Chapter 5
He arrived at the designated place fifteen minutes early and completely missed the charm of the park.
He paced along the winding path, his nerves coiled tight in his chest. A couple's laughter floated on the breeze, blending with the distant scent of freshly cut grass and blooming flowers.
Cade barely registered any of it, his gaze scanning each passerby, anger and anxiety warring within him as he waited for Abigail to arrive.
He had spent the time after leaving the bookstore just driving aimlessly around. He had planned on going back to the publishing house to wrap up a few things and then head on to the corporate office for a meeting but had done none of those things.
He was angry. Hoping to take the knife edge off the anger, he was here, pacing.
Sticking to the entrance of the park where several benches were grouped together, he paced restlessly.
He had a daughter. One he never knew existed.
Yes, he had used protection that night, always had, mostly because it had been drummed in his and Kevin's head to be careful.
But that little girl looked too much like him not to be his.
And she had kept it from him.
Granted, she had called him a couple of times after, but if he recalled correctly, that had been a week after they had been together and too soon for her to know she was with child. Unless she was bloody psychic.
Four years old, he thought bitterly as he jammed his hands into the pockets of his leather jacket. The wind whipped at his hair as he made the journey from the sparkling fountain dripping with clear water to the benches.
A few committed joggers went by him, but he barely noticed them. His thoughts were jumbled, anger burning his lungs. She had no right!
And when she got here... He spun around as the headlights cut through the shadows. The car slid to a stop. He stood where he was and watched her sitting behind the wheel as if contemplating whether to approach or simply take off.
He would follow her, he decided grimly. If he had to run her to ground, that's what would happen, so she'd bloody well come out and face him. She had a lot of explaining to do.
He tensed when she pushed open the car door and slammed it shut behind her.
Standing still, his shoulders rigid, he waited for her to cross to him.
His fury did not stop him from admiring the graceful sway of her hips.
She had on a full-length black jacket but had left it open.
Her hair was still in the tidy bun, but she had pulled a black knitted cap over it.
"I hope I did not keep you waiting."
"I was early."
"Shall we sit?"
"I don't want to sit. I want you to..."
He broke off when a couple jogged by. Taking her arm, he steered them towards the bank of Brandywine maple trees, nearly across from the Lilly pond.
"Kindly take your hand off me."
Her cool tone with the disdain clearly evident had him digging in his fingers, and he was cruelly satisfied when she winced.
"She's my daughter."
"She's mine." Pulling her arm away, she walked towards the pond. "We had a one-night stand and when I tried to contact you..."
She let out a gasp when he clamped a hand on her arm and hauled her around to face him.
"When did you discover you were pregnant?"
"That's none of your business."
"Try again." His face was hard and harsh with anger, his lips thinning.
"When I was two months."
"And you didn't think to contact me."
"You were gone." She hissed, looking around to make sure they were not overheard. She had thought of ways to avoid making the meeting but resigned herself to the fact that he would make good on his threat and come after her. "I read in a magazine that you had left for Europe."
He shook her. "My parents, the rest of my family were still here."
"I was ashamed." She blazed at him. "I had never done anything like that before, obviously.
" She swallowed the bile in her throat. "And from your behavior afterwards, you clearly wanted nothing to do with me.
It was just another notch on your very overcrowded belt. I let my family down, let myself down."
"I was planning on getting rid of it." She felt when he started and had the perverse pleasure of seeing the blank look on his face. Tears burned the back of her eyes. "I was scared. I had a career plan, and it was ruined all because... please let go of my arm, you're hurting me."
He released her instantly and felt the shame and guilt coursing through him. He had set out to seduce an innocent young girl and accomplished it. And had left her without a backward glance. But that still did not excuse the fact that she had kept something like this from him.
"I had a right to know."
She shrugged and bunched her fisted hands into the pockets of her jacket.
"You did not deserve anything." Angling her chin, she glared at him.
"You had your fun and left. I was the one who had to make the decision of whether or not to keep the baby and I did.
I went through hell to bring her into this world, nine months of acute morning, afternoon and night sickness. Where the hell were you?"
"If you'd called..."
"You would have what?" Dragging her hands from her pockets, she spread them. "Jump on a plane, leave the current woman you were involved with and be right there by my side?"
Guilt warred with anger and had his eyes darkening.
"Now, we will never know, will we?" He asked tightly.
"I was robbed of that because you were pissed I did not call you back.
" He stalked her until her back hit the trunk of the tree.
"You took that away from me. You could have gone to my parents. .."
"And say what?" She cried, fear burning a path through her body. He looked angry enough to do bodily damage. "What would you have me say? 'Mr. & Mrs. Tyrell, I had the bad judgement of having sex with your son on our very first meeting and now I'm knocked up. Help.'"
"Yes!" he slammed a hand on the tree above her head. "They would have dragged my ass back to the states to face my responsibility. You had no right..."
"I did not want to force anything on you.
" She lifted her chin, her voice quiet and dignified.
"Zoe is my daughter." She slapped a hand to her chest. "Mine.
I almost died giving birth to her and she's completely mine.
You're not cut out to be a father anyway.
You hop from one woman's bed to the next without thought for their feelings.
You're certainly not the kind of man I want around my daughter. "
White hot anger and shame had him turning away. Pacing to the pond, he forced the rage to settle before facing her again. Her words had taken chunks out of him, the pain of it leaving him feeling weak. The fact that she had described who he had been in the past perfectly did not make it any easier.
Drawing in a shattered breath, he turned to face her, his rioting emotions under control.
"That might be the case, and I won't apologize for who I was in the past. Yes, I'm no longer that person and I don't give a damn if you believe it or not. You've obviously made your mind up about me."
"Here's what's going to happen Ms. Blake. You're going to tell our daughter that her daddy is here. I don't know what you told her before, but she's going to know I'm her father."
"I will inform my family of the terrific news that I have a daughter. Naturally, they will want to meet her, get to know her. I intend to be part of her life, something you're just going to have to accept."
"I'm giving you two days to get her used to the fact that she has another set of family. Forty-eight hours and nothing over that. Is that clear?"
His words had fear blooming inside her chest, so much so she could scarcely breathe. He was a Tyrell which meant they had tons of money and resources at their fingertips. She could lose her daughter.
"Zoe is mine." She whispered huskily. "You have no right to be making demands..."
"I'm her goddamned father!" he hissed and whirled to face her.
"I've lost four years of her life and nothing I will ever do will allow me to get those years back.
Don't stand there and tell me about rights.
" He sucked in a breath and fought for control.
"I don't want to make this ugly, but if you don't allow me to have a part in her life, it will be. Your choice."
Abigail was determined to hide the fact that she was afraid. Oh, it was so unfair! She had spent the entire nine months being as sick as ten dogs and spent fourteen grueling hours giving birth. He had done nothing except planting the seed and turning his back on her.
"You don't deserve to be in her life. You were careless and heartless. You took my virginity and just left. Now you come here making demands..."
"That might be the case." His face was flint hard. He had thought the incident in Italy had carved a chunk out of him and it had, but it was nothing compared to this. "But I intend to be a part of Zoe's life, whether you want me to or not."
"Is that all?" She asked frostily. "Because it's getting cold and I need to go and tuck my little girl in for the night."
He grabbed her arm as she marched past him. "Forty-eight hours Abigail. No more."
Wrenching her arm away, she marched towards her vehicle and hopped in. Even after her taillights had disappeared, he stood there. Even when the rain started, he did not move, not for another few minutes.
*****
Tears blurred her vision on the ride home.
She gripped the steering wheel so tightly her knuckles whitened, struggling to keep her composure. The words he'd hurled at her echoed in her mind, mixing with her own doubts and fears.
Every mile that brought her closer to home also brought a fresh wave of anxiety. How would she explain this sudden storm ruffling the life she'd fought so hard to protect?
The threat was implied and lay between them like a drawn sword.