The memory of her little girl standing with her face raised to the setting sun and her arms outstretched to God flashed through her mind. She needed her faith more than ever now. Her family was in turmoil and her soul was in distress.
Closing her eyes, Nedra struck her daughter’s pose. As tears streamed down her cheeks, she shouted into the universe, “God! Please send a miracle our way!”
A gentle breeze caressed her short locks and rustled the silk lounging pajamas and matching robe that she wore. In the softest of wind whispers, she was certain that she could hear the words: Ask and you shall receive.
* * *
From the Birdhouse, Sin could see Nedra standing on the bluff, her stance reminiscent of their daughter’s the day before. He swallowed the lump in his throat. The pain that his arrest had caused his family was unbearable. His chest constricted as he remembered coming home to face his children after being escorted out of the house. It had been the hardest thing he had ever done. They didn’t blame him; all of their bitterness was directed toward the authorities, except for Colin. He came to the conclusion that Jamison was to blame for his father’s arrest, and he lay the responsibility squarely on his shoulders.
Sin tried to use his arrest as a life lesson about the consequences of violence, but it was a lesson that Colin rejected. His eldest son had made the entire situation simple for everyone as he revealed to his siblings the fight their father had with Jamison. As far as he was concerned, all that was happening in their family was simply a matter of good against evil. Trevor’s biological father was the enemy and would never be anything else.
A tearful Trevor had taken on his brother’s attitude toward Royce Jamison—hatred. It was an emotion that Sin could not allow to fester in either of his sons.
On his return to the house, he had taken Trevor down to the weight room to talk, letting him work out his frustration on some of the equipment. They had exercised together while Sin reiterated his lessons about life.
“I don’t want that Royce man to be my father,” Trevor declared emphatically. “I want him to go away and leave me alone!”
“We don’t always get what we want,” Sin explained, unable to come up with anything more profound. “Sometimes there are things in life that we might not like, but that we have to accept.” He didn’t share with him the fact that he would never accept giving up his son.
“But, Daddy, I prayed,” Trevor said as he stood in the circle of his father’s protective arms, walking the treadmill with him. “Mommy said that if you pray for something real hard, you can get it. I prayed that you would come back home when those cops took you away, and you did. So I’m praying hard for that guy to leave me alone.”
It sounded as though Trevor’s approach to resolving the family’s dilemma was as absolute as his mother’s and grandmother’s. At this point, Sin couldn’t see where it could hurt.
Soothing Gillian’s fears had been simple. Hugs, kisses and reassurances seemed to work, at least temporarily. Appeasing Colin had not proved to be as easy. He wanted revenge, and Jamison and the police were the most visible targets for his rage.
Yesterday, after the younger children had been settled in bed with Nedra, Sin had gone to his oldest son’s room and talked to him. The boy’s anger was intense. He had talked to him until the wee hours of the morning, but his efforts to guide him toward a more moderate position fell on deaf ears.
“If that Jamison guy thinks he’s going to come in here and take my brother, he’s got another thing coming!” Colin spat between clenched teeth. “He’ll have to go through me first, and I’ll kill him. I swear I will!”
His son’s declaration disturbed Sin. He recognized it as macho bravado, but he also recognized that dangerous thoughts could lead to reckless action. He was a living example of that fact.
It was concern for his son that had brought Sin back upstairs with the morning sunrise anxious to resume their conversation, but Colin was asleep. However, it was the view from the boy’s room that provided him with the opportunity to witness his wife humbled in prayer. Even from afar, he could feel the strength of the faith that sustained her. He respected Nedra for her unwavering devotion, and he could only hope that her prayers would reap the desired results. However, he intended on executing a more secular plan of action. He would no longer depend on the Lord or the law.
* * *
“Have you lost your mind?” Samuel Jamison’s voice was rough with anger as he reprimanded his son like a small child. “Didn’t you think that I would find out about this? What would make you do such a thing?”
Royce stood before his father, hating him with every breath that he took, but nothing about him indicated in any way what he was feeling. He had trained himself long ago not to react to anything that he said. If the old man died on the spot, his greatest wish would be granted. Why did he have to stick around and make his life miserable? When he answered, his voice was a monotone.
“I told you, I thought that pressing charges against Reasoner would help the custody case.”
Samuel brought his fist down on the antique desk. “Edward already told you that the assault alone would help the case. What you did was unnecessary and could bring publicity that I do not want! This whole thing was to be handled with the utmost discretion, and here you are trying to make a circus sideshow of the entire situation.”
“If the Reasoners decide to go to court, they’ll be publicity anyway,” Royce said defensively, regretting the day he ever met Trevor Reasoners’ mother—what’s her name.
“I don’t think they would have before,” said Samuel with a degree of certainty. “But now that you’ve had Reasoner arrested, who knows what they’ll do.” Samuel pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration. “Our case is strong, Royce, and Reasoners’ attack on you only made it stronger. Any halfway decent lawyer would recognize that.”
He sighed. “Now I’ve directed Edward to file a petition to the court to remove the boy from that home as soon as possible. He’ll say something like the hostility displayed toward you is preventing you from getting to know your son, and he’s going to ask that you be granted temporary custody. I’m tired of pussyfooting around with those people, and I’m tired of your antics, too. I don’t have time for all of this nonsense. That boy should be in our hands within the next two weeks if not sooner.”
“And then?” Royce had no plans to babysit some kid.
“And then I’ll proceed with my plan.”
* * *
The cozy ambience of the expensive restaurant couldn’t stop the flood of negative thoughts flowing through Rhonda’s mind. She had accepted a lunch date with Garth at which she had every intention of ending the debacle that they called a relationship, but he had a surprise for her when she arrived. They were the lunch guest of one of the star attorneys at Garth’s law firm, a man who it was rumored was next in line for partner. For the last hour, the two men had discussed nothing else but work. A fellow female attorney who also worked at the office completed the foursome. Rhonda didn’t bother to try and remember her name. She appeared to be the girlfriend of the older attorney, but Rhonda couldn’t help but wonder if Garth hadn’t slept with her, too. She no longer trusted him at all.
For the past week following her discovery of his infidelity, she had been avoiding him, taking the time to plan the demise of their relationship. Today offered the perfect opportunity. She was disappointed that they wouldn’t be dining alone. She had plans to dump him publicly, then go away for a few days so he would be unable to reach her.
During lunch she hadn’t said much. How could she? Between the three of them bragging on their individual accomplishments, she couldn’t get a word in edgewise. It was obvious that her presence there was solely because she was Winston Duncan’s daughter. Garth was showing her off, trying to impress his colleagues, and if they impressed her there might be the possibility that she might pass their names on to her father. She thought about putting them all out of their misery because that wasn’t
going to happen, but that didn’t keep her from ordering the most expensive items on the menu and eating heartily, especially since the esteemed attorney was paying.
The time spent ignoring the idle chatter had given her the opportunity to make a decision. She was going to dump Garth as planned, right in front of these two pretentious snobs. What could be better?
As the conversation between the three attorneys dragged on, Rhonda finished her meal and was reviewing the menu to see what the most expensive dessert she could order was. Vestiges of their conversation drifted to her consciousness.
“I should be wrapping up this case soon,” Garth’s friend was saying. “I thought it might be a difficult one at first, but it’s turning out to be easier than I thought.”
“That’s the Jamison case, right?” asked his blonde sidekick with a toss of her shoulder-length hair. “That’s a coup if you win that one.”
Edward Thompson grinned. “I know. One more step toward the top.” He tipped his third martini Garth’s way and took a sip. Rhonda rolled her eyes and signaled for the waiter. When he appeared, she ordered one dessert to eat and another to dump on Garth’s head. Her exit would be dramatic, to say the least. Garth raised a questioning brow at her order, but she ignored him. The thought of what was to come bolstered her spirits so much that she decided to pretend to be interested in their boring conversation.
“And who is this Jamison person?” She tried not to yawn as she inquired. Garth answered as if he had been involved with the case instead of a mere observer.
“He’s one of the richest clients that our firm has. His family is worth millions.”
“Old money,” added the blonde. “And the family has been with the firm forever. He’s a personal friend of the senior partner.”
“Correction,” said Edward. “The old man is a friend of his. The son is only a client because of his father.”
“So it’s the son’s kid?” Garth inquired, taking a sip of his glass of wine.
“Yep.” Edward took another sip of his drink. “But the old man is footing the bill, and it’s going to be a big one. I can only guess what the private investigator is costing him.”
“Oh?” The blonde was curious. “Who did he use to investigate?”
“A guy named Walters, Stan Walters.” Edward was beginning to slur. “He’s got an office on Geary in San Francisco. His report was very thorough. I’d recommend him.”
Garth looked thoughtful. “I guess after this case the family he’s suing…”
“The Reasoners,” Edward supplied.
“I guess that they’ll be looking for another law firm.”
“They should, the lawyer they’ve got is sorely lacking. The only thing is that they live in Carmel. I doubt if they’ll look for a firm in San Jose, but who knows? They might.”
“And you say that they’re loaded?” Garth raised an interested brow.
“Yes, but Jamison has them beat.” He gave the statement some thought. “At least the old man does.”
“What is this lawsuit about?” Rhonda asked innocently.
“It’s a custody case. The father wants custody of his kid.”
“An only child?” Rhonda continued to question.
“His only child, but they’ve got three, I think.” Edward paused to collect his increasingly muddled thoughts. “Yeah, they’ve got three. But it’ll be two after we get through with them.” He chuckled at the thought of his upcoming victory.
The rest of the conversation drifted past Rhonda as she put the pieces of what she had heard together. She was almost certain that the family being discussed were the friends that she had heard Sharon speak of. Those children were the godchildren she loved so much, and it sounded as if one of them was in jeopardy of being taken away by her father’s law firm. The reason for the rift between her father and stepmother was becoming clear. She had to speak to Sharon.
Placing her napkin on the table, Rhonda prepared to leave the restaurant. “If you’ll excuse me, I’ve got to go.”
Garth looked at her with his mouth agape. “What? Your dessert hasn’t come yet. We’re still eating.”
“I’m through.” Secretly amused by the double meaning her words entailed, Rhonda got up from the table. She ignored Garth’s look of censure and addressed the others. “It was nice meeting you.”
“Rhonda!” Garth looked confused as she turned from the table and walked away. He caught up with her just before she reached the restaurant lobby. Clamping his hand around her upper arm, he turned her to face him.
“Just what do you think you’re doing?” He whispered harshly. “You’re embarrassing me.”
Rhonda looked at the hand on her arm, then back at him. “I couldn’t care less about embarrassing you. And if you don’t get your hand off me, I’m going to put my knee so far in your groin they’ll need a pair of pliers to pry it out.” She leveled him with a look that told him that her words were a promise and not a threat.
Taken aback, Garth released her. “What’s wrong with you? You haven’t been yourself lately. Are you sick?”
His words had opened the door, and she rushed through it like a whirlwind. “Yes I am sick!” She poked him in the chest with a manicured fingernail. “You’re a cheat and a liar! You’re a user and an abuser! I know you’re two-timing me, you lying dog, and don’t you dare insult me by denying it. We are through! It’s over. Don’t you ever call me again!”
Turning on her heels, Rhonda stalked out of the restaurant, leaving a shell-shocked Garth standing in the middle of the well-heeled diners. As she stood outside the restaurant waiting for the valet to bring her car, Rhonda closed her eyes and took a long, deep breath. Damn! She felt good. Withdrawing her cell phone and a telephone number she had been given a few days ago, she made a call. The telephone on the other end rang three times before a familiar voice answered.
“Hello, Sharon—”
* * *
Writing down the information provided by Rhonda, Sharon felt a flutter of excitement. She didn’t know if the name being provided would be of any help to the Reasoners, but at least it was something. It felt good to know that she might be able to contribute positively to what seemed to be an onslaught of bad news lately.
Sharon started to dial Nedra at home where she was working today. The sound of her cell phone ringing interrupted her. She started to ignore it, then thinking that perhaps it was Nedra not wanting to call her through the main telephone line, she withdrew it from her purse. It was Winston.
She hadn’t spoken to him since her frantic call the night that Sinclair was arrested. She knew that he might be of little assistance at the time, but he had listened, and his reassurance had soothed her anxieties.
Earlier, on the day that she had made that call, Winston had called her to see how she was doing. As usual, he told her how much he missed her, and she confessed that she was missing him, too. Winston had told her how shocked and pleased he had been by Rhonda’s sudden change in attitude toward her, and Sharon had informed him of her own pleasure concerning the change. However, she didn’t share with him its cause. That was between her and Rhonda.
Sharon answered his call. “Hello.” Her voice was soft and inviting.
“I miss you,” Winston whispered, his tone as inviting as her own. “I’d like to ask you out to dinner this evening.”
Sharon smiled to herself. He sounded as if he was asking her for a first date.
“You’re going to drive all the way to Carmel just to take me out to dinner?”
“Actually, if you’ll open your office door, you’ll find me right outside.”
Sharon was stunned. She hadn’t seen him in nearly two weeks, and wasn’t sure if she was ready to do so. Taking a shaky breath, she walked over to the oak door separating her office from the secretary’s office and opened it. There he sat with his cell phone pressed to his ear. He grinned up at her, and Sharon’s heart did a somersault. Dressed in a light gray suit with a matching tie, he looked every bit the successful p
rofessional that he was. His eyes were ablaze as he looked at her. The secretary looked from him to Sharon, then back again. She began to fan with a piece of paper.
Sharon introduced the two of them, then invited him into her office. As soon as the door closed behind them, he turned her into his arms and crushed his mouth against her mouth.
Taken by surprise, at first Sharon stiffened, then gradually her body relaxed as she moaned against his assaulting lips. The kiss was long, needy, demanding. When they parted, they both were shaken by its intensity as Winston continued to feather her with kisses.
“What are we doing, Sweetheart? I’m going insane without you.” His lips sought the special places that only he knew could inflame.
Sharon shuddered against him as she sought his mouth again. Pressing herself against his rock hard member, she rubbed against him wantonly, acknowledging an invitation that she couldn’t deny that she wanted to accept. They broke the kiss, panting, and fighting for each breath.
Winston clung to his wife as if by releasing her life would slip away. That’s how he felt. He missed her with every breath that he took. The days without her had been empty, and the nights had been excruciating. He had already swallowed his pride and ask her not to leave. He wanted so badly to swallow it again and asked her to come home. Yet, he found himself remaining silent. The decision to come back to him must be her own, but he couldn’t help but try a bit of persuasion.
“I love you so much.” His voice cracked with emotion.
Tears came to Sharon’s eyes. Was she tossing aside the best thing that ever happened to her just to make a point? Was it worth it? What they felt for each other was undeniable. Was she willing to throw love like this away so easily?
“I love you, too.” She had no doubts about that.
Winston drew her away from him. “Then I’m asking you, what are we doing?”
Sharon reviewed the question before answering. “We’re learning to respect not only each other, but our respective families and their needs. Like I’ve told you before, I know that there is little that I wouldn’t do for your parents or for Rhonda if they needed me. All you would have to do is ask.”
Sinful Intentions Page 21