by Jaden Skye
“I knew you would be,” he smiled proudly, “I just knew it.
*
Both Cindy and Mattheus showered and changed before going to the Aupres Hotel, where they were to meet Andrea in the lobby, walk in the gardens, and then have dinner together in a beautiful restaurant at the foot of the hill, near a wild life sanctuary. Mattheus had left nothing unplanned.
Mattheus, silent in the taxi on the way over, held tightly onto Cindy’s hand.
“I know how hard this must be for you, Mattheus,” Cindy whispered, holding his hand just as tightly, giving him all the support she could.
“Hard’s not the right word for it,” he corrected her. “Terrifying is.”
It was rare for Mattheus to say anything at all was terrifying.
“I have actually never seen her,” he went on. “I have no idea what she’s like or what her mother told her about me.”
Cindy was nervous as well. “It’s amazing you were able to find her now,” she said.
“I’m just as amazed,” said Mattheus. “She still lives exactly where she was born in Anguilla, nearby.”
“She lives there with her mother?” Cindy asked.
“Seems so,” said Mattheus. “I called down there for her, and got hold of her easily - if she’s really my daughter?”
“If? You’re not sure?” Cindy was taken aback.
“When I called she picked up. First I asked for her mother and she said her mother wasn’t in. Then I asked for her mother’s daughter and without hesitating a second, she said it was her. I was really taken aback. She asked who was calling and I just said it was her father.”
“My God,” said Cindy, “she must have been shocked.”
“Oddly enough, she didn’t seem so shocked, just got very quiet. “What do you mean my father? she finally asked. I told her my name was Mattheus and I’d known her mother a long time ago. At that, she murmured strangely, as if she’d heard about who I was. At that point I went on quickly and asked what her name was, how old she was now.”
“It’s amazing she could talk at all,” said Cindy.
“She was fine,” Mattheus remarked. “She said her name was Andrea, that she’s fifteen now and had been waiting to hear from me a long time. That threw me for a loop. You’ve been waiting to hear from me?” I said to her.
Cindy shivered from head to toe. “She’s actually been waiting to hear from you? My God.”
“I can’t imagine why,” murmured Mattheus.
Cindy thought about it a second. “Everyone wants to know where they came from,” said Cindy. You two have the same genetic pool. And most parents want to see their biological children too, even if they’ve left them behind.”
“I didn’t leave her behind,” Mattheus bristled. “I was never with her mother at all after that night. I knew she got pregnant, but the child didn’t really register.”
“Didn’t you wonder if the mother might have lied to you about being the father? That she might have had other men?”
“Sure, I thought that in the beginning,” said Mattheus, “but then I found out that the baby was born nine months to the day after that night.”
“How did you find that out if you had no more contact with her?” asked Cindy amazed.
“It gnawed at me in the beginning,” said Mattheus. “So I got a friend to check it out and find out when the kid was born. Then I sent the mother a nice chunk of money, in an envelope without a return address.”
New layers were appearing in Mattheus’s story. The baby had made an impact on him, if only for a short while. Cindy wondered what else was waiting to be revealed.
“I can’t get my mind around this, Cindy,” said Mattheus, growing edgy and taut.
“Who could?” said Cindy.
“I figured her mother had moved on, was married by now and that someone else had stepped in and taken the role of her father.” Mattheus spoke with great pressure in his voice.
“It’s easy to assume that,” said Cindy.
“Andrea said she’ll be standing in front of the reception desk in the lobby,” Mattheus continued, “and that she’s tall and beautiful.”
Cindy smiled, “She told you that?”
“Yes, she did. She said she’ll be wearing red bracelets,” Mattheus went on, “and that her skin is so light she passes for white most of the time.”
That was the first time that Cindy realized that his daughter’s mother was Caribbean. “Was her mother also beautiful?” Cindy asked, suddenly fascinated.
“Yes, she was, as far as I can remember,” said Mattheus. “I told you, it was just a fling. Ships passing in the night who got drunk at a club one night. The woman didn’t mean anything to me.”
Somehow that made it worse and Cindy suddenly felt awful for Andrea. “Did the mother ever marry? Was there ever a man in the picture?” Cindy asked.
“I don’t know,” Mattheus replied. “I wrote to her for a few times after I sent the money and she wrote back. Then things just tapered off. She didn’t answer the last note I sent and I figured that someone else was in her life and our relationship was over. It was a relief.”
“We figure all kinds of things, don’t we?” said Cindy.
“Yes, we do,” Mattheus murmured, rubbing his face, nervously.
“Well, in a few minutes, we’ll see for ourselves,” said Cindy, “we won’t have to guess anymore.”
*
The moment Cindy and Mattheus walked into the Aupres Hotel they headed to the reception desk. A tall, lithe, beautiful, teen age, young woman, with long, chocolate brown curly hair, stood there restlessly, three red bracelets on her arm.
“There she is. You go over,” said Cindy. “I’ll wait back here.” Cindy wanted to let them have their first moments alone together, but stood close enough so she could hear and see what went on.
“Oh my God, she’s beautiful,” said Mattheus.
“Very beautiful,” Cindy agreed.
Mattheus gathered his courage then and walked over to her. “Andrea?” he said, as he approached.
Andrea turned towards him, stopped shifting around, and looked at him boldly. “It’s you?” she asked, edgy. “You’re Mattheus, my father?”
“I’m Mattheus,” he responded, matching her edginess.
Andrea’s lips curled into disdain. “I didn’t ask if you were Mattheus,” she said, snappy. “I asked if you were my father?”
“Are you my daughter?” Mattheus replied, clearly taken off guard.
“What? Are you some kind of nut?” she answered, digging in. “You called me and asked me to come here. You said you were my father.”
Mattheus was so jarred he could hardly speak. “We have to sit down together and explore this,” he managed finally.
“Explore what?” Andrea looked for a second like she would explode.
Cindy knew Mattheus was wondering if she was really his daughter and what it would mean if he acknowledged it without being sure. He must have felt he wanted evidence.
“What did you call me here for?” Andrea dug in and challenged him.
Immediately, Cindy walked over and stepped in to defuse the situation. “Hi, Andrea,” Cindy smiled, “we’re so happy to meet you. We’re so glad you came.”
“Who the hell are you?” Andrea bit her lower lip, flashing a look of anger at Cindy for even being there at all.
“I’m Cindy Blaine,” said Cindy slowly.
“The wife?” Andrea spit out.
“No,” Cindy quickly corrected her, “I’m Mattheus’s business partner.”
“Look,” said Andrea, “I wasn’t born yesterday. Tell me another.”
Andrea was obviously street smart and tough, thought Cindy, on the lookout for trouble.
“We’re private detectives,” Cindy went on, wanting to give the young woman solid information so she could feel more secure.
“Detectives?” that seemed to shock her. “Does my mother know that?” Andrea turned to Mattheus, confronting him.
; “I haven’t been in touch with your mother for years,” he said quietly.
“Yeah, that’s what she told me,” said Andrea. “And she’s wondering why in hell now?”
“Look let’s go sit down together in a comfortable place,” Cindy suggested. “Let’s get something to eat.”
“I’m not hungry,” Andrea became more defensive. “And I came to see my father, not you. He didn’t say he was bringing someone.”
“I’m sorry,” said Cindy.
“So take a hike,” she went on. “Leave us alone together.”
Even though her request made sense, Cindy didn’t feel like she could go. Oddly enough she felt frightened for Mattheus, as if he needed protection from this young woman. And Mattheus was right, Cindy suddenly realized, who knew who she really was? At the moment neither of them could be positive that this young woman was actually his daughter, after all.
“Cindy and I do everything together,” Mattheus informed her. There was no way he wanted to be alone with her, either.
“So? What do you want with me?” Andrea got more restless.
“Let’s go somewhere to talk,” Cindy suggested again.
“Why? This isn’t a party,” said Andrea. “It’s me meeting my dad for the first time.”
“Of course, I realize that,” said Cindy. “But can’t we all meet together?”
“Screw you,” Andrea practically spit in Cindy’s face. “Don’t try to tell my father and me what we should do. I haven’t seen him since I was born.” Then she turned straight to Mattheus and stared at him.
Mattheus stared back at her. There was absolutely no love lost between them.
“My mother said you screwed her and dumped both of us like a piece of dirt,” Andrea continued, “just a night’s fun.”
“That’s not true,” Mattheus’s back arched.
“Well, I’ll believe my mother before I believe you,” Andrea answered. “Give me one reason in the world why I should believe anything you tell me at all?”
There wasn’t one reason Mattheus could come up with.
“We didn’t contact you to upset you,” Cindy interjected.
Andrea put her long, willowy arms on her hips. “So, why did you contact me, then?”
“Mattheus wanted to meet the daughter he never saw,” said Cindy.
“Just like that? Out of the blue? Nah, I don’t buy it. You want something from me or from my mother. Who knows if you even are my father? You probably want to break up my mother’s relationship with Cain.”
“Who’s that?” Mattheus asked, stunned.
“My new dad,” said Andrea. “Somebody we know must have contacted you, heard that you two were private detectives. Everyone wants to break their relationship up, but it isn’t happening! Just because Cain’s been in jail a couple of times doesn’t mean he doesn’t deserve a second chance. Besides, he nice to me, very, very nice. I like him.”
Andrea’s strong statement of support for Cain alarmed Mattheus. “An ex con, tell me more,” he said, suddenly paternal.
“I’m not telling you a word,” Andrea tossed her head, “because it’s none of your damn business. Nothing about my life is.”
Mattheus extended a hand to Andrea then. “Andrea, let’s go to the back garden and at least sit down and talk about it. I want to hear about it. I want to know all about your life.”
A look of hope flickered across her face quickly, but then faded away. She thrust Mattheus’s arm away. “Why in hell should I believe you? You wouldn’t even say you were my dad. You’ve got to be some kind of creep.”
“I didn’t say I wasn’t your dad,” said Mattheus sadly. “I said let’s explore our relationship.”
“You know, if I tell Cain that you’re on the scene and want to take me away from him, it ain’t gonna be pretty,” she retorted.
Cindy was horrified. “Mattheus doesn’t want to take you away from anyone,” she said.
“Oh yeah? Well, my mother thinks differently. My mother thinks Mattheus is a major creep who’s out to destroy her life. He didn’t care about her when he first met her, so why should he now?”
“Did you tell your mother you were coming here to meet us?” asked Cindy.
“You better believe I did,” said Andrea. “My mom’s got no one to look after her but me.
And now she has Cain, my new dad. But who knows how that will go?”
“How many dads have you had?” asked Cindy.
“This is my third dad,” said Andrea. “The other two were good in the beginning but ended up beating the hell out of my mom. I helped her get away from them. I’m hoping Cain is better.”
Suddenly, Cindy’s heart broke for Andrea. “I’m so sorry,” Cindy breathed.
Andrea looked at Cindy out of the corner of her eye, frightened. “You’re sorry for who? For me? I’d say you’d be better off being sorry for yourself. If you think this jerk Mattheus is any better than any of the guys my mother had, you’re in for a big surprise.”
“You don’t know me, Andrea,” Mattheus said to her slowly, in sudden pain.
“And who said I want to?” asked Andrea.
“No one,” Mattheus answered.
“And you don’t know me, either,” her voice got softer then and shaky.
“No, I don’t,” said Mattheus.
“And do you want to?” she asked, haltingly.
Mattheus took a step closer to her, tentatively. “Yes, I really do,” he said.
“Okay,” she said then, her eyebrows arching, “if you want to get to know me, fine.” Then she turned and pointed at Cindy, “but first you got to get rid of her!”
Cindy felt a huge weight bear down on her chest, as Andrea directed the full force of her anger against her. “I may have room for another dad,” she went on, “but not for another mom! That’s out of the question. My mom is spectacular, she’s beautiful, wonderful. No way I’m replacing her.”
“I don’t want to replace your mom,” Cindy pleaded.
“This isn’t about what you want,” Andrea answered, spitefully. Then she turned back to Mattheus and smiled for the first time.
Cindy couldn’t help notice how her face changed when she smiled, took on a look similar to Mattheus, flashing with sudden charm. It cheered Mattheus greatly to see her smile, too. He flashed the same smile back at her, then.
Andrea looked so happy then, as if she’d won round one. “Get rid of Cindy and then call me,” she said, as she shook her red bracelets, ran her hand through her hair, turned and pranced out of the lobby, fast.
When she’d gone Cindy and Mattheus stared at each other.
“My God, my God,” said Mattheus, “she’s been raised in a home with guys who’ve beat her mother. Her new stepfather’s been in prison. This can’t be good.”
“No it can’t,” Cindy agreed.
“Thank God you forced me to find her,” said Mattheus. “She desperately needs a good, strong father, a fine role model.”
“Everyone needs that, Mattheus,” said Cindy.
“But Andrea knows nothing about me, I abandoned her,” Mattheus breathed, “she needs it especially.”
“But she doesn’t want me around,” said Cindy.
Mattheus paused and looked at Cindy strangely, taking it all in. “No, she doesn’t,” he echoed. “Not in the beginning, anyway.”
“So, where do we go from here?” asked Cindy, a long, slow chill running through her body.
“Well, for starters, I go down to Anguilla, where she lives with her mom” Mattheus replied promptly.
“You go alone? Without me?” asked Cindy.
“For a while,” said Mattheus. “I go alone to build a relationship and get things straight and settled. Then I’ll call for you later on.”
“And where do I go?” asked Cindy amazed.
“Why not go home for a little while and visit your sister?” said Mattheus. “She’ll be thrilled to see you. It’ll be a little vacation.”
“Mattheus, we’re on the verge
of getting engaged,” Cindy was practically in tears.
“It was your idea for me to meet her,” Mattheus countered, “and you were right. You said we couldn’t go on until the past was cleared up. And I had no idea how important it was until I saw my daughter face to face.”
“I never said you should choose her over me or that we would separate,” Cindy replied.
“We’re not separating,” said Mattheus, “we’re just taking a little time apart. And it’s not a matter of choosing one over the other. She’s my flesh and blood, I could see it the minute she smiled. I can’t leave her in a situation like the one she’s in. I’m stepping in and making it right.”
Cindy stared at Mattheus as though he were a stranger. “What about our work? What about cases?” Cindy was stupefied.
“This is the case I’m on right now,” Mattheus replied. “An innocent young woman living with a mother who’s been beaten by guys in the past and who now has an ex con for a new husband.”
“You’re on this case? And what about me?” Cindy was appalled.
“I told you, take a little vacation. There’ll be plenty of other cases after this is finished. We’ll tackle them together like we always did.”
“You’re dreaming, Mattheus,” Cindy replied. “The shock of meeting your daughter has caused you to unravel.”
“Just the opposite,” said Mattheus. “I’m going back and making things right with her and nothing is changing my mind.”
“Fine, go do what you have to,” Cindy said. “And, we’ll see where I go next. That’s a decision I’ll make on my own, as well.”
“I get it,” said Mattheus. “I get it.”
“What do you get? You don’t get anything,” said Cindy.
“Sure I do,” said Mattheus. “I’m going to be the father I was meant to be and nothing’s gonna stop me now.”
NOW AVAILABLE!
DEATH BY DEVOTION
Book #9 in the Caribbean Murder Series
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In DEATH BY DEVOTION, before they get engaged, Cindy urges Mattheus to meet his long-lost Caribbean daughter, whom he has never met. Sixteen years ago, after a one night stand, the woman became pregnant, and Mattheus quickly left. Mattheus’ beautiful, volatile, fifteen year old daughter, Andrea, badly needs him, and she wants him to come to Anguilla, where she lives, so they can get to know each other. One caveat, though: he has to come without Cindy. Andrea has a mother, and one mother is enough. Mattheus feels his daughter is in trouble, feels compelled to go, and abruptly leaves Cindy behind.
