by Unknown
“Of course not.” Catherine led her to a side chair.
The self-assurance was gone from Joann’s movements. She looked every one of her years, and then some. She perched on the edge of the seat and wrapped her fingers around the top of her small purse. “What is it you want to know?”
“Are you my mother?”
Her lips trembled. “Yes.”
The answer came out almost inaudible, but Trent heard, and felt Dominique’s hands tighten on his arm. He stared into the light brown eyes of his mother, the woman who had given him life, then abandoned him. “Why didn’t you keep me?” Pain, anger, and hurt coated his words.
“I was married when I met your father. Marshall was always busy. I wanted attention and your father gave it to me. I won’t go into details about the relationship, except it lasted less than a week. I kept praying through my pregnancy that you were Marshall’s. Then you were born, dark-skinned, and resembling no one in the family. I knew you weren’t his and I became afraid that as time passed you’d resemble your father more and more.”
“Why didn’t you contact my father?”
“I was afraid of the scandal.” She studied the gold clasp on the purse, then glanced up. “He was an opportunist and might have tried to blackmail me.”
Trent’s hands flexed. “So you faked my death, then abandoned me in a bathroom with a blanket and a note.”
“Selfish, but I thought necessary at the time. I was young and frightened. I’ve answered your questions. I hope this ends it. I don’t want Paige and Zachary hurt by this.”
“You protect them and toss me away without a backward glance,” Trent grated.
“Yes.”
With an effort, he controlled his anger. “Who’s my father?”
Her hands clutched the bag. “He’s dead.”
“What was his name?” Trent pressed.
“Phillip Sanders.” She got to her feet. “Goodbye.”
Trent followed. “Wait. Do you have a picture of him?”
“No.”
“Where was he from? What did he do?” Desperation was in each question.
She became agitated, her nervousness increased. “What difference does it make? I told you he’s dead.”
“You might not want me, but maybe my father’s people will.”
She paled. “The East Coast I think. He was an insurance salesman and never mentioned any other family. Is there anything else you want?”
Trent studied her a long time before he spoke. “The authorities thought you were in an abusive relationship. I used to cry myself to sleep worrying about you, wish I would have been big enough to help you, protect you. There was never a birthday on the date they gave me that I didn’t think of you and wonder if maybe on that day you didn’t think of me, maybe put a candle in a cupcake and wish I was there. You were always at the top of anything I wished for, the first one I prayed for. You tossed me away and never looked back.” He walked to her. “Isaac was right when he said you threw me away like trash.”
“Trent, she doesn’t matter.” Dominique reached for him, but he held up his hands and turned away. “I love you, Trent. I love you.”
“I was a mistake,” he said hoarsely. “A thing no one wanted.”
“No. Don’t say that,” Dominique cried. “Isaac wanted to make himself look tough in front of his teenage gang by hurting you. Instead, you wiped that cocky smirk off his face and showed him up for the loudmouth jerk he is. Now, if you don’t want me to bloody your nose the same way I did his the night he tried to kidnap me at knifepoint, you’ll stop talking nonsense.”
He spun around, his eyes fierce. “You should have let me handle Isaac.”
Her smile wobbled, her trembling hand palmed his clenched jaw. “You know how protective I am of those I love. Guess who’s at the top of my list.”
“Dominique.” He crushed her to him. “I love you.”
“You . . . were loved. I . . . loved you.”
Trent and Dominique both whirled around. The six halting words had come from Joann Albright.
“You’re not trash. You were a beautiful baby and I failed you. The fault is mine, not yours. Don’t you ever think differently,” she told him, tears streaming down her cheeks.
She weaved on her feet, then steadied and continued. “The only love and affection I’ve ever known from a man was from your father. I lied earlier. Your father was older than I was, and a fine, decent man. I met him a month before my wedding. We were instantly attracted to each other. We tried to resist the temptation, but failed. We had one beautiful night together that I’ll treasure forever. He begged me not to marry Marshall, but I was afraid for him. Marshall is intensely jealous of his possessions. He almost beat a man to death he thought I was interested in. He was already becoming suspicious of us. I was truly in love for the first time and unable to hide my feelings very well. I was devastated when he left.” Her face filled with sorrow. “Paige and Zachary kept me sane during these past years.”
“They’re adults now,” Trent said, trying to understand.
“Yes, I’m fortunate that they love me and are wonderful, but if people found out about this, Marshall wouldn’t rest until he had turned them against me. I betrayed him in the worst way a woman can a man.” She met Trent’s searching gaze. “There are reasons, but no excuses. They’d hate me. I lost one child, I couldn’t go through that again.”
“What’s the real reason you faked my death?”
She trembled, then swallowed convulsively. “That morning I caught Marshall standing over your bed with a pillow. He said he must have automatically picked it up when he heard you crying. You weren’t crying. Besides, Marshall wouldn’t have cared if you were. He ignored you when people weren’t around. That week there had been an article in the paper about Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, and how difficult it was to diagnose. I looked into his cold, heartless eyes and knew my worst fear had been realized. Marshall knew you weren’t his. You were no longer safe.” She took a breath to steady herself. “All the way back from Columbia I tried to think of a way to explain your disappearance and keep you safe. I saw the lake . . .”
“But the report said you tried to go back. You knew I wasn’t in the car.”
“At first it was to convince the two men who pulled me out that you were, then it was because I didn’t care anymore,” she told him, her voice emotionless. “I developed pneumonia and was ill for weeks. When I was finally well, I couldn’t track you through the system. Afterward I didn’t particularly care what happened. Staying with Marshall seemed a fitting punishment. I didn’t begin to live again until I held Zachary in my arms.”
“You’re going back to something like that?” Trent asked, abhorrence in his voice.
“I won’t fail another child, and no matter how old or self-sufficient they become, to a parent they’ll always be children.” She looked at Dominique. “Thank you for doing what I couldn’t—loving him.”
“You just showed your love in a different way,” Dominique said, forgiving and not judging for Trent’s sake.
“Thank you,” Joann said, her voice unsteady.
“If you could obtain a divorce and keep Paige and Zachary from finding out about me, would you?”
“Crawling with only the clothes on my back,” she said fiercely, then shook her head in obvious defeat. “That wouldn’t happen, and I can’t allow them or you to be hurt by the resulting scandal. Marshall can be vicious and cruel.”
“I know,” Trent said tightly. “Do you really think they’d want you to stay and risk having something else broken?”
“How did . . .” Her breath trembled out over her lips. Unsteady fingers touched her left wrist. “Zachary had a cold and I wanted to stay home with him instead of going with Marshall to a business dinner. Marshall doesn’t like for anyone to defy him.”
“That piece of slime,” Trent hissed.
“Marshall can be ruthless, but he’s never bothered the children, and since I have to be more and more i
n the public eye, he has left me alone. These days he’s more concerned with finding out who is trying to take over his company and why some of his business dealings are going bad.” She glanced at Luke. “Whatever you said scared him. I’ve never seen him that frightened before. After I convinced Paige that I was fine and that she should go home, instead of venting his anger on me, he stormed out of the house and was still gone when I left to come here.”
“Albright may not know it yet, but he’s met his match and then some.” Arms folded, Luke smiled.
“I’m glad I lived to see it.” Joann faced Trent. “And you. You’re the image of your father.”
“Phillip Sanders?”
She shook her head. “Wade Taggart.”
Luke let out a yell and reached for the phone.
Neither Joann nor Trent paid any attention. “Wade Taggart,” he repeated slowly.
Joann’s smile was almost dreamy. “He was in town on business. We met through an associate of Marshall’s. Wade was everything Marshall wasn’t—kind, considerate, loving. Our love for each other went against everything we stood for, but we were powerless against it. Seeing you confirmed what Marshall probably suspected all along. Everyone wondered why Wade stayed three weeks instead of the few days he had planned.”
“That means I have a family,” Trent whispered in awe.
A frown returned to Joann’s face. “He talked a lot about his family in Jacksonville, Texas. If you found me, you can surely find them.”
“I don’t have to. They’ve already found me,” Trent said, his voice hoarse. “Dominique’s brother is married to Madelyn Taggart.” He turned to Luke. “That’s right, isn’t it? They’re the ones who hired you?”
“Welcome to the family.” Luke crossed the room and slapped a dazed Trent on the back. “Come on, I think it’s time I introduced you to some people who want to meet you.”
“They’re here?” Trent asked, astonished.
“They didn’t want to wait any longer than necessary,” Dominique said, smiling up at her husband.
Trent gazed down at her. “You knew.”
“I knew.”
He hugged her. “I’ll defy anyone who says a woman can’t keep a secret.”
They were all laughing when Joann opened the door and stared back at Trent. “You have your family. Goodbye.”
He went to her. “You’re abandoning me again.”
Misery and pain washed across her face. “I just thought . . .”
“Come with us. I don’t want to lose you again.”
Shaking her head, she clutched her purse. “This is for you and your family.”
“That includes you,” Trent said.
Joann’s eyes misted. “Thank you.”
Luke took Joann by the elbow. As soon as they stepped into the hallway they saw a slim, elderly man with snow white hair, and a robust, dark-skinned woman by his side.
“You look just like Wade,” the woman said, enveloping Trent in a hug. “I’m Octavia Ralston, the housekeeper of the Circle T for over forty years.”
No sooner had she turned Trent loose than the elderly man was shaking his hand. “That’s soon to be Octavia Redmon. I’m Cleve Redmon. I worked for your daddy from the time we were old enough to swagger. A fine man.”
“Come on, everybody is waiting.” Octavia opened the door behind her.
Trent’s legs wobbling, his heart trying to beat out of his chest, he walked through the door. They were seated as if for a family portrait. The men behind the four women, the children in their laps or standing beside them.
Trent just stared, drinking in the sight of his new family. There was Daniel and Madelyn Taggart Falcon with a grinning and hefty Daniel Jr., Kane and Victoria Taggart with their twins, Kane Jr. and Chandler, Matt and Shannon Taggart with their infant daughter, Tempest. The older couple Trent vaguely remembered from his wedding as Kane, Matt, and Madelyn’s parents.
“My parents, the grands, Higgins, and Janice send their love. They thought it should just be your family tonight,” Dominique told him.
Dominique’s parents and grandparents had readily welcomed Trent into their lives and hearts. Higgins, Dominique’s mother’s ex-chauffeur and confidant, who reigned as second-in-command in Daniel Falcon’s household as a trusted friend, had done the same. Janice was Trent’s next-door neighbor and friend before he met her goddaughter, Dominique. Trent loved them all, was blessed by their friendship and love, but seeing his own blood relatives shook him to the core.
The elderly Taggart broke rank. “I’m Bill Taggart. It was just Wade and me. He was the oldest, and my best friend until the day he died. From what I hear, he’d be proud of you. This is my wife, Grace.”
“Welcome to the family, Trent,” she said, tears shimmering in her eyes.
“I knew I was right to help you into the family,” Daniel said with a laugh.
Then, Trent was surrounded with hugs and laughter and slaps on the back. But that wasn’t all. “We missed your birthday, and Thanksgiving and Christmas are always special family days for us. We all agreed it is time to catch up,” Madelyn said.
Trent swallowed to try to clear the knot in his throat but it just got bigger. On a serving cart was a two-tier chocolate cake with lit candles. On the festively decorated table was the biggest turkey he had ever seen. A ten-foot decorated Christmas tree with presents piled beneath was nearby.
“This was Wade’s. He’d want you to have it.”
Into Trent’s unsteady hands, Bill Taggart placed a silver belt buckle with the initials WWT.
“It’s about time you traded all those baseball caps for a Stetson.” This from Kane.
Matt came next. He gave Trent a letter with the letterhead of Ferguson & Ferguson law firm. “Wade left his share, half of the Circle T ranch, to me. It should be yours.”
Trent finally found his voice. “When did he die?”
“Two years ago,” Matt answered.
“You’ve been running the ranch since then?” Trent asked.
“And before. The Circle T has thrived while others have gone bankrupt or had to sell,” Matt said.
Trent understood the ownership and pride he heard in Matt’s voice. He felt the same way about Masters Trucking. “I suppose running a ranch involves getting up at dawn, riding a horse, and tending cows.”
“The hours are long, but it’s something I love and I can’t imagine raising my family anyplace else,” Matt told him.
“Until Tempest was born, he’d be out of the house for good by five,” Shannon said. “Now, he waits until her first feeding at six.”
“She likes our bath time,” Matt said unself-consciously.
Trent looked worried. “I’m improving in my riding according to Dominique, but I think we better leave things as they are. I’ve never been within a hundred feet of a cow.”
To the Texas men who had been around livestock most or all of their lives, Trent’s announcement was met with stunned silence.
Trent shifted awkwardly. “I wouldn’t know the first thing about running a ranch.”
“I can teach you, help you,” Matt offered, then glanced at Shannon, who nodded, before he continued, “Wade left the original home site to Shannon in his will. The place means a lot to us. I’d appreciate the opportunity to buy it.”
Trent frowned. “But you weren’t married then.”
Matt’s arm curved around his wife’s waist. “Wade was doing a little matchmaking. He was a good man.”
“I wish I could have known him,” Trent said softly, then handed Matt back the envelope. “Wade Taggart gave me a family. That’s enough. I know about working to build something to call your own. Keep the Circle T with my blessings. Do you want to handle transferring the title back or should I contact my lawyers?”
A strange smile on his face, Matt accepted the envelope. “I’ll take care of it. My lawyer has had more experience.” He spoke to Dominique. “You called it.”
Dominique nodded emphatically, then looked up at her pu
zzled husband. “I told them all you wanted was your family. I knew you’d understand how much the Circle T meant to Matt and his family. Daniel told them, too.”
“What if Dominique and Daniel had been wrong?” Trent asked out of curiosity.
“It was a chance we had to take,” Bill Taggart answered. “Wade would have wanted us to reach out to you. If you had taken the ranch, it was your right.”
“Like Madelyn said, family means everything to us,” Grace Taggart said simply. “And that means you.”
“Besides,” Kane said, his craggy face curving into a smile. “Matt is so bossy you would have left in two days. Ask Shannon. I’ll always wonder how she worked on the ranch with him. He even tried to boss her obstetrician in the delivery room.”
“There’s no need to go into that.” Matt flushed and pinned a laughing Daniel with a superior look. “At least he didn’t threaten to call security.”
The grin slid from Daniel’s face. “Dr. Scalar only did that to aggravate me.”
Most of the people in the room laughed at Daniel’s affronted expression. Luke wasn’t one of them. Stepping forward he closed his hand around Catherine’s cold one. Her hand flexed, but she didn’t attempt to pull away.
Trent finished the introductions. “I’d like you to meet Dr. Catherine Stewart, who helped to make this possible, and Joann Albright, my mother.”
Joann began softly crying. Trent curved his arm around her. “If you cry, you won’t be able to see me blow out the candles of my first birthday cake.”
It was a child who asked the question all the astonished adults were too polite to ask. “You never had a birthday cake, Cousin Trent?” Kane Jr. asked, his four-year-old face suitably appalled.
Cousin Trent. The lump tried to come back, but this was too important. “Not by myself. We always had group birthdays for that month,” Trent answered.
“I wouldn’t like that,” Chandler said, her small hands on her waist. “K.J. and I have our own cakes.”
Trent hunkered down to them. “Then, I say you and your brother are very lucky to have such loving parents.”
“You want us to help you blow out the candles?” Kane Jr. asked. “There’s an awful lot of them.”
