Claiming Amelia

by Jessica Blake

  Dad stood up to go and comfort Mother, but she waved him off. “No, let me say this. Time it was said.” She was going to finally lay it out, even if she was being a bit dramatic.

  She continued. “Your father had been interested in me for some time but I only had eyes for Worth. When I found myself with a baby on the way, I went to him for comfort and he insisted that I marry him to save myself the embarrassment. I said I wanted to get rid of the baby, that I didn’t want anything to do with Worth LaViere. We drove to Florida, to my aunt’s place in Naples. Your father stayed with me the whole time. We were married before a Justice of the Peace and he talked me into giving up the baby instead of having an abortion. They took the child from me and that’s the last I ever saw of it. I never knew the sex, never knew what happened to it. I pushed that part of my life into the past and never looked back.

  “Years later, our family began hosting the barbecues and it would have caused talk if the LaVieres weren’t invited. It would have brought scandal that none of us wanted. We wanted it all forgotten. Those were the pictures you found. You know the rest, Auggie. That’s all there is to tell. Condemn if you wish, but there you have it.”

  “Mother,” I swallowed, “actually there is more to it.”

  “What do you mean?” One fine eyebrow lifted. “Of course there isn’t. You want to gloat? Go ahead. Your mother got herself pregnant. I had no right to be so hard on you and I guess now, looking back, I was trying to save you from the embarrassment and humiliation I went through. I didn’t want your life ruined the way mine had been.”

  “Well, thank you very much,” Dad said, standing, hands closed to fists at his side. “I hardly would call marrying me quite as bad as all that.”

  “No, no, I didn’t mean that,” she said in a tired voice that suggested his feelings really weren’t the consideration he was looking for. Her red hair was frazzled, pinned onto her head in a very unbecoming manner.

  I could only see red. All my life I had taken and taken from her — the condescension, the complaints, the put-downs, I had taken all that and more. But now she was making a tragedy out of being married to one of the most genuine, generous, wonderful people in the world — my father. I could not stand for that. I would not listen to it. Even if it meant that I would never see her again or if she was not to be a part of Ford’s life — it was time she got her comeuppance.

  I began to put Ford’s outdoor clothing back on him. She could see I was preparing to leave. “Where are you going, Auggie. We’re not done here,” she said, aggravated that her drama was to be curtailed.

  “Oh, yes, we are done, Mother. Let me tell you a little something. First of all, the only person who can stand you is here in this room and it isn’t me. That man who you’ve spent a lifetime belittling is worth a hundred of you. You were lucky that he loved you enough to stand up through what you put him through. He deserved to be loved for himself, to be adored because he has a huge heart and a noble spirit and the courage to get through the worst things that could be thrown at him. He is enough of a man to stand up even to you, Mother. This man saved you from utter disgrace. I cannot believe the way you’re treating him!” I continued to zip up Ford’s little outfit.

  “You’re not leaving yet, young lady,” she tried again.

  “You’re right, Mother, I’m not. Not yet. I have a little bit more to say before I go and I hope Dad will go with me. You’re right about one thing. Worth LaViere, II was a bastard, in more ways than you might ever know. That baby you had that was adopted out? It went nowhere. Nowhere but right into LaViere’s hands and that baby grew up to be Linc LaViere, living right here in this same town.”

  Mother gasped as the words began to sink in. “But he’s, he’s…”

  “Yes, Mother, he’s dead. You lost him not once, but twice. If he were still here, he would probably hate you as much as I do,” I said quietly.

  “Auggie! How can you say that about your own mother?” she cried out, her voice rising to an hysterical level.

  “Because, dear Mother, he may have been a bastard, but you certainly are a bitch. You’re right you didn’t deserve what you got — you didn’t deserve to find a man as loving and loyal as my father to save your stupid ass.”

  I looked at Dad, who was looking as shell-shocked as my mom. “I’m sorry, Dad, if this hurts you, but you should know it anyway. Mother, here, almost caused Worth to lose his clinic. He was being blackmailed by his father and Dr. Jervis, Worth’s original partner. They claimed Worth was abusing his position as a psychologist by breaking the vows of doctor / patient ethics. You know why? Because they both had dirty hands and my Worth stood to expose them both!”

  I took in a deep breath so I could speak this next part. “Worth went into the clinic the night you were in there fucking Jervis, dear Mother.” Her voice choked in a gasp and Dad’s face went white. “That’s right, Mother. Worth saw your fat, ugly ass high in the air while that limp-dick Jervis was fucking you!” I was beside myself in anger and amazed at the sailor’s language that was pouring from my mouth. It matched how I felt and anything less would have underserved the vulgarity of her betrayal. “Worth caught you but didn’t recognize you until the night he came here and I introduced him to you. You nearly went into a dead faint and it wasn’t for a while that he realized why. Then he identified you by your horrid, dyed, red hair. He knew why you behaved so rudely, why you didn’t want him around and why you have always been so cruel to Dad and to me. I won’t let it happen any longer, Mother. I can’t even stand to use that word with you. You will not be around Ford. As far as I’m concerned, you’re dead to him.”

  My voice had risen to shouting and I didn’t care. It felt like a huge boil within me had burst. All the subdued anger I felt finally surfaced and poured out with the vile words I used. It poured out and all over the creature who had made our lives miserable.

  “Dad, I’m leaving and nothing would make me happier than if you were to come with me. We have plenty of room at the new house and you can have a suite of rooms. You need never see this woman again!” I stood to leave, but it seemed Dad had a few things to say as well.

  “Caren, you know I have always stood by you all these years. I’ve lied for you, I married you and I held you all those nights when I knew you were really crying for him. I threw away any chance of true love and happiness for myself and stayed with you.”

  He took a step toward my mother but seemed to force himself to stop. “I want you to know now that it wasn’t for you. It hasn’t been for some time. It was for this young lady who you see before you, and for the baby she’s holding in her arms. I wanted Auggie to have the best I could possibly provide for her. She’s my blood, Caren. You cannot ever take that away. You can withhold your affections from me and I’ll sleep in a separate room my entire life — but you can never take Auggie away from me.”

  He spread his arms wide, indicating the room. “Now… I seem to remember that this house and all that is in it was paid for by my money. You had none and never did. If you remember, my parents insisted that if I was to marry you, you had to sign a prenuptial. Well, I’m calling in the marker, dear Caren. I want a divorce and I want you off this property within thirty days. I will give you a small bankroll so you can find somewhere to go, but then you’ll have to find a way to take care of yourself. Somehow, I don’t think you’ll have great difficulty doing that. It seems that eventually you manage to get off your back and up onto your feet. Even when they’re in the air.”

  Mother was half sitting, half lying in her chair. She had completely collapsed and for a moment, I wondered whether she was having a stroke. Her arm was raised in the air, clawing at space as if trying to restore her grip on her life.

  “Auggie, you go on home, dear. I’m going to stay here and keep an eye on things,” Dad said calmly. I knew he didn’t mean that he was looking after Mother, but after his own welfare and possessions. I’d never known about the prenuptial and couldn’t believe how stupid Mother was to have enda
ngered her ability to live by treating my dad so badly.

  I nodded, kissed Dad on the cheek and never looked back at the woman who gave me life. As far as I was concerned, she did not exist.

  ***

  My hands were shaking on the drive back to town. I was, at first, appalled at my own behavior and language. That was totally unlike me. I had to do it, though. It had to be that kind of behavior. The kind of language that was irretrievably a part of our verbal history and could not be taken back. It was the only way it would work with Mother and me. A clean cut.

  I pulled into the parking lot at the clinic and carried Ford with me into the lobby. “I need to see my husband,” I said to Patsy and there must have been a look on my face that worried her because she instantly came out from behind her desk and escorted me through the back entrance into Worth’s inner office.

  “He’s in another part of the clinic just now, finishing a group session. I’ll have him in here in less than five minutes.” She patted me on the shoulder. “Anything I can get you or the baby?”

  I shook my head. “Just my husband,” I said again and she hurried out.

  True to her word, Worth was in front of me in four minutes. “What’s wrong?” His face showed alarm. He knew it wasn’t like me to show up here unannounced.

  “I finally did it,” I started and sat down, crying.

  “Auggie, what is it?” he asked me, sitting down next to me and taking Ford while putting his spare arm around me.

  “I took Ford out to meet Mother for the first time,” I stuttered.

  Worth nodded. “And I guess it didn’t go so well,” he commiserated.

  “It couldn’t have gone worse. I totally lost it. She is evil, Worth… truly evil.”

  “That doesn’t mean you have that trait, Auggie. You’re like your dad. You’re the best person possible, honey.”

  “It’s not that, Worth. I just never thought she could really be as bad as I thought she was. I thought it was because I was her daughter and resented the way she raised me. She was always so strict, so uncaring. I never knew how horrible she was to Dad, though.”

  “Well, Auggie, that’s up to him to take care of,” Worth said.

  “Oh, he’s taking care of it, alright.” A sound came out of me that was half laugh, half sob. “He’s divorcing her. Worth, it was awful. She just kept on and on, saying things about your father and how it was everyone’s fault but hers. I lost it. She insulted my Dad, saying he wasn’t worth much and her life had been ruined, and I absolutely lost it.”

  “Awww… it can’t be that bad,” Worth tried to comfort me.

  “No, it really was that bad. I told her everything, Worth. All of it.”

  Worth was silent. “I see. About Linc? Jervis?”

  “All of it.”

  “Jesus.”

  “I know, I know. I said I wasn’t going to do it, but I got carried away when she attacked Dad. I just couldn’t seem to stop myself.” I was really confused by the way I’d behaved.

  “Auggie, listen to me. I want you to stop feeling bad about this right now. I went through the same thing with my father. We were, for lack of a better word, abused, by one of our parents throughout our entire childhood. Yours was verbal. Mine was verbal and physical. They were not good parents, but we were lucky enough to have one good parent and that’s the person we have to focus on. You blew off some steam. You said the things you wanted to for a long time. It’s much better out there, said, than stored up inside yourself. I’m here for you and we are a family.” He bent and kissed the baby’s head. “This is our family. We have no need for your mother or my father. Ford doesn’t need those examples in his life, either.”

  “Worth, you should have seen Dad. He took it and took it… defended her and then finally, when he found out about Jervis, that was it. He’s divorcing her and she signed a prenuptial. He’s keeping everything, throwing her out within a month, bag and baggage. It’s over for her.”

  “Are you feeling regret?” he asked me.

  I sat back and looked at him. With all honesty, the only thing I could think to say was, “Hell, no!”

  “That’s my girl.” Worth smiled and hugged me with his free arm. “Now, what do you say I take this family out to dinner?”

  “I would be honored,” I answered. “Oh, and Worth?”

  “Yes, Auggie?”

  “I love you, by the way. I’m proud to be your wife and you’ll be the finest father anyone could ever have. Ford is a lucky boy.”

  “I love you too, Auggie,” he responded and kissed me.

  It just can’t get much better than this.

   EPILOGUE

  Auggie

  Mother left within the thirty days, just as Dad dictated. I think she went to live in an apartment on the west end of Louisville. Quite a comedown from where she had been, but she earned what she got. I didn’t make an effort to find her. She knew where I was and didn’t reach out to me, either. Dad divorced her and he and Worth’s mother have been keeping company lately. Who would have thought it?

  Worth opened two more clinics and they’re doing very well, although it’s early. He was busier than ever and true to my word, I agreed to help him once Ford was old enough to be with a nanny. In the meantime, I was doing all the research I could to become more familiar with his industry.

  Our life was idyllic, so much so that I’d begun to be suspicious of it. It didn’t feel natural for everything to go so well. That’s why I was perhaps not as shocked as I should have been when that day finally came.

  Worth had already left for the clinic and I was looking after Ford in his nursery when I heard the doorbell ring.

  “Betsy?” I called downstairs but she didn’t answer. I realized she was probably outdoors, taking out the garbage or hanging sheets. I loved the smell of line-dried sheets better than anything and had insisted on a series of clotheslines to accommodate the bedding.

  I checked to see that Ford was fast asleep so I went down to answer the door myself. I was expecting Mr. McLean. We were going to discuss the offerings at the upcoming Keeneland sales. Beverly Dexter had completed our first set of barns and only Carlos had taken up residence to date.

  I opened the door and there stood a man who looked vaguely familiar, although I couldn’t place why.

  “May I help you?” I asked.

  “I’m looking for Dr. Worth LaViere,” he said solemnly. Again, I was searching my memory for where I could have met this man and it was making me feel quite discomfited. I was generally pretty good at remembering faces.

  “I’m sorry, but he’s not at home at the moment. You can find him at the clinic, though. Can I help you with something?”

  “I see. No, I won’t bother him at the clinic. This is a personal matter, you see.”

  I nodded and expected to see him turn to leave, but he held his stance.

  “I’ll be glad to tell him you stopped by,” I offered in the language that said it was time to leave. “What’s your name?”

  “That would be fine. Tell him I’ll come back another day, but I’m staying at the Hilton in the meantime.”

  “And your name?” I prompted him again.

  “Linc LaViere.”

  THE END

  Continue on to read BOOK TWO in The Bluegrass Billionaire Trilogy: Bluegrass Obsession.

  Bluegrass Obsession

  Book Two

  Alice Ward & Jessica Blake

  CHAPTER ONE

  Worth

  I was in a separate cell from the general population. Now, while this might seem a very fine line of exception to those who knew and depended on me, it was broad enough to keep my ass out of trouble for the moment. Too bad I didn’t have that particular benefit of perspective earlier.

  My head was beginning to clear from the anger, although the smell of urine and vomit permeated the air. It wasn’t unusual for me to sober up in such an atmosphere, but the stench and the voices of men arguing as they angled for alpha was. While I tried to relax and cons
ider this as an opportunity to observe a jail population from a psychologist’s perspective, the memory of the night before continued to consume my attention. This made it impossible to remain indifferent. Indeed, I was simmering with rage. That said, I was in the grip of an even stronger emotion — fear. It was not for myself, but for Auggie and our infant son, Ford.

  ***

  As I approached the house the day before, exhausted from a day touring the newest clinic, I had no idea of the cataclysmic uproar that awaited me. It’s not as if I’d any choice, but a warning would have been appreciated.

  I found Auggie, my emerald-eyed wife of barely a year seated in the living room on the sofa nearest to the front door. It was an otherwise formal room, reserved for entertaining. In this instance, however, it was a strategic perch where she could intercept me before I could greet Betsy, the maid, or even snatch up Ford for a quick hug before retreating upstairs for a shower before dinner. I was instantly on high alert.

  “You wrecked the car?” was my first assumption and as soon as I said it, I inwardly recoiled. I had witnessed this event several times between my mother and father, and the bastard’s reaction had always been anger, even though he could have afforded a thousand cars from his pocket change.

  Auggie shook her head, her eyes wide and filled with a look I’d never seen before.

  “Is it Ford?” Terror seized me and I’d started toward the nursery when she grabbed my arm.

  “No, he’s fine. You can stop guessing. You’ll never get it right. Sit down and take off your jacket. We need to talk.” Her alarm heightened my protective senses and I relaxed somewhat to consider what she was feeling. As usual, she physically took my breath. Her waist-length mahogany hair was almost pelt-like in richness. Giving birth had only made her young woman’s body more full and ripe. If it weren’t for whatever had her so upset, I would have swept her to the floor and taken her right then.