The Collector's Edition Volume 1 (41 page)

“The gesture is enough, Keir. I really can’t take the money from you, but thank you for placing so much value on my children,” she said warmly.

“I want you to feel safe.”

“It’s good of you. I appreciate it very much. And thank you for the flowers. They’re lovely.”

“My pleasure. Tomorrow at ten.”

She smiled. “We’ll be ready.” She dropped the receiver in its cradle, feeling distinctly light-headed.

“Was that the prince you were talking to, Mummy?” Sarah asked.

“Yes, it was the prince.” In a giddy moment of delight that Keir had proved as good as his word, Rowena scooped Sarah from her chair and hoisted her up against her shoulder. “He’s going to sweep us off to a castle tomorrow,” she told her darling little daughter.

“A real castle?”

Rowena laughed. She hadn’t laughed so light-heartedly for a long, long time. It felt good. “Not quite, Sarah. A home. If the home is right, it feels like a castle.”

Sarah grinned. “I like the prince.”

He was certainly scoring well at the moment, Rowena thought happily.

“If you marry him, you could be a princess, Mummy.”

That brought Rowena down to earth with a thump. The talk about marriage had clearly filtered into Sarah’s active little brain, and she might blurt it out at the worst possible moment, creating trouble Rowena could well do without.

“We mustn’t think about that yet, Sarah. The prince has to do a lot of brave deeds first.”

“He said he wouldn’t give up,” Sarah reminded her.

“Let’s wait and see. He might not mean to give up but it’s better to wait and see. It might be bad luck to talk about marrying him. We wouldn’t want to give him bad luck, would we?”

Sarah gravely shook her head.

Rowena was relieved to have that settled. She hoped. There was always an unpredictable element with Sarah.

The bank manager entered the office. She turned to him with beaming confidence. “Mr. Ellis, thank you so much for your time, but I can’t continue with this business right now. Mr. Delahunty will be making further arrangements with you.”

“Oh! Well, thank you for coming in, Mrs. Goodman.”

He escorted her and Sarah to the bank door, showing them every courtesy. Rowena felt the pleasurable glow of being worth three hundred thousand dollars even though she didn’t have it. She also felt good about showing Keir she wasn’t out for vengeance.

A new start.

Magic words.

She wasn’t going to do anything she didn’t want to do, but she saw no harm in giving Keir a chance.

He had earned it.

K
EIR
D
ELAHUNTY
finished signing the letters his secretary had brought him and handed her the sheaf of papers.

“Is everything all right?”

He glanced at Fay, surprised by her question. “Are you concerned about any of the letters?”

“No. Horses for courses. You looked so grim. I wondered…” She gave him a rueful smile. “Well, Mrs. Goodman sounded anxious when she called you.”

He sighed and leaned back in his chair, brooding over the note of fear in Rowena’s voice when she’d asked if Phil knew what had developed over Jamie. Was it fear of losing her home or fear that the door would be shut on any chance of Phil coming back to her? Did she still want him?

“It’s not an easy time for her,” he said.

Fay gave him her owl look. “It’s messy, Keir, with Phil working for you.”

“Don’t I know it,” he agreed, flicking her a derisive look for stating the obvious. “I’ve been considering what to say to him.”

“It’ll be blood on the floor,” Fay warned.

“Maybe. Maybe not. Either way, I will not have Rowena frightened,” he said decisively. “I’m going to straighten Phil out on that point.”

“Good for you,” Fay approved.

He gave her a wry smile. “Not much gets past you, does it, Fay?”

“Old eagle eye strikes again. If it’s not too much of an impertinence…” She paused, eyeing him warily.

“Go on.”

“Is Mrs. Goodman the reason you haven’t married?”

He nodded. He didn’t mind Fay knowing. She could be trusted, and in a way, it made his situation less lonely. “I’ve loved Rowena all my life,” he revealed. “But she’s been hurt, Fay. Badly hurt. Through no fault of her own.”

“It’s a hard road when someone’s been damaged, Keir,” Fay advised softly.

He frowned as he remembered the anguish in Rowena’s eyes yesterday, the tests of commitment she had thrown down as a challenge to his caring, her fear of him making more trouble for her and her children.

“Somehow I’ve got to fix it,” he said resolutely.

“I wish you luck.” She smiled. “I was impressed with Jamie. Your son?”

“Yes,” he acknowledged with pride. “How did you know?”

“Well, he’s not exactly a dead ringer in looks, but he gets a set expression on his face that is
pure you. When he declared he would wait all day if he had to…” She rolled her eyes.

He grinned, his heart lightening momentarily at the strength of character his son had displayed. “Persistence often pays off.”

“I hope it does for you this time,” Fay said sympathetically.

His grin turned lopsided. “It won’t be for want of trying.”

“You do have the boy on your side, Keir. That’s a big plus.”

“I’ve got to win Emily.”

“Who’s Emily?”

“Rowena’s older daughter. I haven’t met her yet. All going well, I shall tomorrow.”

Rowena had agreed to his plan for tomorrow, but Keir didn’t feel he could take it for granted.
Unless,
she had said. Unless what? Was she hoping, wanting Phil to call? Would she still accept a reconciliation at this point?

Over my dead body,
Keir thought grimly. To his mind, Phil had burnt his boats with his rejection of Jamie. Keir was not about to stand by and watch Rowena hurt any further, either.

He looked at his secretary, who was still hovering, and made his decision. “Call Phil up, Fay. I’ll talk to him now. It’s best done before the weekend.”

“Right!” She nodded agreement then waved a salute as she turned to go. “Battle stations at the ready.”

He stood and wandered down his office to the table at the far end. Rowena filled his mind. The way she had accepted his kiss yesterday, the bemused, almost hopeful look on her face as he had left her to start proving himself in her eyes. The attraction
was
still there. He was certain of it. The task was to build on it.

His instincts told him speed was critical to success. He had to block Phil out of her mind, fill it with thoughts of a different, happier, easier future. With him. Fay was right about Jamie being on his side. Keir foresaw no problem with Sarah. She was delightfully open. Emily, at five, could be a stumbling block. He would have to be very alert to Emily’s sensitivities.

He was pleased Rowena had refused the money for the children, though he wouldn’t have begrudged a cent of it. It showed a softening of her stance against him, a return of some faith in his word. He wanted to tell her about the photograph and how it had been used to crush his hopes and dreams, but he wasn’t sure she was ready to believe him yet. What if her parents denied showing him any such thing?

No, it was better to concentrate on a new start. Forget the past. It was gone. Rowena had different needs now, urgent needs, and he had to answer them. First and foremost was protection.

A knock on the door alerted Keir to Phil’s arrival. He swung around to face one of the most important diplomatic meetings he’d ever had to
deal with. He needed a win-win result to set the ground for the future he wanted.

“Keir, you just caught me. I was on my way out to lunch. Something urgent?” Phil asked, a tense edge to the bluff heartiness he was trying to project.

“Urgent and important. I’m sorry if I’ve inconvenienced you.”

“Not at all. Fire away.”

“Take a seat, Phil.”

Keir gestured to the chairs on the other side of the table and sat down himself, careful to avoid any suggestion of a superior position. Phil Goodman’s pride was very much at stake here. Keir knew he had to set the scene for a man-toman talk, removing any threat his employer status carried.

This had nothing to do with work. Phil had to be assured of that. He had to be left feeling comfortable, not ill-affected in any way by what Keir planned. In fact, the optimum result would be for Phil to feel advantaged by Keir’s stepping into the breach. It would prevent any negative fallout on Rowena.

Highly aware of the thin line he had to tread, Keir waited until Phil relaxed in his chair, then looked him straight in the eye and said, “I had a visit from your son, Jamie, yesterday. He informed me that I was his natural father. He gave me facts to substantiate his claim, and I have no doubt whatsoever that he is my child.”

Phil looked stunned. “Jamie came to you?”

“Yes.” Keir carefully kept his voice level and matter-of-fact. “I subsequently visited Rowena, who confirmed what Jamie told me. She was, however, extremely shocked and upset by his revelation. She had not intended me to know.”

Phil ruminated over that for several moments before asking, “How did Jamie find out?”

“He didn’t say. It came as a shock to me.”

Phil gave a nervous, derisive laugh. “And to me. I only found out myself the other night.”

Time for some judicious ego stroking, Keir thought. As much as he disliked any form of manipulation, he was prepared to use every tactical move he could think of to free Rowena from this man’s destructive capabilities.

“Jamie is a fine boy, Phil,” he said admiringly. “You’ve done a great job of bringing him up.”

“That’s mostly Rowena’s doing,” he conceded without thought. Then wryly, “She’s a good mother.”

“You were there for him. And you supported him. I can’t thank you enough for that. Rowena and I…we were separated by circumstances that I’d rather not go into.”

“I understand,” Phil put in hastily.

“But things change. As with your marriage. Sometimes a relationship doesn’t work out and it’s better to part and move on. People grow and want to take different directions. Is that how it is with you, Phil?”

He flushed but manfully replied, “Yes, it is.”

“These things happen. No one’s fault. But I find myself presented with a situation where a responsibility that should have been mine can very properly and appropriately be taken up by me.”

Keir paused. Phil’s expression had turned wary, uncertain, as though he sensed he was being pushed into a corner from where there was no exit. Keir pushed.

“
You
have shouldered that responsibility long enough, Phil. Do you mind if I take over Jamie’s care and support?”

He looked surprised, relieved. “No, that’s fine by me, Keir. He is, after all, your boy.”

“Thank you. I feel I’ve missed out on a good deal of Jamie’s life. I want to make up for it.”

“Yes. It’s a shame you were…well, left out. As I said before, I wasn’t aware you were Jamie’s father until a couple of nights ago, and I felt I had to respect Rowena’s decision not to tell you.”

Abrogation of responsibility complete. Keir hid his inner contempt. Although it suited him and it was what he wanted, Phil Goodman’s dumping of Jamie stirred an urge to smash his face in. Keir controlled the primitive reaction with some difficulty.

“Yes, after all, Rowena was left holding the baby,” he couldn’t resist saying, hating the fact that it was true of himself, but it was even more true of the man across the table from him. “I appreciate now that I let her down,” he continued,
concentrating on the next step. “I want to make up for that, too.”

A gleam of speculative interest. “What do you have in mind?” Phil was clearly fishing for what might be in it for him.

“Marriage, if she’ll have me.” Keir plunged straight in.

Phil’s mouth tightened. Anger flared in his eyes. He didn’t like it one bit that Rowena might end up winning more than he did.

Keir shifted it to a matter of principle. “It’s what I would have done had I known about her pregnancy with Jamie. Even though he’s ten years old now, I feel the same way about it.”

A nasty little smile tilted one corner of Phil’s mouth. “Very noble of you, Keir. I admire you for taking your responsibility so seriously. But man to man, you should get to know Rowena again first before proposing. She expects one hell of a lot from a man.”

And how many times did you let her down?
Keir thought caustically. “I did know Rowena for a long time,” he said, keeping his tone level and matter-of-fact.

“Knowing her and living with her are two different things,” Phil said, scoffing.

“I’m prepared to take my chances on that.”

“Your problem,” was the mocking concession.

Keir’s fingers began to clench into a fist. It took an act of will to relax them. For Rowena’s sake, he had to remain civilised. It was better that Phil vented his sour grapes on him, where it couldn’t
hurt. One day, Keir vowed, when he’d won the right to stand by Rowena’s side, Phil Goodman would get what was coming to him if he insulted Rowena again.

“Thank you for your advice, Phil,” he said, keeping the savage streak at bay. “I take it you don’t actually object to my marrying Rowena.”

He brooded over the proposition for several moments, not caring for it but having no reasonable grounds for objection. “The girls are mine,” he said possessively.

“No question. I respect that, Phil,” Keir soothed. “Do you intend to contest custody of them?”

“No.” He flushed again. “They’re better off with Rowena,” he added quickly. “I can’t recommend her as an understanding wife—” another spiteful stab “—but she is a good mother.”

“I thought she would be.”

“Of course, I’ll be paying maintenance for Emily and Sarah and I expect reasonable access.”

Putting a good face on it, Keir thought cynically. He was tempted to test the depth of Phil’s devotion to his daughters. “Should Rowena consent to marry me, Phil, I wouldn’t mind supporting them. You’ve supported Jamie all these years.”

“No, no, they’re my daughters,” he protested. “You didn’t know about Jamie.”

“I just feel I owe you so much.”

“I appreciate that, Keir.” He liked it, too. “As you remarked, these things happen.”

“They do indeed.”

And Keir wouldn’t be at all surprised if the maintenance payments and the paternal feeling wilted away as time went on. Especially if Adriana Leigh had her way. That calculating lady didn’t have a maternal bone in her body, and she wouldn’t take kindly to the money going out instead of coming in.

Rowena was right not to trust her ex-husband. Phil Goodman was looking for ways out. Keir instinctively increased the carrot.

“You’re a generous man, Phil. I understand you’re leaving Rowena the family home.”

“It’s for the family,” he agreed, then had quick second thoughts. “Though should Rowena remarry and the house is sold, the proceeds of the sale would be divided between us.”

“That would certainly happen if I can persuade Rowena to marry me,” Keir assured him. “As far as I’m concerned, you could have all the proceeds, but Rowena might feel entitled to half.”

Phil’s mouth curved into a self-satisfied little smile. “I wish you, luck, Keir. Rowena couldn’t do better than you.”

“That’s big of you.” It was worth the pay-off to get him off Rowena’s back. “I hope you’ll be happy with your decisions. I thought it better to have all this out in the open so everyone knows where they stand.”

“Good idea.” Warmly approved.

“Well, I won’t hold you up from your lunch any longer.”

Keir stood and offered his hand. Phil Goodman rose and gripped it.

Deal done.

Keir watched him leave, savagely wishing it was the last he ever had to see of Phil Goodman, but he knew he had to live with his presence for a while. Alienating the man would inevitably rebound on Rowena and her children.

He wondered how Rowena could have been so deceived about the character of the man she had married.

The need to feel loved, he decided. The words she had hurled at him echoed painfully through his mind.
He gave me what you didn’t give.

It ill behove him to forget that. Besides, Phil could look good and sound good, and he
was
good at his job. Keir had chosen to employ him. Rowena had chosen to marry him. But for Phil Goodman, they might never have met again, might never have had a second chance to come together. That was a sobering truth.

Could love rise out of hurt?

Tomorrow, Keir thought. Tomorrow he had to get everything right for Rowena. And give her all that she needed to be given. He must not fail her this time. His second chance was, in all probability, his last chance.