“She shouldn’t have run off with him. All I want are rotating holidays and two weeks every the summer,” JD said.
“She’ll never agree to those terms, especially considering the child’s age and the fact that he doesn’t know any of you. I’m telling you, she won’t sign.”
“She’ll sign. And it’ll be legal. Just get it done for me.” JD stepped out into the lavish lobby of The Towers. He strode away from his brother and friend without another word. There were a few random flashes of cameras. JD McIntyre made news wherever he went. Paparazzi were to be expected.
Matt turned to Sam as they followed JD out into the coastal night. “This is not going to end well, Sam. I’ve got a bad feeling about it. I’ve skirted the law plenty of times for JD. But this is not right. I don’t like the way he said ‘concessions’.”
“I know.” Sam nodded. “He’s made it personal. That’s never good in business.”
“I think this is way more than business,” Matt said as they got in a waiting limo. JD had already left in a car of his own.
“Yeah, I do too. I pity the Murphy woman. She picked the wrong man to play with. She won’t even own her soul once JD gets through with her,” Sam added.
Chapter Eight
“I don’t want to go,” whined Billy.
He flopped back onto the bedspread. It was thin and faded. But Sunny thought it looked clean. Or as clean as linen looked in a motel that rented by the hour. She was just glad there was a deadbolt lock on the door to their room.
“We have to go, Billy Boy. This is a very special church service for your dad.”
She tried to make him understand. But it was hard. He’d only just met his father. And now the poor man was dead. For a five-year-old that was a lot to process. She was having a difficult time dealing with what had happened herself. And the fact that she hadn’t had the heart to ask Lorenzo to sign the custody papers was eating at her. It would be much easier for JD to claim guardianship of the boy now. All he’d need to do was direct his pricey lawyers to the Sea Glass Point courthouse. She didn’t even know where this month’s mortgage payment was going to come from. How could she fight a billionaire?
“Will my daddy be there?”
Sunny shook her head. Her thick braid trailed over her shoulder. “No, remember I talked to you about that. Your father is in Heaven with your mom.”
She smoothed the skirt of the cheap black dress she’d bought last night at a dollar store. It was really just a simple sun dress. But she was hoping the color would make up for its lack of quality. Her chunky sea glass necklace was distinctive and added a designer touch. The muted greens and blues of the large pieces of polished glass deepened the color of her eyes. She’d spent more on Billy’s little white shirt and black pants. She hated that he would be wearing sneakers. But her funds wouldn’t cover a new pair of shoes for him. She was very thankful her old black sandals matched her dress. At least she and Billy would both be clean and tidy.
“After church can we go home?” he whined. “I don’t like Dallas. It’s real hot and kind of dirty.”
She wished she could correct him. But she couldn’t. The part of the city they were in was extremely hot. The room’s old air conditioner gasped and shuddered as it ran full time. Even with its noisy efforts, the room was scorching. Sunny knew that they were in a rough part of town. But the price of the room had been cheap. And they were only one highway exit away from the cathedral where Lorenzo’s funeral was being held. Thankfully the abbey was paying for it because he’d been a lay brother. Otherwise, there would have been no service at all.
“We are leaving right after church is over. I’ve packed us up. And I’ve got some of those snacks and drink pouches you like so much,” she said.
She loved to see the way his face lit up over simple things like a bag of chips and a juice box. He was a joy to her. And he always would be. If she could just retain custody, she’d make sure Billy had a wonderful childhood. He might not have a lot of material possessions. But he’d always know he was loved. That’s something the McIntyres could never give him. They’d probably ship Billy off to some high-dollar eastern boarding school as soon as they could. She would do whatever she must to make sure that never happened.
“Is it time to go?” he asked, eager to get out of the shabby motel room.
Sunny looked at her cell phone. She nodded. “It is. Try to remember what I told you about sitting still and quiet in the church, please.”
She unlocked the door and stepped out into the glaring sunlight. Her head was turned to hear Billy’s reply. She didn’t see the big man lounging against a low-slung sports car.
“Afternoon, Miss Murphy,” JD said. He was wearing old jeans, scruffy cowboy boots, and had a straw Stetson settled low on his head to block the sun.
In the glare, Sunny couldn’t see his eyes. And she was glad. Because she didn’t want to see the danger lurking there. And she didn’t like knowing he could read everything she felt on her face, while his features remained impassive.
“I can’t talk to you right now. We’re on our way to a funeral,” she said through stiff lips.
She tried to brush past him. But his hand stopped her. She looked down at it on her bare arm. She felt an involuntary shiver run through her body.
“Cold?” he asked with a mocking glint in his merciless eyes.
Sunny tilted her head up. She would not show him her fear. She would not back down. Billy’s future depended upon her grit.
“No, just disgusted,” she said.
“I hope it’s not something I’ve done,” he drawled.
“Get your hand off me before I call the police. You have no right to stop me from taking Billy to his father’s funeral. Even you would not be so low as to interfere with Billy saying his last goodbyes to his father.”
“The police are already here,” he said as he jutted his chin towards a police cruiser parked beside his sports car. “And I have every right to make any decision I see fit for my nephew. I’m his blood family. Something you can’t claim, can you Miss Murphy?”
“Sunny, I don’t like him anymore. He’s a bad man. Can we please just go home?” Billy was shaking as he tried to get as close to Sunny as he could.
The girl knelt down to gather the child in her arms. Her eyes shot daggers up at McIntyre. “As soon as the funeral is over, we’ll go home. I promise,” she told the child.
“I wouldn’t be making the boy any promises, Sunny,” JD’s voice sounded odd. “I think we both want what’s best for him. And we both know who has the resources to provide the best for him. Only a very selfish person would stand between Billy and the life my family can give him. I don’t think you’re that selfish.”
“This has nothing to do with me being selfish. And you know that. This is about what Willie wanted.”
“She wanted me to know about her son. You said she told you to call me. Willow wanted family with her, Sunny. Not just some new friend she hardly knew. I never received that call. So who was it that really let her down?”
Sunny hissed at the pain his words inflicted. It was like ripping open a raw wound. She’d done everything, everything she’d known to do to make sure Willie’s last request was followed. Hadn’t she?
“Fine, if you want to play this game, we’ll do it after the funeral service.” She wasn’t about to let this powerful man get the upper hand with her.
He nodded. “I’ll follow you and wait in the parking lot until the funeral is over.” He turned to stride back to his car.
“You don’t need the police,” Sunny called after him in anger. “We can settle this without them.”
JD stopped by the door of his sports car. “I would have thought we could until you disappeared with the boy.”
“The boy has a name,” she said with as much dignity as she could muster.
He tilted the hat back with his thumb. His smile was cold. “Yeah, I know. It’s McIntyre.”
If Sunny Murphy had been a cursing woman, she w
ould have blistered his ears with the words that came to her mind. But she wasn’t. She was a lady. And she’d act like one now, even if it killed her. She stood as tall as her flat sandals would allow and gently took Billy’s hand in her own.
“Come on Billy. We need to get to the church.”
JD stood like a statue as they sailed past him. If she just hadn’t run, he could have worked something out with her. Maybe eventually the stubborn woman would have agreed. He’d have been ecstatic if he’d just been able to wheedle her into letting Billy spend holidays and a couple of weeks in the summer on the McIntytre spread. At the very least, he wanted to pay for Billy’s expenses and schooling. He was sure he could still convince her if he could just quit scaring her off. He wasn’t used to cajoling. That was Sam’s forte. But he was willing to give it a try on Sunny Murphy.
“Sunny?” he yelled across the trash strewn parking lot.
She was getting Billy settled in his seat. But she straightened and looked his way. If he hadn’t been so intent on not riling her, he’d have laughed at the mean look she gave him. She was going to give him as good as she got. Surprisingly, he found that trait rather endearing. Most females cooed and strutted around him. This woman looked like she wanted to drop him where he stood.
“Don’t try to run,” he instructed keeping his mouth in a firm, straight line.
She didn’t deign to answer. She just stuck her pert little nose in the air, got in her rolling junkyard of a vehicle, and pulled carefully out onto the road.
They made a somber parade all the way to the cathedral. Sunny’s heap, followed by JD’s sports car, with the police cruiser, bringing up the rear. A few heads turned as they pulled into the sparsely filled parking lot. Most of the folks gathered there were dressed in ecclesiastical garb or medical scrubs.
Sunny had a pretty good idea most of them had never seen a car as expensive as JD’s. And the police vehicle would have caused curiosity, as well. She was just glad there were no flashing lights or sirens involved. Though she wouldn’t put it past JD to have ordered them used, if he thought she was about to take off with Billy again. She’d seriously underestimated the man’s power. She wouldn’t be doing that again. She got Billy out of the car. She made sure his clothing was smooth and tidy. She almost jumped when she felt a hard hand under her elbow. Before she knew what was happening, JD escorted her right up to the doors of the church.
“Let me go,” she hissed under her breath, as she shot a smile towards one of the priests.
“I’ve decided I can’t let a lady attend such a solemn ceremony alone,” he said.
Sunny didn’t like the way one side of his mouth quirked up. The man was lethal to anyone with two X chromosomes. “You can’t attend Holy Services in dirty boots and jeans,” she whispered.
“Honey, for as much money as I’ve given the church, I could go to this funeral buck-naked and nobody would say a word, they’d just applaud.”
He steered her to the seats closest to the front. His dark look had both she and Billy sliding down the length of the mahogany pew. She waved at Dr. Worth who sat with a crowd of her colleagues a few pews away. They sat together like a they were a family.
The young woman found that sort of ironic. Though if she was honest with herself, she’d admit, she’d spent many a long hot night weaving girlish dreams of building a family with John Deacon McIntyre. She took a moment to look around.
It was a hushed and holy place. Sunny had always loved church. The denomination never mattered. There was an odor of sanctity and peace within a sanctuary that could not be found anywhere else on earth. And this cathedral, while not especially large, was richly hung with tapestries behind the altar. And light filtered through the deeply-hued stained glass of its windows. Banks of pristine candles flickered in the dark of the church’s interior. Instead of a casket, there was a standing spray of lilies set before the main altar. Lorenzo’s picture was embedded in the middle of the white blossoms. The combined heavy odor of burning tapers and lilies filled the air.
Sunny was glad there was no imposing casket. It would be very difficult to explain to Billy that his newly-found father’s cold body resided inside. And she preferred notions of Heaven, angels, and eternal peace to the reality of a dead carcass. She looked over and saw Billy gazing around in wonder. There was nothing like this majestic house of worship in Sea Glass Point.
A knot formed in the back of her throat. Billy’s only memories of Lo would be of a broken, sick man. And of this funeral. She’d wanted more for her son. So much more. She jumped when she felt her hand being being tucked over JD’s arm. He didn’t look at her. But his fingers began stroking a soothing rhythm up and down the back of her cold skin.
He was such a man of contradictions, she thought. One minute he’s hunting her down with a squad car. The next he’s comforted her with his warm, steady touch. He was the lodestone she’d always wanted in the world. But she knew she couldn’t fool herself into believing he’d ever permanently be in her life. Billy’s maybe, but not hers.
The funeral lasted about an hour. Sunny learned so much about what a good man Lo had been. She stored up all the heartwarming eulogy stories to tell Billy as he got older. No wonder Wille had loved the man. Lorenzo Morales would have been a good husband and father. If he’d only had the chance.
“Here,” JD passed her a monogrammed handkerchief as they all rose for the last hymn.
Sunny hadn’t even realized she’d been weeping. She used the pristine square to dab at the tears running down her face. She caught a whiff of sandalwood. It was such a signature scent of him, more tears flowed. She knew she was being emotional. Funerals called for that. But she also understood that not all her rampant feelings were from grief over Lorenzo’s passing. No, she was honest enough to know JD had her emotions tangled into knots.
“Thanks,” she said as they walked down the aisle.
After a few kind words from the priest, they were out in the stifling parking lot. With her arm around Billy’s shoulders, Sunny looked up at JD.
“We’ll be getting on the road now,” she said it like it was a dare.
JD’s lopsided smile intrigued her. Where was the man who’d recently threatened her with the police? Now he looked more like the delicious man who’d pleasured her in her living room just a couple of days ago.
“Can I treat you to lunch first?” he asked.
Sunny’s eyes narrowed. What was JD McIntyre up to now? Her first impulse was to categorically refuse. The less time she and Billy spent with him, the better. She knew she wasn’t immune to his charm. But, since she had exactly one dollar and forty-seven cents in her purse, and a maxed out credit card, the offer of a meal was too hard to resist.
“You being nice to us won’t change anything,” she informed him.
“I’m never nice. I thought you knew that already.”
“We’re still going back to Sea Glass Point today.”
“Have you ever had caviar?” he asked.
Sunny shook her head. She’d heard of it. She’d even seen a can of it in that fancy new food store downtown. The price on the tiny container could have fed both she and Billy for a week.
“How about Chateaubriand?”
“You aren’t going to sway me with a fancy steak.”
“Chateaubriand is much more than a nice cut of beef.”
“I wouldn’t know.”
“We can order both for lunch.”
Sunny hated to admit it, but she was tempted. Far more than she should be. She’d never been to a really fine restaurant. And since she owned a café, her interest was not merely personal. It was professional. At least that’s what she told herself. To her astonishment, she found herself nodding.
“Lunch would be fine,” she muttered with little grace. “But Billy and I are leaving right after we eat.”
“Of course.” JD nodded. He ushered them to her car. “Can I drive?” he asked.
“Uhh… sure.” Sunny fished around for the keys in her pur
se. “The air conditioning doesn’t work too well.”
“It’s only around the block,” he answered.
“And it’s kind of messy. Billy’s been using the back seat to stow all his toys.”
“Sunny, your car is fine. The Maserati’s too small for three. I didn’t think you’d want to drive up to the country club in a police cruiser. Was I wrong?”
The country club??? He was taking them to a country club? Sunny was not sure this was a good idea after all.
“You know now that I’ve given it some thought, I think Billy and I will just get on the road. Thanks for the invitation, but I’d like to make it home as soon as we can,” she murmured. She felt her embarrassed face turning red.
His hard finger turned her chin up. His eyes were steady and honest. “I’ve got a private dining room, with a private entrance. Nobody will see us. Please, Sunny. I just want a little more time with Billy and you.”
She couldn’t refuse him. Which was no surprise. The man must have some kind of super power that drew her to him. Either that or she had way too little self-control around him. Her voice failed her. But she managed to nod her assent.
“Thank you,” was all he said.
In a few minutes they were pulling up to the gates of a huge colonial-inspired set of buildings. A long winding road led up to the place. It was guarded by ancient live oaks standing sentinel on either side of the drive. Sunny thought it looked just like Tara in the movie Gone With the Wind. The main edifice was three stories high. It was a stunning white in the afternoon sun. There was no sign to indicate the place was a country club. She imagined that made it all the more exclusive.
Large supporting columns marched at intervals along wide shaded verandas. Expensively dressed matrons sat in groups at small tables in alcoves hidden by massive ferns. Each alcove had its own ornate ceiling fan, above which was a discreet air conditioning vent in the porch’s ceiling. Sunny watched intimidated, as white-coated waiters scurried about delivering food on embossed porcelain plates. Iced drinks were served in sweating Waterford Crystal. All this was just outside. She didn’t want to think about how ostentatious the true dining rooms were inside.
Searching for Sea Glass: BEST-SELLING AUTHOR (Sea Glass Secrets Book 1) Page 13