A Very Private Merger

by Day Leclaire

  “Yes, ma’am. We received a delivery just yesterday.”

  “In that case, bring me one of Maybelle’s Bluebelles, otherwise I’ll never hear the end of it,” she ordered, referring to the pastry that was a house special. “In fact, bring some for the entire table, my treat.”

  “Yes, Miz Kincaid.” Jo’s fascinated gaze landed on Jack and clung, before reluctantly switching to Nikki. “And you, ma’am?”

  “Coffee, black.”

  Jack nodded. “The same.”

  Cutter spoke up for the first time, offering the waitress an easygoing smile. “Make that three.” He waited until she’d drifted out of hearing range before adding, “I hope you don’t mind that I tagged along. Considering the topic of conversation, I knew this would be difficult for Elizabeth.”

  “I’m glad you’re here,” Jack surprised them all by saying before meeting Elizabeth’s gaze. “And I apologize for causing you any more stress. I’m sure you’re aware that the police investigation has shifted recently and I’m now under suspicion for Reginald’s murder.”

  “I’m aware,” she said shortly, “though I’m not sure how that has anything to do with me.”

  “It doesn’t, but I’m hoping if I can gather as many facts about Dad—Reginald’s death as possible, I’ll be able to clear my name.”

  His slight stumble over his reference to his father didn’t go unnoticed. For an instant, Elizabeth stiffened then she shocked him by offering a quick glance of sympathy. “He was your father, Jack. You won’t upset or offend me by calling him that. You have as much claim on the word as any of my children.”

  For an instant, Jack closed his eyes. He hadn’t expected such graciousness from a woman he’d come to realize was the most wronged of any of them. Nor had he expected the wave of shame and contrition that flowed through him. As much as he loved and admired his mother, this was one area and one subject where they differed dramatically.

  And maybe it would help to say as much, to show the same graciousness that had been extended to him. “They both wronged you, Elizabeth. For what it’s worth, I’m sorry. He should have asked for a divorce before he ever approached my mother again. It’s what an honorable man would have done.”

  Elizabeth’s mouth trembled for a brief moment before she steadied it. “You’re quite right,” she whispered. “It would have been more honorable. Just as it would have been more honorable for me to have asked for that divorce three years ago when I found his will and discovered your existence.” Her mouth tightened. “And your mother’s. I suppose Reginald and I were both foolishly attempting to protect our children, when in truth they didn’t need our protection at all.”

  Cutter closed his hand over hers and squeezed. “That’s all water under the bridge now, Lizzie. Something that can’t be changed.”

  “Still, it hurt to learn he loved another woman more than he ever loved me. Just as it hurt when he left her a letter without offering me so much as a word of explanation.”

  Jack’s eyes narrowed, sharpened. “I must have missed that at the reading of the will. You didn’t receive a letter from Dad?”

  Four

  Pride came to Elizabeth’s rescue and her chin shot upward while her green eyes turned vivid with anger. “I did not,” she stated crisply. “Even worse were the final words spoken between us. While all of you were left with words of love, I’m left with words of anger. Words neither of us can take back.”

  “That was the night he was murdered, when you brought his dinner to the office?”

  “It was.”

  The waitress arrived just then, looking distinctly put out when they all fell silent. She unloaded her tray onto their table. After checking to make certain they had everything they needed, she reluctantly departed again.

  “Mrs. Kincaid—Elizabeth,” Jack corrected himself. “Tell me what happened that night. What did you see? What did Dad say to you?”

  She reached for a Bluebelle and broke off a fragment, though she didn’t eat it. Instead, she crumbled the flaky pastry between her fingers. “I’ve thought about it and thought about it until my head’s ready to explode. I exited the elevator and walked to his office. I knocked, waited a bit for him to tell me to come in and then I—”

  “Why did you have to wait?” Jack interrupted a recital he could tell had become rote.

  Elizabeth hesitated as though no one had ever asked that question before. She brushed a hand through her auburn hair and gave an impatient shrug. “Goodness, Jack. After all these years I know better than to interrupt him when he’s on the phone. At least that was my impression.” Her brow wrinkled as she sifted through her memories of the event. “Now that I think about it, there was more of a delay than I’d have expected. Then he said to come on in.”

  “Was he still on the phone?”

  “No, he’d already hung up.” She gave an elegant wave, dismissing the subject. “Who knows, maybe he was talking to your momma. Anyway, I had his dinner in a large bag—his favorite, roast beef and potatoes. We’d had an argument the night before about how moody he’d been lately.”

  “Did he explain why he’d been so moody?” Jack interrupted.

  Elizabeth shook her head, quite definite. “No, he just said it had to do with a recent problem that had cropped up and that he was afraid he’d delayed too long resolving it.”

  “What happened when you walked into his office?”

  “I asked Reginald something innocuous like how long he thought he’d be, or how business was going. He snapped at me, told me he didn’t have time for my fool questions and to get on home.” Tears sparkled in Elizabeth’s lovely eyes. “He didn’t even want the dinner I’d brought. I ended up throwing it away.”

  “I’m sure he didn’t mean it,” Nikki murmured. “He always spoke about you with the utmost respect. Despite everything, I know he cared deeply for you.”

  She dabbed at her eyes with her napkin. “Thank you, dear. I’d like to believe that, but the evidence suggests otherwise.”

  “Did he often snap at you like that?” Jack asked.

  “Never. Even when we fought, he was never cruel or cutting the way he was this time. I guess that’s why I was so hurt. I told him he had no call to speak to me that way and stormed out. I got back on the elevator. It stopped once on its return to the lobby and Brooke joined me. We exchanged a few words, though I was too upset at the time to remember what they were. Then I left the building and drove straight to Cutter’s.”

  “Thank you,” Jack said, and meant it.

  “You know…” Nikki offered slowly, “I don’t remember Charles saying anything about a phone call.”

  Elizabeth shook her head in confusion. “I’m sorry. Charles…?”

  “Charles McDonough, the lead detective in the case.”

  “Oh, yes, of course.” She gave a delicate shiver. “He made my life rather difficult for several months.”

  Jack could sympathize. Charles had given him some uncomfortable moments, as well. “Elizabeth, did you mention that phone call to Charles?”

  She hesitated, taking a moment to consider. “I don’t believe I did. To be honest I forgot about it until just now when you asked the question.”

  “Thank you. You’ve been quite helpful.”

  She lifted a shoulder in a dismissive shrug. “If you say so. I’m not sure I said anything terribly earthshaking.”

  Jack returned his napkin to the table. They should go now. He should walk away this minute before he said something he’d regret. After all, she was a Kincaid. Though he sympathized with her, that didn’t change his overall feelings toward her family or his plans for the annual meeting later this month.

  But he found he couldn’t just walk away. Maybe it was having Nikki there, her emotions so palpable he could practically touch them. Maybe it was seeing Elizabeth’s untempered vulnerability, her pain and grief. Or maybe it was her generous acceptance of him that caused the breach in defenses he’s spent a lifetime building. Regardless of the cause, he f
elt compelled to speak.

  “Dad talked to me about you one time,” he informed her in a low voice. He forced himself to continue, despite the difficulty of the memory or his reluctance to share it. “I was a teenager, grappling with my confusion over my parents’ relationship and not understanding why my father refused to acknowledge me as his son. I called you a rather vile name.” He offered a contrite smile. “One you clearly didn’t deserve.”

  “I’m surprised Reginald didn’t agree with you,” Elizabeth retorted with a hint of acid.

  Jack’s smile grew. “He knocked me on my ass and dragged me outside for a man-to-man talk.”

  Elizabeth blinked in surprise. “He did? How…unexpected.”

  “I think that’s what I’m trying to say, Elizabeth,” Jack said gently. “It shouldn’t be unexpected. That day he told me that he’d been very fortunate to love two of the finest women he’d ever known. He said he married you for money and status, but stayed with you out of love and respect. He described the life you’d carved out together and for the five children you shared. And I could tell you all meant the world to him.”

  Elizabeth’s brows drew together and her eyes darkened in reluctant sympathy. “That must have been very difficult for you to hear.”

  Beside him, Nikki reached beneath the table and took his hand in hers. He spared her a brief glance, one that told her how much he appreciated her support. God, how he’d wanted to be part of the life his father had described. Had craved it with a yearning so intense it threatened to eat him alive. He wanted to belong the way his father’s other children belonged, to have brothers and sisters who loved him and squabbled with him, but who in the end accepted him as one of their own.

  That day with his father, he realized it would never happen. That for the rest of his life he’d be an outsider, never acknowledged. Never accepted. Never a Kincaid. It had been one of the worst days of his entire life and no doubt ignited the fire that raged within him to compete. To win. To prove he deserved a place in their lives, even if he had to bully his way in and seize it through sheer force.

  But that wasn’t the message he wished to convey. Elizabeth needed something far different from him and for some odd reason, he felt compelled to give it to her. “Dad told me that you were one of the most generous women he’d ever met. Just so you know, you share that quality with my mother. But he said you also possessed a sweetness that most women from your world lack. He said I could condemn him all I wanted, that he more than deserved it. But I was never to disrespect my mother or you, for you both acted solely out of love and always put others ahead of your own needs, something he’d never learned to do. I’d have to agree with him, since otherwise, none of us would be in our current situation. And then he said of all those he’d hurt, you were the most innocent and the most wronged. I also have to agree with him about that.”

  For an instant, Elizabeth stared blindly. Then tears flooded her eyes and she turned into Cutter’s waiting embrace. It took her several minutes to recover her composure, but when she did, she revealed the profound sweetness that Reginald had referred to, along with an intense gratitude. “I can’t thank you enough, Jack. What you just said… I think that’s better than any letter could possibly have been.”

  He frowned. “I will say it doesn’t make sense that he didn’t leave you a letter, Elizabeth. Maybe he intended to do it and died before he could complete the task. I’m sure yours would have been the most difficult letter he had to write.”

  Elizabeth shook her head. “I don’t think so. I think yours would have been the most difficult because he knew he’d deprived you of so much. Would you mind my asking what he did say to you?”

  Jack hesitated. “I haven’t opened it,” he admitted. “I’ve actually been tempted to burn it.”

  “But you haven’t,” she observed shrewdly. “I think you just need time and distance before you read it. I suspect you’ll know when that moment finally arrives. Until then, don’t do anything you may regret. Promise me you won’t.”

  He inclined his head. “Fair enough. Since it’s you asking, I can’t refuse.”

  She hesitated. “I assume you received your invitation to Matthew and Susannah’s wedding next weekend.”

  “I did.”

  “I truly hope you plan to attend.” She spared Nikki a quick smile. “Please bring Nikki, if you’d like.”

  With no other choice but to accept the invitation, he inclined his head. “I’d like that.”

  The four stood and Jack collected the bill, waving off Cutter’s offer to pay. When he held out his hand to Elizabeth, she brushed it aside and gave him a quick, fierce hug instead. He didn’t know who she’d surprised more by the impromptu gesture, him or the rest of the coffeehouse patrons. Then she turned and walked away, her head held high, her back ramrod straight. But he couldn’t help noticing a spring in her step that had been lacking when she arrived.

  He stared after her, broodingly. Damn it, why did she have to hug him? Despite having shared that long-ago memory with her, he’d still managed to hold a piece of himself in reserve. To stay safely behind the walls he’d built and limit the damage their interaction had caused. But that hug had yanked him out into the open. Bared him. Left him more vulnerable than he could ever recall being. And he didn’t like it. Not one tiny bit.

  The instant they hit the sidewalk, he drew Nikki to one side and retrieved his cell phone. Punching in a number, he waited until the call connected.

  “Harold Parsons.”

  “Harold, Jack Sinclair here.”

  “You do realize this is Saturday, don’t you, boy?” The question escaped in a gruff voice, a perfect match for what Jack recalled of the lawyer’s beetled brows, gray tufts of hair and shrewd gaze. “My offices are closed. Call back Monday.”

  “If you’re closed, why did you answer the phone?”

  A long, irritated sigh came across the airwaves. “What do you want?”

  “My father left letters for everyone as part of his final bequest. But Elizabeth never received one. Why is that?”

  “How should I know?” Harold snapped. “It wasn’t in the file, therefore there wasn’t one.”

  “Dad wouldn’t have slighted her that way,” Jack insisted. “When did he write the letters?”

  “The last time he updated his will. He always updated the letters at the same time.”

  “Has there always been one for Elizabeth in the past?”

  Harold paused. “Yes…” He drew out the word, his irritation fading as he realized where Jack was going with his line of questioning. “Until this time. Of course, there’d also been one for Alan in the past and there wasn’t this time.”

  “I’m still not buying it, Harold. Alan, okay. He wasn’t Reginald’s son. But he wouldn’t slight Elizabeth that way, nor embarrass her in front of the family. I want you to go through your offices with a fine-tooth comb. He wrote that letter, I’d bet my business on it. If it’s gone missing, I want to know when and why. Otherwise, I want it found.”

  “I’ll look into it.”

  As soon as Jack disconnected the call, Nikki gripped his arm. “What’s going on?”

  “I think Dad wrote Elizabeth a letter.” He shook his head, correcting himself. “I don’t think. I know, straight down to my bones, he wrote her one.”

  “What do you think happened to it?”

  “Either the lawyer’s office misplaced it. Or it’s somewhere in Dad’s office.”

  “If that’s the case, maybe we should ask RJ to search Reginald’s office.”

  Jack’s mouth twisted in open irony. “Yeah, I’ll call him up and suggest he do that. Considering how tight we are after yesterday’s confrontation, I’m sure he’ll get right on it.”

  She held his gaze with an uncomfortable steadiness. “If it’s for his mother’s benefit, he will.”

  Aw, hell. She was serious. “You really want me to call, don’t you?”

  “Yes.”

  “You’re not going to let up un
til I do, are you?”

  “Not a chance.”

  He glared at her, not bothering to disguise his frustration. “You know, today is turning out to be a real pain in the ass. First Elizabeth and now RJ. You do understand that I despise my Kincaid relatives on a good day. When I have to deal with them on one of my few days off, my level of despise increases exponentially.”

  She patted his arm. “So I gather.”

  He gave it to her straight. “I’m also trying to destroy them, take over their business and make a misery of their life as they currently know and enjoy it. You get that, don’t you?”

  “You may have mentioned it a time or two,” she conceded with a meekness he didn’t buy into for one little minute.

  “FYI, helping them out is wreaking havoc on my plans to A) destroy, B) take over, and it sure as hell isn’t doing much to C) make a misery of their life as they currently know and enjoy it.”

  His bitter complaint elicited a sympathetic smile. He didn’t buy into that, any more than he bought into her meekness. “Let’s help out today. Tomorrow you can get back to putting A through C into motion. You can even add D and E if it makes you feel better.”

  “Done.” He stabbed a finger in her direction. “And just so we’re clear, I’m holding you to that. In fact, I might just make you help.”

  She smiled blandly. “What do you think I’ve been doing?”

  “If that’s your idea of help, I’m in serious trouble.”

  * * *

  “Nothing.” RJ’s voice sounded ripe with irritation, an attitude mirrored in his taut, withdrawn stance.

  Clearly, he blamed Jack for getting his hopes up, Nikki realized uneasily. Not what she’d anticipated from this latest gathering of brothers.

  “Nothing here, either,” Matt agreed, also scowling. He shot Jack a look that blistered him for their wasted time and effort. “Not that I expected there to be.”