The Moment of Truth

Someone had paid a pretty price for the vehicle. He’d bet it handled as smoothly as his Mercedes.

Sam Montford stepped out of the truck.

“I’ve been waiting for you,” the older man said, walking up the driveway in broad daylight.

“I thought we agreed you didn’t know me.” Josh couldn’t afford to play games. He’d closed on the house, and was about to get the Dana portion of the deal done. Now was not the time for complications.

“That was before I knew that you’d fathered a child.” Sam was grinning.

Dana had said she’d be telling the people in her life about the baby. He’d assumed she’d meant her family. And maybe a few of her friends.

Cassie... He’d been so busy planning Dana’s life, he’d forgotten about Cassie. But anytime Dana mentioned her pet-therapy work she brought up Zack’s name.

Dana had asked if he wanted a list....

“Dana and I met, hit it off and were moving forward with our future together when we found out we were expecting the baby.” He scrambled to remember what he’d agreed to say. “I closed on our new house today and we move in this weekend. We both want the baby,” he said, feeling pretty confident that he got it right enough to suit her.

And now he had to get rid of Sam.

The older man wasn’t grinning anymore, but his gaze didn’t seem judgmental, either. “She’s a student at Montford, I understand.”

“She is, but she’s only four years younger than I am.” He wasn’t knocking up teenagers.

“And now she’s carrying a Montford.”

Sam’s words hit him in the exact same place Dana’s had done when she’d told him he had to tell his parents about them. About the baby. He hadn’t yet done so, preferring to get Dana moved in first, but he understood what was going on. Sam was going to expose him. And, in so doing, blow the whole deal.

Panic shot through him. Reminding him of the first few hours after he’d received the call about Michelle.

There’d been nothing he could do. No amount of money or power were going to give him control over the situation.

“If you tell her, you risk ruining at least three lives.”

“I figured that you’d told her,” Sam said, frowning as he slid his hands into the front pockets of his jeans. “I’m here to invite the two of you over for Sunday dinner.”

He could feel the whole thing slipping away. If there’s trouble, stay calm and keep your eye on the win.

His father’s words sprang to mind.

“Dana knows me better than anyone has ever known me,” he said. “She knows plain-old Josh Redmond. That’s who I am now.”

His gaze locked on Josh, Sam asked, “For how long?”

Having the answers to every possible question that could be posed was the key to success. Josh didn’t have this answer.

And before he could come up with one, Sam asked another. “How do you figure finding out that her child is heir to over a billion dollars would ruin Dana’s life?”

Clearly Sam didn’t know Dana.

“If she finds out that I’ve lied to her, she’ll have nothing to do with me. She’ll take that baby and make it on her own.” He was absolutely certain of that fact. “Believe me, the money won’t sway her. Dana’s not like any woman I’ve ever known.”

“That child she’s carrying is a Montford. He or she has birthrights. And family, too, both here and in Boston, who are going to want to be a part of his or her life.”

“And if Dana chooses, she can just move back to Indiana, put ‘father unknown’ on her child’s birth certificate and forget she ever knew any of us.”

“She’s not going to do that.”

Josh wasn’t sure enough about that to risk the chance.

“Clearly you don’t know her like I do,” he said, and cringed at the weak response. “She’s going to turn her back on all of us if she finds out I’ve lied to her.”

He was repeating himself. Which would tell any worthy opponent that Josh had already played his best card.

“So what did you think you were going to do? Live your whole lives together without letting her know she’s married to one of the richest men on the East Coast?”

They weren’t getting married, but Josh didn’t muddy waters with that detail. “I am no longer one of the richest men on the East Coast,” he said emphatically. “My money all goes into a trust that does not have my name on it.”

Eyes narrowed, Sam seemed to ponder that one, and Josh breathed a little easier. “I’m living wholly off my salary here, and will continue to do so. We’ll build our own modest portfolio.”