Never Say Never, page 17
“What? You’ll leave. Go ahead then, Tre. Leave.” Sabrina waved her hand. “It’s what you do best.” She was tired of trying to get through to him. Seconds later, Jasmine bounded downstairs with her overnight bag. She wrapped her arms around her father in a bear hug.
“I’m so glad you’re here, Daddy.”
“Well, let me get some air.” He extracted her tiny arms from around his neck, then he reached into his trousers and handed Jasmine the rent-a-car keys. “Go on, honey, and put your bag in the convertible. I’ll be out in a moment.” He opened the front door and allowed Jasmine to exit before closing it behind him.
Sabrina was headed up the stairs when Tre grasped her by the elbow. When she whirled back around to face him, his facial expression had turned from anger to menacing. “Don’t dismiss me, ever again, Sabrina,” he hissed. “Listen up, darling. Like you, I’m quite capable of providing for Jasmine and don’t you ever forget it.”
He released her, turned on his heel, swung open the front door and slammed it behind him.
Sabrina tightened her robe around her body. The thought of Tre rearing their daughter brought chills to her stomach and if he thought she’d ever let that happen, he was dead wrong.
Chapter 17
“I hoped this evening would cheer you up,” Malcolm said as he and Sabrina sat down to dinner at the River Grill the next week. He needed this outing too. The last few days had stressed him out as he waited for the paternity test results related to his late brother’s possible love child. Waiting was agony. It was like pulling a hangnail slowly. Not to mention, Sabrina’s ex-husband Tre being in town had made Sabrina anxious, which riled him.
“I’m sorry, Malcolm.” Sabrina forced a smile as she glanced at him over her wine goblet. Two glasses of Merlot later had done little to soften her mood or the brick at the bottom of her belly at Tre’s parting words. She hadn’t told Malcolm about his threat. Tre was her problem and she would have to deal with it, but she had told Malcolm about the visit. He wasn’t happy about it. “Guess I’m not much company this evening.”
Malcolm bent down and brought her delicately soft hands to his lips. He brushed them ever so lightly across hers and she glanced up. His eyes were riveted on her natural beauty. He didn’t know if it was her smooth honey coloring, vibrant light – brown eyes or radiant smile, but Malcolm was falling head over heels for Sabrina Parker. He shouldn’t be surprised. Matter of fact, he probably knew it the first time when he laid eyes on her and Jasmine stranded on the side of the road.
He supposed that’s why it was hard thinking Sabrina may not be over her ex given how anxious she was tonight. His feelings for her were growing exponentially and he needed to know she felt the same way.
“Malcolm, are you okay?” Sabrina asked, breaking into his reverie. He was wearing a rather odd expression.
“Yes, sweetheart, I’m uh, I’m fine.” When he tried to reach for his water glass, his cufflink caught ahold of the remaining contents, sending water spilling across the floor. Sabrina jumped up to help him and was patting his lap when she heard a feminine voice say, “Well, how apropos, darling. Sabrina on her hands and knees.”
Sabrina would know that voice anywhere. Melanie. The woman who had single-handedly ruined her family. Sabrina would have preferred to melt into a pool of water than to deal with Melanie at such an awkward moment. But she had to rise to the occasion. Sabrina stood up, brushed off her dress and looked up at her nemesis. Melanie loomed over her at five foot eleven.
The evil witch was exactly the same as Sabrina remembered. Same weave. Same overly made-up face on high-yellow skin. Same designer duds that Sabrina was sure Tre was paying for.
Sabrina would have said something, but Tre and Jasmine were behind her. Was that her baby all dressed up in a ruffly concoction AGAIN?! Dear heavens, when will everyone learn that Jasmine hates girly clothes! “Baby, what are you wearing?”
Jasmine pouted. “Melanie made me wear it.”
“Well, I had to. The child had absolutely nothing to wear in that entire bag of clothes you sent over,” Melanie said. “I mean, what’s wrong with people down here? Don’t they know anything about fashion?”
Sabrina deigned not to answer the way she really wanted to with Jasmine in their presence, or Melanie might lose that weave. In her best imitation of a Southern drawl, Sabrina instead said, “Well I guess we country bumpkins need one of you Yankees to tell us how to dress.”
Malcolm chuckled. The family scene playing out before his eyes fascinated him. So this was the infamous Tre he’d heard so much about when he’d first arrived. Barely six feet, slender build. He wasn’t much to speak of except for the Hugo Boss suit he wore and maybe the eyes. Women dug hazel eyes.
And the piece he brought with him, well she was nothing more than one of those bottom-feeding women he’d encountered during his cardiologist days in Boston. She was just another viper looking for her next victim and she’d found it in gullible Tre Matthews. To Malcolm’s surprise, Tre stopped along the way to acknowledge him. “Listen you must be, Malcolm, right?” Tre offered a hand that Malcolm declined to take.
At Malcolm’s glower, Tre pulled his hand away quickly. “Jasmine’s told me a lot about you, but listen up, my man.” Tre put a hand on Malcolm’s shoulder and whispered in his ear, “Jasmine has a father and she has no need for a new one. Got it?” Slapping Malcolm’s shoulder, Tre walked away.
Once Tre was finally seated at his table, Malcolm swore under his breath. “I could … I could …” The thought of that slimy bastard touching his Sabrina … there. There it was again. His Sabrina. But that’s indeed how he felt. She was the only woman he wanted to be with, spend time with. The only woman he wanted to talk to, make love to. His heart welled up with joy at the thought. Their meeting one another couldn’t be luck. It had to be fate. They were destined to meet.
“Malcolm.” Sabrina waved her hand back and forth in front of his face. “Are you with me?”
“Yes, I am most definitely with you.”
Sabrina heard a flirty giggle. When she turned around she caught Melanie smiling at her as she leaned over and rubbed her hand suggestively across Tre’s arm. And to make matters worse, Sabrina saw Melanie fixing Jasmine’s hair and clothes. She glared harshly at Melanie before turning back to Malcolm.
“We have to go.” Sabrina suddenly stood up. “I can’t stand watching that witch carry on with my daughter and my—”
Malcolm interrupted her rant. “You’re not jealous seeing Melanie with Tre, are you?” Sabrina was acting a little like the jilted lover. It was a crushing blow.
Sabrina glanced over at Tre and the mealy-mouthed Melanie and laughed. “Of course not. That’s utterly ridiculous. Melanie can have his sorry behind.” Suddenly her voice sounded shrill, even to her.
“Then why leave?” Malcolm asked. “We are not going to let that bastard run us off. No, I don’t think so. Sit down.” He grabbed Sabrina’s forearm and helped her back in her seat. “Listen up, today we’re not running. So let’s order dessert.”
Malcolm yelled out to the waiter passing by. “Waiter!”
Sabrina burst into a fit of giggles at Malcolm’s caveman routine. “Okay, okay,” she said as she held up her hands in surrender. “We’ll stay.” When the waiter arrived and asked what they wanted, they said in unison, “Crème Brûlée.”
“You’re right,” Tre admitted to Sabrina two days later when he stopped by unannounced at her parents’ house. She’d been surprised to find him on her doorstep after returning from work early that afternoon.
“About?” Sabrina asked, closing the door behind him.
“I think I need to stay another day or so. Jasmine’s been very clingy and I’d like to spend some more time with her.”
“I think that’s an excellent idea. Where is she?”
“I left her at the hotel with Melanie so you and I can talk freely.” Tre swung his arm open, indicating that Sabrina should walk ahead of him into the living room. She noted his look of disdain at her mother’s outdated furniture as he entered the room. Sure, it was no Ethan Allen, but it was well-kept.
Sabrina sat down and joined both hands. “What would you like to talk about, Tre?”
“You’re moving back to Baltimore,” Tre said with no preamble.
Sabrina chuckled at his wannabe tough routine. “That’s not going to happen, Tre.”
“It’s in Jasmine’s best interest to have both her parents in her life, don’t you agree?”
“Which is why you should take full advantage of your summer visit together,” Sabrina countered.
“Clearly, you can see that’s not enough.” Tre stood up.
Sabrina could see he was annoyed that the conversation was not going his way. He used to be able to convince her to do anything he wanted. He was probably wondering what had changed. She had.
She was fuming too. She didn’t appreciate Tre trying to change the terms of their custody arrangement. “What I can see is that she’s going through a period. First the divorce and now the move. She needs time to heal and then she’ll be fine.”
Tre shook his head. “I disagree. What she needs is her father, which is why I am suing you for sole custody.”
Hearing those words caused all the air in Sabrina’s lungs to evaporate. She thought she would nearly faint, but she controlled herself. She wouldn’t give him the satisfaction. She found her voice and her courage. She was not some naïve nineteen-year-old that Tre could walk over. She was a grown woman.
“I am willing,” Tre began, “not to go through with this and to agree to joint custody if you’ll agree to move back to Baltimore.” His tone was chilly and edged with steel.
“So now you’re resorting to blackmail?” Sabrina’s eyes widened in amazement. “How dare you come into my parents’ home and threaten me. Have you no shame, Tre Matthews?”
“Not when it comes to my daughter.” He fingered her family photos on the fireplace mantel. “You should know me better than that.”
Sabrina shook her head. “You’d do anything to have your way, wouldn’t you? Even if it means uprooting Jasmine again right when she’s beginning to adjust and make new friends, but you’d take her away from all of that, just to spite me. You’re despicable.”
“New friends like your Dr. Malcolm?” Tre asked in a nasty tone as he spun around.
“What’s it to you?”
Tre let out a long, audible laugh. “Nothing at all.” He shrugged his less than buff shoulders. He’s nothing like Malcolm, thought Sabrina. He’s the antithesis of him. “I’m surprised you’ve managed to snag a doctor considering you’ve always been a cold fish.”
“Only with you, Tre. Malcolm knows his way around a woman’s body and I don’t have to fake it.”
“And he’s found his way around my daughter’s heart, right?” Tre countered. “Well, I won’t have it! So you’d better decide if you’re willing to give up your daughter to keep him. The choice is yours: Move back to Baltimore and all will be well. Or stay here and face the consequences.”
Sabrina rolled her eyes and prayed for the strength not to put a hurting on Tre. “You’d really put Jasmine through a court battle? Because I’m here to tell you that’s what it’ll take. I will fight you tooth and nail.”
“C’mon, Sabrina. I mean look at this place.” Tre swung his arm around her parents’ living room. “Can you honestly tell me that this dump surpasses what I could provide Jasmine?”
“First of all, don’t call my home, the home I was raised in, a dump. Second, this stunt proves what I already knew when I left Baltimore.”
“And that is?”
“That you’re not qualified to raise my child,” Sabrina answered unequivocally, stiffening her back to stand up. “So take your strong-arm tactics and get the hell out of my house.” She pointed to the door. “And if you ever make another threat against me, you’ll see just how dangerous I can be.”
Tre snorted. “Like you have any power.”
“Don’t push me, Tre. My brother is the sheriff in this town and he’d like nothing better than to throw your sorry butt in jail.”
At the fury etched across her face, Tre moved quickly toward the door, but not before leaving one parting comment. “You’ll regret this,” he said as he closed the door behind him.
How wrong he was. What Sabrina regretted most was all the time she’d spent grieving over him. Tre simply wasn’t worth it.
“The results are in,” Dinah said from the other end of the line that same afternoon. An awkward silence followed after she spoke. She hated that they hadn’t talked much since she’d accused Malcolm of causing Michael’s death, but she didn’t know what to do. What could she ever say that would make up for it? It’s why she hadn’t telephoned. Malcolm was stalwart. He understood these matters. In time, he would get over the affront and let her back into his life.
Malcolm’s breath caught in his chest. This is the call he’d been waiting for for nearly two weeks, but now that it was here, all he felt was fear. If it were true, it would mean that God had handed them a miracle, but if it wasn’t, it would be a devastating blow. It would mean that Michael was truly gone forever. It would be like losing him all over again.
“Malcolm, are you still there?”
“Yes, I am,” he said, finding his voice as he settled into his chair in the study. “So, what were the laboratory’s findings?”
“Malcolm, are you sure you’re prepared to hear this?”
Malcolm rose from the chair and stared out the window. “I don’t have much choice now, do I? If this woman is who she claims she is, then as executor of Michael’s will, some changes will have to be made.”
“The test came back positive, Malcolm, with an accuracy of ninety-nine percent. Michael fathered a son.”
“Dear God.” Malcolm dropped the phone. All the air in his lungs rushed out and he slid down the wall, falling to the floor.
When Dinah didn’t hear him on the other end, she yelled into to the receiver. Her voice rose several octaves. “Malcolm, Malcolm! Please pick up. Malcolm!”
After a long pause, Dinah’s voice finally broke through Malcolm’s haze. Reaching across the hardwood floor of his study, he found the cellphone and put it to his ear. “I’m here, okay. You can stop yelling.”
“Thank God. Are you alright?”
“I’m fine.”
“I know this must come as quite a shock.”
“You have no idea.” Malcolm scratched his head. “And they’re sure?”
“The test was done three times for verification.”
“Then it’s true, Mom?” Malcolm’s voice faded. “My brother has a son. I have a nephew and you have a grandson.” The words seemed strange on his tongue. “What his name?”
Dinah paused. Her heart filled with joy. She couldn’t remember the last time he’d called her “Mom.” “His name is Jayden Thomas Winters.”
“Winters?”
“Yes, Tasha gave him his father’s last name when he was born.”
“Have you seen him?”
“Yes. Tasha was kind enough to fly up to Boston and bring Jayden for a visit to meet me. He’s truly the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen. Michael might be gone, but a part of him will live on in Jayden.”
Malcolm was silent for a long moment as he absorbed all the information. Then he asked, “And his mother?”
“Tasha apologized for keeping this news from us and I apologized for not believing her. And Malcolm, she was really great. She vowed that I, that we, Michael’s family, would always be a big part of Jayden’s life because that’s what Michael would have wanted.”
“How old is he?” Malcolm wanted to know everything and anything about his new nephew.
“About fourteen months. He looks exactly like Michael did at that age, a mop of curly hair and beautiful caramel skin. He’ll be a heartbreaker, just like his father.”
Malcolm paused. Could Michael have known he had a son before he died? If so, why hadn’t he told him, his twin, of all people?
“I’m not sure if Michael knew,” Dinah said, reading his thoughts through the airwaves, “and I don’t want to know. What difference would it make now but to sully this moment? Do you know how lucky we are, Malcolm? We’ve been given another chance.” Her voice broke and Malcolm could hear her crying in the background.
“You’re right,” he acknowledged. “All that matters now is Jayden and what’s best for him.” His mind started working a mile a minute. He would have to call Michael’s attorney and have him set up a trust in Jayden’s name immediately. No matter what, Malcolm would always be sure to take care of his brother’s son.
“Where is she now? I mean, where does she live?” he asked, firing off questions.
“In Savannah.”
“What?! You mean she’s been here underneath my nose the entire time?”
“Afraid so. C’mon, haven’t you wondered why Michael chose Savannah of all places as his favorite? It’s why you moved there to feel closer to him.”
“But why haven’t I run into her by now? Savannah is a small community.”
“I believe she lives in Hilton Head, which is about forty miles south of Savannah, but close enough to drive.”
“You have got to be joking.” Malcolm laughed, leaning back against the wall. All this time his nephew had been right under his nose and he hadn’t even known it. “But why did she wait so long to come forward?”
“Fear, plain and simple. She thought we might try and take Jayden from her and she doesn’t make very much. She thought we’d fight her for custody.”
“It doesn’t matter how much money she makes. As long as she loves and provides for him, we’d never fight her. And as executor of Michael’s will, I’ll make sure she never has to worry about finances.”
