Read Online Barbara Freethy - Some Kind Of Wonderful by Some Kind Of Wonderful - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Some Kind Of Wonderful
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embellish, but he remained frustrating] y silent.
"Just out of curiosity, do you write in more depth than you speak?"
His mouth curved into a reluctant smile. "When I'm not talking about
myself, I can be quite articulate."
"Thank heavens." She glanced down at the baby in her arms. "Tell me
more about Sarah."
"It was so long ago."
"You must remember something."
Matt thought for a moment. "Angels. She used to see them dancing on her
ceiling at night. I didn't want to tell her it was just the streetlight
throwing shadows." He paused, lost in thought. "People always say you
can't miss what you don't have, but I think Sarah always missed it.
She'd get this yearning look on her face, as if she were trying to see
something that wasn't there. She kept wanting to light candles to make
things brighter. She was a sad little girl. That's what I remember
about hei most. I remember her being sad." He took in a deep breath and
let it out. "I have a feeling she's still sad."
Caitlyn nodded, her own emotions stirred by the pain in his words. It
didn't sound like Sarah had had much to smile about in her lite, Matt
either, at least not during iheir childhood. "What was your dad like?
Was he as bad as your mother?"
"No. He was a pretty good guy," Matt replied, a rough edge in his
voice. "He kept my mother sane, I think He was a cook at a restaurant
on Fisherman's Wharf, and even after a long day he'd come home and cook
for us. When he died, my mother fell apart. Sarah was just a baby, but
that wasn't enough to pull my mother together. She took
sleeping pills and pain pills and God knows what other kind of pills
and drank 'em down with a shot of whiskey." He paused, looking Caitlyn
in the eye. "I kept thinking she'd change, get better, but it never
happened. I was a fool."
"You were a child," Caitlyn replied.
"It doesn't matter anyway. What really worries me now is Sarah," he
continued. "What if she turned out like my mother? What if she's cut
and run on her kid the way my mother did to us?"
"She said she'd be back."
"I've heard that before. I've learned to take promises with a grain of
salt."
"That's saa."
He shrugged."I think it's practical."
"What if Sarah doesn't come back? What will you do with Emily?" The
question slipped out before Caitlyn could stop it. It was none of her
business what Matt did with this baby. In fact, she was supposed to be
pulling away, not digging in deeper, but despite his bluntness, or
maybe it was because of his bluntness. he was easy to talk to, and
different from most of the men she'd met in her life, men like Brian,
who always spoke from some elite intellectual plane.
"I don't know," he answered. "I hope it doesn't come to that. I'm not
exactly a family man. I work long hours, I travel , . ." His voice
drifted off as he seemed to consider her question even further. "I'm
not
sure I'd be a good father. I screwed up with Sarah."
"You weren't her father. You were a sixteen-year-old boy."
"Yeah, well, hopefully Sarah will come back and it will be a moot
question."
"I think you'd be a good father, Matt. You've done pretty well so far."
"Why do you say that? Because she's still breathing?" He smiled. "That
might just be luck. And you've been pretty helpful."
"That's true. But Emily is just a little baby. She doesn't need much
more than something to eat and someone to love her." Caitlyn looked
around the barely furnished apartment. "Which is probably a good thing
in your case."
"I haven't had time to get settled yet."
"Do you ever get settled? Or do you just move on?"
"Most of the time I move on," he said with a small nod at her
perceptive statement. "I've always traveled light. It's easier that
way."
From what she'd heard of his past she could understand his thinking.
But there was something about the way Matt was looking at Emily that
told Caitlyn he might have just found a very good reason to acquire
some baggage. Because she couldn't believe that a man who cared so much
about his missing sister
"Just out of curiosity, do you write in more depth than you speak?"
His mouth curved into a reluctant smile. "When I'm not talking about
myself, I can be quite articulate."
"Thank heavens." She glanced down at the baby in her arms. "Tell me
more about Sarah."
"It was so long ago."
"You must remember something."
Matt thought for a moment. "Angels. She used to see them dancing on her
ceiling at night. I didn't want to tell her it was just the streetlight
throwing shadows." He paused, lost in thought. "People always say you
can't miss what you don't have, but I think Sarah always missed it.
She'd get this yearning look on her face, as if she were trying to see
something that wasn't there. She kept wanting to light candles to make
things brighter. She was a sad little girl. That's what I remember
about hei most. I remember her being sad." He took in a deep breath and
let it out. "I have a feeling she's still sad."
Caitlyn nodded, her own emotions stirred by the pain in his words. It
didn't sound like Sarah had had much to smile about in her lite, Matt
either, at least not during iheir childhood. "What was your dad like?
Was he as bad as your mother?"
"No. He was a pretty good guy," Matt replied, a rough edge in his
voice. "He kept my mother sane, I think He was a cook at a restaurant
on Fisherman's Wharf, and even after a long day he'd come home and cook
for us. When he died, my mother fell apart. Sarah was just a baby, but
that wasn't enough to pull my mother together. She took
sleeping pills and pain pills and God knows what other kind of pills
and drank 'em down with a shot of whiskey." He paused, looking Caitlyn
in the eye. "I kept thinking she'd change, get better, but it never
happened. I was a fool."
"You were a child," Caitlyn replied.
"It doesn't matter anyway. What really worries me now is Sarah," he
continued. "What if she turned out like my mother? What if she's cut
and run on her kid the way my mother did to us?"
"She said she'd be back."
"I've heard that before. I've learned to take promises with a grain of
salt."
"That's saa."
He shrugged."I think it's practical."
"What if Sarah doesn't come back? What will you do with Emily?" The
question slipped out before Caitlyn could stop it. It was none of her
business what Matt did with this baby. In fact, she was supposed to be
pulling away, not digging in deeper, but despite his bluntness, or
maybe it was because of his bluntness. he was easy to talk to, and
different from most of the men she'd met in her life, men like Brian,
who always spoke from some elite intellectual plane.
"I don't know," he answered. "I hope it doesn't come to that. I'm not
exactly a family man. I work long hours, I travel , . ." His voice
drifted off as he seemed to consider her question even further. "I'm
not
sure I'd be a good father. I screwed up with Sarah."
"You weren't her father. You were a sixteen-year-old boy."
"Yeah, well, hopefully Sarah will come back and it will be a moot
question."
"I think you'd be a good father, Matt. You've done pretty well so far."
"Why do you say that? Because she's still breathing?" He smiled. "That
might just be luck. And you've been pretty helpful."
"That's true. But Emily is just a little baby. She doesn't need much
more than something to eat and someone to love her." Caitlyn looked
around the barely furnished apartment. "Which is probably a good thing
in your case."
"I haven't had time to get settled yet."
"Do you ever get settled? Or do you just move on?"
"Most of the time I move on," he said with a small nod at her
perceptive statement. "I've always traveled light. It's easier that
way."
From what she'd heard of his past she could understand his thinking.
But there was something about the way Matt was looking at Emily that
told Caitlyn he might have just found a very good reason to acquire
some baggage. Because she couldn't believe that a man who cared so much
about his missing sister
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