He pulled her onto the chair beside him and against his chest before reaching for his father’s last words. Part of him didn’t want to let the old man intrude on what promised to be one hell of a great week.
Thanks to Carly, Mitch had his head on straight. KCL was thriving under Rand’s leadership and Nadia had put her ghosts behind her and was finally happy.
“Mitch, read it. Whatever it says, we’ll deal with it. Together.”
He took strength from the love-filled brown eyes of the woman he adored more than he ever thought possible and reached for the envelope. His hands trembled as he broke the seal and unfolded the page.
Dear Son,If you’re reading this, then I’ve kicked it and you’ve done what I expected of you. You stuck out the year with your little brother. I always could count on you, Mitch. You were my right hand.
It saddened me to see you shut yourself off after you shed that faithless bitch you had the misfortune of hooking up with a few years back. Good riddance to her. She wasn’t right for you.If I played my cards right, being responsible for your brother might have thawed that heart of yours. Children have a way of doing that. Each and every one is a blessing. One that should be shared with someone you love. When you have some of your own, you’ll know what I mean, and I hope that day comes while you’re still young enough to enjoy them.
I put you in a difficult position with Rhett’s momma and for that, I apologize. Marlene swore she loved me, and I think she honestly did. She showed it in a dozen ways. She wanted to be my wife and knew I was old-fashioned enough to want to be married to a woman carrying my child. And while I don’t appreciate what she did, I do understand it. But I didn’t have any love left in me to give her. Any tender, sappy emotions I might have been capable of died with your mother. And I wasn’t about to desecrate her memory by bringing another woman into her house.
But that ended up being a decision I didn’t have to make. With Marlene gone, I knew there was only one man who had the tenaciousness to bring the youngest Kincaid into the family if I wasn’t around to do it. You.
From everything Marlene told me about her twin, I’m sure the past year hasn’t been an easy one for you. From all accounts it sounds like Carly Corbin is as reliable and dedicated to family as you are. I never met her personally, but both Frank Lewis and my attorney tell me she’s been a bulldog with that boy since her sister’s death. Protective. Possessive. Loves him like a mother. That’s all any child needs.
So if you’ve hooked up with Carly, I take full credit for throwing you two together. If she’s made your life a living hell, then it’s nothing your ol’ man hasn’t already done. You’re strong enough to survive it.
Take care of Rhett, Mitch, and take care of yourself.
I’ve never said it to your face, and now it’s too late, but I’ll tell you anyhow.
I love you, son. You’ve made me proud.
Your father,Everett Kincaid
Carly laughed. “He takes credit for hooking us up?”Mitch shook his head and tossed the letter back onto the table. “That’s my father. Take credit for what goes right. Pass the buck when it goes wrong and send someone in—usually me—to do cleanup detail. This time, cleanup detail was pure pleasure.”
“He believes Marlene loved him.”
Something in Carly’s tone sounded off. “There was a doubt?”
Carly sighed. “Yes. I never told you I found her journal after she died. She had a step-by-step plan for marrying your father. She’d always claimed she loved him, but after seeing her pursuit diagramed in detail I wasn’t sure. And then there was the money she took to end the pregnancy.”
He tucked a silky lock behind Carly’s ear. “My guess is she set that up for Rhett because she was afraid of my father. When she told him she was pregnant, he went ballistic. Before he had her thrown off KCL property, he vowed she’d live to regret her actions. And then he sent me to buy her off. She probably believed he’d do something drastic. He was livid enough that I believed he would, too.”
“It’s sad that we suspected the worst of them.”
“But loved them anyway.” He stroked a finger along the curve of her br**sts. “I like the way this suit accentuates your assets.”
“About that…” She blanched, licked her lips and glanced away looking nervous all of a sudden, and nervousness wasn’t an emotion his confident wife often displayed.
Alarm prickled along his spine. “Carly?”
She swallowed and then met his gaze. “Your father might be getting his wish.”
“What wish?”
“That you experience the, um…joys of parenthood? I’m three weeks late.”
A rush of emotions hit him like a freight train. Joy. Excitement. Fear. “You’re pregnant?”
Carly’s nose crinkled with worry. “Yes. I know we didn’t plan this, Mitch, but please…tell me you’re okay with it. Because I want this baby and I don’t think I could—”
“Okay with it?” he parroted back. Awestruck, he stroked a hand across her flat belly. Wonder filled him until he thought his lungs would burst. “We’ve made a baby.”
“Yes. Probably after I caught Rhett’s tummy bug last month. I did the test this morning.”
He carefully pulled her on top of him until her knees straddle his hips. He cradled her face in his hands and locked gazes. “I love you, Carly Kincaid, and nothing would make me happier than for you to have our baby.”
Mitch pulled her closer and sealed his words with a kiss, because Carly had taught him that actions spoke louder than words.