Angie embraced her mother. “She just lost her husband, for God’s sake. Can’t you take it easy on her? I’m the one you’re trying to ruin. Your argument is with me, not her.”
Jeff shook his head. “How little you know. You’ve told your children nothing of me, have you, Mia? Yet you stand there and tell me you had feelings for me all that time ago.” He stifled the emotional turmoil of watching the traitorous woman cradle his niece, and then he glared at Angie. “I can hurt your lovely mother by hurting you. Icing on the cake.”
“No, Jeff,” Maria gasped out. “I won’t let you do this to her.”
He smiled. Not a nice smile. He knew it. He wasn’t feeling overly nice right now. “I don’t see that you have much of a choice.”
Angie spoke then. “I’m sorry, Mama. I’ve already told you I’m not marrying Frank. And there isn’t time for me to fall in love.”
Good. Don’t marry Frank. Don’t marry anyone. I deserve a piece of Grandpa’s pie.
“You’re right, Angie.” Maria steadied herself, taking some of her weight off Angie. “You’re not going to marry Frank. You’re not going to marry anyone you don’t love just to get a piece of land.”
Works for me. “Then I think we’re done here,” Jeff said, moving toward the door. “Nice to see you, ladies.”
Maria rushed forward and pounded her fists onto Jeff’s chest. Jeff startled when his skin tightened. Even in anger, her touch still moved him. How he longed to grab Maria and drag her into his arms.
“Damn it, Jeff, we are not done here!”
“Mama?” Angie said, inching toward them.
“You won’t do this to her. I swear you won’t!”
Jeff steadied himself and gripped Maria’s shoulders, forcing himself not to cave into the desire touching her evoked in him. “I stand to gain everything by doing this.”
“But you can’t.”
“You keep saying that, Mia.” He shook her and immediately regretted it. He’d never gotten rough with any woman, and he didn’t plan to start now. “Why? Why can’t I? Why shouldn’t I take what should have been rightfully mine in the first place?”
Maria whipped her hands upward and grabbed both sides of Jeff’s face. So warm, so sweet. And she smelled the same, like wild berries and sweet vanilla. He forced himself not to inhale.
Then she plowed into him with her chocolate gaze. “Because she’s your daughter, God damn it!”
Angie went pale. “Mama?” Her voice squeaked.
“I’m sorry, Angelina. I shouldn’t have blurted it out like that, but it’s true. Wayne Bay is not your biological father. Jefferson Bay is.”
Jeff’s knees weakened and threatened to collapse under him. “You’re lying, Mia, and it won’t work.”
“It’s not a lie, you fool. To be honest, I’m surprised none of you suspected it at the time. If it’s proof you want, you and Angie go for a DNA test. I guarantee the results will show she’s yours.”
His muscles tensed, and bile rose in his throat. This could not be happening. This child? His? This woman? His daughter? This beautiful girl… She was…what? Thirty-two then? “How? Why?”
“Didn’t you wonder why I suddenly had an interest in your brother when I’d had none previously? Didn’t you wonder when my baby girl was born a month early? No, none of you gave it a second thought. It seemed so obvious to me, but neither you, Wayne, nor your grandfather batted an eye over it.”
The words rang in Jeff’s ears. First they made sense, and then they didn’t, and then he was sure this had to be a dream…and then he knew it wasn’t. This was real.
“I think I might be sick,” Angie said.
Maria rushed to her and helped her to one of the queen beds in the hotel room. “I’m so sorry, Angie. I never meant for you to find out like this. I never meant for you to find out at all.”
“At all?” Angie blinked her eyes. “How could you? How could you lie to me all these years?”
“I’m sorry.”
“Daddy never knew? Never suspected?”
“If he did I didn’t know it.”