Unexpected Arrivals(87)

“Was she sick when she got pregnant?”

“Yes. Although, I doubt James even realized it. She had tremors in her hands, and at that point, she wasn’t comfortable driving because every once in a while, she’d get turned around. However, most of her symptoms were easily masked as fatigue or clumsiness. And she wasn’t around James much before he left town. The disease didn’t progress drastically until Legend was about three.”

“How could she have ever thought she could raise a child alone?” The part of me that had been grateful to Chelsea for the gift she’d given us had turned to rage. “I can’t imagine being so selfish knowing she was going to die and that child would have no one.”

“He had me. The same way she always had. And in her eyes, that was a great life.”

“Explain that to me. How did my dad go from knocking up her mom to you being the grandmother to her that you never were to me?”

“Would you like some more coffee, dear?”

I could tell that was her way of trying to rein in the conversation. She offered me a breather in the form of refreshments. My agitation had gotten out of control quickly, and I snapped at her. When in fact, the people I should be mad at were both dead. That word sobered me and calmed my stormy temper. Dead. They weren’t here to defend themselves, and I hadn’t been around when decisions were made. Instead of judging any of them, I needed to try to be compassionate—understanding.

I clenched my jaw and spoke through gritted teeth. “Yes, please.”

With a fresh cup of coffee in hand, she finally put some pieces into the puzzle of my father’s messed-up past. “When Joey called me, things had been going so well between us. Owen and I got to see you regularly, and something had finally changed your grandfather’s priorities. He would rearrange his schedule a hundred times to fit in a trip to New York to visit you. If you believe nothing else I say, please trust your grandfather and I tried very hard to keep the relationship up, even though your father wouldn’t have any part of it, and eventually, with enough time, your mother conceded.”

“But why?” It broke my heart to think I’d had the love I’d seen Gwendolyn give to Legend and lost it.

“If your mother had found out Janie was pregnant, she would have been entitled to a large sum of money and likely would have divorced your father. I don’t think he cared about the money, but he was terrified of losing the two of you. Your grandfather, on the other hand, was a different story.”

With every word she spoke, it was as if she were reliving those days. The anguish visibly marked her expressions, and she appeared weary. Suddenly, she seemed older than she had minutes ago, and my heart hurt for her. Each sentence she uttered seeped into my soul, taking root.

“From the moment your dad called, Owen was convinced Janie was after the Chase money. He didn’t believe she hadn’t known Joey was married, even though Joey admitted to having kept it from her. In your grandfather’s mind—which soon became your father’s belief—Janie had intentionally gotten pregnant to ensure herself a paycheck.”

This was not the man who loved me until I was seventeen. My father had been affectionate and gentle and kind. He was gracious and generous to a fault. Most of all, he cherished my mother.

“Since the two men were such hotheads, I was sent to Chicago to negotiate a deal with Janie.”

“Like hush money?” I was mortified, and my jaw hung loosely in shock and dismay. “Are you kidding me?”

“Cora, sweetheart, one of the things that come with privilege is image. And that was very big to the Chase name and reputation. No Chase man could afford to be associated with infidelity. They’d kept their noses clean for generations, and neither your grandfather nor your father were willing to stake their character on a woman your dad had a fling with.”

“Is that what Janie was? Just a fling?” I agonized for the woman I’d never met. Even if she had been insignificant to my dad, someone paying her off was demoralizing.

“I wasn’t sure until I met her. She cared for your father, although they were never serious. The two of them met up when he was in town. However, once she told him she was pregnant, and he wasn’t interested in the child, she never spoke to him again.”

“He wouldn’t talk to her?”

“She never tried. He assumed she had gotten an attorney, which was why I was brought in. The family needed to settle the matter out of court to keep it out of the papers and off the news. Honestly, I don’t believe she would have ever breathed a word of it to anyone. She refused the settlements I offered her every time I went to Chicago during the pregnancy.”

I shook my head. “She didn’t take a penny?” Here was a woman sitting on a goldmine who was about to be a single parent, and she didn’t take anything.

“Not one.”

“And that’s how you got to know her?”

Her head bobbed slowly. “She was a wonderful woman. We became good friends—best friends, even. Nevertheless, your father resented my relationship with her and insisted I cut ties. He was afraid your mother would find out, and he’d lose everything.”

“You wouldn’t do that?” It wasn’t really a question, because I already had the answer.

“Had he made the request before Chelsea had been born, it might have been a possibility. She was my grandchild just as much as you were. And I loved her. It just wasn’t that easy.”