One Heir...or Two?

by Yvonne Lindsay

  “Kayla?” he prompted.

  “Sienna and I went away for the weekend. It was a preexisting arrangement.”

  “I see. So rather than tell me that, you thought you’d just make me wait? Make me wonder if you’d skipped town altogether? You realize that avoiding me like that would have endangered your case, don’t you? Sienna is the subject of a custody dispute. A good lawyer could make a case that what you’d done could be construed as abduction.” He paused before adding, “I have very good lawyers.”

  Kayla stiffened, ready to argue—but decided against rising to the bait. It would just be a delaying tactic. She couldn’t push back this conversation any longer.

  “I’m sorry,” she said, shifting and focusing her attention on a different section of his back. He groaned as she found another knot and began to work it out. “But if it’s any consolation, I have reached a decision.”

  She felt him stiffen beneath her hands, probably undoing all her hard work.

  “And?” he asked.

  “I have a few conditions.”

  “Of course you do.” The sarcasm of his words hung in the air. “Come on, then. Spit them out.”

  “I will consider a fifty-fifty shared custody agreement. In return, you will cover all my pre-and postnatal costs of a medical and personal nature.”

  “Personal?”

  She bit back a smile. She’d been scrimping and saving every penny for the last five years so that she could support the children she planned to have. If Van was willing to throw all that money at lawyers to drag her through family court, he shouldn’t mind using some of his seemingly endless funds to let her pamper herself a bit for a change. It wasn’t a deal breaker, of course, but it would be a nice benefit to repay her for being cooperative. “Well, I’ll need a new wardrobe, for a start.”

  “Why do I feel like you’re not taking this seriously?” he muttered.

  “Oh, I’m definitely serious.”

  * * *

  Van slowly counted to ten and forced himself to relax, not an easy thing to do when she seemed hell-bent on extracting as much discomfort from his muscles as she possibly could. Hell, and people regularly paid for this? But, he reminded himself, he was a step closer to getting exactly what he wanted. He needed to go softly.

  “Anything else?” he asked, forcing his voice to remain civil.

  “When you present my mandates to me in an acceptable document, I’ll think about doing what you want.”

  “And you’ll agree to give up work and move into my house?”

  He could feel her tiring already. This work was intensely physical. Even he could see that she wouldn’t be able to sustain the energy she needed to do this for long into her pregnancy.

  “I’ll need to work out notice, but, yes, if that’s what it takes.”

  She was beaten and she knew it. He wanted to punch the air and shout “Hooah!” but he knew when to take his victories like a man.

  “I’ll see to the paperwork. Do you have a doctor already? Your records will need to be transferred to someone closer to home.”

  “I’ll give you the information you need before you go today.”

  She leaned into the strokes she worked along his back now, putting her entire body weight into the massage. Now that she wasn’t intent on punishing him, it felt great—a little too great. He reasserted control over his body, forcing every part of him to relax, to stop fighting her mentally and physically. He had what he wanted. Her motions grew lighter, gentler, and then, after the merest pressure at the base of his spine, she wiped his back with a warmed towel and then he heard her step away from the table.

  “That’s it—you’re done. You can get up when you’re ready.”

  He heard the clink of a glass and the sound of running water as he rolled over and got up. She handed him the water.

  “Here—you’ll need to drink. The last thing you need is a toxic headache.”

  He accepted the glass, noting that now that the massage was over, she assiduously avoided touching him. She turned and he watched as she consulted her phone and then transferred a name and details onto a piece of paper.

  “There, my obstetrician’s details.”

  He glanced at the small sheet before pocketing it. “When will you move in?”

  “You haven’t presented me with the agreement yet.”

  “Still hedging, Kayla?”

  She sighed. “I guess. I don’t like giving up my independence, and aside from that, I’m not convinced this is going to be the best thing for any of us.”

  How could it not be? “You say you have to work out notice here. What’s that—a month? Two weeks?”

  “A month,” she confirmed. “And I need to give my landlord a month’s notice, too.”

  “I’ll see to it that the agreement is delivered to you tomorrow morning. You’ll be here?”

  She nodded. “I have a full day, so, yes, I’ll be here.”

  He studied her a moment. In every line of her body, she looked defeated.

  “It’s not a prison sentence, Kayla. You won’t regret this.”

  She returned his gaze just as steadily. “I already do but I don’t really have a choice, do I?”

  He could lie to her, but he wouldn’t. “No, you don’t.”

  “You know the way out,” she said, turning her back to him.

  He waited a few more seconds, feeling somehow at a disadvantage. He should have been filled with a sense of victory. He had exactly what he’d asked for, albeit with an amendment regarding custody. And that wasn’t really so much of a hurdle—sooner or later Kayla was bound to show her true, irresponsible colors. When that happened, it would be easy enough for him to press for full custody. If her wanderlust kicked in again, she might even give it up without a fight. This was all working out perfectly.

  So why did he feel like he’d lost something even bigger?

  Six

  It shouldn’t have been this easy to just pack up one life and move to another, Kayla thought as her car rounded a curve in the road. Still, she’d spent most of her life reinventing herself and moving on to new pastures, hadn’t she? She had to look at this as simply another adventure. As she pulled up outside the address, she turned back to check on Sienna, who’d been awake for most of the journey from their apartment to this aerie overlooking the Pacific Ocean.

  Kayla wasn’t generally impressed by what she’d always deemed excesses of grandeur but this place was really something. Through massive iron gates, she spied the house—a double-storied Mediterranean-inspired mansion. Her heart began to hammer in her chest. Van lived here?

  The property looked huge—certainly far too big for a man living on his own. Maybe things wouldn’t be so bad after all. In a house this size, it would be easy not to have to see him.

  The building itself was imposing yet welcoming at the same time. Situated as it was at the top of the hill, it would command an impressive view of the ocean, and even though it looked isolated in its setting, it was still relatively close to both Monterey and Carmel. He had the best of everything, didn’t he? And now he had her and Sienna, too.

  In front of her, the gates began to open.

  “Looks like this is us,” Kayla commented, putting her old Toyota into gear and driving through.

  She looked back in her rearview mirror and saw the gates slide closed behind them. The sensation of feeling trapped fluttered against the periphery of her mind. Don’t be stupid, she told herself. This is the best thing for Sienna and the baby. If it wasn’t, you wouldn’t be here. Van had been right about the physical toll her pregnancy would put on her body and her ability to continue working. Once the hyperemesis gravidarum had hit, she’d been unable to handle being around so many different people with all the various scents they carried with them, not to mention the ar
omatic oils they used in the clinic. Susan had managed to find another therapist to take on her position and had released her from her notice with good wishes for her future. Even though she could have moved to Van’s house earlier, she’d stubbornly stayed on at the apartment until the very last day of her lease.

  Kayla rolled to a halt near the front entrance. A movement there alerted her to Van’s presence. Even from here she could see the concern painted on his face. It struck her that she should probably have let him know that a diaper change for Sienna midjourney had led to a severe bout of nausea for her that had forced her to take a long driving break. It had taken almost an hour before she could keep down a few sips of water and they’d been able to head on their way again. One of the worst things about being this sick through her pregnancy was that she’d had to wean Sienna rather abruptly, too. She barely kept enough fluid down to stop herself from becoming dehydrated, let alone enough to be able to continue to nurse.

  Before she could even turn off her ignition, he had her door open.

  “Did you have trouble on the way? I tried to call you.”

  “I’m sorry. I forgot to charge my phone before we left and we had to stop on the way.”

  She neglected to include her reasons for stopping, not wanting Van to lord her frailty over her again. Although he was unaware of just how sick she’d been, he’d still been reluctant to let her drive herself, but she’d been adamant, holding on to every last second of independence—and it hadn’t been fun at all. She felt his gaze rake over her, sensed he wasn’t happy.

  He cleared his throat and offered her his hand. “It isn’t important now. You’re here and that’s what matters.”

  There was a possessive note in his voice that made her give him a second glance. The lines of worry had already begun to fade from Van’s face as he helped her from the car. He was dressed more casually than she was used to seeing him and for a moment she was reminded of the old Van. But the old Van didn’t exist anymore, she told herself as she moved to the rear passenger door to release Sienna from her car seat. And this version, in a pair of well-washed jeans that were faded in all the right places and a T-shirt that fit his muscled shoulders just a little too snugly, was an unknown quantity. One that was equally as unsettling as he was infuriating.

  Van gently elbowed her aside. “Here, let me do that.”

  “It’s okay. She’s just woken and she’s not used to you yet. She might cry.”

  “She’ll have to get used to me sooner or later,” he said, pulling open the door on Sienna’s side and reaching in to unsnap the child restraints.

  Kayla stood back, the impact of his words sinking in. She’d been so focused on finishing up at work and packing and sorting her things for going into storage that she hadn’t looked past moving day. This was to be her new reality—their new home, together—at least until the new baby was weaned. The somber finality of the thought brought back that trapped feeling she’d experienced just a few minutes ago. She pressed one hand to her lower belly and drew in a deep breath.

  In the process of lifting a surprisingly amenable Sienna from her car seat, Van turned his head to look at Kayla. His brows drew into a frown.

  “Are you okay? You’re a bit pale.”

  “Always telling me how great I look, Van,” she said with an attempt to lighten his intensity. “I’m just tired, that’s all.”

  “You should have let me drive you, like I offered. Or at least allowed me to provide you with a driver.”

  “Self-sufficient to the core, that’s me,” she emphasized and gave a reassuring smile to Sienna, who was looking from Van to Kayla and back again. “Besides, I can’t really see you driving that,” she said, gesturing to her dented but generally reliable car.

  “I don’t want to see you driving that,” he commented with a disparaging glance at the car.

  The baby looked uncertain about the man holding her, but when Van held her close and smiled at her, she answered with a reciprocal, albeit slightly more gummy, grin. Kayla watched him with interest and saw the exact moment that he became captivated by his daughter. The two locked gazes. Suddenly the expression in Van’s green eyes deepened, as if he’d just realized something incredibly important, and his smile took on a tenderness that hadn’t been there before. Sienna reached up and patted his cheek, a little chortle of delight escaping as she felt the stubble on his cheeks against her tiny palms.

  Instead of feeling relief that at least Sienna wasn’t about to throw a screaming fit at being held by a stranger, a curious sense of loss filtered through Kayla. Was this what she’d really been fighting all along? The truth that she would be sharing Sienna’s affections with Van? Surely, she wasn’t that petty—was she? Maybe she was, she forced herself to admit. Maybe both she and Van needed to make some major adjustments. The idea was a difficult fit and certainly not one she embraced.

  Van pressed a kiss to Sienna’s head, then looked up. “Come on inside, I’ll get Jacob to put your car in the garage later. Just leave the keys in the ignition.”

  Kayla raised her eyebrows. “You have staff?”

  Van cracked a half smile in her direction. “Does that make me a capitalist pig? If so, I’m sorry, but, yes, I have staff. Jacob, who takes care of the cars and the grounds, Imelda, his wife, who looks after the house and meals, and now, Annabelle, who will be helping you with Sienna.”

  “A nanny?” She couldn’t keep the shock and irritation from her voice. “I told you when I signed your agreement, I don’t need a nanny.”

  “Our agreement,” he corrected. “Just think of her as a precautionary measure.”

  “Is this another attempt to undermine my position as Sienna’s mom? Or are you planning ahead, hoping she’ll transfer her affections to another woman so that when I’m forced to share custody with you, she won’t miss me so much?”

  “Jeez, Kayla, relax. Annabelle is here to help you—to take care of the day-to-day things that will become harder for you as time progresses, especially if you don’t start to feel better soon. She comes well recommended and worked for years as a pediatric nurse before becoming a nanny. Whatever your feelings about me, don’t judge her until you meet her, okay?”

  “I’m ten weeks now. I should start to feel better anytime soon. Besides, I’m responsible for Sienna’s care and I don’t see why that should change just because I’m pregnant.” She sniffed indignantly. “If you want this Annabelle to have a highly paid holiday in your luxury home, go ahead. No skin off my nose. I only hope she doesn’t get bored.”

  Van laughed. Honest-to-goodness laughed from deep in his belly. It made Sienna’s eyes open wide, before she too chuckled along with him. Feeling like little more than an outsider with her own dysfunctional little family, Kayla wrapped her arms around herself.

  “I don’t see what is so funny,” she said stiffly.

  Van was still smiling when he spoke. “Most women I know with kids would love to have a nanny to help out. Tell me you’re not just being possessive about the time Annabelle will be spending with Sienna.”

  The way he phrased it, it sounded like a foregone conclusion that this Annabelle would be taking over Sienna’s care. It also made Kayla sound like a bit of a brat.

  “I’m her mother. It’s only natural that I would be uncomfortable about yet another stranger,” she said with a sharp look at Van that hopefully left him in no doubt that she lumped him in that same category, “taking care of my daughter.”

  “And yet you were happy to leave her with a drug addict in your own home?” Van replied equally piercingly.

  “I didn’t know—”

  “You can rest assured that very thorough checks were made into Annabelle’s suitability as a caregiver for Sienna. Now, if you’ve quite finished grandstanding over things you can’t change, let’s go inside.”

  Van started toward the front door with S
ienna in his arms. Torn between stamping her foot in frustration and following him, she chose the latter.

  Kayla was so ruffled she almost didn’t notice the opulent entrance of Van’s home, but a slight wave of dizziness caused her to pause in her steps as she crossed the threshold in Van’s wake. She’d heard the phrase take your breath away a time or two and had thought it hugely appropriate when faced with the majestic vistas that nature provided during her world travels, but she had to admit that the foyer to Van’s house was certainly spectacular. The double front doors opened into a two-storied and spacious tiled entrance. From where she stood, she saw a massive staircase with an ornate balustrade swirling to the upper level, and directly ahead, she spied a formal sitting room with wide floor-to-ceiling windows that opened out onto a terrace on the other side.

  She took a few steps forward. Light spilled in through the windows, making everything look fresh and spacious and gilded, while the pale gold tile floor gave it an inviting warmth. To one side she glimpsed a formal dining room, to the other what looked like a wood-paneled library.

  “I can’t believe you have all this house for just one person. Oh, and staff,” she added, the last part heavily weighted with derision.

  “It’s home,” Van answered plainly. “You know what I came from. I promised myself that when I could, I would have the best of everything. I have it now.”

  He hadn’t said a lot but Kayla felt as though she’d been very firmly put in her place. It made her feel as if her snide remarks had been both nasty and unnecessary. She was so busy focusing on what she perceived to be his materialistic overindulgence she’d forgotten where he’d come from. What he’d endured. His simple summation of this house being home struck her hard. She was about to apologize when Van continued.