Gone Too Far (17 page)

Avery fumed. “You are such an asshole. Just leave.”

As soon as he entered the living room, he saw Connor. She was sleeping on the sofa, and Avery had placed pillows on the floor near the edge in case she rolled over. He walked over to her and looked down at her, his little princess. Since hearing of Evan's improving condition, he wanted to kiss her, hold her. He was tempted to wake her up, but he knew Connor turned into the spawn of Satan if she was awakened prematurely. So for now, he satisfied himself with a gentle touch of her tiny hand, loving the softness of her skin.

“Carter,” Avery whispered as she stood in the entryway to the living room. She gestured for him to come toward her. “Don't wake her up.”

“Where is Anthony?” Carter asked as soon as he returned to the hallway.

“He's at the physical therapist. Why?”

“Where is he, really?” Carter asked. “Because he sure as hell isn't at the physical therapist. He hasn't been to the doctor's office in two months.”

“He goes two days a week.” Avery was trying to decipher where he was going with this, but she was clueless. “Why do you—”

“He's lying,” he interrupted. “I know for a fact that he stopped going to physical therapy two months ago and hasn't been to his doctor in almost three months. Why don't you know that?”

Avery gave him a hostile glare. “Snooping again, Carter? Do you ever learn your lesson? What right do you have to—”

“I have every right to protect my daughter from crooks.”

Avery gasped. “How dare you?”

“Why don't you know this?”

Avery was searching for an explanation that didn't sound so pitiful. She didn't want to tell him that Anthony had shut her out of his care. “He must have changed doctors.”

“No, he didn't,” Carter said. “And don't try to fool me, Avery. Clearly I know more about this than you.”

“Which is what?” she asked.

“Anthony can walk.”

Avery stared at him for a few seconds before saying, “You're crazy.”

“Doesn't change the facts. I've been having him followed for a few days now.”

“Which only proves you're sick,” Avery retorted.

“After this.” Carter pulled the photo Haley took out of his jacket pocket and handed it to Avery.

She snatched the object and unfolded it. She looked at it for a second. “What is this supposed to be?”

“Are you gonna tell me you can't recognize your own car?”

It did look like her car, and it did look like Anthony, but…“This is too blurry. I would expect you to do a better Photoshop job.”

“If it was Photoshop, it would be better.” Carter snatched the photo back. “This was taken in Long Beach. I've been trying to get a picture for myself but haven't been able to. My PI should be calling me any moment to tell me where he is now.”

“This is sick.” Avery went to the front door and opened it, trying to fight her own doubts. Emotionally, she couldn't handle any more right now. It had to be a lie, another attempt of his to make her miserable. “Is this your new game? You already dumped me. What more do you want?”

“For you to see the truth.” Carter approached her. “And if you can't, then…”

“Then what?” Avery's eyes flashed outrage. “Anthony hates being disabled. It has destroyed his life. If there was any chance he could walk, he'd be running.”

“So would you,” Carter said. “If he could walk, you'd be running too.”

Avery swallowed hard as she was hit with the irony of his words. “To what? You? You've made your feelings clear. Besides, you don't know how Anthony feels. He blames me for this, and if he could take care of himself, I know he'd want to do it.”

“Part of me feels sorry for him.” Carter's eyes were cold, matching his biting tone. “I know what it's like to keep a secret from the woman you love just so you can keep her, knowing she doesn't love you enough back to forgive you and stay. I learned my lesson.”

“Apparently you haven't,” Avery said. “Which is why you're here pulling this stunt.”

“Stunt?” Carter shrugged. He could see it in her eyes. There was doubt and still she stood by that liar. “Why the fuck would I bring this to you if it wasn't true?”

“Why would you do any of the things you've done to me in the last year?” she asked. “I'm still asking myself that. Maybe you can tell me because I feel like it's been your mission to hurt me, and this is all you have left.”

“Is that what you think?” Carter smiled wickedly. “Baby, you are way wrong. I have a lot left.”

Avery watched as she saw Carter look toward the living room. “Leave her out of this and just go.”

“No, Avery.” Carter slowly walked toward her, hatred blazing in his eyes. “I'm not going to leave her out of this. She's my daughter, and I'm not going to have her living in a house with a criminal. Insurance fraud is a crime, you know. And you just might be an accessory.”

“Bullshit!”

“You certainly can't say you don't know anymore.” He headed to the door. “You've made your choice. Now I'm making mine.”

“You're bluffing,” Avery spat out. “You don't think for a second—”

“Have you forgotten who I am?” Carter asked. “Have you forgotten what I can do? If I want her, she'll be with me and you'll be lucky to see her once a month. And I don't need to prove any crime to get that. I just need to call in favors.”

Avery knew he wasn't lying, and the look in his eyes, a combination of outright hostility and contempt, told her he meant every word. “You would take Connor away from her mother just to hurt me?”

“You think everything is about you, don't you?” Carter asked as he stepped outside. “Do you think you can really afford to be such a self-centered bitch anymore?”

“You think I'm a bitch now?” Avery asked, her eyes sparking. “You try and take my baby away from me and I will turn into something you have never seen.”

Just after she slammed the door in his face, Avery pressed against it to hold herself up. She would run away with Connor if she had to, and she thought she just might. No matter how good a mother she tried to be, she was no match for Carter in a courtroom; if he was intent on taking Connor, he would get her.

She regretted everything about the way she had just handled that, but the feeling of apprehension that Carter's accusations caused frightened Avery to death. She had thrown her own doubts out of her head, because it just made no sense, but why was she so quick to dismiss his accusation about Anthony? She feared that it may have been her angst about being alone. If Anthony was lying to her, she couldn't stay with him and Carter didn't want her anymore. The thought made her cringe, but Avery didn't have time to think about that. She had much more important things to do.

 

“Mom, please.” Leigh leaned away from her mother's fussing as they walked down the hallway of the hospital toward the gardens. “Enough with the kissing.”

“I'm just so happy you're back.” Janet took hold of her daughter's hand. “You've had a couple of days to adjust, so now we need to have lunch and—”

“I have to go back to the clinic,” Leigh said. “I can't stay away from there. Now that Evan is getting better, I should go back to work.”

“Oh, for Pete's sake.” Janet was tired of the workaholic martyr in her daughter. “Can you stand to enjoy yourself for even a minute? For me at least? These past few weeks have been hell, and I need your compassionate ear.”

Leigh slowed down and smiled at her mother. She did want to tell her about her wonderful day in Langata, but she couldn't do that without giving away how she felt about Max, and she didn't really want to give away that much.

“I guess I could really go for something fattening and creamy.”

“That's what I want to hear,” Janet said. “We can go for lunch and maybe a spa day at the Four Seasons.”

Leigh turned to her mother, who had let her hand go and stopped walking. Janet's attention had been taken by something on a bench they had just passed. It was an issue of
What's Hot,
a weekly local gossip paper with a picture of Leigh coming off the Chase jet at LAX.

Leigh grabbed the paper and read the title out loud. “‘The Senator and the Socialite!'”

“It's a slow week in the gossip business.” Janet took the paper out of her hand and tossed it back on the bench. “It's meaningless. We can issue a press release tomorrow.”

“No, Mom,” Leigh protested.

Janet could read her daughter's expression easily. She had done it all her life, and she was surprised that she hadn't noticed this one sooner. “Did something happen?”

Leigh nodded. “Nothing really, just…well, yeah.”

Janet smiled and clapped her hands together joyfully. “This is wonderful! Leigh, do you know what this could mean for you?”

“Yeah,” Leigh said, pointing to the paper. “That, and it's exactly what I don't want. We're telling everyone we're just friends for now.”

“That's fine.” Janet couldn't hold back her excitement. Her mind was always on what was good for the Chase family name and image, but nothing was more important to her than her children's happiness and success, whether in their careers or their personal lives, and Leigh deserved it more than anyone.

“Wow,” Leigh said as soon as they reached the doors to the garden.

Janet was looking at the same thing she was. Michael and Kimberly were standing near a fountain along the far edge. They were only inches apart, facing each other and looking into each other's eyes. Janet read their body language; anyone could have figured out what was going on. They weren't speaking to each other, just looking into each other's eyes. Then slowly, Michael lifted his hand to meet hers, which were at her sides. He took her hand in his and leaned forward.

Janet turned away just as they began to kiss. “We shouldn't disturb them.”

Leigh looked away from the touching scene to her mother. “Mom, are you okay?”

Janet held her chin high with a confident smile. “Of course. Why wouldn't I be?”

“I know you can't be happy to see that,” Leigh said.

Janet would never tell Leigh or Haley all she knew about Kimberly. They were both aware that she brought Paul Deveraux, the French designer who'd had an affair with Janet thirty years ago, to View Park to break up their marriage, but they knew nothing of David and his death, nor did they know about Kimberly's true past. They only knew that Michael and Kimberly's marriage had fallen apart, but both blamed Michael because all they could see was how badly he had treated Kimberly.

“It looks like they're…together again,” Leigh said. She wasn't surprised, being a doctor who had seen what a sick child can do to two people. It either tore them apart or brought them closer than ever.

“We don't know if it's permanent. They've gotten together before only to hate each other more.” Janet found the courage to look into the garden again and see them kissing. This time he had his arms wrapped around her and was holding her tight. She expected to be livid, angry that all she had done to get this woman out of their lives was for nothing. But she wasn't. Something had changed inside Janet, and she wasn't sure how to deal with it. “But it could be.”

“You're okay with this?” Leigh asked, thoroughly confused by the peaceful expression on her mother's face.

“As long as Evan gets better,” Janet said, “I'm okay with anything.”

 

“Come in,” Steven yelled from his Chase Beauty office. He was curious to see who else was working late on a Sunday evening.

When he saw Michael enter, dressed in jeans and a polo shirt, he was a little confused. “What are you doing here? Is everything okay with Evan?”

Michael nodded. “He's being moved out of the special care unit. He's going to be there a while.”

“Your mother and I will be visiting him tomorrow before visiting hours close. You know, I said you can work from the hospital if you want.”

“I needed to talk to you about something.” Michael dreaded this conversation, but he knew he needed to have it.

“Sit down.” Steven gestured toward the leather chair across from his desk and watched his son apprehensively sit down. “I think I know what this is about.”

“I don't think you do.”

“Kimberly,” Steven said. “Your mother told me she saw you two together.”

Michael leaned back in the chair. “We're always together, Dad. Our son is sick.”

“You know what I mean,” Steven said.

Michael nodded. “But that's not what I'm here to talk to you about.”

“Do you want my opinion?” Steven asked. “About you and Kimberly—do you want my opinion?”

“No,” Michael said. “I have my own.”

Steven paused at his son's response. It was as unexpected as his own reaction to it. For a man who generally demanded obedience from all his children no matter how old they were, he was eerily proud of his son's verbal slap in the face.

And for the first time in a long time, Steven didn't feel as if the rejection of his guidance was made out of anger or spite.

“Things certainly have changed,” Steven said.

“I'm glad you see that,” Michael added after a moment. “I love you, Dad, but…things are never going back to the way they were.”

“I guess it's about time. So what's your news?”

“You aren't going to like this,” Michael said. “But you need to know it.”

“That seems to be the theme today.” Steven took a deep breath. “Hit me.”

Reluctantly, Michael told Steven everything that Kimberly had told him, reminding Steven that he had not confirmed any of it but that he believed it completely. His father seemed to be taking it well for a man who had just found out that his brother had tried to completely demolish him and had come so close. Then again, his father was an expert at either not feeling affected or looking as if he wasn't.