Caught in the Act (The Davenports)

by Law, Kim

  “That’s not fair.”

  “But it’s honest.”

  They glared at each other. She didn’t want to continue arguing with him, yet she couldn’t stop herself. “You also should have told me that my mother knew who you were.”

  His eyes frosted over. “She should have told you that herself.”

  Fed up with going in circles, Cat crossed to the front windows and peeked out. She needed time to think. To decide what all this meant. To get away from the people in the many cars lining the street, just waiting for a chance to get a picture of them.

  She crossed her arms over her chest as she tried to get control of her emotions. Then she thought about what Brody had previously said, and she turned back to him.

  “Why hasn’t anyone ever known who your father is?”

  A muscle ticked in his jaw. “Because I hate him. I hate the way he does things, the way he uses people, and his lack of regard for others’ feelings. And I do not want to be associated with that behavior.”

  She nodded. She could understand that. “Like you hate the way my family does things?”

  “I don’t care about your family one way or the other, Cat. I care about you. I hate the way you jump every time there might be something to cover up. It’s not right,” he said. “It’s not honest. And it’s not the real you. The girl I met as a teenager was the real you. You were vibrant and full of life. Willing to take a risk. You didn’t stick strictly to the line drawn out for you.”

  She gulped. He had a point.

  “The real you is the woman who walked into my office yesterday afternoon.”

  More tears filled her eyes. She wanted to be the person who’d walked into his office yesterday afternoon.

  Nineteen years ago she’d been that person. But she’d followed her instincts, and the results had changed her for good. Her heart—her spirit—had been crushed. She’d put her family’s reputation at risk, and she’d made a decision that still haunted her today.

  Since then, she’d behaved. She’d gone to an all-girls school, had gotten degrees to help her work behind the scenes with her family. She’d dated the man her parents had picked out for her. She’d even married the man her parents had picked out for her.

  Joe had been good for her and she’d loved him, but he had been her parents’ choice.

  She’d done everything right.

  She’d been a perfect daughter.

  And in return she’d lost her husband and ended up with a life she no longer recognized.

  Fast forward to today, and damned if she didn’t feel as if she’d just stepped off a cliff by repeating history. Only this time she was taking Brody down with her.

  She wiped away a tear. “You’ve been outed. Those cameras out there aren’t just looking for me anymore.”

  He deadpanned. “Why do you think I’m so pissed?”

  “I’m sorry,” she whispered.

  “Don’t be sorry for me,” he said. “It’s not me I’m worried about at the moment. I’m worried about my mother.”

  “Oh, no.” Cat moved to his side. “Your mother. She’ll be pulled into this.”

  “Exactly. And the only thing she ever did wrong was fall for the wrong guy. She doesn’t deserve to be sucked into this mess.” He tone was accusing.

  “Meaning, you think my mother does?”

  He shot her an incredulous look. “Seriously, Cat? Who do you think leaked it?”

  “But my mother didn’t—” Cat pressed a hand to her mouth. Her mother had known who Brody was all along. It hadn’t occurred to her that this secret could have come from a different direction than the Harrisons.

  “Yesterday the Davenports had an illegitimate son,” Brody started sarcastically, “today the Harrisons do, too. Couldn’t have worked out better for her, don’t you think?”

  “It could have been Thomas,” Cat argued. “He knew we were together. He called and asked you about it yesterday.”

  “He actually called to get the scoop on your mother. You were merely an afterthought.”

  “But was I really?” she asked. “Maybe I was the reason he called. He wanted to ensure we were together before leaking the news.”

  “That makes no sense. Why would Thomas expose us? Expose me? It would harm him.”

  “Because he now has a long-lost brother to win him sympathy,” she pointed out. It pained her that she thought so much like a politician. “One he never knew existed.”

  “But he did know I existed.”

  “Yet that part of it didn’t come out.”

  She saw the shock in his eyes as the truth of her statement registered. The shock was followed by worry. And possibly a streak of pain.

  “My mother would have used it,” Cat stated flatly. “It would do far more damage to Thomas’s campaign.”

  “Your mother probably doesn’t know that we’ve ever talked.”

  “Do you believe that enough to be sure?” She didn’t know why she was defending her mother on this, other than that was what came naturally to her. Also, she very much didn’t trust Thomas Harrison. “This could be his doing, Brody. He’s been taking a hit in the numbers right alongside my mother. What do you want to bet he contacts you now? He’d be the big guy if he extended a warm welcome to his newest family member.”

  Brody’s cell began to ring.

  “I’ll pay off your mortgage if that isn’t him,” she said, her words as cold as stone.

  Brody didn’t reach for his phone. “It doesn’t matter who it is.”

  She nodded. “I know. And I think I should go.”

  “None of this changes anything, Cat,” Brody said.

  “Do you really believe that?” She peeked out the blinds again. She had to cross their yards to get back to her place, and she knew long-lens cameras would zoom in on her the instant she stepped off Brody’s deck.

  All she’d wanted was a short escape from her world, and instead she got this.

  “We can figure this out, Cat. We just need some time.”

  “I don’t know if we can.” She looked at him then. At his unruly hair and his unkempt whiskers. At his glasses framing his gorgeous green eyes. She also took in the books and papers scattered across the room. She missed him already. “But I’m pretty sure standing here continuing to argue isn’t going to solve anything. I need time to think. We both need to figure out if this is worth it. And you need to go check on your mother.”

  He didn’t disagree.

  Without another word, she went to the garage. The clothes she’d worn the night before were still in there, as well as her purse in his car. She took her time dressing, holding his shirt to her chest and inhaling the smell of him deep into her lungs. She did not let herself get emotional when she looked at Brody’s backseat. They’d taken a giant step on that seat this morning. A step she’d thought might lead to a new kind of forever.

  And now it felt as if that backseat might have just been the end.

  When she came back into the house, Brody was waiting by the back door. “I’ll walk you to your house.”

  “You don’t have to do that.”

  “Yes, I do. There are photographers hiding in your bushes. I’ve already called the cops.”

  Her jaw dropped open. She hated paparazzi. “I’ll have to move out to the compound.”

  “I would expect so.”

  Her life had gotten completely out of her hands. If it wasn’t for finishing the playground and still being determined to give her kids a vacation here, she would go home today.

  When Brody reached to open the door, she put a hand to his arm. “I’m sorry,” she said softly.

  He nodded solemnly. “Me too.”

  CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

  THE PLAYHOUSE WOULD be packed that night. It was a good hour and a half before the show was set to start, but already the parking lot was full
. A line of people formed at the main entrance, wrapping around two sides of the building, and there were four police officers standing guard among the crowd. Their stance was feet spread, thumbs tucked inside their utility belts, stern expressions on their faces.

  Cat wanted to smile. They looked so tough. She’d seen these very officers around town several times over the last two weeks, and not once had any of them done anything but offer pleasant greetings. They looked downright lethal tonight.

  She sat in the passenger seat of the dark SUV parked at the back of the building, peering out through tinted windows and dreading having to get out.

  She’d personally rather be at home, with her kids curled up at her sides.

  In fact, she’d made arrangements to soon do just that. The instant she’d pulled into the six-car garage of the Davenport home, she’d felt adrift. She didn’t know what would happen with her and Brody at this point. She was furious with her mother and didn’t see that changing anytime soon. And she desperately missed her kids.

  She’d been without them for over two weeks, and that—she’d decided—had been enough. Not to mention, she didn’t want them having to deal with paparazzi without her around.

  Bringing them up here wouldn’t shield them, of course, but if she went back to Atlanta, the cameras would simply follow. At least for the foreseeable future.

  So she’d bring her kids up early. They’d still get their trip to Maine—now to be even longer—and Cat could finish out her responsibilities with the playhouse.

  And maybe she and Brody would . . . she didn’t know what. They hadn’t exactly broken up that morning, but they had parted ways. It was too difficult at the moment to consider anything else.

  Also, he was still a Harrison.

  Not that she’d let that be a deciding factor for her, but if this was truly just a fling, then maybe it was time for the fling to be over. No need to exacerbate things for only a few more days.

  And if they were more than a fling?

  Well, she was hoping time apart would answer that question. She would still tell him about Annabelle. Eventually. But she had to figure out “them” first. There was the saying that absence made the heart grow fonder, and she supposed they were about to put it to the test. If the test failed, then all the hoopla could go back to normal much sooner.

  Vega and JP had offered to go ahead and bring Becca and Tyler up this week. They would arrive Wednesday morning, just in time for all of them to participate in the installation of the park’s main play area. The kids couldn’t work within the main area, but Cat’s project manager had made arrangements for a kid-friendly zone so no one in the community would feel excluded. It even came with babysitters.

  “Looks like a busy place,” Stone Walker said from the driver’s seat. Stone was a security guard out of Boston. She’d hired him and another guy that morning, along with making arrangements for one of the family’s regulars out of Atlanta to travel with the kids.

  Her second security guard had been left at the house while Stone had driven Cat into town. Nothing unsafe had happened so far, but with the number of people currently in the area looking to score a great shot, she figured it was better to be safe than sorry.

  “Wonder how many of them actually have any interest in seeing the play,” Cat mused.

  She slumped in the seat when a couple of women she recognized from around town glanced in her direction. Most everyone would be looking for the sedan she’d been driving. They hadn’t yet figured out that Stone had arrived, or that he’d come with his own vehicle.

  “I’d say you could read the script backward tonight and no one would notice,” Stone remarked. “Or just mumble for an hour and a half.”

  “I suspect you’re right.”

  Three cars over, a door swung open, and a graying head slowly emerged. It was Annabelle Hollister. Suddenly, a swarm of cameras and microphones headed her way.

  “Oh, no.” Cat shot up. “We’ve got to help her.”

  She had her door open and was out of the vehicle before Stone could stop her. Her appearance brought more people over and caught some of them trying to make an important decision: go after Annabelle or go after Cat.

  Thankfully, Stone made everyone’s decision for them.

  He was a big guy. Six five, at least three hundred pounds. Though he was in his fifties, he was solid muscle. With his wraparound shades and bald head, he looked more than scary.

  As he approached, people backed off. Cat hurried to Annabelle’s side, wrapped her arm around the woman, and hustled them both in the back door. She left Stone to deal with the mob.

  Once inside, she pulled Annabelle into a small room. The woman looked a bit shell-shocked.

  “Are you okay?” Cat asked. She ran her hands over the other woman, checking Brody’s mother over as if she were frail and had been attacked by starving gorillas.

  Annabelle gave a nervous laugh. Her fingers flitted down her own body as if to check for herself that she remained intact. “That was quite a crowd,” she finally managed.

  “Insane, right?”

  “And you deal with situations like this a lot?”

  “No. Not a lot.” Then Cat winked, hoping to lighten the mood. “Only when I hang out with big-name people.”

  Annabelle’s green eyes lightened, and some of the shock seemed to lift.

  “I’m so sorry you’ve gotten pulled into this mess,” Cat said. She wrapped Annabelle in a hug. “You shouldn’t be subjected to this madness.”

  “The way I see it, I’ve had thirty-four good years that I haven’t had to deal with it. Thirty-five if you count the months I was pregnant.”

  “Good point,” Cat allowed. “But still, this is my fault, and I feel horrible about it.”

  “How do you figure it’s your fault? Did you sleep with Arthur Harrison, too?”

  Cat jerked back. “No.” Then she realized how rude she’d sounded, and held out her hands in apology. “Not that it was wrong for you, of course.”

  Annabelle laughed. “Of course,” she agreed. “But I should have known better.”

  “Maybe. But if Brody and I hadn’t . . . been seen together, none of this would have happened.”

  “But if you and Brody hadn’t been seen together”—Annabelle mimicked Cat’s words back to her—“then he wouldn’t have gotten a peek at what he’s been missing.”

  “Excuse me?” The change of subject caught Cat off guard.

  Annabelle trained her eyes on Cat. They’d turned serious. “Forget the craziness going on outside for a moment. Forget everything else that might feel like a big deal. Brody cares about you, Cat. Surely you can see that.”

  Cat nodded. She hadn’t expected a lecture from Brody’s mom tonight. “I care about him too. I always did. But he shouldn’t have to deal with this, either.”

  Annabelle snorted. “Why not? What makes you so special?”

  This wasn’t going at all how she’d thought. She’d just wanted to get Annabelle safely inside the building.

  “I’m just saying,” Annabelle added, “that I was fully aware of who Arthur Harrison was when he and I were seen together. I have a bit of a leg in this game as well. I played my part. And you shouldn’t let any of it determine where you and Brody go from here.”

  Clearly Brody had been talking to his mother.

  “What did he say about it?” Cat asked.

  “About you?” Annabelle shook her head. “Nothing. But I’m his mom. He doesn’t have to say anything. I can see it in his eyes.”

  Cat had seen it in his eyes, too. As he’d said good-bye to her at her house earlier that morning, he’d stood there an extra minute longer. She didn’t want it to be over between them. She didn’t want the madness that was going on around them. And she didn’t want it to be her mother who’d done this to them.

  That worried her a lot.

>   Talk about a line being crossed. If her mother had leaked this—and Cat very much suspected that she had—then the game had changed. Forever.

  You don’t hurt family to help yourself.

  “Where is he?” Cat asked now. She hadn’t seen Brody’s car in the lot, and he wasn’t there with his mother. “He should be here. You shouldn’t have to deal with this by yourself.”

  “I sent him on an errand.” Annabelle’s eyes softened. “Mostly because I wanted to talk to you.”

  Cat arched a brow.

  “I saw you in the parking lot. I was waiting for you to arrive. And I knew you’d send your big guy over to help me if those crazies out there got too close.”

  “You did, huh? How about I hire you your own big guy to watch out for you?”

  “No need, dear.” Annabelle patted her cheek. “I’m just fine. Plus, no one wants to hear what an old lady has to say.”

  “I think you may be wrong about that. And you aren’t that old.”

  Annabelle glanced behind her as the back door of the building opened momentarily and the outside craziness could be heard. Stone appeared in the doorway to their room, took a quick look in, and disappeared on the other side of the wall.

  “Wrong or not,” Annabelle continued, “don’t you worry about me. This will pass, and things will go back to normal. But I wanted to tell you something.” Guilt flashed across her face. “To apologize, actually.”

  “For what?”

  “For those two times you called the house.”

  Goose bumps lit down Cat’s body.

  “I should have told Brody about them back then. I’m sorry.”

  Words got stuck in Cat’s throat, but she managed to push them out. “I understand my mother had something to do with that.”

  “Didn’t mean I had to go along.”

  Cat swallowed. She would not let herself cry over this. Annabelle Hollister had not known that Cat had been calling about her granddaughter. “I imagine you were doing what you thought was best for your son.”

  The moment was quiet, though there was still madness going on around them. Doors slammed, voices could be heard from outside. Someone yelled down the hallway an instant before the sound of feet hurried away.