Secrets (6 page)

He looked up at the older man. He’d always
respected him. Sven had been instrumental in Kenton's decision to
join the Navy. “What?”

“How many times you have sex with her?”

Kenton blinked. His mind raced as thoughts
jumped and fell over each other. How did he know? He doesn’t-he’s
fishing. Why would he ask that? We don’t even talk. In the end, he
blanked his face. “What?”

“You heard me.” Sven stood facing him, his
face pink. Not red, that’s a good sign, right? All the men on the
ranch were very protective of the two women that lived there.

“Why would you ask me that?”

“Why won’t you say never?”

“Never.”

Sven leaned forward and ran a hand through
his hair, releasing the ponytail. “Shit, that’s the first lie
you’ve ever told me.”

It wasn’t. Kenton had taken some things from
Sven’s bag once when they’d gone camping and he denied it. He'd
been ten or somewhere near that age. But that wasn’t important.
“What are you talking about?”

“You were too upset about her being with
another man to have not staked a claim, even subconsciously.”

“The man was my seventy-year-old uncle. She
was his ward, that’s fucked up.” His face heated as the thought of
her with his relative singed his pride.
Wait, pride
?
What
the hell?

Sven shrugged and backed up. “Okay. Good to
know. Now what? How do you feel about her having children with
another man? Someone else got the goods. You're okay as long as
it’s not your uncle, right?”

He nodded, too twisted inside to speak. The
thought she’d moved on burned a hole in his gut. He schooled his
face, forcing it to remain placid, calm, frigid almost.

“Glad to hear it man. I’ll let Robbie know.”
Sven turned toward the door.

Without thought, his hand clamped down on
Sven’s shoulder. His voice dropped an octave. Veins stood out on
his neck. “Who? I know you didn’t say Robbie.” Robbie was the ranch
manager and single. He had nothing against the man except he
shouldn’t be looking at Chastity that way.

Sven shrugged to remove the hand. Kenton
tightened his grip. “I said Robbie.”

“What the fuck is he doing hanging around
Chastity? He’s old enough to be her father. I thought you were head
security. How the hell did he get close to her?”

“I guess the same way you did, when I wasn’t
looking. I trusted you and didn’t dog your steps. But the fox got
inside the chicken-coop anyway.”

Sven shrugged again, and this time Kenton's
fingers loosened and fell away.

“How many times did you have sex with her?”
Sven asked again.

Kenton swallowed, ashamed that he’d betrayed
the trust of two men he greatly admired. “Two.”

Chapter
6

Three days after their disastrous attempts
at mediation, Chastity received a call from Jamison. The judge, who
was an old friend of Mr. Baxter’s, and who’d sent the case to
mediation, had an opening and wanted them in court the next
morning. Waiting for Sven to escort her inside the courthouse, she
glanced around the quiet hall. The calm before the squall.

The children were at home with Robbie, who'd
been given specific instructions. No one gets near her kids,
period. She figured Maude would send someone to the ranch while she
was at court or something underhanded like that.

Chastity hadn’t seen or heard from Kenton
since the incident in the office earlier that week. Despite the
crazy words he'd spouted, seeing him brought back memories from her
teen years. He'd changed and so had she. A wave of disappointment
rolled over her and she fought it back. Life moved forward.
Catching sight of Sven and her attorney dispelled her gloomy
thoughts.

Perfect, now they could settle the matter of
Mr. Baxter's will with as little fanfare as possible. No sooner had
the thought eased her mind, but Maude Stone, her attorney, and
three additional people who looked suspiciously like the press,
barreled around the corner yelling questions.

“Ms. Stone, do you believe this young woman
stole money from your brother and is hiding it in other
countries?”

“Do you think this is some sort of love
triangle?”

“Are you implying she was in some way
responsible for Mr. Baxter’s death? What do you hope to prove?”

Chastity pushed her legs to move at a faster
clip in her low-heeled pumps, just shy of running into the
appropriate courtroom; dodging the questions thrown at her. “That
bitch,” she huffed, pissed at the turn of events.

Sven pushed her further inside, toward the
front of the courtroom with Jamison, while he stood near the door,
limiting her contact with the press.

Breathing a sigh of relief, she sat down
next to her attorney. “This is turning into a circus.” Chastity
glanced at the media people who stood in the back of the courtroom.
“It’s supposed to be a quick hearing, what’s happening?” Worry
threaded her tone and shot down her spine until she glanced at the
opposing table. Maude Stone wore a smug smile on her face.
What
was she planning
? Glare for glare, the two women stared at each
other. Did Mrs. Stone want everyone to know what her brother had in
the files? Jamison had warned her, the woman’s greed led her into
places her ego wouldn’t be able to tolerate.

Chastity grabbed Jamison’s arm. “Please tell
me this will be over today.”

He rubbed her hand as Sven took the seat
beside her. “It should be, although Maudie seems confident about
something.”

Tell me something I don’t know
.
“Really? I wonder what?” The sarcasm she’d tried to hide slipped
through.

He shrugged. “We’ll have to wait and
see.”

Sven placed a file in front of him as he sat
facing the front. She glanced at the unlabeled folder. Her fingers
itched to look inside. His eyes slid to hers and he shook his head,
pointing to the letters on the front. Mr. Baxter’s moniker, NTK
only. The only way to find out the contents in that file was if she
needed to know. Nerves shot, she looked around the room and bit her
lip in frustration. Her eyes narrowed as they landed on Kenton, who
sat two rows behind her. They stared at each other before he nodded
and looked straight ahead.

Damn. Was he here to support his mom or his
uncle? If Mr. Baxter could’ve counted on Kenton to carry out his
wishes, he would have the file instead of Sven. In her mind, Kenton
had proven he lacked the heart to ride through tough battles. She’d
waited to hear from him for weeks after her birthday. Nothing. Not
even to check to see if she was okay. As usual, the selfishness of
the male species didn’t surprise her. At the end of the day, you
have to look out for yourself. Mistakenly, she’d thought he’d be
different since he was Mr. Baxter’s nephew.
That
fruit had
rolled into another orchard, he was nothing like her benefactor. He
was just as self-centered as another bastard she’d met long ago.
Gypsy baby
my ass.

They stood as the judge entered, and after
they all sat back down, he stated the case. Maude and her attorney
wasted no time painting Chastity as a gold-digging whore who’d
hood-winked an elderly, borderline insane David Baxter. They stated
the boys were Mr. Baxter’s sons and Chastity was an illiterate
whore, unfit to take care of the children. They cited witnesses
who’d seen her prostituting and taking drugs. Maude Stone, as
sister to the deceased, petitioned the court for custody of her
brother’s children.

Stunned at the magnitude of the lie,
Chastity sat glued to the seat as men she’d never seen before came
and pointed fingers at her, claiming to have purchased sexual
services. One man had worked at the ranch five years ago and
claimed the two of them smoked pot together. Sven’s hand tightened
around hers when Jamison cross-examined the man and left glaring
holes in his testimony.

Sven slid two papers to Jamison, who read
them twice and smiled. The next witness claimed Mr. Baxter told him
the three children were his. Her attorney cross-examined him
ruthlessly. The man constantly wiped his forehead and upper lip.
Jamison had him twisting in his seat.

“When did Mr. Baxter tell you he impregnated
his ward?”

“He said it was right after she turned
eighteen. He’d waited for her to be legal.” The man smirked.

“Are you sure he told you he made her
pregnant, or did he say they just had sex?”

“Nope, he made her pregnant. I’m positive.
He had a DNA test and everything.”

“Did you see the DNA test?”

“No, no. He was a good friend; I took his
word for it.”

Jamison walked to the table, picked up the
two sheets of paper, and approached the judge. Maude's attorney
joined them. “Your honor, I have copies of David Baxter’s medical
record. It clearly documents that he had a vasectomy when he was
thirty-five years old. That was before Ms. March was born. Every
five years, as these records show, he went and had
things
checked. His doctors affirmed his sterility and inability to
impregnate anyone.”

Chastity’s mouth dropped open, her hand flew
up and covered her surprise.
Ohmigod
,
Mr. Baxter had had
the big V
. Sven squeezed her hand as the judge flipped through
the pages. She looked at Jamison.

“Is the doctor available to verify these
documents?”

He turned and looked around the courtroom as
a short, balding man stood up. “He is, Your Honor.”

Maude’s attorney glanced at the pages and
returned to her seat. The two women conversed as the doctor took
the stand. Chastity watched the women instead of listening to the
testimony. If Mr. Baxter used this guy, then he’d be good. Her
fingers twitched in anticipation of watching the DVD Mr. Baxter had
left for the court. Mr. Jamison said it was bad, which meant it was
good for them.

The judge released the doctor from the
stand. “It’s apparent Mr. Baxter isn’t the father of Ms. March’s
children. Therefore, you have no rights to them or anything left on
their behalf. As for deciding her fitness as a mother, that has no
bearing in this discussion since the children are not related to
you or Mr. Baxter. Do you have any other witnesses?”

The two women talked for a moment or two.
The attorney stood up. “Yes, we call Lieutenant Commander Kenton
Stone.”

Chastity jerked and turned. Kenton sat
frowning at his mother without moving.

“Is the Lieutenant in the courtroom?”

“Yes, he is.” Maude turned and pointed at
him. “He’s sitting right there.”

“Young man, are you Lieutenant Commander
Kenton Stone?”

He stood. “Yes, ma’am.”

“You’ve been called as a witness. Please
take the stand.”

He shook his head as if to clear it and
walked forward. After being sworn in, his face blanked into name,
rank, and serial number mode, Chastity had hated it whenever he
pulled that one with her. Now she was glad he had, since he only
did it when he was pissed.

Biting her lower lip, Chastity wondered why
they’d called him to the stand. It was obvious this wasn’t planned.
Even wounded soldiers got in the crossfire of greed. After stating
his name for the records, the questioning started.

“Lt. Cmdr Stone, is Maude Stone your
mother?” Maude's attorney asked.

“Yes.” Kenton stared straight ahead.

“Were you aware of this lawsuit?”

“No.”

“No? Didn’t your mother tell you she was
planning to sue the defendant?”

“No.”

“Yes I did,” Maude yelled. After the judge
censured her, the attorney continued.

“What did your mother tell
you
about
this case?”

“She was thinking about taking it to
court.”

“What did you tell
her
?”

“Not to waste her time. If Uncle David had
wanted us to have the money, he would’ve left it for us. She didn’t
listen.”

“Why would she ignore the advice of her only
child and possibly damage her relationship with you over this, if
she didn’t believe she were doing the right thing?”

“Greed. She wants his money.”

“If she wants his money, then she wants it
for you, his
blood
relative.”

He faced the judge. “If what her attorney is
saying is true, then we can end this now. I don’t want the money.
Uncle David was a smart and generous man. It was his money to give
to whomever he wanted. I say let his last wishes stand.”

“Hell no!” his mother screamed. “How dare
you go against me!”

He shrugged and stared at the red-faced
attorney.

Chastity’s heart expanded at his words.

Sven squeezed her hand, bent forward and
spoke near her ear. “That didn’t go as well as she thought.”

“Commander Stone, are you intimately
involved with the defendant?” Maude’s attorney asked. The room went
silent.

“Lt. Cmdr Stone and no.”

“My apologies on your correct title. Have
you ever been?”

“Objection, relevance.” Mr. Jamison shot
up.

“Sustained.”

“Is it possible the children are yours?”

“Objection.”

Maude Stone’s attorney stood facing the
judge. “If the children are Lieutenant Commander Stone’s, then the
relationship portion of the case remains valid.”

Kenton’s eyes skewered Chastity to her
chair. His face paled and then darkened as the argument raged
between the two attorneys. If his lips tightened any further,
they’d be a slash on his face. Her heart sank as awareness crashed
over his countenance.

“I disagree, Your Honor,” Jamison said. “The
father of Ms. March’s children has no bearing on this case. It is
David Baxter’s will being contested, not Lieutenant Commander
Stone’s. It’s been proven Mr. Baxter is not the father. Maude Stone
is grabbing at straws because she has no claim on Mr. Baxter’s
estate.”

After a moment of deliberation, the judge
sided with Mr. Jamison, and Kenton didn’t answer the question.
Chastity released a breath. Another bridge she’d cross later. Now
it was time for her attorney to represent Mr. Baxter.