Maybe Baby (26 page)

“Saluto Signor Trey. Vedo che avete la tua amore con voi questa sera.”

Hello Mr. Trey. I see you have your love with you this evening.

“Buena sera Carmelita. Si puo abbiamo un tavolo privato? Ho molto da discutere con lei.”

Good evening Carmelita. Yes, may we have a private table? I have much to discuss with her.

“Naturalmente mio dolcezza. Mi segua, per favore.”

Of course my sweetheart. Please follow me.

“Voi e la vostra amore, si farà bellissimi bambini!”

You and your love, you'll make beautiful children!

“Lo spero, Carmelita, un giorno.”

I hope so Carmelita, one day.

Trey and I were seated at the same table as our first date. It was romantic and secluded. Carmelita held my chair out for me. I smiled at her. She winked at me. Trey sat down and immediately ordered a bottle of Chianti.

“What would you like, Tylar?” he asked gently.

“You choose. I’m not fussy.”

Trey ordered chicken Parmesan for both of us, with spinach salads. The Chianti arrived at the same time our warm bread did. Trey poured me a generous serving of wine.

Hmm . . . must be bad news…

We made small talk while waiting for our salads. I told him about running into Denise earlier at Ray’s cottage and asked him what he thought about Ray moving in with Denise.

“About time,” was his only comment.

Our salads arrived. More time passed as we ate. This was getting uncomfortable for me. Finally, I spoke up.

“There's something you want to say to me, I can tell, so will you please just say it?”

“Tylar, I didn’t want to say anything to you while we were in Atlanta celebrating your birthday this past weekend. I wasn’t in Atlanta last week.”

My stomach knotted. What was he getting ready to do? Confess?

“Oh?” I asked, acting as if this was news to me.

“I visited the agent for the LLC that owns your house in Radcliff.”

“You went to Jackson, Mississippi?” I asked.

He nodded. “I needed to investigate your case. I found some things out, but not everything.”

“Well?” I asked.

“The good news is that when you turned 21 last week, the deed to that house was transferred into your name. You now own that house, free and clear.”

“I do?”

“Your mother obviously knew that this was set to happen, which explains her disappearance with your trust money. It would have been next to impossible for her to defraud you out of real estate with the deed plainly in your name. What I haven’t been able to find out is who the trustor is, in other words, the identity of your father.”

“Well, couldn’t you ask the agent?”

“It’s not that simple. Many companies assign agents for the sole purpose of protecting their identity. In an LLC, the owners, shareholders, or principals of the company do not have to disclose their identity. They can, as they say, hide beneath the corporate veil. The agent’s purpose is to protect those identities and handle any filings or notices against the particular LLC.”

We sat in silence for several moments.

“I made a trip back to Louisville also.”

“Why?” I asked, truly puzzled.

“I wanted to check birth records in Hardin and Jefferson counties. You weren’t born in either one.”

The surprises just kept coming. Was everything about my life a lie?

Our food was brought to the table so our conversation paused for a few moments. Trey refilled our wine glasses, and for the next few minutes we ate in silence. The chicken was delicious. I was hungrier than I thought, or perhaps I simply didn’t want the conversation to resume at all. Trey finally broke the silence.

“How is it you have made it this far without having a copy of your own birth certificate?”

“I don’t know," I shrugged. "When I got my learner’s permit my mom was with me so I guess she had it. My college only required my driver’s license and social security number.”

“Speaking of which,” he interrupted, “I called back to the office while I was out to get your social security number. You know that the first three numbers of anyone’s social security number identifies the issuing state. Your prefix is 434. That indicates that it was issued from Louisiana.”

“Louisiana? I’ve never been to Louisiana.”

“As far as you recall,” he corrected, “that doesn’t mean you couldn’t have been born there. In particular, if your mother had collected any type of federal or state aid, she would have needed to get a social security number assigned to you at infancy.”

“Thank you, Trey," I smiled weakly. "If there was any doubt in my mind before, you have now made it perfectly clear that I’m descended from pure trash.”

“That wasn’t my intention at all. You know that. My only purpose in getting involved at all is to help you recover your trust money.”

“And it looks like that's not going to happen. Well I don’t care. I can just sell the house, maybe not quickly enough for fall tuition, but in the end, it's worth more than the trust was anyway.”

“We don’t have to discuss it any more this evening. I can see that it upsets you. But this isn't the end of it. We'll get the answers.”

“And what if the answers are worse than I imagined?”

“Then we'll deal with it.”

I knew he was right. The only way I could put closure on my past was to
know
my past. Trey and I declined dessert. I just wanted to get home and put an end to this officially sucky day. Trey paid our bill. I told him I needed to use the restroom; he said he would bring the car around. When I came out of the restroom, Carmelita saw me and came over. She could tell that I'd been crying.

“Why so sad tonight, mia cara?” she asked, putting one of her heavy arms around me.

“Solo uno di questi, Carmelita. Spero di migliorare, prima di coricarsi,” I replied.

Just one of those days, Carmelita. I hope to improve it before bedtime.

Carmelita raised her eyebrows at me then burst out laughing, pulling me into a big, Italian bear hug.

“Signor Trey è fortunato ad aver trovato una compagna perfetta.”

Mr. Trey is lucky to have found such a perfect mate.

“Grazie, Carmelita,” I said, hugging her back.

On the way home, Trey was quiet. I was hoping he wouldn’t unveil any more bombshells tonight. I had other things in mind to help finish the day on a much better note. It had been two days since we'd made love. I needed my Trey fix.

I leaned over toward Trey in the car, focusing my full attention on him. He glanced over at me, smiling. My hand found its way to his crotch, rubbing it gently in a circular motion. I could feel him harden beneath my touch, which in turn made me wet. Trey took his right arm off of the steering wheel, pulling me closer to him, his lips brushing my forehead.

“You want to stay with me tonight?” he asked huskily.

“What do you think?” I had his index finger in my mouth, licking it and sliding it in and out suggestively. Trey and I barely got into the house without tearing each other’s clothes off. We stood in the front entry, our lips locked in a passionate kiss; Trey’s hands were all over me. I had my fingers hooked in the waistband of his pants, pulling his groin close to mine. I was ready to grind myself into him when Thatcher cleared his throat behind us.

“Ah-hem, excuse me, Mr. Sinclair.”

We broke apart immediately. I fumbled with my clothing, trying to smooth my skirt.

“Yes Thatcher?” Trey said, a hint of irritation present.

“Forgive me sir, but your office in Atlanta has called several times. Apparently your cell phone was shut off. You're required to call them at your earliest opportunity, the jury has come back.”

Trey nodded, and turned to me. “I’ve got to make that call,” he said. “Go on upstairs, okay? I’ll be up in just a few minutes.”

An hour and a half later, fully bathed, shaved, and moisturized, I lay waiting for Trey. I must have finally drifted off, because I wasn’t sure how much later it was that I could feel him next to me, removing my silk underwear, and caressing my skin with his mouth and tongue. He was totally naked, fresh from his shower. His hair was still damp and tousled. I melted as his tongue traced my belly button and moved down very sensually.

He loved me harder tonight; there was urgency to it and we both responded with equal energy and passion. I cried out with pleasure as he brought me to climax once again.

Once spent, I crumpled over next to him, exhausted yet fulfilled at the same time. He stroked my hair with his hand, kissing my lips sweetly, bending over me. He whispered softly in my ear. “You're mine, Tylar. Don’t ever forget that. You're mine.”

I snuggled next to him feeling totally satisfied and secure.

Chapter 26

Trey and I awoke the next morning with 'just-fucked' hair and smiles on our faces. We showered together then went down to breakfast holding hands. I felt so close to him once again. Thatcher was all smiles as he served Trey his coffee and brought me my usual fresh fruit, bagel, and juice.

“I’m flying back to Atlanta this morning,” Trey announced as he buttered his usual whole wheat toast.

My heart sank. It seemed like I was forever saying goodbye to Trey, or waiting for him to return.

“The verdict came in from the jury and we won the suit. I have to present oral arguments to the jury that will decide the financial reward. I could be tied up for a week, possibly longer.”

I looked across the table and he was studying my reaction. Was I allowed to have emotions about this? Could I show disappointment? I smiled up at him telling him to call me when he could. That seemed to appease him.

After breakfast, I kissed him briefly, telling him I'd see him when he got back and headed off to the stables to tack up Derringer for our day of training. I was feeling dejected. I knew that I had to shake it off, the training was important if we were to be ready for competition in September.

I ran into Clint in the stables. “I thought you were moving back in, neighbor,” he teased.

I laughed, “I'll be back tonight, as a matter of fact. Come on over and have a beer.”

“Sure thing,” he said, smiling, “now that you’re twenty-one, I expect you’re buying, right?”

“Absolutely,” I answered.

The day of training went well. Mark sent more videos back with me to review this evening. Maybe Clint wouldn’t mind watching them with me.

Needing to go to town to buy beer and snacks, I returned to the main house to retrieve my new car from the garage. This was my first time driving it and I was pumped. I cruised out on the highway, enjoying the feel of the ride with the top down. In Bristol, I picked up a six-pack, a bottle of chilled white wine and some pizza rolls that were easily nuked.

I returned to the estate, carefully parking my car back in the garage. I carried my purchases back up the path to my cottage. Clint was just coming over as I arrived.

“Great timing, I guess,” he said.

“Yes, and I got your favorite,” I said, showing him the six-pack. We went in and got comfortable.

“Have you had dinner yet?” I asked.

“I’m drinking it,” he toasted, raising his cold beer.

“No way,” I answered. “I’ve got a big bag of pizza rolls for us. Let me nuke them and then dinner will be served.”

We talked and laughed, drinking, and eating our pizza rolls. I switched the television on and we found the end of an old sci-fi movie to watch. We caught up on what everyone had been up to. Clint reported that he’d met a nice girl when he was at the Sanctuary.

“That's so awesome! Why didn’t I know about this?”

“I think you might’ve been otherwise occupied,” he winked.

“Very funny. So, tell me about her.”

“Her name is Clare. She works at the Sanctuary on weekends. She goes to school at the University of Georgia in Athens, studying veterinary medicine.”

“Clint, that's so perfect for you. What about the distance? That’s going to be a drag, isn’t it?”

“We’re not
engaged
yet,” he laughed.

“Hey, maybe if you drive down there to see her some weekend, I can tag along and visit Gina?”

“Or maybe I can tag along with you in your new Mercedes?” he asked.

“Oh, you heard, huh?”

“No, I saw you pull out earlier. Mighty fine ride, ma’am.”

“It was a birthday present…from Trey.”

“Some birthday present,” he replied, rolling his eyes.

“Do you have a problem with Trey?” I asked.

“Not at all; just be careful,” he warned.

“Why do you say that?”

“Look,” he said, “I can tell that you care for the guy, okay? All I’m saying is don’t get too emotionally invested in him.”

It was too late for that.

Clint continued, popping another pizza roll into his mouth. “When his parents get back from Europe, I doubt if he’ll be back here until next year when they go again. That’s just how it’s always been with him, you know?”

“So, I guess what you're making very plain is that you don’t think that he cares for me.”

“I think he cares for you as much as he cares for any of his possessions. I’m sorry, Ty. I call it like I see it.”

I took a sip of my wine. “What would you say if I told you I know for a fact he cares for me, perhaps even loves me?” I didn’t want to get into the details of my knowing Italian and hearing the exchanges between Trey and Carmelita.

“I'd say that I hope it's the kind of love and caring that makes a person thrive, and not the toxic kind that makes a person feel owned.”

I started to totally get my irritation on with Clint, but before I had a chance to respond, my cell rang.

“Booty call,” Clint teased, as I got up to get it. I threw a couch pillow at him as I grabbed my phone off of the counter. It was Trey.

“Hey,” I answered, dodging the pillow that Clint threw back at me.

“What are you up to?” he asked in his very sexy voice.

“Just hanging out with Clint,” I said. There were several beats of silence. “Hello?”

“Yes, I’m here. Just a little confused. I thought we had an agreement?”

“What are you talking about?” I was totally caught off-guard.

“I’m talking about the fact that less than a week ago I made it perfectly clear what my expectations were concerning you and other men.”