Heart of the Raven (10 page)

T
oday's the day, Heath thought—the first day of the rest of his life. Cliché or not, it was the truth. The gardeners were finished cleaning up the property, leaving the view wide-open, as he'd intended when he built the house. His car had just been returned from the mechanic, who had cleaned the fuel system, changed the oil and got it into running condition again. It sat in front of the garage, ready to take Cassie and Danny for a drive when she got home from work, which would be soon.

She'd been living there for a week, had spent every night in his bed, in his arms. Laughter and light filled the house finally.

He'd made a decision about who to name as Danny's guardian. He'd called Kerwin and left a message for him so that they could start the paperwork.

He was in a great mood.

He still hadn't opened the blinds in his office—another big step to take sometime in the future. Having Danny didn't resolve every issue, but he had turned Heath's life around.

Then there was Cassie. Elusive, complicated, sexy Cassie, a mother and a lover, a rescuer of babies and lost souls. There was so much more he wanted to know about her.

He heard her car coming up the driveway and went out to greet her. She parked next to his car.

“Going somewhere?” she asked.

“I thought we would.”

She smiled. “Around the world in eighty days?”

“Around the town in sixty minutes, maybe? Won't know until we get there.”

“Sounds good to me. How's Danny?”

“It's five-thirty and he isn't crying.”

“Progress.”

They walked side by side. He took her hand. “I have a question for you,” he said.

“Sounds serious.”

“My lawyer reminded me that I need to appoint a legal guardian for Danny should something happen to me. I want that person to be you.”

She stopped walking to stare at him. “Your parents…”

“They will always be his grandparents. That may be the worst of it for you.” He smiled. She didn't. “You love him. That's what matters. Not blood.”

Her eyes welled. She put her arms around him. “I've never been more honored. Thank you.”

The phone rang. “That's probably Kerwin. I left a message for him to call.”

He hurried into the house, picking up the phone right before the answering machine would've come on.

“Heath, it's Kerwin.”

“Thanks for returning my call. You got my message?”

“Yes, I—”

“I just asked her.” Cassie shut the front door and crossed the foyer. “She's agreed to be guardian.”

“I don't know how to tell you this,” Kerwin said.

“Tell me what?”

A few beats passed. Cassie tiptoed into Danny's room.

“The DNA results are in. Heath, you're not Daniel's father.”

 

“We're going for a drive,” Cassie said to Danny as she changed his diaper. She'd found him awake in his crib, his little arms and legs in motion. He'd kicked off his blanket. “We'll celebrate this momentous occasion in your life. It's kind of momentous for your daddy, too, you know, driving again.”

She didn't hear Heath approach, but suddenly he was there.

“His cord fell off,” Cassie said, lifting Danny's shirt to show him the cute little belly button. “Look. He's got an innie— What's wrong?”

His expression bleak, Heath stared at Danny. “He's not mine,” he said.

“What?”

“The DNA came back. I'm not his father.”

Cassie's feet turned to lead. Her stomach churned. Her heart stopped. She couldn't move, not even to hug
him. She kept a hand on Danny's stomach, her throat convulsing. She'd known. She'd suspected all along that Eva had been lying to Heath. Her story hadn't rung true. But Cassie had chosen lately to ignore the possibilities because she'd fallen hard for Danny—and his father. It wasn't like her to ignore reality.

“Heath—”

“Don't say anything,” he said, then walked out of the room.

Seconds later, she heard his office door shut quietly. Too quietly. She would've preferred he slammed it or banged a fist through it.

She was partly to blame. She'd encouraged him to give his heart to Danny and not worry about the future. If he'd held back—

No. He wouldn't have held back. He'd loved Danny before he was born, even though he'd been afraid to.

She picked up the boy and cuddled him close. She'd known it was too good to be true. A man to love? A baby to love? It wasn't in the cards for her. The one time she'd let herself believe it might be possible…

Cassie shifted Danny so that she could see his face, his sweet, sweet face. So helpless. And such a pawn in Eva's game, whatever it was. That kind of cruelty could never be forgiven. Why
had
Eva left her baby with Heath? Cassie could only speculate. Danny would recover, although his life wouldn't be as rich by not having Heath as his father. But what about Heath? Would he recover?

Would
she?
She couldn't afford to think about it right now. Whatever emotions were simmering needed to stay simmering. Danny needed her now more than ever.

She wrapped him in a blanket and went outdoors. They walked all around the property, enjoying the sun and the view, until he let her know he was hungry. She fed him and rocked him to sleep, then put him in his bassinet, her hands lingering on him as she pulled the blanket up to his chin. She bent over and kissed him. “Night-night, sweet pea.” A sob rose from her chest. She pressed her hand to her mouth and whirled away, running from the room.

She stood at the bottom of the staircase until she felt steady enough to approach Heath. Then she started up. Not trying to be quiet, she made her way to his office door and knocked. After a few seconds he opened it.

“I don't want sympathy,” he said, his face lined with pain.

She understood his need to hold himself together. She was being held together only with the glue of determination. “Okay. But we need to talk about what to do next.”

“Yeah.” His body rigid, he walked away then took a seat at his desk.

She sat, as well. “Aside from the test results, what did your lawyer tell you?”

“That I have to turn Dan—the baby over to Child Protective Services.”

“No, you don't.”

“Why not?”

“Because I know the system, and I can work around the system. If you don't want to turn him over, you don't have to. Not until Eva is found. Or his…someone else with legal authority to take him.”

“I don't understand.”

“Eva willingly left him with you. That counts. You're providing a good home. He's being well taken care of. And, Heath, I won't put him with CPS, period. If you don't want him, I'll take him.”

“You say that like you'd be able to keep him forever.”

“I won't. I know I won't. But I'll gladly keep him until the right person claims him.”

He scrubbed his face with his hands. “Why did she do it, Cassie?”

She melted at the pain in his words. “She liked you.”

“What?”

“She chose you. She seduced you, didn't she? You haven't said so, but I'll bet it's true.”

He nodded.

“Heath, we know now that someone else fathered the baby, but she must've already known she was pregnant when you slept with her, because you thought she had three weeks to go before she would give birth. She knew she didn't. Apparently she doesn't want the real father to know.”

“But she's smart enough to figure out I would do DNA tests.”

“And she counted on the fact you would do exactly what you did—love him and fight for him.”

“Can I? Fight for him?”

“I don't know. But you don't have to give him up just yet, unless you want to. Do you want to?”

He was silent for a very long time. She studied his profile—his long, shiny hair, his strong jaw and sharp cheekbones, the straight line of his nose. His beautiful hands, clenching and unclenching. “It would be like being a foster parent, wouldn't it?” he asked, facing
her. “Take him in until the right home is found. Love him. Let him go.”

“Yes.”

“I don't want anyone else to have him.”

“I know. Me, neither.”

“I thought she would come and take him back. I never expected this.”

“What do you want to do?” She kept after him, staying on task as much as possible. If she didn't she was going to break down like she never had before. Danny… My baby. My heart. My love.

“What would we have to do?”

She straightened her shoulders, getting down to business. “I make a call to Missing Persons first, see if anyone reported Eva missing, then see who did. It might lead to something. Then I'll go over to CPS and talk to them. We need to make it all legal, if there's any chance at all of making it permanent.”

“Someone will want him,” he said. “Someone else gave him life and will want him.”

“You don't know that. Can you do it? Can you continue to keep him?”

“Without question.”

That's what she wanted to hear—conviction.

“And still give him up?”

“I won't have a choice, will I?”

“Then I'll get busy. I can't go to CPS until they open again in the morning, but I'll call my contact at Missing Persons.”

“Do it now. Here.”

“Okay. He'll be off duty, but he'll remember the
name, if she's on the list. I've got to get my address book from my briefcase. I'll be right back.”

She needed a couple of minutes away from him, away from his sorrow that threatened to expose hers. He probably thought she didn't care as much as he did. Maybe it was a good thing if he thought that. It would make the break easier in the end, not only from Danny but from Heath. He wouldn't want her around if Danny was gone. He already had to live with the pain of losing Kyle, and that would never go away. The pain of losing Danny would lessen in time, but not if she was there as a reminder every day.

Cassie splashed cold water on her face before she got her address book and returned to the office. She caught him staring into space, looking so alone. She wanted to wrap her arms around him and never let go. She knocked on the open door instead and walked in.

She didn't say a word, just headed to the phone and dialed.

“Speak,” came the voice from the other end.

“Hey, Johnson, it's Cassie Miranda. How're you?”

“Cassie, my angel, my one and only. I'm good, babe. How're you doing?”

“Working hard.”

“When don't you?”

“Hey, I'm on a case that might be linked to something you've got. Maybe. I'm wondering if you've got an MP for an Eva Brooks.”

“Brooks. Nope. Not officially, anyway.”

“What do you mean?”

“You're the second person to inquire about her recently.”

“Who else was asking?”

Heath came to attention.

“Some lawyer,” Johnson said.

“Kerwin Rudyard?”

“No. Let me think. Who the hell was that? Oh, yeah. Torrance. Brad Torrance.”

Heath's corporate attorney and Eva's boss. He'd called her roommate, Darcy, too. “Okay, thanks. Listen, give me a buzz if anyone files a report, okay? I'd appreciate it.”

“Sure thing. Take it easy.”

“You, too.” She hung up the phone. “Brad Torrance made an inquiry.”

“Torrance? You find that odd, I take it.”

“Yes and no. She dropped out of sight. Maybe the company wanted to talk to her about something, a paycheck perhaps, or her maternity benefits, but wouldn't it be the human resources director? Not the boss, I don't think.”

They stared at each other.

“What do you know about him?” she asked.

“He's married. His wife is expecting a baby, as a matter of fact. She was due the same time as Eva. But I don't socialize with him, so I don't know more than that.”

“How do you know she was pregnant?”

“Eva told me.”

“How did it come up in conversation?”

He thought about it. “I think she said something about Torrance's wife coming into the office one day and, I don't know, they compared bellies, or something like that. What are you thinking? That he's the father? That they had an affair?”

“Makes sense, doesn't it? Eva was insistent, you said, that she couldn't tell anyone at work who the father was. Maybe it had nothing to do with it being a client, you, but with it being the boss,” she said, warming to the idea even more.

“The boss would try to keep it hush-hush, anyway, of course, but especially with his wife pregnant,” he said. “I think I should call him.”

She thought about it. “Yeah, probably. But not tonight, not at home. Tomorrow at work. You'll have to be circumspect.”

“I've been that since I was a day old. I've never forgiven my parents, either.”

“Okay—” She stopped. Saw a twinkle in his eye. If he could joke at a time like this, she didn't need to worry about him. He would recover. “Wise guy.”

Danny started to cry. The sound drifted up the staircase and into the office like butterflies, elusive and fragile. She looked at Heath, who had shut his eyes. After a few seconds he stood.

“I'll get him,” he said.

She squeezed his arm as he passed by. He stopped for a second, his soul in his eyes, then kept walking. She waited where she was, giving him time alone, then made her way to the kitchen to make a dinner that neither of them would feel like eating.

They could pretend for one more night that he was theirs.

 

Heath wasn't sure he wanted Cassie to join him in bed. He didn't know what to do. He didn't want to talk. He didn't want to make love. He couldn't grieve. To
grieve for Danny meant it opened the door for Kyle. He wasn't ready to face that, not now. Not yet.