Chapter Nine #2
It wasn’t the police. Far from it. A stranger, a teenager, stood in the corridor. Her long red hair and mustard-yellow coat were definitely not cop material, even if she’d been older.
Curious, Tatiana opened the door. “Yes, what can I do for you…”
She let her question drift off, a hint for the teen to introduce herself.
“Maya,” she said, jamming her fists into her yellow coat. “My name is Maya Currin.”
Currin? Maya Currin, as in Ryder’s daughter? Tatiana had heard Angela talk about her future stepdaughter. But other than that, Tatiana had had no contact with the Currin family all these years.
But something brought the girl here today and Maya could use a distraction. “Come in, dear. What can I do for you?”
Maya stepped over the threshold warily, her hyperfocus on Tatiana unnerving. Just as she considered asking the girl to leave, Maya turned her attention to the condo, walking to the massive wall of glass, flattening her palm against it.
“I’m Ryder Currin’s youngest. I’ve been away at college for my freshman year, but I’m home for Christmas.”
The girl looked around the apartment, staring unabashedly, her gaze lingering on the white plush sofa.
What the hell was going on? Was the girl unhinged? “Are you looking for someone?”
A shaky sigh rocked through her before she continued.
“I’ve always known I was adopted. My father always swore he would tell me about my biological family once I turned eighteen, but he’s been putting it off.
Until yesterday, when I insisted.” She turned back to Tatiana.
“I stayed awake all night working up the nerve to confront you.”
Tatiana’s scalp tingled with premonition. This conversation couldn’t be headed where she thought… Still, she started shaking, staring at this beautiful girl with red hair and brown eyes.
Practically a mini version of her.
Tears misted her eyes as the undeniable truth hit home. “Are you my daughter?”
She didn’t even need Maya to respond. She knew. Could sense it between them. Her heart fractured all over again at the time they’d spent apart. And how close her child had been all this time.
Kept from her by Ryder Currin.
Maya nodded slowly. “Yes. My father can confirm it.”
Fat tears rolled down Maya’s face and she flew into Tatiana’s arms with zero hesitation.
The one thing that was hers, that no one could take from her.
Tatiana held her tight with a possessive urgency.
Her child. Grown, safe and beautiful. She’d led the pampered childhood Tatiana hadn’t had.
If only Maya’s childhood hadn’t been with that horrid Ryder Currin.
Regret threatened to level her. The choices she’d made had been impossible. Unfair. The reality of how much she’d lost stood in front of her now, a haunting reminder of how truly she’d been robbed.
“I wanted to keep you. I loved you so much.” Tatiana held her hands tightly, hardly able to believe she was truly touching her baby girl.
“But I had no money. I was alone. My father was on his last legs healthwise.” A nice way to gloss over her father’s alcoholism.
“I begged him to let me give you to a good family to raise.”
And her father had promised her he would. Then he’d turned around and given her baby to Ryder Currin. The betrayal cut deeper than any other.
Fury rose in her, only tempered by the joy of meeting Maya.
“Thank you for letting me in and telling me,” Maya said. “There are so many questions I want to ask, but I have to get back to my dad. I—I—” The teen stuttered with nerves. “I hope we can get to know each other.”
Tatiana’s broken heart warmed, and she was filled with pride over this beautiful child she had created. “I would love that.”
She hugged her daughter again, transported back to the day she’d held the infant bundle in her arms, her heart broken, her life wrecked.
The memories lingered long after she’d escorted Maya to the door, leaning against the frame to watch her child walk to the elevator, step inside and disappear from view.
Overwhelmed by emotion, Tatiana backed into her condo and leaned against the closed door, unable to think straight. The man she despised was raising the daughter she’d always loved. It wasn’t fair. Her whole damn life wasn’t fair right now.
For the first time since she’d decorated her apartment, she felt weighed down in this space, in spite of the pristine white decor she’d chosen for a sense of freedom, of a fresh start unsullied by the past. Normally, it soothed her, giving her a sense of control.
Instead, right now the piercing all-white motif made her feel as though she’d been trapped in a hospital, about to undergo surgery. Except the surgery was a painful montage of every moment in her life that went so damn wrong.
She couldn’t escape the cornered feeling that her brother might give her up to avoid jail time.
The more she thought about it, the more freaked out she became until she surrendered to the fear.
Racing around the condo, she threw a haphazard collection into her suitcase, then frantically searched for her passport. She had to leave the country. Now.
But…
How could she? Her daughter, her baby girl, was here in Houston. And after all this time, she had the chance to get to know her. Her mind whirled all over the place with questions. Had Angela known about this? All this time? That her boyfriend had been raising Tatiana’s daughter?
The fury raged. Angela had to have known. The bitch.
Someone had to pay for all Tatiana had been through.
Angela had a golden life, full of advantages from being Sterling Perry’s child, and now from being with Ryder Currin.
Both men disgusted Tatiana. They’d stolen that parcel of land from her father.
If he hadn’t been cheated, then her family wouldn’t have fallen apart.
She wanted Sterling and Ryder to hurt as much as she did right now, as much as she’d always hurt when she’d thought of her daughter.
Her fury focused on the perfect way to make both men suffer. By taking from them someone precious. Angela. If Angela were to die…
Tatiana’s hand tightened around the paperweight again, the crystal cool in her grip, like a rock in her hand with enough heft to bash in a head. She forced her hold to relax. Whatever happened next was totally in her control.
She’d killed once. She could do so again.
Esme could hardly believe she was back in Houston. Home. And that Jesse was with her.
It seemed like a lifetime ago that she’d left for Royal. So much had changed since then, hell-bent on making a difference for her dad. She still wanted that for him. In fact, she looked forward to seeing the two most special men in her life—Jesse and her dad—making a difference in the club.
Her family, Jesse, even her brother and sisters.
The gathering would be like a family reunion.
Her suede pumps click-clacked musically against the tile floor in the Houston club building.
A tour of the facility had gone well, and now they were meeting in a conference room.
Every reverberation made her feel more at home, more comfortable with her newfound happiness.
As she turned the corner, she saw a familiar silhouette.
Angela dressed with her pitch-perfect fashion sense in a black-and-white A-line dress with a small clutch. Her sister noticed her nearly at the same moment. A wide grin pulled the corners of her mouth skyward.
With determined steps, Esme closed the distance between her and Angela, wrapping her older sister in a tight hug.
She’d missed her and wanted to share the latest news about the burgeoning relationship with Jesse.
She just knew Jesse and Ryder would enjoy each other’s company, too, both such down-to-earth men with a love of the land.
So much joy and hope for the future coursed through her heart.
But as she eased back and looked more fully at her sister, she could sense something was off with Angela.
“What’s going on?” Esme prodded gently. Possibilities cartwheeled through her mind.
At the simple question, Angela’s face paled. Deeper concern rose in Esme’s chest, and she maneuvered them to one of the decorative palms out of earshot of the people milling in the halls as guests from Royal began arriving at the Houston chapter clubhouse for the tour of the new facility.
A somewhat nervous laugh trembled from Angela’s lips. That’s when Esme knew something serious had happened. Top of the list of her guesses? “Are you and Ryder okay?”
If that man had hurt her sister again, Esme would never forgive him.
“Well…that’s a million-dollar question. I’m still reeling.
Prepare yourself. Turns out Maya, Ryder’s adopted daughter, is actually Tatiana’s daughter.
Tatiana. My best friend. And Tatiana never told me.
” Angela’s voice shook. “She never even hinted she gave up a baby. And Ryder… I just… I just can’t believe he didn’t tell me before now.
I’m trying not to feel betrayed. But it’s just… a lot of information to digest.”
Esme blinked. Then she immediately scanned the room for Ryder Currin, who was deep in conversation with a group of people down the hall.
That bastard had actually once been engaged to Angela and hadn’t opened up about his life—about something that would have a deep impact on his fiancée.
Sure, his children were all adults now, but they would have been Angela’s stepchildren, an important connection.
He’d expected Angela to give her all to a relationship, yet he’d held back about this tie to her best friend.
And where did that leave them now?
Her sister’s breakup with Ryder had been rough. That was no secret. They’d fought for their relationship, though, made it back to a promising forever. But she imagined information like this didn’t do a lot in the way of bolstering trust in a relationship that still needed healing.
Esme schooled her features into PR neutrality. The last thing Angela needed was Esme’s anger piled on top of all the turmoil she must be feeling. Esme just wanted to be here for her sister. “Are you having second thoughts about being with Ryder?”
Angela wrung her hands until her knuckles turned pale, nerves clearly rising hard and fast. “I know that I love him.”
Esme pulled her gaze from her distraught sister to Ryder Currin again. Did the man love Angela as much? Was he the man Angela deserved? He inclined his head to the rancher he chatted with, his black Stetson obscuring his face.
Esme wished she had the answers and assurance. Love was a risky prospect. Even thinking about a future with Jesse was scary—and exciting. There was so much potential for heartbreak and failure. And opportunity for happiness.
She turned back to her sister. “What can I do for you?”
Her sister let out a breath. “Just be here for me. Be my sister.” She pressed a trembling hand to her chest, the absence of her engagement ring so very sad. The tan line even remained. Faint, but there, if one looked close enough. “I can’t say this hasn’t thrown me. I feel like I barely know him.”
Throat bobbing, Angela’s voice trailed off.
Esme struggled for the right words. Just being there somehow didn’t seem like enough. “I realize this is unbelievably hard. I’m here whenever you need to talk.”
Never had she been more grateful for her siblings to support one another, to continue the family bond. They needed one another.
Jesse was right that family was everything. And if he moved here, he could share in all of hers.
Esme squeezed Angela’s hand in more unspoken support.
“I’ll be okay. I’m glad you’re home.” Angela squeezed back in understanding, the sibling connection never more tangible. Esme felt like finally she and her sister had related without any barrier, no more being an outsider to Angela and Melinda’s twin bond.
She wasn’t going to let that go and hoped the same progress could be made with Melinda.
Esme made a mental note to talk to her sister more about this later, and they made their way into the conference room.
Esme was drawn into a conversation about the press releases she needed to send out while someone tapped Angela with a question about the order of events.
Giving her sister one last glance before they parted ways, Esme had to admire Angela’s strength through so much adversity.
Then, turning her attention from the influx of people on-site for the meeting, Esme took a moment to admire the renovations.
There was still some work to complete before the holiday party a couple of days before Christmas, much less in time for the official opening at the huge New Year’s Eve blowout gala.
But it was still already an impressive conference room, from the lengthy wooden table to the massive chairs all around. Crystal pitchers of water were placed strategically, but she was too nervous.
She was actually listening to her first Texas Cattleman’s Club business meeting, with all the influential players on hand, including the current Royal chapter president and board members.
Familiar faces, new friends even, after her time at Jesse’s.
Cord and Sheriff Battle sat on either side of her father.
Ryder Currin scowled from the other side of the table where he sat with Angela.
It saddened Esme that her sister seemed a gulf away, but they would mend that with time.
Angela had to understand Esme’s reasons for rooting for their father.
Then the gavel sounded, startling Esme and pulling her upright just as the meeting was called to order.