Brown Eyed Girl

by Lori Leger

  “Hmm,” he grunted. “Drake had his P.I. check you out, you know. If he hadn’t, I would have.”

  “Not surprising. I had my own check out the both of you, also.”

  “How did that bouncer get past your investigator, Mr. McAllister?”

  “He was half brother to a man I fired two years ago—same mother, different fathers and last names, no family resemblance. He was the perfect employee for two years, and extremely patient.”

  “I see. I assume you called for a reason. Is my daughter all right?”

  “She’s fine, sir, but I did call for a reason. I was wondering if you had a little time in your schedule to meet with me tomorrow.”

  “Just you, or will Tiffany be accompanying you?”

  “Just me; I thought I’d speak to you man to man before dragging her into this. She’s been hurt enough by you and your wife. I don’t want it happening again.”

  “Excuse me, boy? Just who the hell do you think you are?”

  “I’m a thirty-eight year old man, sir, so don’t call me boy. I’m her husband, and I’ll do whatever I can to keep her from being hurt.”

  “Her husband!” Daniel bellowed. “What the hell are you talking about?”

  “We got married this afternoon in Lafayette.”

  “Why weren’t we told about this?”

  “Ask Tiffany. We’d planned to do several days ago and it fell through. She’d wanted Drake there, but not you or her mother.”

  “Well, why the hell not?” Daniel asked, sounding more perturbed by the second.

  “I don’t know, sir, but she’s been your daughter for thirty six years. I bet if you try hard enough, you could think of several reasons.”

  Red waited through an awkward silence before taking control of the conversation again. “Okay, let’s start off with the most recent and work our way back, shall we?” He cleared his throat and began. “How about the fact that you both tried to force her to marry a man she didn’t love, and who obviously had mistreated her for five long years? Your wife went so far as telling her she’d be responsible for making her a social outcast and called her an ungrateful daughter.” He heard Daniel’s long drawn out sigh.

  “Monica always did have a flair for drama.”

  “Tiffany feels like you both tried to sell her to the highest bidder to bring money into the family.”

  “That’s ludicrous—we don’t need any more money.”

  Red stared at the phone in disbelief. “Sir, excuse me for asking, but do you and your wife ever communicate at all?”

  “Not if I can help it.”

  Red thought he was beginning to see the problem. “How long has it been like this between you two?”

  “At least thirty years.”

  “My God,” he murmured in disbelief. “Are you aware that you didn’t pay for Tiffany’s college education?”

  “That’s ridiculous!” Daniel exploded. “Tiffany went to a very fine college - L.S.U. is my old alma mater, as a matter of fact.”

  “Yes, but did you know that you didn’t pay for it? Her school counselor had to help her fill out applications for academic scholarships. Someone told her that if she didn’t go to law school, you wouldn’t pay for it. She had to hold down jobs all through college and med school to make ends meet, and she still graduated at the top of her class.”

  “You’re a fool if you think I’d let something like that happen to one of my children.”

  “It happened sir, so who’s the fool here, me or you?”

  “You can’t be serious.”

  “Don’t take my word for it, Mr. LeBlanc. Ask Drake, or better yet, ask Tiffany.”

  “How could I not know that?” Daniel asked, obviously in shock.

  Red replied in cold, dry tone. “I don’t know. How could you not know that your daughter has been neglected all her life by her own parents?”

  He heard a deep sigh on the other end of the phone. “Well, it seems as though I’ve got a lot to be held accountable for. I’ve made a lot of mistakes in my life but the biggest one, by far, was marrying Monica Reed. For the past thirty-eight years, she’s made my life a living hell.”

  Red’s jaw worked in agitation. “You could have made a difference in their lives, you know. You could have shown them a little affection instead of letting the hired help provide the only love they ever saw at home.”

  “I always assumed Monica took care of that. I should have known.”

  “Yes sir, you should have,” Red growled in anger.

  Daniel cleared his throat noisily. “It’s obvious that we do indeed need to talk, Mr. McAllister. I admire you for wanting to talk man to man. I’ll make time to see you at any point during the day tomorrow.”

  “That’s fine, sir. Tiffany has decided to go into the hospital tomorrow, so I won’t leave until after she does. I’ll be there around ten. Oh, and Tiffany doesn’t know about this.”

  “I’ll be waiting for you. Do you want this to be just you and me, or would you like to meet with her mother, also?”

  Red paced the floor with his phone to his ear. “I’ll leave that up to you. It doesn’t matter to me one way or the other.”

  “You know my son is quitting the law firm and opening his own practice in Lake Coburn. Is any of that your doing?”

  “No sir, I believe he wants to be nearer to his sister.”

  “I believe it’s more than that.”

  “It may well be, but I assure you, I had nothing to do with it. You’ve had over three decades with both of your children, Mr. LeBlanc. If they don’t feel any kind of bond to you by now, you and your wife have no one to blame but yourselves.”

  Daniel cleared his throat uneasily. “I suppose you’re right about that.”

  “You can reach me at this number. You let me know if you want to meet at your home tomorrow or your office—either is fine with me,” Red told him.

  “I’ll call you after I’ve spoken to my wife,” Daniel sneered before they ended the call.

  By the time Tiffany got out of the shower Red was showered, dressed and waiting for her. She walked into the kitchen dressed in comfortable jeans and a dark green sweater. She reached into the cabinet for a glass.

  “You know, babe, if you want to remodel this place, we can do that. Or even sell it. Maybe you’d like to build one day?”

  “Are you kidding?” she said. “I love it here. When I came out here for Jackson and Giselle’s wedding, I fell in love with the place. My being able to come home to this ranch and you…well, that’s damn near perfection.”

  “Only near perfection?” he asked, pulling her into his arms. “What’s missing?”

  She reached her arms up around his neck and pulled him close for a kiss. “Babies, Mr. McAllister...lots and lots of babies.”

  Chapter 17

  Red was halfway to Houston the next day when his father in law called to tell him to meet him at his office in downtown Houston. He arrived on time and walked confidently into the high rise reception area of the law firm at ten a.m. sharp.

  A secretary showed him into Daniel LeBlanc’s plush inner office and he stood, calm and straight backed as the large man behind the desk rose and walked over to meet him. They surveyed each other carefully; the older man in his western cut business suit, and Red, cool and confidant in a pair of dark blue jeans, long sleeve shirt, tie, and sport coat.

  “You’re taller than I thought you’d be, sir,” Red told his new father-in-law.

  “I guess I could say the same for you, young man.”

  “I see where Tiffany and Drake get their brown eyes and curly hair,” Red told the man who looked to be about the same height and build as his father.

  They both reached out their hands at the same time and clasped in a firm hand shake. “Daniel LeBlanc, it’s nice to meet you.”

  Red cocked his head slightly. “Scott McAllister, sir, and that remains to be seen.”

  Daniel jerked back in surprise. “You shoot straight from the hip, don’t you, son?”<
br />
  Red nodded. “Yes sir, I do. The fact of the matter is that your daughter is far too important to me not to take this seriously. I won’t allow her to be hurt by you or your wife anymore. I’m here to tell you that if you have any intentions whatsoever of trying to interfere in our marriage, she will cut you out of her life like the two of you never existed. Tiffany is happy with me, and my parents already love her like a daughter. I promise you, sir, if you and your wife interfere, you won’t be missed.”

  Red shook his head before continuing. “Now, personally, I’d prefer not to see that happen. I’ve always imagined that I’d have a good relationship with my in-laws, but I can live without it if she doesn’t want anything to do with you.”

  His father-in-law listened quietly while Red laid out the ground rules regarding Tiffany.

  Once he’d finished speaking, the older man nodded. “Drake’s right, Tiffany’s chosen well by you. My son is an excellent judge of character.”

  “If you ask me, I’d say your daughter is.”

  Daniel nodded. “Point taken, Scott. I know this isn’t a good excuse, but I grew up in a family with no sisters and a hard man for a father. He was hard on me and my brothers, and a real son of a bitch to our mom. When I got married, I didn’t know how to relate to women—either wives or daughters.”

  “Was it arranged by your parents?” Red asked, a little more bitterly than he intended.

  Daniel shook his head vehemently. “Not by my parents. I came from working class people. I did find out later that Monica’s parents pushed her to marry me. I’d made my fortune early in the oil fields, before attending law school. Monica’s mother, like her mother before her, always emphasized the importance of marrying into money. I thought we would grow to love each other over the years.” He pointed for Red to sit in the leather chair and made his way back behind his desk. “Not since then have I been so monumentally wrong,” he said, shaking his head. “It didn’t take me long to figure out what a cold hearted bitch I’d married. By then Tiffany and Drake were born, and my wife said I could do whatever I wanted to on the side, but that if I divorced her she’d take me to the cleaners. I worked too damned hard for my money to lose it to her and her money grubbing mother. The women in that family can be terrifying, if you want to know the truth.”

  “That’s still no excuse for you neglecting your children.”

  “Look, I told you, I had no idea how to relate to a daughter. Monica hired nannies to raise Tiffany, and believe me, some of them were harsh. The one time I did put my foot down was when I went over Monica’s head and hired Melinda Dawson. I dared my wife to fire her.”

  Red nodded in quiet approval. “Tiffany loves Melinda. She said she’s the nearest thing to a mother they ever had.”

  “I know that. My mom recommended her because she knew she would be good to them. Monica hated Melinda because she was our choice. After a while, my wife just distanced herself completely from them. I, like a fool, trusted her to do what was best for them. That’s my shame.”

  “Have you spoken to your wife about any of this yet?”

  The older man clenched his jaw. “No. I wanted to cool down awhile before seeing her, and I decided I wanted to meet you first. But you can bet your ass I will. I’m not happy about that college thing. Tiffany never complained.”

  “Who would she have gone to, the nanny?”

  “If she’d come to me I’d have corrected the situation, you know. I’d have made sure she went to whatever college she wanted to attend.”

  “I’m sure if she felt that was an option she’d have done so. Eighteen years of indifference has got to be difficult to overcome.”

  Daniel sighed in defeat. “You’re right, of course.”

  Red decided to cut him some slack. “She ended up where she wanted to be and did what she wanted to do. I’m proud she did it all on her own.”

  “Just as you did,” Daniel told him.

  “I had both academic and sports scholarships for grades and baseball, but my parents made sure that none of us had to work through school. They thought it was important that we were able to concentrate on school work. It must have been difficult for Tiffany. She made it through medical school on student loans and odd jobs.”

  Daniel shook his head in exasperation. “I’m sorry as hell for that Red, I really am. But, I’ve always been proud that she chose to go to Louisiana State University. I thought maybe she went because she knew I’d gone there. Now I find out that she really didn’t have a choice at all, did she?”

  “That’s one choice she’ll never regret, if it’s any consolation. She told me once she bleeds LSU purple and gold.”

  Daniel’s face broke out in a broad smile. “I hear she’s the best orthopedic surgeon around.”

  Red puffed up with pride. “She is, but I need to know, sir, are you going to interfere in our marriage?”

  Daniel shook his head. “I wouldn’t dare. I truly hope she can find the happiness she never had in our house.”

  “Then, call me Scott, please…or Red, if you prefer. All my friends call me Red.”

  Daniel guffawed and slapped him on the back. “I like you, Red. Tell me, how’s my daughter doing since her escape yesterday?”

  “She’s fine. She spent enough time in the truck with that lunatic to know she had to get out of there as quickly as possible. Do you know that she convinced him to take her instead of my mother?”

  “No! How did that happen?”

  Red related the entire story to him and watched as Daniel had to sit down at one point. It almost seemed as if he was going to be sick.

  “My God, she could have been killed.”

  “Yes.”

  Daniel’s eyes narrowed. “Did he die quickly?”

  Red nodded. “My dad said too quickly, and it was a much kinder fate than he would have chosen for him, but it’s done, none the less.”

  “I have to agree with your father on that one. Where is Tiffany right now?”

  “She’s at the hospital, working. She had asked for some time off, but now that everything is all cleared up, she decided to go back. She would prefer to take some time off for our honeymoon. By the way, we’ll be having our marriage blessed on the day after Christmas and will have a big reception at my new club in Lake Coburn. I’ll leave it up to you as to whether or not you’ll attend. We don’t know the details, but I’ll make sure to send an invitation to your home.”

  “Send it to my office or my country home. If you send it to my wife’s home in Houston, I’m sure I’d never see it.”

  “I’ll send it to your office then.” Red stood up to leave and suddenly remembered something. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small flash drive. “I brought this for you.”

  “What the hell is that?” the elder man asked.

  “This contains a file showing my assets. I wanted to prove to you that I can be a good provider to Tiffany. I can download this to any computer so that you can look at it at your convenience. Or you can keep it.”

  Daniel grimaced and shook his head. “I wouldn’t know what to do with that. They give me a new computer every year but damned if I can do much with them.”

  Red laughed. “You sound just like my dad. Maybe I could print out the report for you?”

  “If you feel it’s necessary. I already know everything I need to know about you.”

  Red shook his head and sat down at the man’s computer. He transferred the files and printed them out. Five minutes later, he handed him the stack of neatly printed sheets.

  “Now, that’s more like it,” Daniel told him. “Drake keeps telling me I need to learn how to work that damn thing but I’m too old to start learning anything new.”

  “You’re never too old to learn,” Red told him with a smile.

  Daniel smiled and nodded. “Red, is there anything I can do for the wedding? It’s traditionally the bride’s parents who pay for everything, isn’t it?”

  “Don’t worry about that, sir, I’ve got it und
er control.”

  “How about the honeymoon? Have you two planned anything, yet?”

  “No sir, we haven’t had a chance to think about it yet.”

  “Why don’t you let me pay for it? It would mean a lot to me if you did. You two can go anywhere in the world. I’d pay first class for everything.”

  “We’ll see, sir. It might be a good idea if you called her first. I didn’t tell her I was coming here today, but regardless of her answer, I thank you for the offer.” He walked to the doorway. “I’ve got a club opening coming up, and I’ve been neglecting it.” He gripped the older man’s hand firmly. “It was nice meeting you, sir.”

  Daniel’s face broke out in a wide grin. “You too, Red.”

  <><><>

  Tiffany came in around five fifteen that afternoon, dropped her bag at the door and walked straight into Red’s waiting arms.

  “Mm, it feels good to hold you,” Red groaned as they stood clinging to each other.

  “It feels good coming home to you,” she said, reaching up to kiss him.

  “Are you hungry?”

  “Starving…whatcha cooking?”

  “Chicken gumbo.”

  “Perfect weather for it, the temp is dropping fast out there,” she said.

  “I just got home around four. It won’t be done for another hour or so. Can you wait that long?”

  She nibbled on his earlobe. “I can think of something to pass the time while we wait.”

  He grinned at her and turned to lead her to the bedroom.

  <><><>

  Forty-five satisfying minutes later, Tiffany lay curled up against her husband, one ankle wrapped possessively around his leg. “I tried calling you to meet me for lunch today, but you never answered. Was your phone turned off?”

  “Yeah, I was in the middle of a visit with your father,” he said, not expecting much of a comment from her. He got less than that in the form of an icy silence as she pulled away from him.

  “Babe?” he asked, baffled by her demeanor.

  “Why would you do that without talking to me about it first?” she asked, her posture stiff and unwelcoming.

  “Well, I wanted to get it out of the way without concerning you with it.”