Chapter 6 #2
Now it had come out, and it might mean losing the light of their lives. The Tyrell family was not only very wealthy, but they were also powerful as well. And her daughter could be very stubborn.
Walking into the pretty pink and lavender room with its obvious feminine touches, she placed a hand on Abby's shoulder, unconsciously forming a link between them. Three generations of Blake women. Zoe might be a Tyrell and Lord have mercy, she was, wasn't she?
She was the heir to a fortune. And was the only grandchild to them. Biting down the panic, she gazed at the little girl, all tucked up and clutching her pink elephant.
Completely unaware of the chaos she was causing.
"Come away, honey."
Abby's fingers trailed over Zoe's smooth cheek. "She's mine."
"Come away." Arlene repeated. "Let's go into your room."
Reluctantly, she eased off the bed, tucking the cover securely around the small form.
"Mama, I'm so afraid."
Wrapping her arm around her daughter's shoulders, she pressed her cheek to hers. "We'll get through this."
*****
"Say something."
Kevin turned as his wife came up behind him.
The family meeting had broken up half an hour ago and he had come straight up to their suite.
"What's there to say? We have a niece. My brother never set out to have a child and now has one. We've been trying..."
He stopped when she placed a finger vertically over his lips.
"We will get there." She smiled at him, that gentle and patient smile that always managed to soothe his nerves.
"And he's torturing himself with the fact that he messed up again.
Because of his careless way of dealing with women, he left an innocent woman he no doubt seduced, one who turned up pregnant and did not feel she could contact him. "
She wrapped her arms around her husband and breathed in his scent. His brother might be gorgeous beyond words, but she would not exchange the man standing in the circle of her arms for Kincaid. Such staggering good looks came with a price.
She had seen the way Kincaid and his sister flaunted those looks. She had also noticed that because of their beauty, they were intimidating. Neither of them had lasting relationships.
Kevin touched his lips to her brow. "You're right as usual." His expression turned sober. "What a beautiful child."
"No surprise there. Your parents are chomping at the bits. They want to meet her."
"We all do. But we have to consider the mother and her family."
"That we do." His wife agreed.
Outside the window, dusk softened the edges of the garden, the hush of early evening pressing against the glass.
The world seemed momentarily suspended, as if holding its breath alongside them, poised between what had been and what would come next.
Each of them felt the weight of uncertainty, their hopes and fears mingling in the quiet.
*****
Inside her fabulously appointed bold green and yellow suite, Katherine was not feeling charitable. The minute she saw the child, love had swamped her and then came the anger.
"She had no bloody right keeping something this important from you. I say we take her to court."
"Don't be ridiculous!"
She turned at her mother's sharp tone.
"Why on earth not? Cade just stated that this woman wants to keep the child to herself. He deserved to have been informed. That's our flesh and blood right there."
She swung around. "Daddy, we have a fleet of vicious lawyers..."
"Slow down, darling." Kenneth sent his daughter an indulgent smile. "We're navigating a minefield here and have to be delicate about it." He turned to his youngest son. "You said you gave her forty-eight hours."
"Which ends tomorrow." His face was strained. "And I intend to honor my word."
"Something you had a hard time doing in the past."
He turned to look at his brother. "Is there something you want to say to me?"
"Just that this is typical you. No doubt, you selfishly seduced that poor girl and dumped her after using her. Now we're faced with a woman scorned and a child on top of it."
"Damn you..."
"Enough."
They both backed down at Eloise's authoritative tone. "We'll discuss this again after Kincaid has spoken to the mother."
For a moment, silence settled over the room, thick and unresolved.
Katherine's fists clenched at her sides, her mind racing with possibilities and what-ifs.
She couldn't help but worry that, beneath all their strategizing, the needs of the child might be lost in the tangle of adult grievances and pride.
Still, she resolved to stand her ground, for the sake of her family, but most of all, for the little girl who had changed everything in an instant.
"Will you stop the bloody pacing?" Cade was certainly in no mood to play this game with her. His head was throbbing, and he needed to get some sleep to have his wits about him for tomorrow.
She hadn't called him, not that he expected her to, of course. And he was certainly not looking forward to sparring with her over their daughter. But if it came down to it, he was absolutely going to. She could count on it.
He had been herded into his sister's suite as soon as the meeting had finished downstairs.
"I can pace in my own space."
"Then I'll go." When he rose from a peaches and cream love chair piled high with cushions, she pushed him back down.
His eyes flared. "You don't want to mess with me right now. You'd lose."
"We're on the same side." She sat next to him, placing a hand on his thigh. "Darling, I know what was said downstairs, what the totally insensitive brother of ours said, hurts you."
"But he's right, isn't he?" He asked grimly. "I seduced her. I was with someone else that night. And for the hell of it, I cannot remember her name.
I saw this beautiful girl and decided I wanted her. Nothing was going to stop me. I was bored and wanted to be entertained. The moment, the very instant I saw her up close, I knew she was innocent.
Did it give me pause? Maybe a second or two, but I wasn't going to allow anything to stop me." He rose, shaking off her hand and started pacing. Her gold colored carpet swallowed his feet and hushed his footsteps.
"I didn't think of possible consequences, and I keep asking myself over and over if I went bare back with her at least once.
" He turned, eyes burning. "I remember everything, that's the sad part.
I've been with a good number of women before and after her and I can distinctly recall what we did that night.
The way she tasted and felt. The brightness of passion in her eyes. And the fact that I made love to her three times. Also, that I wanted her to stay the entire night."
He shoved his hands in his pockets and wandered over to the window facing the east side of the grounds. The full moon bathed the area, highlighting the moisture on the leaves and soft petals of the flowers that still braved the cold and bloomed.
"I ran away because it had become more than a bloody hook up. I was arrogant enough to shy away from what might have been a meaningful relationship."
"There's no doubt the child is yours." Her sister chimed in quietly, shaken by his words and the look on his face. They were both molded from the same cloth. She had used her looks and position to flirt and toy with men.
But there was a slight difference with her. She had taken men to her bed discriminately. In the midst of her attempt to conquer the opposite sex, she had always been reminded of her last name. No married men, no unwanted pregnancy, which was a no-no.
"Yes, she is." He turned to look at her. "I'm going to give her allowances. I hurt her, Kat. Left her without a word.
No promises were ever made." He smiled grimly. "I always made certain of that. Flirtation, rising passion and then making love. If I'm interested beyond that night, I would consider extending the 'privilege of myself' for longer.
But it was always about me. I called the bloody shots. Now it's come back to bite me in the ass, in spades. First in Italy and now this."
Lifting a hand, he rubbed the back of his neck wearily. "So, I'm going to give her allowances, but I intend to be in my daughter's life."
"I'm anxious to be a kick ass aunt." She warned him. He sent her an impatient look.
"Please don't do anything we'll both regret."
"Such as?"
"Such as marching to the bookstore to have it out with her. This is my problem, and I will deal with it."
"Do it fast." She advised silkily. At his heated look, she continued. "Darling, you know as well as I do that our parents will wait so long before they act themselves."
He sighed, the weight of the situation pressing on his shoulders. "I know. I won't let things spiral out of control, not if I can help it." The tension in the room lingered, heavy with unspoken fears and regrets, but beneath it all was a current of determination.
No matter the mistakes of the past, he was resolved to make things right for his daughter's sake. Even if it meant facing uncomfortable truths and making amends he never thought he'd have to.
"You've seen her, what's she like?"
His expression softened. "Christ! She's beautiful of course and friendly, too bloody friendly. She came right up to me to introduce herself. And she is lively and happy."
His expression sobered. "She's a happy child. Apparently not having a father in her life has not affected her one bit." He leaned against the cold glass. "I have to wonder if having one will change all that. What the hell am I supposed to say to her?"
Rising gracefully, Katherine came over and wrapped him in her arms, tipping her face to his shoulder. "You'll know exactly what to say when the time comes."