“Better us than you. We’re going to get her one way or another.”
Claire shook her head and tried to look confident, even as she cringed inside. “You have no grounds to take Honey away from me.”
“I’m sure there is a judge in California that would disagree with you.”
“But we’re not in California.” It was all a huge bluff on her part. Claire wasn’t sure if what had happened when she was twenty would have any bearing on a court case here in South Carolina.
“You might think you’re safe here, but we could make things pretty uncomfortable for you,” Jasper’s mother said.
“You and that Linc Thurston fellow,” Doug Patmore agreed.
When Jasper’s dad spoke Linc’s name, Claire went cold all over. The last thing she wanted to do was drag Linc into a scandal, and it looked like Jasper’s father was eager to make trouble.
“I’m not going to give you my daughter,” Claire growled, feeling very much like a cornered mama bear. The more time she spent with Jasper’s parents, the more convinced she became that she would do whatever it took to keep Honey away from them.
“Then give us the hundred thousand dollars she got.”
“What hundred thousand dollars?”
“Don’t play dumb with us. She’s the beneficiary of his death benefit for being killed in active duty. That’s a hundred thousand tax-free.”
With those words, the whole reason for their interest in their granddaughter became crystal clear. As Honey’s guardians, they would be able to control that death benefit. A hundred thousand dollars was a lot of money.
“I don’t have it.” In truth, it had never occurred to her that there might be something Honey would receive after Jasper’s death.
“You are a terrible liar,” Doug said. “Of course you have it.”
Claire shook her head. “I never applied for any money.”
“Well, then, you’re an even bigger idiot than we thought.” Doug exchanged a look with his wife. “You need to get us that money.”
“But it belongs to Honey.” A second earlier, Claire had been willing to do whatever it took to protect her daughter. That money would go a long way toward securing Honey’s future. “And I know Jasper would want her to have it.”
“He’s our son. We raised him. If anyone should get the money, it’s us, not some mistake he made with you.”
Claire sucked in a deep breath to bolster her courage and set her chin at a defiant angle. For her daughter’s sake, she would not let these people bully her.
“You’re wasting your breath,” Claire said, no longer afraid that they could take Honey from her now that she had their measure. “You aren’t getting my daughter and you aren’t getting any money. Go back to San Francisco and leave us alone.”
And with that, Claire turned her back on Jasper’s parents and strode away. But she wasn’t moving fast enough to escape Doug Patmore’s final words.
“Give us that money or we’ll make sure everyone knows what you’ve been up to with your boss. You might not care what people say about you, but I’ll bet he and that family of his will.”
Eleven
Even though Linc knew he should stay at the charity event until all the polo matches were done, he couldn’t focus on anything but the expression on Claire’s face when she’d admitted that she’d been lying to him for a year. As it was, he stuck around long enough only for Knox to report that no one by the name of Patmore had bought tickets to the event.
But someone had gotten tickets for them. Someone who’d hoped Jasper’s parents would make a scene at a public event to embarrass Claire. But why? Linc knew he couldn’t wait much longer to find out.
To his relief, Claire’s car was parked in the driveway when he arrived home. But upon entering the house, Linc spied two suitcases sitting in the kitchen near the back door and stopped dead while his brain tried to wrap itself around the reason they were there.
Claire was leaving him.
Just as he arrived at that conclusion, she entered the kitchen carrying Honey. As soon as the toddler spied him, she lifted both her arms, opening and closing her fists in a double wave that put a lump in his throat. It hit him then that no matter what Claire had done or how angry he was with her, he couldn’t bear to let her go.
“Where are you going?” he demanded, more pain than accusation in his voice.
She gazed at him in wide-eyed dismay. “Why are you here? You’re supposed to be at the polo match.”
“I left early because I needed to talk to you.” He gestured at the luggage. “Are you running out on me?”
Before she could answer, he plucked Honey from her arms. The toddler cooed with delight and wrapped her arms around his neck. She smelled faintly of her mother’s perfume mixed with baby lotion. He breathed in the familiar scent, relieved that he’d been in time to stop these two from vanishing from his life.
“I’m not running out on you. I’m leaving before I embroil you in a huge scandal.”
“As if I care what people say about me,” he said, keeping his tone calm, not wanting to upset Honey.
“You should. Your family and friends do.”
“Are you ready to tell me what the hell is going on?” He asked the question without any heat, just needing to understand. “Why did you tell everyone you were married?”
Claire stared at the floor without answering for so long he wasn’t sure if she would speak without further prodding. But then after a long-suffering sigh, she walked to the sunroom and pulled out Honey’s toys.
“Bring her in here. She can play while we talk.”
Once Honey was occupied with a sorting game, Claire went into the kitchen and began emptying the
