The Pint-Sized Secret (17 page)

He had seen the hurt and anguish shimmering in her eyes the night before, along with the tears she had determinedly blinked back. It might have been easier if she had raged at him and let the tears flow. But that quiet resignation, that unshakable acceptance that the future was over for the two of them, was impossible to battle.

Wherever the chips fell, he had to bring an end to this. He wasn’t looking forward to confronting his father with his suspicions, but it had to be done. If he was wrong, he had no doubt that his relationship with his father would suffer irreparably just as his with Brianna had.

“What the hell am I supposed to do?” he asked Michael, who had the reputation of being the calm, rational one in the family.

“Do you really think Dad was involved in all of this in some way, that he set it up?”

“Dylan suspects it and, frankly, I think the whole thing stinks to high heaven. There is not one shred of evidence that Brianna—or anyone else, for that matter—was involved in leaking this information. I just wish I’d done the legwork before I started casting blame on Brianna, instead of after. I should have listened to Dad when he warned me to leave it all alone. Obviously he knew more than he was saying.”

“At least you’ve learned a valuable lesson, even if it was the hard way.”

“I don’t suppose you’d like to come along when I talk to Dad?” he asked halfheartedly, already knowing the likely response.

Michael held up his hands. “No way. I’ve got enough problems keeping Grace Foster in check. I’ll just wait nearby to pick up the pieces after the explosion.”

“Coward.”

“Sensible,” Michael corrected. “Somebody has to be in one piece to run this place when the dust settles.”

“Thanks for your support,” Jeb said, though without real rancor. Michael was just being sensible, as always. “Where’s Tyler?”

“If he’s smart, nowhere near Houston. Forget it, Jeb. You’re on your own.”

Jeb glanced toward his father’s office next door, then sighed. “Wish me luck.”

“Always, bro. Something tells me you’re going to need it. I can’t wait for a full report.”

Jeb drew in a deep breath, then marched out of Michael’s office, through the reception area, past an indignant, protesting Mrs. Fletcher and straight into his father’s office.

Stunned by the sight that greeted him, he halted halfway in. Brianna was facing his father, her hands braced on his desk, the color high in her cheeks. At the sight of Jeb, the flush deepened. His father heaved a sigh of apparent resignation.

“Okay, sit down, son. You might as well hear this, too. Brianna, take a seat.” For the first time in Jeb’s memory, his father looked less than totally sure of himself. His gaze met Jeb’s, then Brianna’s, then fell.

“Much as it pains me to admit it, I’ve made a damned mess of things,” he muttered.

Jeb wasn’t about to argue with that, even without knowing the whole story. “Maybe you should start at the beginning, Dad.”

“I’m not sure I know precisely when that was. I suppose it goes back to losing Trish and Dylan.”

“Dad, you didn’t ‘lose’ them,” Jeb protested. “They made different choices for their lives, but they still love you. And what does that have to do with this?”

“Maybe they do still love me, but it seemed as if nothing was working out the way I’d planned. I built this company from nothing, and I did it for the five of you. I dreamed of all of us working together. I wanted an oil dynasty.”

Jeb glanced at Brianna and saw that she was listening intently, if somewhat skeptically. He couldn’t blame her. All of this Delacourt family history must seem like the weakest of excuses for what had apparently happened. Not that he fully understood what that was just yet. His father’s cryptic remarks were hardly illuminating.

“Go on,” Jeb encouraged.

His father’s gaze met his. “This all started as a way to keep you interested in the company,” he murmured so low that Jeb had difficulty hearing him.

When he grasped what his father was trying to say, he stared incredulously. “Me? This was about me?”

“Yes.”

“I think you’d better explain that one.”

“I didn’t want you defecting, too. I knew you wanted to join up with your brother as an investigator. I thought maybe if you had that kind of work to do around here, you wouldn’t be so anxious to leave. I began planting the idea that we had problems.” He smiled. “I certainly didn’t have to say much. You leaped right on it, but I knew as soon as you started looking very deep, you’d see that there was nothing, so I…” His voice trailed off.

Jeb got the picture just the same. Even though it was what he’d begun to suspect, he was still incredulous. “So you sabotaged your own deals?”

“More or less,” his father admitted. He regarded Brianna apologetically. “I never meant to get you involved, but I have to admit I was grateful when my son began showing an interest in you. That was the icing on the cake. I’d hope you would be one more reason for him to stick around. I thought maybe you could do what I couldn’t, spark his interest in staying right here at Delacourt Oil.”

“So Jordan Adams was right,” Brianna said, clearly every bit as stunned as Jeb. “You manipulated this, from beginning to end.”

“Guilty,” his father admitted.

“You wanted to turn it into some sort of bizarre matchmaking scheme?” she asked, clearly dumbstruck by the absurdity of the lengths to which he’d gone.

“At first, it was just a way to hold on to Jeb. In the end, yes, I was matchmaking. I saw the two of you getting closer and I wanted something to happen. I knew if you spent enough time together, it would. I know my son, Brianna, better than he thinks I do. I knew he would leap to defend the company and, given time, he would leap to defend you.” He surveyed the two of them. “In a way, that’s exactly what’s happened, isn’t it?”

Jeb didn’t even try to deny that part. “Dad, why the hell would you cook up a crazy scheme like that?” he asked. “It’s not your style. You’ve done a lot of things to keep us tied to the company, but you’ve always left our personal lives alone.”

His father shrugged, his expression sheepish. “I kept hearing from Trish and Dylan and from Jordan Adams before them about what a wonder Harlan Adams was, how he meddled in everyone’s lives and they loved him for it. I suppose I figured I could pull it off, too. That I could keep what was left of my family together and watch it grow.”

Jeb would have laughed if the situation weren’t so pathetic. “You were jealous of Harlan Adams?”

“Not of his money or his power,” his father said. “Of his family. His keeps growing, and mine is getting smaller and smaller. I’m sorry. I can’t say it enough. I just pray I haven’t messed up everything for the two of you. That would be my biggest regret.”

He walked out from behind his desk and gave Brianna’s shoulder a squeeze. “I truly am sorry. I sincerely regret any pain I’ve caused you. I hope you’ll forgive me and I hope you’ll stay on here.”

Jeb waited for her reply almost as eagerly as his father, but she seemed dazed. “I need some time. I have to think about all of this,” she said eventually.

“That’s all I’m asking,” his father said. “Think about what you’d be giving up if you left, too. Whatever you decide, though, I will see to it that Emma continues to get the care she needs. She’s a remarkable little girl and you’re a remarkable woman. I would have been blessed to have you become a part of this family. And if this stubborn son of mine has a grain of sense left, he’ll make it happen, despite what I’ve done.”

“Dad,” Jeb warned. He didn’t want his father making his proposal for him. Jeb had a hunch Bryce wouldn’t have any better luck than Jeb himself was likely to have. They were both lucky that Brianna wasn’t the type to go for the jugular, even if she had hired an attorney who would. They had both made terrible mistakes and deserved whatever she felt like dishing out in the way of punishment.

His father moved to stand in front of him. “I owe you an apology, too, son. I wouldn’t blame you if you never spoke to me again.”

Jeb heard the genuine regret and real fear in his father’s voice and let some of his anger slip away. “Oh, I think you can count on hearing quite a lot from me once Brianna and I have settled a few things.”

His father nodded, accepting that things between the two of them were far from over. “Then I’ll leave you to it.”

But if Bryce’s motives were clear, Jeb’s were anything but. She didn’t understand how a man who purported to love her could have so thoroughly misread her. She wasn’t even sure anymore that it mattered. Bottom line: when the chips were down, he’d distrusted her. She simply couldn’t get past that. She doubted that she ever would.

When she met his gaze, she saw that he was waiting, watching her warily.

“I can’t believe my father did something like that,” he said finally.

“It was all about family,” she said. “The same way it was with you. Perhaps the two of you are more alike than you realize.”

Jeb didn’t seem at all comfortable with the comparison. “I imagine you’re not crazy about any of us at the moment.”

“Not especially,” she agreed candidly.

“This may not be the right time to get into this, but I’d like another chance with you,” he said. “I want you to know that up front. I’d like to prove that I’m not quite the jerk I must seem right now, that none of the Delacourts are. Give us a chance, Brianna. Let me make things right.”

“I don’t think that’s possible,” she said coolly, even though her heart ached.

“Just say you’ll try.”

She shook her head, ignoring the pangs of regret. “No, Jeb. I need someone in my life I can count on, not someone who’ll think the worst of me so easily.” She might not have a lot of answers right now, but she knew that much. She stood and turned to go.

To her surprise, he didn’t argue. “Will you accept my father’s offer and stay at Delacourt Oil?” he asked instead.

She turned back, met his gaze. “I honestly don’t know.”

He reached out as if to touch her cheek, then let his hand fall away. “I hope you do, Brianna. Not just for my sake or my dad’s, but for Emma’s. This job has given the two of you stability, and I’d hate to see you lose all that because the Delacourt men are fools.”

“Not fools, Jeb, just misguided.”

“If you can see that, then maybe someday you will forgive us.”

Brianna wished she could believe that, wished that this whole nightmare had never even begun, but wishing couldn’t change anything. She felt every bit as betrayed as she had when Larry had walked away from her and Emma without a backward glance.

“I have to go,” she said.

Jeb nodded, though there was no mistaking the regret in his eyes. “Do what you have to do.”

What she wanted to do was hurl herself into his arms and pretend that everything was going to be okay, but that was out of the question. Instead, even though her heart was breaking, she made herself walk away.

She couldn’t go on indefinitely in this professional limbo. Jordan Adams had put his money where his mouth was. He had made her a firm offer to join his staff, which would mean moving to Los Piños.

A few days ago she had gone for a visit and she genuinely liked the small town, liked the people in Jordan’s company, loved all of the Adamses, whom Jordan had insisted she meet. But the thought of uprooting Emma or, worse yet, leaving her over in Houston, even temporarily, was out of the question.

“I’m sorry, Jordan,” she said when they met again after she’d weighed the decision for days. “I can’t do it, as much as I would like to. The timing just isn’t good for my daughter.”

“I understand,” he said, though with obvious disappointment. “Once she’s back on her feet again, if you change your mind, the offer holds. You’ll always be welcome here, Brianna. I feel as if I owe you at least as much as Bryce does for my part in that whole farce.”

When she would have spoken, he held up a hand. “No argument. And this isn’t just about that, either, in case you thought it was. You’re a fine geologist. We’d be lucky to get you.”

He studied her, his expression serious. “Mind if I butt in on something that is none of my business?”

She laughed. “Everyone else has. Why not you?”

“I don’t think Emma is the only reason you’re turning me down.”

She had a hunch she knew where he was heading and decided to nip the speculation in the bud. “Of course it’s about Emma. Everything I do has to be about my daughter’s welfare.”

“She could get the care she needs over here, even if we had to fly in therapists,” he pointed out. “Which I would be more than happy to do. She could have a full-time nanny or a nurse and be at home with you. In some ways she would be even better off than she is now. I think she might thrive in this environment. Kids do.” His gaze locked with hers. “But you’d still turn me down, wouldn’t you?”

Brianna winced at the accuracy of his assessment. Obviously he had sensed something in her that she hadn’t wanted to see.

“If you love Jeb, work it out. Give him a chance to make up for hurting you. One thing Bryce had right about this family is that each and every one of us understands the power of love. We respect it. And we know it’s the one thing in life you should never back away from, especially not out of fear of being hurt.”

“I appreciate what you’re saying, but you’re wrong. I don’t love Jeb and he doesn’t love me,” she insisted. “If he had, he would never have done what he did.”

“What did he do that was so terrible?” Jordan asked quietly. “Think about it, Brianna. He tried to defend his family, even when it cost him the love of a woman he cared about. Isn’t that the kind of man you’d like in your corner when the chips are down?”

Brianna sighed. “Maybe so,” she conceded. But it wasn’t going to happen. There was simply too much water under that particular bridge. She didn’t waste time pointing out that the chips had been down and Jeb hadn’t been there for her.

“Think about what I’ve said. I don’t mind losing you, if it’s for the right reasons. Be honest with yourself, at least.”

Brianna thought she was being honest with herself. She couldn’t love a man who’d betrayed her. She wouldn’t.

Even if her heart said otherwise.