Ray finally broke the silence, chuckling nervously. “Where to start?”
His glance traveled to each of his daughters, one after the other, lighting last on Samantha. If he was hoping to promote a camaraderie among them, they were having none of it.
“I met Samantha’s mother... I guess it was a couple years after your mom died. I accidentally stepped on her foot while picking out tomato plants in the garden department at the Home Warehouse Store. She asked for my advice on which was the best variety to grow in patio pots.”
“Carrie Anne,” Samantha said, her voice bowstring tight. “Her name is Carrie Anne.”
“Yes. Of course. Carrie Anne.”
It seemed Ray had the ability to slight all of his daughters without trying hard.
Drawing in a deep breath, he continued wreaking more emotional havoc with his story.
“We got to talking and before we knew it, an announcement came on the speakers that the store was closing. I asked her, Carrie Anne, to go for coffee with me, convinced she’d turn me down. I was, am, older than her, and she was so pretty. Plus, I was out of practice. When she said yes, I nearly lost my nerve. But she laughed at my jokes and smiled at me like she was interested in what I had to say.”
All of them, Aaron included, sat spellbound. Did Mel and her sisters wonder what quality Carrie Anne had possessed, other than looks, that turned their grief-stricken father into a flirt who asked random women he met in the garden department out for coffee?
“We didn’t date long.” Ray avoided making eye contact with anyone. “A few months. I wasn’t ready to commit and neither was she, for that matter. She’d just broken up with her boyfriend and was feeling insecure about herself. Eventually, we came to our senses and parted ways. No hard feelings. She called me four months later to tell me she was pregnant and intended to have the baby.”
Beside him, Aaron heard Mel suck in air through clenched teeth. He was thinking Carrie Anne had duped Ray a little by waiting so long to break the news and denying him any say in the matter. Was Mel thinking that, as well?
“Carrie Anne was very sensible about the whole thing,” Ray said. “I offered to get married, but she’d hear none of it. She insisted I’d proposed out of duty and was still grieving my wife, and that you girls were in no emotional state to accept a stepmother, much less a new baby sibling. I went along, for her sake and mine. I didn’t want her missing out on the opportunity to meet the right guy.
“Turns out, I was right. Carrie Anne eventually reconciled with her boyfriend. After they got married, he asked to adopt Samantha. They were in love. Planned on having children. I thought it made sense.”
Samantha didn’t contradict Ray, which gave Aaron reason to believe the story was true.
“Did you love her?” Mel asked in a quiet voice. “Carrie Anne?”
Ray grimaced. “Whatever I say, I’m going to sound like a jerk.”
Aaron related. He struggled with the same thing when it came to him and Mel and defining his feelings for her.
Did she notice the similarities between their situation and her father and Carrie Anne’s and appreciate the irony? Both he and Ray grieved late wives and were reluctant to commit. Both had children who would be affected by and possibly resent their father’s new relationship.
“If Carrie Anne and I had met a few years later,” Ray said, “if she hadn’t been in love with another man, who can say what might have been? But things were what they were, and I’m convinced they worked out for the best.”
“Best for whom?” Samantha asked.
“Your mother seems happy. She always indicated to me that you were, too.”
“You’ve spoken to Carrie Anne?” Mel’s voice cracked.
“Periodically. She’s kept me updated.”
Samantha glowered at him. “You didn’t speak to me.”
“That was your mother and father’s choice. Didn’t she tell you?”
“She said you didn’t want any contact with me.”
“Really?” Ray looked surprised. “She told me you didn’t want any contact with me.”
Samantha stiffened, obviously not liking this revelation.
Ray addressed Mel and her sisters. “Carrie Anne and her husband decided when Sam was sixteen, she’d be informed about me and given my phone number to call if she wanted. Until then, Sam was raised believing Carrie Anne’s husband was her father.”
“How could you have agreed to that?” Mel flushed in outrage. “She was your child.”
“I had my hands full raising you girls. You were my priority. Sam had a mother.”
“Not so full you couldn’t find time to date.”
“I get that you’re mad, honey. But I didn’t go out with Carrie Anne to hurt you. I was lonely and sad. Try to understand.”
“Why would I contact you?” Samantha apparently wasn’t finished throwing punches. “You didn’t want me when my mom got pregnant and left her to raise me alone. Just to get out of paying child support.”
Aaron doubted Ray was required to pay anything as he’d waived his parental rights.
“Now, that’s not true,” Ray said, shocking everyone. “I gave your mother money every year up until a few months ago when you turned eighteen. I have the canceled checks to prove it.”
“Why would she lie to me?” Samantha shook her head in confusion. “That makes no sense.”
“Why not?” Mel said. “She lied to you about your real father.”
“Enough.” Ray sent Mel a warning look.
To Samantha, he said, “You’ll have to ask your mother about that.”
She thrust back in her chair, an angry scowl on her face. Aaron suspected more and more that Samantha was on the outs with her parents, particularly her mother.
Ray studied the young woman, his expression changing as if seeing her for the first time, which wasn’t far from the truth. “Is that why you refused to talk to me? Because of the child support?”
“You didn’t want me,” she repeated with considerably less conviction.
“Honestly, Sam. You had a much better life with your parents than you would have had with me. It’s not that I don’t love you—”
“Do you?”
“I could. I will love you once we get to know each other.” Ray paused, seeming to search for what to say. “I did as much right by you as your mother would allow me and, honestly, as much as I was capable of at the time.”
Samantha’s expression changed, and she suddenly appeared younger than her eighteen years.
“I’d like to get to know you now,” Ray said. “If you’re willing. Broke my heart two years ago when you refused to call.”
“Forgive me if I’m still a little confused.” Mel peered around Aaron at Samantha. “Your mother wasn’t honest with you. She hid your real father from you and conveniently forgot to mention he paid child support. And instead of connecting with him when you had the chance, getting his side of the story, you blamed him for abandoning you. Now, you show up out of the blue, demanding money that you have no right to. My mind is boggled.”
“He gave you each a share. Why not me? I’m his biological daughter.”
“But not his legal daughter.”
Mel’s harsh but true reply visibly rippled among the others at the table.
“What did your mother have to say about you coming here?” Ray asked.
Samantha was slow to respond. “She...doesn’t know.”
As Aaron had expected.
“And don’t call her.” Samantha pointed at Ray.
“Because she wouldn’t approve?” Mel asked.
Ray jumped quickly to Samantha’s defense. “Give the girl a break.”
“Dad! She’s being unreasonable. And thinking only of herself. This isn’t your fault. Not all your fault, anyway. She’s out of line.”
“I need the money.” Samantha ignored Mel, addressing Ray instead. “You owe me.”
He blew out a long breath. “The fact is, most of the money’s been spent.”
Samantha’s eyes widened. “Already? I don’t believe you.”
Two hundred thousand dollars might seem like a huge sum. But in Aaron’s experience of dealing with a catastrophic illness and premature birth of a baby, it could be spent in a week. Thank goodness for health insurance.
“I could try to scrape together a few thousand dollars,” Ray offered.
“That’s not enough.” Samantha’s pout returned. “I need more. A lot more.”
“Why? For what?”
“Big John.” Samantha promptly burst into racking sobs.
Frankie sprang up and put a comforting arm around the young woman’s shoulders.
Mel, on the other hand, must’ve reached her limit. Pushing away from the table, she left through the Arcadia door that lead to the patio. Aaron thought there might have been tears in her eyes.
Ronnie returned to the kitchen for another round of ice water while Ray stared off into space.
Aaron debated for several seconds before getting up and following Mel outside. The hell with what anyone thought of them.
He found her sitting in one of the lawn chairs, her back to him. At his approach, she glanced up, then quickly looked away.
“Mind if I join you?”
She acquiesced with a sigh.
Aaron took that as a yes and dropped into the chair next to hers.
Mel needed no prompting, her words coming out in a rush. “I get it. She’s young and a victim of circumstances beyond her control. Her parents, my dad included, made some crummy decisions. She deserves our sympathy and understanding. But that doesn’t stop me from being mad. At her. At Dad. At Carrie Anne whatever-her-last-name-is.”
“You have good reason. Your dad lied to you.”
Mel let her face fall into her hands. “How could he?”
“Be honest. Would you and your sisters have accepted a stepmom and baby sister?”
Her head popped up. “I love Dolores.”
“You’re an adult. What about when you were ten?”
“Twelve. I’d have been twelve at the time.”
“Would you have accepted Carrie Anne and Samantha then?”
“Well, we’ll never know, will we? Because I wasn’t given the opportunity.”
He let her stew in silence for a few minutes.
Eventually, she said, “I don’t have any money to give her even if I wanted to. I used it all to purchase my vet practice.”
“That problem is your dad’s to solve. Not yours.”
“Do you think he didn’t give her a share because he’d have had to explain it to me and Frankie and Ronnie?”
Aaron shook his head. “If I were to venture a guess, I’d say he already gave far more financially to Samantha than he was obligated to.”
“Hmm.” Mel let that sink in. “Sorry I was short with you earlier.”
“I didn’t notice.” He smiled.
“I realized you weren’t taking her side.”
“It’s a tough situation. Tempers are bound to flare.”
“You’ve done nothing but try to help.”
“I told you before, Mel, you can count on me.”
Because her hands were clasped in her lap, Aaron rested a hand on her knee. After a moment, she closed her eyes.
“We should talk.”
“I agree,” Aaron said.
“In a day or two.”
“Let me know when. I’ll make myself available.”
They had plenty to say to each other. His hand on her knee was evidence of that.
The door suddenly slid open, and Frankie stuck her head out. Mel pulled her knee away, but Aaron didn’t think her concern was necessary. Frankie probably hadn’t seen anything in the darkness.
“Dolores just got here with the girls,” she said. “And I have an idea for what to do about Samantha. So, get in here now, you two.” She ducked back inside.
Aaron rose first and assisted Mel to her feet. They didn’t immediately separate.
“I’m sorry you got caught up in all this,” she said softly.
“Don’t worry about it.”
The wedge of light shining from the door provided just enough light for him to see the regret in her eyes and something else. Something he couldn’t pinpoint.
“What’s happening with us?” she whispered.
Frankie hollered at them from inside the house, preventing Aaron from answering. Not that he knew what to say.
Chapter Five
“Her horse is injured,” Frankie said, nodding at Samantha. “A torn ligament. That’s why she wants the money. Not for herself.”
Mel didn’t see the logic. Wasn’t wanting money for one’s horse the same as wanting it for oneself? Frankie didn’t usually split hairs, which Mel took to mean her sister sympathized with Samantha.
She studied the table. The family had resumed their former seats, with the exception of Mel’s father. Dolores now occupied his chair, and he stood behind her, his hands resting on her shoulders. She periodically glanced up at him with love and support. Her father, as usual, returned her affection.
Mel increased her scrutiny. Strange that Dolores didn’t appear upset or shocked to learn her husband had a daughter from a previous affair or even that the daughter suddenly showed up. If anything, she was...
He’d told her! Dammit. Nothing else made sense.
Mel didn’t like the anger rising inside her but was unable to stop it. How could her father have confided in his new wife and not in his own daughters? The ones most affected.
Frankie settled more comfortably into her chair, preparing to lead the discussion. Mel tried not to be angry at her, either, just because she “had an idea what to do” and wasn’t furious like Mel.
The girls were in the spare room, tucked into bed for the night but probably giggling. They’d stay over, with Frankie returning for them in the morning. Dolores had furnished the spare room with their various grandchildren specifically in mind.
“When did the injury happen?” Mel asked Samantha.
“Six weeks ago.”
She encountered these type of injuries on a regular basis. “It’s not the end of the world. I’m sure your vet recommended a treatment course.”
“Two vets,” Samantha clarified. “The first one said I should pasture Big John for six months. The second said I could bring him along sooner but to take it slow.”
Both schools of thoughts had their merits. Which one was best depended on the nature of the tear and the horse. In Mel’s opinion, the treatment of a torn ligament, even a small tear, shouldn’t be rushed or else the horse risked permanent injury.
“Samantha’s trying to qualify for the National Finals Rodeo,” Ronnie said. “Her horse is...was her best chance. Without him, she’ll have to quit competing.”
“Can’t she use another horse? Borrow one?” Mel didn’t see the problem. “She must have friends who are barrel racers.”
“There isn’t one available,” Ronnie said. “Not from a friend and not of the caliber she’d need to consistently win.”
“Ah.” That explained the demand for money. “She wants to buy a new horse.”
“Not exactly,” Ronnie admitted.
Mel’s younger sister would identify with Samantha’s problem. She’d come close to qualifying for the NFR herself more than once in her barrel-racing career, always falling just short. Retiring from the circuit without a NFR championship to her name was her biggest regret.
A bell went off inside Mel’s head, and the last several minutes started to make sense. “You want me to treat her horse.”
“You’re a good vet,” Frankie said.
“And no better than those other two, I’m sure.”
“You haven’t examined the horse. Maybe you should hold off until you have.”
“It’s July. She has, what? Four months left to qualify? No horse is going to sufficiently recover from a torn ligament before then. And does it really matter? How close are you to qualifying, anyway?”
Samantha shrugged. “I can do it. If I start competing again in the next few weeks.”
“And win,” Mel added. “On an unfamiliar horse.”
She knew a little about barrel racing from watching Ronnie compete through the years. It was an arduous sport that required skill, talent, drive and a perfect partnership between horse and rider. Also, sufficient resources. Barrel racing wasn’t cheap. Ronnie had worked part-time during high school to help their father pay her expenses. After graduation, she’d worked full-time, with half her salary going toward competing.
Surely another reason Samantha wanted the money. To pay her hefty costs.
“It’s always sad when an animal is injured,” Mel said, “and I feel for you. But, there’s no money left from Dad’s winnings and not much I can do for you that your own vets haven’t.”
“Can or will?” Samantha asked, her voice sharpening.
“I’m not a miracle worker, and I won’t be held responsible if your horse ends up permanently lame.”
She snuck a peek at Aaron beside her. Did he think she was being too hard on Samantha? He’d grown up with horses and these days enjoyed recreational riding, but he wasn’t a hard-core enthusiast like everyone in Mel’s family.
His expression revealed nothing other than mild curiosity. Mel wanted to think she cared little about his opinion and was taken aback by how much she did. If they were alone, she’d ask him what she should do.
“I think we can help Samantha,” Frankie said. “She deserves it after all. She’s missed out on a relationship with Dad and us her whole life.”
“Did you not hear the same story I did?” Mel asked. “She chose not to have a relationship with him, and us, these last two years.”
“She was hurt.”
“And she’s not the only one.” Mel hated that she was on the verge of tears. “I’m not trying to be mean. Really. But you can’t make us responsible for her mom and our dad’s screwup. How is that fair?”
A Baby for the Deputy Page 6