Lucas’s only answer was a shrug. He wasn’t ready to lay all his cards on the table just yet.
Emily came back into the room, balancing a loaded tray carefully. Wade sprang to his feet to take it from her. He set it on the coffee table, careful not to spill the three glasses of iced tea or the small glass of milk. Emily distributed the drinks, then handed Lucas a plate of what appeared to be sliced banana-nut bread.
“I thought you might like to have a slice of this,” she explained to Lucas with an endearingly shy smile. “Aunt Bobbie brought it over earlier today. I remember that you always loved her banana-nut bread.”
Lucas was startled all over again. “You remember that?”
“Yes. And so does Aunt Bobbie. She mentioned it when she came by earlier. She and I both wished you were here to enjoy it with us. And now you are.” Emily blinked several times, her eyes looking unnaturally bright.
Lucas. sincerely hoped she wasn’t going to cry. “How is Bobbie?” he asked quickly, to distract her.
Emily smiled again as she sat beside Wade and Clay on the couch. “She and Uncle Caleb are both fine. Their family is growing. Tara and Trevor are both married now, and Trevor has a two-year-old son. Trent’s a senior at the Air Force Academy.”
The cousins she’d named were all considerably younger than Lucas, closer to Emily’s age. He hardly remembered them, but he feigned interest. He swallowed a bit of banana-nut bread, which tasted every bit as good as remembered. “Sounds like they’re all doing okay.”
“Yes. And Savannah’s married now, too. Her twins are almost fourteen now.”
Lucas didn’t have to feign his reaction that time. “Fourteen? Savannah’s not much older than you.”
“She had them when she was seventeen. It’s a long story. I’ll tell you about it later. She and her family live in Campbellville. Aunt Ernestine lives with them.”
Lucas winced. He remembered Ernestine. His father’s sister-in-law had always been a difficult woman. She’d given Lucas a few scathing lectures about his responsibility to the family name. As if the McBride name had been all that sterling even before Lucas had done his part to tarnish it.
Emily’s expression turned suddenly serious. “You haven’t asked about Dad. Do you know he died last spring?”
Lucas nodded. “I know.”
“He was sick for a long time. The last couple of years he was totally bedridden. He couldn’t even speak.”
Wade covered Emily’s hand with his. “Emily took care of your father during his illness, with very little outside help. And with very little thanks, from what I understand.”
Lucas gazed into his glass. “I can’t imagine my father thanking anyone for anything, unless he changed considerably after I left.”
“He never changed,” Emily said with a touch of wistfulness.
“Did you...” Lucas hesitated, not knowing quite how to ask the question that had haunted him for so long. “Was everything okay for you here—after I left, I mean?”
“I was never mistreated, if that’s what you’re asking. Dad made sure I was fed and healthy, that my homework was done and my teeth were brushed. Aunt Bobbie took pains to see that my clothes were in style and that I stayed involved in youth groups and school organizations, so I would have plenty of friends. After Grandmother McBride died, Aunt Bobbie went out of her way to serve as a mother figure for me.”
“So you were happy.” He thought maybe he could let go of some of the guilt he’d been carrying around about the way he’d deserted his little sister.
A jumble of emotions crossed Emily’s face, bringing the guilt back in full force. “I suppose so,” she said, though her tone wasn’t particularly convincing. And then she smiled and squeezed Wade’s hand. “I’m very happy now.”
Lucas thought of the article he’d read, the one that had brought him back to Honoria. Emily had been attacked right here in her home, when she’d interrupted an apparent robbery. The only item listed that had been stolen from her was something that Lucas had thought long buried.
Again, he wasn’t quite ready to talk about that yet. Especially not with Wade Davenport and his kid listening. And, apparently, Emily had fully recovered from the attack. She looked healthy and happy. “I’m glad to hear it.”
Emily’s expression turned suddenly pensive again. “Dad was very angry with you after you left. I suppose you knew he would be.”
Lucas nodded.
“He didn’t leave much of an estate,” Emily continued. “The medical bills wiped out most of the cash. Dad had some life insurance, but it wasn’t an enormous amount. He left the house to me. I sold it to Wade.”
Lucas lifted an eye brow as he looked at Wade, who was listening without expression. “You bought the house?”
Wade nodded. “It was before Emily and I decided to marry. Now we’ll use the mortgage money to finance the repairs that have been needed for some time.”
Lucas was beginning to understand where the conversation was headed. “I didn’t come here to claim anything, Emily. I only came to see you. To make sure you’re okay.”