It’s almost as
though someone with connections arranged for it....” She let her comment hang in
the air.

“What can I say? I’ve developed a strong hankering for
classic-rock music. It reminds me of you.”

Apparently, he’d also developed a hankering for using words
like
hankering.

She was touched by his gesture, but that didn’t mean he planned
to stick around.

He glanced her way, and the lift of her eyebrow must have
conveyed her doubts to him, because he reached for her hand.

She flinched from his touch, from the warmth, from the sizzle,
but she didn’t pull away.

“Seriously, Megan. I’m sorry for not telling you who I was
sooner and I’m sorry that Todd ‘A-hole’ Redding was a jerk, and that he did a
real number on you in the trust department.”

“You’re right about Todd. He came across as a nice guy, but he
wasn’t.”

“I never thought of him as nice. Remember when I told you that
I’d been bullied? Todd was the quarterback who made my life miserable in high
school. So when I heard that he was your ex-husband, I was stunned—to say the
least.”

“Is that why you withdrew from me after we came home from
Houston?”

“Yes, in part. And also because you told me how you felt about
liars, when I was just about to confess that I’d deceived you. I’m not very good
when it comes to communicating.”

“I thought you regretted making love.”

Clay reached for her hand. “Are you serious? Not for a single
moment. I never regretted that.”

So he hadn’t been ready to ditch her, to toss her aside?

“I may have deceived you about my true identity, Megan. But I’m
not a liar. And I’m not Todd. I love you. And I love the kids. I want us to be a
family.”

Now she was the one who was stunned. He loved her?

“Ever since the first day I arrived in town and saw you
cleaning the apartment while singing that Fleetwood Mac song, I haven’t been
able to get you off my mind.”

“You got all that from a Fleetwood Mac song?” Megan knew her
response sounded silly, but he’d surprised her once again, and with her emotions
buzzing, it was all she could get out.