Searching for Sea Glass: BEST-SELLING AUTHOR (Sea Glass Secrets Book 1) (13 page)

“Are you my daddy?” the child asked.

“Yes,” the man said. An unearthly sweet smile settled upon his thin lips.

Sunny had to bite her lip and look away. She could see why Willow had loved this gentle, slight man.

“I been missing you a long time,” Billy, in his childish innocence, knew exactly what to say.

“Me too,” murmured Lo. “And I miss… your mama. Love her.”

“I love her too. Sunny and me go to see her all the time. She was a good person.”

“Yes, she was an angel.”

“I wish I could really meet her, though,” Billy said as he scratched the bridge of his nose.

“I’ll see her soon. I’ll tell her you love her,” the sick man promised.

“You’re going to Heaven, aren’t you?” Billy asked.

“Yes, soon.”

“I wish you could stay here. I’d like to have a daddy.”

To Sunny’s amazement, Lo found the strength to lift his hand. He tenderly cupped the little boy’s face. He struggled to find the breath to speak.

“You will. I’ll always be your dad. I love you, son.”

“I love you too.”

Sunny was so proud of the sincerity in the child’s voice. It seemed he truly did love this man whom he’d just met. But she was alarmed when the bedridden man’s eyes became stark and replete with resolve. The next words he managed to utter were directed at her.

“Keep… him… safe,” it was a dying man’s last gasp.

His eyes closed. His hand dropped back to the sheet. There was a low rattle from his throat. Then perfect stillness. The medical paraphernalia in the room began issuing soft insistent alarms. Dr. Worth hurried into the room. A nurse followed her. Another attendant ushered Sunny and Billy from the room. They stood shivering in the sudden cold of the narrow hallway. In a few minutes, the doctor came out. She had a sad look on her face.

“He’s gone?” Sunny asked. But she already knew the answer.

“Yes, poor man. Thank you for coming today. I’m sure you made his last moments positive.”

“Will there be a funeral?” Sunny asked. She felt she owed it to both Billy and her best friend Willow to attend.

The doctor nodded. She herded them towards the waiting room. “Yes, there will be a Mass. Lo wanted his body donated to a medical school. But there will be a Mass said for him tomorrow at the cathedral. Will you be there?”

“Of course. Billy and I will attend.”

“Good,” Dr. Worth nodded. “You can sit with me, if you’d like. Lo asked me to represent his family. It’s to be held at 1:30 at Our Lady of Dallas. I’ll see you there?”

“Yes, we’ll be there.”

Sunny privately wondered how she was going to afford a stay in a hotel. She’d barely brought enough money to buy gas and food for the trip. She’d avoided using her lone credit card. With his connections, it would be very easy for McIntyre to trace. But she’d have to use the card now. The debt would be crippling, before it was all over. Because now, without a final directive from Billy’s father, she knew she would need a lawyer to keep the boy. And those didn’t come cheap. The café was already mortgaged. What other source of income did she have? All those things were running through her feverish mind as she led Billy out into the sweltering Dallas midday heat.

“Let’s go find a nice motel,” she said as she made sure he buckled himself into his seat.

“We’re staying?” the child asked.

“Just for a day or two,” she replied. And it was a promise not only to him, but to herself. She had no desire to remain in Dallas, McIntyre’s base of operations, for any longer than necessary.

Sea Glass Towers

“There’s been a hit on her credit card, JD.” Matt looked up over the half lenses of his reading glasses at his boss. The brooding man sat at an austere modern desk facing a bank of floor to ceiling windows on the tenth floor of Sea Glass Towers.

“Where is she?” JD asked. He swirled a squat glass of amber liquor around in one hand. His ankles were crossed on the pristine desktop. His tie was loosed. The collar of his bespoke shirt gaped open. His hair was mussed. And he looked weary beyond redemption.

“You’re not going to believe this.” Matt whistled under his breath.

“Yeah, I will. I’ll believe anything you tell me. We’ve been at this for a day and a half. I’m ready for some concrete answers.”

“She’s in Dallas.”

“Son of a bitch,” Sam hooted from a sofa in the rich penthouse office. “You really know how to pick’um JD.”

“Shut up Sam,” JD growled. “Where in Dallas?” he asked as he dialed a number on his cell phone.

“It looks like she’s staying at some little no-name motel on the north side of the city. She checked in just a minute ago. A room for two, it says. So she’s got the kid with her.”

“Why Dallas?” Sam wanted to know.

“Maybe she plans to beg your mom for money?” Matt offered.

JD snorted his disdain. “She’d be better off coming to me. If she wants cash, I’d settle with her in a heartbeat. As long as I get part-time custody of the boy and she agrees to a few simple concessions.”

“Yeah, Mother will verbally gut her and then call the police. The Murphy woman made a really bad decision, if that’s her game.” Sam chortled.

“About the custody issue…” Matt tried to speak. JD’s frown stopped him.

“I want the jet ready in twenty minutes. I’m heading back to Dallas,” he said into the phone.

JD got to his feet. He rolled his muscled shoulders. He gulped the last of his drink. “You two coming with me?” he asked them.

He didn’t wait to hear their answer. He walked out of the office. They caught up with him at the private elevator.

“What are you going to do?” Matt asked. He was a little afraid to hear JD’s answer. As a lawyer, he knew the man wasn’t going to have an easy time proving his claim to his nephew. But he also knew JD would stop at nothing to get what he wanted. The man was ruthless. One that not many would choose to cross.

“I’m going to get my nephew.”

“You can’t just waltz in there and kidnap the kid, JD.” Matt was afraid that was exactly what his employer planned to do.

“I didn’t say anything about kidnapping.”

“She’s not just going to roll over, play dead on command, and hand the boy over to you,” Sam said laconically. Very little ruffled the big man.

“I know that,” JD smirked. “Give me credit for a little more finesse.”

“I’ve never heard you being spoken of in the same sentence with the word
finesse
. It’s a novel experience,” Sam drawled. He loved goading his big brother.

“As your legal counsel, I must insist,” Matt began.

JD stopped him with single lethal stare. “Draw up the paperwork, Matt. And get a judge to validate it.”

“What… what are you talking about?” sputtered the smaller man.

“I’ll need something like a quit claim for Sunny to sign. An ironclad contract stating that she surrenders partial custody of the boy to me.”

“You’re out of your freaking mind. She’ll never sign something like that. And I don’t even know if it’d be legal if she did.” Matt was overcome with the air of ferocity he saw on his employer’s face. He’d known JD since college. They’d been frat brothers. But he’d never seem such an animal hunger on the man’s face. “This is about more than the boy, isn’t it?”

“She shouldn’t have run off with him. All I want are rotating holidays and two weeks every the summer,” JD said.

“She’ll never agree to those terms, especially considering the child’s age and the fact that he doesn’t know any of you. I’m telling you, she won’t sign.”

“She’ll sign. And it’ll be legal. Just get it done for me.” JD stepped out into the lavish lobby of The Towers. He strode away from his brother and friend without another word. There were a few random flashes of cameras. JD McIntyre made news wherever he went. Paparazzi were to be expected.

Matt turned to Sam as they followed JD out into the coastal night. “This is not going to end well, Sam. I’ve got a bad feeling about it. I’ve skirted the law plenty of times for JD. But this is not right. I don’t like the way he said
‘concessions’
.”

“I know.” Sam nodded. “He’s made it personal. That’s never good in business.”

“I think this is way more than business,” Matt said as they got in a waiting limo. JD had already left in a car of his own.

“Yeah, I do too. I pity the Murphy woman. She picked the wrong man to play with. She won’t even own her soul once JD gets through with her,” Sam added.

“I don’t want to go,” whined Billy.

He flopped back onto the bedspread. It was thin and faded. But Sunny thought it looked clean. Or as clean as linen looked in a motel that rented by the hour. She was just glad there was a deadbolt lock on the door to their room.

“We have to go, Billy Boy. This is a very special church service for your dad.”

She tried to make him understand. But it was hard. He’d only just met his father. And now the poor man was dead. For a five-year-old that was a lot to process. She was having a difficult time dealing with what had happened herself. And the fact that she hadn’t had the heart to ask Lorenzo to sign the custody papers was eating at her. It would be much easier for JD to claim guardianship of the boy now. All he’d need to do was direct his pricey lawyers to the Sea Glass Point courthouse. She didn’t even know where this month’s mortgage payment was going to come from. How could she fight a billionaire?

“Will my daddy be there?”

Sunny shook her head. Her thick braid trailed over her shoulder. “No, remember I talked to you about that. Your father is in Heaven with your mom.”

She smoothed the skirt of the cheap black dress she’d bought last night at a dollar store. It was really just a simple sun dress. But she was hoping the color would make up for its lack of quality. Her chunky sea glass necklace was distinctive and added a designer touch. The muted greens and blues of the large pieces of polished glass deepened the color of her eyes. She’d spent more on Billy’s little white shirt and black pants. She hated that he would be wearing sneakers. But her funds wouldn’t cover a new pair of shoes for him. She was very thankful her old black sandals matched her dress. At least she and Billy would both be clean and tidy.

“After church can we go home?” he whined. “I don’t like Dallas. It’s real hot and kind of dirty.”

She wished she could correct him. But she couldn’t. The part of the city they were in
was
extremely hot. The room’s old air conditioner gasped and shuddered as it ran full time. Even with its noisy efforts, the room was scorching. Sunny knew that they were in a rough part of town. But the price of the room had been cheap. And they were only one highway exit away from the cathedral where Lorenzo’s funeral was being held. Thankfully the abbey was paying for it because he’d been a lay brother. Otherwise, there would have been no service at all.

“We are leaving right after church is over. I’ve packed us up. And I’ve got some of those snacks and drink pouches you like so much,” she said.

She loved to see the way his face lit up over simple things like a bag of chips and a juice box. He was a joy to her. And he always would be. If she could just retain custody, she’d make sure Billy had a wonderful childhood. He might not have a lot of material possessions. But he’d always know he was loved. That’s something the McIntyres could never give him. They’d probably ship Billy off to some high-dollar eastern boarding school as soon as they could. She would do whatever she must to make sure that never happened.

“Is it time to go?” he asked, eager to get out of the shabby motel room.

Sunny looked at her cell phone. She nodded. “It is. Try to remember what I told you about sitting still and quiet in the church, please.”

She unlocked the door and stepped out into the glaring sunlight. Her head was turned to hear Billy’s reply. She didn’t see the big man lounging against a low-slung sports car.

“Afternoon, Miss Murphy,” JD said. He was wearing old jeans, scruffy cowboy boots, and had a straw Stetson settled low on his head to block the sun.

In the glare, Sunny couldn’t see his eyes. And she was glad. Because she didn’t want to see the danger lurking there. And she didn’t like knowing he could read everything she felt on her face, while his features remained impassive.

“I can’t talk to you right now. We’re on our way to a funeral,” she said through stiff lips.

She tried to brush past him. But his hand stopped her. She looked down at it on her bare arm. She felt an involuntary shiver run through her body.

“Cold?” he asked with a mocking glint in his merciless eyes.

Sunny tilted her head up. She would not show him her fear. She would not back down. Billy’s future depended upon her grit.

“No, just disgusted,” she said.

“I hope it’s not something I’ve done,” he drawled.

“Get your hand off me before I call the police. You have no right to stop me from taking Billy to his father’s funeral. Even you would not be so low as to interfere with Billy saying his last goodbyes to his father.”

“The police are already here,” he said as he jutted his chin towards a police cruiser parked beside his sports car. “And I have every right to make any decision I see fit for my nephew. I’m his blood family. Something you can’t claim, can you Miss Murphy?”

“Sunny, I don’t like him anymore. He’s a bad man. Can we please just go home?” Billy was shaking as he tried to get as close to Sunny as he could.

The girl knelt down to gather the child in her arms. Her eyes shot daggers up at McIntyre. “As soon as the funeral is over, we’ll go home. I promise,” she told the child.

“I wouldn’t be making the boy any promises, Sunny,” JD’s voice sounded odd. “I think we both want what’s best for him. And we both know who has the resources to provide the best for him. Only a very selfish person would stand between Billy and the life my family can give him. I don’t think you’re that selfish.”

“This has nothing to do with me being selfish. And you know that. This is about what Willie wanted.”

“She wanted me to know about her son. You said she told you to call me. Willow wanted
family
with her, Sunny. Not just some new friend she hardly knew. I never received that call. So who was it that really let her down?”

Sunny hissed at the pain his words inflicted. It was like ripping open a raw wound. She’d done everything, everything she’d known to do to make sure Willie’s last request was followed. Hadn’t she?

“Fine, if you want to play this game, we’ll do it after the funeral service.” She wasn’t about to let this powerful man get the upper hand with her.

He nodded. “I’ll follow you and wait in the parking lot until the funeral is over.” He turned to stride back to his car.

“You don’t need the police,” Sunny called after him in anger. “We can settle this without them.”

JD stopped by the door of his sports car. “I would have thought we could until you disappeared with the boy.”

“The boy has a name,” she said with as much dignity as she could muster.

He tilted the hat back with his thumb. His smile was cold. “Yeah, I know. It’s McIntyre.”

If Sunny Murphy had been a cursing woman, she would have blistered his ears with the words that came to her mind. But she wasn’t. She was a lady. And she’d act like one now, even if it killed her. She stood as tall as her flat sandals would allow and gently took Billy’s hand in her own.

“Come on Billy. We need to get to the church.”

JD stood like a statue as they sailed past him. If she just hadn’t run, he could have worked something out with her. Maybe eventually the stubborn woman would have agreed. He’d have been ecstatic if he’d just been able to wheedle her into letting Billy spend holidays and a couple of weeks in the summer on the McIntytre spread. At the very least, he wanted to pay for Billy’s expenses and schooling. He was sure he could still convince her if he could just quit scaring her off. He wasn’t used to cajoling. That was Sam’s forte. But he was willing to give it a try on Sunny Murphy.

“Sunny?” he yelled across the trash strewn parking lot.

She was getting Billy settled in his seat. But she straightened and looked his way. If he hadn’t been so intent on not riling her, he’d have laughed at the mean look she gave him. She was going to give him as good as she got. Surprisingly, he found that trait rather endearing. Most females cooed and strutted around him. This woman looked like she wanted to drop him where he stood.

“Don’t try to run,” he instructed keeping his mouth in a firm, straight line.

She didn’t deign to answer. She just stuck her pert little nose in the air, got in her rolling junkyard of a vehicle, and pulled carefully out onto the road.

They made a somber parade all the way to the cathedral. Sunny’s heap, followed by JD’s sports car, with the police cruiser, bringing up the rear. A few heads turned as they pulled into the sparsely filled parking lot. Most of the folks gathered there were dressed in ecclesiastical garb or medical scrubs.

Sunny had a pretty good idea most of them had never seen a car as expensive as JD’s. And the police vehicle would have caused curiosity, as well. She was just glad there were no flashing lights or sirens involved. Though she wouldn’t put it past JD to have ordered them used, if he thought she was about to take off with Billy again. She’d seriously underestimated the man’s power. She wouldn’t be doing that again. She got Billy out of the car. She made sure his clothing was smooth and tidy. She almost jumped when she felt a hard hand under her elbow. Before she knew what was happening, JD escorted her right up to the doors of the church.

“Let me go,” she hissed under her breath, as she shot a smile towards one of the priests.

“I’ve decided I can’t let a lady attend such a solemn ceremony alone,” he said.

Sunny didn’t like the way one side of his mouth quirked up. The man was lethal to anyone with two X chromosomes. “You can’t attend Holy Services in dirty boots and jeans,” she whispered.

“Honey, for as much money as I’ve given the church, I could go to this funeral buck-naked and nobody would say a word, they’d just applaud.”

He steered her to the seats closest to the front. His dark look had both she and Billy sliding down the length of the mahogany pew.  She waved at Dr. Worth who sat with a crowd of her colleagues a few pews away. They sat together like a they were a family.

The young woman found that sort of ironic. Though if she was honest with herself, she’d admit, she’d spent many a long hot night weaving girlish dreams of building a family with John Deacon McIntyre. She took a moment to look around.

It was a hushed and holy place. Sunny had always loved church. The denomination never mattered. There was an odor of sanctity and peace within a sanctuary that could not be found anywhere else on earth. And this cathedral, while not especially large, was richly hung with tapestries behind the altar. And light filtered through the deeply-hued stained glass of its windows. Banks of pristine candles flickered in the dark of the church’s interior. Instead of a casket, there was a standing spray of lilies set before the main altar. Lorenzo’s picture was embedded in the middle of the white blossoms. The combined heavy odor of burning tapers and lilies filled the air.

Sunny was glad there was no imposing casket. It would be very difficult to explain to Billy that his newly-found father’s cold body resided inside. And she preferred notions of Heaven, angels, and eternal peace to the reality of a dead carcass. She looked over and saw Billy gazing around in wonder. There was nothing like this majestic house of worship in Sea Glass Point.

A knot formed in the back of her throat. Billy’s only memories of Lo would be of a broken, sick man. And of this funeral. She’d wanted more for her son. So much more. She jumped when she felt her hand being being tucked over JD’s arm. He didn’t look at her. But his fingers began stroking a soothing rhythm up and down the back of her cold skin.

He was such a man of contradictions, she thought. One minute he’s hunting her down with a squad car. The next he’s comforted her with his warm, steady touch. He was the lodestone she’d always wanted in the world. But she knew she couldn’t fool herself into believing he’d ever permanently be in her life. Billy’s maybe, but not hers.

The funeral lasted about an hour. Sunny learned so much about what a good man Lo had been. She stored up all the heartwarming eulogy stories to tell Billy as he got older. No wonder Wille had loved the man. Lorenzo Morales would have been a good husband and father. If he’d only had the chance.

“Here,” JD passed her a monogrammed handkerchief as they all rose for the last hymn.

Sunny hadn’t even realized she’d been weeping. She used the pristine square to dab at the tears running down her face. She caught a whiff of sandalwood. It was such a signature scent of him, more tears flowed. She knew she was being emotional. Funerals called for that. But she also understood that not all her rampant feelings were from grief over Lorenzo’s passing. No, she was honest enough to know JD had her emotions tangled into knots.

“Thanks,” she said as they walked down the aisle.

After a few kind words from the priest, they were out in the stifling parking lot. With her arm around Billy’s shoulders, Sunny looked up at JD.

“We’ll be getting on the road now,” she said it like it was a dare.

JD’s lopsided smile intrigued her. Where was the man who’d recently threatened her with the police? Now he looked more like the delicious man who’d pleasured her in her living room just a couple of days ago.

“Can I treat you to lunch first?” he asked.

Sunny’s eyes narrowed. What was JD McIntyre up to now? Her first impulse was to categorically refuse. The less time she and Billy spent with him, the better. She knew she wasn’t immune to his charm. But, since she had exactly one dollar and forty-seven cents in her purse, and a maxed out credit card, the offer of a meal was too hard to resist.