“No, because I don’t want food on her teeth overnight. She’s learned to drink from a sippy cup and I only use a bottle when traveling. I told your daughter the next time she bites the top off the nipple it will be her last bottle.”
“So, she’s my daughter when she does something naughty, and I assume she’s your daughter when she’s a good girl.”
A warm smile spread across Crystal’s face like the rising sun. “You learn fast, don’t you?”
Joseph stood, cupping a hand under Crystal’s elbow to assist her in standing. “I need to learn one more thing.”
“What’s that?”
“How to put on a diaper.”
Crystal blew him a kiss. “Let’s go, Daddy. Class is in session.”
Chapter 15
“Is this some kind of sick joke?”
Joseph knew he’d shocked his mother when she stared at him as if he’d lost his mind. He slowly shook his head. “No, Mom, it’s not a joke. I just found out today that I have a daughter.”
Raquel Cole-Wilson buried her face in her hands, her shoulders shaking as she tried not to break down. “Why? How?”
Moving closer to his mother on the love seat in the family room, Joseph draped an arm around her shoulders. He told her what Crystal had revealed about her atypical pregnancy. “If I hadn’t walked into that terminal, I would’ve spent the rest of my life not knowing that I had a daughter.”
Sniffling, Raquel pressed her fingertips to her eyes. “Thank goodness you did. Now, when are we going to meet your little Merry?”
“Who are we going to meet?”
Joseph stood up when his father walked into the room, giving him a rough embrace. “My daughter.”
“Your what!”
Whenever he looked at his father, Joseph knew what he would look like in another thirty years. Those who saw them together claimed he was Joseph Sr.’s younger clone.
Raquel patted the cushion beside her. “Sit down, Joseph,” she said in Spanish, “and let our son explain to you what he discovered earlier today.”
Joseph watched his father’s expression change from shock to amusement. “I know you guys have been bitchin’ about wanting grandchildren, so you’ve got your wish. It didn’t happen the way any of us would’ve liked or wanted, but what’s important is that she’s here.”
Joseph Sr. grunted. “I can’t believe you got involved with Judge Eaton’s niece. When are you getting married?”
“Please, Dad. Don’t get ahead of yourself.”
“You’re not going to marry her?”
“Don’t put words in my mouth, Dad!”
Raquel placed a hand on her husband’s fisted one. “M’ijo, please. You have to let your children handle their own affairs.”
“And don’t forget, m’ija, that we didn’t raise our sons to be baby daddies.”
Joseph pushed to his feet. “Crystal and I have yet to discuss our future, but in the meantime if you want to meet your granddaughter, then please let me know.”
Raquel stood. “What about tomorrow?” She looked at her husband, then her son. “I’ll get Eduardo to cover for me,” she said quickly.
An inner voice told Joseph his mother would not wait until Monday. It was the only day in the week when Marimba closed for business. “I’ll call Crystal to let her know you’re coming. What about you, Dad?”
“I’m coming, too.”
“Good. I’ll let you know what time I’ll pick you up.” He kissed his mother and then rested a hand on his father’s head. “Buenas noches.”
He left the house through a side door and to his truck parked in the circular driveway. As soon as he stared the engine, Joseph activated the Bluetooth feature, tapping the screen for Diego’s cell. “Yo, primo. I’m calling to tell you that I’m taking the next two weeks off.”
“What’s wrong?”
Joseph smiled. “Nothing’s wrong. In fact, everything is wonderful.”
“Is this about a woman?”
His smile faded. “How did you know?”
“Come on, José. You’ve been moping around, working twice as hard and putting longer hours than necessary for more than a year. At first I thought it was because you wanted to take over as CEO now rather than later, but when I asked you about it you said you were in no hurry to run ColeDiz. That’s when I figured it had to be a woman. Am I right or am I wrong?”
His smile was back. “You’re right.” Joseph had no intention of telling Diego about Crystal, because once his parents met her, the entire Cole grapevine would explode.
Diego’s laugh filled the truck. “Take all the time you need, primo.”
“How about six weeks?” Joseph’s query was followed by a swollen silence. “Diego?”
“I don’t have a problem with six weeks. Six weeks brings us to the end of the year. Are you trying to say we should plan on a New Year’s Eve wedding celebration?”
“No, I’m not.” Joseph wanted nothing more than to exchange vows with Crystal with friends and family members in attendance, yet even if he proposed, he wasn’t certain she would accept. The only thing that was a certainty was his love for her.
Joseph stared through the windshield, driving along streets he navigated without concentrating. He decelerated and then maneuvered onto the road where his new home was nearing completion.
Construction had been delayed several times when either the materials the contractor ordered from Europe were unavailable or the inventory wasn’t enough to complete a floor or the tiles for the swimming pool. Joseph hadn’t put his condo on the market, wanting to do so just before he was scheduled to move into the house to list it with a Realtor.
He stopped and stared at the house’s subtle Mediterranean-styled architecture with ocean views. His landscape architect cousin, Regina Spencer, and her daughter, Eden, had drawn up the plans to design the grounds with tropical landscaping and formal hedges. The roof, made up of French clay tiles with a foam setting, made it more resistant to hurricane-force wind.
Putting the truck in gear, Joseph drove the short distance to the apartment in a high-rise he’d called home for the past decade. He wasn’t superstitious by nature, yet he could dismiss the fact that the completion of his home coincided with his reuniting with Crystal. Call it coincidence, serendipity, chance, providence or good karma. It was all good.
* * *
Crystal exchanged a smile with Joseph when Raquel sat Merry on her knee and sang the “Itsy-Bitsy Spider,” while at the same simulating a spider crawling up her arm. It had taken the toddler a while to warm up to her paternal grandmother until Raquel launched into the coquí song Joseph had distracted her with the night before.
Dr. Joseph Cole-Wilson appeared visibly stunned by the existence of the little girl, and had spent the past half hour staring at her.
Rising to her feet, Crystal nodded to Joseph. “Joseph, will you please help in the kitchen?”
She now felt comfortable enough to leave Merry alone to bond with her grandparents. She’d felt apprehensive meeting Joseph’s parents for the first time, while at the same time she welcomed their presence because it helped her not dwell on her father’s surgical procedure.
The hospital had promised to call her once he was transferred to ICU. She wanted to see him even if sedated to reassure herself he had survived hours of surgery.
Joseph took her hand, pulling her into the kitchen, and covered her mouth with his in a passionate kiss that stole her breath. “You don’t know how long I’ve wanted to do that,” he explained, staring deeply into her startled gaze.
Crystal’s curved her arms under his shoulders, holding on to him like a drowning swimmer. “It’s my fault for not trusting—”
“Don’t you dare apologize,” he warned, cutting her off and kissing the end of her nose. “You d
id what you believed you had to do, so the issue is moot. Your only concern should be making certain your father regains his health.”
She rose on tiptoe, burying her face against his warm throat. “I spent the night tossing and turning because I couldn’t stop thinking about Daddy. I...” Her words trailed off when the phone rang. Pulling out of Joseph’s embrace, she picked up the receiver on the wall phone. Crystal went completely still when she listened to the woman asking that she come to the hospital to straighten out a familial conflict. Her father’s fiancée was making a scene because it was against hospital policy to give someone other than family the status on a patient. “I’ll be there as soon as possible.” She hung up and shook her head.
“What’s the matter?” Joseph asked, seeing the distress on her face.
“I have to go to the hospital. My father’s fiancée is acting up because they won’t give her any information on him. I need to use your truck. Wait. Who’s going to look after Merry?” Jasmine had gone into the gallery to meet with a client.
“Calm down, sweetie. I’ll drive you to the hospital while my parents take care of Merry.”
She shook her head. “I can’t dump her on them.”
“It has nothing to do with dumping. They’re her grandparents, Crystal.”
Pressing her fingertips to her temples, Crystal attempted to massage away the tension tightening around her forehead. She’d found herself between a rock and a hard place. She had enough to worry about without having to deal with a woman who thought nothing of going off on strangers.
“Okay. Please let’s go so I can get this over with.”
* * *
Crystal didn’t know what to expect from her father’s fiancée, but it wasn’t the tiny woman wearing body-hugging designer jeans while teetering in five-inch, seven-hundred-dollar pumps. A thick fringe of fake lashes obscured her vision so much she had to tilt her chin to see. The size of the diamond solitaire on her left hand screamed six figures.
However, Crystal could see why Raleigh had been attracted to her. Her smooth tawny brown complexion, doll-like features and short, coiffed black hair made her a standout.
“Ms. Davis, only Raleigh’s immediate family members are allowed to see him while he’s in ICU. Once he’s out you’ll be able to see him.”
Tonya gave Crystal a once-over look and then wrinkled her nose as if smelling something malodorous. “I am family. Leigh and I are going to be married on Christmas Eve.”
“It’s not Christmas Eve and you’re not his wife.”
“Look, bitch!” Tonya screamed, garnering the attention of those sitting at the visitors’ desk. “No one in this hospital is going to stop me from seeing my fiancé. Leigh told me all about you. How you were always jealous of his wives, and that you wouldn’t have anything to do with them. Well, let me school you about Tonya Davis. I always get my way, so I want you to put my name on the damn list before I sue you and this hospital.”
Crystal struggled to control her temper. “If you don’t get out of my face, this bitch will forget her home training and make you regret waking up this morning.”
Tonya fluttered her lashes. “Don’t you dare threaten me.”
“And don’t you dare try to intimidate me,” Crystal countered. “Now please leave this hospital before I have security escort you out.”
“Hey, baby. Are you all right?”
Crystal turned around to find Joseph standing a few feet away. She didn’t know how much he’d overheard. “My father’s fiancée was just leaving. She was under the impression that she’s immediate family, but I think we’ve cleared up her misunderstanding. Right, Ms. Davis?”
“Wrong, bitch!” Tonya pointed an air-brushed nail at Joseph. “And who the hell are you?”
Joseph gave her a feral grin. “You don’t want to know. Now, if you continue to insult my client I’ll be forced to sue you for defamation of character.”
Tonya pushed out her lips. “You don’t scare me, slick.”
Joseph signaled to a security guard who’d come to check out the commotion. “My client’s father is currently undergoing heart surgery, and this woman isn’t on the list of authorized visitors. Could you please escort her off the premises?”
The guard crooked a finger at Tonya. “Let’s go, miss.” Tonya wasn’t given a choice when she strutted across the lobby and through the sliding doors.
Curving an arm around Crystal’s waist, Joseph led her out of the hospital to the nearby parking lot. “I can’t believe your father left your mother for that.”
Crystal grunted under her breath. “She looks good compared to some of the others. However, what she has is less class than his other wives, excluding my mother, of course. I talked Mother into agreeing to let Daddy convalesce at her house, but there’s no way she’s going to let Tonya Davis cross her threshold.”
“The fact that your mother lives in a private, gated community will definitely keep her at a distance.”
Crystal wanted to agree with Joseph, yet she knew Tonya wasn’t going to sit around and wait for Raleigh Eaton to come back to her. “I have to rent a car because I don’t want to rely on you and Mother to chauffer me around.”
“I can arrange for you use one of ColeDiz’s company cars.”
“I don’t work for ColeDiz.”
Opening the passenger-side door, Joseph waited for Crystal to sit before rounding the vehicle to sit beside her. “I’ll drive the company car and you can use this tank.”
She gave him a smile. “That sounds like a plan.”
* * *
Crystal pressed her nose to the oval window of the sleek corporate jet, watching the snowy New York State landscape come closer with the aircraft’s descent. She was returning to New York after five weeks, not as a resident but a vacationer.
The days and nights had passed so quickly Crystal had to check the calendar to verify the date. Her father appeared quite content living and recuperating under the roof of his first wife. He cooperated with his therapist and dietitian and slowly resumed many of the activities he’d enjoyed before the heart attack. Raleigh enjoyed reading to his granddaughter, swimming in the in-ground pool, while keeping in contact with his many clients via the internet.
After several volatile telephone conversations with Tonya, he called off their engagement and Crystal celebrated in private because the toxic relationship had begun to adversely affect his convalescence.
Every weekend, she and Jasmine entertained Eatons, whether from New Jersey, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Washington, D.C., Kentucky, South Carolina or Texas, who’d come to visit with Raleigh.
And as promised Joseph took a leave of absence from ColeDiz, spending every spare moment with Merry, who reveled in her new mode of independent locomotion. Crystal noticed she was getting taller and slimmer and adding words to her ever-increasing vocabulary. She followed Joseph around as if he were the Pied Piper, and a few times Crystal felt as if she were losing her baby to a man she’d come to love beyond description.
Joseph had surprised her one day when he suggested going for an afternoon drive. She knew when he maneuvered up an unpaved path to a newly constructed house that he wanted her to see the inside of his home. He hadn’t asked her to decorate the mansion again, yet she knew it was what he wanted. Their relationship had changed from former lovers to friends and parents of a little girl.
Crystal didn’t know what she would’ve done if Joseph hadn’t been there to see to Merry’s needs, because there were times when she’d experienced emotional overload. The home health aide saw to Raleigh’s basic physical demands until he was able to shower and dress himself. A cleaning service came in twice a week to do housework, leaving Crysal the jobs of making beds, putting up loads of laundry and cooking. Even with Jasmine taking time off and occasionally closing the gallery when her assistant wasn’t available, Cry
stal had assumed the full responsibility of running a household.
In the past it had only been herself, and then as a stay-at-home mother with Merry. Her days were very structured because she was able to accomplish many of her tasks around her daughter’s nap time, but all that had changed since returning to Florida.
* * *
Two nights ago, Joseph had come into her bedroom and announced he was taking her away for a week. He’d made arrangements with Jasmine and hired a housekeeper to take care of everything during their absence.
When asked about Merry, he said Raquel would share in babysitting their granddaughter. Both grandmothers soothed her fear of leaving her child for the first time, and Crystal reluctantly agreed to get away and relax.
Now her ears popped from the loss of cabin pressure as the pilot brought the jet down smoothly on a private runway, taxiing until it came to a complete stop.
When she’d boarded the jet, a flight attendant informed her an onboard chef would offer breakfast as soon as they were airborne. Crystal got to see firsthand the exquisite service afforded anyone flying in the ColeDiz Gulfstream G650 business jet.
Joseph unbuckled his seat belt, stood up and extended his hand. “Let’s go, sweetie.”
Crystal slipped her arms into her ski jacket.
“Where are we going?” It seemed like the umpteenth time she’d asked Joseph that question, and his answer was always the same: You’ll see.
“We’re going to a cabin in the woods.”
She stared at his broad shoulders under a heavy fisherman’s knit sweater. “I’m not an outdoorsy girl, Joseph. I’ve never been one to rough it in the wilderness.”
“You won’t have to rough it. You’ll have all of the conveniences of home.”
Joseph shook the hand of the pilot. The flight attendant lowered the steps as the copilot gathered their luggage.
He descended the stairs, holding tightly on to Crystal as snowflakes swirled around them. The meteorologists had predicted snow, and thankfully they’d landed as it had begun.
Sweet Silver Bells Page 22
