Blood Debt (Touched Series Book 1) (7 page)

“
But y
ou were married and you were pursuing my mom?”

He nodded again, “
I was.  I could never explain the feelings I had for your mother.  I would have given anything in the world
to
her.
”

I couldn’t help but
restate the obvious, “But you were married.”

“Yes, I was. 
The truth is, I told your mother I was married with a family
,
and she
was furious with me.  She
rejected me.
  She told me to go home to my wife.
”

“So that’s it
.  Y
ou met her, you hooked up
,
then you told her about Gretchen?  I can’t imagine why she would have rejected you.”

He smiled proudly when he told me,
“You have your mother’s spirit.  I didn’t plan to meet your mother.  I certainly didn’t expect to feel so strongly for a woman I hardly knew.  I’ve always been an honest person
.  T
he truth
,
no matter how terrible
,
is always
better
than a lie.  I told your mother the truth
;
she told me
to go home
.”

“And that’s it?”

“Until your call yesterday, yes.  I’ve thought about your mother over the years, but any letter I sent was always returned to me with ‘Delivery Refused’ written on the envelope.”

“That sounds like
Mom
.  So, how did Gretchen take it, when you told her about me?”

“
I have been married to Gretchen for twenty
-
nine years.  I shared with her that I met your mother
the very night
I returned from San Diego
.  I confessed everything. 
She was as stunned as I that I had met Angela Chiron and had. . . how did you say it?  Hooked up?  That I had hooked up with her.  But I kept your mother’s secret, as did Gretchen
.  N
either of us told a soul.”

“What secret?”

“Your mother. . . she was a well
-
known figure in our community.  She disappeared when she was seventeen.  Many suspected foul play
.  W
hen I left your mother, she asked that I not tell anyone where I found her.”

“So
,
she was hiding from someone?”

“Angela never came right out and said it, but she was adamant that I not tell anyone
that I had seen her
.  I told Gretchen, but I knew she would not
divulge her whereabouts.
”

“Did Gretchen kick you out?”

“No.  She told me I needed to figure out what my future was and live that life.
”

“Really?  You told her you were unfaithful and she wasn’t mad?”

“She wasn’t pleased with me, but Gretchen is a wonderful woman.
  Our relationship has been one of comfortable companionship for nearly three decades.  I never s
et
out to hurt her
,
and I would never lie to her about anything.
”

“So what was my mother to you?  A fling?”

“Not by my choice.  As I said, when I met your mother, I
felt very strongly for her
.  She didn’t feel the same for me.”

“So, how well did you know
M
om?”

“I only spent a few days with her, but
you could say
she made a lasting impression.”

Before I got here
I was prepared to love this man unconditionally, but the more he spoke
,
the less I liked him.
 
He
’d
had a
wife
and
five young sons
,
he
’d been
unfaithful
,
and didn’t seem the slightest bit ashamed of his behavior
.  I
didn’t
know this man in front of me
,
but I knew my mother
: 
she would never have been able to cope with the guilt of breaking up a family. 

He must have sensed
m
y disapproval because
I could see the desperation on his face as he tried to explain.  “
I wanted to be with your mother, but she wouldn’t hear of it.
  Eventually, I stopped calling
her.  I made
peace with
her
decision
.  I
t doesn’t mean that I didn’t . . . that I wouldn’t. . .
”
  Will trailed off, not finishing his sentence. 

I decided to ask the obvious question, since I hadn’t yet seen his wife. 
“
S
o
,
you’re sure
Gretchen
’
s okay with me
being here
?”

“Camille, I love Gretchen deeply.  She feels the same
for me.  Because you are a part of me, you are our family
.  Y
es, she’s more than okay that you’re here
.”

“This sounds . . . I don’t know, odd.”

“It’s odd that a father wants to make up for lost time with a daughter he never knew?”

“It’s odd that your wife is okay with it
when you consider how I came to
b
e your daughter
.”

“Gretchen is an amazing woman.  I think once you meet her, you’ll agree.”

Something had always bothered me
. 
Will m
ight
be the only man on the planet
who
could give me an answer. 
No matter how
calloused
it
sounded
, I needed to ask,
“
Will
, my mom never . . . had a boyfriend, or a husband, or any guy in her life.  I don’t remember her even once going on a date.
”  I stopped for a second, wondering if I could bring myself to ask the real question.  “
Why you?”

“You are very much my daughter.  I can see it in your eyes.  I can hear it in your question.  I
wish I could give you an answer you’d be happy with. 
I wish I knew the answer.  Maybe she was lonely, maybe the stars were aligned perfectly that night, maybe it was her way of having a family of her own that she didn’t have to share with anyone else.  I can only speculate
. 
I can’t tell you what I don’t know.
”

I still wasn’t sure how I felt about my father.  I wished that my mother had told me about him, anything.  He was as much a stranger to me as I was to him
,
and I couldn’t imagine what kind of wife would welcome me into her home. 
I didn’t know what to think about my mother running away from her family.

“So, what should I call you?”

Will grinned as his chest swelled,
“What would you like to call me?”

“
I don’t know
.  I
s it okay if I
just stick with
‘
Will
’
?”

I could see the disappointment on his face as he nodded.  “You can call me
Will
if that makes you more comfortable, but I hope that someday you’ll come to think of me as your father.  I would love for you to call me Dad.”

I looked at the floor, as if the carpet were suddenly interesting. 
“Uh . . . I’ll probably have to work up to that.”

“I understand.”  He changed the subject when he noticed
my uneasiness
.  “So
,
the boys told me they took you
out on the boat
this afternoon.  Did you enjoy it?”

“I did.”

“I’m sure they’ll have lots of adventures for you this week.  Don’t let them wear you out.  I’m covering the office single-handed
ly
this week
,
and I’d like to be able to spend time with you in the evenings.”

As if
Gretchen knew we’d been talking about her,
we
hear
d
a light tap
at
the door.
  Gretchen, the one person I was
apprehensive
to meet, stepped inside and walked over to my chair.  I stood up, still uneasy from the “title” conversation and offered my hand as a greeting.  Gretchen
motioned it away and gave me a
welcoming
hug, “We’re all so glad you’re here
,
Camille.”
  When she released me from her embrace
,
she took both my hands in hers.

“Thanks.
” I stammered, “
It’s a real pleasure to meet you.”

“I’ve already warned the boys to give you a day to get past the jetlag before they start
gallivanting
all over town showing off their little sister.  If you need me to send them to the office so you can get some rest tomorrow
,
just say the word. 
If
given the opportunity
,
they’ll w
ear you out.”  Her eyes twinkled when she spoke.
  I took her in
. 
Gretchen had short curly
red
hair – kind of po
u
fy, a wide smile that lit up the room
,
and the most delicate hands I’d ever felt.

“I had a great time today.” I looked at Will, “So they all work for you?”

Will wore a smile that matched Gretchen’s,
“Yes, they have exceptional financial instincts
.  E
ach one has brought in significant profits for their clients, and each has built his own portfolio.  Say, you’re not interested in finances are you?”

Gretchen answered for me,
“William
Strayer
!  You will not try to pressure her into joining you at the office!”  Gretchen turned her attention toward me, “Don’t let him do that
.  H
e convinced each boy to go to work with him in an effort to keep them close.  I don’t think any one of them wanted to grow up to be a financial advisor, but Will got his hooks in them.”

Will’s voice raised, in a playful way,
“Hooks?  You’re just jealous because I see them more than you do.”

“Maybe, but you’re not going to do it to Camille, too.
”  She looked at me, “
Camille, you can always go
to
work with your father, or you can shop all day with me.  Which would you prefer?”

“Wow, Will, that’s not much of a choice.”
  I got the feeling that they were planning on me staying longer than the five days
I had scheduled
.
  That odd feeling I’d had earlier rose to the surface again.  Five adult sons still lived at home with their parents, all worked for their father – my father, they all drove the same kind of cars, even Gretchen said he’d pressured them into it.  I looked around the room for crucifix on the walls, bibles, religious art hanging – all I found were books and tastefully decorated walls. 

Will shook his head, as if exasperated,
“Women.  Gretchen spends it as fast as I make it.”

“William, you know that I’m the reason you are so successful.  You can’t think that you could do any of this without me?”

I got a strange vibe, like Gretchen was completely serious.  The banter between them was fun, but there seemed to be a hint of truth in what Gretchen had just said.
  Or at least they were both acting like there was truth in her claim.
 
Gretchen was the financial mastermind?

Will stood up and gathered Gretchen in his arms when he sweetly answered,
“I couldn’t do anything without you.  You know I’d be a wreck on my own
.”  His sweetness disappeared when the sarcasm oozed from him, “A
nd I think it’s nice that you
r shopping is
single-handedly getting the economy back on its feet.”  Will’s face showed the humor and the love he felt for his wife.

I could feel the air of seriousness taking hold.  Gretchen turned to me, “Camille, I am happy to have you in my home.  I can feel your apprehension around me
.  D
o not fear me.  William and I came to terms with his infidelity long ago.  At the time, and for many years after, I was displeased with him.  But, having you here and having your energy in our family, I forgive him all over again.”  I cou
ldn’t place Gretchen’s accent
,
and I was so overwhelmed with her words that I didn’t care where it was from.