The unfairness of the accusation froze her to the bone. “No! That’s not true. I’ve been here for you. I’ve been good to you and to Kelly. I don’t deserve this.”
“What made you finally want to tell me? Do you need money?”
She felt as if he’d slapped her. “How dare you say that to me?”
“I can say anything I damn well please. When I think about all the times I’ve listened to your advice. Like you knew what the hell you were talking about. Like you weren’t in it for yourself.”
He moved toward her, which made her walked backward until she bumped into the stove. He stopped less than a foot from her and loomed over her.
“You’re nothing but a liar, and if you think for one second you can use this against me, you’re wrong. I don’t care what it takes, but you’ll never get a piece of me or my daughter again.”
Horrified didn’t begin to describe what she was feeling. What about their baby? What about her feelings and his? He cared about her—she’d been sure of it. How could that have died so quickly?
“You’re wrong,” she said. “About me, about all of it.”
“Get out.”
He turned and walked out of the kitchen. Francesca stared after him. She didn’t know what to do, and then it didn’t matter because she couldn’t be in this house one second longer. She ran to the foyer, where she found her purse by the front door. After picking it up, she raced outside and vowed never to return.
• • •
Kelly carefully held on to the stair railing. Her ankle throbbed, but that wasn’t the reason she couldn’t seem to move. Nothing was right. Maybe nothing would ever be right again.
She’d started to come downstairs to apologize to Sam and Francesca. She’d wanted to make everything right. But instead she’d heard them fighting. It had been bad. Way worse than anything that had happened with Tanya and her boyfriends.
Francesca was pregnant. Kelly had figured out that much, and if Francesca was going to have a baby, then she didn’t need Kelly to be a part of her family. Not when she was going to have a child of her own. And Sam had thrown Francesca out. Which meant they weren’t going to get married. And if Sam found someone else, she might be as horrible as Raoul. He might decide that his new fiancée wouldn’t want a twelve-year-old hanging around, and then he would send her away.
He would send her away, and she didn’t have anywhere else to go.
20
Sam didn’t sleep. He spent the hours until midnight pacing downstairs, then around one in the morning he started walking the grounds. By the time the sun came up, he was exhausted, sore, and not completely convinced he’d handled the situation with Francesca as well as he could have.
She’d lied. He was still having trouble reconciling what she’d done with the woman he’d grown to love. If she had been anyone else, he would have dismissed her from his life and never thought of her again. That’s what he’d done with Tanya, with the other women he’d met. Even with his mother, after she’d died. He turned his back on bitter memories and had vowed never to make that mistake again.
Until now he’d succeeded. He’d kept his relationships superficial. No one had gotten under his skin, no one had mattered, and no one had betrayed him.
He’d wanted more of the same with Francesca, but that hadn’t happened. Kelly had shown up, throwing his life the kind of curve designed to show the measure of his character. He figured he’d succeeded as much as he’d failed with her. And any part of his success was due to Francesca.
Damn her hide, but she’d made him look at things he hadn’t wanted to see. He and Kelly might have a long way to go before they had something close to a normal father-daughter relationship, but if not for Francesca, they would still be spending all their time screaming at each other.
Francesca had taught him to listen, to be calm, to look at Kelly’s side of things. Francesca had given him hope that he could learn how to be a good father. She’d made him believe in himself, in her, in them.
He’d fallen in love with her. Only to find out she was just like all the rest of them.
But he couldn’t get his mind around that last thing. That she was like Tanya. Because Tanya had never cared about anyone but herself. And his mother had only been interested in manipulating those around her, using whatever means she could to manage the outcome. He’d known women who were in it for the money, the house, the family business, or the name. So what was Francesca in it for? A baby?
He shook his head. No. He would bet his soul that she hadn’t gotten pregnant on purpose. They’d used protection and it had failed. So he wasn’t angry because of the baby, but because—
He stopped in the middle of the garden, cold, damp with dew, and barely able to see straight. The first fingers of pink light had barely crept over the house. They were going to have a baby.
He’d heard the words when she’d said them, but he hadn’t internalized them. Not until that second. A baby. An infant.
His brain filled with pictures of diapers and blankets, of rocking chairs and car seats. Of a baby smile, a toddler, of a first step, a first word. All the things he’d missed with Kelly. No, not missed. All the things that had been stolen from him.
He clenched his hands into fists and raised his face to the sky. If there was one woman in the world he would have been willing to have a child with, Francesca was the one. He loved her. Had loved her. And she’d betrayed him.
Why had she kept it a secret? Five weeks. Not a couple of days or even one week. Five. She’d made love with him, knowing she carried his child. She’d laughed with him, smiled at him, held him close, all the while living a lie.
How could he reconcile what he wanted with what he knew?
There weren’t any answers. At least not here in the garden. Tired beyond words, he headed for the house and walked into the kitchen. Maybe a couple hours of sleep would make things more clear. Maybe he would wake up and find out this was all just a bad dream and that it was still okay to trust and give his heart.
• • •
Didn’t anybody on the planet carry cash anymore? Kelly wondered angrily as she tried yet another key in the door of Security International. The third one worked, the lock giving way with a loud click.
It was nearly six-thirty on Friday morning. She figured she had a couple of hours before office staff started showing up, but she wasn’t taking any chances. Not when there was so much on the line.
Sam had been up all night. She knew because she kept checking his room. Finally, just after dawn, she’d heard him go into his room. He’d been snoring when she left fifteen minutes later.
She really hated that she’d had to come to the office first, but when she’d gone through his wallet around midnight, she’d found all of twenty dollars. Not nearly enough to allow her to run away and not ever be found. Which meant she needed more cash, and she knew only one place to get it.
After carefully closing and locking the front door behind her, she made her way to Sam’s office. There she went through the key ritual again until she found the one that unlocked his desk. She pulled out the key that would open the cabinet holding the petty cash box and crept down the hall.
She didn’t want to steal. Not really. But what choice did she have? It wasn’t like she had her own credit card anymore. And not having a credit card had meant having to look up the bus routes and then take the right one to get her to the office. She’d lost a lot of time. But she had a plan. Once she had the money, she would take a bus to San Francisco. She figured a bus was really safe because Sam would assume she was taking a plane. While he was busy checking first-class reservations, she would disappear into the city.
She walked into the storeroom and opened the cabinet. She was in the process of counting out the bills when a hand dropped onto her shoulder. She screamed and the money went flying. When she turned, she found her great-grandfather standing right behind her.
“You’re up early,” he said.
She opened he
r mouth, closed it, then burst into tears.
• • •
Sam woke at eight-thirty. A shower and two cups of coffee later he still felt like roadkill. By nine-fifteen he decided he’d better check on Kelly. She’d been hurting last night, and he felt badly for not talking to her at the time. Francesca’s announcement had thrown him.
As he climbed the stairs, he wondered how he was going to tell Kelly about the baby. Maybe he should wait on that until he knew what was going to happen. They could discuss it—
She was gone.
Sam stood inside her room and stared at the neatly made bed. There weren’t that many things missing, but he knew in his gut that she’d left. Run away.
Panic didn’t begin to describe what he was feeling. His daughter, he thought frantically. Where would she go?
Just in case his gut was wrong, he carefully searched the house, then checked his wallet. His credit cards were all there, but the last of his cash was missing.
He grabbed the phone on his nightstand and punched in Francesca’s number. A thick, tear-filled voice answered.
“Hello?”
“Is she with you?”
Francesca cleared her throat. “What? Sam?”
“Is Kelly with you?”
“No. Of course not. What happened?”
“She’s missing. She ran away. I was up all night, so it must have been sometime this morning.”
“No. Oh, Sam, she can’t be out on her own. What are you going to do?”
“Find her.”
“Do you want me to help?”
Frustration, fear, and the need to get moving steeled his resolve. “I don’t want anything from you,” he said before hanging up.
* * *
“You’re all fired,” Sam announced at noon the following day. “Every single one of you is fired. We’re the most successful security company on the West Coast, and you’re telling me we can’t find one twelve-year-old girl?”
The portion of his security staff in town gathered in the main conference room. Sam paced in front of the dry erase boards. Gabriel sat in a chair by the door.
Jason ignored the news of his job loss. “We’ve checked all points of departure, boss. Airports, train stairs, bus depots. We’ve talked to cab companies, limo companies. Hell, even car-rental companies in case she had fake ID.”
Sam glared at him, not bothering to point out the obvious—that Kelly was twelve and unlikely to know how to drive a car.
“No one’s seen her. There aren’t any clues.” The man shifted uneasily in his seat. “It’s like she vanished.”
Sam turned his back on his staff. “Get out,” he said wearily. “All of you, get the hell out.”
There was movement behind him, then silence. He turned back to find Jason and Gabriel still in the room. He crossed to the table and sank down next to Jason.
“Now what?” he asked quietly.
Jason looked as tired and worried as Sam felt. “It’s time to talk to our liaison at the police department.”
Sam didn’t even want to admit defeat—to go to the police when he knew his people could work faster by avoiding all that messy legal protocol. But never had he felt the sharp blade of failure more acutely than today.
He stared at his friend. “We have to find her, Jason. Dear God, she’s out there by herself. Anything could happen.”
Gabriel excused himself and walked wearily from the room. His limp had gotten more pronounced over the past twenty-four hours. He was showing his age.
Sam and Jason made up a new list of plans. When they were finished, Sam covered his face with his hands.
“This is all my fault,” he said. “The last thing I said to Kelly…” Just thinking about it made him sick to his stomach. “She can’t be gone. She just can’t. I missed so much with her. All those early years. I can never get them back, but I want the future we were supposed to have. I want to watch her grow up and teach her to play chess. I want to be there on her first date.” He dropped his hands. “And scare the shit out the guy.”
Jason gave him a weary smile. “You’ll do a good job at that.”
Sam nodded. “I want to help her pick out a college.” His throat got tight. “Dammit, Jason, I just want to hold her in my arms.”
“Daddy?”
The soft voice, the single word, made his heart stop in mid-beat. He turned toward the door and saw Kelly standing just inside the conference room.
A thousand thoughts flooded his brain, but he couldn’t focus on a single one. Instead he could only stand and move around the table. Then Kelly was running toward him.
She threw herself against him just as he grabbed her and pulled her close. She was warm, alive, breathing, and crying.
“You’re okay,” he said, unable to process the information. “You’re here.”
“I’ve been here the whole time.”
Sam stroked her hair, her back, then touched her chin so she looked up at him. Her green eyes were wet with tears, but still precious to him.
“You’re all right?”
She sniffed, then nodded. “I was running away. I came here to get cash and Gabriel found me.”
Sam couldn’t feel anything but happiness. He glanced over her to where Jason sat grinning like a fool. “You know about this?”
“No way. The old man pulled one over on both of us.”
Sam remembered his grandfather showing up within minutes of being called. He’d insisted on searching the house while Sam had been on the phone calling staff members. No doubt the wily old bastard had used the time to slip the keys back into place. Sam had never noticed they were gone.
He sighed. “No one bothered to check the office, right?”
Jason shook his head. “Sorry, boss.”
He rose and left, just as Gabriel stepped into the room. The old man looked very pleased with himself. Sam noticed the limp didn’t seem so bad now.
“You fooled us all,” Sam said, too relieved to be angry.
“I only wanted to fool you.”
Sam sat down and pulled Kelly onto his lap. “I’m sorry about what I said the other night. About no one wanting to be with you. Not only was that mean of me, it was wrong. I’m so sorry.”
“It’s okay.” She wrapped her thin arms around his neck.
“Kelly, you mean the world to me. I know things haven’t been easy, but I think we’re making progress. Good progress. I can’t—” He couldn’t imagine life without her. He cleared his throat. “I love you.”
She straightened. “Really?”
“With my whole heart. I’d be destroyed if you left.”
Her eyes widened. “So you don’t want to send me away?”
“No. Not ever.” He took one of her hands in his. “I can honestly tell you that never crossed my mind. Not even once.” He gave her a slight smile. “You’re stuck with me, kid.”
“That’s okay.” She looked at him, ducked her head, then blushed. “I called you Daddy before.”
“I know. I liked it.”
She sighed, then smiled. “Me, too.”
She flung herself against him and he held her close. As he rubbed her back, he glared at his grandfather.
“You and I are going to have words later, old man.”
Gabriel shrugged. “It was for a good cause.”
“You nearly gave me a heart attack. I know you needed to let Kelly know how much she mattered to me, and I’m glad she got the message, but you shouldn’t have carried things on for so long. When I thought Kelly was out there by herself…” He shook his head, not wanting to think about it.
Gabriel chuckled. “Sam, you’re such a horse’s ass.”
Sam stiffened, Kelly gasped and sat up, but Gabriel didn’t stop talking.
“You think I did this for Kelly, when the truth is, I did it for you. You’re the one who needed to figure out how much she mattered.”
Sam glared at him. “Why you meddling, old—” He stopped and leaned back in the chair. Well, hell. Gabrie
l had taught him a lesson and a half. The last twenty-seven hours had been a living nightmare he would never forget. If that’s what it had taken to make him realize how much he loved his daughter, then maybe it had been worth it.
“I don’t approve of your methodology,” Sam muttered as he touched Kelly’s cheek. She smiled at him.
Gabriel settled into a chair. “That’s fine with me. I’ve always been a cowboy at heart, doing my own thing.” He nodded at Kelly. “She told me a real interesting story about you and Francesca. So you’ve got another one on the way, huh?”
Gabriel sounded more proud than surprised, which was fine, because Sam was shocked enough for both of them.
“You knew?” he asked Kelly.
She nodded. “I was coming downstairs to apologize to Francesca for what I said and to you for taking your credit card.”
Gabriel chuckled. “You’ve got to admit, the kid is damned resourceful.”
Sam ignored him. “And you heard about the baby?”
“Uh-huh.” She wiped her cheeks. “That’s why I ran away. Francesca was always the one making things right with you and me. I’d been hoping the two of you would get together or something. But when I heard about the baby, I knew she wouldn’t want me anymore. Not when she was going to have one of her own.” New tears spilled down her cheeks. “Then when you told her to get out, I figured you weren’t going to get married and that I wasn’t going to be allowed to stay.”
“Oh, honey.”
Gabriel making a tisking sound. “You’re going to have some groveling to do, boy.”
Before Sam could respond, there was a loud commotion outside.
Gabriel glanced at his watch. “Right on time.”
“Who is that?” Kelly asked.
“The Marcelli family. I called them when you went missing.” The old man chuckled. “They’ve been worried and wanted to know what to do. I suggested they show up here this morning.” He winked at Sam. “I figured you’d be at your breaking point about now, and Kelly and I would take pity on you.”
The Sassy One Page 27
