Kitabı oku: «The Texan's Secret Daughter», sayfa 2
Chapter Two
Standing alone, Elijah tried to clear his brain. The hum of the commercial refrigerators gave him something safe to focus on, anything other than the curve of her face. The rust colored freckles that dusted her cheeks over soft mahogany skin. The need to reach out and touch her, to make sure she was real had been a punch to the gut. He buried his fingers in his hair and dropped his head.
For over five years, he had practiced his apology, holding each word tightly in his mind until the day he could tell her. He had written letter after letter, flooding her parents’ mailbox with them. Not that she had seen any of them—her parents had made that clear—but he had been desperate to make things right. And now the day had come, and he hadn’t uttered a word of his apology. He’d blown it. Anger soured his stomach.
Because she had stolen his child. Digging his fingers into his scalp, he dropped into a crouch, elbows dug into his knees. Did she actually believed he was homeless? He laughed. Alone in the pantry, he laughed out loud.
And then he stopped. Took a few deep breaths. Right now, he needed to be calm and steady. He couldn’t afford to lose his grip.
The Daniels were powerful people in the state of Texas. Elijah couldn’t imagine Judge Nelson James Daniels III ever being weak. The man ruled his world with an iron fist. There was only one person Elijah knew with a stronger will—Azalea Daniels, his wife, Jazmine’s mother. She and her husband had hated him from the first moment he had stepped on their porch to take their daughter to a beach party to kick off the summer season.
He was only two years older, but at the time, his twenty to Jazmine’s eighteen was too big of a gap for them. He wasn’t in school or planning to attend. Plus, they knew his uncle.
Frank had stood in front of Judge Daniels’s bench more times than Elijah wanted to think about.
The Daniels family had faced their own tragedy, losing a young son to a drunk driver. Elijah was an idiot. Leaning his forehead against the door, he planted his fist against the wall. This was 100 percent his fault. Why had he tried to overstep and reach for something he didn’t deserve?
With his program and counseling, he’d finally been in a place to let it go, to let her go. Making amends and apologizing was all he’d had left, but everything had just changed.
Jazmine, the Daniels’s only surviving child, had had a bright future. Even before her senior year had started, she had been accepted to three Ivy League schools on the East Coast. Elijah, on the other hand, had barely gotten out of high school.
He preferred the outdoors. On a horse, working with cattle, or on a boat out in the Gulf fighting the elements. Both of those were a thousand times more fulfilling than sitting behind a desk at the job Judge Daniels had gotten him.
He closed his eyes. That job had taken all the life out of him, but instead of talking he had started drinking.
Needless to say, her parents had not been happy when Jazmine had decided to stay and attend the local college, so she could stay close to him. They had done everything but disown her when they had gotten married.
Then his stupid De La Rosa weakness had to ruin it all, giving her parents the perfect opportunity to take her away from him.
He had never hurt Jazmine. Not physically. A hollow thud hit his gut. At least, he didn’t think he had.
The night she had left was a foggy mess of impressions. No matter how hard he focused, that night, like so many others, was a blur. All he remembered was the bang of the thunder and blinding flashes of lightning.
When he had woken up, she had been gone and had never returned. Until today.
The huge ornate mirror her parents had given them had been smashed into hundreds of razor-sharp shards. There had been traces of blood on both the frame and his knuckles. He hoped the glass was the only thing he had broken. The thought of touching her in anger made him sick to his stomach. Even at his worst, he wouldn’t do that. Would he?
The token in his pocket had a strip of paper wrapped around it. He pulled it out. This morning his meditation verse had been Second Corinthians 5:17. Old things are passed away; behold, all thing are becoming new.
When he had read his daily meditation scripture before the sun had risen over the Gulf this morning, God knew what this day would bring.
One of the first lessons he’d had to learn was that in order to control his life, he had to control his anger. Getting angry was never going to help. He had to focus on today and what he needed to do going forward.
He wanted to show Jazmine that they had all been wrong about him. He had become a successful businessman. Just a few months ago, he and his partner had added the Painted Dolphin to their line of restaurants here along the coast. They just added another boat to their recreational fleet. With God, he had become a new man.
Becoming new. But, boy, did that take on new meaning today. Elijah closed his eyes and rubbed the sobriety token between his thumb and index finger.
If he was going to get through this day, he couldn’t go into the past. It would be like those long lines of dominoes he had loved setting up as a kid. One negative thought would trigger another until a tidal wave of guilt sucked him under. The alcohol used to help him silence the voices, but he couldn’t give in now. He couldn’t go back to that dark place.
There was a little girl who needed a sober father. The man he had been for the last five years could be that father. He would give her what his uncle had never given him.
Anger flared again. They had stolen five years of his daughter’s life from him. Elijah took out his phone and called his best friend and business partner. One of the people who had helped him stay sober.
“Hey, Miguel. I need to talk.”
“What’s up?” The casual question was lined with concern. A door closed and the background noise vanished.
Elijah knew he had his friend’s full attention. His throat went dry. He couldn’t believe the words he was about to say.
“I just saw Jazmine. She’s in town.”
“Oh, wow. That had to be a surprise.” There was a short pause, as though Miguel was struggling for words. “How are you doing?”
“That’s not all.” He took a deep breath. “I’m a father. She was pregnant when she left. I have a five-year-old daughter.”
Silence fell.
“Miguel?”
“Yeah, I’m here. You didn’t have a clue?”
“Nope.” Suddenly his throat burned, and he beat back the tears. “I know I have to take responsibility because my drinking drove her away from me. She couldn’t trust me, and she thought she was protecting our baby. But Miguel, every time I think about what I’ve missed the last five years, I want to explode. I’m not sure I’ve ever been this angry at someone, not even my mother or uncle.”
“Yeah, losing people is one of the reasons you stopped drinking, right? So the people you love can trust you. I have to say you also have a right to be angry, but that’s not going to help. Are you at the ranch? I can be out there in the next fifteen minutes.”
“No, I’m at the mission. I’ll come to the pier. Are you there?”
“Yep. Come straight over, okay? I’ll be waiting.”
“I won’t stop.” Elijah disconnected the call. Lord, You’ve gotten me through the darkest times. I trust You have a plan in all this. Give me the wisdom to know the right thing to do and the patience to wait for Your timing.
He was going to need more wisdom and patience than he’d ever thought possible.
* * *
On the drive back to Port Del Mar, Rosemarie had chatted away about her new doll and the horse she wanted to get her. All her dolls had their own horses. She was oblivious to the silent tension between her mother and grandmother.
Driving down Shoreline Road, Jazmine didn’t even take the time to appreciate the beautiful beach that lined the tiny coastal town. There were two main roads that ran parallel to each other. In some spots, the strip of land between the bay and the Gulf was less than a mile wide.
Her father had inherited the beachfront home that had been a staple of Jazmine’s childhood. It was one of her favorite places on Earth. But her parents had kept her away since that night, not allowing her anywhere near Port Del Mar.
It had been six long years since the sounds of the waves and the feel of the salty breeze filled her senses.
This was her daughter’s first trip to Texas.
She pulled into the long, bricked driveway lined with tall palm trees and large fuchsia flowers. The soft blue house trimmed in pristine white stood three stories tall. By the time Jazmine parked in the carport, Rosemarie was climbing out of her booster seat.
“Momma, unlock the door so I can show Becca to Papa.”
“Remember he needs to be resting.” She turned to her daughter. “Don’t wake him if he’s asleep. Can you be quiet?”
Rosemarie’s dark curls bounced as she nodded. “I can be as quiet as a mouse.” In a heartbeat, she jumped out of the SUV and leaped up the stairs.
Jazmine waited for her daughter to disappear inside the house before turning to her mother. “Thank you for not making a scene in front of Rosie. Go ahead. Out with it. What have you been champing at the bit to tell me?”
“First, I don’t champ. Second, this is a mistake. She does not need that man in her life. You need to pack up and go back to Denver.” Azalea’s arms were crossed, and her face was set like stone.
“His name is Elijah. Not saying his name will not make him go away. She’s his daughter. The least I can do is talk to him.”
Jazmine looked at the organized walls of the garage. Everything fit in a perfect space. If it didn’t, it was tossed out. No room for anything undesirable. “I’m not leaving you alone with Daddy. He’s not a good patient. In less than a week, he will drive you crazy. You need me as much as he needs you. With Rosie around, he might be easier to handle.”
“There is nothing easy about your father.” The perfectly lined lip quivered.
Jazmine reached across and placed her hand over her mother’s. “He’s going to be fine. Dr. Brent feels good about a full recovery. It is going to take all of us to keep him from overdoing it. I’m not going anywhere. I can be just as stubborn as you.”
With a harsh exhalation, her mother rolled her eyes. “You get that from your father. We can’t tell him that Rosie...that...her father...” She shuddered. “I just don’t like this. What if he causes problems? He was always good at that.”
“Mother, what we did was wrong. He had every right to know about Rosemarie. I know I had to leave, but we should have told him.” She pressed one arm over her middle, trying to ease the sick feeling. “I have to meet him. We should have never done it.”
“Your father and I did exactly what we needed to do to keep our daughter and our granddaughter safe. I would do it all over again, with not a single regret.” She rubbed the edge of her purse.
“That night you came to us, you were so scared, and you had that nasty cut. I can’t get the blood-soaked towel you had wrapped around your arm out of my head. There is no reason for me to say his name.” Her shoulders squared.
“I told you. He never hurt me. I got cut trying to pick up the shards of glass. My hands were shaking.” Jazmine relaxed her grip on the steering wheel, revealing her scar again. “If you had been able to stop us from getting married, we wouldn’t have Rosemarie.”
Azalea sighed and dropped her head. “Okay, so I wouldn’t change that part. But I would still send you and Rosie away. I’m not sure I believe the story about the glass. You had a habit of making excuses for him.”
She dug into her purse and pulled out her gold tube of lipstick. Lowering the visor, she used the mirror to reapply the bronze color. “Sweetheart, it doesn’t look good. I mean we found him eating lunch at Esperanza’s Kitchen. You know that’s for homeless people. He’s fallen further than even I would have guessed.”
Jazmine wanted to beat her head against the windshield. “We don’t know why he was there. His family still owns the Diamondback Ranch.”
“His family might own land, but they have major issues. If he’s been kicked out of that family, he’s really sunk low. You shouldn’t go alone. We’ll arrange to have him come to the law office. He can be reminded who he’s up against.”
“No. I’m not going to have this turn into a legal battle. That would just drag it out. Rosie doesn’t deserve a messy court battle between her parents.”
“What if he hasn’t changed?”
Jazmine took a moment to stifle the words she wanted to scream at her mother. “Rosemarie’s older. She’ll be able to call me if she needs to. She—”
“You’re not going to let him be alone with her!”
“Not right now, but when she’s older. Keeping them apart is wrong.”
“What he put you through was wrong. What would you do if Rosie was in the same situation?”
Jazmine bit her lips to hold in words of frustration. There was really no arguing with her parents. “They don’t know each other, so any meetings we set up now will be with me. I’m not going to just drop her off with a stranger and leave.”
“We need to get something in writing, some sort of legal agreement before you allow him to talk to her. We have to protect her and make sure he can’t—”
Jazmine’s fist hit the steering wheel. “Stop. She has as much right to know about her father as he does to know about her. We’re meeting tonight, and I’ll make a plan from there.” She twisted and faced her mother. “You’re going to have to trust me on this. Okay?”
Her mother sighed. “I’m not sure I trust you when you’re in the same room as him.”
“That love-struck girl has grown up. I’m not going to allow anyone to hurt my daughter. If he is sober, we’ll come up with a plan that protects her.”
“If I can’t change your mind, then please be careful. I don’t want to see you hurt again. And you have to think about that innocent little girl.” She looked out the window. “With your father down, I just can’t...”
Jazmine reached across the center console and threaded her fingers through her mother’s. “I know. But if nothing else, this has reminded me that our lives can change in a blink. I can’t put this off any longer.”
“Rosemarie is so trusting.”
“I won’t let anyone hurt her. That includes her father.” She gave her mother a hard look. “And her grandparents. Have you thought about the questions she’ll have in a few years when she learns we kept her father from her?”
With a quick nod and a deep sigh, Azalea got out of the car and headed for the stairs.
Jazmine rested her forehead on the steering wheel. Her heart wasn’t so sure she would be fine with Elijah being in Rosemarie’s life, but for her daughter’s sake, she couldn’t hide behind her parents any longer.
Elijah was going to find how much she’d changed. The meek girl was gone. She was a full-grown mama bear now, and if she thought he would hurt Rosemarie in any way, she was walking out. Even if she left behind another piece of her heart.
Chapter Three
Jazmine arrived at the Painted Dolphin thirty minutes early. She wanted to be there before Elijah so she could pick the table where this meeting would take place. The seat of power had to be hers. She walked around the building, then went up the steps.
A few boats with lights strung over every mast and piece of rigging sailed by in the bay. A longing surprised her.
A young staff member in a tie-dyed T-shirt came over to her. “Can I help you?”
A nervous laugh slipped out. Why did she felt like a teenager sneaking out of her parents’ house? “Yes. I’m meeting someone.” She scanned the large room. Several life-size sculpted dolphins painted with bright patterns still hung from the ceiling, but everything else looked new. The place was a surprising mix of modern and bohemian charm. Elijah had said it had been reopened a couple of months ago.
“Ma’am?” The blonde, sun-kissed girl looked at her with concern.
“Oh, I’m sorry. I use to come here all the time. It looks different.”
She smiled. “It looks great, right? So, do you want to sit inside or on the deck? The singer will be starting up again, so if you want to talk, then I suggest the deck. Sitting by the water is nice. It’s my favorite place.”
Jazmine nodded. “I always sat next to the railing.” She glanced across the room at the long wooden serving counter and froze. He was already here.
Working? He shook hands with someone and laughed.
Then he saw her and his smile vanished. With a few words to the man, he left the register area and headed straight for her. The work-worn clothes were gone. A blue dress shirt was open at the neck, the long sleeves rolled up to his elbows.
Oh my. The beach bum cowboy cleaned up well. Very well.
He moved with the easy grace she remembered from the early days. Like he owned everything around him. The confidence that he had shown the world was always in conflict with his self-esteem.
Without a doubt he had always been gorgeous, and she had never understood what he had seen in her. All the local girls had wondered the same thing. Her parents said he had just been after her money and social standing, but she had never believed that.
As she watched him, she saw a difference in him. He seemed more...more something. What, she wasn’t sure, but wow. Okay, so it looked as if he had a steady job. That was good.
“Hey, Jenny. I’ll seat Ms. Daniels.”
“Hi, Mr. De La Rosa. Oh.” She looked back to Jazmine. “You’re meeting Mr. De La Rosa.”
“Yes. She’s meeting me. We’re going to be outside at table seven. Will you bring us some chips with guacamole and some lemonade?”
“Of course, sir. I’ll have it right out.” Her long blond hair swung as she turned to do his bidding.
With his most charming wink, he grinned at her. “You’re early.”
Caught. She glanced around. “I wanted to—”
“Get here first to get the lay of the land.” He chuckled. “I’m not surprised.” He lifted his right arm and gestured to the doors leading out to the deck. “Ladies first.”
She glanced around as they walked under the giant garage doors made of glass. Two of the three were rolled up into the ceiling, leaving the restaurant open to the water. On a small platform, a man was strumming a guitar and softly singing. The dining area looked busy. “Will you get in trouble for talking while you’re at work?”
With a half-hearted chuckle, he shook his head. “No. I’m good. I’m pretty tight with the owner.” He pushed back his hair.
Her brain was trying to catch up. The Elijah she saw this afternoon was not matching up with the Mr. De La Rosa she followed now. “You work here?” Was he the manager? “You’re not... Why were you eating at Esperanza’s today?”
Outside, they walked to the far corner of the railed deck. He pulled out the chair on the opposite side of the table and waited for her to sit before seating himself across from her. “I volunteer there, and I have a few men there I visit with whenever I get the chance.”
“Oh.” Her cheeks felt warm. “Are they in AA?”
He gave her a tight smile. “We’re here to talk about our daughter.”
“Of course.” Opening her purse, she pulled out an envelope. “I printed these up for you. I can send you more if you want.”
His hands shook a little as he picked up the pictures. Was he nervous or was it a side effect from all the drinking? The gentle lapping of the water against the pier was the only sound as she watched him.
He flipped through the pictures one at a time, studying each one as if devouring every detail. They started with the first hospital pictures and ended with a selfie they had taken yesterday while waiting for the car to take them to the airport. He looked through them again.
The only indication of what he was feeling was the flicker of muscle on his jawline and the bounce of his Adam’s apple. Unable to watch any longer, she let her gaze follow the boats in the harbor.
The clearing of his throat brought her attention back to him. He held the envelope out to her.
“No. Those are yours.”
“Thanks.” He slid them into his shirt pocket. For a moment his hand rested there.
Needing to focus on something else, her gaze swept their old hangout. “It’s nice. I like the changes. How long have you worked here?”
“About six months.” He sighed. His gaze darted around like he was embarrassed.
“You have the look of a manager.” She tried to keep her face neutral, rather than judgmental, but she wasn’t sure how successful she was. “So, you’re not homeless? You run the restaurant? That’s great.”
He shifted to the side and opened his mouth, then clamped it shut.
There was something in his eyes that seemed off. Was he ashamed? “It’s the perfect job for you. Outdoors, no sitting still. And you were always good with people. Working at a desk indoors everyday was not a good fit.”
“What about you? Have you moved back to Texas for good?”
“No. I took family leave to help my mother. I’m an event planner for a large resort in Denver. I have eight weeks, and then we’re going back.”
“Eight weeks?” He popped his knuckles. “I have eight weeks to get to know her before you leave.”
Nodding was all she could manage.
He leaned back, one arm draped across the empty chair next to his. The silky blue shirt pulled taut across his shoulders. He studied her, those intense gray eyes making her look away. She took in the boats. There were the normal charters and sailboats, but at the very end there was a new addition. A huge, old-fashioned ship bobbed in the water.
There had to be something safe she could talk about. “Is that a pirate ship?”
“Yeah. It’s new. I’ve been out on it a few times. It’s fun to watch it go by when I’m eating dinner on our deck at home.”
Biting the inside of her lip, she shut her eyes. The little beachfront cottage they had bought in the first months of their marriage.
It was on the opposite side of town. Her parents had given them the down payment to the fixer-upper. She had loved that place. “Our deck? I thought the house was sold in the divorce.”
“They didn’t tell you anything, did they?” This time his look of disgust wasn’t directed at her.
“No. They thought it would be easier for me.” Why was she suddenly afraid to hear what had happened to their little home? They had worked so hard together to restore the beach cottage until it was just the way she wanted it.
“Originally, they told me to sell it.” He shrugged. “I wanted to keep it. We had put so much sweat equity into it. It was the first time ever I had a real home.” He took a drink of his lemonade. “It looked like I was going to lose again. I didn’t have the money to buy you out.” His fingers ran along the braided leather bracelet he wore on his left wrist. “Then the hurricane hit. There was a great deal of damage. We wouldn’t have been able to sell anytime soon, so I made an offer to buy your half at a discount. My cousin Xavier helped me out. I still live there.”
She wasn’t sure why the idea of him fighting for their house made her heart flutter, but she needed to move on to other thoughts. “Were you able to rebuild?”
“I discovered that I have a skill for rebuilding.”
She turned her attention to the busy restaurant. “You always enjoyed being out on the water. You talked about owning your own fishing boats.”
He looked away and waved to some people on a boat gliding by. “I talked to my lawyer about child support. She’s going to do some research and figure out how much I owe you.”
“What?” The change of subject startled her. “No. I don’t want your money. I’m fine.”
His attention returned to her. Now his eyes were a steel gray. “It’s not for you. I’m not a deadbeat dad.”
“Elijah. You don’t—”
His fist clenched. “I will not be my father.” He took a deep breath and relaxed into his chair. “Buy her shoes or a pony or put it aside for college. I don’t want her to ever think I didn’t support her.” He pulled a card out of his shirt pocket where he had slipped the pictures. “Here’s my lawyer’s information. She’ll set up payment. Whatever is easier for you.”
She nodded, but her stomach turned. If he was paying child support, he’d start thinking he could have more say in Rosemarie’s life. She wasn’t ready to share her.
An awkward silence fell between them. When they had first met, talking had been so easy. They would stay on the beach late into the night discussing family, horses, the plans he had for the ranch, the boats he wanted to buy.
Sometimes they just talked about silly things that didn’t matter. All that counted was that they were together. He was only two years older, but she had been eighteen. The world had revolved around him and he owned it all. She never could figure out what he had seen in that shy, clumsy girl.
Leaning on his elbows and lacing his fingers together, he stared straight at her. “I’m really trying to understand. I know I scared you, but how could you keep her from me for so long?” The hard lines on his face and the white in his knuckles betrayed the anger he was holding in.
She shifted in her seat and looked away. It was hard to forget how strong her love for him had been in the early days. Then, a few months into their marriage, the drinking had started. That’s what she needed to remember. “You had become too unpredictable.”
“You didn’t even give me a chance.” His voice was low and harsh.
“I tried to help. When you had a difficult time with my parents or your uncle, I tried to intervene, but I know now that I only made it worse.”
She had been so sheltered, and it had shocked her to see at firsthand how ugly people could be to the ones they loved. Elijah’s uncle Frank had been a cruel, violent man who had no problem hitting someone small or weaker. The people he should have protected.
She shook her head. “I didn’t have the life experience to help you. I couldn’t imagine being abandoned by a mother and abused by an uncle. When it got worse, you started stumbling home hours after dinner. The one person I would have turned to for help was the one I was afraid for. I didn’t know how to get you to stop drinking.”
He grunted.
She knew Elijah had been suffering, but the more she had tried to help him, the worse the problems grew.
Looking down, she captured her hands and held them still. Her napkin was now an organized pile of neat shreds.
“The night I was going to tell you I was pregnant was the night you really seemed out of control. I thought about all the horror stories I’d heard about your uncle and the abuse. It overwhelmed me. I was scared of you.” The cold seeped through her skin.
“I’m not my uncle.” His voice was hard.
She wasn’t sure if he was trying to convince her or himself.
If Elijah was truly sober, then she owed it to her daughter to let her know him. But it didn’t mean she had to trust him.
He pulled out the pictures again.
With his attention on the photos, she had the luxury of studying him. His golden skin looked darker, but he had lighter streaks in his hair. The stubble from this afternoon was gone, leaving his skin smooth. Had he shaved for her?
With a heavy sigh, he looked up at the night sky. The string of white party lights highlighted his features. “I don’t even know where to start. We had a baby. I still can’t believe you left without telling me.” Lowering his head, he stared straight at her.
Gripping the edge of the wooden seat, she forced herself to sit still. Despite the anger that radiated from him, his body language told her he was in control.
He had a right to be upset, but she couldn’t back down. “The minute I found out I was pregnant, that baby became the most important person in my world.” She allowed her brain to take her back to that night.
She would not regret her decision. “You were out of control. Each night was getting worse. I was waiting up later and later. When you finally came home, it was an hour of yelling and ranting before you passed out. The violence was escalating. That last night I was so scared.”
“I never hurt you.” His lips tightened as his hard jaw flexed. “Did I?”
He looked down, but not before she had seen anger mixed with loathing. And something else. Doubt?
She sat back. “Not physically.”
“I’m not my uncle. I would never have touched you with violence.” His voice was low and gravelly. “Why didn’t you talk to me? Maybe if you had told me, I would’ve sobered up sooner.”
Now her own anger burned. “Are you serious?” The words forced their way out from between clenched teeth. “I did talk. You had three modes.” She held up one finger, keeping her scar facing her. “Drunk.” The second finger went up. “Asleep.” Then the third, the one she used to wear her wedding ring on. “Hungover. When was I supposed to reason with you?”
“You took my child and ran.” He closed his eyes and rolled his shoulders. When he opened them, his gaze bored into her. He appeared calm, but clearly determined.
“When I spoke to my lawyer about child support, I also asked her to look into my rights as a father. I want to see my daughter. What does she know about me?”
Fear jumbled her insides into a big ball of mush. This was what she had been afraid of, the one thing she wanted to avoid at all costs. “I’ve never hidden you from her.” Much to her mother’s dismay. “I’ve shared a couple of pictures of us from when we were dating. She knows that her name is a combination of her father’s family name and my grandmother’s name.”
“Why does she think I’m not around?” Tension reappeared in his shoulders. “Does she know you stole her?”
She leaned closer to him. “I did not kidnap my daughter.” He needed to understand that her daughter, their daughter, was the most important person in this mess.
