The Black Sheep's Secret Child

by Cat Schield

  What bothered her was how attached Trent had become to Dylan. It made her all the more conflicted about not telling him that Dylan was his son. While she’d watched Trent reading the silly stories Dylan loved so much, she’d been consumed by guilt. All the time she’d kept the two of them apart, never imagining Trent had any interest in children.

  Trent took her hand and guided it to his cheek. Her other hand he pulled around his waist. Held close, she inhaled the comforting masculine scent of him and her pulse danced. She could get used to coming home to Trent. When he’d visited her in New York, she’d rushed back to her apartment and fallen into his arms after a long day of shooting.

  But those moments, wonderful though they were, had been short-lived. Trent might enjoy a week or two of domestic bliss, but he grew restless soon after. Having her and Dylan stay with him was a novelty. Soon enough they’d be in his way. She wanted to be gone before that happened.

  “On the way back from LA, I did some thinking.”

  “Tell me later.”

  Before she could protest, his mouth found hers and she was lost in the sweeping power of his kiss. What good was it to fight the magic between them? In the future, she would have months and years to ache for him. Today, she intended to take whatever he would give her.

  * * *

  Trent didn’t know why this particular Friday night at the club was driving him crazy. It wasn’t as if more things than usual were going wrong. At the moment he was staring at his most experienced waitress. She’d messed up the tab for one of their biggest VIPs. Trent had to decide whether to eat the twenty-thousand-dollar mistake and keep the client happy or risk pissing off someone who had been known to drop upward of three hundred grand in the club when he was in town.

  “Give this to Jason and tell him not to bother Khalid.” Trent signed off on the report she brought to him about the discrepancy and handed it over.

  “I’m really sorry, Trent.”

  “Figure out what happened and get it fixed.”

  Gina nodded and raced away. Trent watched her go with more than a trace of impatience. Normally he wouldn’t be this short with his staff even over a mistake of this size, but Savannah had been in LA for four days and this time she’d taken Dylan with her. Dammit, he missed her. He missed both of them.

  “So this is where you’re hiding.” Kyle Tailor entered Trent’s office, his long legs carrying him across the room in four strides. “I’ve been looking all over the club for you. The place is packed.”

  “When did you get in?”

  “Half an hour ago. I came here straight from the airport.”

  Trent was wondering why his best friend had chosen to visit Club T’s over reuniting with the woman he loved first. “Are you meeting Melody here?”

  “No, it’s late. I’ll see her tomorrow.”

  “I’m sure she’d like to see you tonight.”

  “I really don’t want to bother her.”

  “Bother her?” Trent stared at his friend in dismay. “I was right. There is trouble between you two. Is it because she was on tour for so long?”

  “What has she said?”

  “Nothing. And that’s what’s weird. Normally she talks about you all the time. It’s kind of annoying.”

  “Well, maybe that’s because she’s not in love with me anymore.”

  “Has she said that?”

  “Not in so many words.”

  “Then what are you basing it on?” Trent waited for his friend’s reply. When Kyle kept his lips pressed together, a belligerent scowl pulling down his brows, Trent said, “I know my sister. If she wasn’t in love with you, she’d let you know.” Still, Kyle said nothing. “Did you do something?”

  “What makes you think it’s my fault?”

  Disgusted, Trent shook his head. “Because she’s down in the dumps and you sound defensive.”

  “Can we not talk about your sister? I’m here to have some fun. Let’s grab some drinks and find some women who want to have a good time.”

  Trent couldn’t believe what his best friend was saying. They’d just been talking about the problems he and Melody were having and Kyle wanted to chase women? But when he took a harder look at Kyle, Trent recognized the desperate edge in his friend’s expression. As if he intended to have fun even if he didn’t feel like it. Deciding Kyle wasn’t as indifferent to his problems with Melody as he was trying to appear, Trent swallowed the harsh lecture he’d been about to deliver.

  “I can’t right now,” Trent said. “It’s been a crazy night, with one thing after another going wrong.” Almost as if on cue, Trent’s phone buzzed, delivering another text message. Now they were running out of a particular vodka that one of their VIPs preferred. He exhaled and got to his feet. “To top it off, our DJ got sick at the last minute, so I’ve got Nate up on stage.”

  “I saw. The crowd seems to be enjoying him a lot.”

  “You know, for an introvert, he’s a pretty decent showman.”

  They both laughed. Few people would characterize the front man for Free Fall as an introvert, but in truth, as much as he enjoyed making music, Nate needed a lot of downtime during his tours.

  “Come on,” Trent said, heading for the door. “Why don’t you come with me while I put out a couple fires, and then I’ll show you some of the upgrades we’ve done to the outside since you were last here.”

  Kyle grumbled about coming to Vegas to play, not work, but he accompanied Trent on his rounds. To Trent’s surprise, his friend stuck with him the whole night, even though he had several offers to hang out with some very beautiful women. They parted ways at three. Kyle was heading off to try his luck at the tables and Trent still had work to do.

  At five he debated the feasibility of heading home for a couple hours. He had a meeting with a new liquor distributor at eight. If he stayed on his couch, he could catch an extra hour of sleep. But as he lay staring at the shadowy ceiling, his overactive mind kept him awake.

  He was back to thinking about Kyle and Melody. Although Trent had been opposed to their relationship when he’d originally learned of it, he’d come around after seeing how happy his sister was with Kyle. Now, however, he was worried that Melody was going to get hurt, and he knew she would be furious with him if he interfered.

  A few hours later, the meeting with his potential distributor went well. Trent had managed to catch enough sleep to give the guy a fair hearing. The addition of some unique, high-end product would enhance the appeal of Club T’s in an already cutthroat market. The club’s closest competitor might be seven million a year behind them in sales, but that could change if Club T’s had a couple bad months.

  Eager to catch a few more hours of sleep, Trent headed home. The smell of coffee hit him as he entered his open-concept living space from the garage. He sucked in a big breath and felt revitalized. All thoughts of heading off to bed vanished as he spied Savannah and Dylan out on the terrace. She was sitting on the concrete while Dylan put a ball through a miniature basketball hoop.

  Leaving his tie and suit coat draped over the banister, Trent poured himself a cup of coffee and headed out to enjoy the cool morning.

  Savannah glanced his way as he approached. “Are you just getting home?”

  “It was a late night and I had a meeting at eight this morning.” He sat in the chair nearest the pair and sipped from his mug. Murphy came over to greet him, and Trent lifted the Frenchie onto his lap and gave him a thorough scratching. The dog snorted with pleasure. “I grabbed a couple hours’ sleep on the couch in the office.”

  She acknowledged his statement with a nod and arced the ball through the hoop. Given the size of the target and her distance of five feet, it was an impressive toss.

  “Score,” she called, raising her arms, and Dylan mimicked her.

  Despite her obvious pleasure in watching her son, Savannah seemed quieter than normal. Trent noticed that although her lips curved in a smile, her eyes never lit up. Given her friendship with Melody and the fact that Kyle�
��s car wasn’t parked in the driveway, Trent suspected she was worried about his sister.

  “Is something wrong?” Trent asked, not wanting to come straight out with his own concerns until he knew which way the wind blew.

  “My lawyer called a little bit ago and told me your father’s backing down on the lawsuit.” Savannah’s gaze tracked Dylan as he chased his ball along the terrace. “Not only that, but he’s offering to pay me one point five million for Dylan’s shares.”

  Given her somber mood, this wasn’t at all what he’d been expecting. “That’s not even close to what those shares are worth.”

  “I know, but it’s enough to pay off Rafe’s debts and give me a nest egg.”

  “You should counter.”

  Savannah looked horrified at his suggestion. “I’m just relieved to have it all done.”

  So why didn’t she look as if things were going her way? More than anything Trent wanted her to be happy. His father had caused her enough harm. And should have to pay.

  “Do you have any idea what caused him to change his mind?” Trent asked.

  “No, and my lawyer also questioned his abrupt turnaround, as well. He did a little investigating and discovered someone wants to buy West Coast Records.”

  “So there’s a chance for you to make even more money.”

  “And a chance for Siggy to ruin the whole thing.”

  “So you’ve made up your mind.” He set the dog back on the ground and watched him run over to Dylan.

  “I’ve already given the go-ahead to sell the shares back to Siggy.”

  “Then why aren’t you celebrating?”

  “I should be. It’s stupid that I’m not.”

  Trent was starting to understand. “You wish you’d been able to fight him to get what the shares were worth.”

  “No, I’m happy with our deal the way it stands. I didn’t marry Rafe for his money. I married him to give Dylan a traditional family. Now that Rafe is dead, I have accepted that Dylan and I will be fine on our own.”

  It wasn’t the first time Trent was filled with admiration for her. The girl he’d grown up with, the woman he’d known in New York, hadn’t been confident and strong. Savannah might still need help from time to time, but she didn’t need rescuing. She’d stood up to his father and participated in Trent’s scheme to provoke his father into acting. She might not have anticipated what Siggy would do, but she’d taken charge when he threatened her with a lawsuit.

  “So what is really going on?”

  Her big blue eyes turned sorrowful. “There’s something I should’ve let you know a long time ago.”

  Anxiety twisted his gut at the pained expression on her face. “Like what?”

  “It has to do with your father’s lawsuit. He claimed Dylan isn’t Rafe’s son.” She clenched her fists and leaned forward. “It’s true.”

  Trent’s thoughts froze. Once again his perception of her changed. “So that’s why you chose not to fight him? Because you knew you’d lose?”

  “No. I meant what I said about the money. I only wanted what’s fair.”

  “Did Rafe know Dylan wasn’t his son?” For the first time since he’d found out that Rafe and Savannah were getting married, Trent felt sorry for his brother. “Or did you lie to him, too?”

  Hurt flickered in her eyes, but she didn’t let her chin droop. “Rafe knew before he proposed to me. At the time I didn’t understand why he would want to raise a son who wasn’t biologically his. I didn’t realize it at the time, but the cancer treatments had made him sterile. Your father had drilled the concept of dynasty into Rafe’s head for so long that even as he was dying, he was determined to make Siggy happy.”

  “So you both lied to my father.”

  “Yes. At the time I was in a vulnerable place—pregnant and terrified of raising Dylan alone.” She didn’t need to add that Rafe had been there to pick up the pieces after she and Trent had broken up.

  “That first night in my office, when you told me Dylan was Rafe’s son.” Trent wasn’t sure he recognized the woman standing before him. “You were lying.”

  She shook her head. “As far as Rafe was concerned, Dylan was his son. But he wasn’t his biological child.”

  Never before had he perceived Savannah as being duplicitous. But she’d lied to him and to his family. Could she also be lying about Rafe knowing that Dylan wasn’t his?

  “Is lack of money for a long, drawn-out legal case the reason you’re no longer fighting Siggy for Dylan’s right to the stock? Or are you suffering a guilty conscience?”

  “Will you condemn me if I tell you it’s a little of both?”

  Trent held perfectly still and stared at her. A question was burning a hole in his heart. Who was Dylan’s father? He thought he knew Savannah inside and out. Had she had a fling or a one-night stand? The thought disturbed him.

  “I never in a million years thought you’d do something like this.” His voice sounded flat and wooden.

  “Like what?”

  “Pass a stranger’s child off as Rafe’s.”

  “I didn’t. Don’t you understand?” Savannah released a long-suffering sigh at his head shake. “He has your smile.”

  “Who does?” Trent had no idea what she was getting at.

  “Dylan.”

  What was she trying to say? Trent stared at her, his mind blank.

  Savannah looked miserable. She’d obviously been expecting a different reaction. “Trent, Dylan is your son.”

  Eleven

  Funny how easily the confession slipped free. She’d been dreading this moment since the pregnancy test had come back positive. But in the end it wasn’t as traumatic as she thought it was going to be. She’d already lost her self-respect and her uncomplicated future to the lie. Trent’s confession that he’d not wanted their relationship to end had cut deep. What if instead of being afraid to be rejected she’d gone to him when she first found out she was pregnant? Her life might have turned out very differently.

  “That’s impossible,” Trent said. “We were always very careful.”

  “This is going to sound crazy.” Savannah braced to defend herself, suspecting Trent would be skeptical of her convoluted explanation. “When I came to visit you in Vegas that last time, I did so on Rafe’s recommendation.”

  “Rafe told you to come see me?”

  “As I was getting settled in LA, he and I began to spend time together. He said he’d been in love with me a long time and wanted us to be together. I liked Rafe, but he knew I loved you.”

  “If he wanted you, wouldn’t it make more sense for him to keep you away from me?”

  “Yes, if he’d actually loved me. But as I found out after we got married, he was merely using me.” She studied Trent’s face and saw only confusion and doubt. “And using you.”

  “Using us how?”

  “He needed an heir. He wanted one who looked like a Caldwell.” She raised her eyebrows and stared at him, waiting for him to understand what she was saying.

  “But we were careful,” he repeated.

  “That last time we were together...the condoms we used... Rafe gave me those condoms and told me to get you out of my system.”

  “Seriously?” Trent looked completely shell-shocked. And angry. “You didn’t think that was strange?”

  “Maybe.” She thought back to how desperate and miserable she’d been at the time. “I thought he was trying to be helpful. I never imagined he’d do something as crazy as sabotage the condoms.”

  “He wanted you to get pregnant? To what end?”

  “So that there’d be a Caldwell to eventually take over at West Coast Records.”

  “Do you hear how insane that sounds?”

  “I’ve been living with this for the last year and a half.” Savannah’s strength was draining. She crumpled into a nearby chair and put her hands in her lap. “I was the one he duped. How do you think I feel?”

  “You don’t think we’re both victims in this?”

 
Trent paced away toward the terrace and stood with his back to her. He remained as still as a statue for a long time until he finally asked, “Were you ever planning on informing me Dylan is my son?”

  She should have been better prepared for this question. As it was, she’d spent all her time worrying about what the fallout for her and Dylan would be if—when—Trent learned the truth.

  “To what end?” Her response might have been harsh, but Trent had made his opinion clear. “You never wanted to be part of a family. Rafe did.”

  “You had no right making that decision for me.” Trent turned to face her. His expression was bleak.

  Remembering how that final conversation with him had gone, Savannah hardened her heart. “That last morning we were together, you told me you had no time or energy for anything but the club.”

  “And at that particular moment I didn’t. We’d been open barely six months and every day there was something new going wrong. We’d made a huge investment and in order to make it pay off, I had to give it a hundred and ten percent.”

  “I heard that loud and clear. You didn’t have time for me. Why would I think you would have time for me and our child?”

  “You should have told me,” he insisted.

  Savannah refused to regret the decision she’d made. Loving Trent had led to heartache. Marrying Rafe had seemed a safe and sensible alternative.

  “You know now,” she said, her strength returning as she settled on a course of action. Savannah got to her feet and headed toward him. “You have a son, Trent. What do you intend to do about it?”

  She’d never challenged him directly before. Her question was born of frustration and longing. More than anything she needed him to step up and demand to be in Dylan’s life. To be part of her life.

  “Honestly, I don’t know.” He raked his hand through his hair. “I need some time to think.”

  She barely registered the disappointment that washed through her. His answer didn’t surprise her at all. “You know, nothing about your life needs to change the least bit,” she told him. “Something’s going to break for me in LA. In fact, I just found out I have to head back there tomorrow.”