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21
Gregory had madenotes as soon as he’d arrived home the evening before. After the dinner engagement where he had studied so many of Denita’s daughters so closely.
After nearly a full day of consideration, he came to a final decision. Ariella just had to remain on the list. She was too much like her mother had been not to remain.
So perfect.
Denita’s children were far superior to any he had ever known. Had raised. He had raised four children to adulthood, none of them his own issue.
Gregory had loved his second wife, he supposed. He had done right by her children, seeing them raised properly and well-educated. They were adults now, the youngest twenty-one and very bright. At FCU now, biomedicine. They were wonderful girls. Successful in their own lives. He saw them occasionally, though after their mother’s death they had drifted away. They visited once a year, out of obligation, mostly.
They weren’t like the stepson he had had with his first wife.
Vaughn.
Vaughn was an excellent stepson. There when Gregory needed him. His family now. Vaughn would never have been a substitute for Denita’s sons, of course. But the boy had helped heal some of the wound. He was very intelligent, articulate, well-educated, and would willingly do what Gregory asked him to do.
It was the last that was so valuable.
Oakley and Orion were the next steps in his hypothesis. The boy, just recently turned three, was quite concerning. They were as close to perfect as he could get them. But still not enough. Not quite enough. Especially the boy.
Gregory had one embryo left. Just one more chance to get this right. One more set of favors to call in to make it happen.
He had arrived at his Garrity property two hours earlier to check the children’s progress on the goals he had outlined for the nanny he had hired specifically to raise them to his exact requirements.
He was not impressed with their progress. It was not what he had anticipated at all. He would address his concerns with the children and the nanny first thing in the morning.
She was not living up to what he had expected of her either. And he paid her too well for her to fail.
He had a more immediate issue now. Orion.
The boy wandered the hallway at night sometimes. He was an odd child. Tall for his age and very bright. A suspected IQ off the charts, just like his mother.
But so difficult to mold at times.
He stood. The boy needed directed once again. “Orion. Come here.”
“Yes, Grandfather?” Orion trembled. Frightened. Like he should be. Gregory would not be disobeyed or disrespected.
“Where should you be?”
“In my bed. I have pee.” Good. The boy was using complete sentences. They’d been working on that. And toilet training. They had made excellent progress with that, at least.
“Then do not dawdle.” He had her eyes, this child. Shape, color. Intensity. It hurt every single time Gregory remembered the mother this child would never know.
He would discuss their issues in the morning, then he would head to FCGH for the evening shift tomorrow night.
He wanted to observe Bonita again. To see her. To watch the graceful way she had of tilting her head just slightly. The reserved but beautiful smile. The way she loved working with the youngest of FCGH’s patients.
She had haunted him deep in the night once again.
He had to get her out of his soul. Before she stole it for eternity.
22
Sydney missedthe days when her family had been clipping coupons to pay the bills and carpooling to work and school. When they knew they had each other. Even when the world got bad and scary, they had each other.
Well, they still had each other. It was justdifferentnow.
