The Way Home Read online

  The Way Home

  Seven Brides, Seven Brothers

  Book One

  By

  Belle Calhoune

  Seven boys were adopted from the foster care system by Alec and Maggie Donahue, a loving Irish couple living in Breeze Point, Cape Cod. Now grown men, the brothers are making their way in the world in their chosen professions, each hoping to find love that will last a lifetime.

  The Caretaker

  Blue Donahue, an internationally-known journalist, has come home to Breeze Point, Cape Cod to celebrate his parents’ fortieth wedding anniversary. When his father suffers a stroke, Blue, along with his six adopted brothers, is thrown into a tailspin. When he comes face to face with Sarah, the love of his life, his heart awakens to all the possibilities stretched out before them.

  Sarah Dalton, an emergency room nurse, can’t believe her eyes when her ex-fiancé, Blue Donahue, comes crashing into her hospital. Four years ago their relationship crashed and burned when Blue showed up two hours late for their wedding. Now, she’s forced to face the only man she’s ever loved as he deals with a family crisis.

  The hurts of the past loom large between Blue and Sarah. But as circumstances drive them together, they find that the love they thought they’d lost has endured. And, with faith and truth, they may be able to create a love stronger than any they’d ever dreamed possible.

  Seven Brides, Seven Brothers Series

  For my two daughters, Sierra and Amber. May love always lead you home.

  A note from Belle:

  I conceived the idea for this series after seeing articles about wonderful people who adopted children from the foster care system. In particular, I wanted to celebrate families that were made up of diverse races: white, black, brown. I have so much admiration for people who look inside their hearts, and feel such overwhelming love for children, that they take them into their homes and give them a life like they’ve never known before. In many cases, the children who are adopted from the foster system have come from situations where neglect and abuse were part of their everyday lives. In this series, the seven Donahue brothers were given a shot at a decent life because of Maggie and Alec Donahue. Above all, the Donahue boys appreciate love, family, romance, and faith. Thank you for being a part of their romantic journeys.

  I can be found at www.bellecalhoune.com,

  Twitter @BelleCalhoune

  Author Belle Calhoune on Facebook

  Belle Calhoune @ Copyright 2014

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including photocopying, recording or by any information storage and retrieval system, without the written permission of the publisher and author, except where permitted by law.

  Cover Art by Niina Cord. http://niinascoverdesign.weebly.com/

  Prologue

  Blue Kendrick sat on the bench outside the office of the Family and Children’s Agency of Massachusetts, anxiously waiting for someone to put him out of his misery. It felt as if he’d been waiting out here for forever. He fidgeted with his collar, wishing he could take off the bow tie and unbutton his shirt. He hated fancy clothes. But Mrs. Worther had told him to put his best foot forward with his new foster family. Wearing a suit and tie, she’d said, showed he was a respectful boy. He knew only good little boys stayed in foster homes for longer than a few months here and there. And only really perfect kids ever got adopted. Maybe that was why no one had adopted him yet. His parents had always told him how bad he was. That was why his Dad whipped him with the belt and cussed at him. It was why his mother got drunk every night and reeked of whiskey. He was no good.

  He stared at his reflection in the window across from him, patting down a few stray hairs that didn’t want to stay in place. He practiced smiling at his reflection. His cheeks hurt he was grinning so wide. Foster parents liked kids who smiled a lot. They liked kids who didn’t make trouble and who wouldn’t eat them out of house and home. With a groan, he patted his stomach. It wasn’t even lunchtime and he was as hungry as a bear. Sometimes his tummy made growling noises. Back when he’d lived with his parents his tummy had made groaning noises all the time. Going to bed hungry had been an everyday thing. And if he ever complained about being hungry, he’d felt the sharp sting of his father’s hand. He shut his eyes tight, not wanting to think of the way things used to be before he was put in foster care.

  The clicking sound of a door opening caused him to jump in his seat. Mrs. Worther came out of her office first, followed quickly by a good looking couple who were holding hands. Blue’s eyes went wide as he laid eyes on them. They were young! Way younger than any foster parents he’d ever seen. The lady was beautiful, with round cheeks and a rosy complexion. Her hair was a pretty color that reminded him of autumn leaves. And the man looked like he could toss a football or run around a park without getting winded. He squinted at them. They looked way too perfect.

  Mrs. Worther stood to the side and looked back and forth between him and the couple. She seemed to be waiting to see how the three of them handled the situation. She sent him a smile of encouragement, but he had no idea how to make the first move. He was just a kid.

  Taking matters into his own hands, the man sat down on the bench next to Blue. For the first time, Blue noticed he was wearing a pair of jeans and white docksides. He was smiling, which made his sea-green eyes twinkle. “Hi. I’m Alec Donahue. This is my wife, Maggie.” His voice was nice and calm, not loud or forceful. He was talking to him, not at him. All of a sudden, Blue felt tongue-tied. He’d practiced his speech for days on end, but now the words wouldn’t come out. Tears of frustration pooled in his eyes and he hung his head.

  All of a sudden he felt a light touch on his arm. He looked up and into the kind eyes of Alec Donahue.

  “Hey, buddy. What’s going on? No need to be nervous. We just want to meet you. Get to know you a little bit.” Mr. Donahue held his hand out toward him. The large grin almost overtook his whole face. It made Blue want to smile back at him. Could he trust him?

  “My name is Blue. Nice to meet you.” Warily, he reached out and shook Mr. Donahue’s hand.

  Something about Alec Donahue’s steady handshake made him feel safe. It was strong and sure. Mr. Donahue looked him straight in the eye and seemed to like what he saw in him. That made Blue feel happy on the inside. It wasn’t a feeling he was used to. It wasn’t something he was sure he could believe in.

  Mr. Donahue looked over at his wife, who smiled and nodded at him. He swung his gaze back toward Blue. “You're going to come live with us, Blue. Maggie and I live in Cape Cod, by the beach. We have a dog and a big yard with a swing set to play on. We want a big family. We’d like you to be part of that family, Blue.”

  A feeling of surprise enveloped him. They wanted him? Really, truly wanted him to be a part of their family?

  “But, you just met me.” The words tumbled out of his mouth like spilled milk. He hadn’t been able to catch them in time. He was always messing up and saying the first thing that came into his mind. Hadn’t his mother told him over and over again how dumb it was to say whatever he was thinking? Stupid, stupid, stupid.

  He tucked his chin against his chest, not wanting the Donahues to see the look of shame in his eyes.

  Maggie Donahue walked towards him, sitting down on his other side. A heavenly scent drifted along with her. She smelled like flowers and sunshine. She oozed kindness. “We might just be meeting you for the first time face-to-face, but we know an awful lot about you.”

  Blue lifted his head and gazed into the kindest face he’d ever seen. “Like what?” he asked, curiosity building inside him.

  “We know you love taking pictures. Mrs. Worther told us about your camera and how you take
wonderful photos wherever you go.”

  Blue nodded his head vigorously. “My grandpa gave me that camera, right before he went to Heaven. It’s a Nikon. He said that he wanted me to have it, ‘cause I was the only person he knew who would treat it right. And he gave me lessons on how to use it.”

  “That’s great!” Mr. Donahue chimed in. “You never know where that camera might take you.”

  The camera was the best thing he owned. He’d had to hide it from his parents since they’d hocked every single thing of value in their trailer home. Toys. His telescope. They’d even raided his piggy bank a time or two. He’d learned to keep all his newspaper delivery money in a sock under his mattress. After a while they’d stumbled upon that too, leaving him with nothing but an empty sock.

  “Don’t you mean where I’ll take it?” he asked. “How can a camera take me somewhere?”

  Both Mr. and Mrs. Donahue chuckled at his question. He liked the sound of his deep, rumbling laughter and the way her eyes crinkled up with happiness. She leaned in toward him as if they were old friends, her shoulder rubbing against his. “What Alec means is, that if you love taking pictures, there’s a whole world out there to capture. For instance, the pyramids in Egypt or the Eiffel Tower in Paris, France.”

  Alec winked at him. “Or the sand dunes in Breeze Point, where we live.”

  “So, I’m going to live with you?” He asked the question carefully. It was like putting his big toe in the ocean. Sometimes there were sharks hiding out of sight.

  “Yes,” they both said in unison.

  “For how long? A week? A month?” He was getting a little tired of the foster home runaround. So far he’d been in four; four revolving doors where he’d barely gotten used to things before he was being shuttled to a new temporary home.

  “We hope for always,” Maggie said in a firm voice. Tears pooled in her eyes and her smile trembled a little bit. “If you’ll have us.”

  Alec nodded in agreement, letting him know that they were on the same page. Home! A place to lay his head at night without having to worry about his grumbling stomach or the next whipping he might receive. No more cussing at him or making him feel stupid for the smallest thing.

  A warm sensation settled in his chest as he absorbed the news. He didn’t know why, but he believed in Alec and Maggie Donahue. And, for the first time in his life, he had the feeling that someone believed in him as well. Two someones, actually. He reached out a hand to both of them, feeling a sensation of calm spread over him as they all held hands.

  Finally, he was going home.

  “There’s always a home for you here with us. No matter how far away you roam from Breeze Point, we’ll always welcome you back with open arms.” Alec Donahue

  Chapter One

  Blue Donahue had been eight years old when he came to the realization that no one would ever love him. Neither of his parents had ever said those three little words to him, nor had they shown it to him by their actions. The only thing they’d ever really given him was a sense of instability. Ever since he could remember, they’d instilled a strong sense of fear in him. Even though he got on his knees every night and prayed for things to get better, the beatings still came, along with the name-calling and the cussing. Going to bed at night with no food in his stomach, and an ache in his soul, made him wonder if things would ever get better.

  By the time Blue celebrated his ninth birthday, his whole world had changed for the better. Being taken in as a foster child by Alec and Maggie Donahue was a game changer. They’d opened him up to new possibilities and shown him a world beyond his imagination. They’d given him their family name. And they showered him with all the love and devotion he’d been desperate to get from his birth parents. When they adopted him and officially made him a Donahue on his tenth birthday, it had been the best and brightest day of his life. Now, at twenty-nine, Blue couldn’t imagine what would have happened to him if the Donahues hadn’t rescued him from his abusive situation. He could only imagine. Over the years, he’d heard rumors about the activities his birth parents had been involved in after he was taken from their home. Prison. Drunk driving arrests. Domestic violence. He’d certainly dodged a bullet the day he’d ended up in foster care.

  Blue looked around at the festively decorated restaurant situated on Breeze Bay Harbor in Cape Cod. The Cove, owned by his younger brother, Nick, was a popular seafood restaurant that had steadily gained in popularity since it opened its doors three years ago. The restaurant was doing very well due to Nick’s meticulous management style and his dedication to the staff and clientele. As a perfectionist, he had the vision and the wherewithal to achieve excellence.

  Blue was proud of his brother’s accomplishments, particularly since he’d floundered in school and questioned his path for several years. Nick was dyslexic, and for a long time he didn’t regard himself as intelligent or worthy, in large part due to his birth parents who’d labeled him as dumb. Being able to conceive and execute the idea for a gourmet restaurant was no small feat. Nick deserved all the kudos flowing his way.

  Matter of fact, he was proud of all his brothers; Nick, Remy, Ryder, Brandon, Wyatt, and Mac. All seven of them had been sent to live with Alec and Maggie Donahue as part of the foster family program. With the exception of Remy, they’d all been rescued from nightmarish situations, some worse than others. Not long after coming to the Donahue household, they’d all been adopted by the family. For Blue, growing up in such a large family had been a blessing. Not that things hadn’t gotten complicated or tense at times. With so much testosterone in the house, fists had been known to fly at the slightest provocation. But, over time, they’d all adjusted to living as one big, happy family.

  And even though the brothers were now all scattered across the country, coming home to Breeze Point warmed all their hearts. Watching his parents glide across the hardwood dance floor to the smooth rhythms of their favorite jazz band caused a tightening in his chest. This was love, he thought. Faithful, enduring love. His parents had been together for forty years, and it was in celebration of their anniversary that they’d all gathered here tonight, from far and wide. There was no place in this world he’d rather be than right here with his family. It had been way too long since he’d been back in Cape Cod, surrounded by Donahue testosterone.

  When he felt a strong pat on his back he didn’t even need to glance up to know it was his younger brother, Wyatt, who’d sidled up to him on his crutches. It was good to see Wyatt in such a good mood, considering everything he’d been through in the last few months. A meniscus tear in his left knee had sidelined him from his career as second baseman for the Boston Red Sox, leaving him despondent and angry. It was Wyatt’s third injury in the last few years, one that could permanently retire him from the game. For the moment, though, his brother seemed to have forgotten his troubles. There was nothing like a Donahue celebration to raise one’s spirits.

  “They look good out there, don’t they?” Wyatt asked, his handsome face lit up with joy.

  With his sandy hair and blue eyes, Wyatt had the classic appeal of a movie star. With his good looks and an abundance of charm, Wyatt had always enjoyed the attention of the female population. So far though, no woman had ever managed to make her way into his heart, a fact that worried their mother to no end. As a result, they’d nicknamed him ‘the heartbreaker’. The title annoyed him immensely.

  “The old man still has it,” Blue agreed, admiring his father’s fancy footwork and the graceful way he was holding their mother in his arms. There was something so special about their connection. Forty years together and still madly in love. As always, thinking about his parents made him wonder about his own pitiful love life. It was practically non-existent. Other than a few dates here and there, things were pretty boring in that part of his life. He’d chosen instead to concentrate on his career. It was far better to focus on something he might be able to attain rather than chasing a pipe dream. For him, the idea of a woman loving him until the end of time was near
impossible. Hadn’t he already shown he wasn’t worth loving? Hadn’t he already thrown away his chance at happily ever after?

  “Check out Remy.” Wyatt nudged him and pointed towards the dance floor. With smooth moves of his own, their older brother Remy cut in on their father and whisked their mother away from him. With his cafe au lait skin and tall, athletic build, Remy stood out from the crowd wherever he went. Part of it was due to his natural grace, but some of it was due to his exotic Creole looks. The fact that he was fluent in French and Italian only enhanced his appeal. Blue knew firsthand how women reacted to his brother’s grace and charm. On a regular basis, women tripped all over themselves to get close to him. As Remy spun their mother around the dance floor, his feet seemed to be dancing on air. Everyone in the room started clapping and cheering.

  Wyatt and Blue looked at each other and laughed. They weren’t surprised a bit by Remy’s actions. Known as the most sentimental and romantic of the seven brothers, he was also the one closest to their mother’s heart. Not that she played favorites, but the two had a special bond and everyone in the family knew it.

  Out of the corner of his eye Blue caught sight of his father dancing with a woman with long, curly blonde hair and a slim build. His heart began beating wildly as a slick sheen of sweat gathered on his forehead. He couldn’t have looked away even if he wanted to.

  “What’s wrong?” Wyatt was looking at him quizzically, concern etched on his face. He moved slightly to the left, craning his neck for a better view. “You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

  As his father twirled the woman around, her face came into full view. It wasn’t her! No delicate features. No sweetly shaped lips. No big blue eyes. No Sarah. A feeling of disappointment coursed through him, leaving him feeling a little off kilter.