Suspicions: A Twist of Fate\Tears of Pride (41 page)

“No, he doesn’t. He doesn’t call. He doesn’t come see us. Just like Daddy!”

“Honey, no. Noah’s not like Daddy at all.” Sheila kissed her daughter on the forehead and wiped the tears from the round, dark eyes.

“Then why doesn’t he call?”

Sheila closed her eyes and faced the truth, the damning truth. “Because I asked him not to.”

Emily’s body stiffened in Sheila’s arms. “Why, Mommy, I thought you liked him.”

“I did…I do.”

“Then why?”

“Oh, Em, I wish I knew…. We had a fight. A very big fight and…I doubt that we’ll ever get it straightened out.”

Sheila attempted to comfort Emily as she guided the car out of the heart of the city. Emily’s accusations reinforced her own fears, and her mind was swimming by the time she reached the stone pillars flanking the long driveway of the Wilder estate. She drove without hesitation, knowing that she had to speak to Ben. Surely he would know how to get in touch with his son. Her purpose had shifted. Though her checkbook was still in her purse, its significance diminished and the only thoughts in her mind centered on Noah and the cruel insinuations she had cast upon him the last time they were together. No matter what had happened in the past, Sheila was now face-to-face with the fact that she still loved him as desperately as ever. She also realized that her love wasn’t strong enough to bring them together again—nothing was. Too much mistrust held them away from each other. Too much deceit had blackened their lives.

Sheila pulled on the emergency brake, and Emily eyed the massive stone house suspiciously. “Who’s house is that—it’s creepy.” Her voice steady, she was once again composed. Her young eyes traveled up the cornerstones of the house and the brick walk that led to the large double doors.

“It’s not creepy,” Sheila countered, and added, “Ben Wilder lives here.”

“Sean’s grandpa?” Emily asked, not hiding her enthusiasm.

“That’s right.”

“Maybe Sean will be here!” Emily was out of the car in a flash, and Sheila had to hurry to catch up with her.

“I don’t think so, honey,” she said as they both stood on the arched porch. Emily ignored her mother’s doubts and pressed the doorbell, which chimed inside the house. Sheila prepared herself to meet George the butler’s disapproving glare.

Hurried footsteps echoed in the house, and the door was thrust open to expose Sean on the other side. He wore a sneer, but it quickly faded into a brilliant smile of clean, white teeth. He was dressed, as usual, in cut-off jeans and a well-worn football jersey that had once been blue.

“Hi ya, pip-squeak,” he greeted Emily. “How’re ya?” His grin widened as he pretended to punch her in the arm.

“Good…real good,” Emily piped back delightedly. An ‘I told you so’ expression covered her face as she turned to look at Sheila. “See, Mom, Sean
is
here, just like I thought,” she declared with a triumphant gleam in her eyes.

Sean’s face sobered slightly as he looked at Sheila. She thought he seemed older—more mature—than he had when they were all living at the winery. She couldn’t help but notice how similarly featured he was to his father. The sadness and maturity that had entered his gaze reminded her of Noah, and her throat became dry. “Hi, Sheila. You lookin’ for Dad?”

Sheila’s heart leapt to her throat. “Is he here?”

Sean nodded silently.

“I expected to find your grandfather.”

Sean’s eyes darted from Sheila to Emily and back again. He bit at his lower lip, scratched his neck and seemed to ponder what he was about to say. It was as if he were hesitant to trust her, and Sheila felt a knife of doubt twist in her heart. What had Noah told his son about their breakup? “Ben isn’t here now,” Sean explained. “He’s…at the hospital. I’m not supposed to say anything about it, you know, in case some reporters come nosin’ around here, but I suppose it’s all right to tell you about it.” He didn’t seem sure of his last statement.

“Is it serious?” Sheila asked quietly.

Sean shrugged indifferently, but worried lines scarred his flawless forehead. He pushed his hands into the pockets of his ragged shorts. “I think so. Dad doesn’t talk about it much.”

Sheila felt a deep pang of sadness steal into her heart. “Where is your father, Sean?”

Sean cocked his head toward the back of the house. “He’s down at the lake, just walkin’ and thinkin’, I guess.” His blue eyes met the sober expression in Emily’s. “Hey, pip-squeak, don’t look so down…. Maybe you and I can walk down to the park and grab an ice-cream cone. What do ya say?”

Sheila recognized and appreciated Sean’s rather obvious way of giving her some time alone with Noah.

“Can I go, Mom,
please?
” The look of expectation on Emily’s face couldn’t be denied.

“Sure you can, but come back in a couple of hours, okay?”

Sheila doubted if Emily heard her. The child was already racing across the wooded lawn, her dark curls escaping from the neat barrettes over her ears. Sean was loping along beside her, seemingly as excited as Emily.

When the dangerous duo was out of sight, Sheila took in a deep breath of air, hoping to fortify herself against the upcoming confrontation with Noah. As she closed the door behind her and headed through the elegant main hallway of the manor, she wondered if Noah would listen to what she had to say. He had lied to her, it was true, but her reaction had been vicious and cold, entirely without reason. If only she had trusted him a little.

She walked through the den and a pang of remorse touched her heart as she remembered her first night with Noah, the dying fire and the heated love they had shared. Tears burned the back of her eyes as she opened the French doors and stood upon the veranda from which she had attempted to make her escape into the night several months before.

As she leaned against the railing she looked down the rocky cliff on which the veranda was perched. Nearly a hundred feet below her, standing at the edge of the water, was Noah. He stared out at the gray blue water as if entranced by the distant sailboats skimming across the lake. Sheila’s throat became dry at the sight of him; her love tore her soul in two.

Without thinking about how she would approach him, she half ran across the flagstones, her fingers slipping upon the railing, her eyes glued to Noah’s unmoving form. The old cable car had seen better years, and it groaned when Sheila pressed the call button. It shuddered and then steadily climbed the cliff to dock at the end of the deck. Sheila climbed inside the cab and pressed against the lever that released the brakes and slowly took the old car back to its original position at the base of the cliff. Noah didn’t seem to notice; he didn’t glance toward her, but continued to stare out at the cold lapping water.

He seemed to have aged since she last saw him. Deep lines outlined his eyes; his jaw was more defined, his face more sharply angled. Either he hadn’t been eating properly or he wasn’t able to sleep. Perhaps both. Her heart bled silently for the man she loved and the guilt he bore so proudly. How could she have accused him of everything she had? How could she have been so cruel as to add to his torment? A man who had given up everything to claim his unborn son; a man who had bucked tradition and raised that son alone; a man who had grieved when he thought he had failed with that same precious son.

The wind off the lake blew his hair away from his face, displaying the long lines of anxiety etching his brow. It was cool as it pushed the soft fabric of her dress against her legs and touched her cheeks to chill the unbidden tears that slid from her eyes.

He stood with his feet apart, his hands pressed palms out in the back pockets of his jeans. At the sound of her footsteps in the gravel, he cocked his head in her direction, and when his blue gaze clashed with hers, the expression of mockery froze on his face.

What was there to say to her? Why was she here? And why did she look more beautiful in person than she had in the sleepless nights he had lain awake and imagined her?

Tentatively she reached up and pushed a wayward lock of black hair from his forehead and stood upon her toes to kiss him lightly on the lips. He didn’t move.

She lowered herself but continued to rest her fingertips on his shoulders.

“You must have come here because of the money,” he said, his voice breaking the thin stillness.

Sheila’s voice was firm. “I just found out that you deposited the money in my account, and I decided to come and throw it back in your face.”

His smile was still distrustful. “I knew you would.”

“You expected me to give it back to you?”

He shook his head at his own folly. “I hoped that you would come and see me face-to-face. If you hadn’t, I had decided to come back to Cascade Valley and try and talk some sense into you. I only waited because I thought we both needed time to cool off.”

“You knew we could work things out…after all that’s happened?”

He looked away from her and out at the lowering sun. “I didn’t know anything,” he admitted, “except that I couldn’t live without you.”

“But why didn’t you tell me about the fire? Why did you lie?”

“I didn’t lie to you, and I just needed more time to look into the cause of the fire. You have to believe that I would never intentionally hurt you, nor would I deceive you.”

“Only when you thought it was for my own good.”

“Only
until
I had all the answers,” he replied quietly.

“And do you?”

He closed his eyes and sighed. “Oh, woman, if only I did!”

When he opened his eyes to look at her again, some of his hostility seemed to have melted. His gaze traveled from her windswept chestnut hair, down the column of her throat and past the swell of her breasts, draped loosely in a soft blue dress.

“Then why did you want to see me?”

“A few things have changed around here,” he responded cryptically.

“Because of Ben’s illness?”

Noah nodded and his eyes grew dark. “He’s in the hospital again, and the doctors are concerned that he won’t get out.”

“I’m sorry….”

Noah waved her condolences aside. “Maybe it’s better this way.” His dark expression didn’t falter.

“What do you mean?”

“It’s a long story. Basically, the doctor in charge of my father, Dr. Carson, has ordered Ben to give up working. Not only must he step down as president of Wilder Investments, but Ben’s got to give up even going into the office.”

“And that would kill your father?” she asked, trying to follow Noah’s line of reasoning.

“Ben’s not the kind of man to sit idle.”

“I suppose not.”

“He likes to be in the middle of things. Anyway,” he continued with an expression of indifference, “the old man asked me to take over as head of the business, sell out my operation in Portland to Betty Averill and move to Seattle. I wasn’t too hot for the idea.”

Sheila tried to hide her disappointment. “Then you are moving back to Portland,” she surmised.

“I thought so, but things have changed.” Sheila’s heart turned over, and her throat went dry. “Anthony Simmons’s report was invalid.”

“What?”

Sheila didn’t know that she was shaking until Noah placed a steadying hand on her shoulder. “What are you saying?” she asked in a hoarse whisper.

“Pac-West Insurance Company continued with its investigation on the fire.” Sheila held her breath. “You were right about your father, Sheila; there is no evidence that he started the fire.”

“How do you know this?’ Tears once again began to slide down her cheeks.

“Because the insurance company found out that Ben hired Simmons to start the fire. Ben’s confirmed all this and he’s cleared your father’s name. Therefore the insurance company is refusing to pay the claim.”

“But the money…in my account.”

“I took it from Wilder Investments to rebuild the winery, as I’d promised. And as far as I’m concerned, the note against the winery has been satisfied. Within a few weeks you should get the legal papers that will acknowledge and guarantee that you are sole owner of the winery.”

“Oh, Noah,” she whispered hoarsely, her emotions strangling her.

“It’s all right, Sheila,” he said, wrapping his arms around her and kissing the top of her head. “I’m just sorry that my family had anything to do with your father’s death or his financial worries.” His voice had lowered. “Ben even admitted that he had been behind the tampered bottles in Montana, in a move to force your father out of business. It looks as if he will be prosecuted for the arson and involuntary manslaughter.”

“Oh, God, Noah…but he’s ill….”

“That’s no excuse for the things he’s done.”

“What are you going to do?” Her tears were running freely.

“I’ve agreed to run the company since Ben’s given me sole authority, and I’m going to try and right my father’s mistakes.” His mouth twisted into a line of disgust. “I don’t know if it’s possible. That’s why I started with you. Ben tried to cheat you out of the winery rather than just continue to share the profits with you. It’s all yours now. Wilder Investments is out of it.”

He watched her reaction, gauged her response. “You don’t understand, do you?” she whispered. “Nothing…not the winery…not my father’s reputation…none of it means anything unless you’re with me.”

“You were the one who left.”

“But only because I didn’t understand.” His arms tightened around her.

His voice caught. “Dear God, Sheila, if only you knew how much I love you…if only you could feel the emptiness I’ve had to deal with.”

“I do,” she vowed, “every night that I’m alone.”

“Never again,” he promised, “you’ll never be alone again. Promise me that you’ll marry me.”

Sobs of joy racked her body. “Oh, Noah, I’ve been such a fool. I love you so dearly and I tried to convince myself that I could forget you…. I thought I wanted to.”

“Shhh…it’s all right. We’re together now, and we will be forever. And we’re going to have our own family—Sean, Emily and as many more children as you want.”

“Do you mean it?”

“Of course I do, love. More than anything I’ve ever said. Will you marry me?”

“Do you have to ask?” she sighed, tipping her head to look at him through the shimmer of unshed tears. A slow, satisfied smile curved his lips, and his eyes caressed hers.