A Baby for the Boss(47)

How many times over the years had he sat at this table with a plate of cookies in front of him and his mother listening to whatever problem he’d brought her? It was at this table where he’d found her crying. Where his life had taken that abrupt turn from innocence into suspicion. It was only fitting, he supposed, to be sitting at this table again while making the attempt to turn back.

So he told her about Jenny, about the baby, about Sean now knowing what happened all those years ago and how pissed his little brother was to find out he’d been lied to for years.

“What about Jenny?” his mother asked. “She’s pregnant with your child. Do you love her?”

Mike shook his head. Of course she would zero in on that part of the story. “Another good question.”

He pushed up from the table, walked to the counter, then turned around, bracing both hands on the granite countertop behind him. “But for right now, that doesn’t even matter.”

“Michael Patrick Ryan,” his mother said, drawing a reflexive wince from her son, “love is all that matters.”

“How can you say that, Mom, when—” He shook his head. “When you were cheated on. Lied to.”

“That’s it. I’ve had enough.” Peggy stood up, pointed at the kitchen table and ordered, “Sit down. I’ll be right back.”

He did as instructed mainly because he was too tired to keep standing. If he didn’t get some sleep soon, he’d go through life a zombie.

When his mother came back, she was dragging his father with her. Jack’s hair was messy and he was trying to button his shirt as he was pulled in his wife’s wake. And suddenly, Mike knew exactly what his parents had been doing when he dropped by. And yeah, he’d rather not think about that. Didn’t matter how old you got, nobody wanted to imagine their parents having sex.

Mike stiffened and he noticed that Jack Ryan did the same. His father was an older version of himself, with sharp blue eyes, and a sprinkling of gray at his temples. The two of them were still so uncomfortable with each other over something that had happened twenty years before. But damned if Mike knew how to get past it, get over it.

“Both of you sit down right now,” Peggy said and crossed her arms over her chest until her men complied. Then she looked from her husband to her son before saying softly, “Mike, I’ve tried to talk to you about this before, but you never wanted to listen. I could have made you hear me out, but your father wouldn’t allow that.” She spared Jack a glance and a smile. “He wanted you to come to us yourself when you were ready. Frankly, I thought it would never happen.”

“Mom...”

“I never should have burdened you with what I felt that day,” Peggy said. “But you came home early from practice and found me, crying, and somehow it all came out. And I hope you know that if I could wipe it from your mind, I would.”

“I know all that, Mom—” He shot a look at his father, who looked every bit as uncomfortable as he felt. “We don’t have to talk about it again.”

“That’s the problem,” Peggy said, pulling out a chair and taking a cookie that she began to crumble between her fingers. “We’ve never talked about it.” Her gaze softened as she looked at Mike. Then she took her husband’s hand and threaded her fingers through his. “Mike, you were just a little boy, so you don’t remember, but back then, your dad’s business was in trouble.”

Jack picked up the thread and Mike looked at his father as he spoke. “It’s not an excuse but we were under a lot of pressure and instead of talking to each other about it—” he paused and smiled sadly at his wife “—we each closed down, shut each other out.”

“We were wrong. We handled it all badly. But it takes two to make or break a marriage, Mike. So you were wrong to blame only your father all these years. We both made mistakes. We both nearly lost something most people never find.”

Mike heard them, saw how together they were on this, but he couldn’t let go. Turning to face his father, he said quietly, “You lied. You cheated.”

“I did lie,” Jack said. “I was hurt, worried about my family. Feeling like a damn failure and as if I were alone in the mess and missing your mother because we weren’t talking to each other anymore.”

“Oh, Jack...”

He squeezed her hand and then looked at Mike again. “I did lie, I give you that. And I cheated, too, I guess, but not the way you mean.”

“What?”

Jack sighed. “The woman your mother heard about—I did take her to dinner. We talked. She listened to me, laughed at my jokes, made me feel important.” He shook his head. “Stupid. It was stupid, but I didn’t sleep with her, Mike.” Jack’s gaze met his son’s squarely. “I never touched another woman from the day I married your mother.”