“Everything was right,” said Tara, “everything was wonderful. Lynch and I are deeply in love.”
“But you didn’t know about his child, did you?” Aldon got between Tara and Cindy. “Everything was only wonderful in your imagination. What would you have done if you’d found out about this later on?”
Tara could not speak.
“And what if later on you also found out about other things that Lynch was hiding from you?” Aldon continued.
“Lynch has told me everything about his life. We don’t keep a thing from each other, it’s what I love the most, he’s my best friend,” Tara whimpered.
“He can still be your best friend,” Mattheus interrupted. “This is not the worst thing in the world.”
At that Tara turned towards Mattheus, alarmed. “Are you saying that this doesn’t matter? That it’s okay if Lynch has a child that he never told me about?”
“Yes, I’m saying it’s okay,” said Mattheus. “There are worse things you could find out.”
Cindy went over and edged Mattheus to the side. “This is not okay, Tara,” Cindy interrupted. “I understand completely how you feel.”
Tara’s looked at Cindy then, her eyes suddenly flaming. “How do I know I can believe you? I want you to bring me this child right now. I’m not leaving this room until I see him. And I want Lynch to be with me when the child arrives. If his son really exists, if he’s a member of the family, prove it to me. Prove it to all of us! Can you do that?”
“Yes, I can,” said Cindy calmly.
“It’s gonna cost you plenty for us to get the child over here,” Mattheus mumbled to Aldon.
“I don’t care what it costs,” Aldon answered promptly. “Pay your goons whatever you have to. This is my daughter’s life we’re talking about!”
CHAPTER 5
Cindy and Mattheus retired to the side alcove of Aldon’s suite to make arrangements.
“I refuse to do this,” Mattheus repeated. “It’s against my principles, it stinks.”
“Give me Nick’s number and I’ll call him then.” Cindy was shaken to the core by Mattheus behavior. “We’ve gone this far, we can’t turn back now.”
Mattheus yanked a piece of paper out of his pocket and thrust it in Cindy’s hand. “This is your baby now, the fallout’s on you,” Mattheus said. “I wash my hands of responsibility.”
“You’re going crazy,” Cindy replied. “I have no idea what’s beneath your reaction, but step aside, I’ll make the call.”
Fortunately Nick picked up his phone as soon as it rang, and after Cindy spoke to him for a few minutes, he agreed to bring the boy over to the hotel right away.
“It won’t be a big deal to get him there,” Nick insisted. “In fact, I’m betting his mother will be thrilled when she’s hears. After all, his family’s worth big bucks.”
Cindy was both relieved and troubled. “Okay, do whatever you have to get the child here right away.”
“I’m on the move,” Nick replied.
Cindy walked back out of the alcove into the room where Tara sat with her father. The tension between them was so all encompassing it took Cindy’s breath away. Mattheus sat a few feet away in a leather chair, looking out the glass windows at the sea that rolled onto shore in gentle waves.
“The boy will be here shortly,” said Cindy.
“How can I know for sure he’s truly Lynch’s son?” Tara gasped at in horror.
“You’ve called Lynch, he’ll be here as well. He won’t deny the child face to face, will he?” Aldon asked crisply.
“I want to meet the mother, too,” Tara shot back at Cindy. “Can you also produce the mother?”
“Yes, I can,” said Cindy without hesitation.
“Now you’re torturing yourself, Tara,” Aldon didn’t like it. “What possible reason is there for you to meet her?”
Tara’s lips pursed, “I want to,” she insisted. “Lynch told me something vaguely about a girlfriend he had on the island. He said it was completely over, that when he came down here on his business trips he never saw her at all anymore.”
At that Mattheus stood up and took a few steps towards Tara. “When a guy breaks up with a girlfriend and they have a child, he’s got to keep in touch, at the very least to give her money. That doesn’t mean he has feelings for her or that there’s a relationship between them.”
At that Aldon bristled and turned to Mattheus. “You certainly have a lot of twisted ideas and we are not at all interested in any of them. Either Lynch is in touch with the ex-girlfriend or not.”
Cindy felt badly for Mattheus. “Mattheus is just offering another point of view,” she objected. “He’s trying to calm the turbulent waters.”
“Well, he’s doing a great job of ruffling my waters,” Aldon replied bitterly.
Cindy shot a warning glance at Mattheus.
“Thank you, Cindy,” Tara said then, getting up and moving closer to her. “I can see how hard this is for you, too. Thank you for understanding.”