Chapter 2
Dylan shoved his hands into his pants pockets and studied the woman in front of him. He already knew a fair amount about her. After his meeting with Warren and his mother, he used Sherbrooke Enterprises’ HR system to run a background check on Callie Taylor. Not that it turned up anything worrisome. She was an elementary school teacher who had done her undergraduate at Boston University on a sports scholarship. The only outstanding debt she had was a small student loan from UMass for her Master’s degree. She had no criminal record, not even a parking ticket. Still, that didn’t mean she didn’t want something from Warren.
“You look confused, Miss Taylor.”
When Callie didn’t reply, he continued. “My stepfather, Warren Sherbrooke, received a letter last week from your mother claiming you’re his daughter. Warren believes it’s true and wants to meet you. He sent me to arrange a meeting.”
As he spoke, Dylan watched the woman. Although he had his doubts, he couldn’t deny the family resemblance. Her eyes were the exact same shade of sapphire blue as Warren’s, and her visual likeness to his half-sister Sara had initially taken him aback. Like Sara, Callie had a pretty heart-shaped face with large eyes and delicate features. Unlike Sara, however, the woman in front of him had dark mahogany hair and lush full lips. But it wasn’t the family resemblance that surprised him the most; rather it was the utter shock on Callie Taylor’s face.
“He wants to meet me?” Callie whispered loud enough for him to hear.
“Are you feeling well, Miss Taylor?” All the color drained out of her face and he feared she might faint. “Maybe you should sit down.” Without waiting for an answer, he guided her to a painted kitchen chair and pulled it out for her.
Giving him a weak smile, she sank into the seat and rested her elbows on the table. “I didn’t think he would contact me.” Callie paused and Dylan sensed she was trying to regain her composure. “Mrs. Lee told me about the letter she mailed him, but I didn’t think he would want to meet me.”
“Helen Lee?”
Callie nodded.
“There was a note included from a woman named Helen Lee.” Dylan opened his suit jacket, and pulled out an envelope. Before he’d left the Hamptons, Warren had given him copies of both letters. “Warren wants to see you as soon as possible. He would’ve come himself, but he’s campaigning out West.” He thought his words would bring a smile to her face. Instead, she merely continued to stare at him as if he had grown three heads.
Callie laughed nervously. “Meet him? I don’t know if I can do that right now.” The words came out slowly, as if she was deliberately thinking of the correct response. “Until several days ago, I didn’t even know my father was alive. I’m not sure I’m ready to meet him, Mr. Talbot.”
Her admission surprised him. Neither he nor Warren had considered the possibility that she hadn’t always known the truth, or what Warren believed to be the truth, which was something Dylan couldn’t help but start to believe himself, given the family resemblance.
“Now isn’t a good time anyway.” Callie ran her tongue over her bottom lip. “It’s getting close to the end of the school year. That’s one of the busiest times.” As she spoke, she stroked her dog’s head. The dog sat pressed up against her leg, his eyes never leaving Dylan. “I need some time to think about all this.”
Dylan nodded. If what she said was true, he could only guess what must be going through her mind. Still, he needed to get this meeting set up before Warren took matters into his own hands. “I’m scheduled to be in Boston until Friday on business. If you decide you’re ready, you can fly back to New York with me.”
Callie shook her head, her long dark ponytail swinging back and forth. “That’s nice of you, but I know I won’t be ready by then. Maybe when school is out in June.”
Dylan knew his stepfather didn’t want to wait any longer than necessary. Getting him to wait till now had been a challenge, but he couldn’t physically force Callie to fly back with him. However, he might be able to change her mind. When he chose to be, he could be quite persuasive, especially when it came to the opposite sex.
“My cell phone number and office number are on here.” He handed her his business card. “I’ll be back to see you before I leave Boston. If you change your mind before then, call me.”
Without a word, Callie accepted the card. “I’ll definitely think about it, Mr. Talbot, but I don’t think I’ll change my mind.”
“Warren wanted you to have this. It’s a copy of the letter your mother sent to him. Perhaps it’ll help you make your decision.” Placing the envelope on the table, he took a step toward her. “From the sound of the letter, your mother wanted you to meet Warren.” He added the last comment about her mother hoping it would help change her mind. Though he disagreed with Warren’s decision, he’d promised his stepfather he would set up this meeting. He planned on doing just that before he left the state.
“Why don’t we go out for dinner tonight? I can answer any questions you have about Warren or the family. The more you know about him, the easier it will be to make a decision.” The way he figured it, the more time he spent with her, the more time he’d have to sway her decision. Once he set up the meeting between her and Warren, he could wash his hands of the situation.
He was a wealthy politician who sent others to do his errands. What more did she need to know? If he was that anxious to meet her, the least he could do was come himself. Yet, she couldn’t complain about his choice of messenger.
In fact, Callie doubted any woman would complain about finding Dylan Talbot on their doorstep. And as tempting as most would find his offer for dinner, she had to refuse. Not only did she have work to complete, but she didn’t need Warren Sherbrooke’s messenger trying to force her to make a decision she wasn’t ready to make. Even if the messenger was drop-dead gorgeous.
If and when she decided to meet her father, it would be when she felt ready. While she didn’t know when that would be, she knew it wasn’t this weekend.
“I appreciate the offer, Mr. Talbot—” Before she could complete her sentence, Dylan interrupted.
“Please call me Dylan.”
Uncomfortable with calling him by his first name, Callie ignored the interruption and continued. “Tonight isn’t a good night. I have a lot of work to do.” She maintained eye contact as she spoke, but it wasn’t easy. She’d always found it difficult to lie to someone while looking them right in the face. This fact had always made it nearly impossible for her to lie to her mother. Evidently, her mother hadn’t shared the same problem.
Dylan raised an eyebrow, suggesting he didn’t believe her, but otherwise didn’t comment.
I’m not really lying. There are things I need to finish tonight. “Actually, I’d appreciate it if you’d leave, so I can get back to work.”
“Since you have so much to do, I won’t keep you any longer tonight, but I’ll be in touch.”
His tone remained polite, but she suspected he was being a bit sarcastic. Not that she cared at the moment. He planned to leave, and that was all that mattered.
“Have a nice evening, Miss Taylor.” Dylan walked back to the kitchen door.
“You too. Have a safe drive back to Boston.” Just because she wanted him as far away as possible didn’t mean she had to be rude.
Once Dylan left her apartment, she stood and paced between the table and the counter. In general, strangers made her uncomfortable, but Dylan Talbot gave the word uncomfortable a whole new definition. Usually, after meeting with a person a few times, she felt at ease with them. In this case though, Callie suspected she could spend a month with him and still be uneasy.
She pushed Dylan Talbot and his lovely English accent from her thoughts. Not an easy task. She’d always loved the sound of an English accent, regardless of the person speaking.
So Warren Sherbrooke wants to meet me. She’d never expected that, but now that she found herself confronted with the fact, she wished she had someone to talk to. Another person’s opinion mig
ht help her sort some of this out. Unfortunately, her closest friend, Lauren, wasn’t around. She’d gone to Cape Cod to visit family for the weekend. Who else could she trust? She didn’t want the world finding out about the situation. Right away, Callie thought of Helen Lee. The woman already knew the truth about her father. She was the perfect choice.
She pulled up Helen’s number in her contact list and hit call. “Mrs. Lee, it’s Callie,” she said when the other woman answered.
“What have I told you about that, Callie? It’s Helen. How are you doing? You’ve been on my mind.”
How had she been? Confused? Hurt? Shocked? “Still a little in shock.” Callie finally settled on. “You said if I needed to talk again, I could call.”
“I’ll help in any way I can. You know that,” Helen answered in her soft motherly voice.
“It’s about my father. I’m still not sure I want to meet him. Yeah, he’s my father, but. . . it’s just so strange, you know? At first, I didn’t want to contact him because I thought he would deny I’m his daughter, but he sent someone here today to set up a meeting with me.”
“That’s a good sign. So when are you meeting Warren?” Helen’s voice took on an upbeat tone. “He seemed like a great man when I knew him, but I was a little worried he wouldn’t believe Ruth’s letter after all these years.”
“Even if he does believe Mom’s letter, that doesn’t mean he’ll accept me.”
Helen made a tsking sound. “Why wouldn’t he, Callie? You are a wonderful woman. He should be proud to call you his daughter.”
Although she didn’t know more than what the media said about the man, she did know he was one of the richest men in America. “I doubt he has many school teachers in the family,” Callie said, unable to keep the sarcasm out of her voice. She knew from her personal experiences in high school that the wealthy often looked down on those without huge bank accounts matching their own.
“Ruth always only had good things to say about him, and like I said, when I knew him, he seemed like a great man. If I were you, I would give him a chance. What is the worst that could happen?”
Callie had other reasons for not wanting to meet him, but she didn’t want to share them with Helen or anyone else. At some level, she felt if she never met him face to face, she could almost convince herself that nothing had changed. Somehow, ignoring the truth made it easier to keep at bay the anger she felt toward her mother for lying.
Callie had considered her mom more than just a parent. She’d thought of her as a friend too. She never doubted her mother felt the same way. At least not until several days ago.
“So you really think I should meet with him?” Callie asked instead of telling Helen the whole truth.
Again, Helen sighed. “Only you can decide that, but I do think it is what your mom wanted. Why else would she have told him after all these years?”
“Maybe you’re right. Thanks for listening.”
“Anytime, Callie. Really.”
For a solid hour after getting off the phone, Callie worked, or at least tried to work, on correcting papers. Unfortunately, her eyes kept getting pulled back to the envelope that Dylan left. He said Warren wanted her to have a copy of the letter Mom sent him. Dylan seemed to think it might help her make a decision. Could he be right? Then again, should she even read it? Mom had sent it to Warren Sherbrooke, not her. If her mom wanted her to know what it said, wouldn’t she have sent her a copy too?
Read it. See what it says, a little voice repeated over and over again. If Warren wanted her to have it, then it was okay to read it.
Callie picked up the letter and opened the envelope. Before she changed her mind, she unfolded it. She almost cried at the sight of her mom’s familiar handwriting. After taking a deep breath, she started reading.
Dear Warren,
I hope this letter finds you well. Several times in the past, I’ve sat down and started this letter only to tear it up. This time I’m determined to finish it and tell you all the things I should’ve a long time ago because I may not get another chance.
First, please know that I never stopped loving you. Not a single day has gone by that I have not thought of you. The years we spent as friends and the months we spent together as much more meant the world to me, and I have always cherished them. So many times since our last night together, I’ve wished that I handled things differently. Honestly, I’d go back and change things in a heartbeat if I could.
A year after I left you, I almost reached out to you so I could correct my mistake. I even had my overnight bag packed and my train ticket for New York booked. The afternoon I was to leave, I spotted a picture of you and Elizabeth on the cover of The Star Report. The two of you looked so happy and perfect for each other that I didn’t want to interfere, so I never made the trip.
I hope you believe me when I say I made the decisions I did back then because I thought it was the right choice for everyone.
The remainder of this letter is difficult for me to write, but you have a right to know the truth. Actually, you had a right to know a long time ago. It was wrong of me to keep the truth from you.
Warren, we have a daughter together. Her name is Callie Taylor. She’s grown to be a wonderful, caring woman. I couldn’t ask for a better daughter. Every time I look at her, I am reminded of you and the wonderful friendship we had. She looks a great deal like you. She even has your blue eyes. Callie lives in Slatersville, Massachusetts, and she teaches at Reagan Elementary School. I am including both her home address and her email address in this letter in case you want to contact her.
I know I’m asking a lot, but I hope you can somehow forgive me for my actions. I never meant to hurt you. Even if you cannot do that, I hope you will make Callie a part of your life.
Love always,
Ruth
Callie wiped the tears from her cheek and then folded the letter back up. So many unanswered questions and emotions bombarded her that Callie knew she’d never get any more work done tonight. After putting the letter back in the envelope, she turned her attention to Lucky, who sat near her chair.
“How does a walk sound?” Lucky stood and started whining. “I’ll take that as good.”