Her Little Secret, His Hidden Heir(36)

Marc put his hands to his hips and cocked his head. “I had no idea you hated her so much,” he murmured quietly.

“She was horrible to me,” Vanessa retorted, rolling her eyes. “She made my life miserable while we were married.”

For a minute, he didn’t say anything, trying to gauge the truth of her words.

Had his mother really been that awful to her, or was Vanessa exaggerating? He knew women didn’t always get along with their husbands’ families and that mother-in-law/daughter-in-law relationships could often be acrimonious.

Heaven knew his mother wasn’t exactly the warmest person in the whole world, even with her own children, but had she really been so cruel to Vanessa when he hadn’t been around?

“I’m sorry you feel that way,” he said carefully, “but I have to go back. Not for long—a few days, maybe a week. And I’d like to take Danny with me.”

At that, Vanessa opened her mouth and he knew another argument was coming.

“You can’t really stop me from taking him along,” he told her flatly. “He’s my son and you’ve kept him from me—and from my family—all this time. I think I deserve to take him home with me for a while.”

Cocking his head, he fixed her with an intense, no-nonsense stare. “And we both know I don’t need your permission.”

“Are you threatening to take him from me?” she asked in a low voice.

“Do I need to?” he responded just as softly.

Though her mouth flattened in obvious anger, he could see the pulse beating frantically at her throat and her blue eyes glittering with emotion.

“It’s just for a few days,” he assured her again, feeling the odd need to wipe the fear and brimming tears from those eyes. “A week at the most. And you’re more than welcome to come along, keep an eye on both of us. Why do you think I invited you in the first place?”

She licked her lips, swallowing hard. “You’re going to make me do this, aren’t you?” she asked in a wavering but resolved voice.

“I’m going to do this, with or without you. What part you play in the situation and how close an eye you keep on Danny is entirely up to you.”

She gave him a look that clearly said she didn’t think the choice he was giving her was any choice at all, but damned if he’d back down or go home, even for a short stay, without his son. He’d only just discovered he was a father; he wasn’t going to walk away that easily.

Nor was he willing to let Danny out of his sight for that long. It might only be a handful of days by the calendar, but he’d gotten so used to seeing his son each and every day, to spending true quality time with him, that even twenty-four hours would feel like a lifetime at this point.

The same could be said of being away from Vanessa, he supposed, but then, his attraction to her had never been in question.

No, his thoughts now had to be for his son. And though he would never intentionally cause his ex-wife this much anxiety or upset, he couldn’t honestly be sure that she wouldn’t pick up Danny and run with him the minute he drove out of town.

It would mean leaving her aunt and bakery and the life she’d built here in Summerville, but she’d kept Danny’s existence from him once. What was to say she wouldn’t try to steal the baby from him this time around?

There was also the small issue of her current physical condition. Like it or not, there was a chance she was pregnant again, and until he knew for sure one way or the other, he didn’t intend to let her get away or keep another of his children a secret from him for a year or more.

Which meant that if he couldn’t stay in Summerville and keep an eye on her and Danny every minute, then he would have to take Danny with him back to Pittsburgh. Vanessa could go along or not, but the one thing he could count on was that if Danny was with him, she wouldn’t be hieing off to parts unknown.

Mouth set in a mulish slant, she mumbled, “This is extortion, you know.”

He raised a brow and resisted the urge to chuckle. “I’d hardly call it that.”

“What would you call it, then?”

“Fatherhood,” he replied. “I’m simply exerting my parental rights. You remember what those are, don’t you? They’re what you denied me for the past year while you kept Danny to yourself.”

He hadn’t meant to let his bitterness over the past slip out, but he could tell by her expression that she’d heard it loud and clear.

“I’m not letting you take Danny anywhere without me,” she said stubbornly.

Her implication being that if he insisted on taking Danny home to visit his family, she would be going along, however reluctantly.

“If you can be ready by tomorrow, we’ll leave around noon.”

“I’m not sure I can be ready quite that early.”

Marc tipped his head and gave a short nod. “Fine, make it one o’clock, then.”



The last thing Vanessa wanted to do was leave Summerville and the nice, tidy life she’d built for herself to return to the lion’s den that was Keller Manor. It might have been only temporary—very temporary, if Marc’s promise held true—but whether it was five days or only one, every minute was bound to feel like an eternity.

Which was why she didn’t rush when it came to packing for herself and Danny. She took her time discussing her absence with Aunt Helen and setting up a couple of extra employees to cover for her, wanting to make sure The Sugar Shack really would run smoothly while she was away.