Nothing in any of those pointed toward any man, let alone Sterling. It truly did look like all she did was work and spend time with Paisley.
He pulled out a planner dated for the year Paisley would’ve been four. Lucas still flipped through each page, even knowing the end of the year would be blank, as per the usual, and found a set of pockets in the back.
Shifting in his seated position, Lucas turned toward the rustic coffee table and searched the pockets. A coupon fell out, overlooked bills and an envelope with a name on it. Jeb Smith. Lucas pulled out the folded piece of paper.
Jeb,
You are behind on your child support AGAIN! Why do I have to always remind you of this? It’s bad enough you’re her father and have dismissed her, but you could at least send what you owe so I can raise her without worrying about two or three jobs.
Don’t think I won’t contact an attorney if you keep ignoring me. You’re six months behind now. Pay up!
Lucas read the letter through a second and third time.
What the hell? Who was Jeb Smith? Why did Lynette never mail this? Clearly she was angry and obviously needed the money.
Lucas glanced over his shoulder toward the bedroom where Paisley slept. If this Jeb turned out to be her father, that would destroy any thoughts of Sterling.
So many mixed emotions swirled around inside him at this revelation. If Sterling was out of the picture, that meant Lucas wouldn’t get his revenge through Paisley. But more importantly, she wouldn’t have the Perry name. That sounded so selfish even to him, but if Paisley were a Perry, she would’ve had sisters and possibly a brother, if Roarke was actually Sterling’s son.
If this letter, pointing toward Jeb Smith, proved to be truthful, Lucas had a sinking feeing he’d just found Paisley’s biological father.
He quickly put everything back in the planner, keeping the letter and envelope to himself. After placing everything back in the box, Lucas came to his feet and stretched until his back popped. He really should get to bed, but this development had him more wired than ever to uncover the truth for Paisley.
Somewhere along the way this case shifted from pure revenge to wanting to do this for the woman he still cared about. Oh, he still wanted Sterling to pay for every crime he’d committed, but now he wanted Paisley to find that family she deserved.
What she didn’t deserve was being kept in the dark, but that was exactly what he needed to do until he found Mr. Smith and talked to him.
Lucas went to the kitchen and made a cup of coffee. This was going to be a long night and an even longer day if he uncovered the location of this new player in the game.
He took the coffee to his office and closed the door. In no time he had his laptop up and was on the hunt. It didn’t take long for him to find several Jeb Smiths in Texas, considering the first and last name were quite popular.
He was successful at his job for a reason and by six in the morning, after two more cups of coffee and before Paisley woke, Lucas had an address and he was just thankful Jeb was only in the next town over and alive and well.
He’d go pay him a visit, take this letter and Lynette’s picture, and hopefully get the answers Paisley deserved.
And once Lucas had all the facts, he’d present them to her. Then they could decide what to do about this marriage. A sinking pit in his stomach had him wondering if she’d follow through with ending things or if she’d stay. While Lucas tried to remain emotionally distant, he couldn’t deny he’d started developing more feelings for her than he would’ve liked.
He hadn’t been able to avoid that heart tug years ago and now was no different. Having her in his bed every night, knowing how determined she was to remain on her feet and find the truth, seeing her passion for her work all made him realize the girl he’d wanted all those years ago had grown into the woman he didn’t want to live without.
If she walked out again, Lucas wasn’t sure he could handle the void again. All the more reason to never tell her how he truly felt.
* * *
Paisley turned side to side in the mirror and smoothed down her red cocktail dress. Lucas had planned on coming to Melinda’s party, but he’d texted a few hours ago and said he was following a lead and couldn’t get back in time. He told her to go enjoy herself and he’d meet her back at home.