Family for Keeps & Sadie's Hero Read Online Free PDF Page B

house.
    A petite woman with gray hair opened the door before Mac could reach around Tess and put his hand on the knob. “I was beginning to think I’d have to send Steve out to get you.”
    “Mom, not everyone is here yet.”
    “But still, I wanted some time to get to know your friend before the rest of the horde descend.”
    With that declaration Tess found herself being studied by Mac’s mother’s sharp gaze, much like her son’s.
    “As you’ve probably surmised, this woman is my mother, Alice MacPherson. Mom, this is Tess Morgan.”
    Tess shook Alice’s hand. “Pleased to meet you.”
    “The pleasure is all mine. When Peter called to tell me he was bringing a date, I was frankly very interested. Ever since Sheila—”
    “Mom, where’s Amy? I want Tess to meet my daughter.”
    “She’s in the den with her cousins.”
    “I’ll be back in a sec. I can trust you, Mom, not to say anything too outrageous while I’m gone.”
    “Why, son, never.” Alice signaled for Tess to precede her into the living room. “I’ll just get acquainted with your lady friend while you’re gone. Take all the time in the world getting Amy. We’ll be just fine, Peter,” Alice called as she winked at Tess. “I wager he’ll be gone no more than a minute, if that long.” Alice gestured toward the couch. “Are you from Denver?”
    “No, I grew up in Maine but after my parents died, I decided on a change of scenery.” Tess sat on the couch across from Mac’s mother, feeling as though she were being interviewed by a pro and determined not to mention the year she’d spent in the Peace Corps in South America. That might lead to questions she didn’t want to answer.
    “I must warn you, in a moment this place will be chaotic. Do you have any brothers and sisters?”
    Tess’s chest felt tight. She drew in a fortifying breath and answered, “No.” She had always wanted a lot of brothers and sisters. She was completely alone in the world. There had been a time when she had wanted a large family with Kevin. Now that wasn’t possible, but the empty ache still hurt.
    “Well, Tess, I’m not sure you missed out on anything,” Mac said as he joined them in the living room, carrying an adorable-looking little girl in his arms. She had huge brown eyes and dark hair. “As the big brother, I have to put up with a lot of nonsense.”
    “Oh, sure, you think you’re the only one who has suffered.” Justin entered the room with another young man. “Steve, you tell our big brother how we have to constantly live up to his legend. It’s very hard to at times.”
    “Justin, be kind to your older brother,” Alice said with a laugh.
    “Yeah, bro.” Mac put Amy down and watched as his little girl walked to Tess.
    Amy cocked her head, her brow knitted, and asked, “Who are you?”
    “I’m Tess Morgan, a friend of your father’s.” The second she said the word friend she felt Mac’s smug glance touch her face and wished she could stop her cheeks from flaming scarlet just with the thought of the man looking at her. She must learn to control her reaction to him.
    “Daddy has a lot of friends,” Amy announced, then wandered to her grandmother and sat next to her.
    Tess was trying to decide what the little girl meant by friends when another man came into the room, quickly followed by a young woman. Suddenly the room was filled with people of various ages, from a baby to Mac’s mother. Tess felt inundated. The people were all interested in her, kidding each other and enjoying the moment. By the time everyone had introduced themselves, Tess counted fifteen people. She was never good at names, so she found herself reviewing their names as she listened to the conversation flowing around her.
    Mac walked behind the couch and leaned over. “I have something I’d like to show you before dinner.”
    She smiled. “Those etchings finally?”
    His chuckle was low, meant only for her. “Not here. Never any privacy. It’s something