Daniel's Gift (5 page)

Jenny walked in, her hair frizzed with moisture from the fog, her eyes dark and worried. Merrilee felt her heart sink to her stomach. "What's wrong?"

"I'm looking for Danny."

"Looking for Daniel? Here?" Merrilee asked in amazement.

Jenny nodded, drops of water flying onto the carpet at her motion.

"Good heavens. You're wet. Look what you're doing to my rug," Merrilee said.

"I don't care about the damn carpet." Jenny paused, forcing Merrilee to meet her eyes. "Danny found out that Luke is back in town."

"Luke? Who's Luke?" Constance asked curiously.

Merrilee stared at Jenny, furious that she would mention that man's name in front of her children. "Go to your room, Constance, William," she said, noticing her son hovering at the edge of the dining room.

"You told us to come down for dinner," Constance protested.

"I said go."

"I'm hungry. Why should I have to starve because that stupid Danny is in trouble again? He's a pain in the neck. He always has been. I wish he'd never been born."

"Constance. Go to your room."

"Fine." Constance stomped up the stairs in righteous indignation. William followed quietly behind her.

When the doors slammed shut on the upstairs landing, Merrilee turned her attention to Jenny. "Tell me what's happened."

Jenny stared into her sister's hard, unforgiving face. Merrilee had always hated Luke. She hated him for what he had done to the family, the shame he had brought on all of them. For Merrilee, pride was more important than love.

"Danny has been obsessed with finding his father the last few months. I've been stalling. Unfortunately, Danny found an article I cut out of the paper last month. Luke is living in his parents' house in Hillsborough. Danny put everything together and went to find him."

"Oh, my word." Merrilee shook her head, her mouth tightening with anger. "If Danny's gone to find his father, then why are you here, Jennifer? Why aren't you at Luke's house?"

Jenny felt the blood recede from her face so quickly she thought she might keel over. Apparently, Merrilee thought so, too, because she shoved her down in a wing-backed chair in the entry.

"I can't see Luke again," Jenny whispered. "Besides, Danny left hours ago. He wouldn't still be there. I thought he might have come here."

"If he had, I would have given him quite the lecture. That young man needs a strong hand in his life. You need to be firm with him, set limits. He's growing up wild. Now look, he's gone off to find his father. If you'd done what I said years ago, you'd have told him his father was dead."

"I probably should have," Jenny admitted. Slowly she got to her feet. "You're right. I'll go to Luke's house and see if Danny is there."

"I'll go with you."

"No. I'll go by myself. You have the kids, dinner, Richard ..."

Merrilee patted down her hair. "Of course, you're right. Richard likes to talk over the events of his day while he has a brandy."

Jennifer smiled wistfully. "Sounds nice."

"It is. You could have had all this, too."

"Merrilee, please."

"I don't think you should see Luke. He'll talk you into something again."

"Don't be ridiculous. I'm not eighteen anymore. And he's married."

"You were a fool for him once."

"I'm not a fool any longer. He told me to get an abortion, Merrilee. I could never forgive him for that."

"Sometimes I wonder."

"Good night." Jenny stood up and walked to the door.

"Call me the minute you find out anything."

"I will."

"And Jennifer."

"What?"

"Be careful. Be dignified. Remember who you are."

"Who am I?"

"You're a St. Claire, and you're just as good as those Sheridans. I don't care how much money they have."

Chapter Four

Act dignified, Merrilee had said. Climbing onto a brick planter so she could peek into Luke's house was probably not what her etiquette-conscious sister had in mind. But Jenny had no other choice. It was obvious from the line of fancy cars parked in front of Luke's house that he was having a party. She simply could not walk up to his door and ask him if the son he knew nothing about had dropped by that afternoon.

Instead, she hoped to catch a glimpse of her son in the living room. She saw Luke almost immediately, standing in front of a large granite fireplace. He turned his head toward the window, and her breath caught in her throat. He was more handsome than she remembered, bigger, taller, stronger. A man, not a boy.

His suit was well tailored, his appearance as crisp as a new dollar bill. He looked like a man in control of his life, of his destiny, a man who had no idea he was the father of a twelve-year-old boy.

As she watched, Luke's smile turned into a frown, his head tilted slightly to the right. She wondered if he could see her, sense her prying eyes. They had always been connected, from the first moment they met, completely in tune with each other's thoughts and feelings. They had been different, yes, but deep down, they had been the same then, young, lonely, uncertain of their futures, lost in families that didn't seem to understand them, captivated by the sight, sound, and sense of each other.

Jenny sank further into the bushes, her hands shaking, her body trembling at one look from Luke. After a moment, Luke turned his attention back to the beautiful redhead standing next to him, and Jenny breathed easier. She looked at the other people in the room, at Luke's mother, who beamed like a proud mother hen. Not that Beverly Sheridan had ever been a hen in her life. The tall, blond woman was a brilliant doctor, a perfect match to her brilliant husband and her brilliant son. Beverly was one of the beautiful people, and she had hated Jenny on sight.

Luke had asked Jenny to come to the house for his twenty-second birthday party. Without his knowledge, his mother had invited a lovely debutante to join them. Throughout appetizers, dinner, and birthday cake, Beverly had made Jenny feel like an outsider.

It became clear that the Sheridans had big plans for their one and only son. Jenny was not a part of those plans. Looking back, she understood their feelings better now that she was a parent. Unfortunately, understanding didn't erase the pain of rejection. She had been eighteen, insecure, testing her wings, and they had cut her off without giving her a chance to fly.

She couldn't imagine how they would treat Danny if they knew he was their grandson. She couldn't count on any more sensitivity than they had shown her. And Luke, what would his reaction be? Would he walk away from Danny as he had walked away from her?

Jenny suddenly had to know if Danny was there, if he had met Luke, if he was inside the house at this very moment, huddled in a dark corner, waiting for her to come and take him home.

She jumped off the ledge and walked up to the front door, unconsciously smoothing down her jeans and drawing her jacket tightly about her shoulders. Then she rang the bell.

A moment later, a middle-aged woman wearing a simple gray dress answered the door, obviously a maid or one of the caterers.

"Yes?" she said, her expression less welcoming as she took in Jenny's appearance.

"I'm here to see Luke Sheridan."

"Do you have an invitation?"

"No, but it's important."

"I'm sorry, Miss -- "

"Please, tell him that Jenny needs to speak to him."

The woman shook her head. "He's entertaining guests. If you come back tomorrow, I'm sure he'd be happy to talk to you."

Jenny fumed at the brush-off, then put her hand up as the woman attempted to shut the door. "Wait. Just tell me one thing. Is there a little boy inside the house? A twelve-year-old named Danny? He's about this tall." She held up her hand to the level of her chin.

The woman shook her head. "Oh, no, ma'am. There are no children at this party."

"You're sure?"

"Positive." She closed the door, leaving Jenny staring at the brass knocker.

Okay, so Danny wasn't in the house. Good. Maybe he had changed his mind. Maybe he hadn't found the address after all. He was probably at home wondering where she was. Her tension eased at the thought.

Luke was inside the house, smiling and laughing with his guests. He didn't look like a man who had just discovered a son. Danny hadn't told him. Somehow she was sure of that fact.

Thank goodness. Jenny walked down the drive and got in the car. She would go home, pull Danny into her arms and tell him never to scare her like that again. They didn't need Luke Sheridan. They had each other.

* * *

Luke watched as the housekeeper walked into the living room and began picking up discarded glasses of champagne. After a moment, he excused himself from a group of guests, who were listening raptly to his wife's tale of their trip to Cancun, and walked over to the housekeeper.

"Mrs. Collins?"

"Yes, sir?"

"Did I hear the doorbell ring?"

"Yes, you did, sir." Mrs. Collins didn't explain, and Luke felt a surge of impatience.

"Who was it?"

Mrs. Collins looked at him as if his question were completely absurd. "Why a young woman, sir. She wasn't a guest. I told her to come back tomorrow."

Luke's gut tightened. "A woman? Did she give her name?"

"I believe she said it was Jenny."

God, no!
Luke backed away, shocked by the sound of one word, one name that he had thought never to hear again. He walked to the front door and threw it open. There was no one there. She was gone. He thought back to the incident earlier, to the boys.

His feeling of uneasiness grew stronger. Maybe it was a coincidence, but he didn't think so. Something was going on, and he would find out what it was -- even if it meant seeing her again. He shut the door and walked back to the party. He needed a drink, and he needed it bad.

* * *

"Ninety-nine bottles of beer on the wall, ninety ..." Matt's head rolled around on his neck as his muscles went limp. He was so drunk he couldn't even remember the words. A feminine hand stroked his neck and long fingernails raked against his skin, causing an automatic hard-on. Although what the hell he could do with his body at this moment was anyone's guess.

He turned his head and his vision blurred. "Brenda? Baby? Is that you?"

"Of course, it's me." She giggled. "Who else would it be?"

He smiled. "Dunno. Who's sitting with us?"

"All your old buds. Kenny's over there. Jody and Larry. Don. Everyone."

Matt peered across the table. "Kenny, Jesus, man. I thought your wife cut off your liquor allowance."

Kenny snorted. "I do what I want -- when I want."

"Louise must be working late," Matt said knowingly.

"Yeah."

Matt raised the beer bottle to his lips. "Hey, I was drinking tequila."

"You ran out of money, babe," Brenda said with a drunken giggle. "All I could afford was beer."

Matt tipped the bottle at her in appreciation. "You're all right, sweetheart." He looked around the table at his friends. Life was getting better by the minute. He downed the bottle and reached for another.

Someone began to sing. Matt tried to join in, but the only part of his body that was feeling anything was his groin, where Brenda's hand was resting. Actually, her hand was moving. Jesus. If he weren't so drunk ...

"Hey, Matto, we're going to O'Riley's for some pool action," Kenny said.

Brenda's hand moved away as she leaned over to whisper something to Jody. Without the pressure of her long nails against the snaps on his jeans, Matt could think a little more clearly, at least enough to see that his friends were leaving.

"You with us?" Kenny asked.

"Shit. Why not?" Matt got to his feet. "Where are my keys?" His fingers latched around the metal ring. "Right here. Let's go."

The crowd stumbled out of the bar, singing, then laughing as the fog hit their faces. "Jesus, how the hell are we going to see the road?" Matt asked, but nobody answered.

* * *

Danny looked out the window; he couldn't see a thing. He rubbed the panel with his hand, but it didn't make a difference. The fog was thick, and the bus was moving slowly. He had no idea what time it was, but it had to be late.

"My mom is going to be pissed," Danny said. He looked over at Chris, who was playing a game on his phone. "Think we'll get grounded for this?"

Chris nodded. "Two weeks, easy. What about you?"

"Same." Danny sighed. "I better get my mom a nice gift for her birthday or I'll be stuck in the house for months."

"Are you going back?" Chris asked.

"I don't know." Danny shook his head. "I thought it would be so great to meet my dad. But, man, you saw his house. Why would a rich dude like that want me as his kid?"

"Don't know. But my dad was a slime ball, and he didn't want me either."