Evan immediately thought of Matt’s robotics firm, Trebotics. There might be a fit there once Tony graduated.
Wait. What was he doing, making plans to bring Kelsey and Tony into the Maverick fold? Yes, he admired how they looked after their mother, and they were obviously intelligent. But he needed to slow way the hell down, even if a part of him wanted to relish the experience of having blood relations. Susan and Bob loved all the Mavericks equally, had turned them into family and taught them what they needed to know to become men—and he would always and forever be grateful to them. But he’d envied Daniel’s blood tie.
It was, he had to acknowledge, a huge part of why he’d been so eager to have a family with Whitney. Not because he could see her as a mother, but because he’d longed so deeply for a child and a family all his own.
Now, suddenly, he had a ready-made family. But having been burned badly before, by his birth parents and by Whitney, he needed time to process the situation and keep his emotions in check. He couldn’t let himself get entangled until he knew exactly what he was up against.
Which was particularly difficult to do when his mother finally spoke again and said, “Tell us about you, Evan.” Her words came out slightly wooden and stilted, as though she’d rehearsed the question in her head before actually speaking.
“My name’s all over the Internet, so you probably already know everything there is to know.” He wasn’t bragging. It was simply true. And he didn’t want to talk about himself. Especially not with her.
“You and your wife have such a beautiful home.” Her voice was less tentative this time, but still shaky.
Obviously, Kelsey hadn’t yet told her brother and Theresa about his impending divorce. He didn’t know why he felt compelled to explain, “My wife and I are getting divorced.”
“I’m sorry, Evan.”
His jaw clenched. He didn’t want her pity. Or her apologies.
As if she saw everything going south, Paige jumped in. “Do you work outside the home, Theresa?”
“Yes.” She crumpled her napkin. “I’m an accounts payable clerk. It’s the same company that Kelsey did bookkeeping for. I’ve been there a long time.”
When she looked back up, her eyes were watery. Evan knew what was coming—and he wanted to shove away from the table, forget any of these people had ever been here. Forget any of this had ever happened.
But a Maverick didn’t run. And he sure as hell didn’t forget.
“I’m sorry I left, Evan. I thought I had the stomach flu, one that wouldn’t go away. I had some money saved in secret, so I went to a doctor. One your father didn’t know about in a suburb of Chicago. That’s when I found out I was pregnant. With twins.” Her lips, her cheeks, her hands—they all shook. “Oh God, I was so scared. Two more children for him to hurt.” Her breath was ragged.
Kelsey reached for her hand at the same time that Tony did.
Under the table, Paige curled her fingers around Evan’s. He instinctively linked his with hers. She was the only thing keeping him grounded right now, the only reason he wasn’t splintering into a million pieces right here in his dining room.
“I should have come here, should have said this a long time ago,” Theresa said almost in a whisper, and Evan could see how hard it was for her to look him in the eye. But she did it. “I went a little crazy. I was so scared of what he would do. So I ran before he ever knew I was pregnant.”
And left Evan behind.
“I got on a bus and rode west until I ran out of money. In Modesto. But I never forgot about you. I was going to come back for you as soon as I got settled somewhere.” She swallowed. “It was two years later when a friend told me you were living with the Spencers. They were good people, and I knew they’d do better for you than I could. You’d get the best chance with them. And you did.” It was almost as if she was trying to convince herself. “You really did.”
Theresa was right, with two more mouths to feed, and two squalling babies in their cramped apartment, God only knew what his father would have done.
But Evan didn’t want to understand, didn’t want to trust her. And he didn’t want to cool his jets. Not when the old man had lost it after she left, his drinking totally out of control—and Evan had paid the price every single day until the Spencers saved him.
It suddenly struck him then that Theresa probably didn’t know what had become of her abuser. Their abuser.
“Did you ever hear what happened to the old man?”
When she shook her head, he couldn’t miss the flash of fear in her eyes. Even after all this time, and all the miles she’d put between her and her husband, his power over her had barely seemed to lessen.
“He died when I was a sophomore in high school. Fell down in a drunken stupor and hit his head. I didn’t live there anymore, thank God.” She flinched at the reminder that she’d left him there to fend for himself. “The landlord found him when he didn’t pay his rent.”
Tears were welling in Theresa’s eyes as she scooted back from the table. “Excuse me. I need to use the restroom. Kelsey, Tony, you stay here and finish eating.” She was gone before any of them could follow.
Paige squeezed his hand again, hard enough that he had to look at her. From the moment she’d arrived on his doorstep this afternoon, her touch, her comfort, her caring had been the only things keeping him this side of sane. Now, he read the message in her eyes: Everything is going to be okay, Evan. I promise.