mother shook her head. “No. I forgave your father for purely selfish reasons. I didn’t want to live without him.”
“Even knowing he hadn’t been honest with you?” The question struck at the heart of what he couldn’t grasp. “What assurance did you have that he wouldn’t lie again?”
“None.” His mother cocked her head. “I went on faith.”
“That’s it?” Damn it. The answer to such a complex problem couldn’t be that simple. “After everything that happened you didn’t want a guarantee?”
“What assurance do you have that someone will love you forever or that they ever intended to keep vows they made? ‘Til death do us part. How many people believe in that anymore? The vows should say, ‘’til we’re no longer willing to work on our marriage.’”
His mother’s pragmatism left Max momentarily speechless.
“But you and Dad just renewed your vows. Why did you do that if you didn’t believe in them?”
“Did I say I didn’t believe in them? I took my vows to your father very seriously.” She handed him a slice of cheese. “And just so you know, it was his idea to renew our vows. It’s taken us a lot of work to get to where we are today. But I can say with confidence that your father and I are more in love and more committed to each other than we were the day we got married.”
Max chewed on the cracker and pondered his mother’s words.
He loved Rachel. There was no sense in denying it any longer. Her stubborn need to reject all outside help had given him the excuse he needed to hide from the truth in his heart. No matter how many secrets she kept from him, she wasn’t deceitful because she was a bad person. She merely struggled to trust anyone. And after what she’d been through, could he blame her? He had his own issues with trust.
“Is this about that woman you brought to the party?” his mother asked, stepping into the silence. “I liked her very much.” Her lips curved in a wry grin. “I got the distinct impression you did, as well. You two left here early enough.”
Max felt a little like a teenager caught in the backseat of the car with a half-naked girl. “We’ve been seeing each other for a few weeks.”
“And she’s important to you.”
“Yes.”
“But there’s a problem of trust between you?”
“We met five years ago. She was married at the time, although I didn’t find that out until after we …” He paused, groping for a delicate way to put it.
His mother played with her diamond tennis bracelet. “Spent some time together naked?” While he regarded her in dismay, she chuckled. “Oh, I wish you could see the look on your face right now.”
Max dove back into the story. “I was so angry when I found out. With everything that happened with Dad you know I wouldn’t have gotten involved with her if I’d known.” Or would he? The chemistry between them had been hot and all consuming. Would he have walked away if she’d told him up front that she was in an unhappy marriage?
“She’s divorced now, I take it.”
“For four years. When we met, she didn’t tell me she was married. I found out when her husband showed up to bring her home.”
“And you overreacted because you’ve always taken issue with your father for cheating on me. If you love her, you can’t continue to punish her for mistakes she made.”
“I don’t want to punish her.” But wasn’t his inability to trust her just as detrimental to their relationship?
“If you can’t forgive her, you might have to give up and let her go.”
But his mother hadn’t given up and Max needed to know why. “Why didn’t you leave?”
“Some things are worth fighting for. Your father was one of them.”
“Even after he’d lied to you and had an affair?”
“Not just an affair,” she told him, her voice and eyes steady. “He loved Marissa. I don’t know why he never left me for her.”
Max’s temper simmered at the old hurts. “You didn’t ask?”
“It was enough that he stayed.”
He remembered those days. His mother had been depressed and on the verge of tears much of the time. Max hadn’t understood what was happening between his parents until Nathan appeared, but he’d been mad as hell at his dad for upsetting his mom.
Max still didn’t understand his mother’s ability to forgive his father. Sure, she loved him and wanted to keep her family together, but she wasn’t bitter or angry about the past. It was as if she understood she needed to let it go in order to be happy in the future.
“And he promised it would never happen again,” his mother continued.
“You believed him?”
“Yes.” She lifted her hand and showed off the five carat diamond ring Brandon had bought to renew their vows. “And we’re still married because I did.”
“I’m not sure I have it in me to forgive Dad.”
“I wish you would. Hanging on to the past isn’t healthy. You’ve let what happened between your father and me keep you from falling in love and getting married. Rachel seemed like a lovely woman. I can’t imagine that you would care for her if she wasn’t wonderful. Forgive them both. I think you’ll find doing so will set you free.”
“I’ll think about it,” Max muttered, but even as he said the words, he felt himself resist.
Rachel hadn’t wanted to interrupt Hailey at work, but she desperately needed to talk to her sister. She called Hailey and invited her to dinner. Then, she went to the grocery store and bought what she needed to make their father’s famous pan-fried grouper.
The domestic routine soothed her. She’d been rushing around so much these last few weeks, between her business and Max’s office, fitting in a couple hours to cook and eat a meal hadn’t been a priority.
It was time she slowed down.
By six o’clock when Hailey arrived, Rachel had made a mess of the kitchen but had fun doing it.
“Whoa. What’s with this? You’re cooking?” Hailey dropped her purse on the small breakfast table and surveyed the mess Rachel had made. She wrinkled her nose at the spilled flour, puddles of buttermilk and the array of spices and bowls that occupied every square inch of countertop. “Now I remember why I took over cooking. You are a disaster in the neatness department.”
“Don’t I always clean up when I’m done? Get changed and come open a bottle of wine.”
“I’ll be right back.”
Only a twinge of guilt pinched Rachel as she directed her sister to the bottle in the refrigerator.
Hailey pulled it out and peered at the label. “Champagne? What are we celebrating?”
“I had some good news today.”
“A new client?” Hailey worked off the foil and pried at the cork.
“Better.” Rachel waited until her sister was fully engaged in wiggling the cork free before she unloaded her bombshell. “Max paid off Brody.”
The bottle jerked. The cork shot out with a loud pop and dented the ceiling. Hailey stared at Rachel with her mouth open as foam flowed down the side of the bottle onto the floor.
“He did?”
“Any idea how Max found out that Brody was hassling me about money?”
“I told him.” Hailey looked one part anxious and one part resolute. “Are you mad?”
Damn