Chapter 8

	Reese walked purposefully down the hall, the tension visible in his jaw as he left 
Mikki struggling to keep pace behind him.  As they passed a waiting-room on the left,
Mikki called out to him. She was already feeling out of place, and certain that Reese
needed to see his mother alone she decided it would be better if she just hung back and
stayed out of his way.
	“I’ll wait in here.” she said, pointing at the waiting area, and although he
hesitated, he said nothing, then nodded and walked on.
	Just inside the door of his mother’s room he stopped and took in the sight of her
laying on the bed with all kinds of IV’s and monitors hooked up to her. Lights were
blinking, and beeps were sounding on a regular basis, while she lay with eyes closed
looking pale against the pillow. Beside the bed, Patrick Ryan sat in a high-backed chair,
his head resting back, and his eyes closed. His hand rested in hers on the side of the
bed, and Reese smiled to himself at this simple show of affection.  When he shifted
slightly to take a step forward, Patrick opened his eyes, then smiled.
	“Reese, my boy.” he said cheerily, squeezing his wife’s hand and turning to
speak softly to her. “He’s here Em.” Then he stood up and took Reese’s hand, drawing
him into a fatherly hug, then offering him the chair he had been sitting in. “Here, son,
come sit beside her. I got your message, she’s been waiting for you. The doctors say
she’ll be all right, but she sure gave us quite a scare yesterday.”
	“Stop hogging the boy and let me see him, Patrick.” Emily said from the bed
beside them, and Reese smiled. It relieved him to know that her sense of humour was
still intact.
	Patrick grinned. “I’ll leave you two for a bit. I’m going in search of coffee.”  
	Reese moved closer, towering above his mother’s bed.  “You had me fit to be
tied, Mom.” he said, his voice clearly showing his relief that she was better than he’d
expected.  In fact, he hadn’t been sure what to expect, but he had to admit, his mind had
wandered more than once to the worst case scenario.  
	“It’s just one of those things Reese. Set me back a bit, but can’t take me down
yet.” She smiled at her son, a glint in her eyes, as she reached for his hand, then the
focus of her voice changed from humour to sincerity. “I’m glad you’re here. Reese.”
	“Where else would I be at a time like this?” he asked.
	She nodded. “They said they hadn’t been able to reach you, just left a message
at the shop. Patrick stayed all night with me, and went home for a few hours sleep earlier
today and got your message that you were on your way. ”
	“I was out of town. Jake called me as soon as he checked the machine at the
shop. We headed this way as soon as I got off the phone.”
	“We?” Emily eyed her son, her interest suddenly perked. Then she glanced
towards the door curiously. “You didn’t come alone?”
	Reese winced, cursing himself for his choice of words. “Umm -- no, I -- brought a
friend with me.”
	Emily grinned. She hadn’t missed the look on his face, the look that clearly said
he wished he hadn’t opened his mouth.  To a mother, it could only mean one thing. “A
friend? Wouldn’t be a girl, would it Reese?”
	“Umm -- yeah.” he said, thinking that now he’d opened his mouth his mother
would never let the subject die.  e never had been very good at keeping secrets from
her anyway.  He hadn’t given much thought to how he was going to introduce Mikki to
his family, but he had hoped to spend a little more time with his mother before the
subject came up.
	“Reese Kincaide, you haven’t brought a girl home to your Mother in years, she
must be something really special.” she winked at him.
	She sure is, the little voice inside him said, and he scolded himself for thinking it.
He told himself he had no idea where a thought like that would come from, and tried to
shrug it off. 
	“Mom, it’s no big deal, really. We were just on our way home from Silverside
when Jake called, and it was quicker to have her come with me than take her home first.
That’s all.”
	“Of course.” Emily nodded, and her tone told Reese she wasn’t buying it. “What
were you two doing in Silverside?”
	Reese shrugged. “I’d just driven her down to her sister’s for the shower.” he said,
trying to sound casual, but as soon as he saw the look on his mother’s face he winced .
	“Shower?” she said excitedly. “Bridal or baby?”
	“Bridal.” he said. “Her sister...”
	Emily wasn’t listening anymore. She was dragging her son down to hug him and
babbling on about girlfriends and weddings, and how happy she was, and why hadn’t he
told her.  Reese felt like he was being sucked into a whirlpool as he realized what his
mother was thinking.  He tried to interrupt, but she would not let him speak, insisting that
he bring the mystery woman to see her.
	“Mom, please, listen...” he tried, but just then Patrick entered the room.
	“Oh Patrick, come here! My son is a sly one. He’s brought a girlfriend with him,
and he’s getting married!”
	“Mother!” Reese objected loudly, staring down at her with a look that was very
near panic.
	“Calm down, Em, you know what the doctors told you.” Patrick warned her, then
glancing at Reese he frowned and added a warning to his step-son as well. “Don’t you
go exciting her, Boy. She’s not out of the woods yet.”   Reese glanced quickly at the
monitors with furrowed brow. He’d forgotten her condition, forgotten she shouldn’t get
excited. Not that he had meant to excite her.  Damn, what was he going to do now?
Mikki was not his girlfriend, they were not getting married, but neither was his mother in
any condition to be getting upset.  He looked from the bed to Patrick and back again, a
frown burrowed in his brow.
	“Well, what are you waiting for, young man? Go and get her!” Emily was saying,
as she gripped Patrick’s hand and beamed up at her son. “You don’t want these ol’
machines going haywire do you?”
	Reese knew she was toying with him, but he still didn’t want to take any chances.
With a sigh, he raised his hand to calm her. “All right, all right, calm down. I’ll go get her.” 
Emily smiled and rested her head back against the pillows. “But please Mom, don’t gush
over her and embarrass her, OK? This whole meeting the family thing is happening a
little -- umm -- sooner than she expected.”  He eyed his mother with a worried
expression, but she just smiled and waved him off impatiently.  When he left the room
he closed the door firmly behind him, leaned on it, and cursed under his breath.

	“Well hellooooooo!” said a flirting male voice, and Mikki looked up from the
magazine she had been reading while she waited for Reese.  The dark haired man who
stood before her was quite good looking, she thought, but nothing like Reese.
Immediately she wondered why she found it necessary to make that comparison. Why
should Reese Kincaide suddenly be the standard by which all other men who passed
through her life were measured? Meanwhile, the man flashed a bright smile at her and
stepped closer.
	“Excuse me?” she asked, looking around the empty room. “Were you talking to
me?”
	“Unless there is another beautiful woman in the room, then I do believe I was
indeed talking to you.” he said.  Mikki couldn’t help but smile at his flattery, although she
knew perfectly well she wasn’t beautiful.  “Ahh, there, that’s what I was looking for.” he
said, as he sat down beside her. “A smile to warm any man’s heart.”  He glanced at her
hands, which still held the magazine on her lap. “I haven’t seen you around before. Do
you have family in the hospital? Your husband perhaps?”
	She shook her head, grinning at his obvious question. “No, I’m not married.”
	“Ahh!” His eyes widened in approval.  “All the better then.” He held out his hand
to introduce himself. “My name’s Lucas. And yours?”
	“Mikki.” she said, taking his hand. She noticed there was none of the tingling and
shockwaves she always felt whenever Reese touched her. Not that there was a need to
compare, she reminded herself a second time.
	“Now that’s an interesting name.” he said. “An interesting name for a very
interesting lady.” He gave her a smile that could sweep any woman off her feet, but Mikki
just sat there and smiled back.  He tried again. “So, what brings you here on this fine day
then?” he asked, leaning in a little closer and casually draping his arm over the back of
her chair.
	“She’s with me.”
	“Reese?” They both turned towards the door and spoke at once, then Lucas
glanced from one to the other. Reese stood there frowning, with a look in his eyes that
clearly told Lucas to back off, and the man pulled his arm away as if he had been stung
and held his hands up in his defense.
	“Hey, bro, so you finally made it huh?” Lucas stood up and offered Reese a
friendly greeting. “Sorry if I was hitting on your girl.  I had no idea....”
	“I’m not...” Mikki tried to speak.
	“Just don’t ever do it again.” Reese warned him, his voice still firm, but a warmth
slowly creeping into his eyes.
	“Reese!” Mikki objected, but he shot her a glance and winked at her.
	“I see you’ve met my step-brother already.” he said, and it dawned on her that
the exchange between the men was not as serious in nature as she had first thought,
and she allowed herself to smile cautiously as she glanced from one to the other.
	“Your step-brother.” she nodded, realization sinking in.  “Ah yes.”
   	“My mother wants to meet you now.” he motioned her to join him.
	“Meet me?” Mikki looked puzzled as she stood up and fell into step beside him.
“Why does she want to meet me?”
	“Well -- uhh -- under the circumstances, I would think it would be obvious.” he
said quietly, tossing a glance over his.  They were nearing Emily Ryan’s room, with
Lucas following close behind. Mikki looked up at Reese with her brow wrinkled, and
shook her head in confusion. 
	“Reese? What circumstances?” she asked.
	Reese reached for the door with one hand, and placed the other on the small of
her back.  He glanced back at Lucas, then leaned in close to her ear and spoke quietly.
	“I’ll explain later, just play along -- please.” he begged.  “My mother -- umm --
well, she got things a little mixed-up. She kind of thinks we’re -- engaged.”
	Mikki nearly tripped. “We’re what!?” she hissed back at him, glancing quickly to
see if Lucas was close enough to hear them.
	“Engaged.” Reese stressed, a little quieter. “You know -- getting married.”  he
said, just before he threw open the door and guided her into the room.
	Mikki found herself standing in the doorway staring across the room unable to
move. In front of her, Reese’s mother sat propped up in bed, her hands folded neatly on
the covers on her lap. She was a slender woman in her mid sixties, with short curly dark
grey hair, and she sat there smiling expectantly at them.  Beside her, a grey haired
version of Lucas sat smiling just as happily.
	Mikki looked at Reese in a panic. Things had happened so fast, he hadn’t given
her any time for the information to sink in.  Married? The woman thought they were
getting married?  The room felt like it was spinning around her and she was actually glad
when his hand slid ever-so-slightly around her waist, drawing her closer to him, and he
leaned down to whisper in her ear.
	“Please?” his eyes begged her to go along with him, and she glanced back at the
elderly couple and smiled nervously.
	“Reese --dear?” Emily coaxed.
	He cleared his throat and inched Mikki forward with him to the side of the bed.
“Mom, this is Mikki.” he glanced at Mikki. “This is my mother, Emily Ryan; and my
stepfather, Patrick; and you’ve already met Lucas. Reese glanced at Lucas who now
leaned against the window ledge, grinning from ear to ear as he watched the
introductions.
	“And a great pleasure it was, too!” Lucas said, his voice thick with laughter.  “I
thought I had found the most beautiful angel to ever walk on the earth -- until Reese
here walked in and announced hands off.”
	“Now Luke, you behave yourself!” Emily frowned at him.
	Lucas laughed, and teased his step-mother. “As you can see, she recovered
very fast.”
	“Lucas Ryan, you watch your tongue!” Emily warned, her eyes glinting teasingly
back at him. Then she turned her smile back on Mikki and Reese.
	“Well dear, you pay no mind to Lucas and his flirtatious comments.  Come sit
here with me and let me take a good look at you.” She patted the bed beside her and
Mikki reluctantly sat. Soon, however, she was feeling less awkward, as the woman
chatted on about this and that. She was a sweet woman, Mikki thought, and if not for the
situation they were in, Mikki was certain she would really like the woman.
	After some time, Emily straightened her back and cleared her throat, glancing at
Reese, but clearly directing her question to Mikki. “So, why on earth has my son kept
you from me?”
	Mikki heard Reese cough slightly beside her and gave him a quick glance. “Well
-- uhh -- it was all rather -- sudden.” She said, narrowing her eyes accusingly at Reese
as she emphasized the last word.
	“Sudden?” Emily looked a little confused. “But your sister already held a wedding
shower for you!”
	“She did?” Mikki swallowed, and glared at Reese while she fought for a quick
comeback.  She didn’t know why he wanted her to play this game, but suddenly she
decided that if he was going to expect her to do it, then she was going to make him
squirm while she was doing it.  She turned a bright smile towards his mother.   “Uhhh -- I
mean, yes, she did. That was a complete surprise. My sister has always been a bit
impulsive. We called her the other night and told her, and the next day we drove down
for a visit so she could meet Reese, and when we arrived, there she was with a bridal
shower all ready to go at her house!  Totally unexpected.  Isn’t that right, Reese?”
	She looked at him with a bright, sugary smile, and if Reese hadn’t wanted to kill
her right about then, he’d have wanted to kiss her instead, the way that smile made him
feel.
	“Uhh -- yeah, right.” Reese wondered why he felt like he had just lost control of
his life, as Mikki smiled up at him, daring him not to play along the way he’d asked her to.
Play along, for God’s sake, he thought, not dig the hole even deeper!
	Mikki turned back to Emily and spoke sympathetically. “Reese had planned on
calling you to tell you, as soon as we got back from Silverside, but -- well, we got Jake’s
call before we got home.” She gave Emily a concerned look.  “Reese was so worried
about you, he would have driven all night if I hadn’t put my foot down.”
	Emily looked at her son, wide-eyed. “Oh dear, you must be exhausted Reese.”
She frowned. Reese looked from one woman to the other, speechless, as they both sat
looking up at him with accusing stares.  How had the two of them managed to turn the
tables and take complete control of his life in a matter of minutes? Emily turned her smile
towards her husband. “Patrick, you must take them back to the house and set them up
in the spare bedroom so they can get some rest!”
	“Mother, really, I’m fine.” Reese objected.
	“Nonsense! “she exclaimed. “You look absolutely worn out. Now you run along
with Patrick. I’m not going anywhere.  You can come and visit me later this evening.”
Reese tried to object once again, but she waved a hand at him.  “Go on, all of you. You
too Lucas Ryan.  I’m as happy as I can be now that I’ve met this sweet girl, so let me
have some rest in peace.”
	 Patrick stood up with a broad grin and began shoving them all towards the door. 
“You know as well as I do, son, she doesn’t take no for an answer, our Em.”

	“All right, Kincaide.” Mikki confronted him once they were safely in the truck. 
“Just what is going on here? Did you fall on your head sometime today while I wasn’t
looking? What is all this about us getting married?”
	Reese groaned.  “It wasn’t my idea.  Mom just sort of got things twisted around.”
	Mikki sighed, exasperated,  and shook her head.  “What exactly did you tell her
that she managed to get it twisted into you and I getting married?”
	“It was just one little word. How could I have known that one little word would
cause so much trouble?”
	Mikki glared at him, and he glanced cautiously at her as he followed Patrick down
the street.  “What word would that have been?” She queried.
	“We.” he grumbled.  “All I said was we were on the way home from Silverside.
Then of course she wanted to know who we meant.”
	“So that’s when you told her about me, and that we were getting married?” Mikki
was getting more and more frustrated.
	“No, she sort of did that part on her own. I told her I’d taken you to Silverside to
your sisters for the shower, and she jumped to the wrong conclusion about whose
shower it was.”
	“And you let her go on believing it? Not to mention telling Patrick, and Lucas.”
	Reese glanced at her quickly, his voice curt. “What does it matter what Lucas
thinks?”
	She groaned. “It doesn’t. That’s not the point here Reese. Why didn’t you correct
her? Instead you allowed them all to think we are engaged.”
	“I couldn’t.” Reese frowned. “I tried, but I couldn’t”
	“Couldn’t, or wouldn’t?” Mikki asked him, thinking she wouldn’t be at all surprised
if he hadn’t thought it quite a nice joke to put her on the spot like that.
	“For God’s sake Mikki, the woman just had a heart attack.  I didn’t want to bring
on another one.”	
	She looked out the window and sighed. “But of all the things to let her believe,
why did it have to be that we were getting married!”
	“Mom takes every chance she can get to remind me that she hasn’t been to my
wedding yet.” he sighed. “I guess it was what she wanted to think, so it was easy for her
to assume ... “  Suddenly he shot her a curious stare. “Hey! Wait a minute! Why do you
say that as if being married to me would be such a terrible thing?”
	Mikki blushed. Because it wouldn’t be, she thought, then gave herself a mental
shake to bring herself around. She could hardly think marriage to this man would be
desirable when he had been so deceitful, could she? Besides, he didn’t love her, and
she didn’t love him, so there was nothing to think about. He probably had no end to the
list of women he could call upon who would fill in at a moment’s notice, glad to be seen
on his arm for any occasion. Why would he need to get married anyway, and why on
earth would he choose her if he did.
	“Well?” Reese’s persistent voice broke into her thoughts and she swallowed hard
as he waited for her answer.
	“Because we don’t even like each other.” she said quickly.
	“Is that the only reason?”
	“Reese!” she shot him a frustrated glare.  He was laughing at her, she could see
it in his eyes.  Sure, on the outside he was sitting there smiling at her with an expression
she couldn’t understand, but on the inside, she knew he was laughing, and the joke was
on her.
	“Well? Is it?” his brow raised questioningly at her.
	“Of course.” she mumbled. “We don’t get along. We’re not -- compatible.”
	He pulled the truck over to the side of the street and Mikki glanced around them
nervously.  She breathed a sigh of relief when she noticed that Patrick had pulled into
the driveway next to where they were stopped, and he and Lucas were getting out of his
car.  She reached for the door handle, and blinked in surprise as the door was opened
for her, and she found herself face to face with Reese. She hadn’t even realized he’d
gotten out of the truck, and she sat there staring at him, dumb-struck.
	“Not compatible, huh?” he said, as he held out his hand to help her out of the
truck.  But when her feet touched the ground, he didn’t move, and she found herself
standing so close to him that she could feel his body heat as if he were actually touching
her.  Then, without warning, his hand was under her chin and his lips were on hers.  She
was startled, caught breathless and unable to move.  With nowhere to go, her knees
pressing precariously against the truck behind her, she felt herself losing her balance,
and she leaned against him for support as his lips searched hers, his body leaning
closer to her.  His free hand suddenly slid behind her, pulling her even closer to him and
her lips took on a life of their own and suddenly she was kissing him back.
	“Reese.” she whimpered weakly, when he allowed her to breath, but he claimed
her again.  This time the hunger in their exchange made her knees weak.  She grabbed
onto him with one hand to keep from falling, and his arm tightened around her.
	Somewhere in the distance she heard a voice. It seemed very far away at first,
then suddenly she realized with a blush that it was coming from right beside them. 
Brought back to her senses, she pushed a hand against him and pulled her lips from
his. She turned her head and found herself looking straight into the smiling eyes of
Patrick Ryan.
	“Be right there, Patrick.” Reese said in a thick voice, without taking his eyes off
Mikki.
	Patrick nodded and turned toward the house, and Mikki’s eyes darted back to
Reese, his face only inches from hers.
	“What was that for? she asked, her voice trembling and breathless.
	“Just checking,” he said, grinning at her.  “...for compatibility.” Then he dropped
his hands and turned away, leaving her to follow behind him as he strode effortlessly
across the grass towards the house.