Baby of Fortune

by Shirley Rogers

  “What?” Confusion etched her brow. Feeling lightheaded, she touched the back of the sofa for support. “Isn’t that why you’re here?”

  “No.”

  She glanced at his hand, and for the first time realized he still wore his diamond-and-gold wedding band. “Why are you here, then?”

  Justin regarded her silently, then seemed to choose his words very carefully. “Actually, I want us to give our marriage another try, Heather.”

  “What?” Heather couldn’t have heard him right. Surely, her mind was playing tricks on her.

  “You heard me correctly,” he assured her, apparently reading the bewilderment on her face. “I want us to give our marriage another chance.” He stepped closer to her, and she immediately took two steps away from him.

  “I don’t understand,” she whispered softly. This didn’t sound at all like the Justin who had turned his back on her and walked out on their life together after her miscarriage. “I mean, why?” She wondered again if he knew about Timmy. But from the way the conversation was going, that was doubtful.

  Justin reached toward her and touched his fingers to her cheek. She moved her head a fraction, out of his reach, and he let his hand fall. “A lot has happened in the year we’ve been apart.”

  “Such as?” she prompted. What could possibly have happened that would have a bearing on their marriage? she wondered suspiciously.

  He’d never been one to open up, and she’d always thought they would have had a chance if he’d told her what he was thinking, what he was going through.

  “I met my birth mother.”

  She blinked with surprise. “You have? Really?”

  Heather was stunned that he was talking about his past. She always believed the reason that Justin was so reserved and reluctant to share his feelings was the way he was raised. As a baby, he’d been left on the doorstep of a sheriff’s office in Nevada. Because he was unable to be put up for adoption, he’d been placed with a foster family, had been given their last name. He’d grown up in the foster-care system, had been shuffled around all his life. He was never allowed to put down roots, never given the opportunity to become part of a family.

  When they’d first married, she’d thought that they would put down their own roots. Naively, she had believed they’d be together forever. She couldn’t have been more wrong.

  Justin gave her a slight nod. He hesitated a moment, then continued, “Her name is Miranda Fortune and she lives in Texas.”

  Heather wasn’t sure what to say. Justin seemed…somehow pleased by this new development in his life. “Oh, Justin.” She sighed, and her heart swelled with caring. Despite the heartache he’d caused her, she was happy for him.

  Justin had been searching for something all his life, something to fulfill him. He seemed to have found it. The realization that it wasn’t her, that she hadn’t been enough to make him happy, stung, even as her compassion for him flourished.

  “How did you find her?”

  “I didn’t.” He shoved his hands in his pockets. “Her ex-husband, Lloyd, sent a private detective to look for me. The P.I.—Flynn Sinclair—eventually contacted me and asked me to go to Texas to see her.”

  “And you did?”

  He nodded. “At first I refused. Then I learned that I have a twin, a sister.” Justin could understand Heather’s surprise at his news. He’d felt the same overwhelming disbelief when the detective had shown up at his office to tell him of his heritage. His first reaction had been indifference. His mother hadn’t cared enough to keep him—why should he give her the satisfaction of knowing him now?

  But learning he had a twin had convinced him to change his mind. There was another part of him somewhere in the world, someone with some of the same personality traits, the same looks, the same feelings of abandonment and emptiness. Based on that, he’d agreed to a meeting.

  “A twin sister?”

  The thought of his sister brought a smile to Justin’s lips. He touched the dimple on his cheek and remembered his surprise when he’d first seen that she, too, shared the identical physical trait. “Her name is Emma,” he said to his wife. “She’s just had a baby, and she ended up marrying Flynn Sinclair.” Seeing the confusion on her face, he added, “It’s a long story.”

  “My goodness.” She sounded as if she couldn’t believe it. “A lot has been happening. I’m very pleased for you,” she said. “What is your mother like?”

  “She seems nice, and is interested in learning more about me,” he explained, his tone noncommittal. “Miranda was very young when she had us, and on her own. She felt that there was no way she could take care of us. Later, she married and had two other children—so I have two other siblings, as well.

  “I’ve seen them all on a few occasions,” Justin continued. “The first time was several months ago when I first went to Texas to meet Miranda and Emma. I saw Miranda again just a few days ago at a party given by my half-brother, Kane and his wife Allison, welcoming me into the Fortune family.” Justin had even considered moving to Texas, but had quickly realized that leaving Pittsburgh would add a finality to his relationship with Heather. He wasn’t prepared to do that. Not yet.

  “You have a brother?”

  Justin nodded. “Yes. He’s a doctor and he also lives in Texas. So does my half-sister, Gabrielle, who is married to the town sheriff and has a daughter.”

  “And you’ve already met them all?” Heather could imagine Justin’s manner as he met the strangers who were related to him. Even as he spoke of them now, she could see the reservation in his eyes. That he’d called his mother by her first name revealed more than he intended. He’d met these people—relatives—but he wasn’t yet willing to call them family.

  “As I said, several times.” He moved across the room and picked up a framed picture on a drop-leaf table. It was of the two of them on their wedding day. Deep in thought, he rubbed his thumb over the picture.

  Heather wished at that moment that she’d put it away. She didn’t want him to think it meant something to her. She’d kept it out to remind herself of the mistake she’d made by believing he truly loved her.

  “Apparently the Fortunes are obscenely wealthy,” Justin stated, sounding notably unimpressed as he studied the smile on Heather’s face in the picture. Their wealth hadn’t been what had encouraged him to meet Miranda or the Fortunes. At eighteen, he’d moved to Pittsburgh with the last foster family he’d lived with. A short time later, when they’d moved again, he’d moved out on his own. He’d worked two jobs and attended college.

  He’d made a place for himself in the world—owned his own prosperous steel business, Trigon Steel, which earned enough money for him to live on quite comfortably for the rest of his natural life even if he never worked another day.

  But it wasn’t enough to fill the void inside him, and what actually prompted him to meet his biological mother was her connection to his own existence. It was finally knowing where he’d come from, who he was linked to in the world, that had taken him to Texas.

  “Your mother never searched for you before?”

  “I don’t think so. When Miranda was young, she never wanted any affinity with the Fortune family, but she’s since made peace with them. She wants Emma and me to be a part of the family, too.”

  “What about your biological father? Have you met him as well?”

  “No, we haven’t discussed who my father was.” Though he was curious, he hadn’t asked.

  He looked at Heather and saw confusion clouding her green eyes. She couldn’t imagine why meeting his family had provoked this visit from him, nor did she have any idea why he thought they should make another go of their marriage. How could he make her understand, when he wasn’t quite sure he understood himself?

  Seeing all of the Fortune family together had made an impact on his hardened heart. Through troubles and tribulations, they’d stuck together, found offspring they didn’t know existed and brought them under the umbrella of their family. They’d supporte
d each other, had opened their arms to welcome him and Emma.

  “And what exactly does all of this have to do with me?” Heather finally asked, after listening to his explanation. “With us?”

  “Miranda would like to meet you.”

  “But, why?”

  “Because you’re my wife.”

  Justin’s answer was too simple to make sense. Heather couldn’t imagine why his biological mother would want to meet her, especially since she and Justin were separated.

  When she didn’t reply, he swung around to face her. She felt the full force of his heated gaze as it traveled very slowly over her body, then rose with meticulous precision to her face. Butterflies attacked her stomach. She had an eerie feeling she wasn’t going to like what he was going to say.

  “I’d like you to go to Texas with me.”

  Two

  “To Texas?” Heather’s voice rose a pitch as she stared blankly at her estranged husband. He couldn’t really mean what he was suggesting.

  He frowned deeply at her reaction. “That is where she lives.” There was the briefest hint of frustration in his tone. “I’d like you to meet her, as well.”

  Heather’s mouth was still hanging open. “You would?” Knowing her husband wasn’t prone to spontaneous actions, she figured there had to be more to this. For someone like Justin, who needed to control everyone and everything around him, well, she figured, adjusting to his new family had to be very hard for him to deal with.

  She was certainly curious about the Fortunes. Apparently they’d made quite an impression on him. He seemed so…she couldn’t really put her thoughts into words. Justin was somehow undefinably…different.

  “Of course.”

  “Why didn’t you just tell your mother we were separated?”

  He hesitated, then said, “Because I thought maybe you and I still had a chance together. There’s no reason for her to know otherwise, if we stay together.” He moved a step closer to her. “It’s not so crazy when you think about it. We were happy once, Heather.” He reached toward her and ran his fingers across her cheek, then through her hair to brush it from her face.

  She stiffened, again moving a step away. “I thought we were,” she agreed, “until…” She left the words unspoken, but the reminder was there all the same. Heather’s skin tingled where he’d touched her, and she suspected he wasn’t just talking about their marriage. For a while, they had shared something special, and she had no trouble remembering those wonderfully happy times. Those memories taunted her often, as did the memory of the moment he’d left her.

  “We both made mistakes, but we had a good life for a while.”

  “I haven’t forgotten, Justin.” Her admission came reluctantly, and brought a barely noticeable look of relief to his features.

  “Maybe we can recapture what we had.”

  “Justin—”

  “We were married for six years,” he interrupted, his tone slightly challenging. “Doesn’t that mean anything to you?”

  She bristled. “I could ask you the same thing. I haven’t heard a word from you in a year, and now you show up wanting me to go away with you.”

  “You didn’t bother to contact me, either,” he reminded her sharply.

  Heather felt a wave of embarrassment sweep over her. His charge was justified, more so than hers. She’d had more reason to contact him than he knew. “You’re right, but—”

  “Come to Texas with me,” he said again, softening his tone. He cocked his head and studied her. “That’s all I’m asking. It’ll give us time to think about what’s happened between us, time to decide where we should go from here.” Surprise filled her gaze once again. “Would you be willing to try again to make our marriage work?”

  “I…I don’t know,” she answered honestly, astonished at how her pulse raced at the thought. Could she really risk her heart again?

  Justin didn’t say anything for a moment. He turned and went to the window and stared out of it. Heather nervously bit her bottom lip, wondering what he was thinking. Just as she was about to speak, he turned and faced her.

  “How about if we give it a month?” He walked back over to her and stopped so close that she could feel his body heat. “One month. Isn’t our marriage worth a month out of your life?”

  Heather swayed, staggered by his proposition. “A month,” she repeated. He was putting a timetable on their reconciliation. Now, that sounded more like the Justin she remembered. Always in control.

  Justin nodded. “It’s long enough to see if we can work things out,” he rationalized. “If after a month it isn’t working, I’ll give you a divorce.” His jaw tightened a fraction.

  Heather still couldn’t believe this was happening, and she was hesitant to give him the power to hurt her again. Yes, she still had feelings for her husband—but only because he was the father of her son. And what about when he learned about their baby? Would Justin use Timmy to pressure her into staying married?

  She was astute enough to realize that she saw very little change in Justin. He was still a man of few words, still kept his thoughts to himself. Though Heather had always felt during her marriage that he cared for her, he had never really said the words. She supposed she couldn’t blame him. Words of love never came easy to her, either, and she’d held back her own thoughts and feelings. It was also obvious that he still wanted to control everything around him.

  However, in the past year she’d changed, grown independent. She was used to making decisions for herself.

  Deep in thought, Heather was unaware of how close Justin had come to her until he reached for her and drew her against him. Caught by surprise, she put her hands flat against his hard-muscled chest. In the past, they’d settled many problems in each other’s arms—the last being when she’d gotten pregnant with Timmy. But she wasn’t going to let him get away with it now.

  Not this time.

  Leaning backward, she put enough pressure in her arms to break his embrace. He frowned, and his lips flattened into a thin line. But he let her go. She stepped farther away, enough to feel as if she could breathe normally again. She hated the way he had of stealing her breath with his mere presence.

  “One month, Heather.”

  The ringing of the telephone startled them both. Heather murmured an apology. “I have to get that,” she said, suspecting it was her mother. Quickly moving across the room, she picked up the telephone receiver on the end table.

  “Hello,” she said. “Oh, Mom. Yes, I know I’m late. I’m sorry.” She glanced at Justin before quickly looking away.

  He watched her talk on the phone with her mother. He’d always liked Kathryn Watson. She was warm and attentive without being controlling or smothering—the kind of mother that he’d always yearned for, the kind of mother he’d never known. Now that he’d met Miranda, Justin thought she, too, seemed to be kindhearted and caring. She’d made an effort to get close to him, but so far he hadn’t been able to totally let his guard down around her—or any of the other Fortunes.

  His reserve around his extended family didn’t include his sister Emma. He and his twin shared a certain respect for each other, a bond that only twins could feel. He’d been amazed by her easygoing nature, despite her troubled past. When they’d met, he’d learned she was on the run from an abusive ex-boyfriend. Had he not been reassured by Sinclair that Emma would be safe with him, Justin would have taken care of her himself. The thought of someone hurting her infuriated him. Justin was pleased that Emma had found Flynn, who loved her and her newborn daughter.

  “I have some unexpected company.”

  Heather’s voice drew his attention, and he wondered what Kathryn would say if she knew it was him. He strained forward to hear what he could of the conversation, and it was obvious she was avoiding telling her mother about him. Well, that was okay. Kathryn would know soon enough that he wanted to reconcile.

  His wife sighed heavily. “It’s Justin, Mom.” She listened for a moment. “I’m going to be a few minu
tes longer, if that’s okay.” More silence, and her foot tapped the floor nervously. “Thanks, Mom. I really appreciate it.”

  Heather hung up the telephone, then turned to face him. Her expression was shadowed, probably out of a need for self-preservation. But Justin didn’t miss the brief glimpse of awareness in her eyes, and he took that as a sign that she still felt something for him.

  She ran the pink tip of her tongue over her upper lip, and he bit back an oath. He wanted nothing more at that moment than to pull her to him and make love to her, to show her there was an underlying spark between them that they could build on.

  She represented everything he’d worked for in his life—and everything he’d been unable to hold on to. He’d lost the woman he’d loved, his home, and with her unfortunate miscarriage, the family he’d wanted so badly. They’d had a chance once. Was it irrational to believe they could have another?

  He resisted the urge to pull her back into his embrace, and as though she needed to put space between them, she stepped farther away from him and stood beside one of the big overstuffed chairs that decorated the room.

  Her hands tightened on the back of the chair, her knuckles turning white. She looked…wary, and Justin could understand that. He’d deeply disappointed her once, although he’d thought he was doing the right thing by giving her her freedom. It was going to be hard for her to put those unpleasant memories to rest and consider his proposal.

  She held her head high and looked him directly in the eyes. “This is so like you,” she commented. “I mean, showing up so suddenly, making decisions and expecting me to agree to whatever you want.”

  Annoyed by her words, Justin grimaced. “I called and left you a message, letting you know that I’d be coming over.”

  Heather’s gaze swung to the answering machine sitting on the table. The little red message light was blinking. “I haven’t had time to check my messages. As soon as I came in the door, Paul arrived.”