by Leanne Banks
Mr. Forno studied her. “You do know that you were adopted, don’t you?”
“Of course, but—” She broke off, struggling to keep her emotions under control as she tried to make sense of the men’s visit. “Is this about my birth mother? I tried to find her years ago, but I was told she didn’t want to meet me. Has she changed her mind?”
Mr. Forno exchanged a look with his associate. “Unfortunately—”
The front door opened and Benjamin stepped inside, his gaze sweeping the front room. “Problem?”
Coco immediately felt a sense of relief. “I think there’s a lot of confusion right now.”
Benjamin addressed the two men. “It shouldn’t take long to clear up any confusion given the fact that you’ve been bothering Miss Jordan. If you have a legitimate reason to see her, then spill it or leave.”
Mr. Forno cleared his throat. “This is a matter of a delicate nature. We, uh, prefer to speak to Miss Jordan privately.”
“That’s up to Miss Jordan,” Benjamin said.
“I’d like Mr. Garner to remain,” she said. “Whatever you say to me, you can say in front of him.”
Mr. Shaw sighed. “Then, sir, we must request that you sign a confidentiality agreement.”
“I’m not signing anything,” Benjamin said. “You’re in my house and you’re wasting my employee’s time and mine, too.”
Mr. Shaw looked nervous and perplexed. “Then I must beg of you to keep what we are about to tell you in the strictest confidence.”
Benjamin lifted one shoulder in halfhearted agreement. “Still waiting.”
Mr. Forno waved his hand. “Allow me to introduce ourselves, Mr. Garner. I am Paul Forno and this is my associate, Gerald Shaw, with the House of Devereaux. Perhaps we should sit down.”
Impatience simmering from Benjamin, he sat down. The others followed.
“As I said, we are representatives of the House of Devereaux,” the man began.
“What is that?” Benjamin asked.
Mr. Shaw blinked. “The royal House of Devereaux. The ruling family of the country of Chantaine.”
“Never heard of it,” Benjamin said.
Mr. Forno looked at Coco and she shrugged. “Sorry. Neither have I.”
“Oh, my,” Mr. Forno said. “Chantaine is a small, but beautiful island country off the coast of Italy. The Devereau family has ruled the country for centuries.”
“And what does this have to do with Coco?”
Mr. Forno sighed. “Your birth mother was Ava London. She had a long-term relationship with Prince Edward of Chantaine and you are—” He cleared his throat. “A product of that relationship.”
Coco frowned, blinking at the man’s announcement. Her birth mother? Her birth father? After all these years, she would learn who they were? She shook her head in amazement. “Are you saying that Ava London and Prince Edward are my biological parents?”
“Yes, they are,” he said.
She was so stunned she couldn’t comprehend it all. “My father is a prince?”
“Yes, he was,” Mr. Forno said.
“Was?” she echoed, her heart racing. “Oh, my goodness! Is he alive? Is my birth mother alive?”
“Unfortunately, no. His Royal Highness passed away several years ago, and his son, Stefan, has since ascended the throne. Your birth mother passed away just over a week ago,” he said.
“Oh,” she said, feeling a surge of sadness. Since her mother had died, she had felt so terribly alone. She’d had no close relatives, no siblings.
“What does this mean for Miss Jordan?” Benjamin asked.
“Well, the House of Devereaux wishes to extend an invitation for you to visit the country of Chantaine and also to meet the Devereaux family,” he said brightly.
“Visit Chantaine? But how?” Coco asked.
“The usual way these days,” Mr. Forno said, continuing to smile. “A transatlantic flight.”
Her mind whirling, she looked at Benjamin and she immediately knew she couldn’t go. He was counting on her. Emma was counting on her. She shook her head. “Oh, I couldn’t. I’ve just started working here and Emma needs me. Thank you for the invitation, though,” she said.
The men looked surprised. “You’re turning down the invitation to meet the Devereaux.”
“It’s not a good time for me or my employer,” she said, glancing at Benjamin, who was wearing an expression of shock.
“Are you sure about this?” he asked.
“Of course I’m sure. I’ve made a commitment. I have every intention of keeping it,” she said and stood. All three men were gaping at her as if she’d grown an extra head. Her mind was racing. She finally knew who her biological parents were. She also knew they hadn’t wanted her. She had a brother, a prince, who probably wasn’t thrilled with her existence. “Are there other Devereaux? Do I—” She stopped at the insane thought. They weren’t her full brothers and sisters, yet she couldn’t tamp down her curiosity. “Did Prince Edward have other children?”
“Yes, he did,” Mr. Shaw said. “There’s Prince Stefan, Princesses Valentina, Fredericka, Bridget, Phillipa and Prince Jacques.”
Mr. Forno and Mr. Shaw exchanged a look. “Prince Edward also fathered another child with your birth mother. A son.”
“Another,” she said, disbelief racing through her. “My, he was quite the busy one, wasn’t he?”
Mr. Shaw cleared his throat, but didn’t respond.
Benjamin gave a low laugh. “I have to agree.”
His chuckle distracted her from her own state of shock for just a few seconds. “Now, let me get this right. You’re telling me that my birth father has six—no, wait, seven—other children. And one of these is my full biological brother. I have a real brother? Where is he?” she wanted to know. “Who is he?”
“He’s currently in Australia. An engineer. He’s been quite difficult to reach,” Mr. Shaw said. “We aren’t at liberty to give any more information about him. However, the news could break at any moment.”
“News?” Benjamin repeated. “I thought you said this was a confidential matter.”
“It is, but we fear the news of Prince Edward’s newly discovered children could be leaked to the press any day,” Mr. Shaw said.
“That’s why you’ve been so determined to get to Coco,” Benjamin said. “Why you’ve invited her to Chantaine. Control Coco and you can control the spin.”
“It’s quite understandable that the Devereaux would like to have an opportunity to meet with Miss Jordan,” Mr. Shaw said in a snippy voice.
“Hmm. Well, this is a lot for Miss Jordan to take in, so I’m sure you don’t mind giving her some time to process it.”
“Of course,” Mr. Shaw said. “If she would just sign a release stating she won’t discuss the matter with the press—”
“She’s not signing anything without an attorney looking at it,” Benjamin said.
“Sir, it’s in her best interest not to discuss this publicly. Once the story breaks, she’ll be flooded with requests from the paparazzi. Signing this document will provide her with an easy excuse to avoid interviews.”
“She won’t need an excuse,” Benjamin said and rose to his feet. “Now, as long as she has your contact information, I think we’re done for the day.”
Both men appeared disappointed. “Call us if you change your mind about the release or visiting Chantaine,” Mr. Forno said to Coco.
Her mind was reeling with all the information, and Benjamin was right. It was going to take some time for her to digest it. “I don’t think I’ll be changing my mind, but I have your phone number,” she said and watched as the two men walked out the front door.
She felt Benjamin’s gaze on her. “You okay?”
Not wanting to appear as rattled as she felt,
she lifted her chin. “Of course I’m okay. The news is a bit bizarre, but I’ve always known I was adopted. I also knew that neither of my birth parents wanted to meet me. Now I know why.”
Sarah walked into the room. “Are they gone? Good. I was in the middle of placing my grocery order. Do you mind taking the baby?” she asked.
“Of course not,” Coco said, automatically holding out her hands for Emma.
Sarah quickly walked away and Coco caught a whiff of why the housekeeper was eager to have Coco take Emma. “Someone needs a change,” she said and tapped Emma on her nose. “Excuse me. Duty calls.”
“Just a minute,” Benjamin said.
“Trust me. Waiting will just make this worse,” she said and headed down the hallway toward the stairs. She heard his footsteps behind her as she made her way to the nursery.
Feeling Benjamin’s presence behind her, she quickly changed the messy diaper and picked up the baby. Coco turned to face him. “Thank you for being with me during the announcement.”
“I’m not sure you realize what an impact this could have on you,” he said. “Your father was a prince. It’s possible you have an inheritance. Hell, in a way, you’re a princess,” he said, with a hint of horror in his eyes.
Coco scoffed and jiggled Emma as she fussed at the sight of Benjamin. “Oh, that’s ridiculous. I’m no princess, that’s for sure. I’m sure there’s no inheritance for me. They would have mentioned that right off the bat,” she said and took in his doubtful expression. “Wouldn’t they? After all, I’m illegitimate. They’ve probably got all that sort of thing covered. I can’t believe Edward was the first man in the Devereau family to spread his seed. I mean, some men just can’t keep it zipped and—”
She stopped when she realized Benjamin might construe her words as criticism of him. “I mean, he fathered, or sired, eight children. That’s different than one or two or—”
“It’s okay. Let me know when you want to get in touch with the Devereaux,” he said.
“When?” she said. “That will never happen. They don’t really want me. Their father never wanted me, either.” She suddenly felt vulnerable because she’d been so sure before that she was alone in the world. She’d coached herself to believe that she would be okay. Now she could hardly believe what she’d just been told—at the same time, she sensed that her newfound family wouldn’t welcome her. “I have enough going on in my life. I don’t need to—”
“You’ll change your mind,” he said.
She scowled at him. “You can’t know that.”
He hooked his thumbs in his pockets. “I know you will. At some point, at some time, you’re going to want to meet those brothers and sisters. Anyone would want to know their relatives, especially if they thought they had none. I would,” he said.
“Would you?” she asked.
“Yeah,” he said. “I’ve got three brothers. Two in town and one up in Claytor Junction, Colorado. They’ve always been important to me. More so after my dad died and my mom took off for Costa Rica.”
“Costa Rica?” she echoed.
Benjamin shrugged. “Mom always wanted to travel. Except for a few vacations, she just waited until after my dad died to do most of it. It’s her way, she’s running. One day, she’ll stop.”
Coco gnawed the inside of her lip. “You don’t resent her? Don’t you wish she was here?”
Benjamin laughed. “Hell, no. She needed to go. My dad’s death was hard on her. I’m glad she had the guts to get out of town. Everyone has to mourn their loss in their own way.”
“Is that why you got involved with Brooke?”
He paused a long time then sighed. “Maybe. I had to be strong for a while there. None of my brothers wanted to take over the ranch and it was going to be a big job.”
“Why didn’t they want to help?” she asked.
“They don’t have ranching blood in them. One is a lawyer in town. One is an investment specialist. The other’s a computer specialist. That left me,” he said.
“I don’t know much about ranching, but it looks like you’re doing a pretty good job.”
He cracked a half grin. “Thanks. I am doing a pretty good job.”
Emma made an unhappy sound. “And if I can get my daughter to stop crying every time she sees me, I’ll be in good shape.”
“You can start by taking off that hat,” she said.
“I don’t know if that makes a difference,” he said.
“Give it a try,” she said.
Sighing, he removed his hat.
Emma stared at him in silence.
“I can’t believe it’s the damn hat,” he said.
The baby extended her hand out to his face.
“Lean closer,” Coco said.
He slid her a doubtful glance, but bowed his head toward the baby. Emma gave a disapproving growl. Yet, the baby extended her hand to Benjamin’s chin.
“Ah!” Emma said.
“Improvement,” Coco said, unable to withhold a trace of victory in her voice.
Enduring the baby’s probing strokes across his mouth and chin, he grimaced. “That’s a matter of opinion.”
“She’s not screaming,” Coco said.
“True,” he said, gumming at Emma’s tiny finger.
The baby’s eyes widened and she pulled back her hand.
“Don’t scare her,” Coco scolded.
“How ya’ doin’, darlin’?” he asked Emma.
Her rapt gaze held his and she waved her hand at his face. “Ah!”
“Ah!” he echoed and caught her hand within his. “You’re my girl. Don’t ever forget that,” he said and kissed her hand. “Ever,” he said.
Emma kicked her feet and stared into his eyes, but for the first time in forever, she didn’t scream. Maybe Coco was right. Maybe the hat had frightened her. More important, maybe Coco was right and he needed to chill and just love his child. That assignment could be a bit more difficult than he planned.
* * *
Over the next few days, Coco tried to ignore the new information she’d received about her birth family. Her birth parents had never wanted her. Her half brothers and sisters weren’t truly interested in her. If so, wouldn’t one of them have come to meet her? And what about her full brother? He apparently couldn’t give a flying fig about her existence.
The knowledge stung, but after her father had died, a part of Coco had always been fearful. One day, her mother would die. She knew that one day she would be all alone in the world. For a while she’d believed that was a long way off, but then her mother had gotten cancer and everything had gone downhill.
Staying with her mom during her last days had been the most important, yet the hardest thing she’d ever done. Coco had hoped it would give her peace, but since her mother had passed, she’d felt restless. She’d wake up in the middle of the night in a panic.
Taking the job with Benjamin and Emma had given her a strange sort of relief. Emma had immediately responded to her as if there were already a bond between the two of them. Even though Emma was jittery, there was a sense of calm to the daily routine. Although Emma screamed and cried, she also smiled and cuddled. Something about the baby soothed Coco’s sadness. She wanted to help heal Emma’s fear. In the short time she’d spent at the Garner ranch, she’d grown extremely protective of Emma and was determined to bring peace between the baby and her daddy.
At this point in her life, nothing else was more important.
Each hour, however, she felt herself grow a little more curious about the royal family. In her few spare moments, she checked out the Devereau family and Chantaine online. Most of the siblings looked snooty to her—except for the one with curly hair named Phillipa. Coco was surprised to discover that one of the princesses—Valentina—actually lived in Texas with her husband and daugh
ter.
Her half sister was in the same state. She could actually drive to meet her, she thought. That said, Princess Valentina might have no interest in meeting her. In spite of the fact that she insisted she had no expectations of her new semisiblings, Coco felt restless day and night. When she went to bed, her mind whirled with possibilities. In the deepest, darkest part of her, Coco wanted family—sisters, a mother, a father, cousins, aunts, uncles. Her adoptive mother and father were dead. Her birth mother and father were dead. She’d thought she was all alone. Was she? Was she crazy to think she wasn’t alone?
* * *
The next day, Coco strapped Emma to her chest and took a fishing pole and tackle box out to one of the streams on the Garner ranch. In Texas, people took their infants out to do things that celebrated everything great about the state. That meant the general population wouldn’t be surprised to see an infant at a professional ball game, fishing or even horseback riding, with their mama or daddy, of course. Thinking back to all the fishing trips she’d taken with her daddy before she’d turned ten, she cast her line into the stream, sat on the shore and waited. And waited. And waited. Then she got a bite and reeled in a medium-sized trout. She threw him back and cast her line again.
Early on, she’d learned that waiting was a big part of the game. Her father had made that easier with stories he’d told her—stories he’d clearly conjured. She reconstructed one of those stories and repeated it to Emma, who promptly fell asleep.
Hey, it was a cool story even if it made Emma snooze. Coco caught another three fish that she tossed back into the stream. One of Benjamin’s workers stopped by to chat with her for a few minutes, and by late afternoon, she felt great. All her worries had disappeared. She gave Emma a bottle. The sun was shining on her head, she was sweating just a little bit and she began tramping back to the house.
* * *
Back at the house, Benjamin paced his office. Coco and Emma were gone. Coco had told Sarah she was going fishing, but Benjamin hadn’t gotten around to showing her the real fishing spots on the ranch. So how the hell had she gone fishing?
