Stormy Vows/Tempest at Sea (14 page)

seven

BRENNA ENTERED THE COTTAGE AND CLOSED
the door with a sigh of relief. Until this minute, she hadn't been sure that Donovan would really leave. She felt a trace of surprise that he had left without an argument, and she knew she had not seen the last of him this evening. But he was at least giving her the breathing space she needed badly. There was so little time before she had to meet Chadeaux.

Why did he want to see her after all this time, she wondered frantically. In the first wild bitterness after Janine's tragic death, Brenna had wanted to confront Chadeaux with his guilt, but she had refrained for Janine's sake. Janine had been so fanatically opposed to Randy having anything to do with his father, that Brenna had felt any contact with Chadeaux would be a betrayal of trust.

She cynically discarded the idea that Chadeaux may have discovered paternal feelings at this late date. He had been too eager in his insistence that Janine have an abortion, and too brutal in his rejection of both her and the baby, when he had thought that there might be repercussions from their affair.

Her mind raced wildly in circles, trying to find an answer and finally giving up in despair. She would have to wait for the meeting with Chadeaux. But whatever he wanted, he would not
find her as easy to deal with as Janine, she resolved with unaccustomed hardness.

Brenna marched decisively into the bedroom, and threw open the closet door. The first order of business was to convince Chadeaux that he was not dealing with a naïve youngster but a sophisticated adult.

Forty-five minutes later she looked with approval at the reflection in the mirror. The pink, sleeveless
cheongsam
with it's high mandarin collar and the stylish slits on each side of the skirt gave her just the air of worldliness she desired. She had brushed out the childish braids and piled her hair on top of her head, leaving several wispy strands to curl around her face alluringly, and the dashing gold earrings were definitely not for the nursery set. She had used more makeup than usual, and her doe eyes appeared enormous in the perfect oval of her face. She slipped on bone high-heeled sandals, with a hurried look at the clock on the bedside table. It was almost eight, she noticed with panic. Not that time had ever meant anything to Paul Chadeaux. One of the things that had most annoyed her about Chadeaux, when he was dating her sister, was his constant and discourteous tardiness. He clearly had not reformed in that respect, for it was almost eight-fifteen before there was a knock at the door.

When Brenna opened the door, she experienced a small shock. Her hatred and disgust for Paul Chadeaux were such that she had expected the marks of guilt and weakness to be reflected on his face. Instead, he looked the same as on that first day Janine had introduced her to him. The same carefully styled blond hair and rather expressionless gray eyes, the same aristocratic features and full sensual lips curved now in a mocking smile. He had always dressed rather formally, and that, too, had not changed. The steel gray business suit was faultlessly tailored to flatter his tall, lean frame.

His gray eyes roved over her with insulting intimacy. “Well, well,” he drawled softly. “Little sister has grown up, and very
nicely, too. I'd hardly recognize you as the skinny kid that used to stare at me so antagonistically with those big brown eyes.”

Her mouth twisted bitterly. “You'll find I'm still antagonistic, Paul,” she said coolly. “And I hardly think you're here to reminisce about old times. Perhaps you'd better come in.” She closed the door, and preceded him into the living room. She was amazed that she could present such a composed facade, when inwardly she was shaking with fear and revulsion. She was a better actress than she thought.

Chadeaux gave a low whistle, as he looked around appreciatively at the luxurious appointments of the cottage. “Very nice,” he said. “You're obviously doing very well for yourself. So little Brenna is going to be a big movie star.”

“Nonsense!” she said sharply. “I have a small supporting role in my first film. How did you know where to find me, Paul?”

He shrugged. “Your landlady was very cooperative when I told her the kid was mine,” he said casually. “She seemed to think you were his mother. Maybe she thought I was going to make an honest woman of you at last.” He seemed to find the idea very amusing, and Brenna had to clench her fists to keep from slapping the smug smile off his face.

“Why did you want to see me?” she asked bluntly.

“You're not being very hospitable,” he complained mockingly. “Aren't you going to offer me a drink?”

She drew an impatient breath, and said quickly, “No, I'm not going to offer you a drink. I don't want you here. Please state your business and get out.”

His mouth twisted, and his gray eyes took on an ugly glint. “You always were an uppity bitch.” he said sneeringly. “You never did like me, did you, little sister?”

“No, I never did,” she said flatly. “I like you even less now. Why are you here?”

He crossed the room and seated himself in the lavender wing chair without asking permission. “I want the kid,” he said
mockingly. “I've decided it's time I heard the patter of little feet around my lonely bachelor pad.”

She stared at him incredulously. “You can't be serious,” she said scornfully.

“Oh, but I am,” he said, lazily stretching his legs out before him. “I've gone to a great deal of time and trouble to track the kid down. Don't make the mistake of thinking I'm not totally sincere in my devotion.”

He took a gold cigarette case out of his jacket pocket, selected a cigarette and lit it leisurely. “I actually started out looking for Janine. Then I found out that she was dead, and that you had the child. Then I had to trace your whereabouts,” he said complainingly. “It's all been a complete bore.”

“How sorry we are to inconvenience you,” Brenna said ironically.

“I should think you would be,” he said pettishly, ignoring her sarcasm. “After all, I am willing to take the kid off your hands.”

“The ‘kid's' name is Randy,” she said, between clenched teeth.

“I know. I know,” Chadeaux said impatiently. “Your landlady told me that. “Run along and get him, will you? I want to get the night coach back to San Francisco.”

Brenna's eyes narrowed suspiciously. “San Francisco? I thought you lived in Los Angeles.”

He shrugged, his eyes sliding away from hers. “I thought I'd drop Randy off at the Chadeaux vineyards. He'll be better off with my family.”

“You couldn't care less about Randy,” Brenna charged bitterly. “Why do you really want him, Paul?”

An unpleasant smile touched his full lips. “I don't really have to answer to you,” he said arrogantly. “But I will. Why not?”

He drew on his cigarette lazily. “My grandmother is all hung up on this dynasty thing. She's been nagging me for years to marry and settle down. They want a fitting heir for the Chadeaux
Wineries. One they can mold into the good little boy I never was,” he said sneeringly. “The old lady has already told me that unless I provide her with an heir, she'll stop my allowance and cut me out of her will.”

“Don't you think she'll object to an illegitimate child?” Brenna said caustically. “I seem to remember that you told my sister that you'd refuse to acknowledge the baby if Janine went to your family.”

“Situations change,” he said with satisfaction. “The old lady is getting desperate. She'll welcome the kid with open arms. She's even promised to settle up my gambling debts.”

“Providing you give her Randy,” Brenna said grimly, her face mirroring her rage and disgust.

Her contempt pierced even Chadeaux's thick ego. “Get the kid!” he ordered angrily.

“Go to hell!” Brenna said deliberately. “Randy is mine now, and I'm not giving him up.”

Chadeaux's face flushed with anger. “Listen, bitch,” he said coldly. “I'm the kid's father. You're just his aunt. I have a right to him.”

“You forfeited any rights you had before he was born,” Brenna said. “I wouldn't turn a stray dog over to you, much less a small child.”

“You may not have a choice. The Chadeaux family have very important connections in California. I think any court in the state will lean toward the natural father over the claim of some little actress.”

She smiled sweetly. “But then it's up to you to prove that you're the natural father, isn't it? I think you'll find that a little difficult.”

His eyes narrowed warily. “What the hell do you mean? Janine told me I was the father.”

“And you rejected her,” Brenna said bitterly, her mouth curling
. “Is it any wonder that Janine refused to name the father on Randy's birth certificate?”

He shrugged. “I can get around that. There are plenty of witnesses that knew Janine and I were having an affair at the time. I'm the only logical candidate.”

Brenna smiled triumphantly. “You would be, if it was Janine Sloan that gave birth to Randy,” she said softly. “But according to the birth certificate, she didn't. Brenna Sloan did.”

Chadeaux's mouth gaped open. “You're lying,” he accused angrily. “That's totally absurd. Why would Janine do a crazy thing like that.”

“Perhaps in the end she was a little crazy,” Brenna said, her eyes clouded with pain. “Crazy with fear and rejection and loneliness. Crazy to protect the one human being that was to be hers alone. I thought it was insane, too, but now I wonder if she somehow knew that Randy would need to be protected from you.”

Chadeaux jumped to his feet, his fists clenched. “You won't get away with this,” he snapped. “I need that kid, and I'll find a way of getting him. You're just making it a little more difficult. I'll hire detectives who will punch a million holes in your story. They'll turn up a dozen witnesses who will swear you're not Randy's mother.”

Brenna felt a chill at the threat, but she couldn't let him know he'd frightened her. “It will take a long time to do that,” she said coolly. “Do you really have that much time? I believe you mentioned something about gambling debts?”

There was a speculative look in the shallow gray eyes as he looked her over critically. “We might come to an agreement,” he said slowly. “You want the kid. I need the money. Grandmother wants me settled with a wife and family. What do you say we make everybody happy? Why don't we fly to Vegas and get married?”

Brenna could feel the blood drain from her face in shock. “You must be mad,” she whispered. “I can't stand the sight of you.”

“I'm not overly fond of you, either,” Paul said caustically. “You're too independent. I was going to make the offer to Janine, when I found her. She was much more my type.”

Suddenly Brenna couldn't stand any more. She felt sick at the sight of him.

“Get out!” she said harshly. “I don't ever want to see you again.”

“Well, that's too bad,” he said nastily. “Because you're going to see a hell of a lot of me in the next few months. In court and out, little sister!”

“If you don't leave, I'll call security to force you to go,” Brenna said tensely.

“Oh, I'm leaving,” Chadeaux said, as he bent to crush out his cigarette in the crystal ashtray on the table. “But don't think I won't be back.” He strolled casually over to the door, and turned to look at her as he opened it.

There was such a malevolent viciousness in his expression that she caught her breath in fear. “Good-bye, little sister! See you soon.”

As the door closed she flew over to it and locked it hurriedly, as if to lock out the threat that had been evident in Chadeaux's last statement. He meant it. Chadeaux would stop at nothing to get Randy, now that he saw an advantage in it. There was no way she could let the little boy fall into those carelessly cruel hands, she thought frantically. She walked into the living room, pacing agitatedly back and forth, trying to see some solution to the problem. She hadn't a doubt that given time, Chadeaux could produce the witnesses he needed to press his claim. Janine's ploy had been flimsy at best. How could Brenna stop him if he actually took her to court? His arguments had merit. The Chadeaux family had great wealth and power. How could she
possibly fight them if it came to a custody battle? She froze, as an even worse thought came to her. What if Chadeaux got an injunction giving him temporary custody of Randy pending the outcome of the trial?

She whirled, and ran into the bedroom. She took two suitcases out of the closet and threw them on the bed before picking up the telephone extension and dialing reception. “Paula, this is Brenna Sloan. I've got to leave at once for Los Angeles. An emergency. Will you contact Doris and have her pack for Randy, and have him ready to leave in twenty minutes? And I'll need Johnny to drive me to Portland to get a flight.” Paula Drummond answered with her usual bright efficiency, expressing polite concern before she hung up.

Brenna started to fill the open suitcase, tossing in the clothes with no regard to neatness or order. She was well aware it was panic that spurred her to this rash decision, but what else could she do? Her only chance of keeping Randy from Chadeaux was to disappear with Randy and hide. It was only money that motivated Chadeaux's desire for Randy. If she could remain under-cover long enough, Chadeaux would have to find another solution to his money problems. Then, perhaps, he would consider the child the burden and annoyance he had previously.