Beverly Jenkins (6 page)

The driver didn’t know.

Anxiety took hold. Every ounce of her being screamed turn around and flee, but she held on to her resolve. No matter what she might find inside the Yates home, it paled in the face of being confronted by Prince DuChance and his knife. By now, he probably knew she and the baby had taken off. She prayed he hadn’t take his fury out on Addy.

The driver left her at the front door and went on his way. Billie drew in a deep steadying breath and with the baby awake and peering around curiously from his perch in one arm, she used her free hand on the door pull. A red-haired white woman dressed in the black-and-white livery of service answered the summons. “May I help you?”

Another steadying breath was drawn in. “I’m here to see Mr. Yates.”

The woman scanned her slowly, taking in her well-worn dress and wrinkled cape. “Which one?”

She and Drew had never discussed his family, so she had no idea how many other male Yateses there might be. “Drew.”

Tonio was doing his best to get out of her arms and down to his feet, but she held him close. The woman eyed the baby silently. “Wait here.”

She disappeared.

Standing on the porch, Billie gave Tonio a kiss on his cheek. “Thank you for being such a good boy.” The laughing voices of people having a good time came to her with more clarity. Once again she wondered what was being celebrated but the speculating vanished with the return of the servant and a richly dressed woman in a blue gown. Her face, framed by drawn-back, jet-black hair, bore a strong resemblance to Drew. There was gold around her neck and matching earbobs adorning her lobes.

“Hello. I’m Alanza Yates. Bonnie says you wished to speak with my son. I’m afraid he’s unavailable at the moment. Is there something I might help you with?” Her gaze brushed Tonio before moving back to Billie.

Billie wondered how to explain her reasoning for showing up on this beautiful wealthy woman’s doorstep unannounced, an explanation the lady seemed to be waiting for, but there was no easy way to go about it, so she went with the truth. “My name’s Billie Wells and this is Drew’s son.”

The woman looked so shocked, Billie thought she just might swoon. “I beg your pardon for showing up this way, but the baby and I need Drew’s help. We’re in sort of a pickle.”

Billie prepared herself to argue her way inside, but the woman stepped back so she and Tonio could enter.

Her eyes swept over the baby again. In turn she received a shy smile but she didn’t offer one of her own. She gestured to one of the fine chairs. “Have a seat. Bonnie, would you ask Drew to come inside for a moment please.”

The servant exited.

Seated, Billie tried not to squirm in response to the uneasiness churning inside.

“Where did you and my son meet?”

“San Francisco. I’m a whore, ma’am.” The way the woman stiffened made Billie whisper, “I’m sorry.” Not because she was ashamed of what she was but because of what the revelation must be doing to such a woman of quality.

To escape the show of distress, she put Tonio on his feet. His hand-me-down clothes weren’t the best but they were clean. He made a move to take off, but she placed a gently restraining hand on his little chubby arm, which he didn’t care for and strained against to escape.

“You can let him go. It’s all right,” Drew’s mother offered quietly.

Free, he took a few steps away from Billie and paused a moment to survey the surroundings. Billie worried that he’d somehow find a way to break all the beautiful costly-looking vases and other ornamental touches in the room, because that’s what he did best, but he seemed content to stare around. From beneath her lashes, she spied Drew’s mother watching him intently. For a woman who’d been shocked out of her bustle she seemed to be holding up well.

Drew entered and his first glance was for his mother—“Bonnie said you wanted to . . .” Upon seeing Billie his words faded, his eyes widened, and confusion claimed his handsome features. Hair tied back, he was formally dressed in a black suit of Spanish design worn over a snow-white shirt with ruffles over the buttons. “Billie?”

“Yep. It’s me.”

He then eyed the baby and appeared even more confused. “What are you doing here?”

“I’ve already apologized to your mother for dropping in like this but I didn’t have a choice. This is your son.”

“What!” He eyed the baby before pinning her with startled and then angry eyes, but she didn’t quake. Her son’s well-being depended on how this played out and she refused to show fear. “He’s a year old and his name’s Antonio Andrew.”

For a few seconds he appeared to be speechless. When he finally found his voice it was accusing. “When I saw you on the wharf, you said you didn’t know who the father was. And now you show up here and expect me to believe he’s mine!”

“It’s not about what you believe Drew. It’s the truth!”

“A truth you can’t prove, I’m betting.”

“How much money you got?”

His mother sat up straighter.

Billie supposed he had every right to be upset, and she should’ve let the sarcasm roll off her back like water off a duck, but if he wanted proof, she’d give him proof.

While the Yateses looked on, Billie hunkered down beside her son and raised the hem of his jumper. She turned him so they could see his bare back. Drew’s mother drew in an audible breath of shock and whispered, “
Dios!
”

Drew’s face grew stormier. He walked over and rubbed at the spot with his thumb as if it might be something she’d placed there in ink.

“It’s real. I might be a whore, but I’m not a conniving one. The baby’s yours.”

He glared. “How much?”

They were interrupted by a woman so small and beautiful, Billie thought she could have been a fairy princess. From the expensive slippers and gold gown to her rose-tipped nails and exquisite face, she exuded everything Billie would never be. “
Novio,
our guests are beginning to worry.” She noticed Billie and paused. “Oh, I didn’t know you had a visitor. I’m Rosaline.”

“I’m Billie. Nice to meet you.”

“Rosaline’s my fiancée,” Drew informed her flatly.

“She’s very beautiful. Congratulations.”

The young woman’s attention shifted to the baby, who stared up as if as impressed by her beauty as his mother. “And who is this handsome little one?” she asked leaning down to his level.

“My son,” Billie replied.

Tonio smiled and tried to grab her necklace. Billie went over and picked him up before he could cause any major damage.

“How old?” she asked and stroked his cheek.

“Just turned a year old.” Billie didn’t dare look at Drew.

But Drew had apparently had enough and the look on his face must have given him away, because Rosaline asked with concern, “Is everything all right?”

He took her hands in his and kissed the rosy tips. “Yes, my love. Just a bit of business. Nothing to concern yourself with. I’ll be right out.”

Billie looked away only to be ensnared by his mother’s cool scrutiny. What she might be thinking, Billie couldn’t tell, but hoped her own feelings were equally masked.

Billie heard the fiancée say to Drew, “I’m holding you to that.” She then directed parting words at Billie. “Nice meeting you and your son.”

“Nice meeting you, too.”

With a rustle of silk she was gone.

Drew didn’t waste any time getting back to the matter at hand. “So how much is this little surprise going to cost me?”

“Train fare to Chicago, but just for me.” She was about to step into the deepest part of these troubled waters and prayed she didn’t drown.

“What do you mean, just for you? What about him?”

“I’m leaving him here.”

She saw his mother’s eyes widen and flash to the child squirming in her arms.

“How long?”

“Forever.”

“The hell you are!”

“I have to!”

“What kind of game are you playing here, Billie?”

“This isn’t a game and if you’d shut up long enough to let me explain, you’ll see why.”

He was furious and she wasn’t experiencing much calm herself.

“Then spit it out.”

So she told him about her pregnancy and the deal she’d made with the DuChances.

“And you agreed?” he asked, sounding incredulous.

“Yes, because I had no idea I’d love him from the moment he was placed in my arms. Up until then he was just an ‘it.’ ” She looked down at her son seated at her feet, gnawing on the cloth doll Addy’d made for him months ago and her love filled her heart. “I didn’t want to let him go. I couldn’t.”

She saw sadness cloud his mother’s eyes.

His angry voice brought her back to the matter at hand. “Do you know who Prince planned to sell him to?”

She shook her head. “I do know he’s going to come after us, and if I leave Tonio here with you, he’ll be safe. If I can disappear back East, maybe Prince will give up looking for me. If he doesn’t and finds me, at least he can’t harm the baby.”

He sighed heavily. “I have guests to see to. We’ll have to finish this up later.” And he left her standing in the middle of the room.

She looked over at his mother. “Again, I’m sorry for bringing this here.”

“Sounds as if you had little choice. Come, you and the baby can stay here for now. Have you eaten?”

“Not in a while.”

“Then let’s get you settled. I’ll send Bonnie in to help you so that I can go back to my guests. We’ll hash this out later.”

“Thank you. May I ask what you’re celebrating?”

“Drew and Rosaline’s engagement.”

“Oh.” Hearing that made her feel even more like an interloper, if that was possible. She wanted to apologize a hundred times more, but sat instead to wait for Bonnie.

Chapter 7

D
rew spent the remaining two hours of the celebration pretending as if all were well. His life had been pushed off a mountaintop, but with Rosaline on his arm, he continued to accept the good wishes and toasts raised in his honor by the wealth of relatives in attendance, he stopped to watch his male cousins compete against each other in dominoes, chatted with some of his uncles and heard the music provided by the small army of hired musicians.

“This is wonderful, Drew,” Rosaline said to him. “I like your family.”

“And they like you.”

One of his great-aunts dragged him to her and planted a kiss on his cheek. In Spanish she gushed about her happiness for them and the beautiful babies he and Rosaline would have, which of course brought to mind the child inside the house. All he could do was smile until his jaws ached.

“Did you get the business taken care of?” Rosaline asked, gazing up at him as they moved on.

“Mostly, yes.”

“He’s a beautiful little boy.”

He nodded his agreement but chose to change the subject. “Would you like more punch or more to eat?”

“No. I’m stuffed.”

He glanced up to find his mother watching him from across the patio. It was easy to tell that she was thinking about the drama surrounding Billie and the child. One of her cousins approached, and as they began speaking, she turned away and he continued his promenade with his
novia
.

“You were gone for quite some time,” Senora Ruiz pointed out when he and Rosaline returned to her side. “Rosaline said you were conducting some business.”

“I was. My apologies for my absence.”

“Business with a woman and her child.”

He stiffened. He supposed he shouldn’t’ve been surprised that Rosaline had shared the news about meeting Billie. “It was.”

Senora Ruiz in her black dress and matching mantilla stood out from the rest of the gaily attired guests like a pale-faced crow in a row of peacocks. She’d chosen to sit away from the center of things as if his fun-loving, sangria-sipping relatives might have some type of contagion she wished to avoid contracting. That she wanted to interrogate him was easy to sense, but he had no intentions of telling her anything until he was ready to do so, though he knew he’d have to tell her and Rosaline everything eventually. Lying might be an option for some men, but not for him.

“Would you like something else to eat or to sip on, Senora Ruiz?”

“No.”

He turned to the duenna, who he’d come to like very much. “How about you, Senora Martinez?”

She shook her head.

He bowed. “Then Rosaline and I will see to our guests and return shortly.”

Senora Ruiz offered a terse acknowledgment and he squired Rosaline away, vividly aware of the hostile eyes boring into his back.

L
ater, Drew and Rosaline said their good-byes to their guests. The three-day celebration had come to an end and everyone would be returning home, if not that evening, then in the morning. On the day she arrived, Senora Ruiz made it clear that she and her contingent preferred not to be housed in Alanza’s home, so they’d been offered Logan’s home instead. He and Mariah and their year-old daughter, Maria, were back East visiting Mariah’s aunt. The arrangement worked perfectly because Alanza didn’t care for Emmalina Ruiz any more than Emmalina cared for Alanza.

But before driving Rosaline and her mother back to Logan’s, Drew invited them to join him in the parlor. Alanza entered and took a seat as well.

“What is this about?” Senora Ruiz asked suspiciously.

“The business that took me away from the guests earlier this evening.”

“The woman and the child?”

“Yes. I’ll be honest. The child is mine. I had no idea he’d been born until he and his mother arrived this evening.”

Rosaline looked stricken and her eyes, searching his, reflected shock. Her mother’s lips curled. “So, you’ve sired a bastard.”

Alanza’s face tightened angrily.

“The child is mine,” was his reply.

“You father a bastard and expect my Rosaline to do what?” Emmalina demanded caustically to know.

“That’s up to Rosa. I will tell you that none of this changes how I feel about her. The baby’s mother and I will work out an agreement as to his care because that is the honorable thing to do.”

“Honor?” Emmalina Ruiz snorted angrily. “You talk to me of honor!”

Drew wanted Rosaline to say something, anything. Instead she sat staring off into the distance, tears coursing down her cheeks. “Rosa?”

“Don’t speak to him,” her mother warned angrily. “Don’t even look at him. The engagement is dissolved. There will be no wedding. Please make arrangements to get us back to your brother’s home and then to the station in the morning. You are never to come near her again.”

His fury masked behind his manners, he inclined his agreement. “I’ll get the coach.” As he made his exit, the beautiful woman who until a few minutes ago had been his
novia
silently wept.

I
n the grim afterwards, Drew sat sprawled in a chair in the parlor while his silent mother looked on. He wondered how long it would take for him to get stinking drunk. He was broken and angry; angry at Billie and the baby, angry at Emmalina and his spineless
novia
, but mostly angry at himself for being so cavalier about sowing his oats he hadn’t spared a thought to what might occur if his chickens came home to roost. What a mess he’d made of things. He’d been unfair to Rosaline, thinking of her as spineless. Although he’d wanted her to push back against her mother’s authority she hadn’t been raised to do so. More than likely she’d never escape her mother’s rabid clutches now. Consuela opined that Rosa would learn a lot at the feet of his own mother, Alanza, but that would never come to be. He glanced over and saw sadness mirrored in her eyes.

“Save your pity, Mama. It’s all my fault.”

“I know, but I still feel your pain.”

“Always count on family for the truth,” he replied with a bitter smile.

“Glad you can smile.”

“What’s the alternative?” In reality there was none.

“Do you want me to let the family know the wedding is off?”

“That’s probably something I should do. Not sure how though.” He could only imagine the gossip that would result and he felt sorrier for Rosaline because she would undoubtedly have to bear the brunt of it.

“A simple note should suffice, but if you don’t mind, I’ll go ahead and tell the ones still here.”

He nodded. He found himself wishing Logan were home so he’d have someone to talk to. “Did Billie say where she was staying?”

“She and the baby are upstairs.”

He swung sharp eyes her way.

“Should I have offered them the floor of the barn, perhaps?”

He exhaled a breath of surrender. “No.”

“What did you think of her story? Would this DuChance really harm her and the child?”

He nodded and told her about meeting Prince in the alley.

“And his mother was Billie’s—madam?”

“Yes.” His mind wandered back to the first time he saw Billie in that window. He forced the vision aside and stood.

“What are you going to do?”

“Grab a large bottle of tequila and get myself very, very drunk.”

“Drew.”

He walked over and placed a kiss on her cheek, and said quietly, “I’m sorry for bringing this to your door.”

“Apology accepted but unneeded.”

“Thank you. Maybe when I wake up, it’ll all have been a bad dream. Good night, Mama. I’ll see you in the morning.” And he strode from the room.

In the silence following his exit, Alanza reflected on the shocking turn of events. To have a woman appear out of the blue claiming to be the mother of her son’s child and then offer such startling proof still made her heart race. Even without the birthmark the baby looked enough like Drew as a toddler to have been his twin. In her heart of hearts, and between her and God, she wasn’t sorry about the cancelation of his marriage, although she’d never admit as much to Drew. Maybe if Rosaline’d had a different mother she would have seen the potential for a happy, lifelong union, but with Emmalina in the picture, she’d envisioned nothing but endless interference, and Drew forced to bite his tongue until it bled.

And now, waiting upstairs was a decidedly unconventional woman and Alanza’s grandson. She shook her head, and again whispered softly, “Dios.”

I
n a shadow-filled room lit softly by a single turned-down lamp, Billie sat in an old wooden rocker putting Tonio to sleep. He was at the age now where more often than not, she would tuck him in, place a kiss on his cheek, and he’d drift off into dreamland on his own, but that evening, rocking him and having him close made the world a better place. Watching him sleep banished the reality that they had no home and that a man who’d pledged to kill them both was undoubtedly trying to pick up their trail. Moving her eyes over his smooth little face helped her temporarily forget about the forthcoming battle with Drew and his upcoming marriage. Nothing mattered there and then but her love for her child, who in the morning would awaken as he did each day at sunrise and hit the ground running as if he’d spent all night winding himself up so he’d be raring to go. What might he be like when he turned six, or when he grew into a man like his father and married his own fairy princess? She didn’t know. What she did know was that she loved him with every breath she drew and that it made her feel beautiful inside.

She looked up and saw Drew’s mother framed in the half-lit doorway. She stood there as if waiting for permission to enter, so Billie said softly, “Come on in. He’s asleep.”

She crossed to Billie’s side and peered down at the boy in her arms. “Babies are God’s greatest creation,” she said. .

“I think so, too.”

For a few moments they studied him silently.

“He looks just like Drew at that age.”

“Really?”

“Yes.”

Billie’s eyes moved to the beautiful crib Bonnie rolled in earlier. “Is it really okay for me to put him in the crib over there? Bonnie said it was, but I want to make sure.”

“It is.”

“Let me put him down then. He’s getting heavy.”

Billie laid him gently in the crib and covered him with the soft blanket inside. Bending down she gave him his last kiss of the day and trailed a finger down his cheek in parting. “Sweet dreams, Tonio.”

Alanza could almost reach out and touch the love the young woman held for her son; it felt that palpable. There was no doubt in her mind that if the baby were indeed left in Drew’s care, she’d grieve for the rest of her life.

“Thank you for allowing us to spend the night here, because I know you didn’t have to,” she voiced quietly.

“You’re welcome.”

“And I didn’t come here to force Drew to pay me money. I just want my son to be safe and have the life I know I can’t provide. If he can live here and have that . . .” She looked away as if overcome.

The honesty pulled at Alanza’s heartstrings.

“I know I’m not the kind of woman you’d pick as the mother of your grandchild or even want in your home, but if Drew and I can agree, I promise to never bother him or your family ever again.”

Emotions rising, Alanza said simply, “Get some rest. You and Drew can talk this out in the morning.”

The young woman nodded. “Thank you again.”

Alanza took one last look at the sleeping child and slipped out.

Too wound up to sleep, Alanza grabbed a heavy cloak and stepped outside. Sitting out on the patio in the chilly darkness with the moon and stars overhead, she wondered what the future held. Billie was correct. No woman of good family wanted a whore as the mother of her grandchild; just the thought of it made Alanza recoil, but the reality couldn’t be changed. Couple that with the threat posed by the man called DuChance and it made the situation even more complicated. She had no idea what Drew planned, but she wanted what was best for the child. Alanza took her devotion to the church and its sacraments seriously. She didn’t take her piety to the extremes like the unpleasant Emmalina Ruiz, but she truly believed in the edicts laid down by the Pope, and knowing the soul of her grandson would be in jeopardy for eternity due to his out-of-wedlock birth was disturbing.

The sound of an approaching rider broke her reverie. She assumed it was Drew returning, but instead Max Rudd walked out of the darkness.

“Evening, Lanz.”

The smile in her heart showed itself on her face. “Evening. All done with that house over in Stockton?”

He sat. “Yep. Thought I’d come and let you know I was back.”

“Good to see you.”

“How’d the engagement party turn out?”

The question brought back her troubled thoughts. “Disastrous.”

“What happened?”

So she told him.

For a second he seemed speechless. “That’s pretty incredible. The girl’s a whore?”

She sighed audibly. “Yes. Emmalina hauled her daughter away so quickly you’d have thought her hair was on fire.”

“Where’s Drew now?”

“Somewhere getting drunk.”

“Can’t blame him.”

She didn’t condone the behavior but she understood. “Billie and the baby are upstairs. Max, he looks so much like Drew there’s no way he isn’t the father. The birthmark simply sealed the matter.”

Max reached out and covered her folded hands resting on the tabletop. “How’re you holding up?”

“Better than I should, probably, but worried about what’s going to happen tomorrow when Drew and Billie try to strike an agreement.”

“It’ll work out.”

“I hope so. I really do.”

She looked into the face of the man she knew she loved but wouldn’t admit aloud for her own convoluted reasons. “Glad you’re back.”

“Hate to pile on when you got so much on your mind, but when are you going to marry me, woman?”

She drew her hands away sharply from his warm hold.

“Tired of being put off, Lanza. If you had a real reason, I’d understand, but you don’t.”

“So now, you’re a mind reader as well?”

“Nope. Just in love with a stubborn, hardheaded woman.”

She knew how much he enjoyed needling her and she was certain he could see the tight set of her chin even in the shadows.