Читать книгу Claiming The Captain's Baby - Rochelle Alers, Rochelle Alers - Страница 9
ОглавлениеGiles settled into a hotel suite less than an hour’s drive from a regional airport. After checking in, he changed into a swimsuit and swam laps in the indoor pool. Once he had showered and changed into a pair of walking shorts and a rugby shirt, he ordered room service.
A ringtone on his phone indicated a text message from Jocelyn:
Return flight scheduled for departure at 1:00 p.m. tomorrow at Tri State Airport. Ground transportation confirmed. Confirmed dinner with your mother
Giles responded with: Thank you.
He could always count on Jocelyn to simplify his life. Once he had set up the company’s international division, Giles couldn’t convince his older brother to run the department with him. Patrick had declined because, as a husband and now a father of two young boys under the age of six, he claimed he didn’t want to be away from his family even if it was only for a week.
Patrick also professed he preferred working with their father in the legal department to jetting off to exotic climes, leaving Giles to ponder how much longer he would be able to maintain a one-man operation. Several third-generation Wainwrights cousins were still undecided whether to come and work for the company. He had made them generous offers to come and work with him, yet they still were ambivalent about becoming involved in the real estate business.
He finished his lunch and left the tray on the floor outside the door. Walking across the room, he flopped down on the king-size bed and reached for the cell phone on the bedside table and dialed the number to Jordan’s cell phone. It rang four times before going directly to voice mail. He decided not to leave a message. Either Jordan was in court or with a client. He made another call, this time to his cousin’s office.
Jordan had always teased Giles, declaring they were the family outsiders. Jordan and his law school mentor had gone into partnership, setting up Chatham and Wainwright, PC, Attorneys at Law. The firm was housed in a brownstone in Harlem’s Mount Morris Park Historic District. Despite his reputation as a brilliant corporate attorney, Jordan refused to work for the family business, while Giles had opted for the military rather than join the company once he’d graduated college.
“Good afternoon, Chatham and Wainwright. How may I direct your call?”
“I’d like to speak to Jordan Wainwright.”
“May I ask who’s calling?”
“Giles Wainwright.”
“Hold on, Mr. Wainwright. I’ll see if he’s available to take your call.”
“Thank you.” He didn’t have to wait long before he heard Jordan’s familiar greeting.
“What’s up, G?”
Giles smiled. Jordan was the only one in the family who referred to him by an initial. “I’d like to hire your firm to conduct a background check on a couple of people.” A swollen silence followed his request.
“Why are you asking me when your legal department can do it?”
“I’m asking you because what I’m going to say to you should stay between us. Attorney-client privilege,” he added.
“What’s going on, Giles?”
He knew he had gotten Jordan’s attention when he addressed him by name. Giles was completely truthful when he told Jordan everything—from sleeping with Samantha, the phone call asking him to come to Wickham Falls, West Virginia, and to the revelation that he was now the father of a seven-month-old little girl and the rights extended to him as her father.
“That’s really a low blow,” Jordan drawled.
Giles smiled in spite of the seriousness of the situation. “I agree. I need to know everything about Samantha Madison Lawson and Mya Gabrielle Lawson. Both were adopted, so I don’t know how far back you’ll be able to go.”
“I’ll have the investigators begin with their adoption records and go forward from there. Is there anything you’ve noticed about the aunt that would make her unfit to be your daughter’s mother?”
“Not really. We spent less than an hour together. Her home is clean and tastefully furnished, and she claims to have taught college-level literature.”
“Does she appear financially able to raise and educate the child until she is emancipated?” Jordan asked.
Giles stared up at the ceiling. “I don’t know. That’s what I need for your people to find out.” Although Mya drove a late-model vehicle, it wasn’t in the luxury category. He also had no idea if Samantha had life insurance, and if she did, if Mya had been her beneficiary. His concern was how she was supporting herself as a stay-at-home mother.
He had called Jordan because he knew he would never divulge what Giles had just told him. However, Giles knew he owed it to his parents—his mother in particular—to let her know that they had another grandchild.
“Are you prepared to accept the results if they come back clean?”
“I’ll have to accept it, but that doesn’t mean I’m going to stop fighting to claim my daughter.”
“I wouldn’t expect you to give up,” Jordan continued, “because I would do the same if I were in a similar situation. What I wouldn’t do is antagonize your daughter’s mother. Try to remain civil with her and perhaps she’ll come around and allow you more involvement in the baby’s life.”
“That’s what I’m hoping will happen.” Giles paused. “Do I have an alternative if the background checks yield nothing? What can I use to sue for at least joint custody?”
“Your only other option would be charging her with neglect. You’ll have to be able to prove that the child has failed to thrive, that she doesn’t get the medical care she needs, or if you’ve witnessed any verbal or physical abuse. I’ve never handled a child abuse or neglect case, but Aziza has. Although she’s well versed in the family court system, I don’t want to involve her in this because she’s so close to her due date. Maybe after the baby’s born and if she feels up to it, I’ll ask her to look into this for you.”
“When is she due again?”
“October 5. The doctor says the baby could come a week before or a week after that date.”
“You still don’t know if you’re having a girl or a boy?”
“No. We want to be surprised.”
“Have you narrowed it down to names?”
“We’re leaning toward Maxwell if it’s a boy and Layla if it’s a girl.”
“I like those names.”
His cousin and his wife were given the privilege of selecting names for their unborn baby, while he’d had no say in naming his daughter. Every time he thought about Samantha’s deception, it served to refuel his anger.
“Look, G, I’m going to hang up because I have a client waiting for me. And don’t worry about the background checks. I’ll have the investigators get on it ASAP.”
“Thanks, Jordan.”
“No need to thank me. Talk to you later.”
Giles ended the call and rested his head on folded arms. He would take Jordan’s advice and not do anything to antagonize Mya because she held all of the cards when it came to Lily’s future. At least for now.
What she wasn’t aware of was his intent to use any and everything short of breaking the law to claim his daughter.
* * *
The following evening Giles opened the door to his apartment and waited for his mother to emerge from the elevator.
Amanda Wainwright stepped out of the car, her smile indicating she was as pleased to see him as he was her. It was a rare occasion when Giles saw his mother without a fringe of hair sweeping over her ears and forehead. Tonight she had styled her chin-length, liberally gray-streaked black hair off her face. She was conservatively dressed in tailored taupe slacks she had paired with a white tailored blouse. She was hardly ever seen in public without her ubiquitous navy blazer, Gucci loafers and the magnificent strand of South Sea pearls and matching studs she had inherited from her grandmother.
There had been a time after graduating college and before he’d joined the marines when they had rarely spoke to each other. However, that changed when Giles called to inform his mother he was being deployed to Afghanistan. After all, he’d owed it to her to let her know he would be going into combat.
That single call changed him forever. It had taken days before he could forget the sound of her heartbreaking sobs. He apologized for severing all communication with her, while she apologized for interfering in his life and attempting to control his future. He returned to the United States after his first tour, shocking his parents when they opened the door to find him in uniform grinning ear to ear. The homecoming signaled a change in their relationship. He was still their son, but he had also become a decorated war veteran.
“Hello, gorgeous.”
An attractive blush suffused Amanda’s fair complexion with the compliment. Giles had been truthful. His mother’s stunning beauty hadn’t faded at sixty-four. It was her tall, slender figure, delicate features, coal-black hair and vibrant violet-blue eyes that had attracted Patrick Wainwright II, who married her after a whirlwind courtship; a year later, they had welcomed their first child.
Amanda rested a hand on Giles’s light stubble. “You are definitely your father’s son. You always know what to say to make a woman feel good.”
Giles kissed her forehead. “You have to know by now that I never lie.” He threaded their fingers together and led her through the foyer and into the expansive living-dining area.
She pointed to the dining area table set for two. “You cooked?”
He seated his mother on a love seat and dropped down next to her. “Surely you jest,” he said, smiling. His many attempts to put together a palatable meal had resulted in either over-or undercooked dishes that always ended up in the garbage. In the end, he preferred eating in or ordering from his favorite restaurants or gourmet shops.
“I ordered from Felidia. It should be here in about twenty minutes.”
Amanda gave Giles a long stare. “Why did you order in? You know I love eating there because the place reminds me of a little ristorante Pat and I discovered when we were in Bologna.”
“I decided we’d eat in because I need to talk to you about something.”
“Please don’t tell me you’re going to rejoin the military.”
Giles dropped an arm over his mother’s shoulders and hugged her. “No. What I want to tell you shouldn’t be disclosed in public.”
Amanda’s eyelids fluttered as the natural color drained from her face. She rested a hand over the pearls. “Please don’t tell me something that’s going to hurt my heart.”
He shook his head. “It’s something you claim you’ve been wishing for. You now have a granddaughter.”
Giles knew he had shocked his mother when her hands trembled, but then she quickly recovered and cried tears of joy. Waiting until she was calmer, he told her everything he’d disclosed to Jordan. He left out the fact that he wanted his cousin to conduct a background check into the lives of his daughter’s mother and adoptive mother.
Amanda sniffled as she opened her handbag and took out several tissues. “What are you going to do?” she asked, after blowing her nose.
“I’m going to take the legal route to claim my daughter.”
“You claim you have visitation, so when can we expect to meet her?”
Giles recalled the designated holidays outlined in the codicil. “It probably won’t be until Thanksgiving.”
A crestfallen expression crossed Amanda’s face. “That’s more than two months from now.”
“I know, Mom. I’m hoping to convince Mya to bring her before then.”
“Who else knows about this?”
“Just you and Jordan,” he admitted.
Amanda rested her head on her son’s shoulder. “I’d rather not say anything to Pat right now, because he’s probably going to go ballistic and go after this poor girl who had no idea what her sister was planning.”
Giles pressed a kiss to his mother’s hair. “You’re right.” There was nothing his father liked better than a legal brouhaha. “Then this will remain between you, me and Jordan for now.” The chiming of the building’s intercom reverberated through the apartment. “That’s probably our dinner.”
He answered the intercom. The doorman announced a delivery from Felidia. “Please send them up.”
Two hours later, Giles escorted his mother to the street, waited for her to get into a taxi and stood on the curb watching as it disappeared from his line of vision.
It was as if he could exhale for the first time in more than twenty-four hours. Talking to his mother, and her decision not to tell her husband temporarily assuaged his angst over attempting to explain the circumstances of him becoming a father.
Giles shook his head to rid his thoughts of the possible scenarios Patrick could employ to make Lily a Wainwright, because he intended to use his own methods to get what he wanted. If he was able to get a judge to rule in his favor to grant him joint custody, then he would happily comply with the law to share his daughter with Mya.
The sidewalks were teeming with locals and tourists in sweaters and lightweight jackets to ward off the early autumn chill. Giles, not wanting to return to his apartment, walked along Second Avenue to Forty-Second Street, stopping at intervals to do some window-shopping before reversing direction and heading back uptown. The walk had been the antidote to release some of his anxiety about reuniting with Mya and hopefully agreeing to what was best for Lily.
The night doorman stood under the building’s canopy. “Have a good evening, Mr. Wainwright.”
Giles nodded and smiled. “You do the same, Raoul.”
During the elevator ride to his floor, Giles mentally mapped out what he had to accomplish before returning to Wickham Falls. He knew it was time for him to give Jocelyn more responsibility if he was going to be away for any appreciable length of time. And that meant she would have to accompany him during his next trip to the Bahamas.
* * *
Mya sat on the porch, bouncing Lily on her lap. Giles had called to inform her he was in Wickham Falls and for her to expect him to arrive at her house before one that afternoon.
It had been three weeks since their initial meeting, and she had resigned herself to accept him as Lily’s father. If Sammie hadn’t wanted her daughter to have a relationship with her father, then she never would’ve added the codicil.
She had gotten up earlier that morning to put up several loads of laundry, give Lily breakfast and followed with a bath. After dressing her, she spent fifteen minutes reciting nursery rhymes. Mya knew Lily was more than familiar with many of the words and would be able to repeat them once she began talking.
Her daughter had become quite a chatterbox when she babbled about things Mya pretended to understand, while their favorite games were patty-cake and ring around the rosy. Now that Lily was standing up while holding on, Mya would gently pull her down to the floor when she sang the line “they all fall down” in “Ring Around the Rosie.”
Mya went completely still when she registered the sound of an approaching car. The vehicle maneuvering up the driveway wasn’t a town car but an SUV with New York plates. And as it came closer, she noticed a car seat.
Mya held her breath when Giles got out and waved to her. He looked nothing like the well-dressed man who had questioned her late sister’s decision not to grant him custody of their daughter. Relaxed jeans, a sweatshirt with a fading USMC logo and running shoes had replaced the business attire.
She rose stiffly, as if pulled up by a taut overhead wire, and waited for his approach. He hadn’t shaved and the stubble afforded him an even more masculine quality.
At first, she had asked herself why her sister had put up with him, but seeing him like this, Mya realized Giles Wainwright was not a man most women could ignore at first glance. Piercing blue eyes and balanced features made for an arresting face. He was tall, several inches above six feet, broad-shouldered and appeared in peak physical condition.
Giles slowly made his way up the porch steps, stopping only a few feet from her.
“Hello again.”
An unconscious smile parted Mya’s lips. “Welcome back. How long do you plan to stay?”
Giles met her eyes. “I don’t know. It’s open-ended, so I checked into an extended stay hotel.”
Her smile faded. “What do you mean by open-ended?”
“I may have to go to New York for a few days for meetings, but once they’re concluded I’ll be back.
Her jaw dropped. “Oh I see.”
“Hopefully you do, because it’s going to take a while for Lily to get used to seeing me, so I’m prepared to take as much time as necessary to bond with my daughter.”
His reference to Lily being his daughter was not lost on Mya. Biologically the baby was his daughter, but legally Lily was hers. “I’m not opposed to you bonding with my daughter,” she countered, smiling. “And if there is anything I can do to speed up the process, then please let me know.”
She knew she had shocked him with the offer when he gave her a long, penetrating stare. It was apparent he hadn’t expected her to be that cooperative. His gaze shifted to Lily.
“May I hold her?”
“Hold out your arms and see if she’ll come to you.”
* * *
Giles extended his arms, and much to his surprise Lily leaned forward and held out her arms for him to take her. He smiled at the little girl looking up at him. “She looks different from when I last saw her.” Her hair was longer and there was a hint of more teeth coming through her upper gums.
Mya leaned against the porch column and crossed her arms under her breasts. “I’m able to see her change even though I’m with her all the time. Right now she’s teething, so she’s drooling on everything.” As if on cue, Lily picked up her bib and gnawed on it.
Giles shifted his attention from Lily to Mya. He marveled that a woman without a hint of makeup and wearing faded jeans and a white T-shirt and socks could appear so incredibly sensual.
“How old is she now?”
“She turned eight months two days ago.”
He quickly did the math. “Her birthday is February 5?”
“Yes.”
“Our birthdays are four days apart. Mine is February first.”
“That’s quite a coincidence.” Mya turned and opened the storm door at the same time Lily let out a piercing scream. “That’s her way of telling me she wants to be changed. In fact, it’s time for her afternoon nap.”
Giles followed Mya inside the house and sniffed the air. “Something smells good.”
Mya glanced at him over her shoulder. “I’m making pot roast. You’re more than welcome to stay for dinner.”
He stared at the denim fabric hugging her hips and smothered a groan. Giles knew it wasn’t going to be easy to completely ignore the woman with whom he would spend time whenever he came to see Lily. Everything about her turned him on: her face, body, hair, softly modulated voice with a hint of a drawl and then there was the way she stared at him. It was as if she knew what he was thinking or going to say before he spoke.
Jordan had come up with nothing—not even a parking ticket—in Samantha and Mya’s background for him to use as leverage to bolster his case if and when he decided to sue her. The only alternative was to watch for signs of neglect, and watching Mya closely was definitely going to become a delightful distraction.
“I’d like that very much. Do you cook every day?”
“Yes, because I have to prepare meals for Lily.”
Giles slipped out of his running shoes, left them on the thick straw mat near the door and followed Mya through the living room and up a flight of stairs to the second story. “You don’t buy baby food from the supermarket?”
“No. I’ve heard stories about jars of baby food being recalled because of foreign objects, so I decided it’s safer and healthier to prepare her food myself. I’ll cook carrots, beets, spinach or sweet potatoes and then purée them to a consistency where she can swallow without choking.”
