He scoffed in disbelief. “Don’t expect me to fall into line, Josie. To believe what you say now. Your actions speak louder than your words ever could. Just make sure you stay out of our sight. Out of our way. My daughter and I have no desire to further our acquaintance with a woman known around town as a ‘wild child.’”
She could defend herself. She could cite all the things his sister had done to set up this confrontation, but what good would it do? She was stepping aside, a role she’d taken twice before. Addie was more important than her feelings and far more precious than her pride. “I’ll stay out of your way. You stay out of mine.”
He pulled back, surprised.
She waved a hand toward the restaurant. “My space. I’m working here, there’s no reason for you to be here. Goodbye, Jacob.”
She walked by him, into the restaurant and kept her head held high.
She would not lose it here, in public. She’d handled heartbreak before. Correction: she and God had handled it before. They’d do it again. Addie was safe, sound and, most of all, happy. She was beloved and treasured, and that’s all Josie had ever wanted.
She didn’t look back. She didn’t care if Jacob went north or south around the complex, but she meant what she said. He had no further business being in her restaurant, her space. She’d declared it off-limits. She understood her choices better than anyone else. She’d made them long ago. But if he thought he could intimidate her or thrash her self-esteem any more than he already had?
He was wrong.
Chapter Thirteen
Sleep evaded him that night. When he showed up at his parents’ cottage the next morning, concern darkened his father’s gaze. “You look terrible.”
“Jacob.” His mother moved toward him while Addie gathered things from the back seat of the car. “Are you ill?”
“No, just a rough night. Not much sleep. Hey, listen, about this week—”
“I just paid the McCauleys another week’s rent,” his father cut in. “The people who’d booked had a sudden illness, and she was thrilled that we wanted to stay on. That will give us time with Addie while you look into this job arrangement you told us about.”
“I never thought a child of mine would be comfortable living up north,” Sheila added. “And yet, this place is so very charming, Jacob, and folks around here just love the way I talk. I do find their reactions positively refreshing!”
“I’m so glad Daddy is looking for a job up here!” Addie’s excitement made his decision even harder to face. “It’s like the best place ever, and maybe we can go shopping for a house and a cow!”
“Let’s not rush things.” He kept his voice calm on purpose, but while Addie seemed okay with his tone, his parents’ expressions showed question. “You have fun with Memaw and Pawpaw today, and we’ll figure things out later this week.”
“Okay, Dad!” She hugged him, peppered his face with kisses when he leaned down, then slanted him a saucy look, half sweet, part sass. A look that had Josie Gallagher stamped all over it now that he knew the connection. “We’ll have fun today. We’re going to the air show!”
“I haven’t been to one in years.” His father smiled at Addie, but he raised a brow of concern to Jacob. “We can talk later, son. Unless you want to talk now.”
And ruin their day? No. He just needed to keep Addie busy and away from the resort. Away from Josie. “Just some work stuff, Dad. No big deal.”
Bob Weatherly hadn’t raised two kids and run a multistate restaurant chain by being obtuse. “We’ll talk anyway. Kid, let’s go feed the gulls before we take off, okay?”
“Yes! I love the way they squeal and screech!”
“Are you all right?” His mother wasn’t fooled, either. “Jacob, if you need help with something, I’m here. We’re here,” she corrected herself. “What’s wrong?”
He couldn’t do this to her. She’d lost enough, and he wasn’t about to layer all this grief on her now that she was just getting better. He hadn’t seen her this relaxed since Ginger’s death, and the last thing he wanted to do was lay more heavy stuff at her door.
He’d handle this himself. He was a smart, educated, successful man. Surely there was some way to defuse this whole mess. Oh, sure, Josie had said she’d back out of the picture, but he had no reason to believe her. Not now, when he realized their budding relationship had been based on a network of lies. “Just end-of-job stuff, Mom. And wanting to make the best possible choices for all concerned.”
“Well, your father and I aren’t all that enamored with the golden years of retirement. We found that out the hard way,” she told him. “You wrap your head around what’s best for you and Addie, and we’ll make it work. Whatever you two decide is fine with us. We’re pretty mobile, your dad and I.”
He hugged her. He didn’t know how much he needed that hug until he got it, and that only strengthened his resolve. His parents didn’t need any more heartbreak on their plate. They’d had more than their share already.
He spent the morning working in his office. He double-checked contractual obligations to the subcontractors and approved nearly a million dollars in final payments. He had his executive assistant produce personalized thank-you notes to every company that had been part of the overall endeavor, a Carrington custom.
And when he got to the name Bayou Barbecue, Josephine Gallagher, owner/manager, anger and disappointment spiked anew.
He wanted to burn the thank-you card. Or crumple it up and throw it away.
Seeing her name reignited his initial concerns of nearly two months before. Why hadn’t he paid attention to his gut then? Why had he moved ahead, getting to know her?
Yes, she was beautiful. But he met beautiful women all the time. With Josie, it was something else, something beneath the surface that drew him. To later discover it was all a lie messed with his head.
Was she that good at deceit? Or was he that gullible?
He contacted his job recruiter and told her to release his interest in the local job, and pursue the Raleigh and Knoxville opportunities, all while wondering if that would be far away enough.
Would she track them down? Would she—
You think she’ll stalk you? That’s your takeaway? Seriously?
He brewed himself a coffee at the fancy machine Josie had admired, then took it back to his office.
You really think you were falling in love with a traitor? Or maybe there’s more to this story?
He knew the truth of the matter. He’d been falling head over heels and she’d lied her way into his affections. Into Addie’s affections. He wasn’t interested in lame excuses. Maybe he should hire his own lawyer, find out how Josie recognized Addie. Because in a closed adoption, she shouldn’t have known anything but the basics. Of course these days, the basics were embellished by a few keystrokes in a Google search, but that required at least a name to search, and he needed to know how she’d acquired that.
He put in a full day.
When the scent of savory meat wafted through the lobby, he ignored it.
When he spotted folks in the sand with Bayou Barbecue paper products, he tried not to think of the woman working behind the scenes. She wasn’t who or what he thought she was, and that meant it was all an act.
He avoided talking to his father that night. The reprieve would be short-lived, but he wanted his lawyer to get him the lowdown on the situation, and then hated that it had come to this, with an innocent child trapped in between.
“This is not your fault,” the lawyer assured him. “You did nothing wrong, and my job is to get to the bottom of the situation and make sure Addie’s place with you is untouchable. You didn’t create this debacle. She did. In a game of chess, she made moves to trap your queen. Our only choice now is to countermeasure.”
Their only choice?
His conscience niggled him after an hour-long phone call with a
pricey attorney, because he’d been in the business side of legal briefs and attorneys and counteroffers long enough. When the lawyers got brought into it, everything took longer.
You could try talking to Josie. You’ve always taken the direct route, that’s why you’re good at your job. You reduce the layers of bureaucracy to one-on-one factors.
On buildings, yes. Multimillion-dollar projects needed occasional finessing. He was good at that.
But his child was different. He was different. His pledge to her meant everything.
This time he needed to step back and let someone else do the negotiating, because his head wasn’t clear, and if he was truthful with himself?
His heart was muddled, too.
* * *
“You warned me, Cruz.” Josie brought a wad of tissues to her face on Wednesday night. “You encouraged me to tell him, and I waited too long. And then he wasn’t interested in explanations or excuses. He threw the words wild child in my face and ordered me to stay away.”
Cissy snugged an arm around Josie’s shoulders.
Kimberly and Drew were there, and Cruz had left Rory with the kids to touch base on things. “He’s hired a lawyer,” Cruz told her.
Of course he would. She’d recognized the fear in his face, behind the ice-cold anger. “Understandable. He thinks I’m going for custody.”
“Does he even have a clue what brought all this about?” Cissy demanded.
Josie put her hand over her mother’s. “Easy, mama bear.” When Cissy flushed, Josie hugged her. “It’s better this way. Really. We’ll let things wind down, they’ll leave and life goes on.” Her mouth said the words while her heart hung heavy in her chest. “It will get better, Mom. I promise.”
“Because you’ve done this twice before.” Kimberly whispered the words, and her face... Kimberly’s beautiful face was etched with sorrow. “Josie, I wish I could do something. Anything. I hate that I can’t.”
“I know.” Josie stood and swiped her hands to the sides of her shorts. “We’ll keep busy. We’ll pray. We’ll move on, because the only thing I ever wanted in this whole mess was for my daughter to be happy. And she is. End of story.” She dabbed the tissues to her cheeks one last time. “Cruz, call off his lawyer as best you can. I’m keeping a low profile, out of sight, out of mind, and heaven knows I’m busy enough at the restaurant to keep my days full. In time, this too shall pass.”
She didn’t wait to see if she’d convinced them.
She couldn’t.
She’d cry again, and that had been her modus operandi whenever she wasn’t at work, so she’d worked long, hard hours for three days straight.
If thoughts of Addie and Jacob swept over her at work, she used an old trick of breathing deep, through her nose. Exhaling slowly, through her mouth. Methods she’d used in the past, that worked still. Picturing silly things, funny things.
But mostly she worked because if her hands were busy, her mind couldn’t easily go to the amazing joy that had just been wrenched away from her once again.
* * *
Two days left.
Jacob would be finished with his stake in the Eastern Shore project on Friday, and the day couldn’t come fast enough. He’d take his four weeks of vacation, and he’d relocate his life away from verdant hills, vineyards, cattle farms, amazing sunrises and prettier sunsets.
Away from here. Away from her.
His assistant buzzed him shortly after two o’clock. “Jacob, there’s a Cruz Maldonado to see you. He says he’s an attorney.”
An unannounced attorney visit could come from only one source: Josie.
He wanted to refuse this guy entrance. He almost barked for him to make an appointment, but Jacob understood the positive effects of just stopping by, utilizing the surprise factor. He’d done that to Josie, that first day. He swallowed what he wanted to say and stayed professional. “Send him in.”
He stood, but he wasn’t about to reach out and shake this guy’s hand. He kept his expression bland and pretended his blood wasn’t boiling inside. “Generally people make appointments to see me, Mr. Maldonado.”
“Cruz, please. And frankly, the only reason I’m being this cordial and polite is because you have no idea what’s led up to our current state of affairs, and I’m about to fill you in.” The other man stood tall, square-shouldered and resolute, as if Jacob was the one causing a problem. The base of his neck went tight. So did his hands.
“Mr. Weatherly, I don’t know you,” Cruz began.
“Then we’re even.”
Cruz conceded that with a calm look. “Two months ago, my wife’s cousin came to me.”
“Josie.”
“Yes. And she told me a story that few knew. Certainly no one here was aware of the fact that she had a daughter, or that she’d given up that child for adoption over six years before.”
“Once a liar, always a liar?”
Cruz winced and Jacob felt instantly ashamed because he wasn’t normally a jerk, but there was nothing normal about the current situation.
“I understand where you’re coming from, but that’s not how it was. And I’m not here to give you the details. That’s up to Josie, if you’re man enough to hear them. And that part’s up to you.” Cruz kept his gaze and tone level. “But let me just say that at no time in all of this was Josie at fault. She endured an unspeakable act, but she found the strength to move forward, put her life on hold in New Orleans to give birth to a child, and researched agencies who would give her child the best possible chance at a strong, balanced family—the kind of family Josie had known, growing up here.”
An unspeakable act?
A block of air pushed hard against Jacob’s chest, real hard.
“Josie didn’t hire a New York lawyer. I did,” Cruz continued. “And not to bring havoc on you, but to see what went wrong six years ago.”
“Except in a closed adoption, the names are not exchanged.” Jacob leaned forward and tightened his expression. “Josie not only knew my sister’s name, she recognized Addie when she saw her. Which means she must have been secretly spying on her as she grew up.”
Cruz held his gaze for a long moment, long enough for more of that air to tighten Jacob’s chest. “Or it could mean that Josie gave up a lobe of her liver to save her daughter’s life over three years ago. But your story is good, too.”
“She did what?” Jacob pressed his hands against the flat of his desk. “She was the donor for Addie’s surgery?”
“She was. Josie fully respected the contractual agreement of the adoption, but they inserted a clause that in the case of a medical emergency, Josie could be contacted. When Addie got sick, Ginger contacted Sweet Hope. In turn, they called Josie and passed along the information, wondering if she would be tested as a donor. She was a blood match and willingly went ahead with a life-threatening operation because nothing was more important than saving Addie’s life. Even though it meant risking hers.”
Josie, donating a part of her liver to save Addie’s life. Josie, keeping her end of the agreement until she was needed. “You’re sure about this?”
“Do you need to see the scar? Or would hospital records at Children’s Hospital of Atlanta and Emory do?”
At the moment, Jacob’s head felt like it was spinning in circles. “Ginger said—”
“Mr. Weatherly, the further we’ve gotten into this case, the less anyone should believe things your sister presented as fact.” Cruz stayed matter-of-fact but firm as he ticked off his fingers. “She lied to the agency, complicit with her then-husband, then lied to Josie in the hospital by saying Adam was too emotional to come see her, but extended his thanks through a forged note to maintain the charade of a solid marriage.”
Lies... Ginger hadn’t just stretched the truth, she’d lied as a means to achieve her ends, whatever they were.
“Why would the hospital us
e a drug user’s liver? That can’t be right.”
Cruz stood. He settled a look on Jacob that questioned more than his words, that maybe questioned him. “Who gave you that information, Mr. Weatherly?”
Now it wasn’t just air making his chest tight.
It was realization, followed by guilt. “My sister.”
“And there you go.” Cruz studied him, turned toward the door, then swung back. “Talk to Josie. If you have an ounce of human decency in you, you should go and talk to her face-to-face. Yes, she recognized Addie that first day. She saw her carefully constructed plans to ensure her baby’s future had been altered. Her daughter walked onto the property calling a strange man ‘Daddy.’ So yes, she took steps to find out what happened to the adoptive parents, and then to make sure you weren’t a horrible person. Under the circumstances, I think any parent would do the same thing. And just so you know—” he stared at Jacob, long and hard “—if she gives you a chance to talk to her, to hear her story, then consider yourself a fortunate man. Any guy who throws teenage indiscretions into someone’s face is best avoided in my book. But then, Josie might be kinder than I am.”
He left.
Jacob stared at the door. He lifted the phone, but who was there to call? The agency?
They’d give their spin on their stated position. He’d already heard that.
His heart wasn’t just heavy in his chest. It thrummed like a bass drum, and he probably deserved the headache that came along with it.
Ginger.
Her selfishness had gone too far this time. She’d deceived professionals, his parents, him, even Addie...and of course, the sacrificial mother, giving up the most precious thing in the world, her child. Ginger and Adam had willingly misled the agency as a means to an end—Ginger’s wish to be a mother.
Shame knifed him.
He got out of his chair and moved to the window overlooking the southwest corner of the wide, sandy beach. Across the lake treed lots and tapering hills gave way to agricultural spots above. Thick stands of green covered the farthest hills, and the movement of boats, personal watercraft and sailboats dotted the long, slim finger of Canandaigua Lake.
Her Secret Daughter Page 15