Chapter 24
CHAPTER 24
M allory
“Is he going to be okay, Dr. McGregor?”
The sweet girl had tears in her eyes. I touched her arm, offering her my most comforting expression. “Stop worrying, Amy. Dexter is a fighter and his bloodwork came back much improved. Just one more night and my guess is your fur baby will be ready to go home. I promise you that I’ll call if there are any changes, but I don’t anticipate anything but improvement.”
Amy blinked several times before bending over and giving Dexter a hug. “Be good, baby. Mommy dog loves you. You’re in very good hands.”
She pulled out the third stuffed animal she’d brought to the clinic that week. “He likes to sleep with Lambchop.”
I took it, squeezing the dog toy as if doing so with my baby boy. “Then he shall have it with him in his condo.”
At least she smiled. I never called them cages. That seemed as if I was keeping the dogs and cats in a prison.
“Thank you, Doc. You’re amazing. I don’t know what we’d do without you.”
“Just breathe, Amy. Everything will be okay.” For the first time in years, the phrase I used often struck me hard between the eyes. Everything hadn’t been okay, not by a long shot.
Two days had passed since running into Beckett. Two long, arduous, sleepless days. I had no idea how many times I’d contemplated driving to the house in the mountains and confronting him. Hell, I didn’t know if he was still in town.
I’d snooped a bit, calling the real estate agent and posing as a buyer. I’d learned very little about the seller, leaving the conversation with the realization I would never have enough money in the world to afford purchasing such a grandiose cabin. The NDA was working.
I walked into the back, immediately heading to one of the half dozen computer terminals to add my notes. One of the attendants was already making Dexter comfortable in his condo, reattaching the IV.
I typed fast and furious, more anxious than I’d been in a long time. If only I could get the man out of my mind. Since he hadn’t attempted to contact me, I made the assumption he couldn’t care less about his son. Fine by me. That told me everything I needed to know about the asshole.
What we’d shared had been nothing but a lie.
“Doc. You have a visitor in your office.”
I glanced at one of the receptionists. She shrugged and that let me know it wasn’t one of the locals. “Any idea who?”
“Nope. He refused to say, including his name. He only mentioned it was very important the two of you speak. I told him you were busy, but he said he’d wait. No matter how long it took. I didn’t know what else to do.”
“You did great.” I glanced toward the hallway leading to my office, curious, but not enough to hurry from what I was doing. It was possible it was someone from the bank. The man had acted skeptical even though my credit was in the eight hundreds and I had hundreds of clients on the books. That didn’t seem to matter when it came to handing out commercial loans.
Right now, if I had any additional bad news, I would lose my cookies.
I finished typing, adding the next steps in Dexter’s treatment before taking a few seconds to wash my hands. By the time I headed to my office, ten minutes had passed. When I walked in, my visitor was sitting with his back to me, typing on his phone.
In front of him were two cups of coffee, one positioned directly in front of my chair on the opposite side. It was from my favorite little coffee shop. Hmm… Plying me with bribes usually meant bad news.
I said nothing as I walked around his chair, folding my arms and remaining standing as I turned toward him. “I’m Dr. McGregor. You insisted you speak with me, refusing to understand that I have a very busy day and extremely popular practice. While I appreciate the coffee, I would prefer to know who you are and why you’re here.”
The man looked me over just like I was doing to him. It was obvious he wasn’t from Stowe. There was nothing casual about his attire. Perhaps this was the smarmy attorney who’d had a discussion with the real estate agent. He wore a suit that likely cost close to ten thousand, a watch three or four times that, and polished shoes. Let alone the soft leather briefcase I’d caught a glimpse of when I’d walked in.
“He told me you were straightforward and quite formidable.”
“He?” I knew instantly who the hell he was talking about.
“Yes, Beckett Callum.”
Hearing his name created butterflies in my stomach.
“And you are?”
“Oh, I apologize, Dr. McGregor. I was on a red eye and the flight was turbulent.” He pulled out an old-fashioned business card, handing it to me as way of introduction.
Sighing, I accepted, quickly glancing at the name. Michael Zephyr, attorney at law. “I figured as much.”
“What gave it away?”
“The useless look about you.”
He chuckled. “Yes, formidable indeed.”
I laughed although the sound was disgusted. “For the record, I want nothing to do with Mr. Callum. Oh, and by the way, we both know his real name isn’t Beckett Callum. Cut the antics. What do you want? I’m not signing some NDA if that’s what you’re doing here.” My stomach was in knots from what I believed the man was doing here. He had the slick look of a New York attorney, the kind of guy who would use anything to get what he wanted. The bastard who’d brought my son to life was making a play to be in my son’s life. Or worse, to take him from me.
I would fight to the death to keep that from happening.
He laughed. “That’s not why I’m here. Sit down, Dr. McGregor. I think you’ll want to. I brought the coffee simply because I thought you might enjoy a break. Not for any nefarious reasons. I do believe it’s your favorite, cappuccino with a half shot of hazelnut.”
Anger swelled to the point I was this close to throwing him out. “Well, I guess Beckett has thought of everything. How much to sell my son?”
His eyes opened wider, but he was a consummate professional. “I assure you that’s not what our meeting is about either. I can only imagine what a shock Beckett’s return has been for you.”
Laughing, I shook my head. “I doubt you do.”
“I assure you these past few years have been difficult on him as well.”
“Look, I’m a busy woman. Just tell me why you’re here before I grow weary of the bullshit.” No, the man didn’t deserve my wrath, but since he was an agent for Beckett, at least I had an opportunity to speak my mind without fear of losing myself to the heightened level of emotions refusing to leave.
“Very well, I’ll get to the point.” He took a few extra seconds retrieving a file from his briefcase.
“While you’re retrieving whatever you insist is so important, tell me about Mr. Callum. Is he staying or leaving town like he did before?” In my mind it was a simple question that should allow for an easy, quick answer, but Mr. Zephyr was having none of it.
He placed the file on my desk, peering up at me as if presenting a challenge. Fine. I’d play on his terms. For now. I sat down in the chair, taking a really good look at the man. He was around Beckett’s age, a concerned look in his eyes. In my mind, attorneys were good liars.
“It’s my understanding that he plans on selling the cottage and moving on. Or at least that was the original plan.”
Original plan. Until he’d seen my son. Our son. “What is this? Your lame attempt at taking Brady away from me?”
“Hardly, Ms. McGregor.”
“It’s Dr. McGregor. Then what is it?”
He pushed the folder forward another inch. “Please. Take a moment to look this over.”
Doing so was the last thing I wanted to do, but felt obligated. I opened the folder and almost immediately reached for the coffee. It was still warm, the flavor just as I preferred. This man had gone to great lengths to find out certain things about me.
I wondered what else had been discovered. I might not be an attorney, but I knew what I was looking at.
“A trust fund?” I asked as I lifted my head. He did want to buy me. My hands were shaking.
“Yes, for Brady. He can gain partial access to his funds when he reaches eighteen, the remainder when he’s twenty-five. In addition, there’s a monthly stipend for you as well that will continue until Brady is of age. That should help with some general expenses. Oh, and an educational fund has been established as well that you can also feel free to fund as you wish.”
It was all too much and too clinical.
I returned my gaze to the paperwork, trying to keep any emotion from my expression. As soon as I flipped the page, I wasn’t certain whether to be floored or pissed off. I chose being pissed off. “A twenty-million-dollar trust fund?”
He acted as if that was chump change. “Yes. If you believe that’s not enough, I can talk with Mr. Callum.”
Oh, for God’s sake. I was floored and angry and hurt and… “To save me searching, I’m curious about the monthly stipend you mentioned.”
“Fifty thousand dollars.”
It was extremely difficult not to choke. Lightheaded, I pushed the coffee away. I needed a drink, not caffeine. “In exchange for what, Mr. Zephyr? No one just gives away that kind of money.”
“Well, as you might imagine, a DNA test will be needed to ensure my client is actually the boy’s father. That’s the only stipulation I’m aware of.”
“Of course. Why would he have the balls to tell me that himself?” I laughed, but my stomach ached. I looked away, on the verge of tears and I hated myself for it. “What about his parental rights?”
“What about them?”
“Is he willing to give those up as well? I mean it’s clear to me he wants nothing to do with getting to know Brady at all. But he doesn’t mind tossing around money as if that’s all I care about. Or all my son would care about. Do you know how many times that little boy has asked me about his daddy? Do you know what I’d been forced to tell him time and time again? That God needed extra angels. I find out now after spending night after night crying over the loss, fearful that I couldn’t give my son all the love he needed and deserved that everything was a fucking lie.”
His jaw was suddenly clenched. It was apparent he wasn’t used to having a woman call him on the carpet. “It wasn’t a lie, Dr. McGregor. My client was simply attempting to keep you safe. Now, he wants to do the right thing.”
I leaned back in my chair, folding my arms as I’d done before. This time, to protect myself. Not from the man, but from the rush of emotions tearing through me. “I wouldn’t know that since Beckett didn’t say a word to me the other day.” Then again, I hadn’t said a word either.
“As far as terminating his parental rights, that’s something you’ll need to speak with my client about.”
“Tell me,” I said, half laughing. “Is he bothering to stay long enough so I have an opportunity to speak with him?”
“From what I understand, he’ll be in town for a few days.”
“He’s staying at the mountain cottage?” I used his word. He’d obviously never seen the beautiful home. Another sickening feeling pooled into my stomach. I wasn’t certain I could stand seeing the home again. Not under the best of circumstances.
“No, he’s staying at a local boutique hotel. Now, if you’ll just sign the paperwork agreeing to the DNA testing, we can get everything moving forward.”
I threw out my hand. “Hold on. Not so fast. I’m not the kind of woman who can be bought. I do very well on my own and don’t need a man for anything. You can tell your client I’m not interested.”
“That’s not wise.”
“Yeah, well, it would seem I’ve done a few things in my life that were definitely unwise, but I managed to come out on the other side. I don’t need Beckett’s money.”
“Think of your son.”
I raked my hands through my hair, becoming completely exasperated. “You don’t seem to understand English very well, Mr. Zephyr. I don’t want the money. Period. Not under any circumstances. My son doesn’t need to know about his father, not this way. I’ll allow him to grow up thinking the man was a hero. Not a criminal, which is also what we know the man to be. So please just accept my apologies, but I need to get back to work.” I stood to make a point, but he remained seated.
“Dr. McGregor. You didn’t spend much time with Beckett when he was here. Did you?”
“Enough to know the kind of man he was. Don’t get me wrong. He risked his life to save mine and that’s something I will forever be grateful for, but he allowed me to believe he was dead. As you might imagine, that nearly destroyed me. I still hurt today.” I don’t know why I was admitting my feelings to the man.
“Did he tell you he was in the military?”
“He might have mentioned it.”
“He saved his entire unit, receiving the medal of honor for his deed. In doing so, he was severely injured resulting in a lengthy hospital stay and intensive rehab.”
“I assume that was before he got himself involved with the Valenti crime family.”
He shook his head and finally stood. “He did so to alleviate a debt created by his father.”
“I don’t understand.”
“His father had a serious gambling problem, finding himself in debt to the tune of over half a million dollars with the Valenti family. Beckett’s mother was threatened, his father beaten, and the only way he could save and protect his family was to agree to work as an enforcer for Lucian Valenti. Fresh out of serving his country, he was forced into that kind of terrible decision. What choice did he have?”
I moved against the desk to keep me standing. “Shouldn’t the debt be paid by now?”
“I know a person of your obvious intelligence can understand that sometimes even the best of us can fall into murky waters. I assure you that Beckett paid his dues, suffering so his family wasn’t required to do so. Their trust was earned and by then, Beckett felt he had no choice but to continue living what he’d once believed was a lie. Life isn’t always easy, Dr. McGregor. I’m certain you’re aware of that. Sometimes we fall in love with the wrong people, which leads us to making ill-advised choices.”
I seriously doubted the man was talking about my former life. “You’re saying he fell in love with the wrong woman.”
“I’m saying he overstepped his bounds. After that, he ultimately chose to return to listening to his conscience. The Valenti family are ruthless and unforgiving.”
“His conscience. Which is why he didn’t kill that woman and her son, which led to all of this.”
Mr. Zephyr smiled. “If he trusted you enough to tell you what happened, that means he felt close to you.”
“This woman and child. Are they still alive?”
“Yes, Doctor. Thanks to Beckett they are thriving.” I honestly had no idea what to say. He glanced down at the folder. “Think about the offer, Dr. McGregor. I assure you that Beckett was shocked in learning he had a son. Anyone would be. And… he’s not the best conversationalist. I’m certain that’s something you’ve already learned.”
I laughed. “True. Do you have any idea where he’s staying?”
“From what little he told me, a location that reminded him of you. I’m not sure what that means. I’ll be in town another day. Please call me with your decision.”
“Okay. I’ll think about it.”
He nodded and moved to the door.
“Mr. Zephyr? I don’t know why I’m telling you this, but Brady is his son. I haven’t been with anyone since… Since I thought I lost Beckett. Brady is all I have and I love that little man to death. He’s my pride and joy and I just want what’s best for him.”
“That I can understand. I have a son as well. He’s everything to me. Just remember, Beckett isn’t the bad man he likely led you to believe he was. I know because I’ve been his friend for a very long time. Even though he wasn’t certain he could trust me any longer.”
“Because someone betrayed him while he was here.”
He nodded. “A day doesn’t go by that I don’t blame myself. I was too careless with the information.”
“Meaning what?”
“A computer breach, Dr. McGregor. Beckett was happy here. He was happy with you. I hope that gives you some comfort.”
Maybe it did just a little bit.
“One last question, Mr. Zephyr. Is Beckett still in danger?”
“I don’t believe so. He wouldn’t be here if he wasn’t certain the nightmare was over. I hope the two of you have an opportunity to talk. I really do.”
Sighing, all I could do was nod at this point. At least I waited until after he’d closed my door before allowing the tears to fall.