Chapter Ten
“This sandwich is delicious, Iris.”
She glanced across the table and smiled. “Thanks. It’s one of Stuart Parkett’s specials.”
“Who’s Stuart Parkett?”
“My dad. He loved meatloaf sandwiches and taught me how to make them.”
“And you did a great job.”
“Thanks again. So tell me, what’s going on with the issue of your being Sid Roberts’s son?”
“More than I’d like, that’s for sure. I’ve got offers for interviews. What really is there to say? I didn’t know him. Everything I’m learning about him is from my cousins and my godmother. Although Megan never met Sid Roberts, my mother confided in her a lot.”
“It really doesn’t matter if you knew him, the bottom line is that you are his son, and that’s news. Nor is it important that it was two years ago when you found out. It’s still news and will continue to be news until it is finally addressed. Especially since you look so much like him.”
He glanced over at her. “And how do you know how much I look like him?”
“After all the fuss that was made that night at Cheyenne’s party, when I returned home, I researched him. I’m surprised you never noticed the resemblance.”
“I had no reason to do so. When I was all into Sid Roberts, I was a kid. As an adult, he rarely crossed my mind.”
“But you can see the resemblance, right?”
“Yes, I can see the resemblance. Cole has a picture of my dad on his phone, and he shared it with everyone that night. It was uncanny.”
A huge smile suddenly appeared on her face.
“What do you find amusing?” he asked.
“Not amusing, Matt. Just endearing. You refer to him as your dad.”
He shrugged. “That letter pretty much sealed the deal.”
She lifted a brow. “What letter?”
He then told her about the packet Chester had given him from Sid, and she hung on to his every word.
“And Sid Roberts had the letter notarized?” she asked, as if amazed.
“Yes, by his attorney. We paid a visit to him, and he verified everything. He was confident Chester would not have given me that packet unless he knew without a shadow of doubt that I was Sid Roberts’s son.
The one he had been looking for. He’d left it up to Chester or the triplets if Chester had passed away, as to whether they felt a DNA test would be necessary.
The four felt none was needed. His attorney felt that as well.
You should have seen his face when the triplets, Chester and I walked into his office. The man almost passed out.”
“I can imagine,” she said, after taking a sip of her iced tea. “What your father did is not only extraordinary but special.”
“I know. From that day forward, I accepted Sid Roberts as my father. There was no way I could not. Like you said, what he did was extraordinary and special.”
“Do you plan to take the land he wants you to have?”
“No. It’s part of the foundation and is used for wild horses. However, my not claiming something didn’t sit well with the triplets, so we recently reached a compromise. I agreed to four hundred acres near the south ridge.”
“Anything else I need to know?” she asked.
“Yes. Reporters aren’t the only ones calling. I also heard from Brandon Birmingham.”
“Brandon Birmingham, the movie producer and director?”
“Yes. He didn’t make the call himself, but someone from his production team did.
They want to discuss the possibility of a movie.
” Although a movie could be made about a deceased person without their family’s approval, some states—California being one of them—made it wise to get the family’s permission beforehand because of the risk of a lawsuit from heirs.
She studied his features. “And what are your feelings about that, Matt?”
“I understand they want to do a movie and make it some kind of love story with my parents.”
“And you have a problem with that?”
“Yes. I believe my mother loved Sid, but I’m not sure he loved her. Although my godmother, Chester, the triplets and two of my father’s closest friends from the rodeo circuit believe that he did.”
“But you don’t?”
He met her gaze. “Let’s just say it’s hard for me to believe. Personally, I feel that if a man truly loves a woman, she becomes the most important thing in his life, above all else. He would never place her second to anything. Not even a career.”
She didn’t say anything for a moment as she thought about what he’d said.
Sitting across from her was a man who would love hard and deep.
The woman he chose to love would become the most important person in his life, and she would know it.
He would not be like Sid Roberts or his paternal grandfather.
Both men had chosen a career with the rodeo over love, and a part of Iris believed they had eventually regretted it.
“What do you feel comfortable with me conveying to the media, Matt?”
She watched as he stood from the table and began pacing.
Whenever she asked that question of potential clients, some came up with a quick answer.
Matt intended to put more thought into what he wanted to say, and she could appreciate that.
Although he might not consider himself a celebrity, he’d become one by default.
His father wasn’t just a rodeo star. Sid Roberts was everything legends were made of.
His legacy and history were being taught in school.
There were streets named after him and a couple of parks.
And in Texas, particularly Austin, where Roberts had lived, there were schools named in his honor.
She watched Matt pace with his hands shoved in his pockets.
He had a serious expression on his face, as if he were thinking hard about her question.
And she was thinking hard about him. Garlan had worn a mustache, and Karlton and Warren were both clean-shaven.
She’d honestly never thought about whether she would prefer a man with a beard or not.
However, after sharing that kiss with Matt, she had discovered there was something outright arousing and erogenous about kissing a man with a beard.
It might have been the way it felt rubbing against her face when they had kissed, or it could have been the number of nights she’d gone to bed and he took part in her naughty dreams. Those were the times, while in her sleep-induced fantasies, she could feel his beard when he kissed her stomach and moved lower to the center of her thighs to—
She blinked upon realizing where her thoughts were going. Stay focused, Iris. You don’t need this kind of temptation. The two of you are nothing more than friends. Then why was she thinking about what she’d heard about friends making the best lovers?
Drawing in a deep breath, she turned her attention back to other PR statements she’d done, similar to the one he would need.
She had represented the illegitimate kids of celebrities before.
Some were in combat with their biological parent, who demanded paternity tests.
Then there were times when the biological parent needed to be represented when an illegitimate child, whom her client hadn’t known about, began making false claims to the media, mainly for monetary gain.
Matt didn’t fall within either of those categories.
He was successful in his own right. A man who hadn’t known the identity of his father until two years ago.
There were no sides at war. No disagreements.
Sid Roberts’s family had accepted Matt with more than open arms. No one was questioning that he was Roberts’s son.
His father had signed a legal document acknowledging Matt before dying.
In all honesty, her job in this case should be easy.
All she had to do was make a few statements, and that should be the end of it.
Why did she have a feeling that it wouldn’t be final…
at least not for them? He had mentioned Brandon Birmingham.
She knew the renowned movie producer and director and represented several actresses who had worked with him.
Shauna was one of them and had only nice words to say about him.
She’d heard Birmingham was only interested in movie projects he saw as epic.
That made Iris wonder what he had in mind for a possible Sid Roberts movie.
Was it more than the love story between Sid Roberts and Deena Caulder?
Matt stopped pacing and glanced over at her. “Something your godson Denver said at the gender reveal party resonated with me.”
“And what did Denver say?” she asked.
“He said he wished more people knew about Sid Roberts as more than just a rodeo star and hero. He thought people should know how he worked to save horses. That is something I agree with.”
She nodded. “I can definitely reiterate that in my statement. Is there anything else?”
“Nothing that I can think of,” he said, returning to his chair to sit down.
“Okay, I should have a statement prepared for you to look over in a day or so. If approved, it can be set up for immediate release.”
“Alright.”
“In the meantime, Matt, I need you to refer all calls you receive about your father to me.”
He looked across the table at her. “That won’t be a problem.”
“Good.” She didn’t say anything for a minute, and then she added. “There is something I think we need to get clear, Matt.”
“And what do we need to get clear, Iris?”
“I have a policy of not mixing business with pleasure.”
He met her gaze, and she felt heat touch her everywhere. “That’s no problem since I have the same policy.” He then checked his watch. “Our hour is almost up, and I need to get you back to your office.”
* * *
When Matt returned to work, he slid into the chair behind his desk, remembering what Iris had said about her policy of not mixing business with pleasure. At the time, he had been tempted to say that, as owners of their companies, they had the proprietary ability to change any policies they made.