“Your grandmother and your uncles think you need one. And I agree. Now, whether or not it’s me is an entirely different concern.”
“I don’t have a grandmother, and I don’t have any uncles. It’s just my grandfather, Patrick, and me. You must have the wrong woman.”
“No, sweetie, he doesn’t.” Patrick entered the room carrying two cups of steaming coffee. He set them on the rolling table and engulfed his granddaughter in a long, heartfelt hug. “Thank God you’re all right. I was so scared. I thought I’d lost you.”
“Believe me, I was pretty scared, too.” She hugged him again and pushed him to arm’s length, tears running down her cheeks. She brushed them aside and studied her grandfather. “You look like you haven’t eaten in days. Have you been taking your vitamins?”
He chuckled. “God, I’ve missed you.”
Her brow wrinkled. “I take that as a no.” The next minute she was smiling, her bright blue eyes dancing, making Daniel’s heartbeat stutter then race. “That’s okay. I’ll have you back on track in no time,” she assured him.
“That’s my girl.” Patrick hugged her again and perched on the edge of the bed.
Shelby rolled her eyes at Daniel. “And who is this man? I have to say, after being bound and kept in the dark for two weeks, to wake up in the arms of a stranger wasn’t reassuring.”
“Oh, baby, what did those animals do to you?” Patrick hugged her again.
“Thankfully not much more than keeping me tied up in the dark and feeding me the nastiest bologna sandwiches and water.”
Daniel’s lips twitched. That would explain why she’d gone over the edge at the nurse’s mention of a sandwich.
Patrick sighed. “At least they didn’t hurt you more than that.” He cast a glance at Daniel. “This is Daniel Henderson, an agent with the Secret Service. He saved your life.”
Daniel almost laughed at the skeptical look she threw his way.
“It’s okay, you don’t have to thank me,” he said, his voice deceptively even, the undertones dripping with sarcasm.
“Thank you for pulling me out of there,” she said and turned toward her grandfather. “But why do I need a Secret Service agent watching over me? And what’s all this about a grandmother and uncles? Does the hospital staff have me in the wrong room?”
“Shelby, about that.” Patrick stared down at where he patted her hands in his. “There’s something I should have told you a long time ago.”
Shelby’s lips tightened and her face blanched, but she held her tongue.
Daniel had the sudden urge to pull her into his arms and shield her from what was coming next. She was so small and pale against the hospital sheets.
Her grandfather continued, delivering the news straight and free of any sugarcoating. “You have a grandmother and three uncles.”
She breathed in and out several times, pinching the bridge of her nose.
Daniel admired her for her calm and ability to take it all in without falling apart. After two weeks of captivity in a dark basement, and waking up in a hospital with the news she had more relatives and a bodyguard, Shelby had earned the right to come apart.
She asked quietly, “Since when, and why haven’t I heard of them before?”
“I didn’t think it was important before,” her grandfather said. “But when you went missing, I had to get help. The only person I knew who had enough clout and influence was Kate Winston.”
Those bright blue eyes blinked and she laughed out loud. “Kate Winston? Former vice president of the United States?”
Patrick nodded. “She’s your mother’s mother.”
Shelby’s face lost all color, and she pressed a hand to her temple. “How?”
Her grandfather chuckled. “The usual way. It happened one summer when we were teenagers, both young and stupid. Your grandmother was on vacation on the Outer Banks when we met. By the end of that summer, we thought we were in love.” He stared out the window. “Your mother was born nine months later.”
“What happened? I take it you didn’t make an honest woman out of her or I’d have known sooner about her.”
Her grandfather flinched, his jaw hardening. “I wanted to marry Kate, but she wanted nothing to do with me.”
“Why?” Shelby leaned forward and cupped her grandfather’s face. “What’s not to love?”
He covered her hand with his and pressed it against his cheek. “It was complicated.”
“Try me.”
Feeling like an outsider in a personal, family discussion, Daniel moved toward the door. “I’ll just leave you two alone.”
“No,” Patrick said at the same time Shelby said, “Please.”
A knock on the door had all three of them changing focus.
Before anyone could respond, the door slowly opened and a nurse peeked in. “Hi, I’m Lucy. Is Shelby up?” She smiled across the room. “Oh, thank goodness, you’re awake.” Still, she hesitated. “Are you up to receiving a few visitors? There are people out here who want to meet you.”
Shelby shot a glance at Daniel, her eyes wide, her fingers gripping the sheets.
Her grandfather patted her hands. “You don’t have to if you don’t want to.”
“No.” She sat up straighter. “I want to meet the woman who wanted nothing to do with you.”
“Uh, okay. I’ll let them know.” Lucy popped back out into the hallway, the door shutting behind her.
“Now, Shelby, be nice,” Patrick warned. “What happened forty years ago is in the past.”
“Yeah, but what kind of woman throws away her own child? And to think, I used to admire Kate Winston.” Shelby crossed her arms over her chest, some color returning to her pale cheeks.
Daniel knew he should leave, but his protective instinct kicked in. Having four Winstons in the same small room at one time was overwhelming, even for a healthy person. Their egos and their combined charisma could be intimidating.
Lucy opened the door and stood to the side, holding the door wide as Kate and her three sons entered.
As Daniel expected, the three towering men filled the room with their broad shoulders.
Kate walked forward, tiny in comparison. She wore a light gray skirt suit and a pale pink blouse, appearing every bit the poised politician. But when her gaze fell on Shelby, her eyes filled. “Oh, my God. I could be looking at myself as a young woman.” Tears slid silently down her cheeks. “All this time, I didn’t know.”
“If I’d had any doubts before, I don’t now. She looks just like you.” One of the men with dark brown hair and eyes the same color as his mother’s and Shelby’s pulled Kate into the crook of his arm. “Shelby, this is your grandmother, Kathleen Winston. Most people call her Kate.” He walked with Kate to the other side of the bed from where Patrick stood holding Shelby’s hand.
Shelby held out her hand. “Nice to meet you, Mrs. Winston.”
Kate ignored the hand and engulfed Shelby in a hug. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t know.”
The stricken look in Shelby’s eyes made Daniel move forward. “Perhaps we should give Ms. O’Hara some room to breathe. This is a lot for her to take in.”
Shelby muttered a soft, “Thank you.” She brushed moisture from her eyes and sniffed.
Kate straightened, tugging at the hem of her suit jacket.