On My Own: Book Three in the Who's Your Daddy series (4 page)

The film crew had arrived
earlier in the day and had set up their equipment near the entrance of the municipal building. Although the rest of the town seemed to have fallen into disrepair, the politicians made sure their headquarters were in tip top shape. As the limo pulled up to front of the building, he shook his head at the continued inequality in town. Those that got, got more. Always had been that way and always would be the same.

A smile tipped the corner of his mouth as he thought about the battles his father had with the city
government. Whenever there was a council meeting, his dad could be counted upon to rile them up with some complaint or other observation. Those who were not as outspoken or brave as his dad would stop by the house and ask him to speak on their behalf. And boy, did he love to do so! One year, they even tried to revise the rules to make it more difficult for him to air his complaints. Didn’t work though. Dad took them to court for violating his constitutional rights and won. The war was really on then.

“You ready?” Monique’s question roused him from his trip down memory lane.
“Looks like the welcome committee is ready to greet you.”

Lined up at the entrance of the building was the who’s who of Devinne. The same people his
dad tormented were standing there, prepared to greet him. The old man was probably up in heaven laughing his head off right now, elbowing his mother and pointing at the stuffy group assembled at the door.

He spied Caroline on the far right of the group, a blank expression on that beautiful face. Today she had on a black dress that hugged those curves
that his hands itched to travel. Her crinkly red hair was pulled back into a severe ponytail, but that failed to dampen his desire to run his fingers through the soft tresses.

Suddenly the door to the limo was thrown open and it was time to get started with the show. Shouts of “Welcome back” went up as he stepped out. Dirk plastered a smile on his face as a camera was thrust into the midst of the gathering.

As he went down the line, shaking hands with the mayor and council, he did his best to keep that smile in place. It slipped a bit when Ty Jackson thrust out his hand, but Dirk held it together and quickly gave it a shake. But as he approached the end of the line and Caroline, he noticed a man standing a bit too close, with a menacing look on his face. Dirk returned the stare with one of his own. Competition. And he so loved a good fight. Let the games begin.

Caroline looked at the preening pair as they warily eyed each other and shook her head. She didn’t need this today, of all days. The testosterone these two idiots were throwing off almost made her gag. Like either one of them had any right to act that way, especially Dirk Benedict. He gave up his rights regarding her a long time ago.

And what did
Emanuel Hines think he was doing? His behavior right now solidified her decision not to have anything to do with him. She could care less that he was Devinne’s most eligible bachelor and school principal. Her dad tried to put them together whenever he got a chance and dropped hints about them getting together daily. The man was a creep, and hell would freeze over before she’d date him.

“Benedict,”
Emanuel sneered. “So kind of you to gift your hometown with your presence.”

Dirk’s gaze flicked over to her before grasping
Emanuel’s outstretched hand. “Thank you for the, um, kind welcome. I don’t think I’ve had the pleasure.”

“That’s right, because you haven’t been around. Name’s
Emanuel Hines and I’m the principal of the Devinne Educational Center.”

“Educational Center?”

“Yes, because of the declining enrollment, all grades have been consolidated into one building. If we had the financial support, maybe it wouldn’t have happened.”

Caroline saw Dirk flinch at the not so subtle dig flung by
Emanuel. To his credit though, he quickly recovered.

“I’d like to hear more about the school’s condition when I visit tomorrow.” With that, his attention moved onto her and she tenuously slid her hand into his. That damn feeling returned, the electrical charge she felt each time he touched her. And with that devilish gleam in his eye, she bet he felt it too. She had to really tug to extricate her hand, and quickly stuck
it into her jacket pocket.

The mayor, along with the film crew, arrived just in time so she could escape Dirk’s attention. Willing her heartbeat to return to normal, she took several deep breaths while no one was looking. Satisfied that
she was once again in control, she turned her attention to the growing crowd of young people descending upon Dirk. Most of them looked genuinely happy to see him. Had she been wrong in not contacting him over the years? The thought almost made her knees buckle. But she shook her head and carried on.

“Look at him. Just like his old man, thinking he’s better than everybody.” Ty Jackson’s eyes shot daggers in Dirk’s direction and a chill shimmied
through Caroline’s body.

“Dad, please. Not now.” She looped her arm through his and guided him toward her mother. Geraldine Jackson had been standing off to the side in the midst of several other women
, probably spreading gossip, as usual. “Mom, can you watch dad, please?”

“I don’t need my wife watching me!” Ty countered. “I know how to behave.”

“Then do it,” Caroline shot back. “For JJ.”

Hearing his grandson’s name
seemed to deflate Ty’s anger and he meekly allowed his wife to lead him away. Despite his anger at Dirk, Caroline knew her father would do anything for his grandson. Anything.

“As I was saying,” the mayor boomed, “Devinne may be down, but we’re not out. We have a lot to offer any business that wants to relocate to our fine city.”

Caroline rolled her eyes at the mayor’s blatant business pitch. With the reduced output from the mill, Devinne lost more than half its population in ten years. Gone were the grocery stores, liquor store, and most of the retail shops. Dollar stores were the only new businesses in town. The bus service was few and far between and townsfolk without cars paid exorbitant fares to jitney drivers to get them to the out of town establishments. Devinne was a shell of its former self.

“And you can see there’s plenty of space for industrial complexes on the outskirts of the city,” the mayor droned on. Caroline could tell the film crew was getting a bit bored by the speech. She needed to intervene.

“Mr. Mayor, how about we go inside?” She tilted her head in the direction of the entrance.

“We’re not quite ready,” Seneca Worth loudly whispered as she rushed into the building. “Give up another half hour to get all the food prepared.”

Caroline wanted to scream. She’d explicitly requested that everything be in place by six o’clock.

“Would it be possible to get a tour of the city?” Dirk asked with a half
-smile on his face.

“Wonderful idea,” the mayor said. “I’d love to show you the changes and my plans for the city.” He started walking toward the limo with the film crew behind him.

“Mr. Mayor,” Dirk shouted. “If you don’t mind, I’d like Caroline to be my guide.”

Her gaze met his and she could see the merriment dancing in his eyes. He then boldly looked in her father’s direction, as if daring him to say anything.

This was not how she planned the evening to go. Not. At. All. But with the film crew nearby, she didn’t want to draw any unwanted attention to them. “Alright, let’s go.”

Chapter Five

Dirk
tried his best not to let his face show what he thought about Caroline’s car. To say it was a step above the piece of crap he drove while living in Devinne years ago was being kind. The car was a hot mess and should have been junked eons ago.

He casually shifted in his seat, trying to find a comfortable spot. But
each time he moved, he seemed to find either another lump or some kind of squeaky coil. After a while, he simply gave up with a sigh.

“Go ahead and say it.” She shot him some serious side eye before returning her attention to the road. “My car is not what you usually travel in, right?”

“It’s, um, how can I say it, still road worthy.” He watched her lips twitch and soon both of them were howling. His heart warmed hearing her laugh. “Why are you driving this thing?”

She quickly sobered and took a deep breath. “It’s all I can afford. The library is not doing wel
l and the board had to cut my salary last year.”

He bit the inside of his c
heek to avoid saying what he really wanted. If she hadn’t hidden his son’s existence from him, she wouldn’t be in this position. He was well on his way to becoming a billionaire with his salary and endorsement revenues. She could be living in the lap of luxury, driving the best and most expensive vehicle on the market.

“You know you don’t have to
live this way. Let me buy you—”

“Don’t even finish that sentence,” she shouted. “I won’t take your money.”

“I’m not going to give you any money, per se,” he countered. “I’m going to give you money so you can take care of my son. And hopefully one of the things you’ll do is purchase a vehicle that’s safe for him to travel in. This thing is beyond repair and you know it.”

“Like I said, it’s all I can afford. And it’s safe. Dad makes sure of it.”

Dirk simply grunted at the mention of her father. The man went out of his way to make his dad’s life miserable, and when he died, he shifted his vitriol in Dirk’s direction. To say he truly disliked the man would be quite the understatement. “Still, you could do better.”

They were touring the city with the film crew in a truck trailing behind. She took him to areas he hadn’t seen
Sunday, way off the main drag, places where he once hung out daily. The building that housed the after school programs looked as though it had been empty for some time. All the windows were broken out and trashed littered the exterior grounds. “What happened here?”

“Lost our funding about six years ago.
We begged the county not to do it, but they claimed they couldn’t afford it. Put a lot of kids on the street and into trouble.”

“Things were getting bad when I left. Still having problems with the drug dealing?”

“You really haven’t been keeping up with what’s happening here, have you?” He shook his head and shifted his eyes away from her. “Things are a little better, but that’s only because we don’t have as many people living here. The police still do round ups, but not as often.”

Guilt zinged through Dirk, making him lower his head. Maybe ignoring his hometown wasn’t such a cool thing to do. In addition to missing out on the first ten years of his son’s life, he als
o turned his back on people who weren’t the cause of his pain.

“You’re pretty quiet over there,” Caroline pointed out
with a sigh. “I guess I’m used to the way things look now.”

“But I’m not.
” He took a shuddering breath and sat up straighter in his seat. “Things will change. I’ll see to it myself.”

“I’m not showing you all this to get your money,” she said with a hint of irritation in her voice. “You can go back to the way things were before. Forget about us.”

“Listen here, Caroline,” he responded forcefully. “There’s no way in hell I can ignore what I’ve seen.” Especially my son. “I don’t plan on making any kind of public announcement of my intentions, but the city can expect a large check from me to start to make things right around here.”

“Thank you,” she whispered
. “Everyone will appreciate it.”

A wave of satisfaction rolled through him at her gratitude.
“Now do you mind if I ask you some questions, about my son?”

“I
don’t think this is the time—”

“We’re alone, with no one to overhear us, Caroline. Plus I don’t think it’s asking too much to get a little information about my son.”

“He’s my son. I’m the one who’s raised him, on my own.”

“And who
se fault was that?” Dirk stopped himself and tried to reign in his emotions. “Caroline, what did I ever do to you to deserve this? That boy is my first born, only child.”

She took in a
deep breath before responding. “When you didn’t call or write after leaving, I kind of lost it. I couldn’t believe you’d just pick up and not look back.”

“I’m going to go out on a limb here and guess that
you didn’t get the note I left for you that night or any of the other letters I sent from California.”

Her head whipped around and he had to grab hold of the wheel to keep the car from running up on the curb. “You did what?”

“I came into town earlier than I planned, to say goodbye.” And try to convince you to go with me. “When I got to your house, I called your cell, and actually heard it ringing inside your bedroom, but you didn’t pick up.”

“I was probably at Franny’s and left the phone at home.
I was a mess, you know, because of you leaving, the pregnancy and my dad’s medical condition.”

Dirk nodded and let out a loud sigh. “
Well, I wrote a quick note and put it in an envelope. I placed it in the mailbox then left for LA.”