Page 164 of Confessions

“You lying bitch—!” He dropped her as if her skin burned his hands.

“Oh, no, honey, you’ve got the wrong woman. You should be saying things like that to Carlie. After all, you had the right to know about your kid.”

“My kid?” he said, his voice barely a whisper. “My kid?”

“Sure.” She lifted her shoulders. “Whose do you think it was?” she asked lightly, then blanched when she saw the answer in his eyes. “Oh, God, not Kevin’s...”

He didn’t wait to say goodbye, just spun on his heel, yanked open the truck door and jumped in behind the wheel. His baby? His? Carlie was pregnant with his baby? A thousand thoughts raced through his suddenly throbbing head. But she’d sworn she’d never been pregnant! Who was lying? Tracy or Carlie?

He shoved the truck into gear and took off with a squeal of tires. Tracy was left standing in the parking lot of her apartment building and from the corner of his eye Ben noticed a curtain move in Randy’s bedroom. The kid had probably witnessed the entire scene between Ben and his mother. What would he think? Ben couldn’t begin to guess. He slowed for the street, then gunned the engine. He couldn’t feel responsible for Tracy and Randy...well, not too responsible. They’d gotten along all right without him for all of Randy’s life; they certainly didn’t need him now.

He drove to Carlie’s house like a man possessed, but when he arrived, he had to wait. She was out with Thomas Fitzpatrick. Impatiently Ben jammed his own key into the lock and climbed the staircase to her apartment. It was time they had it out.

* * *

CARLIE KNEW SHE’D made a vast mistake when Thomas insisted that they go to dinner in the company helicopter.

“You’re not serious,” she’d said, as he’d driven her to the offices of the logging company and the flat stretch of ground where a chopper sat, pilot ready, to speed them to a hotel in San Francisco.

“I’m very serious,” he said and her heart sank as she stepped aboard and saw two bottles of champagne chilling in a bucket. Once they were airborne, he offered her champagne, but she declined. Ben had been right, she realized, and wished she could change plans that had been set for nearly a week.

The view from the craft was beautiful. A full moon added luster to the dark skies and the lights of the city brightened the horizon. They landed gently and Thomas helped her through the doors of the hotel and down to a private dining room that overlooked the Golden Gate Bridge.

The linen on the table was a rich mulberry color, the napkins snow white. A bud vase held a single rose. “What exactly do you want me to do?” she asked when he presumed to order for them both.

“I told you. The pictures for the company—I’ve seen the first proofs and they’re very good—and then there’s the matter of Toni’s wedding, if it’s still on. After last night, who knows?” He sighed heavily and shook his head.

“We didn’t have to come all this way to discuss wedding photographs,” she said, taking a sip of wine.

His blue eyes caught in the reflection. “Well, I have a confession to make,” he admitted, looking somewhat sheepish. “I wanted to be alone with you.”

“Wi

th me?”

“My wife’s divorcing me,” he said flatly.

“So—”

“So I thought I could spend an evening with a beautiful woman without feeling guilty.”

“Mr. Fitzpatrick—”

“Thomas, please.” He reached across the table and took her hand in his smooth fingers. She thought then how unlike Ben he was.

“Just as long as we understand each other, Thomas, I don’t like being manipulated.”

“Did I manipulate you?”

“Not if this is strictly a business meeting, and if it is, I see no reason to discuss your marriage.”

“The divorce will be final within the month.”

“I’m sorry,” she said as the waiter brought hot rolls and delicate salads garnished with tiny sprigs of asparagus. The waiter disappeared.

“No reason to be sorry. It’s probably for the best. We started drifting apart years ago...when Roy was killed. Everything came to a head a few months ago when Jackson found out I was his father.” Thomas frowned thoughtfully as if rolling old reels of memories over in his mind and for a second Carlie felt a jab of sympathy for a man who had tried so desperately to control and exploit the destiny of others only to lose sight of his own happiness. “June couldn’t handle that. The scandal, you know. Things have gone downhill since then. Last night wasn’t completely unexpected. Toni’s going through a lot right now. Just when she’s hoping to get married, her parents are throwing in the matrimonial towel.”

She didn’t know what to say and picked at her salad.