Caitlin's Choice (17 page)

Andrew and Joyce looked up.

“I’m sorry,” Caitlin told the two scowling faces. “I just came for Ty.”

“He’s in the nursery,” Andrew said.

The air left her body. “No, he’s not. I just came from there.”

In two steps, Andrew was at her side, grabbing her arms as her legs began to buckle. “He’s probably with one of the maids.”

“What’s all the fuss about?” Joyce asked. “Leslie took him out to the pool.”

“What?” both Caitlin and Andrew exclaimed at the same time.

“You’re the one who said we should try to get along, Andrew,” Joyce reminded him.

“You let her take a baby out by the pool when you know she’s been drinking? Are you out of your mind?”

Caitlin shut her mind to the conversation and glanced out the floor-length windows to the back yard. “Oh, my God.”

Andrew followed her terrified stare. Leslie was bouncing up and down on the diving board, with Tyler in her arms. Cursing, Andrew ran out the sliding-glass door.

He was already at the side of the pool when Caitlin caught up to him.

“Leslie,” Andrew called out sharply. “Turn around slowly and walk off the diving board.”

Leslie laughed maliciously and dangled Tyler over the water. “Behold the only person Andrew Sinclair has ever cared about in his self-centered life.”

The pounding in Caitlin’s chest deafened her to any sound but Tyler’s piercing cries. In a trancelike state, she stepped up onto the diving board.

Leslie spun around and teetered. She pulled Tyler against her chest and took two steps forward to regain her balance.

“Give him to me,” Caitlin said, holding her arms out in front of her.

“But we’re having so much fun.”

Caitlin’s fingers clenched into fists and she fought to control her rocky
emotions. She couldn’t take the chance of angering Leslie any more. “Please, Leslie. He’s just a baby.”

Pain flashed in Leslie’s eyes. She gazed down at Tyler, kicking and screaming in her arms, then squeezed her eyelids together as if trying to shut out the sight. Once she regained control of herself, she raised a malevolent grin toward Andrew.

“You want him, Drew, you come get him.”

Andrew’s mouth was a thin white slit. He squared his shoulders and stepped on the board. The last threads of his control were slipping and only a pleading gaze from Caitlin kept him from losing what little calm he still possessed. “Hand the baby to Caitlin.”

Leslie shook her head. “You know, as soon as he finds a way, he’s going to take your son from you.”

“Give him to me,” Caitlin begged.

“When Andrew says please.”

“Please, Leslie,” he said quietly.

Leslie grinned triumphantly and took a step forward to hand the baby to Caitlin. “Take your brat.” Caitlin clasped Tyler against her chest, stroking his head and whispering to him in an attempt to calm him. His cries lessened from sheer exhaustion, she feared, rather than a feeling of safety.

Andrew came over to check the baby. He reached out to stroke his cheek but she cradled Tyler closer and backed away from him. Her heart rate was beginning to slow, the panic of the last few minutes giving way to angry relief. She had never been so frightened in all her life. What Leslie had done was beyond comprehension and beyond anything she would expose Tyler to again.

“Your sister is deeply troubled,” she snapped, and ran past him into the house.

* * * *

Andrew stood motionless at the end of the pool. Although he’d never been a violent man, he honestly thought he was capable of murder right now.

Leslie strolled off the diving board, laughing as she passed him. “I’ll bet that scared you, Drew.”

It was the last straw. “You nasty little bitch.” He caught her wrist and dragged her back to the house.

“You’re hurting me,” she yelled.

“Not nearly as much as I’d like to,” he growled. He crossed the lawn and shoved her though the open doors.

“Andrew, let her go,” Joyce demanded.

He paused long enough to send her an icy glare. “As soon as I’m finished, I want to talk to you.”

He jerked on Leslie’s arm and continued to the bathroom. With little effort, he pushed her into the shower. She huddled against the wall, for the first time looking conscious of the magnitude of his wrath. When he reached inside, her hands went up to protect her head. He flipped on the cold water and slammed the shower door.

Ignoring her shrieks, he said, “When you’re sufficiently sober, I’ll expect to see you in the living room.”

TWELVE

Fifteen minutes later, Leslie joined Andrew and Joyce. She took a seat next to her mother and raised her head rebelliously. Andrew paced for several seconds, then took the seat across from them.

“You win, Les,” he began calmly. “You ca
n’t seem to live in this house with Caitlin and Tyler, so after today, you won’t have to.”

“You mean they’re leaving?” Joyce exchanged a meaningful glance with Leslie.

Andrew leaned back and regarded them with cold indifference. “You misunderstood. They’re not leaving. Leslie is. You have one hour to pack your clothes, and then I want you out of my house. And don’t bother trying Erik. He wouldn’t let you near his child, either.”

Joyce’s jaw sagged. “I can’t believe that you would turn against your family for that—”

“Don’t say it.” He looked back and forth between the two in disgust. “You still don’t get it, either of you. Tyler is my family. I told you the first day if you made me choose, you would be unhappy.”

“You can’t be serious. What am I supposed to do?” Leslie asked.

“I don’t care. You have your bank account. That should keep you in gin for a few months.”

“Andrew!” Joyce cried out.

“What?” Andrew sprang from the chair. He clamped his fingers around Leslie’s chin and turned her head toward his mother. “Don’t you see what’s happened to her, or don’t you care? She’s Garret all over again. No. She’s worse. Garret only killed himself. She almost killed a little baby whose only crime was being my son.”

Leslie swatted his hand away. “I wasn’t going to hurt him.”

“I won’t take that chance. You are leaving. If you want to kill yourself, do it without my help.”

“You can’t do that,” Joyce bellowed.

“Oh, yes, I can. And as for you, my loving mother, listen carefully.” He towered above her to be sure he had her full at tendon. “Caitlin and I share a son. That makes her more my family than you or Leslie ever tried to be. To you I’m a checkbook, so let me spell this out in terms you can understand. If you do or say anything to Caitlin that so much as brings a frown to her beautiful face, you can look forward to spending your golden years in a senior citizens’ home and living off your Social Security check.”

Joyce rose from the chair. “You can’t mean that.”

He smiled. “Try me. I have to go away on business for a few days. When I return, Caitlin and Tyler had better be the two happiest people in all of Ramapo Heights.”

* * * *

Caitlin did everything she could to soothe Tyler, but the fright had been too much for him. He wouldn’t suckle, so in desperation she tried a bottle; he turned his head and pushed with his tiny fists.

His heartbreaking cries were a torment. She prowled around the room, gently bouncing him, singing every lullaby she could think of. Finally he began to calm down. The quieter Tyler became, the angrier she felt. She had reached her limit. She would take her chances with the court rather than subject her son to that again.

Andrew strode into the nursery. “How is he?”

She turned on him. “How do you think he is? He’s been throwing up, he won’t eat, and he’s exhausted from screaming.”

His face twisted in pain. She felt guilty, but she couldn’t stop herself from lashing out at somebody.

“Let me hold him,” he said softly.

“Leave us alone.”

“Please, Caitlin. It will never happen again.”

“You’re damned right it won’t. I’m leaving here tonight. Go ahead and sue me if you want.”

He shook his head. “That won’t be necessary. Leslie is leaving.”

Caitlin whirled around, stunned. He had thrown his sister out because of her? “What is she going to do?”

“I don’t know and I don’t care. I’ve already watched one member of my family drink himself into an early grave. I won’t watch it again.”

The pain in Andrew’s words cooled her burning anger. She had forgotten about his older brother. How hard it must have been on him. “Perhaps it is better if she has to stand on her own.”

She returned her attention to Tyler, who had begun to cry when she stopped jiggling him. But her stiff movements had the opposite effect from what she sought.

“Let me hold him for a while,” Andrew said. “You’re only making it worse.”

“I can take care of my son.”

“Right now, you can’t take care of yourself. Sit down and let me try.”

She shot him an indignant scowl. “Be my guest.” Andrew wrapped Tyler in a tender embrace and rubbed his hand in circles on the baby’s back.

He hummed a lullaby, the soft vibration of his voice soothing both mother and child. He tucked Tyler’s head under his chin and crooned, “Nobody will ever hurt you again.”

Caitlin slumped into the rocking chair. She felt a combination of relief and envy at the easy way Andrew instilled a sense of safety in Tyler, so much so that he had managed to put Tyler to sleep when her many attempts had failed miserably.

“Should I put him down in the crib?” he asked.

“You can try.”

* * * *

Once he’d settled Tyler, Andrew knelt down in front of Caitlin. Convincing his son that everything would be all right had been the easy part. Getting through to Caitlin was another matter.

He tucked an errant strand of hair behind her ear and left his hand resting against her cheek. She eyed him warily, but she didn’t pull away.

“I still think it would be better if I left,” she whispered.

“No!” His answer was not a demand but a plea. “Two weeks, Caitlin. If things don’t improve, you can move wherever you want and I won’t take you to court.”

“I can’t live like this. Your mother will never accept your son. It’s making you sick.”

“She will accept him, or she will find another place to live.”

A silvery tear streamed down her cheek. “This is breaking your family apart. How long will it be before you start to resent me for it?”

“I lost my family long before you entered my life.” He brushed a kiss over her lips. The taste of salty tears lingered.

Although she stared straight at him, her expression seemed distant. He couldn’t let her withdraw from him, not when he had finally begun to make progress.  He leaned closer and touched her arm. Her skin was warm and velvety soft. He moved his hands to her waist and lifted her out of the chair.

She let out a groan of protest and pushed her palms against his chest. Sitting back on his heels, he settled her in his lap and stroked her back, then slid his hands up her sides until they brushed her breasts.

“Andrew, I don’t think . . .” Her words trailed off as his mouth covered hers.

If he couldn’t calm her down, at least he could try to change the focus of her nervous energy. Kneading the tense muscles of her arms and shoulders brought him a moan of appreciation. Within seconds she surrendered, wrapping her arms around his neck and returning his hungry kiss. She pressed closer, slipping her hand under his shirt and twisting her fingers into the mat of hair on his chest. His stomach muscles bunched. He felt the start of a smile forming on her lips. She enjoyed tormenting him.

“Two weeks, Caitlin?” he whispered against her mouth.

She lifted her head and drew an uneven breath. “That’s not fair.”

“I know and I’m sorry.” But he didn’t stop his sensual onslaught. He couldn’t afford to be fair. This one last time, he had to win.

With her defenses weakened, he had obtained her agreement, but the victory was hollow, for she didn’t trust him any more now than she had before.

* * * *

.

Caitlin packed her bag and was ready to leave by eight o’clock in the morning. When Andrew said he was going away on an unavoidable business trip, she knew she had to get out of the house herself. A visit to Maggie’s for a few days would keep her out of Joyce’s way.

During breakfast, Andrew seemed unusually quiet and moody. He was probably tired. He had spent the entire night on the floor in the nursery so that Tyler wouldn’t be alone if he woke up during the night.

Once Andrew left, Caitlin went to feed and change Tyler for the drive to Long Island. She rocked the chair and hummed softly as he suckled.