Burned Page 13

  If he had any color remaining, it had all drained out of his face. “I beg your pardon?”

  “I’m pregnant, Rhys.”

  Slowly he stood up. “I thought you were on the pill.”

  “I might have forgotten to take them a couple times, I don’t know, but I didn’t deliberately set out to trap you if that’s what you’re inferring.”

  He narrowed his gaze and flared his nostrils. “What did you expect me to say? Hallelujah? Should I be happy that you have the chance to abuse another child?”

  There were many things he could have said to her but this was by far the lowest. And here she thought her mother was the master of emotional paper cuts. Her first reaction was to leave the office and run, but she refused to lay down and take this. Fuck it. She was tired of being everyone’s doormat. “I apologized for what I did to Carys. Besides my hitting her, my only mistake was not telling you sooner that your daughter is not as innocent as you think she is.”

  He balled his fists his sides and took a step toward her but stopped. “Don’t make my opinion of you lower than it already is. You have no right to say anything against my daughter and furthermore, if you really are pregnant, perhaps I should file for sole custody to ensure you don’t harm this child as well.”

  Sadie brought her hand up to hit him but stopped herself. What the hell was she doing? What was with the Edwards family that provoked her to violence?

  Rhys smirked “Go ahead. That seems to be your M.O. these days doesn’t it, Sadie? Or should I saw Chrysanthemum Flowers? You’ll be hearing from my lawyer of course.”

  “And you’ll be hearing from mine. There is no way I’d have a child of mine around an asshole like you and that demon seed you call a daughter.”

  Rhys turned bright red. “Get out of my office!”

  “Gladly, Mr. Edwards, but before I go, I think you have to be the dumbest son of a bitch on the face of the Earth. Why don’t you ask one of your old girlfriends about your sweet princess? I think they’d agree with me.”

  “I said get the fuck out!” he roared.

  She shot him one final glare, before turning on her heel but as she made it to the door, it was flung open and in stepped a stunning blonde. “Is everything okay? I heard yelling down the hall.”

  “Don’t mind me, I’m just leaving.” Sadie brushed past the other woman.

  As she walked out the door and took a couple steps away from the office, she heard the blonde ask, “Who was that?”

  “Nobody special,” was Rhys’s cold reply.

  Sadie stopped unable to suppress the urge to eavesdrop.

  “Oh, well in that case, how about we go to lunch today? I’ve been dying to pick your brain since I started here.”

  “Maybe another time Delilah. I have a lot on my plate right now. Can I take a rain check?”

  “Sounds good. And don’t think I’ll let you out of our lunch date. Or we could make it dinner.” The blonde’s voice dropped several octaves lower with almost a husky quality to it. It was obvious to Sadie that Delilah wanted to do much more than pick Rhys’s brains.

  Not waiting around to hear Rhys response she hurried down the hall and out the building. She refused to shed tears even though they were threatening to spill. Even from the beginning of the relationship, she knew Rhys would have the power to hurt her far more than any man ever had and she was right.

  Sadie was so over it. Tired of being pushed around and hurt and it was time to start taking care of her. Yanking her cell phone out of her purse, she pressed Daisy’s number on speed dial.

  Daisy answered on the second ring. “Hey, little sis, what’s up?”

  “I need the name of a good family lawyer in my area.”

  “What happened honey?”

  “I told Rhys about the baby. He was less than thrilled. Our meeting was contentious, to say the least, but let’s not get into logistics. I don’t want to talk about it right now.”

  “Do you need me to come back?”

  “No. I need to handle this on my own. And I’m dead serious. I don’t need you, Rose or Lily to fight my battles. I’m going to be a mother soon and I can’t teach my child to be self-sufficient if I have you guys playing white knight every time you think I need rescuing.”

  There was a long silence on the other end of the line followed by a sigh. “Okay, Sadie. I have a few names for you. I just need to get their contacts and I’ll give you a call tonight with the information.”

  “Thank you so much. I really appreciate it.”

  “Okay, I have a meeting with the partners in two minutes.”

  “Oh, I’m sorry to hold you up.”

  “Sweetie, you know there’s nothing more important to me than my sisters. Okay, talk to you tonight. Love you.”

  “Love you too.” Sadie disconnected and put the phone back in her purse.

  Rhys reaction had knocked her for a loop, but this was one fight she refused to back down from. If it wasn’t over between them before today, her confrontation with him had sealed it. Sadie and Rhys were no more.

  * * *

  Rhys sat in his study that night with the lights off, his third glass of gin in hand. It was Friday so he could afford to get stinking drunk if he wanted. Carys had gone to bed over an hour ago.

  I’m pregnant and the baby is yours, played in his mind over and over again. His reaction that followed shamed him. If Sadie had followed through with that slap, he would have deserved it. Regardless of how things had ended between them, he could have been more civil, but seeing her only made him hurt again. He wished he could turn off his feelings as easily as turning off a tap, but he couldn’t stop thinking about her.

  He was going to be a father again. He and Sadie would be connected for the rest of their lives through this child. It was his. Even though Sadie was not the person he thought she was, her words were too genuine for them not to be real. He didn’t know what to think of it. What kind of life would the child have if he and the mother couldn’t get along? What about Carys? How would she feel knowing he had a biological child on the way?

  He was still trying to figure out what Sadie’s parting shot about Carys had been about? What did she mean by that? It was true, a handful of his former girlfriends seemed to have an aversion to Carys, but he assumed it was because of the type of women he’d been attracted to. He thought things would be different with Sadie. There was no way he would demand answers from his daughter when she’d already been through so much, with losing her mother, Sadie’s attack, and finally letting go of the secret she’d been holding about her paternity. To top it off, she nearly lost her horse. It had been touch and go for her beloved Buttercup but the horse was slowly but surely making a recovery. It would probably be a long time before she could be ridden, though. Carys was at the stables every day taking care of her.

  Downing the remaining contents of his glass, he grabbed the half empty bottle off his desk but stilled when he heard a knock on the door.

  Without waiting for him to say come in, Carys poked her head in. “Daddy, can I talk to you?”

  Rhys immediately put his glass down and capped his bottle. “Uh, I thought you were in bed?”

  “I couldn’t sleep.”

  He sighed. “Can we postpone this until tomorrow sweetie? I’m kind of out of it right now.”

  “You mean you’re drunk.”

  “Not yet, but if you leave me to it, I’ll be there in about an hour.”

  She flipped on the lights and walked in. Her eyes were bloodshot as if she had been crying. This sobered him.

  “I’m sorry, sweetheart. What’s the matter?”

  “I can’t live with this anymore, Daddy and I’m so sorry.”

  “What, baby?”

  She burst into tears. “Promise me you won’t stop loving me if I tell you something.”

  Rhys was by her side in a flash. He pulled her into his arms and rocked her back and forth. “Baby, nothing you could say or do will make me stop loving you. You should know that by now.�
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  She sobbed against his chest as if her heart were breaking and it tore him apart. What could have happened to make her break down like this? When her cries had simmered down to sniffles, she raised her head to look at him. He stroked the back of her head. “Tell me what the matter is, Carys.”

  “I…I was the one who stuck Buttercup with that pen when Sadie was on her, but I only wanted to scare her. I didn’t mean for her to get hurt. I’m so sorry. I…I haven’t been very nice to her and I’m so sorry. And I-I put that CD in her bag too. It was only a joke. I di-didn’t know it would get so out of hand. I’ve said a lot of mean things to her when you weren’t around. Called her ugly and fat. Told her that you’d find someone prettier, but she was always so nice to me!” She cried even harder than she had before.

  Rhys stepped away from her as if he’d been burned. It took him several moments to comprehend what she’d told him. Those weren’t the actions of the girl he thought she was, but of a very disturbed person. Everything was starting to come together. Sadie!

  He’d been an absolute dick to her today and probably damaged any chance he had of getting back into her good graces. He wanted to be sick.

  Carys sniffed. “Daddy, you’re not saying anything?”

  Rhys was numb, he wasn’t sure what he should feel, but he knew he didn’t want to lash out without first thinking things through first. “Carys, go to bed. I’ll see you in the morning.”

  “Daddy?”

  “Go now before I say something I can’t take back.”

  She let out another sob and raced out the office.

  When he was alone, he fell to his knees, head in hand. What had he done?

  Chapter Fifteen

  Rhys read over the written exams and was tempted to give a B to everyone and call it a day. But he remembered the last time he’d done that. It was more of a headache than it was worth with all the people lined up for his office hours arguing how they deserved a better grade. Besides, some of those students clearly did not deserve a grade that high. He should have given this to one of his Teaching Assistants, but it was always his policy to grade the midterms and the finals himself. He needed to get these in by the end of the week and he was nowhere near finished.

  It was hard to concentrate when his personal life was absolute shit and he had no one but himself to blame. His daughter had severe emotional problems, but he’d ignored the signs and now his ignorance had ruined one of the best things in his life. His gut twisted in knots when he thought about Sadie and the nasty things he’d said to her. He remembered the pain etched on her lovely face as he cut her down.

  She hadn’t returned any of his calls, not that he could blame her, but eventually, they’d have to talk for the baby’s sake. He was going to be a father again and he had so many mixed emotions on the matter: joy, sadness, pride, and regret. Somehow he had to make this right, but considering what Carys had put her through, and how he’d treated her he wasn’t sure if it would be that easy.

  Giving up all pretense of grading papers he pushed them aside and stood up with a yawn. He glanced at the clock to see that it was past nine and he still hadn’t eaten. When he made his way to the kitchen, he halted upon seeing Carys sitting at the kitchen counter eating a bowl of cereal.

  She looked up from her meal and froze. For the better part of the week, they hadn’t said much to each other. Carys seemed as if she wanted to say something to him, but Rhys was at a loss for words. He didn’t know what to say to this stranger he’d raised. With a sigh, he walked further into the kitchen and opened the fridge. “I left some money on the counter for you to order pizza.”

  “I saw it, but I-I was hoping you’d come out of your study and we can have dinner together.”

  He pulled out some bread and sandwich fixings from the refrigerator. “You know I have term papers to grade. I don't really have time for much until I get my grades in.”

  “Oh. Well….Daddy?”

  “Yeah?” He didn’t bother looking up as he carefully piled deli meat, lettuce, and tomatoes on his bread.

  “I was wondering if you could take me to the stables this week. To check on Buttercup I mean.”

  “I’ll be busy. Besides, there won’t be any more trips to the stable for you.” He spread mustard on his sandwich before putting everything together and taking a bite.

  “For how long?”

  Rhys chewed his food and swallowed before answering. “I’d say when you make enough money to afford your own horse.”

  Carys furrowed her brows as confusion marred her face. “I don’t understand. I have Buttercup and Sassafras.”

  “You had them. As of Tuesday, Sassafras and Buttercup are up for sale, hopefully to owners who know how to take care of them.”

  “But…but you can’t do that. They’re my horses!”

  He took another bite of his sandwich and put it down in order to place the deli meat and condiments back in the fridge. “Were your horses. I guess you failed to remember the conversation we had when I purchased them for you—to take care of them. Because of your little prank, Buttercup could have died. Thank goodness, Dr. Hayes is an excellent veterinarian or she would have.”

  Once he’d put all the items away, he picked up his sandwich and headed out the kitchen, only to be stopped by Carys. She grabbed him by the arm, her eyes brimming with tears. “I said I was sorry, Daddy. You know how much I love them. I never meant for that to happen. I swear I didn’t. I promise it won’t happen again.”

  He yanked his arm out of her hold. “You’re right, it won’t because I’m not going to change my mind.”

  “But I thought…I told you what I did. You and Sadie can get back together now and everything will be okay.”

  Rhys was absolutely incredulous. Did she think she was doing him a favor by giving her offhand approval for him to see Sadie? After what she’d put the poor woman through? Even now, he didn’t think Carys understood the full extent of what she’d done. Sadie could have ended up in jail, could have gotten seriously injured, could have lost the baby—could have died. Rhys had to remember Carys was still a child, lest he said something he couldn’t take back. While he loved his daughter, he didn’t like her very much right now. “You think it’s that easy?”

  Carys’s mouth opened then closed.

  “Did you think you could do what you did and everything would be okay just because you said you were sorry? Well, it doesn’t work that way, little girl. When you play adult games, you have to expect consequences. I take the bulk of the blame here for giving you everything, spoiling you and making you so selfish that you can’t see beyond your own needs. For that, the responsibility lays on my shoulders, but what you did—” he broke off unable to wrap his head around it. “Disgusting.”

  He turned on his heel and stalked away. On his way out of the kitchen, he dropped his sandwich in the garbage can, his appetite gone.

  * * *

  “Hold still unless you want this polish all over your feet.” Lily scolded, carefully applying color to Sadie’s toenails.

  “Sorry. I can’t help it. I’m just fidgety today. I really like this color. What is it?”

  “Toasted Almond. When I saw it, I thought of you.”

  “You didn’t have to apply it for me.”

  “I don’t mind. It’s not like you can do it yourself with one arm. Anyway, this brings back memories of when we were kids and we used to play beauty shop. I was the pedicurist, Rose the hair stylist and Daisy manicurist.”

  “And I was the client. You three made me look all kinds of funky. Rose would have my hair in all these crazy styles. Daisy swore she could draw designs on my nails. They always ended up looking like something Jackson Pollack did.” She giggled. “You were the only one who did a halfway decent job.”

  Lily smiled as though remembering those days as well. “I did a damn fine job, thank you very much. I think I missed my calling in life. I should have done pedicures for a living.”

  “You would have been bored within
a week. You love your job too much for something so mundane.”

  Lily snorted. “I used to love my job. Do you know what that asshole said to me the other day?”

  Sadie had learned that when Lily referred to “the asshole” she was talking about Colin Edwards. She didn’t really need a reminder about anyone in the Edward’s clan, but Lily had always listened to Sadie’s problems, so it was her turn to lend an ear to her sister. “What did he say?”

  “He told me that I needed to get laid and maybe I’d loosen up. Can you fucking believe that shit?”

  “Isn’t that sexual harassment?”

  “Among other things. He’s angry because I turned him down. I don’t know why he doesn’t leave me alone? He has a bevy of office bimbos throwing themselves at him.”

  “Maybe he’s just the kind of guy who appreciates a challenge.”

  “He can drop dead for all I care. He thinks because he has broad shoulders, a killer smile and a head of dark waves a girl wants to run her fingers through, he thinks he’s irresistible.”

  Sadie suspected her sister wasn’t as immune to the older Edward’s charm as she led on but Sadie knew better than to say it. “Imagine that.”

  “I can’t wait until he goes back to Wales.”

  “I thought he was going to make your office his home base.”

  “Unfortunately. I hate that I have to report to him as much as I do. I never had to with my last boss. It’s as if he doesn’t trust me to do my job.”

  “Or maybe he wants to see more of you.”

  “As if I’d give him the time of day. After the way his brother treated you, what makes him think he’d have a snowball's chance in hell with me.” Lily looked up from her task the minute the words were out of her mouth. “I’m sorry Sadie. I know we agreed we wouldn’t mention the R-word tonight.”