Passionate Bid (8 page)

“Right about Sam”s papa”s plan for extortion? Why? You”re not telling me everything.”

“Does it matter?” Joanie looked away, and then focused her eyes on Sam again.

“Yes, it matters to me. Look at me and tell me you don”t know why Sam”s papa secretly wrote the damn notes.”

“I told you, I don”t.”

“Those notes are like clues, with indirect meanings. Have you any idea what he”s trying to tell me? Do you know?”

“Doctor Ravenwood, you”re here because you want my signature. Whatever his reason for writing the note and for returning the papers is irrelevant. You”re here. I am here. Give me a pen and I”ll sign your damn papers.” Joanie stood up so fast her knee bumped on the side of the coffee table. Coffee from the two mugs sloshed and spilled on the little white doily sitting in the middle of the table.

“Damn it,” she mumbled but he heard her clear enough.

“What the fu…dge are you talking about, the note is irrelevant? Don”t you see? There is a reason why your man, whatever the hell his name is, wrote those—”

“Why do you care? Why do you want to know?”

“Joanie, if your man intends to extort money from me, of course I have to know. With him not telling you about it raises a flag. He might end up hurting you and Sam. The least I could do is to stop that from happening. I want to help.

Besides, if someone said to you, „I have a secret to tell,” then that person changed his mind and decided to keep the secret to himself, how would it make you feel?

It”ll bug you forever.” Sam moaned and kicked her legs. He looked down at the little girl. “She misses her papa. When is he coming back?”

“You”re not here to talk about Sam”s papa. Let”s get this over with so you can go back to where ever you live now.”

“Manhattan.”

“Fine. Go back to Manhattan. Where”s the pen?”

Sam rubbed her legs together. “How long did you two play in the woods?

Her legs must be hurting.”

“Doctor Ravenwood, I should take Sam back in her room. She”d be more comfortable.”

Joanie had been hedging the topic about Sam”s papa. Sam said her papa sailed away. He looked at the child in his arms. Even when sleeping, she was beautiful. Sam”s lashes were long and dark just like his and…

A little girl, soon to be four years old, with sharp blue eyes that reminded him of his baby pictures. Holy hell.

“What is Sam”s full name?”

“What?”

“Sam”s full name, Joanie.”

“Samantha Rose.”

“And her last name?”

“What”s this questioning about? Julian, let me put her back in bed, and then I”ll sign the forms. We need to hurry if you have to fly back to Manhattan tonight.” She did it again. With his suspicion gnawing his insides, he got up. “I”ll take her. Clean up the spill on the table before it ruins the wood.”

“Julian! Damn it, what are you doing?”

“Clean up the mess, Joanie.”

He made it back to Sam”s room in a hurry. He looked around to see any signs that another man fathered Sam. Butterfly and animal paintings decorated the pink walls. Saint Claire”s framed picture sat on her bedside table. There were stacks of books on the headboard, but no picture of a man he could pin as Sam”s papa.

God damn it. Lowering Sam on the bed, he stared at the sleeping little girl.

“Sam, honey. I just want to see your necklace.”

Joanie read the two notes over and over. The handwriting was definitely her father”s—bold strokes and inconsistent with his upper and lowercase letters.

What had her father done? Why? He hated Julian for leaving her. Dad called him a coward and said he didn”t deserve her and Sam at all. So why lead him here to see Sam?

Going back to the nights when she and her dad had sat in the kitchen talking about Julian swirled in her mind. For the past six months, her dad talked about contacting Julian, to let him know about his responsibility, which really surprised her. Her dad had said the bastard should help pay Sam”s bills. He insisted Julian was the only one who could help give Sam a better life, education, and health insurance. Sam”s last trip to the hospital forced them to borrow money from the bank.

She refused. It was enough that he was saddled with a woman he didn”t love or care for. Forcing him to face another responsibility would be too much. Julian walked away from her and Sam. She wanted it to stay that way. She loved him, loved him since she was sixteen, but Julian reciprocated with antipathy that doubled when he was forced to marry her. And she told all of this to Dad.

Frustrations, financial instability and Sam”s health, she thought, had forced her dad to bring up Julian”s name in their discussion. But she never suspected that he was serious.

Oh my god! Could it be that her dad went against her wish of keeping Julian uninformed about his daughter because he was thinking about Sam? Did her dad die that night worrying about her and Sam”s future? Did she cause his death?

Joanie wiped the tears off her face with the heel of her hands. There was no other explanation for his dad”s action. Her dad had written the notes to Julian despite his dislike for him. He did it for his granddaughter.

“She”s mine?”

Joanie whirled around and found herself facing Julian. He was holding Sam”s necklace and he looked about ready to throttle her. “What?”

“Sam, she”s my daughter.”

“No.”

“No? Then explain why she”s wearing a necklace with my wedding ring for a pendant.”

More tears rolled down her cheeks. Her whole body shook from controlling her anger. If Sam wasn”t in the house, she”d scream at him. “The ring is not yours.”

“Is that right? Joanie, I stared at this ring for hours after we got married. I know this ring. Our initials are engraved inside. This ring is mine.”

“No! Not anymore. When you removed and left the ring the night of our wedding, you relinquished your right to it. It now belongs to Sam.” God she wanted to stomp her foot. “I gave it to her because it proved that you indeed existed. You know, you were right when you said she shouldn”t wear it. The ring would only hurt her. I”m so stupid not to think about that. You want it. Take it.

Pawn it, sell it, throw it, melt it, or give it to a homeless person you see. Do whatever you want with it. Sam will ask me tomorrow about the necklace, and I”ll tell her she lost it in the woods.”

Julian pocketed the necklace. “Where”s yours?”

She straightened her body to ease the pain in her shoulders. Crap, it felt like she”d been carrying a sack of flour for hours. “Why?” What did he care about what happened to her ring?

“It”s a simple question. Where is your ring? Sold it?”

“Somewhere.” She waved her hand the way a queen would when dismissing her subject. It was the truth. Well, partly. The ring had been with Dana. So the ring was somewhere in her house.

“You should have told me about Sam, Joanie. I have the right to know.” Right? What right was he talking about? “Stop. When you left me, you gave up your rights. And aren”t you here to severe the last remaining connection you have with me?”

“When I left I didn”t know you were with a child.”

“Would you be happy if you found out you got me pregnant? Would the baby have stopped you from leaving me? While in Manhattan and you heard I was pregnant with your baby, would you have come running back here? I don”t think so. You”d probably move to Antarctica just to get away from me, from us. Don”t be such a hypocrite. You”re here because you want me to sign your damn divorce papers that you damn insisted that I returned twice. Why don”t we just talk about that, huh?” She ignored Julian”s hand motioning for her to stop. “Forget about Sam.

You don”t need us. We don”t need you. We lived and survived without you. I survived. Damn it, Julian! You”re not supposed to know.”

“Calm down, Joanie. You”ll wake up Sam.”

“I am calm!” Jesus! She smacked her palm on her forehead. I don’t need this aggravation. I just want to sit down and rest my damn feet!

“When Sam said her papa sailed, is that what you told her about me? Or there is really another man she thought to be her father? ”

“There is no other man, Doctor Ravenwood. Sam”s papa is Dad. My dad and he”s dead. Sailing on a ship is the only way I could explain to Sam why Dad”s not here anymore.”

“Then who wrote the notes?”

“Dad. He wrote them. He shouldn”t have let you in on Sam. It was a mistake.”

Julian looked down at the crumpled envelope in Joanie”s hands. “Your dad?

You”re saying it was Saint Claire who wrote the notes.”

“Yes. I recognized his writing.”

“But he didn”t like me.”

“He didn”t. But he thought you deserved to know.”

“Smart. Well, he made a smart move. Hardhead, but smart. What he did wasn”t a mistake. He wrote the note with a good purpose.” Yes, Dad had a good reason—Sam. Her dad had gone through all the trouble of sending Julian the notes for Sam”s sake. It must have pained him to do it, but he did anyway. He loved Sam so much that he was willing to share her with the man he despised.

A good purpose. Nodding to herself, she looked Julian straight in the eye. “The papers. I will sign them. On one condition.”

“If it”s within the bounds of reason, I will accept it.” Arrogant…handsome beast. “One hundred thousand for your freedom.” The amount would be enough for what she needed. She”d be able to fix the house and maybe have enough to buy a small shop. And she could keep the property—Sam”s woods.

“Quite a big amount, don”t you think?”

“Not if you won”t hear from me and Sam ever again. You”ll be free to remarry and be free of us. You don”t have to worry about child support, alimony, or anything.”

“If I give you that money, you”ll sign the divorce papers, and I won”t hear from you again?”

“Yes.”

“Do you think demanding money was Saint Claire”s reason for writing the notes?”

“No. Dad would never lower himself that way. He was an honest and hardworking man. He”d eat slugs before he”d beg for money or use extortion. This is my decision.”

“So, this is why I didn”t hear from you for four years. You were waiting for me to make the first move so you could make demands?” He was wrong, but Joanie didn”t feel it necessary to explain why. “Think about it. You won”t have to support Sam. Give me the money and we”ll be off your hands. This way when you remarry, you”ll start with a clean slate. You”re wife to-be wouldn”t have to know about us.”

“Damn it, Joanie. Do you honestly think, now that I learned about Sam, that I could just forget about her? That I”d turn my back on her?”

“You already did, Julian. What”s the difference of turning your back again tomorrow as soon as you settle with my condition?”

“There”s a fucking difference. When I left, I thought I was only leaving you.”

“And you would have stuck around if you knew I was pregnant?” Julian didn”t know the answer her question. As far as he knew, when he left he didn”t want to be saddled with Joanie. But Sam was different. She was his.

“Joanie, I”m not giving up Sam.”

“Julian, I will not sign your papers.”

Toe-to-toe, he stood facing her. All these years, he thought she was one timid little nerd. He was wrong. “Don”t be difficult. I don”t mind sending you alimony or child support, but I”d mind if you cut my connection with Sam. She”s my daughter.”

“Don”t be stupid. Give me the money and I”ll sign your papers, Julian. Go back to your life. A life of a bachelor. No wife. No kid. Don”t look back. If you”re truly concerned, don”t worry, we”ll be fine. So, what”s your answer?”

“Your condition is absurd.”

“Whoever you”re marrying next would think otherwise.” Joanie was right. With him free from any obligations, his life would be less complicated. He”d live like a single man. If he agreed with Joanie”s condition, chances were, he wouldn”t see Sam again. Sam would grow up not knowing him.

And if Joanie remarried, her husband would raise Sam.

Freedom, the very thing that he had in mind when he left Manhattan. Inside his pocket, he rubbed the ring. He leveled his gaze with Joanie.

Unfuckingbelievable. They”d had a daughter together.

Joanie was surprised at his sudden visit and mad at his audacity to claim Sam. That was understandable considering he”d been gone from their lives for years. Joanie had the right to think him a cad, but he could prove he could be a good dad.

Dad. Good God, he was a dad. The idea was overwhelming and…damn, uplifting.

It was true when he said he wouldn”t give up Sam. From the first time he laid his eyes on the child, he felt his connection with her. And the way Sam wrapped her chubby arms around him, he was sure the child felt the same way toward him. They both felt the invisible connection.

“Okay.”

“Okay what?” Joanie asked.

“I agree with your condition.”

“But what?” Joanie”s brow arched high.

With only a half a foot distance from her, he could see how thick and long her lashes were. Now that he was truly looking at her, he noticed the unusual shade of her eyes—mossy green. Earlier, the color resembled the evergreen cedar trees. Must be the result of lighting. And her lips, they were naturally pink and lipstick free.

On their wedding day, he remembered kissing her on the cheek instead of her lips. He wondered if he”d kiss her the night he took her virginity.

“But?” Joanie repeated.

“Huh? Yeah, I have my own condition.”

Joanie straightened her posture and licked her lips. Obviously, she didn”t like him throwing demands back at her. She began chewing her lower lip. The simple action sent heated blood down his cock. What the fuck was wrong with him? He hadn”t had sex since Georgina left him. It had been a month. That must be it. He was just fucking horny.

“If your condition is within the bounds of reason, I”ll accept it.” He smiled at her mimicking his words. “Touché.”

“What”s your condition?”

“I”ll stay here until Sam”s birthday.”

“But her birthday is not for two weeks.”

“Exactly. I want Sam to get to know me, her real dad.”

“Why? You won”t be part of her life. So what”s the point?”

“You”re right. I won”t be here to play the part because that”s your condition.