Evelyn sat stunned by the sudden transition as she watched him disappear into the building. What in the world was going on? It seemed that Sinclair Reasoner wasn’t only intelligent, handsome and rich, but quite complex—and he certainly wasn’t boring.
* * *
The drive to Oakland seemed to take forever. The closer Nedra got to the city the farther away it seemed to be. She was in constant contact by cell phone with Carla and Jacob. As she expected, the boys were not at the movie theatre where they had been dropped off. The couple had security search the mall for them, but they were nowhere to be found. Jacob was headed for the Greyhound station in Oakland.
“I’ll see if I can contact Sin,” he informed her.
“You do that,” Nedra told him, trying to keep the concern out of her voice. “We’re almost there.” She handed the cell phone back to Sharon. Where was her husband? It had been hours ago since she tried to contact him, and he still hadn’t responded. That wasn’t like him. Her emotions vacillated between concern and anger.
“What did Jacob say?” Sharon interrupted Nedra’s thoughts.
“He’s heading to the bus station, and he’s going to try and get in touch with Sin.”
“Where’s my Daddy?” Gillian’s sleepy voice came from the back seat of the car. She had slept most of the way to Oakland.
That’s what I want to know. “We’ll be seeing him later.” The reply seemed to satisfy her curiosity.
Sharon glanced at Nedra, aware of the catch in her voice. “Are you okay?” The question transmitted more than concern about how she was holding up this evening.
“Everything is going to be fine,” Nedra reassured her with the mantra she had been saying constantly over the past few weeks. This she had to believe. That’s what faith was about. “Everything will work out fine for you, too.”
Her words were said with such certainty that they gave Sharon a sense of peace. She gave her friend a grateful smile.
“You always know how to make me feel better,” Sharon said, her voice husky with emotion. She squeezed Nedra’s hand. “I’m so blessed to have a friend like you.”
“We’re blessed to have each other.” Nedra’s emotions were also skimming the surface.
“You’re blessed to have me, too,” said Gillian, not one to be left out of the conversation.
The ring of Sharon’s telephone interrupted the laughter that followed the little girl’s comment. She didn’t recognize the caller’s telephone number.
“Hello, Sharon speaking.”
“Hi, it’s Rhonda. I’m still out of the country, but I just talked to Daddy and he said that you needed to speak to me.”
* * *
Colin clutched the two bus tickets. He held his brother’s hand tightly with his other hand as they stood in the line that led to the bus to New York City. The ride would be a long one and care would have to be taken to avoid the many dangers that they could encounter as two kids traveling alone. Already a young man in his early twenties kept trying to catch Colin’s eye, and his instincts told him what that was about.
He was glad that the two of them were near the front of the line, chances of getting a seat near the driver were much better. He would have to watch his little brother carefully. He wouldn’t let him go any place along the way without him. He had Trevor’s Boy Scout knife in his own backpack for protection. He planned on taking it out and putting it in his pocket. He regretted not having taken his father’s gun from his parent’s bedroom safe. He knew that his dad kept one there, even though his parents didn’t know that he knew it. He had figured out the safe combination a long time ago. Silently, he berated himself for not having executed that part of his plan.
The sadness in Trevor’s eyes was evident. He knew that he didn’t want to leave, but what other choice did he have? If his father was seeing his brother’s teacher, their mother was sure to divorce him. He knew her well enough to know that. They would no longer be a family anyway, so what did it matter if they left now or later. At least Trevor wouldn’t have to go with that man. He wasn’t about to take a chance on that happening!
Once again, the announcement for the bus to New York City boarding rang throughout the building as the bus driver stood at the door collecting tickets. Colin tightened his hold on his brother and inched forward with the others standing in line.
Suddenly, Trevor jerked his hand from Colin’s, taking the older boy by surprise. He had no time to react. Confused, Colin looked around in time to spot his little brother sprinting at high speed across the crowded bus station, his backpack bouncing jauntily behind him. What was going on?
“Trevor!” Colin screamed at the disappearing figure. He took off, intent on catching up with him, but the blue jean jacket that he wore was rapidly becoming a blur as Trevor increased his pace. Was he running away from him in protest? He knew that he didn’t want to go away, but he was going with him whether he wanted to or not! Colin increased his own pace.
It took a moment for him to realize that his brother was running toward someone and not away from him. When he saw who it was, he stopped short. A tall figure, sporting a gold stud earring and dressed smartly in meticulously creased pants and an expensive sport coat, stood out in dramatic contrast to the other patrons in the bus station. It was to him that Trevor ran. His strangled cry reached Colin’s ears only moments before he leaped into the man’s outstretched arms.
“Daddy!” Trevor buried his face in his father’s neck and cried tears of pleasure and relief.
Chapter 30
As Colin walked slowly toward his father and brother, his shoulders stiffened in defiance, yet he knew that he was facing defeat. His plan had been thwarted. How it happened he didn’t know, but there was no way that he could take his brother away after this. If his parents didn’t win the custody case, Trevor might be lost to him forever. No matter what the situation was between his parents, he was dependent on them to save his brother. Yet, he was no longer certain that his father was up to the challenge, especially after what he heard in his office. His jaws tightened at the memory.
Sin kissed and hugged his youngest son repeatedly, pouring all of the love he felt for him into this moment. The thought of not seeing him again was incomprehensible, as was the thought that his eldest son could have been the cause of that happening.
With one last hug and kiss for Trevor, he shifted the boy in his arms and watched his older brother as he walked toward them. Colin stopped directly in front of Sin. His body language signaled his defiance as he looked into his father’s eyes.
Sin saw his fear. He sensed that it wasn’t a fear of him, or of the repercussions of what he had tried to do. It was about the future for his little brother and what lay ahead for him. There was also something else in his son’s eyes. Where there had always been trust there was now uncertainty. That came as a surprise. His son had never doubted him before. The thought that he now did hurt.
“What possessed you?” That was all Sin could say at the moment. He understood the desperation that might have brought Colin to this point, but right now he was in no mood to analyze those feeling. “Just come on,” he said tersely, then turned to leave the building.
* * *
Through the rear window, Evelyn saw Sin and his sons exit the bus station. Panic seized her. What in the world was going on? Had Sin come to pick the boys up from a trip? What could he be thinking? She didn’t want the boys to see her. She had to move fast.
Sin marched across the parking lot with Trevor nestled securely in his arms and his eldest dragging reluctantly behind him. He had to call Nedra and tell her that the boys had been found. This was the second time this week that Colin had been a source of concern, but the stunt that he pulled today was sorely testing his patience. He had been so upset over what Jacob had told him about the disappearance of his sons that he hadn’t thought about Evelyn and how he had abandoned her without explanation until he reached his empty car.
“What the—” He did a 360-degree turn as
his eyes pierced the dimly lit parking lot, trying to spot her. Considering what she had risked helping him, he had treated her shabbily and wanted to apologize. The car didn’t look as if it had been disturbed, but her absence concerned him. Perhaps she had gone inside the station to the ladies room.
“What’s wrong, Daddy?” Trevor looked at his father with curiosity.
“Don’t worry about it.” He kissed Trevor’s cheek in an effort to soothe him. Unlocking the car, he placed him in the back seat. “Buckle up.” By this time Colin had reached them.
Sin stood looking at him for a moment. The boy held his eyes, still defiant. There was a lot to be said between them, but this was neither the time nor the place. “Don’t say a word to me, just get inside.” Sin motioned him into the backseat beside his brother. Colin complied, spotting a white sheet of folded paper on the driver’s seat as he did so.
Taking a calming breath, Sin rounded the car and opened the driver’s door, prepared to wait for Evelyn to return. As he was getting in, he noticed the opened piece of paper on his seat. Picking it up, he read it. The message was short and meaningful. Below a scribbled telephone number was the initial E.
“What’s that, Daddy?” Trevor’s voice came from the back seat. His eyes shifted briefly to his older brother who had opened the note and read it. He glanced back at his father nervously, hoping that there would be no clue that Colin had touched the note. He didn’t want him to get into any more trouble than he was already in.
Sin didn’t answer his son’s inquiry as he stood inside the opened driver’s door and once again peered into the night. Half hidden inside the station behind the security of a door, Evelyn could see him standing there, his eyes searching for her. Her mouth twisted into a small smile. She wasn’t certain what had happened, but from what she could make of his body language, she could see that he was concerned. It made her feel good.
She drew back further from the windowed door when she saw him walking toward the station. He was coming after her. Her smile broadened. She didn’t know how they would explain to the boys her being here with their father, but it was obvious he was willing to try. Maybe something could be said that would be acceptable.
Evelyn had almost convinced herself to step out of the station to meet him when the sight of a car screeching into the parking lot with its horn blaring stopped her. Sin was startled as the car came to a sudden stop, a man jumped out and said something to him. The two men embraced. Evelyn hesitated.
A second car whipped into the station and came to a stop next to the other one. Nedra Davis-Reasoner leaped from the car and went straight into her husband’s arms. Evelyn froze.
Getting out of his father’s car Trevor raced across the parking lot to his mother. The reunion was a joyous one. Sin pulled his wife and child into his arms, completing the circle of joy. Evelyn pushed away from the door. Quietly, she melted into the crowd in the bus station. All illusions had vanished. Her only hope now was that things would work out well for Sin and for his family, and she hoped the same for herself, because as of this day, she had put her future into the hands of the man that she loved.
* * *
The night proved to be a long one. Tears of happiness mingled with tears of sadness were shed, but the physical and emotional trauma had taken its toll.
Much to everyone’s strong objections, Sharon was adamant about returning to the Peninsula after the family’s reunion with the boys. Having driven Nedra’s car back, she called later to tell them that she arrived safely.
After their children were settled comfortably at the Belle’s house in the Berkeley Hills, Nedra and Sin had talked to each of them about what had occurred that evening. It hadn’t taken Gillian long to realize that she was the heroine of the moment. Although she wasn’t quite clear about the particulars, she was aware that somehow her snooping had resulted in the return of her brothers to the family fold. In addition, her actions had gotten her to her aunt and uncle’s house, which is where she had wanted to be in the beginning. Her gloating reached epidemic proportions, culminating in her having smugly informed her oldest brother: “I told on you, and you’re in trouble.”
Her ego had been deflated a bit when her parents informed her that she was still going to be reprimanded for her previous transgression. As for now, she was quite content with the temporary reprieve.
Trevor was tearfully apologetic for his part in Colin’s runaway attempt. Protective of his older brother, he pleaded his case before their parents, informing them that Colin had only taken such action because he loved him. He blamed himself for what had occurred and offered to take Colin’s punishment for him. His loyalty to his brother tugged at his parents’ hearts. Reassuring him that they would not be hard on Colin, Trevor’s offer strengthened both of their resolves. They would fight with everything in them to keep their wonderful child out of the clutches of Royce Jamison.
Talking to Colin proved to be their biggest challenge. He had closed down completely, offering no explanation for his behavior. He stared straight through them with no responses to their inquiries.
Sin was so angry, hurt and frustrated during their session with their oldest that he could barely address him rationally. Instead, he stalked the room like a caged animal while Nedra sat beside the boy and talked to him quietly.
“We know how scared you are about Trevor’s custody case, but you picked the wrong way to handle it. Remember what your grandmother said? We stand together as a family, but there is a Higher Power. That power is our foundation. Your baby sister may not have taken the right approach in handling our situation, but she certainly had the right idea about how it could be solved.”
Still agitated, Sin went to Colin. “You can’t run away from this…” He stopped short. His eyes briefly met Nedra’s understanding ones before he continued more in control of his tone and his manner this time. “You can’t run away from problems, Colin. You’ve got to stand and face them like a man.”
The boy continued to be unresponsive. Sin gave a frustrated sigh. “You may leave, Colin.”
With a kiss on his cheek, Nedra reassured him that he was loved.
“Nothing that you do will ever change that,” she told him.
“And we all make mistakes,” Sin added.
They allowed Colin to stay in the bedroom reserved for them for the evening, realizing that he needed time alone to deal with his emotions. Nedra and Sin declined the invitation to stay with the Belle family for the night. Instead, they informed them of their own need to be alone. With the couple’s blessings, they left their children with Carla and Jacob and chose to spend the night in a hotel. They left the Belle household exhausted, but ready to share information, compare notes and make plans for their next effort to thwart Royce Jamison.
Later, as Sin sat in the hotel room reviewing the evening’s events, the words he had said to his son haunted him. You can’t run away from problems. He realized their hypocrisy if he made the choice not to follow his own philosophy. He had told his son that they wanted him to trust them, and he made it clear how much it hurt that he no longer did. He promised Colin on his mother’s grave that he would fight until his dying breath to keep Trevor with them, and whatever it took for him and Nedra to keep that promise, they were willing to do it.
* * *
It was late when Winston came downstairs to fix himself a cup of coffee. He couldn’t sleep. Since Sharon had been gone, he found it difficult to sleep soundly through the night. It was possible that this might be his nightly routine from now on.
He was sitting in his kitchen sipping his coffee and reading the evening paper, when he heard a noise in the front of the house. His head snapped up. He listened carefully. It was the front door being opened by someone with a key. The housekeeper wouldnbe coming back this late hour. Had Rhonda returned from her trip early?
Cautiously, he exited the kitchen headed toward the front of the house before recalling that his daughter had surrendered her key to his house, but Sharon hadn’t. He
came to a stop as his heart began to pound.
Suddenly, she appeared in the archway of the formal dinning room in which he was standing. The dim light of the chandelier illuminated her wheat colored hair. His breath caught in his throat. He was afraid to move, afraid that she was an illusion. Her next words spoke otherwise.
“I’m home.” Tears glistened in Sharon’s honey colored eyes, but the love in their depths was clear. “And I’m ready and willing to do what it takes to become a wife to you again.” She took a shaky breath and stood hesitant, unsure of what to do next, but Winston made it easy. He opened his arms to her. Without hesitation, she ran into them.
After the boys had been found, Sharon was determined that nothing would stop her from going home to Winston as fast as she could get there. She had driven alone in the night without fear just to go to him. Nothing was more important at that moment than salvaging her marriage.
Closing her eyes, she savored being in her husband’s arms. That’s where she planned on staying the rest of her life. She was sorry that it took his ultimatum to make her see what a mistake she had made. What she had with Winston is what she had been seeking all of her life, and she had nearly tossed it aside. As they kissed fervently, she thanked the Almighty that she would get a second chance to love and be loved by this man. He had integrity and that had to be respected. With him by her side their child would have the kind of happy home in which she had been raised.
They kissed as if incapable of parting, until breathing made it necessary to do so. Winston started to speak, but she pressed her fingers to his lips, silencing him.
“I have something I have to say, and it’s long overdue. I owe you an apology. I’m sorry for trying to put you into a position that you couldn’t win. I love the man that you are, and I was wrong in trying to make you bend to my will against your better judgment. Forgive me.”
Sinful Intentions Page 28
