Rod sneered, the only word for his expression. “I’d say you’re a lucky woman, Julia. Charles was far more generous with you than he should have been and again I advised him against it. The twins are taken care of. You and your bastard child deserved no more than a pittance. However, he wanted his children to retain a good memory of him. He thought doing what I advised him would taint that image when they were old enough to understand it.”
“Suddenly he was worried about what his children thought?” Julia barely held on to her temper. “Too bad he didn’t care about it when he was alive.”
Rod’s face turned so red she was afraid he might have a stroke. “Damn it, shut up, Julia. You’ve been overcompensated for the whore that you are. Charles left you what I would call a significant sum of money.” He handed her a sheet of paper. “This is your current bank balance, and the other is the investment account we’ve set up for you. It will generate a nice income each month. Of course, you’re free to move the funds if you choose.”
Julia was stunned at the amounts on the sheet Rod handed to her. She’d hoped there would be trust funds for the children, but the additional support money would allow her to do many things for the baby, which might otherwise not be possible. Claire was still taking a minimum salary from the agency, and in fact, Julia had refused to draw anything for herself. Her choice. She couldn’t justify it as long as she contributed so little to the effort.
“Thank you.” She broke the uncomfortable silence. “And thank you for handling this for Charles. I realize he put you in a difficult situation, but he placed confidence in your ability to see his wishes carried out.” She’d be polite if it killed her, damn it.
“Charles and I were friends since boarding school.” He stiffened his posture. “I told him not to marry you, but he refused to listen. You turned out to be exactly what I thought. A piece of trash.” He stared at her pregnancy bump. “And to get pregnant with another man’s child was just the frosting on the cake. I must tell you he was devastated by the situation, something I’m sure hastened his heart problems.”
“I doubt it.” Before she could stop herself she blurted out, “You must have a heart before you can have problems with it.” Turning away from Rod, she picked up a pen from the desk. “I think our business is concluded. Just show me where to sign and tell me which copies of everything are mine.”
When they finished, McGuire swept a thick stack of papers into a pristine manila envelope with her name printed in neat block letters and handed it to her.
“Everything else deals with charitable bequests. I assume you don’t feel the need to be involved in those.”
She nodded and started to rise from her chair. “Then we’re done.”
“Except for the letters.”
She froze. “I don’t think we need to discuss the letters, Rod.” She gave a slight gasp as the baby chose that moment to kick. “We’re both aware of them, and of the terms. You won’t have to open them.”
“This won’t go away.” His voice was colder than winter.
“Eventually Andy and Beth will be of age,” she pointed out, “and the threat of custody or guardianship will no longer be a factor.”
“No matter how many years pass, Julia, or how old the children get, it will be my great pleasure to destroy any chance at happiness you might try to have. You ruined Charles’s life. I will enjoy ruining yours.”
She kept herself together until he was out of the house, into his car, and out of the driveway. Then she walked into the kitchen, sat down at the table, and for one last time gave in to the tears threatening to choke her. When she stopped at last, she felt as if she’d cried for hours, her throat raw and her eyes burning. She touched her stomach and felt the baby kick again.
At least I’ll have this, she told herself, her heart so full of despair she didn’t know if she’d ever smile again. What a terrible mistake she’d made, even though at the time she thought it was right. If only she’d had more courage.
She didn’t know how to deal with the grief that was more of a release than anything else. She felt guilty someone might see into her mind and read her thoughts. Only Claire knew the real truth about her marriage and she wanted to keep it that way.
As her due date approached, she was petted and cosseted to the extreme by Claire, Miranda, and the twins. Andy and Beth were enthralled with the idea of a baby brother or sister and Julia was grateful for the distraction from their sorrow.
On August twenty-fifth, Julia gave birth to a gorgeous baby girl, Courtney Emily Patterson. When she held the baby in her arms for the first time, she whispered to her, “Your daddy would love you if he could see you.”
Luke had a right to know about his beautiful baby girl. How had she thought to keep this from him? It took her two days to get up the courage but finally, touching the charm she still wore around her neck, she tried his cell number. The mechanical voice telling her the number was no longer in service set her back on her heels. No longer in service? Why? What happened? Infused with a strength and confidence she hadn’t known she had, she called Hot Ticket. Bright Ideas was long finished with the original project. The two additional campaigns they’d subsequently been hired for were very short ones that Claire handled.
“I’m sorry, Mr. Buchanan is no longer with
