His-and-Hers Family
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Helen Lacey
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15
Chapter One
It was the third time she had seen him in two days. And because she had a vivid imagination, Fiona Walsh had created all kinds of possible scenarios as to why the most gorgeous man she’d ever clapped her eyes upon appeared to be following her every move.
Who was he? An admirer? Lottery official? Stalker?
Yesterday morning she’d spotted him across the road outside her house, leaning on the hood of his car and speaking into his cell phone. She’d gone to collect her morning paper from the footpath and hung around by the gate for a few minutes, feigning interest in her wilted herb garden. Then he appeared by the foreshore that same afternoon while she ran her dog along the beach. Same car. Same kind of well-cut clothes. Same dark hair and superbly chiseled features.
Now he was at the riding school where she stabled her horse.
Fiona eased Titan, her Thoroughbred gelding, to a halt in the center of the sand arena and lifted the rim of her helmet. The man remained by his car, leaning against the door as he watched her. There was nothing threatening in his demeanor. He appeared more mildly curious than anything else. With the idea he wasn’t about to attack her and toss her in the trunk of his car firmly out of her head, Fiona experienced a strange warmth across her skin. Handsome, nice car, the kind of clothes that oozed confidence—she couldn’t help but be intrigued.
He was on his cell again, talking as he watched her. Fiona collected the reins and clicked Titan forward. The big gelding obeyed instantly, and she maneuvered him toward the entrance gate. No more guessing games. She’d find out who the man was and just what he wanted. Right now.
She dismounted and tethered Titan to the hitching rail. Once he was secured, she pulled off her riding hat and wasted a few seconds adjusting her hair. As she left the arena and walked purposefully across the yard, Fiona watched him end his call, slip the cell phone into a pocket and straighten to his full, broad-shouldered height.
Ten feet away she stopped and clipped her booted heels together. He was ridiculously good-looking and appeared to be in his early thirties. Even though sunglasses shielded his eyes, Fiona knew he was staring at her. She suddenly had a silly thought about her appearance and wished she’d worn something other than her grass-stained riding breeches and century-old T-shirt.
Silence stretched like elastic. Finally, she summoned the nerve and drew in a deep breath. “I guess you’re not here to tell me I’ve won the lottery?”
He cracked a half smile and flipped the sunglasses off. “No.”
She clamped her hands on her hips and tried to ignore the way her belly rolled over when she met his perfectly brilliant blue eyes. “Then why are you following me?”
“I’m not,” he said and took a step toward her.
Fiona widened her gaze. “Three times in two days?” She clicked her fingers. “That’s quite a coincidence.”
“It’s not a coincidence at all,” he replied. “I’ve simply been waiting for the appropriate time to speak with you.”
Fiona raised her chin as annoyance wove up her spine. He had a little too much self-assurance for her liking. “With me? What on earth for? I don’t know you, and I—”
“Are you Fiona Lorelle Walsh?” he asked quietly, cutting her off.
She stilled and her breath grabbed at her throat. “What do you want?” she asked as suspicion crept along her skin.
He took another step. “To talk to you.”
Fiona stared at him. He knew her full name? Who was he?
She had the urge to retreat. Get away. Put distance between herself and his lovely eyes. “I’m sorry, but I’m busy at the moment. I have to get back to my horse,” she said and pivoted on her heels.
“Miss Walsh?” he called after her. “Fiona?”
She stopped midstride and took another breath, deeper, longer. Titan moved restlessly from his spot by the gate as though he sensed her unease. She spotted Callie Preston, owner of the riding school and her closest friend, walking across the arena toward the two remaining riders. If she needed her friend, Callie would be at her side in a moment. But she kept her wits. Whoever this stranger was, she wasn’t afraid of him. Fiona turned around and faced the man behind her.
Her heart continued to thump madly. In the sunlight his hair appeared almost black and shimmered in a way she’d usually find attractive. But a voice told her not to think about him like that. “Who are you?”
“My name is Wyatt Harper.”
She didn’t recognize it. “What do you want?”
“To talk.”
“What about?”
He stepped closer. “Perhaps we could go somewhere a little more private.”
Fiona bristled. “This is plenty private.”
He glanced toward the other riders and then back to her. After a moment he drew in a breath. “Okay. Firstly, let me assure you that I’m not any kind of threat to you.”
Fiona didn’t feel threatened. But her curiosity was at an all-time high. Sensing she needed every advantage she could get, she didn’t quite let him off the hook. “I guess I’ll know that when you tell me what you want.” He smiled, and Fiona’s insides gave a silly leap. “So, start talking.”
He nodded. “Like I said, my name is Wyatt Harper.” He pulled a small card from his shirt pocket and held it toward her.
She knew he stood still deliberately, allowing her the chance to move forward so he wouldn’t appear intimidating. Smooth, she thought. And clever. She took a couple of steps, snatched the card and read it as she moved backward again. Sure enough, it said Wyatt Harper in bold print, with the title of managing director of Harper Engineering underneath it.
So, he had an impressive-looking job. It didn’t explain what he wanted with her. “And?”
He met her gaze directly and took his time replying. “I’m here on behalf of Cecily Todd.”
Cecily Todd? Fiona shook her head. “I don’t know who that—”
“Cecily is my niece,” he said quietly, interrupting her, “and the child you gave up for adoption fourteen years ago.”
Her world quickly tilted on some invisible axis.
No. I don’t believe it.
Oh, my God...is this happening?
She’d thought about this moment for years. Imagined it. Dreamed it and dreaded it. And her knees, usually rock-solid and strong, weakened like a bowl of jelly. Fiona bowed over fractionally as the air tried to squeeze into her lungs.
Breathe...just breathe...
He stepped forward but she raised a hand to warn him off.
“Take deep breaths.”
He was clearly concerned but Fiona wasn’t in any mood to be grateful. “Yeah,” she huffed and cast him a sharp look. “No problem.”
“Perhaps you should sit down,” he suggested and looked around. “There are steps by the house. You could—”
“No,” she said raggedly and gulped in air. “Please...just...stop.”
He placed a hand on her shoulder. “I can’t do that.”
She grabbed her knees for support, took a deep breath and then straightened. He dropped his hand and stepped back. She drew in another steadying breath, trying to rally her strength.
“I’d like to talk with you about my niece,” he said.
“Your niece?” she echoed vaguely, suddenly light-headed. Fiona put a hand to her temple. It was surreal. Dreamlike. As if it was happening to someone else, in some kind of alternate reality. “I feel a little woozy,” she admitted.
He grasped her arm and this time she didn’t ward him off. “Come on, you need to sit down.”
She let him lead her toward the house. There were three steps, and he urged her to sit on the bottom rung. Fiona dropped her head between her knees. “I’m not normally like this.”
“I surprised you,” he said evenly. “I’m sorry.”
“Surprised?” Fiona craned her neck to look at him. “You just shocked the hell out of me.”
“What’s going on here?”
She looked up. Callie stood twenty feet away. Her friend looked suspicious and regarded them seriously.
“It’s all right, Callie,” Fiona said. “I felt a little dizzy for a moment. I’m okay now.”
“Who’s this?” the other woman asked.
Fiona glanced at the man standing near her and saw his masked irritation at being spoken about in the third person. “Wyatt Harper,” he said.
Fiona pulled her head up before her friend had a chance to respond. “Thanks for coming over, Callie, but I’m fine now.”
She didn’t look convinced. “If you’re sure...”
“I’m sure,” Fiona said quickly.
She lingered for a moment, nodded and then walked off in the direction of the stables.
“Friend of yours?” he asked once she was out of earshot.
“Yes,” Fiona replied. “She owns this place.”
He nodded vaguely. “Are you really feeling okay?”
“I’m fine, thank you.”
He nodded. “About Cecily, I wanted to—”
“Are you sure?” she asked, cutting him off. “I mean, are you sure she’s...or that I’m her...”
“Her birth mother?”
She swallowed the heavy emotion in her throat. “Yes.”
“If you’re Fiona Walsh, then yes, I’m sure. I have documentation to support that you gave birth to Cecily.”
She took a deep breath, drawing strength. “And you’re her uncle?”
“That’s right. My sister and her husband adopted Cecily.”
A lovely couple. That’s what she’d been told by the adoption agency. People who would be able to give her daughter everything she couldn’t. Stability. Safety. A perfect home. She’d had fourteen years to imagine what they were like. Fourteen years where she hadn’t known her child’s name. Fourteen years to dream about reconnecting with the baby she’d given up.
But not like this. Not when she was totally unprepared and caught off guard. Whoever he was, and whatever he wanted, Fiona had no intention of falling apart in front of him. She didn’t do vulnerable. Ever.
She stood and crossed her arms. The only words she could form came out. “Why now?”
He waited to respond, taking stretched-out seconds as he looked her over. “Because Cecily wants to meet you.”
She shook her head instinctively. No one was going to turn her world upside down. Not ever again. She wasn’t fifteen and gullible. She was nearly thirty and called the shots in her own life. If Wyatt Harper thought rocking up unannounced was going to give him an advantage, he could think again. If she had this conversation, she’d do it when she was ready, and not before.
“I can’t do this here,” she said and tilted her chin, defiant and with way more strength than she felt. “I won’t. I need time to think. Goodbye, Mr. Harper.”
“Fiona, you need to—”
“Goodbye,” she said again and turned on her boots. She walked in a straight line back to the dressage arena and felt the sear of his gaze right up until she was out of view.
Minutes later she heard the sound of gravel crunching beneath tires. He was gone.
* * *
Fiona spent the following hour in a daze. She attended to Titan, got him untacked, fed and rugged, and headed home before Callie had a chance to question her about Wyatt Harper. She wasn’t in the mood for an interrogation, not even from her closest friend.
Once she opened the door of her small house, dropped her keys on the hall stand and made her way to the living room, she let out an emotional shudder.
My daughter.
She sank down into the sofa.
My daughter’s name is Cecily. Fiona had wondered so often what they’d called her. She hadn’t had the strength to name her baby. It was better that way...that was what she’d been told.
The only way.
But how she’d despaired over her decision. Even knowing that at fifteen she hadn’t been in a position to care for a baby and giving her up had been her only option.
The hardest decision I’d ever make.
That’s what the nurses at the small country hospital where she’d given birth had said.
Your baby will be better off.
And then her great-uncle’s voice, reminding her about her own mother.
The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.
Back then she’d believed him. Memories of her mother, Shayne, were etched into her mind. Unreliable, self-absorbed, an irresponsible flake, more interested in staying out late and getting high than being a parent. A woman who’d forfeited her chance for an education at seventeen to raise a child she never really wanted, and who’d married a man she’d never loved. A marriage that had lasted two years. Tired of her life in the small town where she’d been raised and the rules she was forced to follow living in her uncle’s house, Shayne packed up a then five-year-old Fiona and began following the rodeo circuit. She chased one cowboy after another, dragging Fiona through countless motel rooms and a string of transient jobs.
When she was fifteen, Fiona had been shipped back to her great-uncle...alone and scared and pregnant. Fiona had few illusions about Shayne. Her mother’s reaction to her pregnancy was borne out of anger and resentment. Three weeks after Fiona was left at her uncle’s farm, Shayne and her much younger rodeo-rider boyfriend were killed in a railway-crossing accident. She didn’t grieve, didn’t feel. There was too much hurt, too much betrayal, too much pain.
Six months later Fiona had given up her baby after only fifteen minutes of holding her. She’d said goodbye to her precious daughter and handed her over to strangers, hoping with all her heart that her baby would be treasured by her new family, knowing that because she’d agreed to a closed adoption she could never look for her, and lived on the hope that one day her daughter would seek her out. But she’d never really believed it. Never let hope linger for too long.
Until Wyatt Harper dropped into her world.
Her daughter’s uncle. An envoy. Clearly here to check her out. Although, since he knew her full name, he’d probably done a fair amount of checking already. Fiona gripped her hands together. How much did he know? The paper trail was meager at best. With Shayne dead there was nothing linking Fiona to her mother’s lover. Or what had happened on that terrible night.
Nothing except Cecily.
No one knew the truth. No one ever would. Fiona had held on to her secret for over fourteen years. There was no mention of him anywhere. She hadn’t talked about it since the day she was dumped on her uncle’s doorstep. Her daughter’s birth certificate stated father unknown. He was dead. What good would rehashing it do now?
Only...Wyatt Harper had turned up and she knew he’d have questions. Questions I can’t answer. There would be no nice way to admit the truth about her daughter’s conception.
So what did he really want? Did her daughter actually want to meet her? And if so, where were her adoptive parents? Why had Wyatt Harper been sent on this digging mission?
If she wanted answers, she had to pull herself together.
First, a shower and a change of clothes. And then a strategy. She liked strategies and lists and being organized. She didn’t like being in the dark. She didn’t like Wyatt Harper knowing things about her when she knew nothing of him.
She fingered the business card he’d given her. Seconds later she was at her computer and typed Harper Engineering into the search engine. It wasn’t long before she had a dozen or so hits. He was from the third generation of Harpers to run the steel-fabrication business. With well over one hundred employees at the huge factory on the outskirts of Sydney, he appeared to be doing everything right. There was a nice picture of him, too, with his father and grandfather. It was clearly a family business in the truest sense of the word.
Fiona flicked off the computer and headed for the kitchen. Muffin, her energetic Tenterfield Terrier, jumped up at the back door, and she quickly let the dog inside and fed her. The card in her hand burned her fingertips. There was only one way to find out what he wanted.
* * *
He’d failed. When he’d promised Cecily he wouldn’t. Fiona Walsh obviously wasn’t prepared to talk, and Wyatt felt as if the door had been well and truly slammed. She’d said she needed time—but time for what? She’d looked horrified when he’d faced her with the news. Her pretty face had turned ghost-pale, emphasizing the brightness of her lips and sparkling blue-gray eyes.
He shouldn’t have confronted her out in the open. Yesterday would have been better. But the moment he’d spotted her walking from her little house in her cute pajamas, he’d forgotten why he was there. Forgotten that he had a job to do and forgotten that Cecily was relying on him to not screw it up. But by the time he’d shaken the image of Fiona Walsh’s bouncing hair and pretty face out of his head, she had disappeared inside.
Now, back in his hotel room, Wyatt had time to think about the way he’d ruined his chances. Cecily would be bitterly disappointed, and the last thing his niece needed was more of that. He checked emails and called his personal assistant. Glynis had been with him for ten years; she’d been with his father for twenty before that. The sixty-year-old widow was his right arm, sometimes his conscience and often his sounding board.
“Your flight is booked for tomorrow morning,” she told him. “You are still coming back tomorrow, aren’t you?”
“I’m not sure.”
She made a disagreeable sound. “And Miss Walsh?”
“I’ve made contact. We’ll see what happens.” He wasn’t about to admit he might have screwed up.
“Just be careful,” she warned. “Sleeping dogs sleep for a good reason. Sometimes the past is best left where it is.”
“It’s what Cecily wants,” he said and ended the call, feeling the weight of his promise to Cecily press between his shoulder blades.
When his niece had asked him to find her birth mother, Wyatt hadn’t been surprised and he had understood her motives. Cecily wanted answers. Now that he’d met Fiona Walsh, Wyatt was intrigued and wanted some answers, too. He knew she was a teacher and had lived in Crystal Point for five years. Before that there had been a series of jobs at various schools, none lasting more than six months. She appeared to go from one small town to the next, never settling until now. What made Crystal Point different? Did she have roots in the small community? From the investigation he’d undertaken, Wyatt knew there were no relatives, only a great-uncle who’d passed away twelve months earlier and left her a modest inheritance after the sale of his property out west. There were no parents. No siblings. Not even a distant cousin she could claim as family.
Fiona Walsh seemed to be as alone as a person could possibly get.
She wasn’t married...but maybe she had a boyfriend? She was as pretty as hell, after all. Her hair was an amazing color, not red, not blond but an unusual mix of both. In more normal circumstances, Wyatt would probably have been attracted to her.
Whoa...where did that come from?
He was here on Cecily’s behalf. The kid had been through enough over the past eighteen months. Now she wanted to find her birth mother, and it was Wyatt’s job to help her. He wasn’t about to get caught up in Fiona’s lovely blue-gray eyes. He wasn’t about to rush into getting caught up with anyone, not after the disastrous end to his engagement eighteen months earlier. Yvette’s betrayal had left a bitter taste in his mouth.
He knew he had to see Fiona again. He had to make her listen.
His cell rang and he picked up on the third ring. “Wyatt Harper.”
“I’ll meet you in half an hour.”
Her husky voice was unmistakable. She’d called. Maybe he hadn’t screwed up after all? “Great. Shall I come to you?”
“No,” she said quickly. “I’ll come to you.”
Wyatt gave her the name of the hotel.
“Okay,” she said. “I’ll meet you in the foyer at five o’clock.”
Then she hung up.
* * *
Fiona’s drive into Bellandale took twenty minutes. The town was four hours north of Brisbane and had a population of sixty thousand. The streets were typically quiet for a Sunday afternoon, and she scored a parking spot outside the hotel. With her nerves severely stretched, she walked through the front doors and into the lobby.
There was no sign of him. She checked her watch. Three minutes to five.
Fiona ignored the concierge and headed for the lounge area in the centre of the lobby. There was a bar close by, and a waiter immediately approached to take her order. She declined and sank into one of the leather sofas. The foyer was eerily quiet, except for the faint sound of piped music and the occasion click of heels over the polished floor.
“Hello, Fiona.”
She snapped her neck around. Wyatt Harper had approached and stood only feet away. Fiona did her best to overlook the way her traitorous belly flipped over. Okay...so he was good-looking and possessed the kind of body that was hard to ignore in his dark chinos and a white polo shirt. And he had great hair and glittering blue eyes. Big deal. The world was full of gorgeous men. And because this one had just dropped a bombshell into her organized little life, Fiona had every intention of ignoring the way her blood heated when he was within a six-foot radius.
“Hello.”
He looked at her oddly and the heat intensified. Fiona pushed her hair back with shaking fingers, suddenly nervous of his scrutiny. Something flashed in his eyes. Approval? Disapproval? Did she look as if she was trying too hard with her sensible denim skirt, modest print blouse and even more sensible sandals? Maybe she should have put her hair up instead of letting it curl madly around her head? She bit at her lower lip to get rid of the lipstick she’d dabbed on.
“Thank you for coming,” he said.
Fiona noticed the narrow black folder he carried. “I don’t see the point in hiding from the truth.”
He nodded, sat down opposite her and placed the folder on the low table between them. “So you acknowledge that you’re Cecily’s birth mother?”
Fiona inhaled. “I admit that I had a child fourteen years ago.” She pointed to the folder. “You seem to have all the evidence that she’s the baby I gave up for adoption.”
“I do have proof,” he said quietly. “Although one look at Cecily would be enough to convince you.” He pushed himself back in the lounge. “She looks just like you. Same hair. Same chin. Same...” He looked at her mouth for a moment and Fiona’s skin warmed. “Same color eyes.”
She managed a brittle smile and twirled a lock of hair between her fingertips. “Poor kid got stuck with this color.”
He watched her actions with blistering intensity. “She’s very pretty.”
Fiona’s heart began to beat a little faster. She drew in a breath and asked the question that burned on the end of her tongue. “What does she know about me?”
Wyatt Harper’s eyes darkened fractionally. “She knows you were young when you had her. Cecily has always known she was adopted. My sister Karen and her husband, Jim, were open with her from an early age and supported her decision to find her birth mother when she was ready.”
“And she’s ready now—is that what you’re saying?”
He nodded. “She began talking about finding you nearly two years ago. Karen and Jim planned to start searching but...” He stopped and took a moment. When he spoke again, Fiona heard rawness in his voice. “They were killed eighteen months ago.”
Emotion she didn’t understand clutched her throat. “I’m sorry,” she whispered. “How did it happen?”
“They were rock fishing,” he replied. “They got swept off a rock shelf. It was a crazy accident. They were mad for a dangerous sport and paid the price. When they died, that left Cecily—”
“Alone,” Fiona said quickly and covered her mouth when she realized how it sounded.
“No, not alone,” Wyatt told her pointedly. “She has her family. I was going to say that it left her with a lot to deal with. She handled it pretty well, considering. A few months ago, she announced she was ready to find you.”
“She really wants to meet me?”
He nodded. “Yes, she does.”
Her breath caught again. My daughter wants to meet me. Fiona got goose bumps. This was what she wanted...right? To know the child she’d given up. She had everything to gain from such a meeting. Everything. Then why does the thought of it make me want to run?
“When?” she asked and pulled herself forward.
“It’s not that simple,” he said quietly.
Fiona twisted her hands in her lap. “What do you mean?”
“I mean that Cecily has been through a lot, and as her legal guardian, I am going to make sure she is protected.”
“From me?” she whispered and fought the rising annoyance. His responses were vague at best, and it irritated her no end. Fiona pulled her fractured nerves together. “I would never hurt her.”
“Perhaps not intentionally. But I have to be sure about you. I need to be certain you won’t do anything to jeopardize Cecily’s emotional state.”
Dumbstruck, Fiona glared at him with a mixture of disbelief and slowly gathering rage. His inference was insulting. But she quickly bit back her infamous redheaded temper. Getting mad with him wouldn’t serve her. He held all the cards. And he knew it. “So what do I have to say to prove that I wouldn’t do anything to upset her?”
He leaned forward and rested his elbows on his knees. “How about you start by telling me why you gave your baby away?”
