Another Woman's Son (Harlequin Romance) (16 page)

“Well, you hurry home and I’ll try to clean up the mess.” Isabel had tried all her married life to treat Leah with respect and compassion. For the first time, she fought back. But she should have made that a habit before this afternoon.

She was in her own house before Leah got out of the driveway. True to form, her mother had busied herself making coffee. When she was upset or sad or too happy to believe her own supposed good luck, she had to work off her energy.

“Mother.”

“I don’t understand you, Isabel.”

“Dad, talk some sense into her.”

“I wonder if she’s right, honey. Ben tried to hide the truth.”

“With me telling him he should trust you the whole time.” She felt sick. “Don’t ‘honey’ me. Tony knows one father, one home. I won’t help you take him away from Ben.”

“You’re on his side?”

Her mother sounded hurt. Isabel didn’t want
to hurt anyone. “I’m on Tony’s side, Mom. Faith wouldn’t want you to do this.”

“Yes, she would.”

“She was taking him away when she died,” Isabel’s father said. Her mother all but clapped her hands, in her rush to agree.

“And she was wrong. You’d know she was wrong if you could look beyond what you want.”

“Ben can visit.”

“Visit?” Isabel made no attempt to hide her shock. “Visit his own son?”

“Why are you so sure he’s right?” her dad asked.

“Because he’s Tony’s dad. No one can take Ben’s place with him.”

“No, there’s more,” Amelia said. “George, think back to the cemetery.”

“Are you two ganging up on me?”

“I’m trying to make sense of the fact that you’ve obviously known that little boy is not Ben’s child but you didn’t tell us.” She looked at her husband. “Why did Ben lose his temper? Does a man risk so much for a friend?”

“What are you saying?” George turned faintly green. “You and your sister fell in love with each other’s husbands?”

“No.” Not exactly true, but she put a lot of power into that “no.” She imagined Ben, holding his son, believing he had finite time with Tony. His anguish was hers, and she didn’t care any more what her par
ents thought. “I’m in love with Ben now, but I saw him only as Faith’s husband and Will’s friend—my best friend—before I came back here.”

“I hate to sound like Leah,” her mother began.

“Then you’d better not. I’m running short on forgiveness, and I don’t see how you can turn on Ben and Tony because you want a little bit of Faith back.”

“You’ve never lost a child. I carried her for nine months inside my body. She was supposed to outlive me, have grandchildren of her own.”

“And be faithful to her husband,” Isabel said. “She left him a note to tell him about Tony. Like you, she thought donating sperm and the occasional visit was fatherhood.”

“Don’t talk to your mother like this,” her dad said.

“Mom, put Tony ahead of your grief.”

Her mother shook her head, ignoring her grandson’s pain to nurse her own. “You think you can marry that man and have all the time you want with Tony.” Her expression changed. Realization dawned on her pale face. She slammed the coffee carafe on the counter so hard it shattered. “That man took advantage of you so he’d have a better shot at keeping our grandson.”

“I’m leaving.”

Neither her mother nor her father tried to stop her. Isabel found her keys. Despite still-snowy roads, she drove as fast as she could to Ben’s house, half expecting to find it empty and him on the way to Canada.

He opened the door with Tony on his elbow and a wary look on his face. “Are you here to stay?” he asked.

“You mean am I taking your side against my parents?”

He nodded.

“Not exactly.”

He walked away.

Over his shoulder, Tony held out his arms, his face puckering with tears. She shut the door and followed them. “I tried talking to Mom and Dad. Why did you say anything? Leah was working off steam.”

“Someone needed to pry her off your back years ago.” In the kitchen, he put Tony in his high chair.

“But what do you always say? Tony comes first.”

Ben straightened and looked at her. If she trusted her instincts at all, she’d swear love looked at her from his eyes. “I guess you matter to me as much as Tony does,” he said.

Her legs wobbled. She reached for the wall to keep from falling down. “You matter that much to me, too.”

“And you’ll stand by me in court?”

“Oh.” She braced against the wall with both hands. Could her mother have been right? Had he been using her? “You think a judge will choose you if I’m with you.”

“You’re Tony’s aunt.”

“That’s what the other night was about. That’s
why you asked me to stay here and why you said I mattered. I’ve been your backup plan.” How could she talk so reasonably when she wanted to scream and cry and swear she’d learn not to love him?

“What?” he asked.

“You’re good. You look shocked.” She pushed off the wall. “I don’t know why my mother and father are willing to be so cruel, but I won’t side against my family.” She stopped at the kitchen door. “About the night we spent together?”

He hadn’t moved. He didn’t speak. She relished the dread in his eyes. He knew pain was about to come.

“You put on a hell of a show,” she said. “I hate that you wasted so much time on me, but Will had nothing on your act.”

I
SABEL SOLD
the house at the end of February. On Valentine’s Day, she’d started working at Linder and Farnes Advertising as a copywriter. Writing with admiration for toilet paper and insurance and frozen crab didn’t come easy when she felt numb as an iceberg.

Almost every day, her parents’ attorney called. She refused to speak to him, but she kept trying to convince her mother and father they were being selfish, rather than showing love for Tony.

Ben’s attorney called three times. She didn’t talk to him, either. Ben called often the first several days after their last argument, but she had nothing to say. He’d made her believe in him and his feelings—lies that had become as important as life’s blood to her.

He finally left a message while she was at work one day, to say that she could visit Tony. She called him back and, over the phone, they agreed she’d pick up Tony at day care.

“You won’t take him to your mom and dad?” Ben asked.

“How can you ask? I kept the secret. They’re hardly speaking to me anyway.”

“I want to talk to you.”

“No, Ben. I’ll drop Tony off after dinner and some time at the park.”

“Will you stay for a few minutes?”

“No.”

She was too vulnerable. Even knowing he’d used her, she didn’t trust herself. She wanted him—damn her soul—she loved him too much.

“I meant everything we said and did that night,” Ben told her in a ragged voice. “I love you. I just need for you to choose me and Tony. Is that so much to ask?”

“You want me to turn my back on my parents and prove that you matter most. I’m not Faith’s second string,” she said, harking back to his statement about Will the night they’d first kissed.

She spent a poignant afternoon with her nephew. He’d learned to say Grandma and Grandpa sometime during their visit. Hearing him ask for them broke her heart. She returned him to Ben, whose sad eyes almost drew her inside. She didn’t set foot in his house.

When the subpoena came, she called Ray.

“Your parents subpoenaed you?” He couldn’t believe it, either.

“I won’t say they’re best for Tony.”

“Do you still think Ben is?”

“Yes, but if I say that, I’m not sure Mom and Dad will ever forgive me.”

“I assume you told them you thought Tony should be with Ben?”

“Because it’s true.”

“I don’t know why they’d call you, unless they think you’ll take the stand, look at them and collapse in their favor.”

“Even if I’m looking at them, I’ll be seeing Tony.”

“I’ll go to court with you if you want me to, but you don’t need me. My best advice is to do what you can for your nephew.”

“I wouldn’t mind having a friend, Ray.”

“Give me the date.”

“Thanks. I can never pay you back.”

“You may get a bill, though. Call your mother and father one more time.”

She did, to no avail. Her mother kept insisting Faith would want her to raise Tony.

Isabel never tried to talk Ben out of fighting. It was the closest she came to choosing him over her parents.

T
HE WORST HAPPENED
. Her day to testify came. She’d hoped that her mother and father would walk in, take one look at the courtroom and come to their senses. No such luck.

She, on the other hand, began to cry as she looked out from the witness stand. On one side her mother
sat with a plea in her eyes, her father embarrassed but hopeful next to her. At least he had some idea they were in the wrong. On the other side, Ben was gaunt, as haunted as a man who’d already lost his only child.

The bailiff swore her in. Her parents’ attorney, Mr. Loggins, stood.

“Mrs. Barker, how long have you known the child was no biological relation to Mr. Jordan?”

Isabel turned to her mother, silently begging her to stop the questioning. Her mom looked away.

“Since three months before my husband died,” Isabel said. “About seven months now.”

“And you never told your parents?”

She crossed her arms. “Was it their business?”

“Your Honor,” Mr. Loggins said.

“Answer, please.” The woman behind the bench, starched and tidy in her black robe and matching hair, remained the picture of objectivity.

“I didn’t tell them.”

“Because you knew they had rights to raise their grandchild, and Mr. Jordan has no rights at all to this innocent boy who’s lost his mother and true father?”

Isabel looked immediately at Ben. Before, he would have lost his temper. Today, he looked as if someone had knifed him. They’d danced around Will’s role in Tony’s life so many times, hardly ever admitting it out loud. It hurt too much to bear. “When
I learned the truth, my sister and my husband were still alive. They chose not to tell my parents.”

“Mrs. Barker, answer my question. You knew they had the right to raise their grandson.”

“That wasn’t my reason for keeping silent,” she said. Again, she implored her mother to end this mistake.

“Why did you hide the truth your parents deserved to hear, Mrs. Barker?”

“Objection, Your Honor,” Ben’s attorney said. “Does Mr. Loggins intend to continue testifying for this witness?”

“A little less hyperbole, Mr. Loggins,” Judge Simkins said. “Please answer the question, Mrs. Barker. I’d like to hear your opinion.”

She tried to say out loud in the courtroom that Tony’s only place was with Ben. With her mother and father watching her as if she held the key to their dreams of a second chance with Faith, she couldn’t do it.

“Mom, please help me.” She spared a swift glance at Ben. “I’m torn between you, and I love you all. I don’t want to hurt any of you.”

“Just say what you believe, honey.”

Ben’s lawyer stood again. The judge waved him down. “This is family court. I’m for a little leeway if the parties can talk to each other.”

Isabel shot her a look of thanks. “We can make a family for Tony, without court dates and custody and visitation schedules. He loves his father. He won’t
understand why you want to take him away from Ben.” She wiped her eyes. “Can’t you see how much Tony’s lost already, and now you’re going to make sure he has no dad? You’re not that selfish, Mom.”

“Mrs. Barker, do you need a moment?” Mr. Loggins asked.

“I need a miracle. Someone with clear eyes who loves my nephew.” She stared from her mother to her father. “Tony trusts us. You’re putting him in the same position I’m in right now. One day he’ll look at you and Dad and know if he chooses Ben, he breaks your heart. Then he’ll look at Ben and know that if he chooses you, Ben may not forgive him. Tony’s not going to forget his father. He may even think Ben abandoned him, that he did something to make Ben stop loving him.”

“Stop.” From the respondent’s table, Ben stood. “You don’t have to do this.”

Now that she’d started, she refused to give in. “You have to keep fighting. Sit down before you get in trouble.”

“You do love him more than us,” her father said.

The gallery rustled.

“Mom, how are you going to drag Tony out of that house screaming for Ben? Ben is his daddy. He couldn’t care less about blood or genetics. When he gets ready for bed at night, he wants Ben’s arms around him. He wants Ben singing him to sleep.”

“Your Honor,” Loggins said again, “shouldn’t we have a little order?”

“No.” Amelia took over, and Isabel felt relief at the realization in her eyes. “We should show real love for my grandson.” She covered her cheeks as she tried to explain what she’d done. “I do want him. I’ve lost my daughter, my baby girl, who loved her son and loved me. I just wanted to see her in Tony. Every day—in my house—sleeping in her bed—going to her school. I needed something of Faith back.”

“But she’s gone, Mom, and we have to love Tony generously.” Isabel wasn’t sure Faith would have remembered how much Tony needed the only father he’d ever known, but she chose to believe her mother could see the best way for Tony. “He comes first, as he would have with Faith.”

Ben’s hand hit the table with a thud. Tears stood in his eyes. He stared at Amelia with intensity that should have set the room on fire.

Amelia put her head down. “I’m sorry, Ben. I lied to myself because I felt as if God had given me another chance with my daughter when I found out the truth. But I used to sing to her when she went to bed. Maybe that’s why she started singing to Tony. No one would have had any right to take my place with my daughter. Your place is with him.”

“I’d give up my life for Tony.” Ben licked his lips. “I’ll even let you and George be his grandparents again. Tony needs us all.”

“Mr. Loggins, what do we do to give my son-in-
law custody?” She slid her hand through the papers on the table.

“Your Honor, I’m not sure my client understands she’s throwing away her case.” Loggins scrambled for his notes, clearly unused to this kind of resolution.

“I think your client is learning to love her grandchild. We like families to stay together, and these people may have talked themselves into a second chance to give Tony all the love he deserves.” She banged her gavel. “You’re excused, Mrs. Barker.”

B
EN DROVE
and didn’t let himself think until he reached Isabel’s house. It looked as silent as it had every other day in the week since he’d been given custody of his son. She might be out again.

He had to knock. He couldn’t leave without making sure.

He’d barely lifted his hand when she opened the door. “Where’s Tony?” she asked.

Just looking at her made him feel whole. He wanted to take her soft hair between his fingers, breathe in her scent that was life to him. He needed to hold her. “I left him with a sitter. This is about you and me.”

She didn’t throw him out. She didn’t ask him in, either. But when she walked away, she left the door open. Close enough to an invitation.

“I’m sorry,” he said, painfully aware of the new packing boxes in the hall.

“You won. Why should you be sorry?”

“I lost you.” She put the table with its empty rose bowl between them. “I got scared when your parents found out. I thought I needed you to prove I came first.”

“I never told my mom and dad.”

“Who knew I’d take care of that?”

“You should have wanted me no matter whose side I took.”

“Could you live with a woman who helped her parents take your child?”

She looked down, shaking her head. “I admit it was an impossible situation.” A faint smile lifted her mouth, and hope showed itself. “Did you say—live with a woman?”

“Maybe you should ask your mother how I really feel. She’s a cross between Sherlock Holmes and Suzy Homemaker.”

“She wouldn’t like that Suzy Homemaker part.”

“Are we still friends, Isabel?”

“I don’t want to be your friend anymore.”

His hope died a painful death. He rubbed his chest, trying to reach the broken pieces. “I love you, not because of Tony or because I’m out for revenge against Will and Faith. I love you. I’m home where you are. I’m in a rush to make love to you because I can’t believe you want me as much as I want you. I want my son to grow up at your knee, and I hope we’ll make more babies, brothers and sisters for
Tony. When I look at you, I see the future. I trust the future.” His voice broke again and again. He didn’t care. She already knew what kind of man he was. “My future and Tony’s is with you. Trust us with yours, and believe I’ll never again ask you to make a choice that hurts.”

“Ben, I love you. I’ll choose you all my life,” Isabel said through tears he cherished. “I went to Pennsylvania to make sure Mom and Dad were all right. I would have come to you.”

“Then come home now.” He realized what he’d said. “Later, we’ll sell the house and start over in one that’s only ours.”

She put her arms around his waist. “I don’t want to make Tony move.”

Ben held her, wondering how he could ever let her go. “Since we’re making your home, too, we’ll find a new place for us all.”

“Thanks for offering.” She lifted her face and he had to kiss her. Her eyes sang. He took her mouth with the love of a real husband. When he raised his head, she looked as dazed as he felt. “But maybe,” she said, “we just clutter your house a little and make it our own.”

He tipped her chin to kiss her throat. He couldn’t taste enough of her. “I can’t believe you’re mine.”

“Easiest choice I ever made,” she said.

“Can we go upstairs? I’d like to make love to you before we go home to Tony.”

She glanced upward.

He read her thoughts again. “Will’s not here anymore.”

“I thought you might have forgotten this was his house, too.”

“I don’t care. Will has nothing to do with us. I love you.”

“You’d better come show me.”

They spent the afternoon in her guest room, proving all they’d ever need to know to each other. Finally, exhausted, they slept. As night began to creep into the room, Ben woke in his lover’s arms.

“Will you marry me, Isabel?”

“So soon? Don’t you want to be sure?”

“Do you still need to live on your own?”

“If I did?” she asked.

“I’d better admit I can see this is a test. I’ll wait if you ask me, but I’m only going to be more sure every moment we’re together.”

“We’ll argue sometimes.”

“You can’t talk me out of marriage.” He ran his hand down her back to curve it over her bottom. “No one loves like you do without forever on her mind.”

Laughing, Isabel slid out of bed and disappeared into the bathroom. She hadn’t answered his proposal.

“I’m taking a shower,” she said over the running water.

He’d never been in the bathroom up here. He
flipped the light switch as he went inside. “It’s perfect, a box made for two.”

“Turn off the light.” She opened the shower door and sprawled on the marble bench inside.

“No.” He followed her in and pulled her onto his lap. “I want to see you.”

A
LMOST TOO WEAK
to walk, Isabel dressed while Ben called home. She ran downstairs and pulled a package out of the sideboard. It was for Tony.

Ben came down the stairs, shutting his phone. “The sitter already fed him. It’s later than I thought.”

“We took a long shower.” Isabel’s heart beat a rapid tattoo as she remembered his skin sliding against hers, his need growing inside her. Her own cry, which always seemed to drive him over the edge. “We should try out yours later.”