by Dani Wade
Madison grinned at him, sharing a little secret. “Definitely lunch.”
Blake had to admit that City Park was an excellent choice. Abigail especially liked Storyland Castle and the Puff the Magic Dragon slide. Madison chased the little girl around the play area, so that her giggles filled the air.
Then they headed back to see the frogs and birds and turtles in the conservatory before strolling under the live oaks with their hanging moss. Having met her mother once after she had taken Abigail to a zoo, Blake had known this would be a big hit. Abigail enjoyed watching the animals for a long time, and getting to take pictures of them with Blake’s phone. The only heartbreaking moment was when she asked, “Can I send these pictures to my mommy?”
Madison turned away. Blake wished he had the opportunity to do the same. “Absolutely, kiddio.”
They didn’t stop for lunch until Blake had taken them on a bike ride and paddled Abigail around the lake in a kayak. The whole time, Blake thought he must be incredibly lucky. Abigail was laid-back and easygoing, and he didn’t have a single issue with her. He did suspect that she was on her best behavior. He’d had more than enough of those moments when he was a kid.
By the time they headed to lunch, he was feeling much more comfortable. Maybe he didn’t know how to relate to Abigail as a child. But he related to her the only way he knew how. He talked to her the same way he would to anyone else. He didn’t baby-talk her or cater to her every whim. He simply urged her to do things that looked fun, and when it was time to move on to something else he was firm but polite. It seemed to work well with this particular child.
They had lunch at a little kid-friendly café, where Abigail got a grilled cheese and chips, eyeing the cakes for later.
Madison talked about wanting to try one of the recipes, and Abigail got all excited.
“Can I help? Sometimes Miss Sherry lets me help her stir things. She says I do a good job.”
Madison glanced his way before she said anything and he gave a quick nod. He appreciated her checking in with him before offering anything, but how could he say no to such a sweet little face?
Abigail was occupied talking about the different type of cakes she would like to make for quite a while before she started to run out of steam. Her eyelids got heavy, and she leaned against Madison despite still having part of her sandwich left.
Blake sat in silence for quite a while, just enjoying the shade and the slight breeze in the courtyard.
Madison plucked a thread from the little girl’s shirt as she finally said, “So I went through all of my mom’s stuff yesterday.”
Blake should’ve known it was coming, but still it was a stock. Even in his surprise he was able to murmur, “Yes?”
“I didn’t find any kind of ring. Of course, I got rid of most of her stuff ten years ago. But you never know when there might be a hidden drawer, or a locked box somewhere.”
Blake returned her smile, even though inside he felt slightly ill. It was only a few days ago that he himself had spent the night going through her entire house looking for just such a thing.
“I just wish I knew more about what happened. My mom’s life at that time is such a blank for me. I think it would just be interesting to know.”
And if she knew, she would be entitled to what she could find. But Blake had searched all over that house and found nothing. What the hell had happened to the Belarus diamond?
“For all I know, my mom could’ve sold an old engagement ring a long time ago. The only rings I could find were her wedding band set.”
“So you kept them?”
Madison looked slightly surprised. “Of course. Granted, she could’ve sold them for a little bit of money. The diamond inside was worth something. But my mother was always more interested in people than things. She wouldn’t have wanted to get rid of something my father gave her.”
Abigail stirred slightly against her and Blake glanced down to see her lift sleepy eyelids. “Is she talking about Father’s ring?”
Only years of having to hide himself from his father and present himself as someone he wasn’t in society kept Blake’s expression neutral. But inside, he was cursing up a storm.
Madison looked down at the little girl in question, but Blake quickly intervened. “No, sweetie. You just rest.”
Who would’ve guessed that a seven-year-old listening from the top of the stairs could have absorbed so much? She was too smart for him to completely brush it off. Otherwise she would start asking more questions, he just knew it. “That was about something else, sweetheart.”
Luckily, Madison kept right on, not really paying Abigail’s question any mind. “I know it’s a silly mystery, but I’m just curious.”
Of course, she had no idea of the significance of what Abigail had asked. And her curiosity was something Blake couldn’t relate to. After all, neither of his parents had ever been real people to him. Just evil dictators who should be avoided at all cost.
He’d thought that was all behind him, but look at him now.
Any minute, that very dictatorship was going to crush the most precious thing Blake had ever found in his life, if he didn’t find a way to stop it.
Tonight he’d try to reach Abigail’s mother one more time—and hope his luck held out for an alternative ending.
* * *
Madison took Abigail’s hand in hers and led her away from the table with a smile at Blake. He’d really done well and handled way more things than she’d thought he would, but taking a little girl to the little girls’ room might be asking a bit much.
The restrooms were in the far back of the little café. They paraded past the sandwich counter and the goody counter on their way. “I think I might have to ask Blake for one of those big Rice Krispies treats,” Madison said. “Doesn’t that look good?”
Abigail paused to look at the huge confection. “He won’t want me to have that. My father says sweets rot your teeth.”
Not an uncommon belief among older people. “Well, maybe if you only eat sweets and never brush your teeth. But you take good care of your teeth, right?”
“Sure do. See?” Abigail gave her an overly wide smile.
Madison dutifully inspected her teeth and pronounced them perfect. ”I think we’re safe to ask Blake anyway.”
Abigail looked up at her, then asked, “Do you think my brother likes me?”
Madison glanced down with a frown. “Of course he does. Why wouldn’t he?” She ruffled one pigtail. “After all, look how cute you are.”
Abigail giggled but quickly sobered. “My father said that if I don’t behave myself, Blake will leave and never come back. Just like my mommy.”
Just the thought of anyone telling that to a small child took Madison’s breath away. Bastard.
She led the little girl through the door to the restroom, and let it slide closed behind them. She knelt down next to Abigail. “Honey, I don’t know what your father told you. But Blake is not going to leave if you misbehave. All children misbehave at some time or another. It’s just a moment for them to have a learning experience.”
Abigail’s doe-brown eyes widened. “Really?”
“Really. It’s just part of growing up. You’ll get in trouble, but that doesn’t mean that the people in your life don’t still love you.”
“Like you love Blake?”
No way was she going to admit that out loud to a child who might repeat it. “Blake is a very special man. And I think you’ll find, if you give him a chance, that he will love you lots.”
Abigail smiled, seeming satisfied, then went on to do her business. Madison knew her words were true. Blake might not have felt himself capable of it, but this last week had proved he had more than enough love to give. He’d just never known how to access it before.
Abigail took her time washing her hands, as she had plenty more questions for Madison. It
seemed that her little nap had revived her energies quite well.
Some were as innocuous as, “Did you like the tree frogs, too?” and “Can you bring me to the park again?” Then the uber serious, “Are you going to marry Blake?”
“Give it time, kid. Your brother and I haven’t known each other that long.”
Besides, the time they had been together had been quite tumultuous. Madison knew how she felt about him, but she was used to loss. Used to people leaving. And Blake had made no mention of emotions, though his actions spoke pretty loud. Still, she wasn’t in any hurry to tell him her own feelings.
Abigail continued to chatter, which stopped the sweat from breaking out on Madison’s brow. Hopefully she’d dodged a bullet there. She seemed to be handling the girl talk situation pretty well.
An unusually high number of the children who came through Maison de Jardin were boys. That was who Madison had the most experience with. She knew nothing about fixing hair or playing with dolls. A couple of teenage girls had come with their mothers to the shelter, but they weren’t nearly as easy to befriend as the smaller kids.
“What is your mother’s name?” Abigail asked.
Madison was a bit taken aback, and paused for a moment before answering. “It was Jacqueline.”
“Was?”
Madison wasn’t quite sure how much experience Abigail had with death, but she didn’t believe in lying. “My mother died when I was younger.”
“Were you a little girl like me?” Abigail asked, standing at the sink while the water ran over her hands.
Madison wasn’t sure how much she should tell a child this age. “She was in a car accident when I was sixteen.”
“So she didn’t leave you like my mommy?”
“No,” Madison couldn’t believe how horrible that must be for Abigail. She waited a moment before saying anything else to see what the little girl was thinking.
“My mommy left because I was too much trouble.”
Damn. “Oh, Abigail, that’s not true.”
“Oh, it was. My mommy told me so a lot of times. I tried to be good, but I guess I wasn’t good enough.”
Pure rage swept over Maddie. How dare someone tell a child that. She was sure Abigail had been on her best behavior during this trip, but she still couldn’t imagine a child being so bad that you would outright tell them you were going to leave because of them. She was sure many parents thought it during the course of a stressful day, but they would never say it out loud, because they honestly loved their children.
“I’m really sorry, Abigail.”
“Father said Mommy is fragile.” She tilted her head so she could look at Madison in the mirror. “What does fragile mean?”
Selfish was what Madison wanted to say, but instead she said, “It just means that someone might crack easily, like a glass.”
“I knocked a glass off the table once and it shattered on the floor.”
“Yes, that is fragile.”
“Do you think I broke my mommy?”
Man, talking to kids was a minefield. “Absolutely not. That is not what I meant at all.” She knelt down beside Abigail. “Your mommy being fragile has nothing to do with you. It has everything to do with your mommy. And I hope that she can find something while she’s gone to make her stronger.”
“You can become stronger?”
“Of course. You just have to exercise and eat your veggies.” Madison pumped her arm to make a muscle, which caused Abigail to giggle.
Abigail finally finished with her handwashing, or what Madison would consider playing in the water, and got herself a couple of paper towels. As she dried off, she said, “I like you, but I do wish your ring had been Father’s ring.”
“How come?” Madison asked.
“It’s what Blake needs. Father told him to get it.”
“I don’t think I understand,” Madison said with a frown.
“I was listening on the stairs. Father didn’t know, but I think Blake did. He and Father were arguing. Blake was mad because Father wouldn’t take care of me.”
She brushed her hands down over her little dress in an imitation of an adult. “Father said Blake could take me home with him, if he got the ring back. Otherwise Father would ignore me, or maybe send me away.”
Madison could not wrap her mind around the horror of what she was hearing. Surely Abigail had to be mistaken.
“Your father told him to get the ring, from me?”
“I don’t know.” Abby scrunched her brows together. “That’s what I thought he said. But he wasn’t sure where it was.”
“Maybe he was talking about someone else.” Please let him be talking about someone else.
“Maybe so.” Abigail looked up at Madison. “But I really want to go live with Blake. I can be really good and he won’t want to send me away.”
Since she wasn’t sure what had been promised, Madison heard this hope with a touch of alarm. “Abigail, you realize Blake hasn’t ever had children.”
“I know.” She shook her head vigorously. “But I can teach him how to have a little girl. I won’t misbehave...much. Do you think he will help me learn?”
Madison blinked, desperate to not show tears in front of this girl who had been through so much in such a short amount of time. “I think you and Blake could teach each other a lot.”
She gave Abigail a quick hug, then took her hand to lead her back to the table. Along the way, she had to wonder about the ring the little girl had mentioned. There was no way that could have anything to do with her.
But as she thought about those first days together, and her confusion over why Blake would want to be with her at all, the question wouldn’t leave her. What ring had he and Armand been talking about?
Thirteen
“Quit blowing up my phone!”
For a moment Blake just looked at his cell phone, shocked. He’d called Abigail’s mother, Marisa, over a dozen times, to no avail. Apparently she’d finally gotten tired enough of the noise to answer.
“Well, since I’ve run out of other options, I didn’t know who else to call.”
“Why are you calling me at all?”
Um, your child might need you?
That didn’t seem to occur to her, as she went on, “The last thing I need to hear is how I have to come home. I am not coming home to that psychopath, and I can’t find a new husband with a kid in tow.”
Blake kept his mouth closed for just a moment. He wanted to lay into her about parental responsibility and how scared Abigail was and that she was really behaving like a child herself, but he couldn’t. He had to help Abigail. He couldn’t find the diamond. Marisa had to help him.
“Look, I’m just trying to figure out what’s the best course of action. You left a very sick child in the hands of a man who couldn’t care less about her.”
“He doesn’t need to care about her. That’s what nannies are for.”
Wow. How cavalier could she get? “He got rid of the nanny.”
“Why?”
“You didn’t see that coming? He let the nanny go. He said there was no reason to pay someone to watch out for her, because he doesn’t believe that Abigail is really sick.”
“Well, when he gets tired of dealing with her as much as I did, he’ll get someone else. Doctor appointment after doctor appointment...”
“He’s not going to take her to a doctor. He doesn’t believe there’s anything wrong. Your daughter is being neglected.”
“She’ll be fine,” Marisa insisted. “He’ll eventually hire a new nanny, and he’ll take care of her. He’s in a much better place to take care of her than I am. I’m broke.”
“You just emptied your bank account. How can you be broke?”
Blake knew that wasn’t the right question to ask. He just needed some answers.
“Look, I do
n’t care. I don’t care why you left. I don’t care that you’re not coming back.” Although he did care for Abigail, he just didn’t want to get into that with Marisa now. “I just need to find out anything you can tell me so that I can take over Abigail’s care.”
“Don’t bother. He’s got more money than God. She’s going to be much better off in his hands than her other options.”
Blake had firsthand experience that said otherwise. The volcano of the emotions inside him erupted. “Really? An old man with a narcissistic personality disorder about to go broke is the best parent for a sick seven-year-old child?”
“What do you mean, broke?”
“Broke. No money. So if you think you’re going to get a very nice settlement in the divorce, you can forget it.”
Marisa was quiet for so long, Blake thought she might be reconsidering her actions. But no...
“I’m not supposed to get anything based on the prenup. Why do you think I’m out here trying to find somebody new? But Abigail is supposed to be taken care of.”
There was no getting through to this woman. Blake insisted, “Well, there’s nothing to take care of her with. He’s basically housing her and that’s it. She’s already had one episode that landed her in the hospital.”
“Well, if that’s how it’s going to be, she’d be better off with her real dad.”
Blake held very, very still. It took him a minute to absorb what she had just said. “Are you telling me...that Abigail is not his?”
“Well, she should be. I mean, we were married.”
So? “Is she biologically his daughter?”
“Well, no.”
Blake couldn’t believe it. Of all the things he’d thought she might tell him, this was not one of them. He sat for a moment in stunned disbelief. He wasn’t sure exactly how this would fix everything, but he knew it would. And he would make sure that it did.
“Why didn’t you tell him?” he finally asked.
“I needed him to keep her. Besides, you know how he is. The minute he found out that I slept with somebody else, we’d both be out the door. He wouldn’t put up for that kind of humiliation. And I’m too good to be a chauffeur’s wife.”
