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She returned to the cottage, closed and double locked the door. She’d never once considered since finding out about Lincoln’s will that there might come a time when her privacy was compromised. The realization struck her as unsettling...even sinister somehow. She’d spent her whole life taking her anonymity for granted. Now, perhaps all of that was going to change.
She tried to shake off her oppressive mood. She lit the Christmas tree and took a hot bath to soothe her sore muscles. Afterward, she turned on the radio and set out the ingredients to bake some cookies. She was in the process of spooning dough onto a cookie sheet when she heard a knock. She wiped off her hands and headed toward the door, pausing as she reached out to open it. What if it wasn’t Nick?
She kept the chain lock hooked and opened the door only a few inches, peering cautiously into the crevice.
“John,” she muttered in shock when she saw John Kellerman standing on her front porch.
“Hello, Deidre. I thought it was high time you and I had a talk.”
* * *
A few minutes later Deidre placed a cup of coffee in front of John Kellerman and sat down at the table warily. His distinguished appearance and elegant suit made her feel like she was attending a business meeting instead of sitting in a cozy kitchen wearing yoga pants and a T-shirt, the delicious scent of sugar cookies beginning to permeate the air.
“What can I do for you, John?”
“I just thought it was important for us to meet, that’s all. You have been named as the co-owner of the company. I’m not the only executive officer who’d like to meet with you.”
“I’ll bet,” Deidre muttered under her breath. Her gaze flickered up to meet his. “So everyone at DuBois knows about Lincoln’s new will?” she asked, thinking about the photographer today and Nick’s concern about a news leak.
“Only the top officers—a mere handful of people.”
“I see,” Deidre said, although she wasn’t so sure she did. Nick hadn’t mentioned anything about telling the top people at DuBois about Lincoln’s will, or Deidre or where they might find her. She’d known he’d told John, of course, but that’s all. She supposed she shouldn’t be surprised. If John was in on things, it made sense that the other top executives were, as well. “I was under the impression that things were sort of on hold until I heard about the genetic testing.”
John nodded and took a sip of his coffee. “Yes, that piece of information is crucial, of course. And it’s silly for us to plan any future contingencies until we have it in hand.”
Deidre’s spine stiffened. She didn’t care for his haughty coldness. “We?” she emphasized
. The way he’d answered her question gave her the distinct, unsettling impression that the “we” John referred to were the DuBois executives. “I thought that whatever happens after we get the test results was exclusively up to Nick. He was the one whose shares were diminished in the new will. He was the previous sole heir.”
“That’s right,” John agreed, nodding his head. “If the testing comes back negative in regard to paternity, there’s a clear course of action, of course. Lincoln will have changed his will on mistaken information that you were his biological daughter. If the testing proves Lincoln was your father...well.” John gave a small, polite smile that struck Deidre as fake. “I assume Nick is being honest with you about the fact that he’s unsure precisely what he’ll do if the results come back positive.”
“He’s been honest with me,” Deidre said. A chill skittered down her spine. Her hands and feet suddenly felt cold.
John gave her a confidential nod. “I understand from him that you two have grown close. It’s good to hear he’s been up front with you about his concerns in regard to Lincoln’s letter.”
She started to question him but paused. Did she really want to hear whatever this stranger had to say?
“I don’t blame Nick, of course. It’s very troubling, that letter,” John mused.
“You’ve seen it?” Deidre asked hollowly. She recalled how she’d asked to see Lincoln’s last letter to Nick and how Nick had refused her.
I have my reasons for saying no, Deidre. Don’t take offense.
“Oh, yes. Of course I’ve seen the letter. It’s a very important piece of evidence when this case—” He paused suddenly and gave her an apologetic nod. “If this case should go to trial. That letter makes it clear Lincoln wasn’t entirely in his right mind at the time he changed the will and declared you and Nick coheirs.”
“Really?” she asked. The coldness had now reached her heart.
John shrugged dispassionately. “I knew Lincoln for thirty-one years. He was an astonishingly acute business leader. That letter he gave Nick is clearly the incoherent ramblings of someone with an organic dementia. No one—least of all a court of law—will consider his disorganized pleas to Nick as anything but the product of a sad, sick man.”
“And...and Nick agrees with you about this?”
John blinked at her question. “Agrees?” he asked blankly. “Nick is the one who originally expressed those concerns to me when he showed me the letter. He was incredulous that Lincoln could do something so impulsive and naive.” John leaned closer, examining her expression. “I thought Nick had showed you the letter. He hasn’t?”
Deidre shook her head.
John looked patently uncomfortable. “I’m sorry, I’d only assumed...” He glanced at her, hesitating. “You do understand that if it can be proven in court that Lincoln was of unsound mind, it will negate the will where he named you as coheir? The old will—the one where Nick is the sole heir—will become solvent again.”
Deidre felt the blood rush out of her head. She seemed to be seeing John Kellerman through a haze. She tried to troll through her memories in regard to what Nick had told her in regard to contesting the will, but it was difficult with John staring at her like a hawk. Besides, Nick had told her those things before they’d began to trust each other, before they’d become involved...
