A CHANGE OF FORTUNE

by Crystal Green

  By now, everyone else had departed, leaving only the catering crew to tidy up. But their presence didn’t seem to offer a girl much protection, especially when she was the one who wanted to jump Sawyer.

  “As much as I’d love to send you home with another kiss,” he said teasingly, “I’d probably better not.”

  What? Why? She hid her disappointment. “Who said I wanted you to kiss me, anyway?”

  He chuckled, and she did, too. Like she could get away with those kinds of comebacks after last night’s earth-moving lip-lock.

  He turned serious. “I need to be up early and clearheaded tomorrow. My dad’s coming back into town to tell all of us why he’s been sneaking around and keeping secrets from the family. The closer I get to the break of dawn, the more I dread what I’ll be hearing from him.”

  “You don’t seem all that stressed out.” She squeezed his hands, smiling up at him. “You handle pressure well.”

  “So I’ve heard.”

  His smile didn’t come as naturally as it usually did.

  Was she seeing the man behind the facade? The real Sawyer?

  She found herself sliding her hands around his waist, hugging him.

  At first he seemed surprised, but no more than she was. Laurel Redmond wasn’t a hugger.

  Except for now, when it felt so right.

  After a pause, he put his arms around her, too, drawing her even closer, and she leaned her head against his chest.

  They didn’t talk as, around them, the clatter of silverware and glass sounded from the cleanup crew.

  He fit her just right, didn’t he? And not only in a physical way. They really were two of a kind, slow to show their true emotions, hanging out with another person as long as it was convenient.

  But it was starting to feel less and less convenient as Laurel’s heart fizzed with an emotion she’d never thought she would encounter again.

  Remember, a little voice in her said. Think of how it felt to be in a couple with Steve. Think of the day he made you single in the most jarring way possible.

  She pulled away from Sawyer, smoothing down her dress, then her hair.

  What had she been thinking, getting all intimate like that?

  “All right,” he said, laughing a little, as if he’d had wayward thoughts scrambling through his mind, too.

  But, then again, maybe he hadn’t. Maybe he was just living in the moment, as only a Fortune had the luxury of doing.

  “I should go,” she said, jamming a thumb toward her pickup before she could guess what he was about any further.

  “I’ll cash in those flying lessons soon,” he said as a farewell.

  “You do that. Good luck tomorrow.”

  “Thanks. And happy birthday, Laur...a day early.”

  She lifted a hand in good-night, then walked to her pickup.

  She didn’t mean to glance over her shoulder at him. And she very well shouldn’t have, because the sight of him standing there, watching her go, his hands in his pockets, tugged at her so hard that she almost ran to him.

  But she was a woman with plans, and she miraculously stuck to this one, getting into that truck and, with a slow breath of relief, driving away.

  * * *

  Somehow Sawyer got through the night and made it to the morning.

  Once again, sleep had been elusive, and not only because that sharp longing for Laurel wouldn’t go away.

  Today was the meeting with Dad.

  After Sawyer got ready, then sent Laurel a quick birthday wishes text, he checked for any messages that had come in on his phone.

  But there was only one, and he must’ve missed it during the night. It was from Dad.

  “Happy birthday, son,” it said. “I wish circumstances had allowed me to say that sooner, and in person, but you’ll understand why I couldn’t when we see each other.”

  Sawyer had cut off the voice mail. Dammit, how could he completely turn against his father when he made it sound as if there was good reason for everything he’d been doing?

  His phone dinged, and it was Laurel, sending a text.

  Go get ’em, it said with a smiley face.

  For a minute, he smiled, too, until he had to get serious.

  But why was something inside telling him that maybe serious was starting to apply more than it should to Laurel, as well?

  He pushed the thoughts away while driving with Shane to the Double Crown Ranch, which William Fortune had offered up as neutral ground for the gathering. A distant cousin of James and his brother, John Michael, old William was a natural conciliator. It helped, too, that he hadn’t gotten to know the Atlanta Fortunes until they were adults, so he came into this situation with a pretty clean slate. But now that everyone had settled in Red Rock, William had taken on the mantle of patriarch that had once been held by his cousin, the late Ryan Fortune.

  After Sawyer parked the convertible, he and Shane walked through the entranceway, a veritable garden of purple sage plants, roses and flowering vines. And when they got to the door, Shane grabbed Sawyer’s sleeve.

  “If I start to lose my temper...” he said.

  Sawyer merely nodded to him, trying to be the easygoing brother now more than ever. Then he rang the doorbell.

  William himself answered, right along with his wife, Lily. He was tall, in his seventies, his blond hair iced with silver. Lily, who in her mid-sixties was still as beautiful as ever, looked at them with her exotically shaped dark eyes, smiling in a soft greeting.

  They were the solid presence everyone would need.

  “Good to see you two,” Lily said, stepping forward to show them in. After she hugged them, she added, “You’ll be meeting in the study.”

  William took it from there, ushering them through the house.

  “Just make yourselves comfortable,” he said as he left them in the room with its high-beamed ceiling and fireplace.

  Sawyer took in all the details: large leather couches and sitting chairs, Western-style antiques...

  Someone rose from a chair, smiling, holding her arms out.

  “Happy belated birthday, Sawyer,” his mother said.

  Happiness burst in his chest, and he went to her, enveloping her in a bear hug.

  Shane came over, too, and they included him in their embrace.

  Their mother’s voice was muffled. “Let a woman breathe, you two.”

  But she was just as joyful as they were.

  After she adjusted her suit jacket, she smiled wistfully, then touched Sawyer’s arm. “I’m so sorry I couldn’t make it yesterday.”

  During the cocktail party, when Victoria had rustled Mom up on the phone to join in on “Happy Birthday,” she’d apologized then, too.

  “You’ve already said enough sorries,” Sawyer said. “And I appreciate how hard you tried to be there, Mom. The sound of your voice on that phone was gift enough.”

  Clara Fortune shrugged in her pink Chanel suit. “But you liked what your dad and I got you, right? I remembered how you used to collect rare coins when you were younger. We thought maybe you could take it up again.”

  More toys he’d left behind, just like the jet in the Atlanta hangar. Yet her gift had touched him, bringing back good memories.

  Still, he wasn’t sure just how much thought his dad had put into the present, and that tarnished it slightly.

  “I told you, Mom,” he said wholeheartedly. “I love your gift. Thank you.”

  She pinched his cheek, and Sawyer blushed, especially when Shane lifted a brow at him, as if completely amused by watching a grown man be reduced to a kid by his mom’s affection.

  Unfortunately, the lightheartedness was short-lived.

  A familiar and not all that welcome voice sounded from the entry, making them turn toward it.

  “Everyone’s here, it seems,” said James Marshall Fortune as he strolled into the room, as polished in his Armani suit as one of the charity plaques he kept on his office bookshelves.

  Sawyer’s posture went ramrod straigh
t. He saw that Victoria was behind Dad, along with Garrett, Wyatt and Asher.

  And none of them appeared ready to sing another round of “Happy Birthday,” either.

  Chapter Six

  As Sawyer’s father looked around at everyone in the room, he used his commanding gaze to remind them that he was a president, CEO and their parent all wrapped into one.

  But just as the brothers had done on the day they’d confronted James Marshall Fortune about giving half of JMF’s majority shares away to a mysterious woman, they all stared right back at him, unflinching. And this time Victoria was there to join in.

  She was the one who spoke first. “I think we all need to sit down.”

  Her husband made his way to a couch and she took a position next to him, perching on the edge of a cushion. It was obvious that she’d brought mellow, good-humored Garrett along for moral support.

  When Shane, Asher and Wyatt stayed standing, Sawyer shot them a loaded glance.

  Come on, just go with it. Let Dad explain and then we can stand up to him again.

  Shane paused, but then gritted his jaw, nudging Asher and Wyatt over to a bigger couch next to the chair that their mother had already claimed. She was calmly watching her husband, her hands folded in her lap.

  The tick-tock of a clock on the fireplace mantel pounded in Sawyer’s head. He hated being here. Hated that they were all at loggerheads.

  Now, as James surveyed his family again, Sawyer could swear that there was a hint of remorse in his gaze.

  For what? Keeping them all in the dark? Alienating every single one of his kids?

  Wyatt led the charge. “Whatever story you have to tell, there’s no excuse for how long you’ve kept us hanging.”

  “That’s the truth,” Shane said, hunched over, his arms resting on his thighs. His gaze was lowered as he leveled it at their dad. “If it hadn’t been for my own detective work, we still wouldn’t know that Jeanne Marie Fortune even existed.”

  “Why, Daddy?” Victoria asked, shaking her head. She was holding hands with Garrett, her voice thick.

  At their younger sister’s show of emotion, Shane, Asher and Wyatt all raised their voices, demanding answers of their father at once.

  Sawyer was tempted to join them, but he took one look at Mom, who seemed as if her heart was breaking at the sight of her divided family, and he whistled.

  The piercing sound brought immediate silence.

  “We need to hear this out,” he said, connecting gazes with Shane, who closed his eyes, as if knowing that Sawyer was right. Despising that he was right.

  When Dad sent Sawyer a subdued yet clearly grateful nod, bewilderment seized him. Had that just been a sign of...respect? Of thanks?

  He wasn’t sure. All he knew was that he’d always been a sucker for an underdog, rightly or wrongly, and if Dad was going to speak, he needed to get out from under the Fortune dog pile.

  A layer of tension pressed down on the room, and Dad’s voice barely sliced through it. “I spent the past few days thinking of how I’d even start to tell you all this story. No beginning seems to be the right beginning.”

  Wyatt huffed. “Start somewhere.”

  All the siblings gave him a silencing glance, and he sat back on the sofa, crossing his arms over his chest.

  “You’re right, Wyatt,” Dad said. “I just need to come right out and get this over with. And it’s best if you hear it from the very beginning.”

  He unbuttoned his suit jacket, and Sawyer was so unused to seeing him in any state of dishabille that it threw him off guard.

  “In fact,” Dad said, “I’m just going to start with my father. You didn’t know Jonathan Martin Fortune, and maybe when I explain him to you, you’ll understand where I’m coming from.” He took a breath, then started again. “I know you kids think I’m one cold, wealthy man, but...”

  He trailed off, as if he’d recently realized how he appeared to his children and hadn’t liked the epiphany one bit.

  Mom helped him out in a soft voice. “Just tell them about your own detective work and your P.I.s.” She addressed her children. “James found out quite a bit about the family, including that his father was as cold as they came. Wasn’t he, James?”

  He smiled at his wife, and for the first time in Sawyer’s life, he saw them as a true team.

  When had that happened?

  Then Dad’s voice went flat. “It turns out my father never wanted children. Back in 1950, when my mother gave birth to their first child—your uncle John Michael—my father barely tolerated his presence. Then she got pregnant again, and he was furious.”

  Victoria asked, “He was angry at Grandma Rebecca for something he had a part in?”

  “Yes.” James had tugged loose his tie, and it made him seem even more human, less like the iron businessman he’d always been. “He wanted her to terminate the pregnancy. You should know that he wasn’t abusive, but when he found out that she was carrying more than one child, that pushed him over the edge.”

  If the room had been silent before, it was silent times a thousand now. It was obvious that Dad was talking about how Grandma had gotten pregnant with him and Jeanne Marie.

  Dad continued. “After Jeanne Marie and I were born, Mother was hopeful that my father would come to love us. But things got progressively worse. My father felt that she favored the children over him and seemed to have no understanding of how difficult it was raising so many kids. So one night she decided to get away from him. She packed us up and left.”

  Victoria was looking at her husband as if he were her rock, but Shane, Asher and Wyatt were as stock-still as Sawyer.

  So far this story wasn’t exactly a family fairy tale.

  “Even though Mom tried hard to make it on her own,” Dad said, “it was impossible to find work with so many little babies. I found out that she ended up having to place us in foster care until a family came forward, offering to adopt...”

  His voice broke off, and this time, Sawyer stepped in.

  “Jeanne Marie?” he asked.

  “Yes,” Dad said. “They wanted Jeanne Marie. It broke Mother’s heart to have to do it, but she relinquished her rights, hoping to give her a shot at a better life. She prayed that Jeanne Marie would be too young to remember she had a family before her new one. The O’Learys.”

  “So...” Victoria said, frowning. “We never knew about Jeanne Marie because she was adopted out of the family. Why didn’t anyone tell us all of this before now?”

  “I’m getting to that part,” Dad said, his shoulders slumped. He looked truly tired, and Sawyer still couldn’t reconcile the sight with the father he’d always known.

  Dad sighed. “Eventually, Mother got back on her feet and was able to reclaim us boys, at least. John was four and I was two by then. I don’t think John remembered that we had a sister, and I sure didn’t, but I do recall wondering why our mother would sit by the window with a mournful look on her face every day. Eventually I found out that she thought it’d be confusing to uproot Jeanne Marie from a happy, loving home.”

  Sawyer asked, “And what about your dad?” He didn’t call him Grandpa. “You must’ve wondered why you didn’t have a father around the house.”

  “Your grandmother would simply tell us that ‘Daddy had to go away.’ If we questioned that, she wouldn’t say any more.

  “Anyway, he died of a heart attack a few years later, never having made up with anyone in our family. And because he and Mother had never officially divorced, she inherited the bulk of his estate. We went from poverty to poshness in the space of a week.”

  Was it possible that, even though James had been so very young, something had stuck with him about being poor, and he’d decided to never be that way in the future? No wonder he was such a frosty tycoon.

  “But,” he added, “when we moved back into the Fortune mansion, we never talked about those early years again. Mother never, ever mentioned Jeanne Marie in particular. I think Mother believed we’d love her less if we found
out she ‘didn’t want’ the other child, and she thought it would also be heartbreaking for me and John to know that our sister was with another family.”

  Dad was smiling to himself now, and Sawyer wasn’t sure why.

  “Even if I didn’t remember having a twin,” he said quietly, “I would get a feeling every once in a while that something was missing. That I was somehow...incomplete. I wasn’t ever able to shake it, either.” Then his smile faded. “But anytime I asked my brother about it, John would tell me that I was imagining things.”

  Wyatt had taken his hand away from his mouth. “What triggered all these...feelings?”

  Dad sat on the arm of the chair his wife was in. She put her hand on his arm, smiling up at him. He seemed to take strength from that. “After your grandma’s death, I found some items among her possessions that were...odd. Two little pink baby blankets and a couple of small stuffed animals. That’s what triggered a memory—but I wasn’t sure what it was, exactly. Yet it was enough to tell me that these items were significant. So I started a search that very day to find out why those items had a hold on me and wouldn’t let go. I hired a P.I., but I was active in the investigation myself, too. It took years to track down Jeanne Marie, mostly because her adoption records were closed, and I had no idea where she’d gone or what her last name was.”

  Sawyer asked, “Did Uncle John help you out?”

  Dad’s laugh was short. “When I shared my suspicions with him, he told me that it was all just wishful thinking on my part. He said he didn’t remember another baby.”

  Shane narrowed his gaze. “This is why you two had that falling-out years ago?”

  “I’m afraid so. I was adamant about my suspicions—you could even say they were haunting me. He thought I’d gone over the edge, and I got resentful about that, accusing him of being as cold as the P.I. had told me our father was. Then there was the matter of the P.I. discovering other details about our parents’ marriage that John didn’t want to hear, as well.”

  Like the way Grandma Rebecca had been emotionally beaten down enough to have left the house with her children...the verbal nastiness...

  Victoria asked, “When exactly did you find Jeanne Marie?”