She then smiled. "Is there some deep, dark family secret he conveniently left out?"

Mac laughed. "No, in fact it's all true history, even though certain people living in these parts don't want to admit it. But it's all there on record."

"What is?"

"Have you ever heard of Alexander Hamilton?"

Colby laughed. "Of course I've heard of Alexander Hamilton. I'm a teacher remember. And besides, history was my favorite subject in school. Alexander Hamilton was a prominent lawyer and statesman in the seventeen hundreds who went on to become the first Secretary of the Treasury under George Washington. He probably would have eventually become president one day if his duel with Aaron Burr had not ended his life."

"Hey, Teach, you're good," Mac said smiling. There was something about the look he gave her that spoke of admiration.

"I love history. Now what about Alexander Hamilton?"

"Well, the way the story goes is that while visiting this area, a beautiful slave girl caught Alex's eye and he approached her master about purchasing her. Not only did he buy her, but he purchased her parents, brothers and sisters. He brought them here, gave them their freedom, bought over a hundred thousand acres of land and built her a beautiful home."

"Since she isn't mentioned in the history books, I can only a.s.sume their relationship was rather discreet, especially since Hamilton was a married man," Colby said, fascinated with Mac's story.

Mac chuckled. "Some people claimed his wife knew all about Hamilton's black mistress, but it didn't bother her any. She had a grand place of her own in New York City where he officially lived. But from what I can tell, his heart was here with Lacey, and he came here every chance he got."

"Lacey?"

"Yes, Lacey. And even though they weren't legally married, Hamilton gave her his last name, and their ten sons were all Hamiltons."

"Ten sons?"

"Yep. Ten sons."

Colby shifted in her seat and turned around to face Mac when the car came to a stop at a traffic light. "Are you trying to tell me that Sterling is a descendant of Alexander Hamilton?"

Mac nodded. "And I bet of all the things you've ever read about Sterling in the newspapers and magazines, none of them ever mentioned his roots can be traced back to this country's first Secretary of the Treasury."

"How do you know so much about it?"

"Chandler Hamilton told me the entire story, and how later, after Alexander Hamilton died unexpectedly in that duel, people tried to take the land away from Lacey, but Alexander Hamilton was pretty smart. He had the land deeded to each of his ten sons. And he made sure it was put on file at a federal courthouse in Washington. The doc.u.ments were signed by none other than his good friend, George Washington, who happened to be president at the time. So in all reality, this entire town belongs to the Hamiltons, descendants of Alexander and Lacey."

"That's amazing."

"Yeah, I think so, too. Sterling loves it here and the people here love him. There're other families living in these parts now, but everyone looks up to him as one of the few true Hamiltons. They're all proud of him and are very protective of him. He's a local boy who's done well for himself, and he gives back to this community. He has a scholarship fund that will give any deserving child from Hamilton a free college education. He's also the one responsible for having that new hospital built we pa.s.sed a while ago."

Colby shook her head. She thought about the good deeds he had done for her two students. Edward Stewart had once told her Sterling was the most decent man he knew, and at the time she thought he had been crazy to make such a claim. But that was before she had gotten to know the real Sterling Hamilton. That was before he had captured her heart.

"Well, here we are."

Colby glanced around her. What she saw was absolutely breathtaking. She felt like a miniature person when she looked at the vast mountains surrounding them. Then she took a good look at Sterling's home. The two-story structure sat huge and s.p.a.cious, nestled among a glen of trees with the mountains in the background and the Roanoke River running behind it.

"So what you think?" Mac asked as he came around to open the car door for her.

She turned to him and smiled. "I think I've come home."

When Sterling's plane landed in Jacksonville, Florida, prior arrangements had been made for him to be picked up and taken immediately to the hospital. As he sat in the chauffeur-driven car, he couldn't help wondering what Nicholas Chenault's reaction would be when he arrived unannounced.

He took a deep breath, wondering if he really should have come. Even now the thought occurred to him that it might be too late.

When the car pulled up in front of the hospital, he got out. He had spoken with the hospital officials from his jet. So that the hospital wouldn't become a circus with his arrival, and to not tip off the media, arrangements had been made for hospital security personnel to meet his car. He was then taken up to the tenth floor by way of a special service elevator.

When Sterling stepped off the elevator he glanced around and immediately saw Nicholas Chenault talking to a man who appeared to be a doctor. Sterling recognized Nicholas because he favored Angeline. He had her light brown coloring and light-colored eyes.

Sterling knew that he, himself, was the spittin' image of Chandler. It was strange how one woman could give birth to two sons and they looked nothing alike. If anything, the only similarity they shared was their towering height. No one would ever guess they were brothers unless they chose to reveal that fact.

As if he had felt someone studying him, Nicholas Chenault glanced his way. Their eyes met. A part of Sterling wanted to feel resentment for the fact that this man had shared a part of his mother's life where he had not. He remembered how protectively she'd held Nicholas in her arms as a baby that day he had approached her and asked her to come home to him and his dad. Beginning that day, a part of him had resented the child she had preferred over him.

But not anymore.

Thanks to Colby, he'd been given food for thought. And plenty of it. She had been right. Nicholas Chenault had never done anything to him. And as he continued to look deep into his brother's eyes, he no longer saw him as an adversary. Nor did he see him as the "other child" that had gotten his mother's love when he had not. Instead, he saw a man in pain who faced the possibility of losing a parent he undoubtedly loved deeply.

Sterling sighed. Nicholas probably loved Angeline just as much as he loved Chandler. In that case, he was going through pure h.e.l.l.

As if they both made an important decision at the same time, Sterling and Nicholas began walking toward one another. It was Nicholas who offered his hand first in a firm handshake.

"I'm glad you came, Sterling."

Sterling relaxed when he felt the sincerity in Nicholas's words. "Thanks for notifying me."

Nicholas gave him a pained smile that was filled with warmth nonetheless. "She's your mother, too."

Sterling nodded, finally, after all these years, accepting Nicholas's words. "How is she?"

"There hasn't been any change. She's holding her own, although she hasn't come around since the surgery. Her doctor is afraid she may have slipped into a coma. I was just talking to him. You may be interested in what he has to say."

Sterling followed Nicholas to where the doctor was standing. He wondered how Nicholas would make introductions.

He soon found out.

"Dr. Thorn, I'd like you to meet my brother, Sterling Hamilton, and we want to know everything that's being done for our mother."

Colby had fallen in love with Sterling's home. The two-story house was large and s.p.a.cious on the inside. It was apparent the house had been specially designed so that each one of the four bedrooms upstairs had a balcony that overlooked one of the many huge mountains. The sights were breathtaking.

Very nice, she thought as she settled into bed that night. The only thing missing was Sterling.

He had called earlier from the hospital and had told her Angeline Chenault's condition was unchanged, and that she hadn't regained consciousness. Their conversation had been brief and the only thing he'd said about Nicholas Chenault was that the two of them had met.

Colby drew in a deep breath. Even late at night she could smell the sweet fragrance of the wildflowers she had seen growing alongside the house. Tomorrow she intended to take a walk around the property. She had wanted to do that earlier today, but by the time she had unpacked it had begun getting dark.

The sounds in the distance of crickets and frogs intertwined with an occasional whooing sound from an owl. The noises were soothing and relaxing. Again she couldn't help but wonder how anyone could not like this place. She wouldn't be like those other Hamilton women who became bored and restless as they waited for their lumberjack husbands to return home. She would keep herself busy while Sterling was away. She might even apply for a job at the elementary school in town. The thought of teaching again made her smile.

Now if she could only convince Sterling to keep her. She was determined more than ever to talk to him when he returned. She had news for him. Whether he liked it or not, he had a permanent wife.

Her last thought before sleep overtook her was that she was here to stay.

Dr. Thorn studied the two men who were sprawled out in the chairs in the hospital waiting room asleep. They had been there all night waiting for word of Angeline's progress. He had known the Chenaults for over twenty-five years and no one had ever mentioned Angeline had another son. Especially a son named Sterling Hamilton, the well-known movie actor. No doubt the media would have a field day when they found that out.

He cleared his throat and the two men woke instantly and stood. Although they weren't similar in physical features, except for their height, they both gazed at him with that same deep, intense stare. He could tell by the way they were looking at him, that they were expecting bad news.

It was Sterling who spoke first. "How is she?"

Dr. Thorn looked from one brother to the other. "Remarkably well for a woman who's gone through what she has. She's awake now, and I think I can say the surgery was a success, although she's not completely out of the woods yet. She has a lot of recovering to do and will need all the support she can get."

"Can we see her?" Nicholas asked anxiously.

Dr. Thorn smiled. "Yes. In fact, she's been asking for the both of you."

For the first time since meeting the day before, the two brothers looked at each other and allowed themselves to smile.

A few moments later both Sterling and Nicholas stood at the foot of Angeline's hospital bed. By the time they had gotten to her room, she had drifted back off to sleep.

"Mr. Chenault?" a nurse whispered softly as she entered the room. "You have a phone call at the front desk."

Nicholas nodded to the woman. He then turned to Sterling. "That's probably my office. I'll be back in a minute."

Left alone, Sterling allowed his gaze to linger on Angeline. In the hospital bed, she looked so tiny and frail. Her entire head was bandaged up and all sorts of machines were connected to her by way of various tubes. Sterling compared the woman he was looking at now to the one who had come to visit him in California. In less than four weeks, she had seemed to age almost twenty years.

Taking a deep breath he moved and sat in a chair at the head of the bed. No matter how he had felt toward her in the past, he would not have wanted this for her or anyone, not this sort of pain and suffering. At least Chandler had been spared that, having pa.s.sed away in his sleep.

Suddenly Angeline's eyes opened weakly, and she looked at him. At first it appeared she was somewhat in a daze as she continued to look at him. And then as if she recognized him, a semblance of a smile tried to form on her lips and tears came into her eyes.

Sterling saw her attempt to raise her hand to him and took it in his. She tried to move her lips to forms words to make a sound and couldn't. In frustration, tears trickled down her cheeks and her lips began to tremble.

A part of Sterling wanted to get up and walk out of the room. He wanted to walk out on her like she had walked out on him. But he couldn't. Colby was right. He had to forgive and he had to forget.

Rising to his feet, he leaned over her, still holding her hand in his. "It's okay, Mother," he whispered softly. "Everything's going to be all right. The most important thing now is for you to get better. Nicholas and I are counting on it."

Angeline Chenault rapidly blinked back tears and looked up at Sterling with stunned disbelief in her eyes. Then slowly nodding her head she closed her eyes and drifted back to sleep with her small hand still firmly encased in Sterling's larger one.

"Mr. Wingate, there's someone here to see you, sir. It's Homer Morton of Morton Industries," Shirley Timmons announced over the intercom.

The expression on James Wingate's face became one of surprise. Why on earth would Homer Morton be visiting him? He pushed aside the report he'd been working on. "Please show him in, Shirley."

James stood as he straightened his tie. It had been years since he had seen his former employer. He couldn't help but wonder why Homer Morton would be paying him a visit.

It didn't take long for him to find out when an angered Homer Morton literally stormed into his office.

"You've gone too far, Wingate, and I won't let you get away with it."

James was taken aback by the man's angry words. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

Homer Morton's mouth twisted even more with anger. "You're lying, Wingate. I know all about what you did, and I won't let you get away with it. I can't believe you'd stoop so low as to use your sister to save your company."

"Use my sister to save my company?" James walked around his desk to face the man. "What the heck are you talking about, Morton?"

"I'm talking about the fact that somehow you found out Morton Industries was buying up Wingate stock."

James lifted a brow, clearly surprised. "Why would you be interested in Wingate stock?"

The man snorted. "Like you don't know. I wanted this entire operation, Wingate, and I had all intentions of getting it until you found out I was on the verge of taking over your company."

James shook his head, frowning. "I knew nothing about that."

"Yes, you did. Somehow you found out and used your sister to stop me."

James shook his head. The man had evidently gone mad. He knew nothing about Morton's allegations, and he couldn't imagine Colby knowing anything about them, either. Other than holding shares in Wingate Cosmetics, she'd never taken an interest in the family business. Teaching was her love.

"I have no idea what you're talking about, Morton."

"I'm talking about your sister's marriage to Sterling Hamilton."

"What about Colby's marriage to Hamilton?"

"I don't know what's in it for Hamilton, but I do know you benefited from their marriage. You were able to save your company from me. While I was busy buying up your stock, Hamilton's company was busy buying controlling shares in mine."

James looked at the man with disbelief. "That's not true."

"Oh, it's true, all right. Your sister now owns the controlling shares of stock in my company."

"I think your being here did a lot to improve Mom's condition. I want to thank you again for coming."