Seduction of Souls (15 page)

“Move.”

“I asked you a question, and I’m still waiting for an answer.”

“Then take a seat somewhere ‘cause you’ve got a long wait.  Now move before I start making a scene. 
God forbid if someone wrote an article about a strange man harassing an innocent woman with her baby outside a restroom.  Couldn’t have that, now, could we?”

“I certainly would never consider you an innocent woman,
RayeAnn.”

“Well then it’s a good thing I could
n’t care less what you think.  Move.  Now.” After waiting a moment, he took a scant step back, forcing her to brush her body against his to get past him.  He called after her as she walked down the hallway toward the parking lot.

“This isn’t over
, RayeAnn.”

Turning back to face him she answered.  “It’s been over for a long time
, and you’re just now noticing?  Sad.”  She turned away and walked out the door, her body shaking from head to toe.  At least Lillyanna seemed to like the vibration of her body, smiling and cooing up at her.

Than
kfully Bryn had finished loading the stroller into the trunk of the car, so they could take off quickly once the baby was loaded into her safety seat.  With Lillyanna secured, RayeAnn dove into the front seat and slammed the door shut.  Bryn already had the car in reverse before she could fasten her seatbelt.  Neither one spoke as the car pulled away while Ryker stood in the middle of the parking lot staring after them, a dark, angry scowl on his face.

“Bryn, why didn’t you tell me he was back?”  Tears streaked down
RayeAnn’s face as she looked out the window.

“I didn’t know…for sure, anyway.  Tim mentioned that he heard a rumor that he was back, but it was just a rumor.  If I had known for sure I would have told you.  I promise.  What did he say to you?”

“Nothing important.  He just motioned to the baby and asked where the hell that came from.  Then you came to the table.  Did he say anything to you?”

“He just said hello
, and even that was an after thought.  He never even made eye contact with me, he just kept watching you.  By the time he looked back I had everything packed and was already heading for the car.”

“Do you think he got a good look at her?  Would he be smart enough to put two and two together?”  Suddenly she was terrified that he would.  Which was really stupid after all the effort she had put into telling him about the baby in the first place.  It wasn’t her fault he was too much of an asshole to open any of the letters, telegrams, e-mails
she had sent, or listen to phone messages.  Or maybe he had but didn’t believe her. 
Doesn’t really matter, I didn’t need him then, and I certainly don’t need him now.
  Financially she could take care of both of them very well.  Now she just took research jobs she could do from home, and then only if the subject interested her.  Again she thanked her lucky stars for Aunt Juliet.

“
On second thought, I think he’s too much of a coward to do anything about it, even if he does figure things out.  I’m pretty sure fatherhood isn’t on his bucket list.  He was always pretty good at deceiving himself when it suited him.  I don’t think this situation will be any different.”  Bryn nodded in agreement.

Soon
she was steering the car onto RayeAnn’s secluded driveway. 

“Do you want me to come in for a while?  I hate to leave you when you’re so upset.”

“I’ll be fine, but thanks for offering.  You’re such a good friend.  What would I have done without you and Tim?”

“Oh, please.  Don’t you think giving us the money to buy the majority of the Blue Bull
was more than enough?  I still feel guilty about taking the money in the first place.”

“If you remember correctly
, it was just a loan.  I fully expect you to pay me back when you can, so just drop the guilt trip.  You both deserve a break.”

“No one deserves one more than you.  Let
’s face it, as far as the last year has gone, you’ve definitely had extreme highs and lows.  Five months of bed rest.  Being a single parent without any emotional or financial support from the father.  Tough year.”

“I’d do it all again in a heartbeat to get the reward I got.  She’s such a miracle.  I feel a little sorry for Ryker for not knowing the joys of having a baby.  He missed some really special experiences.  Can you imagine missing the birth of your own baby?  How sad for him.”

“That’s true.  You definitely came out ahead.  I’ll give you a call later, just to check on you.”

“Sounds good.  Thanks for everything…again.”  She
got out of the front seat and leaned into the back to undo Lillyanna’s safety seat and carried the now sleeping baby into the house.  Why did car rides always put her to sleep?

She
carried the car seat into the first floor nursery, formerly known as the parlor, and now redecorated to suit a baby.  She placed the baby gently into her crib and stood, staring at her for a long time.  She wished her parents were still alive to enjoy their first and, most likely, last grandchild.  Her mother had always regretted that she couldn’t have any more children after RayeAnn was born.  She had wanted a house full of kids, but was grateful for the one she had.  Most importantly, her parents had never made a secret of the fact that they loved her unconditionally.  That was the kind of upbringing she wanted for Lillyanna.  Pure love.

She checked the intercom to make sure it was set properly and then proceeded to her office to work on her latest research project. 
The ringing doorbell caused her to detour to the front door at the last moment.  Quickly she opened the door, not wanting the noise to disturb the baby.  In retrospect, it would have been better to wake the baby than face what awaited her on the other side of the door.

CHAPTER 16

His hands rested on his hips while he paced in front of RayeAnn’s door.  What was he going to say to her? Hell, he still wasn’t sure he believed all that Tim had told him, except he knew Tim wasn’t a liar.  He had no one to blame but himself and his over inflated ego. Through all those attempts by RayeAnn to contact him, he had convinced himself that she wanted to apologize.  After all, she had played him for a fool, hadn’t she?  He’d been certain she was writing a scathing article about how fake and phony the whole paranormal investigation business was.  It didn’t matter that it had truly happened to her, she would still slant the article negatively.  Hadn’t he seen the evidence himself when he read her journal?

All right, he
’d had no business going through her personal entries on her computer.  Maybe he could make her believe that he didn’t realize he’d been reading her journal instead of a real article.  Only problem with that is he’d be lying through his teeth.  He’d known exactly what he was doing, although at the time he didn’t understand why.  Still wasn’t one hundred percent sure…or so he kept telling himself. 

That was when it dawned on him why he had done what he’d done.  He was in love
, and it had scared the shit out of him.  Desperate, he had jumped to conclusions to justify his running away.  In fact, he had run all the way to Europe, which it turned out hadn’t been far enough. 

He
’d joined Sean, a friend in Ireland, and spent the last year working for his friend’s paranormal investigation firm.   They had traveled throughout Europe, investigating various cases, sometimes even getting results.  He was grateful for all the experience he had gained, but the truth was, he missed home and missed RayeAnn.  After a year of anger, resignation, and putting up a brave front, the truth of the matter was, he needed her.  He missed her sense of humor, her smile and unwavering courage, not to mention he respected the hell out of her.  She completed him, and he hadn’t felt whole since he’d left.  Like a chunk was missing from his very soul.  Of course, he couldn’t just blurt all that out and expect a favorable response.  Hell, he’d be lucky if she didn’t run him off with a shotgun.

He
had missed his mother a lot, too.  Since his father’s sudden death five years ago, he always worried about his mother. She was such a young widow.  After his dad’s death, he’d healed by diving head first into work, opening Soul Search with the hope of contacting his father on the ‘other side’.  Yeah, that had never panned out, but he never regretted his choice.  Had fate played a role that had led to him pacing on the front porch of RayeAnn’s house again?  Somehow things seemed to be coming full circle, or was this just a feeling of
deja vu
?

No, he was certain he had never fathered any other children.  That is, he hoped he hadn’t.  In the beginning of Tim’s
tirade about the past year he hadn’t been sure, but after seeing that baby earlier today, he had no doubt she was his.  Even Tim hadn’t been able to get ahold of him during the past year.  After arriving in Ireland he had lost his cell and never bothered to replace it.  So many of the locations they’d investigated were in such secluded areas there often wasn’t a signal to be found.  He never saw the point of getting a new one until he came back to the states.  Another miscalculation on his part.  Damn, that list was getting long. 

If he hadn’t been so stubborn and
had opened just one of the letters RayeAnn had sent he would have known a lot sooner about the baby.  Instead, he had arrogantly scribbled insulting phrases on the outside of the envelopes and sent them back unopened.  What an ass he had been.  Probably wasn’t a stretch to assume that wasn’t the last time he’d feel like a complete ass.

When he heard the door creek open
, he froze in his tracks.  Terror filled him briefly before he cleared his throat, preparing to speak.  His heart leapt into his throat at the sight of RayeAnn, just like it always did when he was around her.  She stood in the doorway, arms folded tightly across her chest.  Her lips were drawn tightly into a thin, straight line.  No question she was unhappy to see him.

“Hi
, RayeAnn.”  He waited for a response, but when it was clear none was coming, he continued.  “I think we need to talk.  May I come in?”

“No.  Go away
.  You seem to specialize in that.”  She began to close the door, when he slapped his hand onto the solid wood, forcing it to stay open. 

“Sorry.  I just finished talking to Tim
.  He filled me in on all the…action that’s been going on here.”

“Then you know everything you need to know
, so, again, there’s no reason for you to come in.”  He heard a series of tiny squeaks sounding from inside the house.  A second later they had turned into a wildly loud wailing sound of a baby’s cry. 

“What the hell is that?”
  He’d never heard a ruckus like that from such a tiny creature
.  Lungs
sound good and healthy
.

“It’s the ‘action’ you referred to.  If you’ll excuse me
, I need to attend to that.”  She looked behind her into the house and gently closed the door.  Through the open front windows he heard her cooing and consoling the baby.  She spoke with such love and tenderness, it brought tears to his eyes.  His baby was loved.  No matter how she felt about him, she loved their baby.  Without thinking twice, he opened the unlocked door and followed the noise to the back of the house.  She had turned the sitting room of the old house into a nursery, complete with a bedroom for herself, as well.  Smart move.  This way they could live on the ground floor and not have to do the steps all day long. 

He moved in behind her
, purposely making a little racket so as not to startle either one of them.  And he stood and stared, mouth wide open but soundless, while tears streamed down his face.  His heart melted the instant he laid eyes on his daughter.  He felt their heart to heart connection instantly.  His overwhelming need to protect and love her consumed his very soul.  

RayeAnn had never seen a man cry before, and certainly not the sperm donor of her baby.  Huh, she must have underestimated Ryker’s acting skills, but she wasn’t falling for it.

“So Ryker, what’s your angle
, here?  Do I need to call the cops?  Barging into my house without permission is a criminal offense.”  She held the baby close to her chest as she gently rocked her body back and forth.

“I have a right to see my daughter.  I won’t let you keep her from me.”  She could see the anger written all over his face
, and she didn’t give a shit.

“That’s quite a turnaround in attitude.  Tim must have really read you the riot act.”  He flinched, as if punched in the gut
.  “Funny how a few harsh words from Tim got the point across, and all my letters and telegrams were ignored.  I’m not falling for it.”

“I want to get to know my daughter,
RayeAnn.  You may not like it, but I do have rights, you know.  Don’t let this get nasty.  I made a mistake, I admit it.”  He threw his hands up in the air.  “Can’t we just move on?”  He shoved his hands into the front pockets of his jeans while he paced a few steps.

“We don’t need you in our lives.  We’re doing just fine on our own.”  She kissed the baby’s head as she made her way to the rocking chair.  She sat down and began to unbutton her shirt.

“What are you doing?”  He gaped at her while she undid the buttons.