Parker's Island (39 page)

“Then leave
him
!
  Do what’s best for him
,
”
h
e said.

“He loves me
,
too.”

“Maybe he does, maybe he doesn’t.  That’s irrelevant.
”  He stepp
ed forward and towered over me. 
“
Martina Bolivar will destroy him, I promise you that
!
”
he said, staring me down with hard eyes.

“Logan’s not afraid of her.  He’s in town now straigh
tening things out.  He’s taking
a paternity test.”

“What will that prove?” h
e grinned
and leaned back against the bar
.

“That she cheated on him
…
first
, that the baby isn’t his.”

“Well that makes two baby’s that aren’t his
,
now
doesn’t it?”

“He loves me and the baby
,
” I said, touching my stomach.

“
It’s your
baby
though
, not his!  I’m going to explain something
to you
about paternity
testing
.  I
t’s
not an exact science.  It
can
prove without a doubt that a man is NOT the father of a baby,
like in your case
.  But it can leave a lot of doubt if
by some chance the
DNA is found to be
…similar
.”

“But he’s
not
the father of Martina’s baby…
either.
 
I don’t un
derstand what you’re saying…
”  I was staring at him completely confused, when it hit me
.
Martina was carrying
his
baby. “Oh, I see
,
” I said, feeling sick to my stomach.

“
Now you understand why
he’s going to lose it all
, and why she requested the test?
”

“But you can take a
test and prove that you’re the…
father, not Logan.”

“Why would I do that?”
he scoffed, grinning at me.

“
Because
,
h
e’s your son
,
”
I said, shocked.

“Yeah, but I’m not willing to let him throw everything away.  He needs to stay married right now
.  H
e can divorce her later
,
when he’s not thinking with his…heart
,
”
h
e said, leering at me.

“How c
an
you do this to Logan?  All he’s ever wanted from you was love.  How can you be so horrible?” I asked, irate now.

“I’m protecting my son!  You’re the one that’s going to cost him everything.
  She’ll sell the island, co
ndemn it or burn it before she’ll
ever let him
set foot
back here.  He’ll have no money, no island and no recourse.  So, how c
an
you
do this
to
Logan?  You said you loved him.  P
rove it!  Leave him, and don’t come back.”

“I can’t
,
” I whispered
, the tears starting now
.

“Then I guess you don’t
really
love him
after all, do you?
” 
Wesley Barnett
s
e
t his glass down on the counter and walked out.

I didn’t know what to do
.
I was standing in the middle of the living room, feeling as alone and lost as I had th
e night I woke up
n
aked in that room.
  I walked out on the deck with Duchess and sat down on one of the deck chairs.  Duchess sat down next to me and put her head on my lap.  “What do I do
now
,
girl?” I asked,
while
petting the dog I had come to love.  I looked around at the house and
the
island that I had also grown to love and realized that I couldn’t let Logan lose everything
because of
me and a baby that wasn’t
even
his.
  I knew what I had to do.  I had to leave.  I knew he would follow me, so I had to find some way to convince him that I didn’t love him.  As I
stood
up
,
my heart ached so badly that I had to hold onto the railing to steady myself.

I made my way through the house and quickly packed my things.  I had enough money left to take a ferry and make it
to the mainland,
but that was it.  I didn’t have anywhere else to go, and I knew it was finally time for me to stop lying
to myself and
to
everyone else
.  I had to go home. 

Dear Logan,

I know you probably won’t believe this, but I have to go home.  It’s wrong for me to be here.  I love you, but I love Brian
,
too.  I have to tell him the truth.  I owe him that much.  You were
right.
I have to face up to my fears.  This is not your problem, and I can’t keep pretending it is.  You have your own problems to deal with right now.  I will miss you terribly, but I’m asking you not to follow me.  I won’t come back with you and I can’t marry you.  Please, if you love me at all, then let me go.

Delaney
             

I could barely write through all the tears, but I knew it was the right thing to do.
  I couldn’t let him give up
everything;
los
e
his island and his trust fund because of me.  I left the letter on the coun
ter, then took one last look at
the home I had grow
n to love and the memories it held
,
before I patted Duchess one last time and walked out the door.

Chapter
Twelve:
Chad

The ferry ride gave me time to think about what I was going to tell everyone.  I knew Logan would come for me, but I also knew he would give me some space for a few days.  I had to go home and tell
everyone
the truth. 
The letter to Lo
g
an was going to be the last lie I told.  I
was through lying to everyone,
including
myself.
  I knew what I had to do, and I knew it was the right thing.  I couldn’t let Logan take the blame for something he didn’t do.  I hoped someday that we could be together, but I knew our lives couldn’t start out as a lie
,
either.  This was for the best.  I would go home for a few days, make amends, and then I’d go spend the rest of my pregnancy with my Aunt Vickie.

I took a taxi from the dock, hoping someone would be home at my house to pay for the ride.  I had used the last of my stash on the ferry and I refused to take any of Logan’s money for a cab ride.  The driver pulled up to the house and I asked him to wait while I ran in
to grab
some money.  I knocked on the door, terrified
to see who would answer it
.  Finally Seth opened the door, “Delaney?” he said,
“
W
hoa are you in trouble
!
” h
e said, looking at my over-grown belly.

“Hi Seth
.  I need to pay the taxi.  D
o you have any money I can borrow?”  I asked.

“Yeah
,
right!”
             
“Please
,
Seth
,
” I begged.

“
Oh, f
ine
.
”
H
e ran upstairs and came right back down. 

I paid the driver and headed into the house.

“Um, Delaney, are you okay?” Seth asked.

“No, not really
.  B
ut
I
will be. 
Where
are
Mom and Dad?”

“They’re working.”

“Mom’s working?”

“Yeah, she’s been going crazy worrying about you, so she decided she had to go get a job to occupy her time.
  She started working at Dad’s office.
”

“
I guess I caused a lot of trouble, didn’t I?  I can’t believe she’s working.
”

“
I’m glad
she’s working
.  N
ow she’s not bugging me 24/7. 
So, um, who…
?”
h
e was looking at my belly, afraid to ask the question.

This was not a conversation I wanted to share with my
younger
brother, and although I wasn’t going to lie, I wasn’t about to tell him
that
I
had been
raped.

“You don’t know him.  Seth, you’re my brother and I love you
.  C
an I just have a hug?” I
aske
d, needing some comfort.

He hugged me for a split second, trying very hard
n
ot to touch my
belly.  “Are you hungry?”
h
e asked, his way of saying that he loved me too and that he missed me.

“No.
I’m fine.
So, did you really move into my room?”

“I was going to, but…
”

“You hoped I’d come back?”
I said.  It was wishful thinking on my part.

“No, Mom wouldn’t let me.”

“Oh
,
” I grinned at him.

I walked upstairs to my room
and
looked around.  It was exactly how I left it.  Right down to Logan’s shirt sitting on the dresser.  I walked over to it, picked it up and cried.  Yesterday everything seemed so perfect, I was so happy, and now my life was a mess.  I cried for over an hour and then I got up, cleaned up and headed downstairs to wait for the confrontation that
was
about to begin.

“What time do Mom and Dad usually g
et home?”
I asked Seth.

I was standing in the living room
with
my back to the door.  I heard my parents come in and I froze.

“Delaney?  Honey
,
is that you?”
m
y mother cried.

I closed my eyes and slowly turned to face my parents.  I heard my mother gasp, but it was only a moment before she was hugging me
and
crying.  “Oh thank heavens you
’
r
e
home.  Are you okay?”
s
he asked, looking me over and turning me around to inspect every inch.

“I’m okay
,
” I said.

“I’ve been worried sick about you.  How could you just leave like that?  Did you think we wouldn’t understand?  Brian loves you
.  W
hy would you leave
him
?
  He would have stood by you, married you.
  You said he wanted to marry you.
”

“Mom, we need to talk
,
” I said, and then looked over at my father who had yet to say anything or
even
make a
move toward me
.
“Hi Dad.” 

“
So l
et’s talk
!
”
h
e
ordere
d
while
heading toward the dining room table.

I sat down with my parents.  Seth pulled up a chair next to me.  “Seth, please give us a few minutes
,
”
m
y mother said.

“Why
don’t
I
get to
hear who knocked her up
…
it
was
Brian
,
right
?
”
m
y brother said.

“SETH, Go To Your Room, NOW!” m
y father yelled.