“Tony, it’s more than enough. I promise that I’ll never drive away to leave you again, and I’ll never listen to anyone else without learning the truth from you, but…” She paused to deliver a wonderful assault of kisses to his neck, one of the places that drove him crazy and elicited growls he couldn’t control. “I will drive away, to multiple places.”
He wouldn’t argue. Bold and cheeky was still his favorite.
Claire continued with a smile, “And I’ll travel easier knowing Phil is there when you can’t be.”
His smile broadened—everything and more. “I think we have a deal.”
With a playful smile, Claire teased, “Now, if you don’t make love to me right this minute, I’ll have you thrown off my property.”
That was exactly what Tony wanted to do—to make love. Jim had been right about some things. He didn’t just want to have sex: Tony wanted to show his wife exactly how much he loved her. “My, Mrs. Rawlings, will my lodging payments continue to be so extreme?”
She shrugged. “I don’t know. I have the rest of our lives to come up with new ideas. You know, I’m very creative and let me warn you, the payments will be daunting. I hope you’re up for it.”
His up-ness was extremely evident as the red of passion colored his world. For the first time in years, Tony welcomed it. The flames of desire weren’t meant to be dampened. They were meant to be fueled, and nothing fed his desire more than the sparks in the emerald eyes of the bold and cheeky woman in his arms. “I believe that you know that I am, and Mrs. Rawlings, I look forward to your challenges. Apparently, only you can decide whether I make the cut.”
“Don’t disappoint me. There will be consequences.”
“Mighty fine,” he whispered.
I am confident that, in the end, common sense and justice will prevail. I’m an optimist, brought up on the belief that if you wait to the end of the story, you get to see the good people live happily ever after.
—Cat Stevens
Eric’s sentence stalled with the sound of the opening door. All at once Tony and Claire’s home office was filled with the sound of running feet and giggles. Nichol ran around Eric and Phil to the other side of the desk and launched herself into Tony’s lap.
“Daddy, guess what? We’re going over to Aunt Em’s!”
Tony laughed and smiled up to Eric and Phil, before looking back to his beautiful daughter. “We are?”
“No! Silly. Just Mommy, Shannon, and I are going.” Nichol turned her attention to the other side of the desk and asked, “Are you going too, Mr. Phil?”
Just then, Claire walked in, smiling and shaking her head. “Nichol, your daddy has work to do with Mr. Eric and Mr. Phil. You shouldn’t interrupt him.”
Her little pig tails swung from side to side as she peered up at Tony. He marveled at the vision of his own eyes coming from Claire’s questioning expression. Bashfully, she asked, “I’m not in-ter-upping you, am I?”
He hugged her tight. “You could never interrupt me, princess. You can come tell me your exciting news any time you want.”
“You may regret that statement,” Claire teased.
“Claire,” Phil suggested, “perhaps I could drive you. The roads are very snowy.”
“No, thank you. I’ll take the SUV. We’re just going to Emily’s, and then we’ll be home.” She walked over to Tony and gave him a kiss on the cheek: Nichol followed her mommy’s lead. “We’ll be back before dinner.”
“Yep!” Nichol concurred.
“Well, all right,” Tony said as he lifted Nichol from his lap to the floor. “Nichol, where’s Shannon?”
“She’s waiting for Mommy and me.”
“Can you go tell her that your mommy will be right there?”
“I can,” she said with bright eyes, as she took off running toward the hallway.
Claire’s questioning gaze turned back to her husband and then to Eric and Phil, as Eric closed the office door and resumed his spot beside Phil. “What’s happening?” Claire asked. “By the look on your faces, I’d say we received another message.”
Tony reached for her hand. They’d promised one another to be honest, in everything. It wasn’t always easy, and Tony worried sometimes about how much Claire could handle. But each day she reminded him why he’d fallen in love with her. Her actions and responses reminded him that she was the strongest and bravest person he’d ever known. Even when he told her about Patricia, she handled it with grace. Perhaps if his actions had been different, she would have responded differently, but instead she was pleased. Honesty helped to make their world brighter. It cleared away the biggest threat they faced—the threat of the unknown.
“I would have told you later tonight, but since you’re here, I thought you could hear it directly from Eric and Phil. Phil was just telling me about the DNA test results on the last package,” he explained as he looked to Phil, imploring him to continue.
“It was definitely sealed with female saliva. Apparently, the woman’s not in the federal database of known offenders, which automatically rules out Ms. London.”
Claire’s brow furrowed. “A woman? Who do you think would do this? Who besides Catherine would know about the Rawls-Nichols link?”
“My family connection to Nathaniel was exposed to the media during Catherine’s trial,” Tony said. “Still, the vendetta was kept under wraps. I suppose anyone in the courtroom could be considered a possibility.”
“I’ll check into the list of names,” Phil offered.
“And Ma’am,” Eric added, “another note arrived today. It was addressed to you: Claire Nichols-Rawls.”
“Did you open it?” she asked.
“Not yet,” Phil answered. “The police recommend that we bag any suspicious mailings and take them in for analysis. After the whole anthrax scare, not even letters are to be considered safe until we know for sure. Ricin is another poison that’s been used in known cases. We’re not taking any chances.”
Claire looked from Phil to Tony. “None of the packages or letters that we’ve received have tested positive, have they?”
“No,” Tony reassured, as he squeezed her hand. “Eric and Phil are just being overly cautious.” Turning back to Phil, Tony said, “Why don’t you go ahead and drive Claire and Nichol. I need to go into the office, and Eric can take me. I like the idea of being overly cautious until we know more.”
Claire rolled her eyes and straightened her lips. Finally, she said, “All right. Phil, I’m sure you’ll be enthralled while Emily and I discuss attire to take to the island next week.”
He grinned. “I’ll take my iPad. You won’t even know I’m there.”
“Oh, no. If you’re coming, you have to give us your opinion. It’s a requirement.”
Tony shook his head and grinned at Phil. “Hey man, better you than me.”
Nudging Eric, Phil asked, “Do you want to trade?”
Eric shook his head. “Not in a million years.”
Claire was almost to the door, when she looked back and said, “Excuse me, I heard that.”
Just then, the door flew open and they all heard Nichol’s excited voice as she said, “Momma, hurry up! Come on, Momma.” She tugged on Claire’s hand.
Tony watched the green of his wife’s eyes shimmer as they made contact with his own. He knew what she was thinking and did his best to appear innocent.
“So demanding,” Claire muttered under her breath. “Just like someone else I know.”
This time it was Tony’s turn. After a feigned cough, he murmured, “Umm, I heard that.”
Phil waited until Claire was gone before he said, “I’ve been searching for Patricia.”
Tony’s stomach knotted. “Is there evidence or is this intuition?”
Phil shrugged. “I just want to rule her out. Eric and I were brainstorming about women in-the-know with a grudge.” With a smirk, he added, “The list isn’t as long as you’d expect.”
Eric said, “We talked about past house staff, but everyone?
??s been cleared. It’s just Patricia who’s MIA.”
“I won’t be satisfied until I’ve found her,” Phil confirmed.
“Keep us posted,” Tony said.
“Yes, sir.”
It was his first parent-teacher conference. Jillian had just recently begun third grade, and Harry was thrilled with his new more involved role. Ron and Ilona had been wonderful. Jillian was even spending the night at Harry’s house every other weekend.
He’d learned so much in the past year. It wasn’t only about his new investigative agency and his new surroundings, but Harry also learned the names of all the Disney princesses, to only months later be informed by his daughter that she was too old for princesses. The new craze included dolls that looked like Zombie Barbies. Harry truly hoped that craze would pass soon. To avoid the DVD’s she brought over and watched, Harry had introduced her to Nancy Drew. He didn’t think she was too young to get some tough-girl detective work. After all, someday she could take over his new company. Regardless what they did, Harry enjoyed spending time with his favorite girl.
When Harry had gone back to California for Amber’s trial, he told Liz the truth. He let her know, in confidence, that he’d been the one to first suspect Amber in connection with Simon’s death. He told her that it was the picture that she’d mentioned. There was no other way that his sister would have gotten that picture than from the perpetrators of his kidnapping and ambush.
Liz didn’t take the news well. Not only was she upset at Harry for telling the FBI, she was upset that she’d added fuel to his firestorm of suspicions. She claimed that she couldn’t move to North Carolina due to SiJo. Liz said that they needed her experience and knowledge, but Harry suspected that wasn’t the full truth. Somehow, after months of trying to make their long-distance relationship work, Harry didn’t care. He’d told himself that Jillian would be his number-one concern, and he’d meant that. All in all, he was content.
Harry pulled up to Jillian’s school at 6:45 PM. Their conference was scheduled for 7:00 PM. As soon as he opened the door to the school, Harry saw Ron, Ilona, and Jillian. When his daughter saw him, she ran and grabbed his hand and pulled him toward her parents.
Ron extended his hand. “Hi, Harry, are you ready for this?”
He grinned. “Yeah, I am. I’m kind of excited about it.”
Ilona, who was straightening Jillian’s blonde ponytail, looked up. “Well, Jillian is quite the little genius, just like her mother, so I don’t expect any surprises.” She looked into their daughter’s eyes. “Should I?”
“No, Mom,” Jillian replied, as they all laughed.
Harry had no idea what to expect. To him it was all a surprise.
At exactly 6:58 PM, the school bell buzzed and they heard the announcement:
The 6:40 PM session of parent-teacher conferences is now complete. Please exit the classrooms for the 7:00 PM session. Thank you.
With the anticipation building, Harry accepted Jillian’s hand as she led him to her class. The walls were covered in posters, colorful letters, and math equations. Harry’s gaze scanned the room, taking in the colorful posters and tiny desks. His light blue eyes stopped on the large desk at the front of the room. Behind the desk, smiling and extending her hand to Ilona, was one of the most beautiful brunettes he’d ever seen. When her green eyes met his, he momentarily forgot his own name. It was Jillian who came to his rescue.
“Miss Oliver, this is my other dad, Harry.”
Harry extended his hand. “Hello, Miss Oliver…”
Phil pushed his way through the lobby of the hospital. He couldn’t believe he was going through this again. Well, it wasn’t him; it was her. After the first time, he’d never wanted to experience this kind of anxiety again. It was more than anxiety: it was the helplessness. Phil told himself he never could have stopped it. But why would Claire willingly put herself in this danger again.
The first time, she’d almost died.
Over the years, he’d unapologetically done what he needed to do to keep Claire and Nichol safe. It had been a long time since they’d received a threatening package or letter. Rawlings and Claire hypothesized that the mysterious sender became bored and moved on. Eric knew the truth. Patricia was the one to take herself off the radar. Having her disappear permanently went unnoticed. Phil maintained his position. No one would threaten or harm his family. That was until now—the overwhelming sense of helplessness grew.
Perspiration moistened his brow as his shoes pounded the tile floor of the nearly empty corridor. Determined, Phil made his way toward her room. It was nearly midnight and visiting hours were over: he didn’t care. As he rounded the corner, he was surprised by the number of people he saw. Scanning the sea of familiar faces, Phil’s eyes met Courtney Simmons. Immediately, she stood and walked toward him. Her reassuring smile did little to quiet his frantic nerves.
Taking his hands in hers, she said, “Phil, don’t look so worried. Women give birth all the time. Claire will be fine. She has the best doctors that money can buy.”
Peering over her head, he saw Brent Simmons as well as John and Emily Vandersol. Turning back to Courtney he asked, “I thought you and Emily were going to be with her, well until…”
Courtney giggled. “Well, it’s that time. We were in there, but things started moving fast,” she squeezed his hand, “not too fast, just moving. We left Claire and Tony alone with the doctors to experience this together. From what I hear, this will be Claire’s first conscious delivery.”
Phil nodded. The memories of that day and night, four years ago, were what haunted him as he drove frantically to get back to the hospital. He would’ve been here sooner if he hadn’t been taking Nichol and Shannon back to the estate after their visit. Phil didn’t think things would progress so fast: last time she’d been in labor for almost twenty-four hours. “I hope this time isn’t anything like that time,” he said.
“There’s no reason to suspect it will be. She was doing great when Emily and I left the room…” Courtney looked at her watch. “…about twenty-five minutes ago.” She tugged at his hand. “Come, sit down with all of us.”
Phil accepted her invitation and tried to get lost in their conversations. He didn’t want to think about what Claire could be going through.
“…I was worried, but she reassured me that once all the medication was out of her system, she had her doctor’s okay to become pregnant,” Emily said.
John squeezed his wife’s knee. “I think after we found out that Beth was on her way, Claire had baby fever.”
“Oh, Nichol is so excited about Beth,” Courtney said. “Every time I see her, she tells me about her little cousin. I think she’s holding out hope she’s going to have a little sister.”
Emily sighed. “I know. I’m afraid she’s going to be disappointed. We’ve all told her that the doctors said she’s getting a brother.”
“At least Michael’s happy,” John said. “He didn’t want to be the only boy.”
“Has anyone gotten them to spill the name?” Brent asked. “I’ve tried and tried, and Tony wouldn’t tell.”
All of them shook their heads.
Phil continued to listen as the minutes ticked to hours. He was teetering between sleep and mental breakdown when Rawlings came into the room wearing a paper gown and the biggest smile Phil had ever seen. “Claire and baby Rawlings are both doing great,” he said. “The nurse said that you can come in, one at a time.”
Emily and Courtney jumped up, as Courtney offered, “After you, but hurry.”
When his turn finally arrived, Phil opened the door. Despite the late—or rather early—hour, Claire’s emerald eyes shone and her smile beamed.
“I’m not holding him until he gets bigger, so don’t ask,” Phil offered jokingly.
“He’ll be bigger tomorrow,” Claire replied.
“I think he already is,” Tony said, sitting on the edge of Claire’s bed, gazing at his green-eyed son in her arms.
“I think you’ll need a
pay increase if we keep adding charges to your watch,” Claire joked.
“No one will tell his name?”
Claire smiled at Tony and said, “We kind of want to explain it, so everyone understands.”
Tony offered, “We put a lot of time and thought into his name. We knew we wanted to find the right one, one we both wanted and felt good about—”
“Like Nichol,” Claire interrupted. “Phil, may we introduce you to our son, Nathaniel Sherman Rawlings.”
Phil’s eyes widened.
“It may seem strange,” Claire continued, “but the way we look at it, the truth is that even though people make mistakes, it doesn’t stop the reason you loved them in the first place. Tony and I both loved and respected our grandfathers. More importantly, had it not been for them, we wouldn’t be here today.” She looked at the sleeping bundle in her arms. “And neither would Nate.”
Tony smiled, kissed Claire’s cheek, and turned his shining brown gaze to Phil. “Put on your running shoes, my man. Between Nichol and Nate, I’m pretty sure there will be consequences.”
Dear Readers,
Thank you, from the bottom of my heart for this amazing journey!
All my love,
~Aleatha
-Primary Characters-
Anthony (Tony) Rawlings: billionaire, entrepreneur, founder of Rawlings Industries
Anton Rawls (birth name): son of Samuel, grandson of Nathaniel (birth name)
Claire Nichols Rawlings: meteorologist, bartender, woman whose life changed forever, wife and ex-wife of Anthony Rawlings
Aliases: Lauren Michaels, Isabelle Alexander, C. Marie Rawls
Nichol Courtney Rawlings: daughter of Claire and Anthony Rawlings
Brent Simmons: Rawlings attorney, Tony’s best friend
Catherine Marie London (Rawls): housekeeper, friend of Anthony Rawlings, 2nd wife of Nathaniel Rawls, Anton Rawls’ step-grandmother