The Mahoney Sisters

“That’s that,” he said into the airspace between the front and back seats. The driver gave him a quick glance in the rearview mirror and then returned his attention to the road as he realized Matt wasn’t speaking to him.

Exhausted, Matt slouched back against the leather seat and pulled at his silk tie, loosening its stranglehold around his neck. A tangle of frustration, disappointment, anger, all rolled into a lead ball in his stomach, nauseating him.

Leaning his head back against the seat, he closed his burning eyes. He refused tears. Refused to regret his decision. It was the only choice he could have made. The right choice.

Still, he had to wonder how a life that had been so carefully planned could have ended up so off-course. By now he should have been married with two or three kids of his own, should be six weeks away from accepting his party’s nomination for Senate, and only a few months from the next step in his destiny: Capitol Hill, the springboard to the Oval Office.

Backtracking in his mind, he could see that everything started going sour the day Raven Mahoney returned to school after attending her mother’s funeral. He should have gone with her to her hometown of Briarwood, Missouri, in the first place, but she’d insisted it was something she had to do on her own. Her stubbornness was never more evident than when she was trying to prove she didn’t need anyone to lean on. He scowled.

He’d watched her career evolve through the years as a reporter and weekend anchor for Channel 23. She grew more beautiful by the day, it seemed. His throat tightened with longing. No matter how many women he’d dated over the years, he couldn’t get Raven out of his mind. No one measured up, and any relationship he entered into ended within months.

He clenched his fists, still able to feel the prick of the diamond against the soft flesh of his palm when she’d broken their engagement. Maybe it would have been easier to accept…easier to move on…if only she’d told him why.

For the first time in his life, he’d been helpless to achieve his goal. Never had he felt such pain as when he watched Raven walk away from him. He’d hoped she’d glance back, knowing if she did, he could go after her and bring her back to him. But she squared her shoulders, kept her head erect, and never so much as slowed her steps as she walked out of sight.

When he’d spotted her on the local news, it had been all he could do to refrain from picking up the phone. But she’d made it pretty clear he wasn’t the man for her. So he left her alone, but found himself watching her left hand for signs she might be engaged or married. So far, so good.

“Do you want to go in through the main gate, Mr. Strong? Or should I keep going?”

Matthew glanced at his driver, and then out the window. The gate in front of his family home was thick with reporters. “No. Drive on by. We’ll circle for a while. Maybe they’ll get tired and go away. If not, I’ll stay at a hotel.”

They drove the streets of Kansas City until dark, stopping only once at a drive-through. The greasy burger and fries sat heavily in Matthew’s stomach as he tried to pray for wisdom. Peace. How long would it take for all of this to blow over and for the media to lose interest? Not soon enough for his comfort. In the meantime, how would he keep his sister and Jamie away from public scrutiny?

Chapter Two

Raven closed the back driver’s-side door of her red SUV and searched the wad of keys in her hand for the one to the ignition. She glanced at her glowing digital watch with grim satisfaction. Ten minutes after midnight. At this time of night, traffic would be practically nonexistent. She’d be home in four hours.

“I still think you should wait until morning.”

Forcing a smile, she turned to Mac. “I’m wide awake. And this way I’ll miss daytime traffic.”

Mac sighed and shrugged. “I don’t suppose I can force you to do as I say anymore. But be careful and call me as soon as you get to your house—no matter the time. I won’t sleep until you’re home safe and sound anyway. Lock your doors and don’t stop for anyone. Not even flashing red lights. Never know if some sicko bought a strobe light just to fool pretty girls.”

“I promise,” Raven said around a sudden lump in her throat. It felt nice to have someone concerned about her.

As if sensing her mood, Mac opened his arms. She hesitated only a second before surrendering to his familiar embrace.

“I love you, Raven, my sweet girl. You will meet us at the cabin for the fall barbecue, right?”

“I’ll try, Dad. Just depends on how busy I am at work.”

“Well, you’ve got three months to think about it. And make plans.”

Raven pulled out of his arms and opened the driver’s-side door. She rolled down the window as Mac stepped up for a final goodbye.

“I don’t mean to push you, honey. I just miss my girl, that’s all. It’s like pulling teeth to get you home for a visit.”

“I know. I’m sorry. But I’m a busy career woman. When you’re married to your job, it takes a lot of TLC to keep the relationship alive.” She forced a grin in an attempt to lighten the situation.

Mac looked at her with sad eyes. Another sigh escaped his lips. He leaned in and pressed a kiss to her forehead through the open window. “I just can’t help but think there’s more to it than just your work.”

“Like what?” Raven asked, shrugging with a nonchalance she hoped he interpreted as her way of saying he was being silly to even think there was a problem.

“I don’t know, honey. You tell me.”

Raven kissed his cheek and then fired up the SUV. “You’re just being paranoid, Dad. Nothing’s wrong except that that ten-year-old, Kellie Cruise, is about to sashay in and get my job if I can’t talk Matt into an exclusive interview.”

A scowl marred his features, but his eyes gentled with acceptance. Raven knew he was letting her go without more argument, advice or admonishment. And she appreciated the gesture. He patted her cheek, then walked around to the sidewalk where he stood with his hands inside his pockets.

A blue economy car whizzed by just as she started to pull away from the curb. She slammed on her brakes to avoid getting sideswiped. “Nice driving, buddy!” she hollered after the retreating car.

“Great way to start the trip,” she grumbled.

As she drove away, Raven glanced in the rearview mirror. The streetlight illuminated Mac’s position. He stared after her, his shoulders slumped. A twinge of dismay stung her heart and she gripped the steering wheel until her fingers ached. They would eventually have to talk, but not today. First she had to deal with Matt. Seeing his face plastered across the screen and hearing his strong, deep voice make his announcement had filled her with a sense of what might have been between them. And along with nostalgia, the pain of Mom’s funeral had crested once more on a tide of buried memories.

How different might her life have been if that drunk driver hadn’t plowed into Mom’s car, killing her instantly? For one thing, Raven wouldn’t have discovered the truth about her paternity. Life would have continued as it was projected to go. Marriage to Matthew. Two-point-five kids. Ignorance would have been bliss. Knowledge had darkened the bright light of hope for the future—a future with Matthew. Everything had changed.

Releasing a sigh, she pressed the accelerator with her toe and the SUV picked up speed, heading north on US 63.

Her eyelids grew heavy an hour later listening to Frank Sinatra’s silky-smooth crooning, and she stopped at a twenty-four-hour quick stop along the highway to grab a cup of coffee. She grimaced. The black brew smelled as if it had probably been sitting there since the afternoon before. The clerk gave her a guilty look and pronounced it “no charge.”

A blast of sultry summer air lifted strands of Raven’s sleek black hair off her neck as she exited the convenience store. A motor revved to her left and she turned in time to see a familiar blue car drive away from the parking lot. Familiar from where?

Visions of the back of that car haunted her, keeping her mind busy while she drove the rest of the way to Kansas City. She pulled into her drive and dialed her dad—per his express instructions, no matter what time she arrived—to let him know she’d made it safely to her door.

Her mind went back to the car that had sped by as she was about to pull away from Denni’s curb. So that’s where she remembered a blue car from. Both small, blue and square. She grinned and shook her head. That was a weird coincidence. Nothing more. Probably wasn’t even the same car. Some reporter she was.

“Hi, Dad,” she said when he picked up. “Just letting you know I’m home safely, so you can go to bed now and try to sleep.”

“Praise the Lord.” She could hear the note of relief in his voice. But there was a weariness that she’d noticed lately that concerned her.

“Dad, you feeling okay? When was the last time you checked your blood pressure?”

“I’m just fine, young lady. Don’t start sounding like Ruthie.”

Raven bristled. The last person she sounded like was Dad’s Southern belle of a fiancée. The mention of the woman’s name conjured the flamboyant red hair piled atop her head like Flo from the eighties sitcom, Alice. The too-cheerful-to-be-real demeanor. The knowledge that Mac could be in love with this type of woman after loving Raven’s mother, a classic beauty with more creativity and style in her little toe than Ruth had in her whole body was just too irritating.

“Well, I’ll let you go, Dad. Get some rest, okay?”

“You too, hon.”

Raven disconnected the call. By the time she’d unloaded her bag, gone inside and showered, dawn was just beginning to glisten over the enormous oak tree in her backyard.

She sat on her deck, wearing a white terry-cloth robe and sipping a mug of strong, black coffee. By 6:00 a.m., she could restrain herself no longer. She snatched up her phone and dialed Ken, her camera guy and the one person she knew would be straight with her. His grumbled, sleepy “Hello” didn’t faze her. He’d interrupted her sleep plenty of times.

“Ken, what’s going on with the Matthew Strong story?”

“Raven?”

“Who else?” Impatience edged her voice, but after two days of no inside info after finding out about Matt, she’d had all the delays she was going to take. “Matthew Strong?”

For the next few seconds all she heard was the rustling of sheets and the hiss of a lighter as presumably, the grizzled, old-before-his-time, forty-five-year-old sat up in bed and lit a cigarette.

“Those things will kill you, Ken. You need to quit smoking.”

“Mind your own business.”

“Fine. They’re your lungs.”

“You got that right.”

Raven shifted in her seat, stifling a yawn. “Tell me about Matt.”

“Matt, is it?”

Despite the fact that Ken couldn’t see her, Raven felt a blush creep up to her cheeks. “We had a thing once a long time ago.”

“What kind of thing?” he asked in his I-smell-a-story tone of voice.

“The kind that’s none of your business.”

“Touché, but is it perhaps the kind of ‘thing’ we might be able to use to get access to the almost-senator?”

An uneasy twist affected Raven’s stomach and suddenly the coffee didn’t sit well. “Just meet me at Corner Coffee, will you? We need to talk and map out a strategy.”

“All right, girl. But let me tell you, I’m not wasting my time on personal ethics. If you got an inside to this guy, you better use it or I might take the sweet Miss Kellie up on her tempting offer.”

“You’re old enough to be her dad.”

“Yeah, well. Ain’t that the kicker? I’m not her dad and she seems to go for my natural maturity. And she likes the way our names go together. Thinks it’s downright cute. Kellie and Ken. It does have a nice ring to it, don’t you think?”

Raven gave a snort. “Don’t flatter yourself, pops. She wants to break up the wonder twins, and that’s all there is to her sudden attraction.”

It was common knowledge around the station, and had been for the past several years, that Ken and Raven were an unstoppable team. Thanks to Raven’s instincts for where the great story was, they rarely failed to bring it home, and thanks to Ken’s hot ability with a camera, they ended up with unbelievably good shots of whomever they were after. The dream team.

Raven’s ire rose at the very thought that Kellie might be making a play for Ken. And even more so that Ken was exploiting it to bait her into using her past with Matt as a means to an end.

Never mind that she planned to do that anyway, she didn’t need someone reading her so easily. It just made her feel more rotten than she already did.

“Stop threatening me. You know Kellie would get on your nerves in three and a half seconds. You’d be miserable. Meet me in forty-five minutes.”

Without waiting for a reply, she hung up. A second later the phone rang. A grin split Raven’s lips. She snatched up the receiver. “You just have to have the last word, don’t you, cowboy?”

“I’m sorry?”

Raven nearly swallowed her tongue at the unfamiliar voice. “Who’s this?”

“Um, Sonny.”

“Well, Sonny, I think you dialed the wrong number.”

“I don’t think so. Raven Mahoney?”

“All right, buster. I don’t know how you got this number, but I don’t take calls from strange men.”

“Wait! Don’t hang up. If you’re Raven Mahoney, then you’re going to want to talk to me.”

Matthew jolted awake and fought to understand why he could barely breathe.

“Are you awake, Dad?”

A smile lifted the corners of Matthew’s lips and he opened his eyes to find Jamie sprawled across his chest, her dark hair sticking up in about twenty different directions.

“I am now, you little twerp!” Grabbing the little girl he wrestled her across the bed and tickled her just enough to be funny. Too long and it was just mean. Matthew wouldn’t do that. But they both enjoyed a short wrestling/tickle game.

“Hey, Dad?”

“Yeah?”

“I saw you on TV yesterday.”

“You did?” Irritation nipped at Matt. “How come you were watching it?” And more importantly, why didn’t his mother keep Jamie away from the set? She knew he wouldn’t want his daughter watching.

“The news interrupted cartoons.”

“I see.”

She stretched out on her side next to him, her ear cupped in the palm of her head as she rested on her elbow. Her eyes dulled with a rare solemnity as she stared at him with concern.

“How come you changed your mind about being senator?”

A lump gouged Matthew’s throat. “I just decided it was best.”

“Why?”

He caressed his daughter’s hair. “Some things are not up for discussion, Jamie. When you’re older, I’ll explain.”

The little girl scowled, looking an awful lot like Ray. Way too much. Matthew’s pulse quickened. As if by instinct, Matthew reached forward and grabbed her into a fierce hug.

“Dad!” The muffled voice held a squeak of mild panic. “You’re squishing me.”

Reluctantly, Matt released her. “Jamie, I want you to listen to me. This is very important. Are you paying attention?”

Wide brown eyes stared back at him, as Jamie nodded.

“You have to be careful. Play close to the house and don’t go near the gate. Understand?”

“Why?”

“Because I said so.”

She frowned, her freckled nose wrinkling in confusion. “But why do you say so? I always play by the gate.”

“Can you just trust me on this one?”

She hesitated, but gave another nod.

“Don’t talk to anyone you don’t know really well. Even if you see me talking to the same person. Clear?”

“Come on, Dad. What’s all the drama about?”

Matthew smiled at his daughter. “There are some things I’m not ready to talk about.” Like the fact that your natural dad is out of prison and extorting money from me. And if I didn’t step down from the race, he could have used my position to exploit you. If Jamie were a few years older, he could have told her those things, but not at eight years old. For now, she needed to concentrate on playing soccer and watching the Cardinals and having a great summer vacation. “Now, are you clear on the new rules?”

She shrugged. “I guess so. Can we go to breakfast now? Grams said we’re having blueberry pancakes.”

Matthew’s favorite. He had a feeling he’d be getting a lot of his favorite dishes over the next few days. Mom’s way of consoling him. It was a wonder he didn’t weigh a ton.

“Go tell Grams I’ll be down in a few minutes.”

“Yes, sir.”

Matthew took a quick shower then headed down the hall toward the stairs. He paused at Casey’s door, tapped lightly, then opened it just far enough to see in. His little sister slept peacefully, her long lashes fanning baby-doll cheeks. She was still so innocent. His heart ached for what might have been. What sort of life might she have had if Ray had never come to work at the mansion as a gardener? A user and an abuser, he’d sweet-talked his way into Casey’s life. Her family hadn’t discovered the relationship until it was too late—Casey left home, moved in with Ray and lost her trust fund down the black hole of drug abuse. Ray’s addiction.

Guilt squeezed Matt’s heart. And he thought the same self-condemning words that had repeated themselves over and over during the past eight and a half years.

If only he had never hired the man who had wooed his sister then stolen her innocence.

Chapter Three

Raven mulled over her strange telephone conversation as she wove in and out of five lanes of traffic. She was already twenty minutes late to meet Ken. And Ken didn’t like being kept waiting.

Well, he’d just have to get over it. She wasn’t going to tell him the caller had been her long-lost half brother. A fresh jolt knocked into her gut at the thought. She actually had a brother?

Sonny Thatcher. Son of Josiah Thatcher…her father. A twinge of guilt pinched at her as immediately her mind conjured the image of Mac. She didn’t want to hurt the man who had loved her as his own and raised her with the same loving care as he had her two younger sisters. But how odd to discover her biological father had lived in Kansas City. All these years, they’d shared the same city of residence.

Her conversation with Sonny had been brief. She’d listened to just enough to convince her he might be telling the truth about their familial connection, set up a meeting time and place, then sat on her overstuffed couch and allowed her heartbeat to slow to a steady rhythm for the next ten minutes. She wasn’t positive that she even wanted to know these men. But she couldn’t shake off her curiosity and had set up the meeting despite her conflicting emotions.

A horn blared behind her as she whipped her SUV into the last lane of traffic just in time to avoid missing her exit. That’s all she needed, further delays.

And why wasn’t Ken answering his cell phone anyway? Essentially, it was his own fault he didn’t know she’d be late. She’d tried to call him four times.

She pulled into the parking lot ten minutes later and breezed into the coffee shop. Ken sat at their table.

“I don’t want to hear it,” she said putting up her palm. “I have a good reason for being late.”

He shrugged. “I just got here, myself.”

“Ken! What if I’d been here waiting for thirty minutes?”

He shrugged again. “So, what’s your good reason for being late?”

“Forget it. Let’s just order coffee and get started.”

“I’ve been thinking about it.” He drew on his cigarette, then released the smoke into the aisle where a leggy blonde in a red business suit walked by and glared. Ken gave her a once-over and pointed to the Smoking Section sign.

“I wish you’d stop offending people with those things. Especially when I’m with you. What if they recognize me?”

“You’re flattering yourself again.”

Raven’s cheeks warmed. “What have you been thinking we can do?”

“Most logical? Call him up and remind him why he ever had a ‘thing’ with you in the first place.”

“Hey, don’t imply it was less than it was. We had a real relationship. No kissing on the first date, down on one knee, heirloom engagement ring, the whole works. And yes, waiting until marriage for anything more than kissing.”

Surprise registered on his face. “So he’s the honorable type. That’ll help.”

Raven scowled. “I don’t know if I want to use my past relationship with Matt just to get a story. It cheapens it in a way.” The only real relationship she’d ever had. It was a bittersweet memory, but one she cherished all the same.

“If you don’t get the story someone else will. Are you willing to let it be Kellie?” He leaned forward. “I’ll let you in on a secret a little birdie told me.”

“What?”

“Kellie’s mother is a club friend of Matthew Strong’s mother. Seems they meet once a week for lunch. So you see, Kellie has an inside track to this guy too.”

Raven’s competitive nature took charge. Ken was right. Matthew couldn’t hide forever. Eventually someone was going to track him down and get a story out of him. No way was she going to let that person be Kellie. She stifled a growl. Why did everything have to come to that girl handed on a silver platter? Well, she couldn’t have Matthew!

She snatched up her cell phone.

“What are you doing?”

“Calling Matt, what do you think?”

Triumph shone in his green eyes. “You know the number by heart?”

“If it hasn’t changed since we were dating. You know I never forget anything. As far as I know he’s still living in a wing at his parents’ mansion. Since his dad died, he’s sort of the man of the family.”

Ken rolled his eyes. “Families are a chain around your neck. You have to cut them loose or you’ll never have any peace.”

Raven hated when he talked like that. Her head and her heart were constantly in a struggle about family and she didn’t like hearing it so blatantly from a bohemian with no morals and no ethics. If Ken weren’t such a great cameraman…

She dialed Matt’s number while Ken looked on. It rang four times then a child answered. “Hello? Who is this?”

“I’m not allowed to say,” the child replied. “Who’s this?”

“Is—is this the Strong residence?”

A long pause on the other end.

“Hello? Are you still there?”

“Yes,” came the whispered reply.

“Is this the home of Matthew Strong?”

“I’m not allowed to say.”

“Who are you talking to, Jamie?”

As if caught playing phone pranks, Raven quickly disconnected.

“What?” Ken stared at her, his eyes asking the obvious question.

“A kid answered. I think I must have gotten the wrong number.”

“Maybe it was Matthew’s kid.”

Raven scowled. “And no one knew about a wife and child? Come on.”

“Yeah, that’s true. So what now?”

Raven took a sip of the too-sweet, chocolate-flavored coffee and pinched a bite from her muffin.

“Matthew was always a creature of habit. He probably still works out at Randy’s Gym on Harrison.”

“Mr. Senator at that dive? I don’t see it.”

“Trust me.” Digging into her purse, she tossed some bills on the table, then stood.

“Where are you going?”

“I think it’s time to get back into shape. See you later.”

With a grin, she exited Corner Coffee and headed to her car. First stop—the sports shop two blocks away. She’d need exercise clothes and gym shoes if she were going to pull this one off.

Now, please God, let Matthew still work out at the gym.

The memory of that phone call this morning irked Matthew. Jamie knew better than to answer the phone. Only the girl’s insistence that the caller had been a woman stopped Matthew from calling the phone company and changing their number.

He couldn’t explain to Jamie. And that made things hard. The kid was growing more independent by the day. Answering the phone was taboo. She knew that. If one of her friends called, she could talk. But she could not answer on her own. Why had the little girl picked now to start testing the limits?