The Return of Brody McBride (34 page)

“God, she’s more beautiful now than she was back then.”

He leered at her from top to bottom, the look on his face making it clear he found her lacking.

“The two of you looked real cozy after the softball game Saturday. Hard to believe your precious Rain would forgive you for leaving her behind pregnant.”

So, she’d been in town long enough to spy on them. He wondered what else she’d been doing, or watching them do.

“She’s got a big heart.”

“I’ll just bet she jumped at the chance to forgive you,” Roxy said, baiting him.

Eyes narrowed, he replied, “She loves me more than I deserve.”

“Yeah, sure. Your company has nothing to do with it.”

“You know about that, too.”

“Even I read the paper.”

Brody bet she’d heard the news from someone in town. She wasn’t one to watch the news, let alone read the paper.

He sat on the corner of the desk, crossed his arms over his chest, and faced off with her. “How’s Vegas?”

“Expensive.”

“Especially when you’ve got a boyfriend with a gambling habit, and you both have an aversion to steady work.”

“You’ve done your homework.” She took the chair in front of him, her thigh brushing against his leg.

He stood and moved away, looking at some of the open files and papers on the desk. A couple of her suppliers’ bills were past due. Her liquor license was up for renewal in a couple months. Interesting.

“Know your enemy,” he said vaguely.

“I’m not your enemy,” she said, her voice husky. “Well, I don’t have to be.”

“Let’s cut the crap, Roxy. I don’t want you as an enemy. I don’t want you in my life, or Autumn’s. What do you want?” He enunciated each word to let her know he meant business.

“I want to take Autumn back to Vegas with me. You’ll pay me child support, and you can visit her any time you like.”

“Not going to happen.”

“Why not? I’m her mother.”

“You were an incubator. You don’t want to be a mother to her.”

“That’s not true. I never got to be a mother to her.”

“Because you sold her. You threatened to end the pregnancy and kill her. You kidnapped her and threw her in a closet. You scared and tortured a three-year-old little girl. The child you gave birth to,” he growled.

He stood over her, his face inches from hers. Her eyes were wide, her mouth slightly open. He stood up tall again and took a breath.

“Autumn isn’t going anywhere with you. She stays with her mother.”

“I’m her mother,” Roxy spat out.

“Rain is the only mother she knows. She’s the only mother Autumn will ever know.”

“You can’t keep me from her.”

“Yes, I can. I will. Nothing is more important to me than the happiness, safety, and protection of my family.”

“I gave birth to your child. You owe me.”

“Rain paid you sixty-eight thousand dollars. She’s paid to raise Autumn all by herself. You never gave her a dime for food, clothes, her medical and dental expenses, the roof over her head, softball uniforms, birthday and Christmas gifts . . .”

“You didn’t either.”

“I didn’t know I had any children.”

“I’ll bet you gave Rain a fat paycheck.”

“I owed her child support for seven years. Any court would have made me pay.”

“I guess I’ll have to take you to court then.”

“For what? I don’t owe you child support. You didn’t raise my daughter.”

“A judge will give me custody. I’m her mother.”

“How will that play out? Will you walk into court and ask a judge for custody after what you did? How will you explain selling Autumn to Rain?”

“I don’t have to. She paid me in cash. No records.”

“Do you think a judge will take your word over Rain’s when she raised Autumn for the last seven years? You never made a single phone call to check on Autumn. Not for a birthday or holiday. You never took her to her first day of school, or picked her up when she was sick. You never sent her a gift, or even a letter. You never sent any child support. Rain can prove she’s been with Autumn for everything. She’s got albums of pictures. She has receipts for everything she’s bought for her. She has an entire town who knows what you did and what it’s taken for Rain to raise those girls on her own.”

“A judge will side with me because I’m her biological mother. The courts favor the biological parent.”

“No way in hell will I ever let that happen. If you take her to court for custody, I have no doubt Autumn will tell the judge she wants to stay with her mother. If that isn’t enough, you can bet I’ll walk into court with as much evidence as I can dig up on you to prove what an unfit mother you are. I’ll parade in half the male population of this town as character witnesses, maybe even some of their ex-wives. How many homes have you broken up over the years?”

“You can’t do that.”

“I can, and I will. I’ll do whatever it takes to keep you from being within a hundred miles of Autumn. She didn’t speak for over a month the last time you took her. She’s been terrified the last few weeks thinking you’re coming back to steal her from her family. You think I’d risk her health and safety again? Never.

“Quit bullshitting me. You don’t want anything to do with Autumn. She’s just a means to an end. Always has been to you. How much do you want?”

“Just like that,” she said, not believing he’d make things so easy.

Tired of playing games and dealing with her, he wanted to finish this. Quick.

“Name your price.”

“A million dollars.”

He laughed outright. “Not going to happen.”

“Why not? You own a company.”

She didn’t know how much he was worth. She only knew what she’d learned from the Internet probably. The company was privately held, so she couldn’t get all the financial information. He downplayed his role.

“I own a small part of the company. You’re asking for what I don’t have. I’ll give you twenty thousand cash.”

“That’s a drop in the bucket. I’d get more in child support.”

“Keep up. You’d never get custody, and you know it.”

“I know you’ve got money. Look at the place you’re building out at the ranch. New stables and buying horses, those things take serious money.”

“Exactly. I’ve tied up what I have in the house and ranch.”

“For her. So, she’ll finally have everything. You, the kids, the big house, and all your money. It’s the only reason she’d take you back after sleeping with me.”

He didn’t believe that for a second. Rain loved him. Enough to forgive him and want to make a life with him.

Not giving anything away and allowing Roxy to believe Rain was using him, he only shrugged. “Face it, you’ll never have what Rain has. You don’t even want the same things.”

“Half a million.” She threw out the figure, hoping he’d bite.

“Fifty. Cash.”

“Brody.” She pouted, frustrated he wouldn’t just give her what she wanted.

“You don’t have a leg to stand on. I’m offering you enough money to pay off your bills,” he said, indicating the stack of papers perfectly visible on the desk. “You’ll have enough left over to live a few months.”

“It isn’t enough, you bastard. I have things to take care of in Vegas. Plans.”

A flash of desperation crossed her eyes. Problems were waiting for her in Vegas. Probably an unhealthy dose of trouble, too.

“One hundred grand. Cash.”

Her eyes lit up a bit at that figure.

“For that kind of money, you’ll sign off on your parental rights, and you’ll stay away from Autumn.”

She opened her mouth to ask for more, but he cut her off. “That’s my final offer.”

With a feral smile, her sharp mind latched on to the one thing she could use to get what she wanted.

“You want me to sign something giving Autumn up for good?”

“You gave her up more than seven years ago. This will make it official, you’ll have no rights to Autumn.”

“Maybe going to court would better serve me.”

“Try it. You don’t have the money it will take to go up against me. Take Rain out of the picture entirely. I’m a war hero and a businessman. Autumn is living with me. Who do you think the judge will choose? You or me?”

Her eyes narrowed as she thought about it.

“When I marry Rain, we’ll be a family. Do you think the judge will choose to send Autumn with you, a single mother with no job or means of supporting her, or keep her with the only family she knows? She’d have a mother and a father, plus a sister.”

“Why do you have to be such an asshole?”

“It serves me,” he said, using her words. Roxy was all about serving herself and leaving others to starve. “Take the offer. Take us to court, piss me off, you’ll get nothing.”

“Fine. How soon can you have my money?”

“Since it’s after five and the bank is closed, tomorrow morning. First thing.”

“I’m busy tomorrow. The day after,” she suggested.

“Tomorrow. I want this done.”

“I have something I need to do. The day after.”

He didn’t know why she’d stall on getting her money, but he’d go with what she wanted if it got him what he wanted.

“Fine. You’ll sign the papers, or you won’t see a dime. Clear?”

“Crystal.”

He walked out of the office, Roxy on his heels. “That’s it,” she said.

He turned back and glared. “Day after tomorrow we’ll meet. You’ll get what you want and I’ll get what I want. After that, I don’t ever want to see you again.”

“Is being around me too much of a temptation?”

“Don’t push me,” he said, knowing full well everyone was listening to them. “You won’t like the outcome. You’ll lose what little you’ve gained from me.”

She crossed her arms and glared at him. Apparently, she didn’t believe him. He had one last card to play. He walked to her and stood toe-to-toe. In a low voice, he threatened, “If you play any more games with me, I’ll put Rain and the children on a plane and we’ll leave the country. My company does business all over the world. We can be gone in a matter of hours and there’s nothing you can do to stop me.”

Her eyes showed him she understood. Leaving was the last resort. Rain would agree to keep Autumn safe. She’d always wanted to travel. They could settle in another country as well as they could on Clear Water Ranch.

He turned on his heel and walked out. Every eye in the place on his back. Just before exiting the door, he caught a glimpse of a man sitting in a booth. Pure hate and rage shown in his eyes. His hands fisted on the table. Roxy’s boyfriend. Another player in this strange game.

Another threat.

Chapter Twenty-Eight

B
RODY WORRIED ON
the way home. Roxy was unpredictable at best. Toss in a boyfriend feeding her impulsive, volatile ways and it could spell more trouble. The last thing he wanted.

He made a couple of pit stops on the way home and walked in the door carrying two bags and a bouquet of flowers. The girls were on the couch watching a movie.

“Dad!” they yelled when he came in the door. They both ran to him, throwing their arms around his legs and hugging him.

“Hey, you two. Did you have a good day at school?”

“Yeah,” Dawn answered.

Autumn didn’t respond. He set the bags down and picked her up, handing her the flowers. “Want to give those to Mom for me?”

“Okay.”

“Don’t worry, baby girl. Your mom and I will talk to your teacher tomorrow. She’ll understand why you’ve been upset.”

“Did you see her?”

“Yes.”

“Is she coming here?”

“No. She’ll leave real soon.”

“Promise.”

“Yes, honey. I won’t let anything happen to you.”

Rain appeared in the entry from the kitchen. She leaned her shoulder against the doorframe and stared at him. Her eyes spoke volumes. Fear, reservations, resignation, relief at seeing him. He didn’t know which to address first, so he walked to her with Autumn in his arms. She immediately handed Rain the flowers. He kissed Autumn’s cheek and set her down. His hands reached out for Rain, and she moved toward him. He kissed her, buried his hands in her hair and tilted her head back so he could take the kiss deeper, the scent of roses surrounding them.

“They’re kissing again,” Dawn said from behind him.

Smiling against her mouth, he opened his eyes to the laughter in hers. “I missed you today.”

“You saw me this morning.”

“I miss you whenever you’re not with me.”

“Brody.” She took a second to look down at the roses. “What are the flowers for?”

“You. I’m so lucky to have you in my life, Rain. You’re so beautiful, and you have the biggest, best heart. You’ve had a hard couple of weeks, you’re tired and worried about this situation and how it’s affecting Autumn. You do everything for all of us, and I haven’t spent nearly enough time making things easier for you.”

“Everything went well?”

He hated her suspicions, but deserved them after what he’d done in the past. Meeting Roxy without her stirred up old wounds and hurt feelings again.

“I think I got what we wanted. We’ll see in a couple of days. I’ll tell you all about it after dinner and when the girls are occupied.”

“You’re angry,” she said, the flowers held in front her.

He shook his head that he wasn’t, but she added, “You took two full steps away from me and stuffed your hands in your back pockets. If that doesn’t say you’re pissed, I don’t know what does.”

He stalked her as she backed away from him. He came through the kitchen entry. Owen sat at the table reading over some papers. “Get out,” he said between clenched teeth. Owen read his mood and tone, stood and left without a word.

Rain’s back hit the counter. He grabbed the flowers out of her hands and tossed them aside. Planting his hands on the counter at her sides, he leaned over and looked her in the eyes.

“Brody, I—”

“My turn.” He cut her off. “I’m not mad at you. I’ve had one hell of a day. I have a pounding headache.”

“I’ll get you some ibuprofen.”

She tried to move past him, but he kept his arms caged around her, leaving her nowhere to go.

“I don’t want you to get me anything. If I want something, I can get it myself. I want you to relax, take a break from taking care of everyone but yourself. I feel like I’ve done pretty well with the girls. I help them with their homework, have even put them to bed a few nights for you. We’re getting closer, they treat me like I’ve been the dad in the house all this time, not like a stranger anymore. You and I share the same house and bed. We’ve mended fences, but I’m sorely lacking in the taking-care-of-you department. You’re always there for me, day and night. I need you so damn much, I forget you need me, too.”