Expecting His Secret Heir (12 page)

After reading all the way through, then one more time for good measure, Sadie cleared her browser history and closed the window. She leaned back, then looked up at the ceiling, as if the answer to her question could be found there. Even without her bias toward Zach, Sadie could tell this was just an instance of wrong place, wrong time. Zach had gotten off without even a reprimand, as far as she could tell.

But that didn't stop him from searching for what he could have done differently to save his friend. The nightmares were his mind's way of playing out his questions and his guilt. They were lessening with time, but would probably never go away.

That was punishment enough.

Now Sadie knew the truth. Her own search was over—her own guilt just beginning.

Fourteen

S
adie was once more wearing her fancy blue dress from the Blackstones' party, hoping those who had seen it before would understand she was from out of town and hadn't traveled with a steamer trunk full of formal gowns.

Her heart pounded as she waited for Zach, nausea welling up inside her. He'd paused to talk with the country club valet, whom he knew from working at the mill. If she could just stand here and watch him forever, she'd be so happy.

But deep down, she knew she had to end this tonight. Somehow she would find the courage to tell him the truth. He deserved to know how to claim his inheritance, and she'd decided he should hear it from her.

But first, just one more night together. One last memory.

Finally he headed her way, his dark good looks set off by the black suit and tie. She savored the way his gaze traced her body. No other man would make her feel as wanted as Zach did. She knew that beyond a doubt.

They joined the Blackstones at their table. Sadie realized she must be getting used to attending these events with Zach, because that feeling of unreality she usually experienced had disappeared. Too bad this wouldn't last. As soon as she returned to Dallas, she'd be extra busy looking for a new position. Hopefully in the same social circles her former boss had enjoyed, so she could continue to keep their heads above water as best she could.

Victor had continued to pay her regular salary, in addition to all of her travel expenses, as if she were on a regular business trip, instead of seeking to ruin a man's reputation. But when she came back empty-handed, all of that income would end.

She had some contacts within those social circles, so that might help. But her foremost concern was that her sister needed to remain close to the hospital and doctors who currently treated her. Sadie would hate to be separated from her family, but without the bonus from Victor, for finding dirt to disqualify Zach from his inheritance, finding work would be essential.

Wherever she could find it.

Christina sat opposite Sadie. The tired cast to her face prompted Sadie's concern. The poor thing must be exhausted after handling her mother-in-law's death, plus her own grief and her pregnancy, too. “How are you, Christina?” Sadie asked quietly, not wanting to draw undue attention.

The other woman's smile seemed bittersweet. “I'm managing. Just trying to focus on what's right in front of us, you know?”

Sadie didn't, but she could imagine, so she nodded.

Before she could respond further, Aiden rose from his chair to look over the table. Everyone's attention turned to him. He appeared comfortable in his role as head of the family. His normally tough gaze as he took in those around him seemed to soften and glow. “Thank you for being here tonight. We wanted our family and closest friends here to celebrate the joy that is coming to our family—our newest baby, who will be joining us soon, along with the return of our brother Luke and his engagement to one of Black Hills's own treasures, Avery Prescott.”

Quiet applause and smiles erupted. Sadie glanced down the length of the table, noting the people she recognized. Luke Blackstone and his fiancée were new to her, along with an older couple someone had mentioned were a doctor and his wife, friends of both the Blackstones and Prescotts, and mentors of Avery Prescott. Zach and Bateman and his family were there from the mill. She was impressed to see both Nolen and Marie present, along with a younger woman Marie had introduced to Sadie as her niece, Nicole. There was a mix of ages, stations in life and connections, but Sadie had found that the Blackstones embraced others based on their presence in their lives, not what they were capable of doing for them.

The viewpoint was refreshing for Sadie. She only hoped she could find future employers who were as real as the people she'd come to know here.

As they were served their meals, Sadie felt Zach's hand circle around her own. She turned to find him watching her with the fire and need she so desperately wanted to see in his eyes.

“You look beautiful tonight, Sadie,” he said. “I love you in this dress.”

Her throat closed for a moment. Hearing those first three words on his lips meant the world to her, even if he didn't mean them the way she wished. “I love you in that suit,” she finally whispered. “Very dashing.”

“Dashing, huh? Debonair, too?”

Oh, that grin was dangerous. “Most definitely.”

“Well, I promise to be a gentleman.” He leaned forward to brush a kiss high on her cheekbone, right in front of her ear. Then he whispered, “For now.”

The shiver that worked its way down her spine caused her to squeeze the hand still holding hers. How much longer could she hold him to her?

They were interrupted by the arrival of their food. Sadie leaned back as her soup was placed before her, followed by a plate of oysters for their end of the table to share. As she glanced over the half shells coated in some kind of breading and cheese mixture, her stomach turned over again.

She sucked in a breath through pursed lips, then slowly released it.
Nope, not helping.
“Excuse me a moment,” she murmured to Zach.

Luckily she'd seen where the restroom was on their way inside. Her stomach had calmed again before she reached the door, but she went inside anyway. Running cool water over her wrists helped also. Lord, she needed to get her nerves under control. Life was never easy, but why ruin her last night with Zach by anticipating the earthquake that she knew was coming?

Did she even believe what she was telling herself right now?

The door opened behind her. Christina and KC stepped inside. Both women flocked to her with concern in their expressions.

“Are you okay?” Christina asked, patting her back gently.

She nodded as KC asked the same. “Yes, I've just been feeling a little off somehow.”

“Zach was worried when you left so quickly. I told him we would check, though you were probably fine.”

“Sorry. Didn't mean to scare anyone.”

“Well, I only have to make about fifty trips a night to the bathroom right now,” Christina said with a laugh as she headed for a stall. “So I'd be here soon enough anyway. If it had been any earlier in my pregnancy, those oysters would have turned me green. I wouldn't have even made it back here.” She flashed a grossed-out face over her shoulder before shutting the door.

“Oh, me, too,” KC said from beside Sadie as she patted over her hair. “Of course, any kind of seafood got to me. It wasn't so much the look of it as the smell. Yuck.” She grinned. “I was so glad when that stage went away, because I love me some shrimp.”

Sadie felt her stomach twist again as her mind conjured up the image of shrimp scampi, usually one of her favorites. She breathed carefully, glancing at the mirror to make sure her queasiness didn't show on her face. No need to cause more concern.

KC opened her little clutch purse and proceeded to touch up her already perfect makeup. Christina returned and washed her hands. “It's not completely gone for me,” she was saying. “The nausea isn't nearly as bad as it was in the first trimester, of course, but some things will still set it off sometimes. And the exhaustion. Oh, boy.”

“I know what you mean,” KC agreed. “You have more than just the pregnancy to make you tired, but I sure remember trying to wait tables with swollen feet and that bone-tired feeling weighing me down. That was rough.”

As the women talked around her, Sadie stared into the mirror. She could actually see the blood drain from her already pale skin. Her light dusting of freckles stood out in stark contrast, as did the glossy pink of her lips. Nausea. She'd put it down to nerves. Exhaustion. She'd simply pushed it aside as too many late nights with Zach.

Her gaze dropped to her chest, as she suddenly remembered the recent tenderness of her breasts. She'd chalked it up to hormones, but this would be about the third week they'd been unusually sensitive.

That wasn't normal.

“Are you coming, Sadie?”

She glanced up, realizing the others were readying to leave. “Oh, I'll just, you know.” She nodded toward the stalls. “Then I'll be right out.”

They smiled, sure they'd done their duty, then headed back out to their dinner. Sadie couldn't have felt less like eating.

As the sound of their chatter faded, she closed herself in a stall, leaning heavily against the inside of the door. Her mind raced, frantically counting out the days she'd been in Black Hills, the number of days since she'd first seen Zach again. Finally, the number of days since they'd made love that first time.

Please.
Could she please just stop thinking? Stop remembering? But it was no use. She didn't have experience with pregnancy herself and had never been around anyone who was having a baby. Her time with Christina was as close as she'd gotten.

Which wasn't much. But based on how off she'd felt the last few weeks—something she'd chalked up to guilt, nerves and grief—Sadie was afraid she'd added one very large complication to her already tangled situation.

Heaven help her.

* * *

Zach lengthened his stride, hoping to make it through the foyer before Gladys heard the door close behind him. He didn't have long before he had to be at the office. KC was helping him get their newest team member settled in town. They were signing the paperwork on his new apartment before she brought him by the office for the first time.

Zach needed to be there.

But he was worried about Sadie. She'd gone home early from the dinner the night before, afraid she'd come down with a stomach bug. She'd even insisted on taking a cab home, expressing concern about interrupting the event and also about infecting him.

He'd let her go, only after she'd promised to text when she got back to the B and B. There were still things they didn't know about each other—for all he knew, she was the type who wanted to be left alone when she was sick. Like him.

She'd texted him when she got back and had even mentioned that she'd stopped at the pharmacy for some meds to help calm her stomach. He hadn't heard from her since.

A quick peek to assure himself that she was okay would be enough for now.

But later, they needed to have a talk. Zach was perfectly happy to let her be, as long as she touched base every so often to let him know she was okay. Preferably from the other end of the room, rather than the other end of town.

Otherwise, those dang protective instincts kicked in, and he worried something had happened—

Zach paused outside Sadie's door, hand raised to knock. The contrast between what he wanted with Sadie and what he had with her hit him hard. He'd proceeded on tiptoes, not demanding too much too soon, not asking for what he truly needed, afraid that if he pushed too hard, she would leave again.

Maybe he'd been overcautious. They were practically living together, and yet he'd let her go home sick without him the night before. He stood outside her door right now, waiting to knock, because he didn't want to intrude. How ridiculously careful all of this was.

With a frown, Zach tried the doorknob. It clicked, then opened. He walked inside. It was that easy.

Glancing around, he was alarmed to see the bed empty, blankets half hanging off the side, as if they had trailed after the person trying to leave them behind. No Sadie in sight. He heard the shower running.

Okay. She was steady enough to want to shower. Good deal. He'd just wait until she got out. After making sure she didn't need anything, he'd head over to the office for a while, then come back. He crossed to the bed to straighten up the covers. A tissue box and mound of crumpled, used tissues covered the nightstand.

Odd, she'd said her stomach hurt, not that she had a cold.

Once more he looked around, this time hunting for the small trash can he knew to be around here somewhere. He finally located it under the low table in the sitting area. It was already filled with tissues. That explained one thing, at least. As he stood there wondering if he should risk calling Gladys for a new trash bag, Sadie's phone lit up.

An incoming text message.

He didn't recognize the name Victor Beddingfield, but the preview of the message on the screen below the name made Zach do a double take.

Hell no, I don't care what happens to Zach Gatlin, as long as he doesn't show up here wanting...

Wanting what? And why was this stranger texting about him?

The mere use of his name gave Zach the right to pick up that phone, in his opinion. And right now, his was the only opinion that mattered. He swiped his thumb over the screen. Zach only wished he could honestly say he didn't know Sadie's combination to unlock the screen. Unfortunately, it was a connect-the-dots picture that he'd watched her swipe in many times. The order of the combination played out in his mind's eye with ease.

He didn't even hesitate.

As a soldier, Zach knew that doing ugly things was sometimes necessary to get the job done. Right now, breaking into Sadie's phone was one of those necessary things. Regardless of how other people would see it.

A violation of her privacy? Sure. Overstepping his boundaries? Definitely. A decision he'd regret in time? Absolutely not.

Zach would rather know the truth than live in a fantasy world. The phone blinked its notice that Sadie had a text message at the bottom. He clicked on it and saw the truth in full color.

At the top of the screen, there was a text from Sadie in a white bubble:
I will call soon.

Then a blue bubble from Beddingfield:
If you don't call me within the hour, this is gonna get really ugly. I want this over. Do you hear me?

Followed by Sadie's response:
Don't you care at all what happens to Zach? I'm trying very hard to do the right thing.

Hell no, I don't care what happens to Zach Gatlin, as long as he doesn't show up here wanting our father's money. You said you would dig up the dirt and I want it now. If you have to lie to disqualify him, that's what you'll do. I make the rules here. You simply obey me.