Secrets of a Small Town, page 16
Gregg shook his head. “We’re going home tomorrow. Whether we stay here or not isn’t going to make a difference to the outcome.”
“That’s too bad. I was looking forward to getting to know you better.” She turned to Glynnis. “Both of you.”
Gregg knew when a woman was coming on to him, and Diane Clemmons definitely was. In another lifetime, he might have been interested. She was a beautiful woman. Unfortunately, since meeting Sabrina, no other woman held any appeal.
“Did Gregg tell you he owns a restaurant?” Glynnis said.
Diane raised her eyebrows. “Really? What kind?”
Gregg was in the middle of telling her about Antonelli’s when he saw Glynnis stiffen. She was looking over his shoulder. He knew even before he turned around that he would see Sabrina.
All afternoon, Sabrina had tried to calm her mother. “I don’t mind being tested,” she’d said, over and over again, but her mother wouldn’t be calmed. Nothing Sabrina said made any difference.
Finally Leland said, “Isabel, please, let’s forget about all this for a while. I’ll take you both to dinner at the Rockwell Inn.”
“Florence has already prepared dinner,” Isabel said. But she stopped wringing her handkerchief.
“I’ll tell her to put it in the refrigerator. We’ll have it tomorrow,” Sabrina said.
“Well…” Isabel sniffed.
Sabrina smiled for the first time in hours. She thanked Leland silently. A change of scenery was just what they all needed. And her mother loved going to the Rockwell Inn.
“I’ll need to change clothes,” Isabel said.
“You look fine just the way you are,” Leland said.
“Leland, I cannot wear this tonight after wearing it all day.”
He smiled and winked at Sabrina. “All right. But hurry. I’m starving.”
“I told you to eat some lunch,” Isabel said, but she was smiling, too.
Once again Sabrina marveled at how easily Leland could coax her mother out of a bad mood. Now if Sabrina could only bottle whatever it was he had, her life would be a lot easier.
Forty minutes later the three of them were led into the dining room by the hostess, a young woman Sabrina had gone to high school with. Halfway between the entrance and their table, Sabrina realized Gregg and Glynnis and their lawyer were also there. Her heart knocked painfully as Glynnis’s eyes met hers.
A moment later, Gregg turned, and their gazes connected. Oh, Gregg. She wanted so much to walk over to their table and give Glynnis a hug and Gregg a kiss. She tried to tell him with her eyes what she was feeling. When he abruptly turned around again, putting his back to her, it was as if he’d slapped her.
She was trembling inside when the hostess seated them at a table across the room from where Gregg and Glynnis were sitting. She wondered if her mother or Leland had noticed them yet.
A moment later, her mother’s expression hardened. “What are those people doing here?” she said tightly.
“What people?” Leland said. He turned to look in the direction of Isabel’s gaze. “Oh.” He patted her hand. “I’m sorry, Isabel. I had no idea they’d be here.”
“Shall we go somewhere else?” Sabrina said.
“I will not allow those people to ruin my evening,” her mother said. “It’s bad enough they’ve ruined just about everything else.”
“Now Isabel,” Leland said.
“They have their nerve. Look at them, especially her. Has the woman no shame?”
“Mother, she didn’t do anything to you. Dad’s the one who’s responsible for everything. She’s suffered just as much as you have.” As soon as the words were out of her mouth, Sabrina wished she could take them back. When will I ever learn?
Her mother stared at Sabrina.
“I’m sorry,” Sabrina said. Oh, God. Would this day never end? She hadn’t thought it could get any worse, but she was wrong.
“Just whose side are you on?” her mother said.
“I’m not on anyone’s side.”
“I see,” her mother said tightly.
“Isabel,” Leland said.
Sabrina was very close to tears. “Mom, I didn’t mean it that way. I just meant I don’t think of this as choosing sides. What’s happened is terrible. For everyone.”
“I don’t see how it’s terrible for her. She and those children of hers have come out of this very well, haven’t they?” Her eyes glittered. “If there’s any justice in the world at all, after today I’ll never have to lay eyes on her again.”
Sabrina pushed her chair back. “I—I’m not feeling well. Mother, Leland, I’m sorry, but I’m going home.” Without waiting to hear their answers, she grabbed her purse and walked blindly out of the room.
The results of the DNA testing came back two days later. When Dr. Zeller called with the results, Sabrina had to ask him to repeat them twice, because she couldn’t believe what she’d heard.
“The tests show conclusively that Michael and Olivia March are the biological children of Benjamin Arthur March. However, the tests also show conclusively that you are not his biological child.”
“But that can’t be!” Sabrina cried. “There has to be some mistake.”
“I’m sorry, Miss March. I know this must be a terrible shock to you, but there’s no mistake. Benjamin March was not your biological father.”
Sabrina hung up the phone in a daze. All the normal workday sounds surrounded her—the clicking of computer keys, the ringing of the phone, several different conversations going at one time, the hum of the copier, the jangle of the bell announcing a visitor out front—yet none of it seemed real to her. She stared into space, trying to absorb the incomprehensible information she’d just been given.
“Sabrina?”
Sabrina turned. Vicki stood in the doorway.
“You all right?”
She nodded slowly. “Yes, I’m…I’m all right.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes.” But her mind was spinning. If Ben wasn’t her father, who was? Who the hell was? Abruptly, Sabrina jumped up. In the process, she knocked over her coffee cup. Coffee spread over her desk, but she ignored it. “Vicki, I’ve got to go and do something. I don’t know when I’ll be back. If you need me, call my cell. And please clean up that coffee, will you? I’ll owe you one.”
Fifteen minutes later Sabrina braked to a stop in her mother’s driveway. Her heart was pounding as she got out of the car and walked to the front door. Using her key, she unlocked it and stepped inside.
“Oh! Sabrina!” Florence, drying her hands on her apron, appeared in the entryway. “What’s wrong?”
Sabrina shook her head. “Where’s Mother?”
“She’s in the sunroom.” Florence looked bewildered.
Sabrina took off her coat and handed it to Florence. Then she headed for the sunroom. Her mother didn’t hear her approach, so Sabrina had a chance to study her for a moment before she was aware of Sabrina’s presence.
As always, her mother looked immaculate and perfectly put together. Today she wore dark gray wool slacks and a pale yellow cashmere sweater set. The pearls that had been a wedding present from her father lay around her neck. Her blond hair was worn down today and curled softly around her chin. She was watching a pair of cardinals feeding at one of the bird feeders that dotted the side yard. The male’s bright red plumage was in stark contrast to the fresh snow that had fallen that morning.
Something inside Sabrina twisted painfully. Clearing her throat, she said, “Hello, Mother.”
Her mother turned. “Sabrina! I didn’t expect you.” Her gaze met Sabrina’s, and she smiled uncertainly. “What is it?”
Sabrina walked in and sat on the edge of the cushioned wicker sofa. “Dr. Zeller called me awhile ago.”
Sabrina had always scoffed inwardly when she’d read about the color draining from a person’s face, but that’s exactly what happened then. Her mother’s face went white, and her right hand—which had only yesterday had the cast removed—clasped her left hand.
Looking at the dawning fear in her mother’s eyes, Sabrina understood everything. No wonder her mother had been so upset when the judge ordered DNA testing of Sabrina. She’d been afraid of exactly this outcome.
“Michael and Olivia’s tests prove without a doubt that they are Dad’s children,” Sabrina said flatly. “But my test proves something quite different. My test proves that I was fathered by someone else.”
Sabrina’s mother closed her eyes. A rapid pulse beat in her throat.
“But you already knew what the tests would say, didn’t you? That’s why you were so against my being tested. My question now is, if Dad wasn’t really my father, who is?” Sabrina was surprised she managed to sound so calm when inside she was a chaotic mess.
Her mother opened eyes filled with tears. “Sabrina,” she whispered.
“Did you ever plan to tell me the truth?” Sabrina demanded.
“I—I didn’t know the truth for sure.”
“Of course you did. Why else were you so upset about the DNA testing?”
“I knew there was a possibility that Ben wasn’t your father, but I never knew for sure. I never wanted to know.” A tear rolled down her cheek.
“Well, now you do.”
Her mother swallowed and brushed at her tears. Her hands were trembling.
Sabrina wanted to feel sorry for her mother, but she was too angry. She felt cheated. She had adored her father and even after learning about Glynnis and his other children, that adoration had remained. Now she felt completely abandoned. Her father was no longer her father, and her mother had betrayed her. “I have a right to know who my father is.”
Her mother’s expression was agonized. “Sabrina, I can’t—”
“I’m not leaving until you tell me.”
Isabel bit her bottom lip.
“I mean it.”
Sighing deeply, her mother nodded. “Your father is Leland Fox.”
Frozen, Sabrina whispered, “Oh, my God. Did…did Dad know?”
Her mother couldn’t meet her eyes. “He may have guessed.”
“And Leland? Does he know?”
“Yes.”
“For how long?”
“He’s always known it was possible. I’m so sorry, Sabrina. We never meant for you to find out.”
Sabrina bowed her head.
“I want you to understand,” her mother said in a stronger voice. “I’ve loved Leland from the time I was a girl. He was my beau all through school and my escort during my debutante season and although we went to different colleges, we had an understanding. Then, in our senior year, something happened. It was all my fault. We had a terrible fight and I gave him back his pin. I told him I didn’t want to see him again.
“To pay me back, he started dating Cecily. I was hurt, so I began to date other boys, too. Before I knew what had happened, Leland and Cecily were married. I couldn’t believe it. I met Ben right after that, and I married him on the rebound.
“When Leland finished law school, he and Cecily moved back to Rockwell, and gradually, we resumed our friendship. Before long, we…we became lovers again. When I got pregnant with you, I was terrified. I didn’t know who had fathered you, but I wanted a child so badly, as did Ben, that I pushed my fears away and told myself it didn’t matter who your biological father was. I was married to Ben, and legally, he would be your father.”
“You never considered how unfair that was to him? You didn’t love him.”
“What else could I do? It wasn’t as if I could divorce him and marry Leland. Leland and Cecily had just become parents for the second time, and if he had divorced Cecily and married me, the truth would all come out. Cecily would have made our lives hell. His kids would’ve ended up hating him. And the scandal in a town like this…” Her eyes pleaded with Sabrina to understand. “I just couldn’t face all that.”
“You thought it was better to live a lie.”
“It wasn’t like that.”
“Yes, it was. And Dad knew it was all a lie. I heard him tell you that right before your accident.”
Sabrina felt sick to her stomach. Her mother hadn’t stayed with Ben because she didn’t believe in divorce or because she loved him or even because she wanted Sabrina to have a good life. She’d stayed with him because she didn’t have a better option.
Bitterly, Sabrina wondered if she’d ever really known her mother at all. “You know, Mom,” she said dully, “I gave up the only man I’ve ever loved because I didn’t want to hurt you. Because I felt you’d been hurt enough, and because, as your daughter, I felt I owed you my loyalty. But everything I always believed in has been a lie. Everything.”
Sabrina closed her heart to her mother’s cries as she rushed from the room and out of the house.
“Sabrina! What a pleasant surprise.” Leland stood up as Sabrina entered his office. “Have a seat, my dear. What brings you here this morning?”
Sabrina waited until Leland’s secretary had closed the door behind her before speaking. “My mother hasn’t called you?”
Leland frowned. “Yes, she did, but I just got in from an appointment. I was about to call her. What’s happened?”
“We got the results back from the DNA tests.” Once again Sabrina repeated the information she’d been given by Dr. Zeller. She waited a heartbeat, then added, “My mother told me the truth.”
Leland’s shoulders slumped. “Everything?”
“Everything.”
“I’ve always wanted you to know,” he said softly. “I’ve always wanted to claim you as mine.”
Whatever it was Sabrina had expected him to say, it wasn’t this. But at the words, the hard knot in her chest began to melt. She swallowed, afraid to speak, afraid she’d break down and make a complete fool of herself.
Leland got up and came around to where she sat. He took her hands in his. “I know this has been a shock.” Pulling her up, he put his arms around her.
His voice was gruff as he stroked her hair. “I want you to know the reason I stayed silent all these years wasn’t because I cared about what other people thought.”
“My mother does.” She couldn’t keep the bitterness out of her voice.
He leaned back so he could see her face. “Don’t be too hard on her, Sabrina. She’s not as strong as you are.”
Sabrina looked away. “Why does everyone always make excuses for her?”
It took a moment for him to answer. “Because we love her.”
Sabrina bit back a sob.
He gathered her close again and kissed her hair. “I’m sorry you’ve been hurt. That’s the last thing I ever wanted.” Putting his hands on either side of her face, he looked into her eyes. “I love you, sweetheart.”
Sabrina could no longer hold back the tears. So many conflicting emotions swirled inside her. All she wanted right then was to have this all be a dream. To wake up and be the person she’d always believed herself to be.
But that wasn’t going to happen.
Her life had changed irrevocably this morning.
Now it was time to find out who this new Sabrina was and where she was going.
Chapter Thirteen
Gregg had been in a state of shock ever since Glynnis called him with the news about the DNA tests. At first he’d thought she was kidding.
Sabrina wasn’t Ben’s daughter.
It was hard to believe. They’d been very close. She’d thought the world of him, and even though she’d felt betrayed and hurt by the secrets he’d kept, Gregg knew she’d still loved him.
She must be devastated.
First Ben had let her down.
Now her mother had let her down.
You let her down, too.
Twice he picked up the phone to call her, and twice he put it down again. What could he say? That he was sorry about everything? Sorry he wasn’t there for her when she needed him? Sorry he hadn’t been more patient and understanding?
Gregg wondered what kind of showdown there’d been between Sabrina and her mother. And if Ben wasn’t Sabrina’s father, who was? Had Ben known?
These questions and others continued to gnaw at him as he tried to decide whether to call Sabrina or not. Finally the decision was made for him. Glynnis called to say she had received a call from Diane Clemmons. Diane informed her that Leland Fox wanted to meet with them the following day at his office.
“Will you go with me?” she asked.
“Of course.”
“Sabrina will be there.”
“I know. It’s okay.”
So he would see Sabrina the next day.
Would she forgive him?
And if she did, would she finally be willing to tell her mother the truth?
Sabrina debated and finally decided to go and see her mother in the morning before the meeting with Glynnis and the lawyers. Isabel wouldn’t be there. Sabrina and Leland were representing her.
Sabrina didn’t blame her mother for not wanting to attend. Why should she? She had no desire to be in Glynnis’s company, plus Sabrina was sure she was deeply embarrassed and ashamed of the revelations the DNA testing had brought to light.
Some of Sabrina’s anger and feelings of betrayal toward her mother had lessened over the past twenty-four hours. The bottom line was, she still loved her mother, and even though she couldn’t condone her behavior, she did know what it was like to desperately love someone.
Gregg.
It hurt so much to think about him.
She didn’t think he wanted anything more to do with her. She hadn’t been brave enough to fight for their love, so in many ways she was just as cowardly as her mother had been, and she deserved to have lost him.
She accepted that.
Still, she had decided she wanted to make a clean breast of everything with her mother. If they were to have a good future relationship, it had to be built on honesty and trust. No more hiding. No more lying.
She called the house to tell her mother she was joining her for breakfast. “Tell Florence I’m hoping she’ll make me one of her Spanish omelettes.”
