Teddy Bear Heir (21 page)

* * *

Michaela had been dreading the moment when Julian would be brought to the stand. He was called as a witness right after lunch.

Thompson was unmerciful as he grilled him and Michaela stepped in as many times as she dared. Julian had told her privately, before the trial to "let that young whippersnapper have his way with me. That'll show the jury what kind of garbage Coleman, Watts and Burrell are hiring!" But there were several times during the proceedings Michaela had to step in.

Finally it was her turn to question him. She decided to go straight for the evidence.

"Mr. Black, do you recognize this book?"

"Yes."

"What is it?"

"My journal."

"I've marked a certain section. Could I ask you to read it out loud?"

"Certainly."

He did so in a remarkably strong, clear voice.

The section he read dealt with the night he and Mary had created the little bear known the world over as Bandit Bear.

Michaela listened as Julian read. He and Mary had been poor at the time but one of their favorite pastimes had been to go to the Bay City Zoo on Tuesday afternoons when admission was free. On one particular outing they learned that several animals had recently been rescued from a circus and given sanctuary at the zoo. As Julian particularly liked bears, he'd been glad to hear that two little brown bear cubs had been rescued.

He and Mary had stood waiting for the cubs but only one had come out. Later they’d talked to one of the zoo personnel.

"The other one won't come out," he'd told than. "Pretty badly abused. He just sits in the corner of the cave."

Julian, as poor as they'd been, had determined to contribute to the zoo's protection program from that moment on, for, as he'd written in his journal, both animals and children were the silent sufferers in society and had no voice to give to the injustices done to them.

Michaela knew she'd picked the right passage for him to read as the courtroom grew silent.

"Why did you think up the contest, Mr. Black, almost a full year later?"

"I wanted some children to have fun. I donated every cent of the entry fees to the Bay City Zoo."

"And did you ever see this entry?" She held up the scrap of colored paper that constituted Exhibit B, Sally Browning's contest entry.

"I never did. The contest was judged by a panel of employees. I wanted them to have a little fun as well, feel like they were really part of the company. I don't recall that particular entry making it into the final rounds."

"It did not. Thank you, Mr. Black. Oh, just one more question."

"Certainly."

"Whatever happened to that bear cub?"

"Well," said Julian, obviously enjoying the memory. "That bear's handler, his name was Bob. And that man worked with that bear until he could trust again and was no longer afraid to come outside. The day that animal walked out into the sunlight, Bob gave me a telephone call. Mary and I rushed right down there. I saw that little face and all that hard earned character and I said, 'Mary, that's our bear!' And Bandit Bear was born."

"That time period is also recorded in your journal, Mr. Black?"

"Yes, it is. Would you like me to read it?"

She smiled at him. Julian was getting some of his fighting spirit back.

"No, that won't be necessary. I believe you."

"And I do too, Mr. Black."

Michaela looked up at Judge Cole. The woman's dark brown eyes were shining as she leaned forward.

"My mother took me to see that bear when I was a very little girl. I never forgot the look in that animal's eyes."

Carl Thompson was visibly sweating.

"He was an inspiration to me," Julian said quietly.

Judge Cole nodded. She glanced at Carl Thompson.

"Do you wish to question the witness further?"

"No, Your Honor."

* * *

The jury voted in Julian's favor and his name was cleared.

Chuck and his P.I. friend found out that Sally Browning had a rather unscrupulous older brother, a con artist who’d seen his chance to make a fast buck. Salty had only complied because she had a young grandson who was seriously ill and her brother had promised her a share of the money if she went along with his scheme.

Julian offered to put her in touch with one of his charities that offered medical care to families who couldn't afford it. He assured her he would personally make sure her little grandson got the treatment he needed.

And Michaela received more publicity and job offers than she'd ever had in her life.

A few days after the trial, Cameron had dinner with Michaela at the restaurant where they'd once talked about the original marital contract. And he wondered if now was the time to tell her there would never be a contract between them.

What he felt for her ran too deep for a legal document.

She was in his heart, his mind, his blood to a degree that there was no more choice involved. It wasn't a matter of whether he was scared of love or not. He had to be with her. He had to help her, protect her, stay with her through the birth of their child.

And once that child was born he would care for them both, put his very life on the line if necessary.

He'd learned another lesson on Julian's infernal quest. Love didn't give you any choices. Love was all there was in the end.

He leaned toward Michaela, giving her his complete attention, then frowned as he noticed someone approaching their table. Since the trial, Michaela had become something of a celebrity. He was sure someone else was about to offer her yet another job.

He'd guessed right.

Cameron knew she'd been badly hurt by what Joshua Burrell had done to her professionally. It was sweet revenge on the firm of Coleman, Watts and Burrell for her to be able to have her pick of any law firm in the city. And even better, for Joshua Burrell to know it and realize what a talented lawyer he’d lost.

He sat back and let her be a star. And loved her.

* * *

"Go to sleep," he said, smoothing the hair off her forehead and kissing her. She looked like a beautiful princess, all tucked into her gleaming brass bed, her dark auburn hair fanned out over the lacy pillowcase.

Her bedroom had been a complete revelation. For as much as his Michaela was a fighter, a tough, no-nonsense lawyer during the day, her bedroom revealed a much softer side of her personality.

"But we didn't have much time to talk—"

He kissed her again. "You were yawning over dessert." He smiled down at her. "It's okay—"

Michaela.

He thought of saying her name, of bringing her that little bit closer. Then he saw the shadows beneath her eyes.

His Michaela was a fighter, but this last fight had taken a lot more out of her than he'd thought.

"It's okay, Mike. We have all the time in the world."

"Do we?"

He saw the worried look in her eyes.

"I promise."

She smiled and snuggled deeper beneath the covers.

"You're so good to me, Cameron."

* * *

You're so good to me, Cameron.

He thought about what she'd said later that night, sitting in the nursery, and realized he hadn't been good to her at all. He’d been keeping her at arm's length, fighting for control.

Control of what? Once you lost your heart there was no longer any control.

Control? If one accepted the fact that life was basically chaotic, that things happened in the most random way, then all you could do was hope for a love that would get you through those darkest nights.

He thought of Julian alone, dirty and scruffy, sitting on that balcony, of the look in his eyes when he'd turned to face him.

He thought of Mary, his grandmother, and the sounds of her sobbing, the quietly choked sound that had floated across the hallway into his bedroom. She'd lost her only son the same night he'd lost his father and he'd loved his grandmother so much he'd hurt with her.

He thought of Michaela, losing her father, and wondered how she'd found the strength to go on.

Cameron sat in the rocking chair by the nursery window, looking out over the garden. He couldn't see much of it in the dark but he'd spent enough time gazing outside that he knew where everything was. He thought of his child coming into the world and growing up in this house. Knowing Mike Larkin through the home he'd created, the things he'd loved.

His eyes burned.

It hurt to remember but he had to go back, just this once. He had to go back and remember what had happened, the slow steps, the countless tiny choices he'd made that had set him on the dangerous path to not caring. Not feeling.

Not loving.

There were many things he claimed he couldn't remember. Julian would laugh over a particular memory and Cameron would smile and pretend. But he'd blocked a lot out.

He'd never been able to forget the night his parents had died.

The current nanny had been down in the kitchen arguing with the cook. He'd been in the nursery and had turned on the television at the far end of the large room.

The smoking plane had captured his attention instantly.

The picture of his mother and father had confused him at first, but he'd been a bright little boy. Slowly, listening to the newscaster, he'd realized what had happened.

And blamed himself.

He hadn't wanted them to go, he'd never wanted them to go, but for whatever reason they hadn't wanted to spend a great deal of time at home with him. Before they'd left the last time he'd thrown a temper tantrum to end them all and been sent to bed with no supper.

His mother had come to kiss him goodbye and he'd smelled her expensive perfume in the darkened nursery. As furiously hurt as only a young child can be, he'd turned his head so her lavishly glossed lips could only graze the top of his head.

"I'll bring you back a present, Cam," she'd whispered and then she was gone.

And then she was gone forever.

He'd left the television on the night of the crash and hidden in one of the long, deep closets in his parents' bedroom. He'd barely heard the screams coming from the kitchen. He'd heard nothing until Mary Black found him hiding, one of his mother's shoes in his arms, one of her sweaters over his shoulders.

If he could still smell her then she couldn't be gone. For as much as she hadn’t really warmed up to motherhood, he'd loved her with the passionate love of a child.

He'd never stopped loving her and he'd sent her on her way without even giving her a kiss.

Mary had gathered him up into her arms but even then he'd stiffened, pulled away from her, gone deep inside himself where he would never hurt anyone or be hurt again.

It was a strange thing, which memories were the most vivid. He'd never forget the tone of her voice as she'd called to him, then the look on her face when she finally found him. His grandmother had understood children and he knew with the simplicity of a child's wisdom that if it hadn't been for her perseverance, he probably would've died.

A part of him had.

His eyes burned fiercely. Tears he'd held inside for decades finally began to fall. And he knew, from one of the carefully picked books his grandmother had read to him, that the Tin Man had been right. He finally knew he had a heart, for that heart was breaking.

He sat back in the rocking chair and let the tears fall, let the emotion take him until he was exhausted from it. Then, wiping his eyes, he glanced around the nursery.

If there was one room that exemplified hope, it was a child's nursery. Children represented hope. Julian had known this when he'd sent him on his so-called quest in the first place.

Children represented light and hope and warmth, the best anyone could give the world.

Moving stiffly, still filled with emotion, Cameron picked up the stuffed bear he'd set on the floor and looked at the quizzical little face of Bandit Bear. That furry face was a brand known throughout the world. An empire.

All because of a damaged little bear who hadn't wanted to come out of his cave.

And a damaged little boy who'd wanted to stay hidden forever, tucked away in his parents' closet until Mary had chosen to take him into her arms and away from all the pain.

Cameron smiled tiredly. He was surprised by the effort just that one smile took. Even the abused bear cub had the sense to finally come out of its cave and try...

His eyes filled again as he realized he'd always had people around him who loved him. Yet he'd stayed hidden.

Julian and Mary had done their best by him and tried to let him see the world wasn't always a cruel and terrible place.

And Michaela had blazed into his life and refused to settle for anything but the best – his love.

He thought of her as he set the stuffed bear on the floor, then tilted his head back so it rested against the smooth wood of the rocking chair.

And he thought of the future for the first time without fear.

About the child he wanted to help bring into the world and all the dangers that world held in store for him or her. And all the joy, Michaela would stubbornly insist.

He smiled through his tears as he finally realized who she'd reminded him of from the start. Mary. Both women continually turned toward the light, while he and his grandfather had a tendency to remain in the dark.

Not anymore.

He wouldn't be able to tell her all of it. Not yet. If he could get through asking her to marry him, letting her know he loved her with all his heart, then take her safely through the birth of their child, he'd be able to find the words to tell her she’d given him a gift beyond any he'd ever received.

For in her stubborn refusal to settle for anything but his love, Michaela had given him back a crucial piece of his soul.

* * *

They returned to the island a week later for Julian's infamous Fourth of July victory party. He gave a bash every Independence Day, filling the house—or mansion, as Michaela still chose to think of it—to overflowing with friends and family. But this year it was especially celebratory, what with Teddy's Toys' courtroom triumph. It was a full scale blowout, black tie with a formal sit down dinner for the scores of guests Julian had invited.