Parker's Island (38 page)

“Maybe I should ask you to marry me more often
,
”
h
e said, and carried me
back
to bed.

We spent the rest of the day in bed, making love and making plans.  Logan ordered a pizza so that we didn’t
even
have to leave the sanctity of his
room
for dinner.  It was a
perfect
day
.  W
e had everything planned
,
right down to what we would tell everyone and we were even prepared for the anger and accusatory looks.  But we didn’t care
.  W
e were madly in love and no one was going to stand in the
way of our newfound happiness…
or so we thought.

Chapter
Eleven:
Wesley Barnett

The next morning we were awakened by the telephone.  Logan reached over
me
and grabbed the phone.

“Can’t you handle it without me?”
he asked groggily
.

I watched him for a few minutes, wondering what the problem was and hoping that whatever it was wouldn’t take him away from me.

“She wants
what
?
”
h
e asked, sounding shocked.

He hung up the phone a few minutes later and said, “I’m sorry
,
Delaney, I have to go
.
”
H
e kissed me and then headed into the shower.

I didn’t want him to leave, but it was obviously important.  I followed him into the bathroom.  “What’s wrong?”

“That was my
attorney
.
Martina is refusing to sign the papers.”

“
But y
ou knew she was going to do that
.”

“Yes, but I certainly
didn’t expect
her current
request
.”

“What
did she
request?” I asked, instantly jealous
that she was requesting anything at all from him
.

He turned the water off, grabbed his towel and stepped out of the shower.  “She demanded a paternity test.”

“Why would she do that?” I asked
, as shocked as he was
.

“I don’t know, but my attorney said I had to comply.  So I have to go in this morning for
the
test
and then
I have to
meet with him
. 
I don’t think I’ll be back until late this afternoon.  He said
Martina’s going to be very difficult, as if I didn’t already know that.
 
I’m sorry I have to leave you again
,
”
h
e said, touching my cheek.

“But doesn’t th
e baby have to be born first?”
I asked.

“Yes, but my attorney thinks I should
do my part
now and not hesitate.  I agree
.
I just want it over.”

I had a bad feeling about him leaving.  I knew he had to, but for some reason I didn’t want him to walk out the door.  “Can you take the
next
ferry?” I asked, wanting to keep him as long as possible.

“I want to get this over with
,
so I can come home to you
,
one step
closer to a free man
,
”
h
e said, and kissed me
softly
.

I refused to let him go
and our soft kiss led us back to the bedroom.  I kept him until he finally had to run to make the next ferry.  I hugged him and said, “I don’t want you to go.” 

“I don’t want to go either, but I have to.  Why don’t you go shopping today?  We have nothing
ready
for the baby.  Go have fun, I’ll be home tonight.  Tomorrow we can
work on turning one of the rooms into a
nursery.
 
I love you
,
”
h
e said, but
this time he kissed me on the top of my head
for fear I’d make him miss another ferry.

I still had a gnawing feeling as he drove away
.  T
he words Martina threatened
,
“You’re going to pay dearly for this!”
e
choed through my head
.
 

I shook off the feeling of doom and decided Logan was right.  We needed to start getting some things
ready
for the baby.  I picked up the house, made the bed and headed into the shower
, before I
was to
head into town
.

Standing in the bathroom, wrapped in a towel I heard a man’s voice. 
The voice
sounded
like Logan
’s
, b
ut I knew it wasn’t
.  I
t was deeper and harsh.

“Hello?  Logan?  Where are you?”
t
he man called.
  Duchess was growling.  “Shut up
,
dog!  Logan
,
where the
h
ell are you?”

I threw off the towel and grabbed Logan’s robe off the hook in the bathroom.  My hair hung down my back dripping wet, and I didn’t have time to put anything on my feet before I heard the man heading upstairs.

“LOGAN MICHAEL, where are you?”

I stepped out of the bedroom and headed toward the stairs to tell whoever it was that Logan wasn’t home.  As I reached the top of the stairs I took a deep breath.  I found myself staring at an older version of Logan.  There was no doubt in my mind as to who this man was
.  H
e had to be Logan’s father.
  He was a very attractive man and I saw a glimpse of how Logan would look
in the future
.

“Who are you?”
h
e asked.

“Um, I’m Delaney Miller.  I’m a friend of Logan’s.”  I was
very nervous and I
was
certain
that he could sense that.  This was not how I wanted to meet Logan’s father for the first time, standing in the hallway, wearing his son’s robe with my hair dripping wet
;
n
ot to mention barefoot and pregnant.

“Friend
,
huh?
I’ll bet.
I’m his father, Wesley Barnett.  Where is he?”

“He had to go to a meeting on the mainland.  He won’t be back until later tonight
,
” I said, looking down at my bare feet.

“That’s just great!  Why don’t you go get
dressed
,
meet me downstairs and then maybe you can explain what it is my son
thinks
he’s doing
,
”
h
e
ordered
, and
then
ran back downstairs.

I did as he said, not wanting to upset the elder Barnett.  I brushed and towel dried my hair
, dressed and slowly made my way downstairs.  I had no idea
of
what to say to him.  I decided that I would stick with what Logan and I had discussed, even if some of it was a lie.

He was standing in the living room, looking out of the window.  “May I offer you something to drink?” I
aske
d.

He turned to face me and I realized he had already helped himself to a
glass of
orange
juice
from the fridge.  “Oh.”

He must not have noticed my pregnant shape
when I was wrapped
in Logan’s robe, because suddenly he was staring at my pregnant belly, looking
disgusted
.

“Friends?”
h
e said, openly staring at my belly.  “Now it’s starting to make sense.  He’s
willing to give it all up for…
you?”
h
e scoffed.

I suddenly found it very difficult to believe that this man could even be remotely related to Logan.  He may have looked like him and their voices may have been
alike
, but that’s where the
similarity ended.  This man was cold, his eyes hard.  I was afraid of him.  I stood there, feeling like a lost child and I couldn’t say anything.
  I suddenly understood Logan’s need to make a good impression on my family,
as
he’d never had one.

“
Delaney, is it?”

“Yes
,
” I whispered.

“Exactly what kind of hold do you have on my son?”

“
Excuse me
?” I didn’t know what he wanted me to say.

“Is i
t
money you want?”

“I don’t understand…
”

“
It’s a good thing you’re pretty, because evidently, you’re not too bright.
He’s going to lose it all
,
you know
?
  She’ll take everything.”

I was shaking again, and I couldn’t say anything.  I just stood there staring at the floor.

“Evidently you don’t care what my son is giving up for you.  I
sure as
h
ell
hope you’re worth it!” 

“He said he doesn’t care about the company
,
anymore
,
” I finally managed to say.

“The company?  No, he probably won’t mind losing that.  But he will mind losing all of this
,
”
h
e said, waving his hand around the room.

“But the
house and the
island
are
his
.  S
he can’t touch
them
,
”
I said, my voice trembling.

“So, you really can talk.  Good.  T
hen t
ell me something
.  W
hose
baby is that?” h
e asked, looking at my stomach.

“I
…
” I couldn’t answer him.
  I couldn’t tell him the story we had come up with.  Instead, I stood there, too terrified to say anything.
             
“So, he’s willing to lose everything and the kid
’
s not even his.  Well isn’t that just like him
?  A
lways the white knight
.”
  He was pacing now, swirling the juice in his glass.  “I don’t suppose he has any vodka I can add to this?”

“I don’t think so.  I’ve never seen any alcohol in the house.”

“Figures.  So, what are we going to do about this little problem?”

“I don’t understand.”

“Surely you’re smart enough to figure out that his wife is going to take everything from him in the divorce.  And, since he’s now an adulterer, she gets it al
l
;
t
he company, the island and his trust fund.”

“She can’t take the island or
touch
his trust
fund
,”
I said nervously.

“
My son is a very smart young man, but he’s also too trusting for his own good.  He really should have read the fine print.”

“What fine print?”

“
The one that states that i
f he gets caught cheating,
then
she gets it
all
!”

“But he didn’t…
do anything until he
had
already filed for divorce
,
” I blushed.

“
And you think that matters? 
They are still legally married. 
I’m assuming s
he knows you’re staying here?” h
e asked.

The memory of Martina’s visit was still fresh in my mind, so I blushed, remembering she had walked in on us in bed.

“Caught you in bed, did she?”
h
e grinned, guessing the truth from my
blushing cheeks
.

I needed him to leave
.  M
y head was spinning.  I needed Logan by my side, but he wasn’t there and I
realized I
had to deal with this on my own.  “I love him
,
”
I whispered.