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Cal motioned for Sabrina to sit on one sofa. She was grateful when he settled next to her. She leaned close and whispered, “So do the afternoon and evening rooms get progressively bigger? I have no experience with this, you know. Back in California, we had one little old living room. It was good enough for the likes of us.”
Cal grinned. “I’ll fill you in on architecture of the rich on the way back to the hotel. It’s pretty interesting.”
“I’ll bet.”
She glanced up and saw Mrs. Langtry frowning. Sabrina doubted the older woman had heard any part of their conversation, so she must be unhappy with their obvious familiarity. She thought about telling Cal’s mother that there was nothing going on between them, nor was that ever going to change, but she figured the woman wouldn’t believe her, and even if she did, she would pretend not to care.
The maid returned with a third cup, then quietly left the room, closing the door behind her.
Mrs. Langtry poured coffee. She handed Cal his black, then looked expectantly at Sabrina. “Sugar? Cream?”
“Cream, please.”
Mrs. Langtry complied, then held out the cup. When Sabrina took it, the older woman’s attention turned back to her son. “I still think whatever you want to discuss would be better done in private.”
“Sabrina knows it all, Mother. Well, not all. Obviously there are secrets even I’m not aware of, but those are the exception. After all, who do you think worked out the details of paying off Tracey’s last husband?”
Mrs. Langtry’s mouth pursed. “I see.”
Sabrina resisted the urge to hunch down on the seat. But she had been the one to take care of Tracey’s problem. Cal’s older sister had a bad habit of falling for men who were only interested in her money. She’d been married six times and had had an assortment of lovers, all of whom used her, taking what they could and leaving as soon as the funds dried up.
It was sad, she thought to herself. All this money and no one was happy. She remembered Ada’s comments about Cal’s mother being a cold witch. What no one could figure out was, had her husband fooled around because life was icy at home, or had his philandering caused the chill in the first place? Considering how they’d been raised, maybe it wasn’t surprising the Langtry children hadn’t found marital bliss, or even a decent relationship.
Cal set his cup on the coffee table. “Does the name Janice Thomas mean anything to you, Mother?”
“No.” She took a sip. “Should it?”
“Yes, actually it should. Unless Tracey has a couple of kids that I don’t know about, Janice was the mother of your only grandchild.”
Mrs. Langtry drew in a deep breath. Her dark eyes, so like her son’s, didn’t waver. She took another sip, then nodded. “So you found out about the child. I suppose it was foolish to hope that unfortunate incident wouldn’t come to light. Oh, well, you know about it now. No harm done.”
Sabrina felt Cal start to burn. The heat of his anger singed her skin. She placed a hand on his forearm and gave a quick squeeze. His glance of thanks told her that he had been about to lose control.
“I don’t know which comment to address first,” he said, his voice low and controlled. “Your calling it an ‘incident’ or the statement of ‘no harm done.’ You played with lives, Mother. You kept information about a woman’s pregnancy from me. You kept my child from me.”
She dismissed him with a wave. “You don’t know what you’re talking about. You were what, twenty-two? Did you actually want to marry the little gold-digger? I don’t think so. Your father and I knew exactly what had to be done. Janice Thomas didn’t want to marry you, she wanted money. Under the circumstances, it was simpler to pay her off. I don’t regret it for a moment, and you shouldn’t, either. We were prepared to set her up for life. It’s hardly our fault that she died.”
Sabrina knew that Cal’s mother was cold, but she hadn’t expected to feel the frost seeping into her body. She was stunned by the woman’s callous words and had to consciously keep her mouth from hanging open.
“We are talking about my daughter and your grandchild. You had no right—”
The older woman set her coffee cup on the table and glared at him. “We had every right,” she said, cutting him off in mid-sentence. “Your future was set, or it would have been if you’d ever bothered to settle down. You were going to run Langtry Oil and Gas. You barely knew the girl, so don’t try to tell me you lost the love of your life. The truth is, you haven’t thought of her once in the past thirteen years. All this righteous indignation over what? She was money-hungry trash. She got what she deserved.”
Cal set his teeth. “I’ll admit I didn’t fall in love with Janice. I take issue with your comment that she got what she deserved, but that is not the point. I had a child and you kept that information from me. You let your own grandchild be adopted. I’ll bet you didn’t bother to keep track of her.”
“No. Why should we? All this fuss. What’s the point? The past is over. You wouldn’t be interested in a child with a mother like Janice. I don’t know how you found out about her, and I don’t really care. If you want a child so much, marry someone suitable and have one. Stop chasing around with those young girls. You and your sister. Whatever did your father and I do to deserve such children?”
Cal rose to his feet. “Nothing, Mother. You two did nothing.”
“Where are you going?”
“Why does it matter?”
“You’re going to do something stupid, aren’t you. Something with the child. This is why we didn’t tell you about Janice all those years ago. You would have married the mother, or at least taken responsibility for the child. We saved you that, but you’re not grateful. You don’t understand. You’ve never understood.”
“You’re right, Mother. I don’t understand. And yes, I’m going to go get my daughter, and I’m going to do my damnedest to be a good parent to her. But that’s something you wouldn’t understand.”
Sabrina didn’t remember standing, but suddenly she was at Cal’s side and they were leaving the room, closing the door behind them. Mrs. Langtry continued talking, her words fading as they moved away. Sabrina was grateful. She didn’t want to hear anything else. She was too shocked. Knowing that Cal’s mother was a cold woman was very different from experiencing it firsthand.
They crossed the living room and waited in front of the elevator. Cal pushed the Down button.
“Cal?”
Both he and Sabrina turned toward the soft voice. Tracey Langtry stood in the shadows. She was a beautiful female version of her brother, or she had been at one time. The morning light was not kind, highlighting the lines on her face. Her lifestyle had not allowed her to age well, and she looked far older than her thirty-eight years.
Worn jeans hung on too-narrow hips.
“Cal, I need some money. I’ve used up my allowance.”
Cal didn’t look at her. Instead, he stared impatiently at the closed elevator doors as if willing them to open. “Who is he this time?”
“Oh, he’s lovely. A race car driver. Very good, very young.” She giggled. “Very nice in bed. I—” She hiccupped, then covered her mouth. “I like him a lot.”
Sabrina realized the other woman was drunk, and it was barely ten in the morning. She considered herself fairly sophisticated, but this was too much. She took a step away from Tracey and toward Cal.
“There’s a race and he needs the entry fee. Plus, traveling around gets so expensive. Please, Cal, just ten or twenty thousand. You won’t even miss it.”
He didn’t answer. The elevator doors opened and he guided Sabrina inside, followed her and pushed the Down button. As the door closed, he didn’t bother saying goodbye.
They reached street level and walked toward the limousine. Sabrina didn’t think the silence between them was especially awkward, but she felt obligated to think of something to say. Something to tell Cal that she didn’t judge him by his family. But she couldn’t find any words. Not without making a difficult situation worse.
After they were settled in the car and he’d given the driver instructions to return them to their hotel, he finally looked at her. Something dark and painful lurked in his eyes.
“When I was a kid, I used to pretend that I’d been left on the doorstep by Gypsies and that one day they would come back to get me. At this point I would be grateful just to have been adopted. I’m not happy to have that gene pool floating around in my body. I could turn into one of them at any moment.”
“If it was going to happen, it would have happened already. You’re safe.”
“You think so?” He turned toward the window. “I’m not so sure.”
“Cal, you’re a good man. If you were like them, you wouldn’t care about your daughter. You would have let her go into foster homes or arranged boarding school. You’re making an effort. That counts.”
She wanted to tell him that she admired him. When she thought about all he’d been through as a child, of the horrible life he’d had, she was amazed that he’d turned out as well as he had. It was a testament to his character. Sometimes she forgot there was a real person behind the handsome playboy facade, then something like this came along and reminded her.
“I’m sorry you had to see that,” he continued. “But I’m not sorry you were there. Lord only knows what I would have done to that woman if I’d been alone.”
She wasn’t sure if he was talking about his mother or Tracey, and realized he probably meant both of them. She didn’t doubt that in a couple of days he would tell her to send his sister a check. Maybe not for the amount she’d requested, but for enough to tide her over until her next trust fund payment.
“Every family has dirty laundry. You’d be shocked if you knew some of my secrets.”
He looked at her and smiled. “Yeah, right. You have secrets? What? That you went to bed without flossing twice all of last year?”
She glared at him. “They’re more interesting than that.”
“I doubt it. You are not the kind of woman who has deep, dark secrets. Don’t worry, Sabrina, I’m not complaining. Far from it.”
Before she could protest that she could be bad, too, if she wanted, he did the most extraordinary thing. He reached out and took her hand in his.
Sabrina blinked twice, then stared at their linked fingers. She and Cal often touched. A light brush of his arm against hers when they walked together. A teasing poke in her side if he thought she was being too stuffy. He’d hugged her a half dozen times or so over the course of their working relationship. But those had all been impersonal buddy-type contacts. This was personal.
She felt his heat and strength. His long fingers and broad palm dwarfed her hand, leaving her feeling incredibly feminine. A strange lethargy stole over her, and it was only when her chest started to get tight that she realized she’d stopped breathing.
She forced herself to draw in a deep breath, then release it. This wasn’t happening. She glanced down and saw that it was. He was actually holding her hand. Then, as if he’d read her mind and realized what he was doing, he squeezed once and released her.
Sabrina sat next to him, feeling as if she’d just survived a force three tornado. Her entire body felt buffeted. Every cell was on alert, her skin tingled where it had been in contact with his, and if she allowed herself to notice, she would have to confess to a definite hint of dampness on her panties.
Danger! a voice in her head screamed. Danger! Danger! Do not do this to yourself!
She straightened and gave the voice her full attention. Every word was true. Cal Langtry was deadly to women everywhere. He was only ever interested in the chase. Once he’d caught his chosen prey, he lost interest and ended the relationship. She’d seen it happen countless times. Besides, they had a perfectly wonderful working relationship. She adored her job, she was well paid, and she wasn’t a fool. Not only would she jeopardize everything if she started thinking of Cal as a man instead of her employer, she would be wishing after the moon. After all, she wasn’t his type.
As painful as it was, she forced herself to remember a phone call she’d overheard nearly six years before. She’d been working for Cal all of two or three months and had been fighting a serious crush. It had been late and she’d entered his office unannounced.
He had his back to the door and didn’t notice her in the shadows. She still didn’t know who he’d been talking to and she didn’t want to know. What she recalled most was that he’d been talking about her.
“Yes, my new assistant is working out great. I’m impressed with her.” He’d paused to listen. “I did say ‘her.’ Sabrina is very much a woman.”
She thought about how her heart had leapt in her chest and her knees had grown weak. Was it possible he’d been attracted to her, too?
“No, you’ve got it all wrong. She’s perfect for me. She’s bright and too good for me to ever want to let her go. She’s attractive enough so that no one is going to think she’s a dog, but not pretty enough to interest me. It’s great. No matter how closely we work together, Sabrina Innis will never be more than office equipment to me.”
The words had laid her soul bare. She’d crept out silently and spent the rest of the night crying away her foolish dreams. In the cold light of dawn, she’d made a decision. She could continue to want what she could never have, or she could make the best of what was a wonderful job. With Cal she would make enough money to put her three siblings through college and provide for Gram. She would also be able to build a nest egg for herself. The position of Cal’s assistant meant travel, all of which would be first class, a chance to meet interesting people and gain experiences she would never have otherwise. Did it matter that she didn’t turn the man on?
In the end, common sense had won out over ego. She’d ruthlessly suppressed every hint of her crush until her wayward emotions fell into line. Now she could look at Cal and see him for the handsome bachelor he was without feeling anything but friendship. She’d bought gifts for his women and had made arrangements for romantic weekends away all without a twinge of jealousy or regret. So what had just happened?
Sabrina thought about all that had occurred in the past twenty-four hours. It must be the tension, she told herself. She hadn’t slept much the previous night. Dealing with Cal’s family was difficult for both of them. He’d reached out for comfort and she’d happened to be the closest person. She’d reacted because he was a good-looking man and she’d been living like a nun. Wayward hormones and close proximity. Nothing else. She didn’t have any romantic feelings for the man. How could she? She knew the worst about him. She still liked him, but she sure wasn’t fooled by his charming personality. Cal Langtry might be an incredible catch, but he had flaws, just like everyone else.
The limo pulled up in front of the hotel. She looked over at her boss. “What do you want to do?”
“There’s no point in staying here. Let’s change the flights and go to Ohio this afternoon. I’ll call Jack and have him notify the aunt. If I can, I want to get my daughter as soon as possible.”
Chapter 4
The town was a three-hour drive from the airport. Cal slowed at the intersection. There were only two other cars in sight and both of them were at least ten years old. Although he’d traveled to many unusual places, he’d always lived in large cities—Houston, Dallas, New York for a short time. In the back of his mind, he’d wondered what it would be like to live in a place where everyone knew everyone else.
“Follow this street about a mile,” Sabrina said, consulting the handwritten directions Jack, his attorney, had provided them. “Then turn right. Oster Street. There should be a stop sign.”
There were small business on both sides of what was obviously the main road. A diner, a barber shop, a closed five-and-dime. He was about to say it didn’t look as bad as Jack had made it out to be when he noticed the peeling paint on most of the buildings. Some of the windows were boarded up. The farther he drove into town and away from the highway, the more run-down everything seemed.
He turned right where Sabrina indicated. Commercial and retail areas gave way to houses. He saw a lot of broken or missing fences, cars up on blocks. Side yards contained clotheslines with drying garments flapping in the brisk breeze. Porches sagged, yards were overgrown with weeds. They passed a block with five houses for sale, four of which had signs proclaiming the price had been reduced.
“This place is dying,” he said.
“I know. It’s sad. Jack said the main factory closed and there’s no employment. A lot of people have already gone, and those who stayed are having trouble earning an income. In a couple of years, there won’t be anything left.”
Their rental car was a plain General Motors four-door sedan, nothing fancy. But it was relatively new and seemed out of place on the narrow street. “I’m glad we didn’t take a limo.”
“I agree. Turn right at the stop sign.” Sabrina rolled down her window and took a breath. “I feel badly for these people. You can smell the poverty.” She shivered. “What’s that saying? ‘Been there, done that, bought the T-shirt.’ I don’t want to go back.”
Cal frowned. “You told me that you grew up without a lot of money, but things were never this desperate, were they?”
“Not really. We didn’t have extra spending money, but we got by. After my folks died and we moved in with my grandmother, we had a few months that were pretty difficult, before the social security kicked in. Then it wasn’t so bad. Besides, Gram was a hoot to live with. I remember her standing at the stove fixing macaroni and cheese. We had it about three times a week because it was cheap and all us kids liked it. Anyway, she would stir in that orange powder stuff, look at me and say, ‘Sabrina Innis, being poor sucks. You make sure you do better.’” Sabrina laughed. “She was wonderful.”
“Yeah.” He thought about his half dozen meetings with Sabrina’s grandmother. The feisty old lady was opinionated, but charming as hell. “Why don’t we have her out to visit soon?”
“I’d like that. Thanks. But we’re going to have to wait. She’s planning a summer trip to Alaska. I know she’s going on a ten-day cruise, and after that, she and her friends are taking the train through the state.”
Cal knew exactly who was paying for Gram’s vacation. “You’re generous with her.”
“She was good to me and I love her. I want her to be happy.”
“You also listened to her statement that being poor sucked. Is that why you took the job with me?”
When Sabrina had graduated from UCLA, she’d had four serious job offers with Fortune 500 companies. Cal had been recruiting for his firm as well, and when he’d first interviewed Sabrina, he’d realized she could be a great assistant for him. As the job didn’t come with room for advancement or a lot of corporate exposure, he’d sweetened the pot with promises of travel and a generous starting salary.
Sabrina chuckled. “Are you asking if I only want you for your money? Cal, it’s not like you to be insecure.”
“I’m being serious.”
“Oh, serious. That’s different.” Her blue eyes twinkled. “Okay, the money was a large part of it. I wanted to help Gram out and I had three younger siblings heading for college. But that wasn’t the only reason I took the job. I knew I would be giving up some things, but working for you offered the opportunity to travel, to learn about a major corporation from the top down. There was also the issue of moving to Houston. I was ready to be on my own, and getting out of Los Angeles made that possible.”
He had the oddest urge to ask her if she had any regrets. Regrets about not taking the other jobs. He told himself he was reading too much into her words. At times the job was difficult, but he knew Sabrina enjoyed her work. If she didn’t, she would have moved on a long time ago.
“Were you heartbroken when you realized I wasn’t a Texas cowboy?” he asked, his voice teasing.
“Oddly enough, no. I already have to put up with you calling me ‘little lady’ every couple of days. I don’t need to add the smell of cow manure to the equation. You’re a good ol’ boy, Cal. That’s plenty. Oh, this should be the street. The address is 2123. There it is, on the left.”
He parked their rental car and turned off the engine, but made no effort to get out. For a moment he could only stare at the small house.
The walkway was cracked and overgrown with weeds. Any grass had long since died. There were missing panes in the windows, and those remaining were too filthy to see through. The screen door hung on the top hinge only.
“This can’t be right,” he muttered. “Jack said Anastasia’s adoptive parents were middle class. Not rich, but nothing like this.”
“These aren’t her parents,” Sabrina reminded him. “The woman she lives with is an aunt, maybe not even that closely related. Jack wasn’t sure.”
“My daughter can’t live here,” he said, then swore. “How could my parents have let this happen?”
“You’re going to fix it. That’s what matters, Cal. You came as soon as you found out about her.”
Her. My daughter. The words were spoken, but they had no meaning. On the other side of that door was a child he’d never known about. A flesh-and-blood person with hopes, dreams and feelings. What was she going to say when she saw him?
