Caitlin's Choice (20 page)

Andrew’s fingers tightened around her forearm. “Did she say something to you again?”

“No . . . well, yes . . . not exactly.” Caitlin wrinkled her nose at Erik. “She came by the house yesterday after you left. She apologized and asked if the offer of work was still open.”

“Leslie work for a living?” Andrew and Erik exclaimed in unison.

She folded her arms across her chest and leveled them both an accusing stare. “It’s that very attitude that made her what she is.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Andrew asked.

“Her own brothers thought her so worthless that they wouldn’t give her a job. She was merely living up to your expectations of her.”

Andrew and Erik exchanged guilty glances.

“All right. Then what did the message mean? Is she in trouble?” Andrew asked.

“Probably not. Zenith is probably Zena, one of the models. The Frenchman is actually an American photographer named Anton. He treats the women horribly and they love him. The proofs are still photographs she can use to build a portfolio for a career outside the design center.”

“And what do you know about this Zena she’s living with?”

So he did care about his baby sister after all. She snuggled against him in the redwood lounger and smiled. “She’s great. I used to live with her myself when I first arrived in New York.”

“Why did you help her after what she did?”

“Because she’s your sister. More than that, she needed help.”

Andrew felt the choked pain in her words. He thought about a beautiful white dress and another sister who didn’t deserve Caitlin’s help. Family meant everything to her. He could see why Caitlin’s father had felt the need to cut off all ties with his daughter. There was nothing Caitlin wouldn’t do for her family, even at the expense of her own heart.

“I was thinking . . .” he said.

“Oh, no. That means trouble,” she said.

Erik laughed.

Andrew waved a hand at his brother. “Do you mind?” Erik disappeared.

Caitlin twisted against him, slipping her fingers between the buttons of his shirt. “That was rude. This is his house, after all.”

“I’ll apologize later. Right now, I want to talk to you. What do you think about going away somewhere? You, me, and Tyler. A vacation of sorts.”

“When?” 

“The first weekend in August sounds good.” 

The corners of her mouth curved down. “Does it have anything to do with the fact that Maggie and Erik will be attending my sister’s wedding that weekend?”

“I hadn’t realized,” he lied smoothly.

“It’s not necessary. I’m all right about it.”

“Fine.” He shrugged. “Tyler and I will go away. You can stay with Mother.”

She clutched his arm desperately. “I take it back. I’d love to go with you.”

“You’re always disagreeing before you hear what I have to say. If you want me to take you now, I’ll need some incentive. What did you make me for dinner?”

A wicked smile spread across her face. “Texas chili. I wanted to see if it’s really as hot as you claim.”

His body shivered in anticipation. From the way she wriggled against him, he would guess that dinner and dessert would be two spicy numbers. “I’ll make the reservations this week.”

FOURTEEN

After their return from Maggie and Erik’s, the atmosphere in the house improved dramatically. Although Joyce would never be considered a warm person, she had begun to tolerate Caitlin’s presence; whether from loneliness or fear of her son, Caitlin couldn’t tell. By the end of the two-week period she had promised Andrew, she had no grounds to insist on leaving. And in truth, she didn’t want to.

July gave way to August. Several times Caitlin asked Andrew where he planned to take her and Tyler. He wouldn’t give her so much as a hint. She tried sexual blackmail, but they had so little time alone that she ended up frustrating herself more than him. Without Leslie around, Joyce stayed home most nights, inhibiting any romantic notions Caitlin might have had. Joyce might not know it, but she was getting her revenge.

“Are you all packed?” Andrew asked over breakfast.

Caitlin let out an exasperated sigh. “Since the plane leaves in two hours, I’d better be. Now will you tell me where we’re going?”

Andrew took a sip of his coffee and ignored her question. She drummed her fingers against the table to get his attention.

“I’m not telling you,” he said simply.

She batted her eyelashes and gave her best imitation of a seductive pout. “Have I ever asked you for anything?”

He choked down his coffee with a hearty chuckle. “Forget it.”

“A hint?”

“Somewhere Tyler will enjoy. He’ll be showered with attention.”

“Disney World?” She smiled. “That’s right, isn’t it? He’s a little young for that yet.”

Andrew shrugged, but she was sure she was right. Where else would he think to take a child?

During the ride to the airport, she whistled the Mickey Mouse Club theme to Tyler. Andrew made her wait in the limo while he checked the bags, but since she already knew where she was going, she let him have his fun. She glanced at the name of the airline and grinned. They were the official carrier for Disney World, if their advertisements were to be believed.

“I’ll take Tyler,” he said, as she stepped out of the car.

She handed him the baby. “Whatever you say.”

They went to the coffee shop and sat down. He wouldn’t tell her how long until boarding in case she checked the flight schedule. She folded her hands in her lap and twiddled her thumbs while she stared at a very amused Andrew. 

She felt a tap on her shoulder and turned. “Hiya.”

Caitlin’s eyes widened. “Maggie? What are you doing here?”

“Going to Sissy’s wedding, same as you.”

“No. We’re going to Disney World, right Andrew?” When she didn’t get an answer, she straightened to face him. “Andrew?”

“I never said that.”

For a few dazed seconds, the words didn’t register in her mind. Confusion was rapidly replaced by panic. The air seemed to be sucked from the room and she couldn’t breathe. She gasped. “No. I’m not going.” 

She sprang to her feet and reached for Tyler. Andrew snuggled the baby against his chest. 

“
You’re going, Caitlin.”  He handed her a boarding pass.

“I don’t think you understand
, Andrew. I can’t go,” she said.

Maggie put a hand on her shoulder. “It’s okay. You’re invited.”

“No one called me.”

“They didn’t know your number, and I was afraid you might not go if I told you, so I sort of asked Andrew to help me.”

Caitlin gaped at her sister. She couldn’t believe Maggie, of all people, would do this to her. Had a few important details slipped her mind? Like what had happened ten years ago, or that Andrew had tried to sue her for custody less than two months ago?

She yanked Maggie by the arm out of the coffee shop and into the corridor. “Are you crazy? I can’t go there with Andrew.”

“Sissy said you could bring a date.”

“Maggie, you don’t understand. Andrew doesn’t know what happened. Does he?”  Her stomach lurched at the horrible possibility. “Did you tell him?”

“No!” Maggie said. “No one will mention it.”

“How can you be sure?”

“Daddy promised.”

Great! Maggie had discussed Caitlin’s personal life with her father. “Does Daddy know about Tyler, too?”

“That’s up to you to tell them.”

“Then I definitely can’t go there with Tyler and Andrew. What will they think?”

“Only what you tell them. Please, Caitlin. Mom is so excited. She called every day to make sure you were coming.”

“I can’t.”

Erik stepped into the hall with Allison strapped to his back. “Ladies. The plane is boarding.”

Caitlin gestured helplessly. “Tell Andrew to come back here.”

Erik gave her a sympathetic smile. “He’s already on the plane.”

“Well, tell him to get off.”

“You go tell him. Come on, Maggie. Let your sister make her own decision.”

What kind of decision did she have? Her son was on the plane. She couldn’t leave him. Her only hope was to get away in the airport in Wheeling and take the next flight back.

* * * *

Andrew was feeling rather pleased with the way things were turning out. Maggie may have thought she planned this little scheme, but only because he and Erik had set it up that way. Given a choice, he was sure Caitlin would have refused to go home with him. He wanted to be there for her if she needed him, only she would never admit that she needed him.

She stormed onto the plane in a fit of fury. Tyler’s car seat was buckled into the window seat and Andrew had the aisle, leaving her the middle. As she passed in front of him, she dug her spiked heel into his foot.

He didn’t acknowledge the excruciating pain. “I hope you didn’t want the window seat. I had them give it to Tyler.”

“I can see that, Andrew. I’m not blind as well as stupid.” She wasn’t taking this as well as he had imagined.

“Nothing is as bad as you think.”

She grunted and looked away.

He cupped her face in his fingers and turned her head back. “I’m talking to you. They made the first move. It’s up to you now. If you can’t do it for them, do it for Tyler.” 

“That’s not the problem.”

“If I’m the problem, I won’t go to the house. I’ll stay at the hotel. I know you’re afraid of something and there’s more to the story than you told me, but I don’t care what happened. I promise you, I will never use it to take Tyler from you.”

She blinked. “How did you know?”

“I told you once that no judge would have given me custody of Tyler. You’re still afraid of me. There has to be a reason.”

Caitlin was afraid of many things; Andrew was now the least of them. Why had her father suddenly allowed her to come home? Why not ten years ago, when she begged to return? Or last year when Maggie had come in search of her? Taking the next flight back to New York wouldn’t give her those answers, and after all this time, she needed answers. “All right, I’ll go.”

“Do you want me to stay at the hotel?”

“No way. When my father goes off the deep end about Tyler, I want him aiming the buckshot for your south end, not mine.”

Andrew laughed. “That Adams spite rears its ugly head.”

“Serves you right. I wanted to go to Disney World.”

He laced his fingers through hers. “Enjoy the flight.”

Caitlin expelled a puff of air. Like she had any chance of enjoying the flight with all she had to worry about.

* * * *

“I’m not talking to you,” Caitlin informed Maggie in the hotel lobby.

“Why?”

She shivered from the air conditioning and a bad case of nerves. “You should have warned me so I would be more prepared.”

Maggie arched an eyebrow. “You would have prepared by taking a flight to Singapore. And what’s the difference if Andrew does hear what happened? It’s over, or Daddy never would have invited you to the wedding.”

“Yeah. It is kind of strange. It makes me wonder . . .”

What had happened to bring about this unexpected invitation? Her parents had known where to find her for months. Was Sissy’s marriage to Quinton Fletcher behind the change of attitude? 

“We’re on the third floor,” Andrew broke into her thoughts. “The elevators are around the corner.

“What time are you leaving for the house?” she asked her sister.

“About four. I want to be there for dinner. What about you?”

“Monday at five.”

“That’s when we go back,” Andrew said.

“I can’t put anything past you,” Caitlin joked. “I guess we’ll leave about the same time. I need to relax for a few hours.”

Relax? More like work herself into such a state of anxiety they would have to rush her to the hospital. She stroked her finger along Tyler’s cheek as he rested in his father’s arms. For ten years she had dreamed about this day. Now that it had arrived, she wasn’t ready.

* * * *

Caitlin stared at the small house as if she were seeing a ghost. Her body trembled. Andrew had to take Tyler from her for fear she might drop him. He hadn’t expected her to be quite this apprehensive. She changed her clothes four times before he had finally gotten her out the door.

Thankfully, her nervous state had stopped her from noticing that he didn’t need directions to find her father’s house. Another slip and she would easily figure out that he had been here before.

“Are you going to stand here and admire the architecture?” he asked.

“Just a minute,” she whispered.