Horizons (24 page)

But before anyone could say anything more, a commotion a few yards away claimed everyone’s attention. A child was screaming, as if in dire pain or stark fear. Between shrieks, Gavin was shouting at someone.

Kelly came upright, her head swiveling as she tried to peer over heads in the direction of the disturbance. “Sydney!” she exclaimed, already pushing her way through the milling crowd.
“Gavin!”

“Kelly!” he called back. “Over here!”

Kelly jostled the last man out of her way, just as Zach appeared at her elbow. Together, they rushed forward to find a strange woman trying to wrest Sydney from Gavin’s arms. The terrified toddler was having none of it.

“What’s going on here?” Zach demanded loudly. He rounded on the woman. “Who are you?”

Kelly, less diplomatically inclined, grabbed the woman’s wrist and commanded sharply, “Let loose of her! What do you think you’re doing?”

The woman backed off a step, no longer tugging at Sydney, but did not retreat. “I’m Olivia Newhart, from Social Services. I’m here to take charge of the child.”

Kelly met her, nose to nose, her eyes ablaze. “Over my dead body! Sydney stays with us!”

By now, the throng—relatives, media, and airline representatives alike—was amassing around them, curious to know what was causing such an uproar. Gavin had handed Sydney over to Zach, and the little girl was whimpering, her face hidden in the curve of his neck.

“I’m sorry, but those are my orders,” Ms. Newhart insisted. “I must take the child. She’ll be placed in a foster home until her relatives can be located.”

“You lay one hand on her, and I’ll break it, bone by bone,” Kelly warned darkly. From the corner of her eye, she caught the flash of the bright light of a nearby video camera and bit back an exasperated groan. Here she was, caught threatening bodily harm to a civil servant! On tape, no less! Then a thought came to her. Why let this opportu
nity pass, when she could use it to her own advantage, and Syd’s? Perhaps a little public sympathy was in order, to help turn the tables.

“This child has been through hell and back again,” she claimed loudly. In her peripheral vision, she saw the man with the camera edge forward, and was pleased to note the camera sported the logo of a TV station. “Sydney’s parents were killed in the plane crash, and for the past two months she has considered us her family. Hasn’t the poor tyke been traumatized enough? Now you want to take her away from the people she trusts most, and place her with strangers? Good Lord, woman! Where is
your heart?
Doesn’t anyone care about what’s best for her? Any one of us,” Kelly gestured toward Gavin, Zach, and Blair, who now stood close, “are perfectly capable of caring for her.”

“But I have papers,” the social worker argued adamantly. “There are certain procedures that must be followed.”

“Screw your papers and your procedures,” Zach growled. “Until Sydney’s true family is found, she belongs to us.”

Blair stepped forward, despite the fact that her husband tried to hold her back. “That’s right. Possession is nine-tenths of the law, so I’ve heard. We’ve got her, and we’re keeping her.”

“And we defy anyone to take her from us,” Kelly added belligerently.

“Furthermore,” Zach put in, “if none of her relatives
want or can care for her properly, Kelly and I intend to adopt her.”

Kelly scarcely kept her chin from dropping open in surprise. Somehow she managed to rally and snap out, “That’s right. Now, you just march back to your office and tell your superiors to get their priorities in order!”

At this point, an airline representative stepped into the fray, placing himself between Kelly and Ms. Newhart. “I think that might be best for all concerned,” he told the social worker. “The child is obviously in good hands, which is where she should be. We’ll be striving diligently to locate her family, and I’m sure all this can be ironed out in an amicable fashion, if we all just stay calm, reasonable, and put the child’s welfare above all else.”

The woman gave a haughty sniff. “You’ll be hearing from us, and most likely from a judge.”

“Likewise, I’m sure,” Zach retorted sharply. “We’ll have our lawyer call yours.”

The woman gave them all a final glare and stomped off in a huff.

Kelly gave a shaky sigh. “Well, things have really started off with a bang. Not back into society for half an hour, and we’re already embroiled in legal tangles.”

“Welcome to the real world, tied up in a snarl of red tape,” Blair commiserated. Turning to Zach, she inquired quietly, “Did you mean what you said about adopting Sydney, or were you just spouting off? I’d love to be able to take her, but
…
”

“I meant every word. Unfortunately, I didn’t have time to confer with Kelly beforehand.” He gave Kelly a sheepish look. “Sorry, sweetheart. Was I out of line?”

Kelly gave a bewildered shake of her head. “You know I love her. I do have one question, though. Just how large is this family of ours going to be? We haven’t even exchanged vows yet, and it’s
growing by leaps and bounds.”

“That’s hard to tell. As they say, love knows no bounds.”

“Then I hope we can find a good sale on those baby monitors, buster, because twins run on my side of the line.”

“Twins?” he repeated dumbly. “You’re kidding.”

Kelly shrugged helplessly, and gestured toward the two
red-haired imps on the sidelines, flanking their father, “Meet Shannon and Shane, and my twin brother, Collin. We call him Cole.”

“Your twin brother?” Zach’s tone revealed his confusion. “The osteopath? I thought you said he was older than you.”

Kelly offered a lame nod. “He is, by three whole minutes.”

Chapter 24

A
fter the most hasty, perfunctory introductions between Blair’s family, Gavin’s, Kelly’s, and Zach’s, with promises to get better acquainted later, they were all shepherded onto the bus the airline had provided to take them to their hotel. Kelly wound up in a window seat, holding Sydney on her lap. There was little she could do, aside from creating another scene, to prevent Brad from claiming the seat next to her, though he all but pushed Shannon aside to accomplish it.

“Do you have to be such a bully?
”
Kelly snapped irritably.

“I want to talk with you.”

“Well, I don’t want to talk with you,” she told him tartly. “Butt out, Brad. You and I are history.”

“What’s this about you and lover boy wanting to adopt the kid?” he asked, ignoring her rebuttal.

“That’s between Zach and me. It has nothing to do with you.”

“You think so?
I’ll
remind you again, darlin’, you’re s
ti
ll my wife, and you will be for as long as I want it that way.”

Kelly slid a glance at his hard-set face. “How do you figure that?”

He smirked. “I’m a lawyer, honey. We know how the system works, all the ins and outs, the tricks of the trade. With delays and whatnot, I can drag this divorce out ’til doomsday, or at least until I get elected to the Senate.”

“Employing the ‘good-ol’-boys’ network, I presume. Calling in markers from your attorney friends?”

“Not to menti
on a few judges,” he concurred smugly. “You might as well give up and give in gracefully, Kelly. There’s no way you can win in a legal fight against me. The deck is stacked in my favor. Besides, as things stand now, you don’t have a plug nickel to your name.”

Kelly scowled. “Would you care to expound on that last remark?”

“After the plane disappeared,
I
used my power of attorney to transfer the money in your separate checking and savings accounts into our joint account. A few days later, when it was assumed you were dead, I paid off your credit cards, and the companies cancelled them. They do that, you know, so no one else can charge things to your account, claiming to be you. You don’t have a red cent to call your own, and absolutely no credit. As of this moment, you’re broke, totally reliant on my benevolence, so if I were you I’d give some thought to being nicer to your ol’ hubby.”

“In your dreams, Brad. And I won’t be without funds for long,” she continued confidently. “Now that everyone knows I survived, they’ll re-issue new credit cards to me, and I expect—correct that, I demand—that you repay every last dime you took from my bank accounts, less the outstanding balances on the cards, of course.”

Brad crossed his arms over his chest, a self-satisfied expression on his face. “It’s gonna take some time, maybe
a very long time, to sort out what’s rightfully yours and what’s mine, sugar. What with the funds combined now, and all. It might even take an accountant, or a court order, to get it done.”

“You’re a real sleazeball, Brad. I suppose you made an insurance claim, too. How much was I worth to you—dead, that is? A million? Two? Too bad you won’t be collecting on my untimely demise. And the picture isn’t as bleak as you’ve painted it, dear heart. I’ve still got my health clubs, and the income they bring in.”

Brad shook his head. “You haven’t got jack squat. As your power of attorney, I closed the clubs, and the boutiques. I’m very close to sealing a deal on them with a prospective buyer.”

“You what?” she shrieked, her blood pressure shooting through the roof. Sydney, who had been half asleep, gave a
jerk and began to wail again. Most of Kelly’s fellow passengers had turned in their seats to stare at her.

“Everything okay back there, Kelly?” Zach called from the front of the bus.

“Other than the fact that my dearly bereaved, soon-to-be-ex-husband has been stealing me blind in the past two months?” she yelled back. “Sure. Everything’s just dandy!” She turned back to Brad, fury on her face and venom in her voice. By now, those sitting closest to her, especially her family members, were hanging on every word. “If you think you have me over a barrel, you’re sadly mistaken, Brad Sanders. I’m going to beat you at your own game, you sneaky weasel. By the time I’m finished with you, you’ll wish you’d never been born, let alone filch from me. I’ll ruin you so badly you won’t be able to run for dogcatcher, let alone the Senate.”

“You don’t have the guts or the connections.”

“We’ll just see about that, and you can kiss that deal with the buyer for the clubs goodbye. I’m back, and in
charge of my own affairs now, and I don’t intend to sell. Any contracts you made on my behalf are null and void.”

“It might not be that easy,” he informed her arrogantly. “After all, I did have the right to negotiate in your stead, which makes it all perfectly legal and binding.”

“Surely, when I filed for divorce, that power of attorney foolishness was revoked. Who, in their right mind, would believe I’d still want you conducting my business dealings?”

“But there is no divorce pending,” he reminded her again. “And I’m still the beneficiary of your life insurance policy and your will, as well as executor.”

“Something I’ll remedy immediately, I assure you,” she replied through clenched teeth. “Thank you for reminding me of it. Do I still have a car, or did you sell that, too? What about the things in my apartment in Phoenix, my personal possessions, like my furniture and clothes?”

“I didn’t have time to bother with the small potatoes, or that clunker you’re so fond of driving. I assume your stuff’s still in your apartment above your club, unless someone has broken in and burglarized the place. You’ll have to move out, once the business is sold, unless the new owners agree to rent it to you. But, you don’t have the money to do that, do you?” he smirked. “Guess that means you’ll be coming back home to Houston. It’ll be just like old times, only better, because you won’t be working anymore.”

Kelly fumed. She could barely restrain herself from reaching out and strangling him with his expensive silk tie. If not for Sydney, and about a dozen avid witnesses, she might still have tried it. “I wouldn’t move back in with you if you owned the last house in the universe. In fact, I wouldn’t spit on you if your p
early white, perfectly-capped
teeth were on fire! How could you possibly do this, yet still expect me to come back and be your wife, as if everything
was all sunshine and roses? Do you have any idea how much I detest you?”

“Dad and I will loan you some money, and you can move back home with us, sweetie,” her mother offered from the seat behind Brad.

“Or with us,” Cole said from the seat ahead.

“Thanks, but only if it’s a necessity,” Kelly told them. “If Brad wants to play hard ball, and not willingly transfer my money back to me, or give me my divorce without making a fuss, so be it. I’ll make a stink so bad they’ll smell if from coast to coast. Then we’ll see what his political future looks like, won’t we?”

Brad jeered, “Do you really think anyone outside your family will care? I can sling mud, too, Kelly. Remember that. You could come away looking like a candidate for the laughing academy.”

“Thinking of having me committed, Brad?” she countered snidely. “I hope not, because I have witnesses.”

“And I have clout,” he claimed pompously. “If you really want that divorce, you’re going to have to fight for it every inch of the way, which will be mighty costly. Take me to court, sugar, and by the time all is said and done, you’ll come away looking like a slut, and I’ll be the poor, wronged husband who is still willing to forgive and forget.”

She sneered at him, all bluff and righteous anger. “You’ve got it all figured out, right down to the last little detail, don’t you? You’ve been a very busy little snake while I was gone. But you never really planned on me coming back from the grave to louse up your best plans, did you? Well, I’m back, Brad, and raring for revenge. I’m going to nail your hide to the barn door and use it for target practice—and that’s a promise you can take to the bank!”