by Donna Fasano
Jason was completely taken aback by the magnitude and suddenness of her reaction. The look of fury on her face caused him to lose his grip on his own. He'd seen that expression before, he realized, while doing his duty as a police officer. He'd witnessed that intense mixture of wounded humiliation and hot anger—in the eyes of dozens of battered women.
Confusion jumbled his thoughts. He had to be mistaken. Katie wasn't married. And being the daughter of a congressman, she must have lived in a privileged and safe environment. However, he felt an overwhelming urge to come right out and confront her about it.
He opened his mouth to do just that, but she interrupted him with another burst of heated words.
"I'll call my parents," she said, her gaze narrow, her tone low. "Not because some man demanded it of me. But because I know it's the right thing to do."
Jason heard a slight tremor in her voice as she continued, "It's safe to call them now." Her gaze averted from his. "I can take care of myself. I've learned that. Living here."
What was she saying? What did she mean? There was something going on here. Something he wasn't privy to.
When she took a step toward the door, he reached out to her.
"Don't," she told him, every muscle unyielding. "Just don't."
She walked out of the room, and feeling bewildered, he followed her into the kitchen. He heard the tones as she pressed in the number buttons on the telephone. She talked softly for only a moment or two before gently replacing the receiver into its cradle.
Her eyes were hard when she turned to face him. "They're on their way."
Chapter 10
Katie felt as though her safe little world had turned upside down. Of course, she'd known from day one of coming into Jason's house that she was living on borrowed time—that she'd eventually have to face her parents, that she'd eventually have to confront Everett. But the eventuality she'd dreaded most of all was that of having to confess to Jason that she wasn't who he thought she was. Well, now he knew.
Tugging her silk blouse off its padded hanger, she worried her bottom lip with her teeth. She had figured he would be upset when she finally found the courage to reveal her true identity. But she'd never imagined that he would turn on her as he had done. His tone had been full of sarcasm and anger, and his scathing words had stung like a scorpion's stinger.
Of course, she'd never imagined her parents would contact the police, or that her photo would run in the news. Ransom demand? How crazy was that? Was her father just trying to flush her out?
The fact that Jason had found out who she was before she'd had the chance to tell him herself only made matters worse, she knew. She should have told him days ago.
Heck, she should have been honest with the man right up front.
Katie frowned. But if she had told Jason as she had stood there on his doorstep that she was Congressman Wellingford's daughter and that she needed a place to lay low for a while, he would never have hired her as Gina's nanny. He would never have allowed himself to become embroiled in her problems. But then again, having come to know Jason, she thought he just might have taken pity on her. He just might have invited her into his home and offered her sanctuary.
However, she hadn't given him the chance to offer anything. She hadn't given him the chance to even understand her situation. She'd simply invaded his home with her false identity and her half truths, and she'd forced him into giving her a safe haven without him even knowing what he was doing. But she hadn't known him at all back then.
Katie hated to think that she'd destroyed their relationship. That she'd completely demolished any chance of their being together. Her love for Jason had grown so strong that it startled her at times. And after yesterday, at the wedding, she was sure that Jason's feelings for her were as fierce as hers were for him.
Had he really said that he loved her? Her fingers stopped manipulating the blouse button into its hole. Yes. She closed her eyes remembering, yes, he had. If only they had had just a little more time together. If only she'd had the wherewithal yesterday on the beach to proclaim her love for him. But she'd been so afraid of losing him, and bent on doing the right thing… holding off until he knew the truth. And then she'd been absolutely swept away by his kiss.
Now, however, her deceit and lies had caught up to her, and she had to deal with that.
With quick, nimble fingers, she finished buttoning her blouse and then she reached for her trousers. Ironically, she noticed, she'd be leaving Jason's house in the same outfit in which she arrived. Odd how things like that worked out.
She was just fastening the buckle of her belt when there was a light tap on the door.
"Yes?" she called.
"Lady," Gina's little voice piped up, "in, in!" The child smacked the closed door with her pudgy little palm, demanding entrance.
"Okay, sweetie." Katie pulled open the door. "You can come in."
She grinned at the sight of the sleepy-eyed toddler. Her tiny cotton pajama bottoms were twisted on her waist, her dark chestnut curls were matted.
After completing the good-morning hug ritual—a ritual Katie would miss terribly when she left here—Gina looked around the room and spied the open suitcase on the bed.
"Wha'zat?"
It was the toddler's favorite question lately. But Katie didn't mind, she had come to love the child's inquisitive nature almost as much as she'd come to love Gina.
Unexpected tears welled in her eyes. "It's my suitcase, honey." She stopped, took a moment to get herself together. She didn't want Gina to see her crying. "I'm... I'm going away today."
The little girl's adorable face lit up as though Katie had thrown the switch of a bright light.
"Bye-byes?" Gina clapped her hands. "Go bye-byes!"
"Oh, no, sweetie," Katie gently explained. "I'm sorry, but you can't go with me. You have to stay here with Daddy."
Gina looked as though her world had crumbled. Katie bent down to scoop the little girl up in a warm embrace, feeling a deep affinity for what she was going through.
"I'm sorry, honey," Katie whispered as she hugged Gina to her. "It's going to be all right though, I promise."
But out of the corner of her eye, she could see Gina's face in the mirror, and the toddler's chin had begun to tremble. All Katie could think about was getting Gina's mind veered onto some other train of thought.
"Hey," Katie said, forcing a brightness into her voice that she really didn't feel. "How about some yummy breakfast? I'll make your favorite. Pancakes!"
Gina pulled back and looked into her face.
"Wif syrup?" she asked.
Katie nodded. "We can't eat pancakes without syrup, can we?"
"No-o-o-o." Gina's eyes went wide as she shook her head back and forth solemnly.
"Well, let's go, then."
"Daddy eat wif?"
"He might."
Katie headed for the door, silently praising the Lord that Gina was so easily distracted. However, she couldn't help but wonder how she was going to handle the awful task of really saying goodbye to this precious child. Then another question entered her head: how was she ever going to handle saying goodbye to Jason?
The man in her thoughts was nowhere to be seen as she entered the kitchen and set Gina up near the counter on a chair. They stirred together the ingredients for the pancake batter with only a little milk being sloshed over the rim of the large mixing bowl. While the frying pan heated, Katie got Gina busy at the table with some crayons and paper.
Jason still hadn't shown his face by the time the pancakes were all cooked and stacked on a plate near the stove. Katie wondered if she should go find him and ask if he wanted something to eat, but decided he would surely see through her flimsy excuse to talk to him. Instead, she focused on getting Gina fed and the kitchen cleaned up. Her parents would be here soon, and she wanted to be ready when they arrived.
The thought of facing her parents made her stomach turn jittery. Too bad she hadn't kept them from her thoughts until she'd finish
ed her breakfast. Now she'd lost her appetite, and she went to dump her half-eaten pancake into the food disposal. Feeling the need to keep busy so that she wouldn't be attacked by the nerves that hovered like a flock of hungry crows, she rolled up her sleeves, filled the sink with warm, sudsy water and began to wash the dishes.
Finally Gina finished her breakfast, and Katie used a fresh washcloth to wash her sticky face and fingers.
"How about if we get you dressed?" Katie asked the toddler.
"Yea!" Gina shouted with glee, smacking her little hands on the tabletop with enthusiasm.
Katie reached to pick her up, but stopped when she saw Jason standing in the kitchen doorway.
"I'll do that," he told her.
His cool tone chilled the warm spring breeze that filtered through the back screen door until Katie was sure that winter was giving them a second, sudden visit. She resisted the shiver that threatened to course over her body. The urge to keep a strong hold on her emotions helped, and Katie realized she would have done anything to keep Gina from noticing the terrible change in the air between herself and Jason.
"Daddy!" Gina reached her arms out in an appeal for him to take her. "Hi, Daddy."
"Good morning, sweetheart."
Katie stepped back so Jason could pick up his daughter. The heated scent of soap clung to him, telling her that he'd just showered. His clean-shaven face called out for her touch, but it hurt to know that wouldn't be welcomed. It was agony for her to run her eyes along the strong curve of his powerful neck and know she would never again bury her face there.
She wanted to beg, to plead with him to try to understand. But she knew there was nothing she could say that would change how he was feeling. This was nobody's fault but her own.
The doorbell chimed.
"That must be your parents," Jason said. "I saw a flashy black car pull up to the house a second ago—" his tone became as flat as his eyes "—and I don't know of anyone in this whole neighborhood who could afford a car like that."
The way he said the words made her feel as though it was some kind of an insult for her parents to have money. A tiny spark of anger flared inside her, and she wanted to spout off some curt rejoinder to let him know she didn't feel she needed to apologize for her father's wealth. But she remained silent, moving across the kitchen and into the living room toward the front door.
Katie thought she was ready to face her parents, but when she opened the front door and saw them standing there on the front porch, her knees grew weak.
"Mom, Daddy," she greeted them, hating the tinny quality she heard in her voice. "Come in."
Then she saw Everett, and her breath caught in her throat. She refused to admit the fear that flashed like lightning. Tamping it down, good and hard, she said, "Everett."
"Hello, Katherine."
His tone revealed nothing of what had happened between them the last time they were together. He was just as poised, just as handsome, as ever. But for all of his golden-boy good looks, Katie was still stumped as to why she didn't feel a flicker of physical attraction to the man.
She'd tried. Oh, how she'd tried. All through her teenage years, when the promising match had first been discussed by both sets of parents, Katie had made a valiant attempt to see Everett as someone with whom she'd like to spend the rest of her life. But all she ever saw when she looked at him was the snotty little boy who had picked on her incessantly when she was a young girl still in pigtails. Everett was the closest thing she'd ever had to a big brother, and the fact that he had stolen her first kiss when she was ten and he was thirteen had actually traumatized her. It was an event in her life that she'd never forget, no matter how much she might want to. To this day she could still feel his damp, spongy lips pressed against hers, feel his hand swiping across her still-flat chest. The memory made her shudder.
"I wasn't expecting you," she told him.
"I don't see why not—" his perfectly groomed blond brows rose a fraction "—you are going to be my wife soon."
She pressed her lips together. So, she thought, he was going to make this as hard on her as he could.
After closing the screen door, she turned to see all three of them huddled in the small foyer. It made her instantly aware of just how small Jason's home was. She'd never even thought about it before, but this entranceway was closet-like compared to the one in her parents' home, with its twelve-foot ceilings and wide, cavernous space.
"Let's go into the living room," she told them.
Her father cleared his throat. "I thought you'd just get your things and come home with us."
"Yes, dear," her mother echoed, "get your things. We need to go home."
"B-but," Katie stammered, "I'd like for you to meet the man I've been working for."
Nobody moved.
"Please," she urged, taking a small step forward while gently waving her hands in an attempt to herd them into the next room. With great reluctance, they went inside.
"Hi!"
Gina's bright and innocent greeting made Katie smile.
"Mom, Daddy," Katie said, "this is Jason Devlin. And his daughter, Gina. Jason, my father, Bill Wellingford, and my mom, Judith."
Katie's mother captured her attention with a small movement of her hand. "Aren't you forgetting someone, dear?"
"Oh, yes," she said. "Jason, this is Everett."
She glared as Everett stepped in front of her parents and stretched out his hand to Jason.
"Everett Keegan," he said. "Of the Philadelphia Keegans. I'm sure you've heard of us."
Katie nearly groaned.
The two men eyed each other as they shook hands. And even though Jason should have been at a distinct disadvantage, seeing as how he was holding his grinning, pajama-clad daughter in his arms, Katie was gloriously happy to see him come off as the stronger, more secure personality.
"No, Mr. Keegan," Jason remarked with utter sincerity, "with all due respect, I don't believe I've heard of the Philadelphia Keegans."
Shining a bright light on pompous behavior had a way of taking the umph out of it.
Biting her lip to keep from smirking, Katie noticed that little Gina's smile faded suddenly. The toddler looked directly into her father's eyes. "Bad man, Daddy."
"I agree, sweetheart," Jason murmured.
The exchange obviously discombobulated Everett, and a chuckle that couldn't be stopped bubbled up from Katie's throat. But one sharp look from her father cut her laughter off.
"Now just a minute," the congressman blared at Jason, "I won't have you insulting Everett. He's going to be Katie's husband. He has every right to be here. Every right to want to protect what is his."
Katie watched her father point his index finger at Jason.
"You ought to be very worried, Mr. Devlin," he said. "You've been harboring my daughter for weeks. I don't think you realize what I could do to you for—"
"Daddy, stop," Katie cried. "Jason isn't to blame here. He didn't even know my last name... until this morning. He made me call you as soon as he found what was going on."
"A likely story."
"Congressman Wellingford—"
The low-toned threat in Jason's voice had Katie's eyes widening.
"I know exactly who you are. And I know exactly what you could do to me." Jason's gaze narrowed ominously. "But I will remind you that you're standing in my home. And I won't allow you to insult me by accusing me of lying."
Tension thickened the air, and Katie knew she needed to say something, do something.
"I've been working for Jason, Daddy... as Gina's nanny." She blurted out the information.
Her mother gasped, then quickly controlled herself. "Katherine," she said, "why on earth would you want to do such a thing?"
"You've been working? For money?" The congressman's questions ran over top of his wife's.
"Of course, for money," Katie answered. "What else would I work for?"
Bill Wellingford nodded. "So that's why she didn't touch her trust fund, Everett. She'
s been earning her keep."
Everett's expression turned solemn, and he quickly joined in on the nodding session.
"I didn't want to touch the account," Katie told her father. "I didn't think it was right to use that money, when you didn't know where I was or what I was doing." Then a troubling thought occurred to her. "How do you know I didn't touch the account?" she asked. "The fund's been solely in my name since I turned eighteen."
"Katherine, I'm a concerned father... the board of directors at the bank would never deny me access to information that might help me locate my daughter."
Crossing her arms protectively, Katie couldn't help but feel violated. She didn't know why something like this should bother her, though. She'd been living with such acts of intrusion all her life.
"I can't believe you would invade my privacy like that—"
"Listen to me, Katherine." Judith Wellingford moved from her husband's side to take her daughter's hand. "I want you to tell me why you ran away. I read your note. You said you needed some time to think—"
"Then you did know I was okay," Katie cut in. "Why did you plaster my picture all over the paper?"
"Because we wanted you found." Her father's tone was curt and to the point. "It was only the local paper. Everett was sure you hadn't gone far. And he was right."
"You think the Associated Press won't pick it up?" she challenged.
The congressman shook his head emphatically. "Isn't going to happen. I took care of it."
Katie's lips thinned. She was sure her father had the kind of clout it would take to do such a thing, so there was no point in questioning him further.
"I can't, however," he groused, "guarantee that one of those trashy tabloids won't pick it up."
"Like I was saying," her mother continued, "your note said that you needed time to think, but you didn't say what it was you needed to think about."
Darting a quick glance at Everett, Katie saw that he was going to offer her no help at all in this.
"I—" she began and then stopped short. After a second of silence, she said, "I needed to think about... the wedding."
Immediately her mother began cooing with concern. "Well, what is it, honey? Whatever it is, your father and I will fix it, won't we, Bill?"
