B00CQUPUKW EBOK (3 page)

He turned and held the back of a chair.  “Have a seat, Kaya.  We may as well be comfortable while we discuss the children’s welfare.”

She nodded and sat down.

Bryce sat down in the chair facing her, his heart heavy at the thought of discussing the gruesome reason he’d left Switzerland, just hours after his jet landed.  He hadn’t even gotten the chance to attack the slopes, burn off the frustrations that had driven him there in the first place.  “Who’s taking care of them?” he asked Kaya, deciding it was best to just tackle the issue they’d been avoiding since he walked into the office.

“Libby,” she answered.

  “Great.”  He would have gone directly to the house, but when he’d called Steven and learned that Lauren’s sister would be in his office, he’d opted to meet her here.  They had a lot to discuss and he’d rather not do it with the kids around.  “How are they coping?” 

“Alyssa’s fine, as resilient as a rubber ball,” she answered with a gentle softness in her voice.  “But Anastasia has been fussy, and Jason, well—”

She started that nervous twisting of her hands again.  She couldn’t be scared of a little boy.  “What about Jason?” Bryce asked, fighting the urge to reach out and cover her hands with his. 

“He’s in denial.  He completely ignores me.  Samantha Kelly, the grief counselor from their church, came by last night, but he wouldn’t talk to her.  He thinks his parents went to Switzerland with you, and that you’re bringing them home.”

Bryce frowned.  “Why does he think that?” 

“Well, they died the same day you left for Switzerland, remember?”

“Yes, but—”

“You’ve taken the family to Europe on your jet several times, so in Jason’s mind, his parents merely took another trip with you.  Samantha called it a coping mechanism, and she thinks you’re the only one who can get Jason to accept the truth.”

Bryce felt pressure building in his chest.  Propping his elbows on his knees, he buried his face in his hands, groaning inwardly.  If Michael and Lauren’s deaths seemed so inconceivable to him, he could only imagine what it was like for Jason losing both his parents so suddenly and tragically.

Many times he’d put smiles on the children’s faces when he’d replaced a broken toy.  How could he attempt to fix their little broken hearts when he could never bring their parents home?

Fate had dealt them a crushing blow, and he would have to see them through this most frightening period of their lives.  He would be there for them—night and day until...  Bryce slowly raised his head and stared at Kaya.  “When I walked in, you were discussing the option of selling my estate.  Why?”

She blushed and glanced away briefly.  “I didn’t know
L’etoile du Nord
belonged to you.  I’m just trying to close out Michael and Lauren’s affairs as soon as possible so that the children and I can get on with our lives.  As you know, Michael had no relatives and I’m the only family Lauren had.” 

“And I imagine coming here for the funeral and finally meeting the children will give you some closure and a measure of peace when you return to Florida.”  He paused as the door to the adjacent office opened and Steven rejoined them.  “I can assure you, the children will be well cared for.  I love them dearly, and I’ll raise them as if they were my own.”

“Um, Bryce,” Steven interjected.  “That wouldn’t be necessary.” 

“On the contrary, Steven, it’s absolutely crucial.  There’s no one else to take care of them.”

Steven shot Kaya a furtive glance.  “There
is
someone else, Bryce.”

“Who?”

“Kaya.  Michael and Lauren named her legal guardian.  She has full custody of the children, and she’s planning to take them to Florida after the funeral.”

Kaya watched a kaleidoscope of emotions flitter across Bryce’s face.  
Shock.  Confusion. Hurt.  Betrayal.

He staggered out of his chair and slammed a fist on the desk.  “They did
what
?” 

Anger
.

Kaya jumped and hugged her arms about her middle tightly, her eyes flashing back and forth from Bryce to Steven, then back to Bryce.

“Michael and I were closer than most brothers, for God’s sake.  I loved Lauren like a sister.  I adore those kids.  How could they ever doubt that?”

“Bryce, believe me, when they asked me to write the will, I raised those same points on your behalf.  But they were quite certain about what they wanted.”

“When did they make this ridiculous decision?”

“About a year ago.”

Kaya sat up straight.  A year ago was when Lauren tracked her down and began sending her pictures of the children.  She’d invited her to come up and meet the family.  But old fears had kept her away.

Bryce turned his mercurial eyes on her.  His big hands were clenched into fists.  His broad shoulders heaved from his deep, harsh breathing.

The mixture of hurt and betrayal in his eyes resonated in her own tormented heart.  He’d just lost his dearest friends, and now he was about to lose his godchildren whom he obviously adored.

“They didn’t even know her.”  He flung his hands in the air.  “They might as well have pulled a stranger off the streets and asked her to raise their kids.  That’s what you are.  A stranger.  To all of us!”  He took a threatening step toward her.

Kaya felt his despair in the pit of her stomach, but she steeled herself against the looming threat and pushed to her feet.  “Bryce, I know how hurt and betrayed you must feel right now.  But I’m the only living relative the children have.”

“I’m the closest thing to family they have, Kaya.  The fact that people share the same blood doesn’t make them family.  You don’t know those kids, and they certainly do not know you.”

“They’ll come to know me.  They’ll even love me in time,” she said, forcing stability into her voice.

“They love me now,” he grounded through clenched teeth.  “I’ve been in their lives from the moment each one of them was born.  Where were you?”

In high school
.  But she was sure that’s not what he meant.

“I’m not the kind of godfather who ignores them all year then drop by with expensive gifts on Christmas and birthdays.  Which is a lot more than I can say for you, their only living relative, who never even took the time to visit her sister.”

That hurt far more than Kaya ever thought it would.  But she gathered courage from the knowledge that even though she and Lauren were estranged, her sister still named her legal guardian of her children.

Lauren had her reasons.  Kaya didn’t know what they were.  What she did know was that she would not fail her sister.  She had failed her in life by not reaching out to her, meeting her halfway; she would not fail her in death by walking away from her children.  She would fulfill her request, no matter the cost.

Kaya glanced at Steven, hoping he would intervene on her behalf.  He shrugged and spread his hands, obviously reluctant to take sides in a dispute between an old friend and a new client.

“I hope you haven’t told the kids about your absurd plans.”  Bryce’s acerbic tone drew her back to his scowling face.

“Of course not.  They have enough to deal with already.  I’ll tell them when the time is right.”

“It’ll never be right, Miss Brehna.”

So they were back to last names
.

He looked her over judiciously.  “You’re a career woman whose main priority in life, I’m certain, is to climb the corporate ladder of success.  It’s not easy for a single woman to raise a child alone.”

“And how would you know?” Kaya retorted, hands on hips.

“I employ a few of them, Miss Brehna.  I overhear their complaints.  Can you honestly tell me you’re ready to sacrifice all you’ve worked for to raise three children you don’t even know?”

Kaya knew it wouldn’t be easy, and that it may even jeopardize her job at Pearson’s Interior Decorating.  Wayne had already pointed out the demands her new position as head designer would have on her time, not to mention her obligation to her current clients who she’d left hanging when she got the call from Steven.

And then there was Jack, her fiancé, whom she still hadn’t told she’d inherited three little orphans.  Jack was adamant about not having children after they were married.  She never thought she wanted children, either, until she met these three who had Eli Brehna’s blood flowing through their veins.  Was she picking up a heavier load than she could hoist over her shoulders, much less carry?

“You have no idea what you’re getting yourself into, do you?”  Bryce was like a hound dog, sniffing out her fears.  “You’re already neck-deep in financial problems or you wouldn’t have been thinking about selling my estate.  You probably can’t even afford the funeral.”

The funeral.
 Kaya hadn’t even thought of that after Steven dropped the bombshell on her earlier.  When she’d thought there was money to pay for the funeral, she’d picked out two elaborate coffins, and hadn’t bothered to give a second thought to the expense of keeping them in the funeral home.  Well, she’d have to go a cheaper route now, and get Michael and Lauren buried as quickly as possible.  Tomorrow.

“This is what we’re going to do, Miss Brehna.”  Bryce glared down at her as if she were one of his insubordinate employees.  “I’ll pay for Michael and Lauren’s funeral, then I’ll even pay for a first class ticket back to Florida for you.  Better still, I’ll have my pilot fly you back in my jet.  I’ll reimburse all expenses you’ve incurred so far.  Just sign the kids over to me and you can leave Granite Falls as free and unencumbered as you came.”  He pulled a checkbook from his back pocket, and opened it.  “Name your price, Miss Brehna.”

Kaya seethed at his arrogance, his assumption that he could buy her.  In all of her twenty-three years on this planet, she never had this strong a desire to slap someone across the face.  Too bad it was beyond her immediate reach.

“Money isn’t everything,
Mr. Fontaine
.  It can buy a lot of luxuries, I’d grant, but it cannot buy love.  I love my nephew and nieces.  In time, they’ll grow to love me.  Love is a price you certainly cannot afford.”

His eyes narrowed to dark slits as he tossed the checkbook on the desk.  “You obviously have no idea who you’re dealing with, Miss Brehna.  I promise, I will—”

“Time out,” Steven finally interjected, coming to stand between them.  “I realize emotions are running high right now.  But you both need to stop before you say something you’ll regret.  Let’s get Michael and Lauren buried, then you two can work out the details over the children.”

“Actually, there’s nothing to work out,” Kaya stated in the calmest voice she could muster under the circumstances.  “Steven, I would like you to prepare the necessary papers to finalize my custody of the children so I can get out of this town as soon as possible.”

She threw her head further back to encounter Bryce’s angry glare.  Even though he’d managed to push her within a hair’s breadth of striking him, she knew what drove him.  He was fighting for three little kids who weren’t even related to him when her own parents had walked away without a backward glance.  For that she admired him, and for the children’s sake she would try to get along with him. 

In spite of that, she had to let him know that she didn’t scare easily.  Her years in foster homes where she had to fight for what was hers, then fight some more to hold on to it, had instilled a warrior’s spirit in her.  She wasn’t backing down.  Not for him.  Not for anyone.

“Mr. Fontaine, I’m sorry we had to meet under such tragic circumstances.  I can see that you care about your godchildren and want what’s best for them.  But, I’m their family, and good or bad, rich or poor, family is the most important thing to a child.  I wouldn’t get in the way of your relationship with them.  You can visit them whenever you want.  But get this, I’m not signing them over to you, or anyone else.  Ever.” 

Bryce could barely contain his fury as he watched her sashay across the floor, pull a leather jacket from the coat rack, and snatch up a handbag from a corner table.

The second Steven closed the door behind her, Bryce exploded.  “The nerve of that woman!  Who does she think she is?”

“Their aunt and legal guardian.”  Steven ran his fingers through his hair, a helpless, skeptical twist to his lips.

“You are my friend.  You should have told me what Michael and Lauren had done.”

“Bryce, you know I couldn’t do that.  They were my friends too, but they were also my clients.  I owed them certain fiduciary rights.  Loyalty and confidentiality—” 

“You dare talk to me about loyalty, Steven?  Where was their loyalty to me and to their defenseless children?”  Bryce shook his fists in the air and began to pace the floor.  “She’s taking them to Florida.  Michael and Lauren would not want their children living anywhere but in Granite Falls.  This is their home.”

“I pointed that out to Kaya.  I don’t know if it did any good.”  Steven sighed.  “If I’d seen this coming, I would have instructed them to include some kind of condition on her guardianship.  It’s beyond my power.  Kaya has custody, clear and free.”

Bryce came to a halt in front of Steven.  “It may be beyond your power, but it isn’t beyond mine.  I’m not going to stand by and let that woman take those kids from their home, from people they’ve known all their lives.  People they know and trust.  People who love them.”

“Bryce, I don’t want you going off—”

He cut Steven off with a flip of his wrist.  “I don’t care what I have to do, or whose neck I have to step on to keep those kids in Granite Falls.  I will
not
lose them, Steven.  I will not lose them!”

CHAPTER TWO

Kaya pulled her rental into the four-car garage at
L’etoile du Nord.  
She slammed her palms against the steering wheel, releasing the anger and frustration that had been stewing inside her since she left Steven’s office.

She never thought it possible that anyone could awaken that raging little girl she’d buried years ago, but Bryce Fontaine had done it.  Kudos to him.

She’d been looking forward to his return, mainly for Jason’s sake.  Now she wished she’d never laid eyes on the man.  He was the most arrogant, overbearing, egotistic male she’d ever met.