The Moment of Truth

by Tara Taylor Quinn

  Filled with horror, Dana remembered that day in the clinic’s reception area in slow motion. Josh had told Cassie that he needed a few minutes of her time.

  To discuss a personal matter? Because they were related?

  Other things fell into place—Josh’s business acumen, her sense that he’d played in much larger business fields than she had. His promotion the first week of his job.

  The fact that he was a grown man who hadn’t known the first thing about menial, everyday tasks. Like how to heat up leftovers in a microwave.

  What bachelor didn’t use a microwave?

  Obviously he’d done something to fall out of grace with the family or he wouldn’t be working in a college business office, or living on a budget. Or maybe he was fulfilling some familial obligation, doing his time, so to speak.

  She stared at his kitchen table—she’d noticed the exquisite beauty of the wood the first time she’d seen it. Everything he owned was nicer than the high-end stuff they sold in their stores in Richmond. She just hadn’t put two and two together.

  She’d accepted him as he’d presented himself. A working man on a budget.

  The quality of these linens. A family monogram...

  And Cassie’s response when Dana had told her she was pregnant. Her hug. And invitation to call...

  Reaching up to grab her cell phone off the counter above her, Dana scrolled through her contacts until she found the private cell phone number Cassie had given her.

  Barely managing to get past hello, Dana dove right in as soon as the vet answered her line.

  “Is Josh Redmond related to you?”

  The pause on the other end of the line told her all she needed to know.

  “Wait, Dana, please. Let me explain.”

  She couldn’t wait. Josh would be back soon.

  She had to get out of there.

  * * *

  SAM MONTFORD’S CALLER ID appeared on Josh’s phone when he was still five minutes from the new home he now shared with Dana. It was as if the family was determined to ruin his life before it had really begun.

  One night. Couldn’t they give him just one night in the same house with her?

  Pulling to the curb, he answered the other man’s ring.

  “What?”

  “Cassie just had a call from Dana. I assume you told her?”

  “No.” Dread filled him. And continued to grow. “Why?”

  “She knows who you are. And sounded upset. Do you need us to come over?”

  “I’m not even there,” Josh said, pulling back onto the vacant street. “I’m five minutes away.”

  “If we don’t hear from you in thirty, we’ll head over.”

  Josh had missed being part of a world where there was always someone else to show up in times of trouble.

  Thank God he had family close by.

  CHAPTER THIRTY

  WITH LITTLE GUY and Lindy Lu sharing the seat beside her, Dana barely waited for the automatic garage door to open before she tore out of the garage and down the driveway.

  Dana had no idea where she was going. Or what she was going to do. Had no destination in mind.

  She just had to go. Turning the volume off on her cell phone, she tucked it away in her bag and just left.

  Driving aimlessly away from town, she made one turn and then another. She took roads that seemingly went on forever and went nowhere. Entered an Indian reservation and kept driving. Came to a dirt road and took that, too.

  Eventually she stopped driving and pulled over to the side of the road. She took out her smartphone. Her screen showed four missed calls. Three from Josh and one from Cassie Tate Montford.

  Clearing them all, she touched the internet search button and typed in the name Redmond, pairing it with the other names etched on her mind’s eye from the sheet of paper she’d held in her hand earlier. It didn’t take her long to find what she was looking for. The Redmonds of Boston were all over the internet if one knew what to search. And if she’d still been trying to pretend to herself that she was wrong, that Josh hadn’t been playing her, that chance was dashed, too, as soon as a picture of him, with a beautiful woman on his arm, popped up on the screen.

  The caption read “Heir and Heiress to Wed.”

  No wonder Josh hadn’t wanted to have a relationship with Dana. He already had a woman. An untouchable, perfect in every way, rich and beautiful woman.

  She’d found life hard when she hadn’t been good enough for Daniel. There was no way, by any stretch of the imagination, she’d ever be good enough for Josh.

  He didn’t even live in the same world she occupied.

  And she’d thought, just four short days before, that he’d been about to propose to her?

  She cringed just thinking about that. She started driving again, trying to convince herself she was numb. Trying not to think about the afternoon after Josh had shown her the house and the time and effort she’d taken to make herself look glamorous.

  Ha! Compared to the woman she’d seen on her screen, she’d been laughable.

  She drove, and she didn’t cry. She didn’t really even think all that much. Time, life, emotion were all suspended as the puppies beside her slept.

  They were fine as long as she remained calm. Her baby would be fine, too.

  And at least Josh didn’t know she’d been thinking that whole day that he’d be proposing to her.

  He had no idea how she felt about him.

  She was still in charge of her own happiness.

  “So why the hell does everyone else keep messing it up?” she said aloud as the sun settled behind the mountains, leaving her in a seven o’clock duskiness that had her glancing around for streetlights. Or signs of habitation.

  She had no idea where she was, other than in the desert someplace. This was stupid as hell. And not like her at all.

  Turning around, Dana decided the safest thing was to head back the way she’d come. A plan that worked fine until she came to the first crossroad that she couldn’t remember. Had she turned there?

  She looked at L.G. and Lindy Lu, who were cuddled up next to each other on the passenger seat. Both of them looked back at her.

  They were calm. They trusted her.

  She wasn’t scared. She had her phone. But she wasn’t comfortable, either. What if she had a flat tire? Was she still on the Indian reservation?

  Her baby was a Montford. And a Boston Redmond. She’d never even been to Boston.

  If Josh was so embarrassed by her, why had he bought the house and insisted that they live there together? Why had he opened a bank account for her and agreed to tell everyone in town they were a couple?

  Why had he agreed to call his parents?

  Her heart lurched at the thought. He hadn’t done it yet. She’d asked just that afternoon.

  But he’d agreed to be celibate.

  Or had that been a lie, too? Was he putting her up as other rich men did, supporting his mistress in a small town while he lived his real life elsewhere?

  She drove and drove, looking to the horizon for any sign of lights that would indicate civilization.

  And, switching her phone over to the hands-free speaker, she called her mother.

  “I have something to tell you,” she said as soon as she’d determined that Susan was alone. Daniel was at his Saturday night poker game. As usual.

  “Did you get moved in?” Susan asked. “I’ve been waiting all day to hear from you. Take pictures on your phone, sweetie, in every room and outside, too. Send them to me.”

  If Dana hadn’t already known that Daniel wasn’t in the room, her mother’s open effusiveness would have told her so. It was that obvious caring, expressed whenever Daniel wasn’t around, that had kept Dana going all those years she’d spent at h
ome.

  “I’m pregnant, Mama,” she said, reverting to a name she’d used for Susan when she’d been little.

  Silence hung on the line, and then they both spoke at once. Eventually Dana got her whole story out. It was what she’d told Josh to say, practically verbatim. Word for word.

  Ending with, “Josh and I both want this baby. He already has an investment account set up for him...or her.”

  Pulling the car off to the side of the road, Dana barely got it into Park before her eyes were blinded by tears.

  “Oh, Mama, he lied to me. He’s not who he says he is. He’s this billionaire guy from Boston and now I know why he won’t marry me. It’s Daniel all over again, only worse.”

  She shut up. She hadn’t meant to say that out loud. Ever.

  “I’m sorry, Mama.”

  “I’m not, darling. You’re right. At least about Daniel and me. And you have the right to speak up about it.”

  “I don’t want to hurt you. You’ve loved me so much and—”

  “Not enough, sweetheart. I love you with all my heart, but it wasn’t enough. You are the most beautiful person I’ve ever known and I let you live your life feeling like you weren’t good enough. I knew. And I couldn’t seem to do anything about it.”

  “You did, Mama. I’ve always known how much you love me.”

  “And I’ve always known I didn’t do enough. If there’s anything I can do now...anything...you let me know. I will be there for you this time, Dana, you have my word on that.”

  “Tell me about my father.”

  “You already know everything. When I finally made the right choice to be honest, I didn’t keep any secrets.”

  “You really don’t even know his name?”

  “He said his name was Bill Birmingham, but I could never find anyone by that name who fit his description.”

  “It wouldn’t have made a difference.”

  “It might have. If I’d been able to tell him about you. He might have wanted you, Dana. Who knows, maybe he never had children and would be thrilled to find out about you.”

  “Daniel is my father.”

  Even now. The truth rang within her. Perfect or not, Daniel had been the man who’d been there, paying her way, seeing that she had everything she needed. Protecting her in his own way.

  “I should never have let him treat you like he did,” Susan said, her voice stronger than Dana could ever remember. Or maybe she could—from back before that horrible field trip that had changed everything. Her mother used to be strong. And happy.

  They all had been.

  Her phone beeped, signaling a call. She ignored it.

  “You did what you had to do, Mama,” she said, not quite believing she and Susan were having this conversation. “You had the girls to think about.”

  “Not at your expense. And while their lives would have been different if I’d left Daniel, they would have been okay, too. Maybe even a little less self-absorbed.”

  “But it wouldn’t have been fair to Daniel,” Dana said now, understanding that her mother had been in an untenable situation. “He adored you. Had children by you, and then found out that you’d kept a secret.”

  Just like Josh had. She’d always understood Daniel’s sense of betrayal. Had never blamed him. But now, now she didn’t just understand with her head, she got it with her heart.

  “He didn’t love me all that much,” Susan said. “Not enough to try to understand why I did what I did. To see that what I did was out of love for him, as much as for my unborn child. I could have raised you alone. Would have done so without hesitation, except for the fact that Daniel and I loved each other so much. I just couldn’t break his heart. And I couldn’t deny you the chance to have such a wonderful man for a father.”

  “Maybe if you’d told him the truth back then...”

  “He’d have left me,” Susan said. “He’s said so a hundred times.”

  “He doesn’t mean it, though.”

  “Maybe he does, maybe he doesn’t, but I can tell you for certain, Dana, that while I made a horrendous mistake, so did Daniel.”

  There was nothing to see but pitch-black all around her. Dana was getting a little nervous.

  The pups were going to need to go out soon. And they had to be getting hungry.

  “How do you figure?”

  “Bad things happen in life, Dana. People make mistakes. Everyone does. And one of the things that defines what kind of human beings we are is how we deal with those mistakes. Daniel took my mistake out on an innocent little girl who adored him. Yes, I gave him a raw deal, keeping such a huge secret from him. I know that. I’ve paid the price and will continue to do so until the day I die, but you paid the price, too, Dana, and that didn’t have to happen. He had a right to shun me. He didn’t have a right to shun you.”

  A band around Dana tightened. And snapped. She was shaking. And angry. And sad and relieved, too. It was so much at once that she was glad she was on a deserted road in the middle of nowhere.

  She started to drive again, very slowly, inching along the shoulder of the deserted road and crying.

  “Dana, just promise me one thing, darling.”

  Her mother’s voice came out over the speaker, almost as if Susan was right there in the car with her.

  Dana so badly wished she was. “What’s that?” She sniffled.

  “Don’t make the same mistake Daniel did. Don’t be like him, sweetie. Give your Josh a chance to explain.”

  Dana didn’t know if she had that much trust left.

  * * *

  “WE NEED TO CALL GREG, JOSH.” Cassie’s voice broke through the haze surrounding Josh’s thoughts.

  He had no idea where Dana had gone. Cassie and Sam had been all over town looking for her in Sam’s truck. They’d called Lillie, who’d been distraught and was out with Jon, conducting their own search.

  Josh had alternated between being at home, and out looking for her, the damned family-tree paper he hadn’t known existed and that she’d obviously unpacked, on the seat beside him in his SUV. He’d had no idea his mother had slipped it into the box she’d sent from the mansion. A little piece of home to go on the road with him, she’d said about the linens. Which was why he’d left it packed. He hadn’t wanted a piece of home to hang on to.

  Because he’d feared it would hold him back.

  Why on earth he’d given that box to Dana to do with as she wanted, he had no idea.

  He called Lori, who knew Jerome’s last name, which allowed him to find the kid’s number. No one had seen Dana since about four o’clock that afternoon.

  “Greg Richards is the best sheriff this town has ever had,” Sam said, standing beside his wife on Josh and Dana’s new driveway. “And he knows the desert like none other. He grew up here. Lost his dad out in that desert. If anyone can find her, Greg can.”

  “Fine. Tell him to spare no cost. Helicopters, all of it. I’ll find a way to pay.”

  “Done. And you don’t have to pay for it. We’d do the same for any of our citizens.”

  Standing there with his new family, Josh had never felt more alone.

  Because the one person who mattered most was lost to him.

  Cassie’s fingers slid into his for a moment, squeezed, and he barely felt her touch.

  He was praying to a God he’d long since abandoned.

  * * *

  DANA’S MIND WAS PLAYING tricks on her. She kept driving endlessly, certain that she was recognizing a home or a pole or a sign, a particular cactus, a roadside memorial, and then doubting herself.

  Little Guy sat up, disturbing Lindy Lu, who whined and tried to get across the small console to her lap.

  “It’s not going to be that much longer, guys,” she said. She couldn’t stop out there to let them g
o. It would be safer if they peed on her seat.

  She’d never done anything so stupid. And sure as hell wasn’t going to call anyone and have Josh find out how stupid she’d been. How could she explain herself? Oh, by the way, I found out who you really are and my heart has shattered in a thousand pieces?

  If they were just friends, his true identity would be a mild shock, not the impetus for an irrational drive out to the desert.

  She’d make it out. She still had half a tank of gas. But damn, she’d had so much to do tonight to get the house ready for Thanksgiving.

  Tears sprang to her eyes again, but she brushed them away with an impatient hand. She didn’t have time for tears. They served no purpose.

  Josh was rich. So what?

  He’d lied. She didn’t know why.

  She loved him. He’d been engaged to a Boston heiress who was ten times more beautiful than Dana would ever be. Engaged with no wedding date set at the time of the publication of the photo.

  She’d neglected to tell her mother that part.

  Dana was having his baby.

  And what about the heiress? Josh had told her he’d never lived with another woman. Did that mean he was still engaged? Or that he’d lied about that, too?

  There’d been no mention of a breakup in the little bit of looking she’d done on the internet. No mention of the heiress again at all.

  She should return Josh’s calls. And she would. Just as soon as she had something to say to him.

  He’d know by now that she was on to him. She’d left the family tree on top of the box she’d found it in. And called Cassie, too. There was no telling how tight they all were.

  And that hurt, too. So much.

  Cassie, the woman she’d practically idolized, had lied to her by omission. She’d known who Josh was, but hadn’t said. Even when Dana had told the older woman that she was expecting Josh’s baby.

  But then, her first loyalty should be to Josh. He was Cassie’s family. She was just a clinic volunteer.

  Cassie obviously knew why Josh had pretended to be something he wasn’t. And if she understood...