Hidden Talents

that to happen, could you?” Caleb said quietly. “Not after you and my grandfather and Aunt Phyllis had worked so hard over the years to make sure that I didn't repeat my father's mistakes.”
    Serenity looked at Roland's stark face and felt colder than ever. She could see the pain in him very clearly now. Every word that was being spoken was a knife thrust that cut to the bone.
    “We did our best,” Phyllis said grandly. She narrowed her eyes at Serenity. “Apparently we failed.”
    Serenity stirred. “I think you're all overlooking one major fact that makes this situation different from what happened in the past.”
    “And what would that be?” Phyllis asked disdainfully.
    “Caleb isn't married to another woman, as his father was when the original scandal broke,” Serenity pointed out gently. “You may not approve of his involvement with me, but you can't claim that he's repeating his father's sins. He's not committing adultery. He's not betraying a wife.”
    “He's betraying his family, just as his father did.” Phyllis's voice shook with indignation.
    “There may not be an innocent wife involved this time, but that makes no difference.” Franklin gave Caleb a fulminating look. “The end result will be the same. You'll embarrass this entire family. You'll humiliate all of us again, just as Gordon did. This is a small town. Everyone will know.”
    Phyllis lifted her chin. “Perhaps that is precisely what Caleb wants.”
    Roland stared at her. “What the hell are you saying?”
    “That perhaps that's what this affair is all about,” Phyllis snapped. “It occurs to me that by taking up with a woman like Miss Makepeace, your grandson has found a very effective way to punish all of us.”
    “Punish us for what?” Roland demanded. “I took him in and raised him. I gave him a home. Made him my heir. What more could I have done for him?”
    “Yes, I know, Roland. You did everything you could for him. We all did. One would think he would be grateful.” Phyllis gave Caleb a gimlet-eyed look. “But it appears that gratitude is not what he feels for us. I've suspected as much for years.”
    Roland's hand curved into a fist on the arm of the chair. His gaze was riveted on Caleb. “Is that why you're doing this? Are you trying to punish us for some reason? Is this your notion of vengeance? For God's sake, why?”
    “I didn't get involved with Serenity because I wanted revenge on you,” Caleb said evenly. “I got involved with her because I wanted her.”
    “You sound just like your father,” Roland shot back. “You even look like he did that day when he told me he wanted Crystal Brooke. How dare you do this to me?”
    Serenity raised her hand before Caleb could lash back. “I would just like to point out once again that this scene, however unpleasant, is not, I repeat not, a replay of what happened thirty-four years ago. Things will turn out differently this time if you handle them differently. There is no need to replay the past.”
    Phyllis glowered at her. “As you yourself noted earlier, Miss Makepeace, the only thing that's different this time is that Caleb isn't married.”
    “It seems to me that's a major difference,” Serenity said. “It also raises a very interesting question.” She turned toward Roland. “I'm curious. Had there been problems between Caleb's father and his wife? Or did the affair with Crystal Brooke just come out of the blue?”
    “Problems?” Roland beetled his brows. “They'd only been married a couple of years. All young couples have problems. Moving out West was an adjustment for Patricia. We all knew that. What's that got to do with it?”
    “I just wondered if perhaps your son got involved with Crystal Brooke because his marriage was in trouble,” Serenity said.
    “It was an excuse.” Roland's fist slammed down on the arm of the chair. “Nothing more than a trumped-up excuse for satisfying his own selfish lust for that slut.”
    Caleb went dangerously still. “I warned you not to call her those names.”
    “Bah, I don't care if she was your mother,” Roland said. “She was no good and that's a fact. And I don't care what Gordon said, I never believed for one minute that Patricia was having an affair.”
    “Patricia?” Serenity repeated quickly. “Was that the name of Gordon's wife?”
    “A fine young woman.” Roland's eyes were piercing.
    “A beautiful young woman,” Franklin murmured. “Refined, elegant, well-mannered.”
    “She was