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Scarlet left the hospital with Michael and Sam. She directed them to the house she shared with her gran. Michael set her up in the living room with pillows and a blanket on the sofa. Built a fire. Sam went into the kitchen and it wasn’t long before mouthwatering scents wafted from that direction.
Her stomach growled. Michael chuckled.
“Hey,” she playfully snapped, “I live a very active life. I require sustenance.”
He leaned in from his perch on the edge of the sturdy coffee table and kissed her. “I’m just teasing you.”
“I know.” She smiled.
“Ah, finally. I’ve been waiting for that.”
With a shrug, she said, “I brought this on myself. But I do appreciate that you and Sam are here. How do you think he’s doing?”
“We’ll get the answer to that when breakfast is ready. If it’s just eggs and sausage, I’d say he’s dealing. If it’s a massive feast to rival brunch at The Dorchester, then he’s really fucked up in the head. And in the heart.”
She sniffed the air and frowned. “I smell vanilla-laced French toast.”
“Damn.”
Now Scarlet’s stomach churned—and not from hunger. “I can’t believe how twisted this has all become.”
“I feel the same.” He swept away strands of hair from her cheek. “I want to know what the hell happened to that art collection and why there are so many layers to penetrate.”
She eyed him quizzically. “You told me the night we met that you didn’t give a rip about what happened to the paintings.”
Michael grimaced. “That was a self-serving response. I didn’t give Karina the full benefit of the doubt back then. I didn’t want to believe that she really loved my father. That it was all real.”
“But you believe her now?”
“I can see where her complications are legit. I can say my ambivalence toward her didn’t help the situation. And it’s evident my father honestly feels as strongly for her as she does for him. I suspect it’s not the same as his relationship with my mother. A few weeks ago I didn’t fully grasp that concept. But the way everything’s unfolding with you, me, and Sam … I have a better acceptance of how things fell into place.”
Scarlet nodded. Then said, “I need to go back to New York. Speak with Karina again.”
“You’re in no condition to travel, sweetheart.”
She really couldn’t dispute that. Nor could she shut down her mind as it whirled with more questions. “Sam told Jewel when she phoned him that you were picking him up in your Learjet. It’ll be a quicker flight than commercial back to New York, with no airport tedium. I can survive that.”
“Scarlet—”
“You don’t think Sam’s going to have a million questions himself?” She pinned Michael with a serious look. “Questions I can’t answer. Only Karina can.”
Michael stood. He paced in front of the fireplace with his hands on his waist. “The guy’s getting the shit kicked out of him these days.”
“Yes. And I feel wretched about that. I want to be there with him when he gets the full story. You should be there, too. It’s obvious you both provide support for each other. He’s going to need it.”
“Sam can take care of himself.” Scarlet’s gaze flashed to the mountain of a man standing in the archway that led to the kitchen. Sam’s arms were crossed over his chest. His expression was impassive. Yet he added, “Doesn’t mean I don’t want the company.”
Scarlet drew in an unsteady breath and asked, “Including me?”
“Including you. Breakfast is ready.” He returned to the kitchen.
Scarlet exchanged a look with Michael. He said, “Guess we’re going to New York.”
TWENTY-ONE
Sam had never really considered his mother a keeper of secrets, but she was certainly racking them up.
He wasn’t sure how he felt about this latest one. Without doubt, she had every right to make a decision to keep a child or give him away. And Sam could wholeheartedly comprehend the difficulty with being a young, financially strapped single parent of two newborns. He knew his mother hadn’t had much of a familial support group—Sam’s grandparents had pretty much carved Karina out of their lives when she’d come home pregnant her senior year of high school. She’d told Sam that they couldn’t have the “devil’s mistress” living under their roof and kicked her out.
