by Cindy Kirk
“Are you aware that Stephanie works as a high-priced escort?”
Darn that Nick Lamb. Obviously he couldn’t keep his mouth shut. Which was a shame because she’d hoped Shane would have a chance to form his own first impression of Steph.
She expelled a heavy sigh.
“Lia,” Shane said, his tone taking on some urgency. “Did you know that?”
“I did.”
“Yet, you’re still friends with her.”
Lia looked at him quizzically. “None of us are perfect, Shane.”
“That’s right,” he said in an even tone. “Sometimes good people make mistakes. I’ve always believed someone’s past doesn’t determine their future.”
“Exactly.” Lia brightened. This was exactly what she’d wanted Stephanie to understand.
His gaze searched hers. “You lived with her for a year after you got out of college. How were you able to afford such an expensive condo?”
A bad feeling settled around Lia’s shoulders like a scratchy wool sweater but she shrugged it off.
“How did you know I lived with Steph?” she asked, suddenly curious. “I never told you.”
A muscle in his jaw jumped. “Answer the question, please.”
Though Lia sat in the middle of the room, she felt as if her back was pressed tightly against the wall. “You answer mine first.”
For a split second, she caught a glimpse of something in his eyes, something that looked an awful lot like guilt.
Guilt? What had he done? The hairs on the back of her neck prickled.
“How did you know I once lived with Steph?” Lia asked again.
Shane expelled a harsh breath and raked his fingers through his hair. “Shortly after you approached me with the story about being pregnant with my baby, I hired a private investigator to check into your background.”
“The story about me being pregnant with your baby?” Lia’s voice rose. “It wasn’t a story, Shane. It’s the truth.”
“Yes, yes, I know that...”
Suddenly the rest of what he’d said slammed into her with the force of a Mack truck. “You hired a detective. You didn’t trust me.”
“I didn’t know you.”
Perhaps he’d called off the detective, but something in the way he was acting told her the guy was still on the job. “Even after you got to know me, you still kept him working for you.”
“Trust, but verify, has always been my motto,” he said stiffly, confirming her fears.
She searched his face, looking for some evidence of the man she loved, but came up empty.
“Why, Shane? Why would you do that?” None of this made any sense. “I wasn’t asking for money. I told you we could do a DNA test once the baby is born. What possible reason...”
A chill swept over Lia like a driving March rain. Surely not. Surely the man she’d fallen in love with wasn’t capable of plotting something so horrific.
“You planned to take the baby from me.” A slight crack in his facade told her she’d guessed correctly. “Ohmigod, you were going to take my child.”
If it was possible for a heart to shatter, hers was now strewn in a thousand pieces at her feet.
“Lia,” he said in that soft, smooth drawl that she had once thought was so sexy. “I didn’t know you. We’d only been together that one time and—”
“What about the past month? What about all the time we’ve spent together since you returned to Red Rock?” She brushed the tears away and pushed back her chair, too angry to sit. “You could have called off the detective. But you didn’t.”
He stood and took a step toward her. For a second she thought he might reach out, but his hands remained at his sides.
“I’ve had...” He paused. “I’ve had a lot on my mind.”
“Ah, yes.” She barely recognized the sneering tone as hers. “The mysterious family business. That should have been my first clue. You wanted me to share everything about myself but you never reciprocated.”
“Well, you were going to take the baby and leave,” he blustered.
“What are you talking about?”
“The trip to Boston.” His jaw lifted in a stubborn tilt. “You told me you were going to stay, but actually you were planning to leave.”
“No, you don’t.” Lia stepped close and punched him in the chest with a finger. “Don’t you dare try to put this on me, mister. Whenever you asked me about anything, I told you the truth. But not you. You wouldn’t even tell me why you were so upset over an old family friend being in town.”
Shane saw the hurt on her face. He heard the anguish in her voice. But then he remembered how his father had kept a twin sister and another whole part of the Fortune family from him all these years. “Did you ever work as an escort?”
If she had, he just needed to know. He wouldn’t use it against her. It was just important he knew she would be honest with him and that he could trust her.
“You know me. You know my heart. How can you ask me such a question?” Confusion and hurt warred with the anger in her eyes. When she pointed to the door, he knew anger had won the battle. “Get out.”
“Why won’t you answer my question?”
“If you don’t know...” She strode to the door and jerked it open. “This conversation is over. If you want to talk with me again, do it through my attorney.”
“I didn’t think you had a lawyer.”
“I’ll get one.”
“Lia.” He placed a hand on her shoulder, overcome with the need to touch her, to reassure himself that she was still his and that they could weather this storm.
She pushed his hand away. “I asked you to leave.”
Panic clawed its way up his spine. His world stood on the verge of crumbling beneath his feet and he didn’t know how to stop the avalanche. “Lia—”
With a force that surprised him, she shoved him through the open doorway then slammed the door shut.
The dead bolt clicked into place and the last chunk of solid earth beneath his feet gave way.
* * *
Instead of immediately heading home, Shane got into his truck and drove. He wasn’t sure where he was going; he just knew he didn’t want to talk to anyone or think about what had happened.
But it quickly became apparent that no matter how high he turned up the radio, or how fast he drove, all thoughts led back to Lia. While he admitted he could have handled the situation with more finesse, the intensity of her reaction to a simple question had shocked him.
Though he didn’t really feel like making conversation and he certainly wasn’t hungry, Jeanne Marie and his siblings were expecting him for dinner.
Shane decided he didn’t need any more time alone with his thoughts. He needed to be surrounded by his supportive family. For once, he hoped Victoria and Jeanne Marie had lots to say about their shopping trip.
He walked into the house and found the entire family heading toward the dining room.
“Just in time for supper,” Sawyer said in a too-hearty tone.
“Is Lia with you?” Sarah-Jane glanced around him, as if hoping the woman would magically appear.
“Who’s Lia?” Jeanne Marie asked.
“A friend. She won’t be joining us tonight.” Shane’s tone made it clear the subject was closed.
“Lia is a friend of Shane’s who does this marvelous beadwork,” Sarah-Jane said as if she hadn’t gotten the message that he’d put out there loud and clear. “She makes these watchbands that are so pretty and so unique, well, next time I see her I’m going to ask if she’ll make me one.”
“I love beadwork,” Jeanne Marie said, then launched into a story about one of her friends who’d recently had this perfectly lovely necklace made out of beads.
“What did you find out from her?” Sawyer asked, dropping into step beside Shane, his voice a low whisper.
“I don’t want to talk about it.”
“That bad?” Sawyer seemed distressed. “I can’t say I’m happy with the news. But it
will solidify your case against her in the off chance the baby is yours—”
Something inside Shane broke at that moment. “That baby is mine,” he roared.
The others in front of them turned in one movement.
“What baby?” Jeanne Marie looked intrigued.
Shane resisted the urge to groan.
“Lia, Shane’s girlfriend, is pregnant,” Sarah-Jane said. When Wyatt shot her a look, she tossed her hair. “Well, she is. It’s not like it’s a big secret.”
“Shane loves her,” Marnie said, earning a scowl from Asher, which she promptly ignored. “That’s very obvious to everyone.”
“This is all very puzzling.” Jeanne Marie fixed her gaze on Shane and he thought he saw a hint of censure. “In my day if a man loved a woman, and especially if that woman was carrying his child, they got married.”
“It’s not that simple, Jeanne Marie.” With a hint of admonishment in his tone, Sawyer pulled out her chair.
“I don’t see what’s so complicated.” Jeanne Marie’s blue eyes remained focused on Shane.
Eyes so much like his father’s, Shane wondered how he hadn’t made the connection right away.
“What did you and Victoria do today?” Asher asked his aunt.
“When do you plan to ask this young woman to marry you?” Jeanne Marie asked Shane, ignoring Asher’s feeble attempt to engage her in conversation.
“That would be hard to do.” Shane took a sip of water, wishing it were something stronger. “Considering she kicked me out of her apartment this evening.”
“Oh, my.” Jeanne Marie chuckled. “Sounds to me like someone is in the doghouse.”
Shane gritted his teeth. Forget supportive family. Being alone on an open roadway was starting to sound better with each passing second.
Sarah-Jane’s brows pulled together in worry. “What did you do to make her so angry?”
“Darling.” Wyatt covered her hand with his. “Why must you assume this is my brother’s fault?”
“No, she’s right.” Shane expelled a harsh breath. “The, uh, misunderstanding with Lia is totally my fault.”
“Totally?” Sawyer asked with a skeptical look.
“Totally.” Shane gave a decisive nod. He’d been an ass.
“What are you going to do?” Jeanne Marie leaned forward. “Send her a dozen roses? Serenade her outside her window?”
“After dinner, I’ll come up with a plan.” Though right now Shane had no idea what that plan would be, he’d come up with something. After all, his future happiness depended on it. “Tomorrow, I’ll put that plan into action.”
“It’ll work.” Jeanne Marie stabbed a piece of lettuce with her fork. “Because, like your papa, you’re a determined man. And I would hazard a guess, just as stubborn.”
Shane’s lip quirked upward almost in a snarl.
Jeanne Marie didn’t appear to notice. “Once she’s speaking with you again, bring your young lady around,” she said. “I’d like to meet her. I admire any woman who can stand up to a Fortune.”
Chapter Eighteen
Come up with a plan, Shane had said. Put it into action.
It sounded so easy when he’d said it. But Shane had quickly discovered figuring out what to do next was more difficult than he’d anticipated.
“All you asked was that she answer one small question,” Sawyer reminded him as they stood on the back veranda with a glass of bourbon in hand.
After a long, leisurely dinner, Jeanne Marie had pleaded fatigue and his other siblings and their significant others had left for home. Which left Shane alone with Sawyer.
Shane supposed he could have gone upstairs, but there were still some things he needed to get straight in his head. And Sawyer was always up for playing devil’s advocate.
“If she hadn’t been an escort, why didn’t she simply tell you that?” Sawyer said when Shane didn’t answer.
“Because it was an insult for me to even ask. I already knew Lia’s moral beliefs would never allow her to go down that road.” Shane’s eyes remained focused on the night sky. “And if asking wasn’t bad enough, she figured out the reason I’d hired the detective was to take the baby from her.”
“She had to know you’d never have gone through with that plan.” Sawyer put a comforting hand on his shoulder. “Not after you and she had grown so close.”
“You mean after I fell in love with her.” Shane gave a hollow laugh. “The thing is she doesn’t know how much she means to me because I never told her. And I sure as hell didn’t show her by my actions today.”
While Shane had thought he was being open with Lia—and admittedly he’d let her get a whole lot closer than anyone else he’d ever dated—he’d still held back.
Like when he’d kept her in the dark about Jeanne Marie. Or when she’d asked him to go with her to her last doctor’s appointment. He’d refused even though he’d wanted to go. Why? Because he was afraid. Afraid of getting too close. Afraid of caring too much and being hurt.
Yet Lia had opened her heart and arms to him. He’d taken all her love. Then had the audacity to ask if she’d ever been a whore.
He swore.
“I think you’re being too hard on yourself. All you did was ask if she’d ever worked for an escort service. It wasn’t like you were accusing her of anything.”
“Don’t you understand, Sawyer?” Shane could hear the tension in his voice. “I know Lia. Because she let me get to know her. No artifice. No posturing. She’s the real deal. It was wrong for me to ask. And I should have called off that detective weeks ago.”
“We’ve both been fooled before,” Sawyer reminded him.
“That’s what led me to this point. You get burned a few times and believing in someone becomes difficult.” Shane raked a hand through his hair. “My God, we didn’t even trust our own father. We’d convinced ourselves that he had a whole other family stashed somewhere.”
“Hey, we asked numerous times for an explanation and he always shut us down. Then he goes and gives sixty percent of the stock in our family company to some mysterious woman.” Sawyer began pacing the veranda. “That would make anyone suspicious.”
“But we jumped to a whole bunch of very damning conclusions before we had all the facts.” Shane pinned his brother with his gaze. “We actually thought Dad had another family—that he’d been cheating on our mother. This is a man we’ve known our whole lives. What does that say about us?”
“He was acting suspicious.” Sawyer refused to give any ground. “And giving away all that stock with no explanation? Crazy.”
“You’re absolutely correct,” Shane said. “And I agree he has some explaining to do. But there was something Lia said to me that I can’t get out of my head.”
Shane paused. He knew it sounded girlie, but it struck at the heart of where he’d gone wrong with her, and where he’d gone wrong with his father.
“What did she say?” Sawyer prompted.
“That when you know someone’s heart, you know what they’re capable of doing.” Shane expelled a harsh breath. “I know Lia. She isn’t capable of being an escort or of lying to me about the baby’s paternity.”
“You’re certain.”
Shane nodded.
“Then go to her,” Sawyer said in a matter-of-fact tone. “Apologize. Tell her you were an ass and then you two can move on.”
If only, Shane thought, it could be that simple.
* * *
Lia glanced down at her clean desk with a sense of satisfaction. Last night, in a weak moment, she’d considered calling in sick. She’d even toyed with the idea of quitting. But her mother had instilled in her too strong of a work ethic for either choice to be an option.
Besides, not only did she need the money, taking care of payroll yesterday had left her behind on her other duties. Yet as busy as she’d been all day, she never stopped worrying that Sawyer or Shane might stop by. But it was almost time to leave for the day and she hadn’t seen either one.
&nbs
p; Perhaps continuing to work here until the regular bookkeeper returned wouldn’t be a problem after all. But when the bells over the door jingled at four fifty-five and she saw Sawyer in the doorway, she realized she’d been too optimistic.
A knot formed in the pit of her stomach. She had no doubt her boss knew all about her conversation with Shane. He’d either come to admonish her, fire her...or both.
“Do you have a few minutes to talk?” he asked in a courteous tone.
Dressed casually in jeans, a chambray shirt and cowboy boots, he reminded her of the nice man who’d hired her all those weeks ago.
“Of course,” she said in a businesslike tone. He was, after all, her employer. “What’s on your mind?”
Lia hoped he’d just blurt out whatever he’d come to say. Instead he moved the tax guides from the chair next to her desk and took a seat.
He cleared his throat. “It’s rather warm out there today.”
“I heard on the radio it hit ninety, which normally we don’t see until late June.” Lia heard herself say the words, unable to believe she was having a conversation with Sawyer about the weather.
“I owe you an apology.”
For a second she wasn’t sure she’d heard correctly. “What did you say?”
The shape of his mouth and his blue eyes reminded her so much of his brother. The man who’d plotted to take her child from her.
“I know Shane shared with you some experiences he’s had in the past with scheming women. I’ve had similar encounters.” His gaze searched hers. “I’m afraid those past incidents caused me to doubt the veracity of your claim against my brother. I urged him to make sure he looked out for himself.”
Before Lia could respond, Sawyer rested his hand on her forearm. “But Shane has convinced me the baby is his. I’m truly sorry for doubting you and I’d like it if we could get back to our old footing and be friends.”
His gentle touch was nearly her undoing. But then she recalled Shane’s plans to take her baby. Had Sawyer been part of that effort?
Lia lifted her chin. “Did you know your brother hired an attorney and a detective to get dirt on me so that he could take my baby?”