Be My Baby (25 page)

"Adorable," I answered, chuckling.

My father met us at Morelli's. It wasn't far
from his hotel. Gina was immediately taken with him. She didn't
waste any time sharing her opinion when we excused ourselves to
visit the 'Ladies' room.

"Girlfriend - you didn't tell me your dad
was hot!"

"Gina, for crying out loud - I don't look at
him that way!"

"Just sayin," she replied, putting lipstick
on and blotting it with a tissue. "He's got that whole 'George
Clooney' thing going on; and he is funny, too. I mean, I guess I
thought he would be some stodgy old judge-type. He clearly is not
what I expected."

"I don't think you are what he expected
either, Gina," I remarked with a laugh. Gina had pummeled him with
questions all through dinner; asking if he had ever sent someone to
the gas chamber or the electric chair; or if anyone he sent to
prison had made threats to get even with him.

My father had handled her questions
good-naturedly. He was amused with her tenacity.

After dinner, on our way out, my father
pulled me aside telling Trey he needed a few moments with me.

"How have things been between you and Trey
since you reconciled," he asked me. "I don't want to pry Tylar; I
just need to know that you are okay."

"Yes Dad, we are doing fine. I had a bit of
a meltdown finally when the reality hit about losing Marley. I
don't know why I had kept myself in denial. Then Trey blamed
himself for allowing me to remain in denial. We are working it out
along with other issues."

"I am glad to hear that," he replied,
putting his arm around me and squeezing me. "I know it takes work
from both parties to make a marriage succeed. I know that you and
Trey have enough love to make that happen. I do have something to
share with you."

"What is it Dad?" This sounded like a
prelude to more bad news; I had my fill of that for the year.

I looked up at my father and saw a hint of a
smile pass over his face.

"I had a visit from Danny Duvall last week.
It appeared he had been roughed up a bit."

(Good! He turned out to be a sorry asshole
anyway.)

"Okay - why should I care, Dad?"

"No reason, I suppose. He seemed to think
that your husband may have arranged it."

(What??)

"What? Are you serious? Trey would never -
"

"That's neither here nor there Tylar. He
asked that I pass along a message to you at my earliest
opportunity. His message was very precise. He wanted me to make
sure that I said it exactly the way that he instructed me to convey
it. He said that he is deeply sorry that he took advantage of you.
He knew full well that you were grieving, confused and vulnerable;
he had no right to touch you, or any other man's wife for that
matter and he will never do so again."

(Oh my God . . . that was sooo Trey!)

"Wow. Okay, Dad. Thanks for passing that
along, I guess."

"You will make sure that Trey is made aware
of the apology?"

I looked up at him my confusion evident.

"Apparently Mr. Duval is concerned he will
be paid another visit by some hired goon if the message did not
reach you. He acted extremely . . . paranoid."

I nodded. "Yes, I will make sure that I let
Trey know."

"Good," he said smiling. "Now give your old
man a hug. I will see you and my beautiful grand-daughter
tomorrow."

When we returned to the house Nigel, Tess
and the baby had returned. Susan was feeding Reese a bottle;
Preston was sitting on a woman's lap. I presumed that this was
Trey's cousin Brenda. She was reading a book to Preston. Seeing
that Preston was totally comfortable where she was I turned my
attention to Tess who was holding Royce.

"Tess, congratulations to you and Nigel,
both," I said, "May I see your son?"

"Of course, Tylar," she replied, moving the
receiving blanket back off of his face. "He's fallen asleep it
seems."

It didn't matter that his eyes were closed.
He was a carbon copy of Reese when he was a newborn. I smiled at
him noting that he didn't have the chin dimple that Trey had and
that Tristan didn't.

"Oh Tess, he is beautiful," I said realizing
that I meant it. "Gina, come see Royce."

Trey took me by the arm and led me over to
the corner where his cousin was still reading to Preston. He wanted
to introduce me.

Brenda looked to be in her mid-forties. She
was extremely beautiful with dazzling green eyes, dark blond hair
that was shoulder length and a very congenial personality.

"I am so happy to meet you, Tylar," she said
smiling. "Aunt Susan just went on and on about you. Your daughter
is quite adorable. She has chattered away since I got here. She is
extremely intelligent. I work as a pre-school teacher in
Birmingham; I can tell you her speech and vocabulary both, are at
an advanced level for her age."

I could feel Trey beaming as he stood beside
me. I felt proud as well.

"Well thank you, Brenda. It's nothing I can
take credit for; I read to her and she seems to enjoy it."

"That is the best thing you can do, Tylar.
She is utterly precocious which makes learning something that gives
her satisfaction. I would bet she is a bit of a perfectionist at
ordinary things she does?"

"Well, yeah. I've noticed how she arranges
her stuffed animals in a circle when she plays. She gets extremely
upset with herself when we went through potty training if she had
an accident."

"Yes," she said delightedly, "She sets high
expectations for herself already. Just make sure that you reinforce
to her that everyone makes mistakes, has accidents, occasionally
makes bad choices. She will work it out."

"Do you have children?" I asked.

"I have a son Jackson. He is a sophomore at
University of Alabama. He plays football for them. He is also a
Psychology major."

"Well, you must be very proud as well."

"Oh I am; I'm only sad that his daddy can't
be here to see his achievements. He died a year ago next week. He
suffered from a rare form of blood cancer. Unfortunately, he
suffered for the last seven years. I still miss him though."

My heart went out to this woman. She had
endured a lot yet remained so positive and outgoing. She clearly
had bonded with Preston and I bet she bonded with most
children.

__________________________________________

As Trey and I got Preston ready for bed my
heart suddenly felt light; I was happy and content. I couldn't
explain it yet I knew what it was.

We got her settled in her crib for the
night. Trey and I then showered together. It was very intimate for
us. It was hard to explain. We got dressed and cuddled in bed; Trey
put the flat screen on finding ESPN to watch. I was all over him. I
kissed him, fondled him and basically wouldn't allow him to do
anything but pay attention to me.

He finally broke away from my umpteenth
passionate kiss looking at me with laughter in his eyes.

"What the hell has gotten in to you,
Tylar?"

"I'm just happy Trey; I know - and don't ask
me how - that I am the ONLY mother of your child."

He cocked an eyebrow at me as he lay back on
the pillow watching me.

"May I ask how you have come to this
conclusion?"

"Mother's intuition," I answered him
plainly. "It's always right."

Trey and I made love that night and if by
magic it seemed as if all of the worrisome baggage was finally
lifted. He was mine; I was his; Preston was ours. That's where it
began; that's where it ended - for now.

CHAPTER 19

Trey and I were finishing up getting ready
for Thanksgiving dinner in our suite. Preston was already dressed
up frilly, spending time with Brenda downstairs. I was tying Trey's
tie when I remembered what my father had told me the night
before.

"Trey I meant to tell you something last
night and it slipped my mind. My father told me that he had a visit
from Danny Duvall."

I looked up into Trey's
face; his expression was totally impassive; almost
too
impassive.

"Dad said that it looked as if someone had
roughed him up."

"Really?" Trey replied, "I can't imagine
anyone having cause to do that. Perhaps it was merely a bar room
brawl."

I gazed up at him my suspicion clearly
evident.

"Anyway, Dad said he delivered a carefully
worded apology for taking advantage of me in my vulnerable,
grieving state, acknowledging that he shouldn't have touched
another man's wife and promising he would never do so again."

"Hmm," Trey remarked turning from me now so
that he could slip his suit jacket on. "It appears Mr. Duvall may
have received a well-deserved lesson in manners and
comportment."

"Trey - you didn't--"

"Come sweetie," he said, taking me by the
hand, "Let's join the family downstairs."

My father had already arrived and I
regretted not being down earlier to make the introductions. I
hurried over to him giving him a hug and kiss on the cheek. From
the other side of the room I could hear Preston as she spotted him
from Brenda's lap.

"Papaw!"

Brenda carried her over to where Dad and I
stood; Susan hurried over to us, anxious to introduce Brenda to my
father.

(Hmm . . . not too obvious,
Mommy-in-law…)

Preston was leaning in to him, her hands
clasping and unclasping for him to take her.

"Papaw," she whined as my father took her
from Brenda's arms.

"Hey sweet angel," he said, kissing her on
the cheek.

"I can see she is crazy about her
grandparents," Brenda acknowledged after parting with her.

Susan introduced my father to Brenda,
explaining to him that Brenda was staying with them for a couple of
weeks and then returning to Birmingham.

(Letting Dad know that Birmingham was not
all that far from Baton Rouge I suppose.)

I could tell right off the bat that my
father liked Brenda. I saw him smile as he shook her hand; his
smile reached his eyes this time. That was a semi-rare occurrence.
It usually involved interaction with Preston.

I noticed that Susan had set name placards
at the large dining room table; she had placed Brenda next to my
father. Trey and I were seated across from them. They talked to
each other during most of the meal. Brenda scored points with all
of us with her interest in Preston.

After dinner I took Preston upstairs to get
her settled for her nap. She was extremely restless after all the
attention she had endured throughout the day. She finally fell
asleep sucking her thumb.

Trey came in looking for me just then.

“Your father is looking for you, Tylar; he
wants to speak to you in Dad’s study.”

“Are you coming with me?”

“Honey he asked to speak to you; he didn’t
mention needing me there with you. Maybe it’s private.”

I couldn’t imagine what exactly Dad might
want to talk to me about unless he wanted to make sure that I had
given Trey the message about Danny’s apology.

I went down to the study where my father was
waiting for me. I joined him shutting the door behind me.

“Am I in trouble, Dad?”

He smiled nodding his head negatively.

“No, nothing like that, darling. I just feel
the need to make you aware of something.”

“Sounds serious?”

“It’s probably nothing, but I think I need
to make you aware of it in case it becomes something later on.”

He had my attention now as I took a seat
beside him in front of Clive’s desk.

“I went to the memorial service at the
cemetery for Matthew Renaud as planned. I suspected that Ms. Deeny
would be there and she was. She attempted to avoid me, however, I
pressed her as we were leaving to either talk to me or I would see
that the District Attorney brought her in for questioning. She
rambled on some very unintelligible statements. I have cause for
concern."

At that point I interrupted my father.

“
Dad – why would the D.A.
be interested in questioning her?”

“
He probably isn’t but I
wanted to put a little fear in her so that she would clear up some
details for me.”

"What details?"

"Details surrounding your mother's death,
and then the matter of Preston's abduction. I needed to know if she
somehow master-minded it all."

I looked at my father; I saw his angst.

"What was in it for her?"

"I discovered that Ms. Deeny lives very well
for a woman without obvious means. I know what her salary was while
she was in my employ. She lives well beyond that from what my
investigator uncovered."

"Dad - we know that Olivia was supporting me
through the LLC that Matthew set up. I'm sure that he kept a
portion of it for himself and maybe shared it with his mother. All
that ended when I turned eighteen though, right?"

"That's something we will never know," he
replied, "Olivia's financial wealth was hers to manage. I didn't
interfere or even ask to be privy to it. All I know is what I
inherited upon her death. I have no clue as to what her financial
dealings were prior to that."

"Dad - we've already established that when
Olivia died, the cash cow for Matthew did as well. Are you saying
that you believe now that Matthew and possibly Karen Deeny were
behind Preston's abduction?"

"I think it is possible."

"I guess I'm confused then. There was never
a ransom demand; Maggie moved about freely with the baby and ended
up in Wheeling, WV. This makes no sense."

"We don't have all the pieces to the puzzle
yet. In the meantime, I needed to let you know that you are legally
Matthew's next of kin. In the absence of a will, you are set to
inherit his estate in perpetuity."