Her face paled and her posture stiffened, but she didn’t glance away. “It certainly would, and the center would be thrilled to receive such a large donation, but it won’t be coming from me. At least not by way of Dr. Walker’s guilt money.”
“I know you hate him, but he is your biological father. You are entitled to a share of his estate. He wants to see that you get what you deserve.”
“What I deserve?” Her voice got louder and her drawl thickened. “Do I deserve to be publicly humiliated just so your client can cover his own ass?”
“Walker doesn’t deny making mistakes in the past-huge mistakes. But he can’t make amends without your cooperation.”
“This isn’t about him making amends. It’s about ensuring his stellar public image remains untarnished by the truth.”
Brinks lifted his head from his paws and perked his ears before standing up. With an indignant groan, he left the kitchen. Apparently their argument was disturbing the dog’s nap.
Not wanting this conversation to escalate into another shouting match, he lowered his voice to a near-whisper. “Have you ever considered that he’s trying to do now what he couldn’t do then? When you were born, he was just starting his career. He was struggling. Perhaps now that he’s financially secure, he wants to give you what he couldn’t before.”
“Bull. If he honestly wanted to compensate me for all those years of neglect, he wouldn’t have attached such ridiculous strings to the money.”
“I’m not saying the man’s a saint, but Patty has now forced him to handle matters publicly. If the money is transferred silently, she can still threaten exposure. Wouldn’t you prefer this secret be brought to light under Walker’s control rather than Patty’s?”
“I’d prefer for this matter to disappear altogether.”
“Shayna, no matter what happened in the past, you are his daughter. The money is your birthright. Does it really matter what his motives are?”
“Yes, it matters. If he’s looking for absolution, I can’t give him that. Ever.” She crossed her arms over her chest, her stance becoming defensive and distrustful.
Kyle gripped the counter’s edge behind him to keep from reaching out and cradling her against his chest. As much as he hated to admit it, the kindest thing he could do for her right now was drop the whole load of crap at once, like a bad-news bomb. The damage would be quick and severe, but once the wounds healed, she’d be able to deal with everything and move on.
“Shayna, are you aware that Walker isn’t the only one Patty’s threatening to expose?”
She squinted warily. “Does she have something on you, too?”
“No. Your dad.”
Her eyelids closed, and she nodded in resignation. “What’s she saying?” she asked softly.
“She claims he kidnapped you and that she never went to the police because he threatened to kill you if she did.”
Her eyes went as wide and round as silver dollars, fierce despite the shine of tears. “That’s not true!”
“Shayna, you were only seven. How can you be sure?”
“Because I was there.”
“Unfortunately, my secretary e-mailed me information this morning that seems to support Patty’s claims.” No longer able to resist his need to comfort her, he cupped his hands around her trembling shoulders. “There’s no record of an adoption, yet you have his name.”
“It’s not illegal to change your name.”
“No, but it is illegal for one person to have two birth certificates.”
Tears clung to her lower lids, but she somehow kept them from falling. “They wouldn’t let me enroll in school without one.”
“So he forged one?”
“Yes, but I swear that’s the one and only time we ever broke the law.”
“He took a child he didn’t have legal custody of across state lines, Shayna. That’s a very serious crime.”
“He did have custody. CPS assigned him as my temporary guardian because Patty was in jail.”
“If he had court-approved custody, then why did he forge your documentation?”
“He called the Boston Social Service offices several times, trying to get copies of the court records, but they were so swamped, it was weeks before he even spoke to an actual caseworker, and she couldn’t locate my file. School had already started, so he had the fake birth certificate made. It was supposed to be a temporary fix. We didn’t expect the move to be permanent.”
“Why did he bring you to Tennessee in the first place?”
“A couple of days after they awarded him custody, his grandfather, who’d raised him, got sick. We went to the prison and told Patty where we were going and why. James gave her Papa Joe’s phone number and told her to call when she got her act together, but she never did. After that first year, we realized she probably wasn’t ever coming back, but by then, the whole town had accepted us as father and daughter. It would have been too confusing and too difficult to tell the truth at that point.”
She finally lost her battle against the tears. A single drop fell against her cheek. Kyle raised his hands to her face, using his thumbs to wipe away the moisture.
“We didn’t hurt anybody,” she continued, sadness making her voice gravelly. “Patty obviously didn’t want me, and at that time she’d told me my birth father wasn’t even in the picture. In the end, what we did was best for everyone. The county-who must have never found my missing file because we never heard from them-had one less unwanted kid to deal with, Papa Joe had his son around to take care of him in his final days and I finally had a family. How can that be wrong?”
“I’m afraid that what’s right and what’s legal aren’t always the same thing. And in this case, even though Miller’s intentions were good, his actions were illegal.”
“But it was so many years ago, and he’s gone now. Surely such a minor crime doesn’t matter anymore.”
“Under normal circumstances, probably not, but if someone with enough influence pressed the matter-”
“Someone like Dr. Walker?”
“Yeah.” Damn. Sometimes this job really sucked. “If all this became public knowledge, Walker’s reputation won’t be the only one to suffer. James Miller will be branded a criminal. What do you think the good citizens of Land’s Cross will think of him then?”
“That’s horrible.” She pushed against his chest, breaking his hold and making him realize he’d been comforting himself as much as her. “You’d destroy the reputation of a wonderful man just to satisfy a malicious, greedy client?”
Her words were like an arrow through his conscience. “We’re not trying to destroy anyone’s reputation. We’re doing our best to circumvent a blackmail threat in a manner that ensures Patty doesn’t go to jail and no one’s secrets are revealed. In the process, you’ll receive a generous settlement.”
“I don’t care about his money. I was perfectly happy before your client started playing God with my life.”
“Walker didn’t start this. Patty did.”
“And I’m supposed to just go along with Walker’s grand plan to fix everything? Just how big an idiot does that man think I am?”
“We never intended to insult your intelligence. Honestly, we merely underestimated your objection to what we viewed as a simple, straightforward transaction. But you have a good point. I would never sign anything without a thorough review and shouldn’t have expected you to either.”
She stopped her pacing and gawked at him. He enjoyed the rare treat of seeing her off guard.
“My apologies for not allowing you the necessary time to review the deal. But fortunately, this weather has rectified that. I checked with the airline this morning and I can’t get a flight out until next week, which gives you ample time to consult with an attorney.”
Apparently recovered from her shock, she folded her arms across her chest and studied him. Kyle had to fight the urge to scoop her up and kiss her.
“And what if my lawyer agrees that this whole mess is a bunch of B.S. and supports my decision to decline your client’s offer?”
“Then I’d recommend you find a different attorney.”
