Almost Home Part 13

"I missed you, boy."

Zach's laugh was filled with cynicism. "I'm your shill, not your mark, remember? You don't have to pretend with me."

"You're my son."

"When it's convenient."

"Well, it's convenient now. Invite me in, Zach. I have some news for you."

"There's nothing you can tell me that I want to hear."

Jackson's eyes twinkled with amus.e.m.e.nt. "Really? How about I tell you about your sister?"

"I don't have a sister," Zach said firmly, but his nerve endings began to tingle the way they always did when his father was about to cause trouble.

"Now, sometimes life throws a few surprises our way, son. I don't suppose you've met Katherine Whitfield."

Zach's heart dropped to his feet. "You're crazy. There is no way in h.e.l.l Katherine is my sister."

Jackson simply smiled. "I think it's time we had a little chat. Invite me in."

Zach stared at his father in disbelief. "You're not coming in until you answer my question."

"Oh, you mean about your sister? You didn't notice a resemblance between Miss Whitfield and myself?"

"No, I didn't." Although he had to admit Katherine's eyes were the same blue as his father's. He shook the thought away. A lot of people had blue eyes, it didn't mean a thing. "And how do you know about Katherine Whitfield?"

"A little bird whispered in my ear."

"And where did that little bird find you? You've been gone so long I thought you were dead."

"Hoping, weren't you?"

"I don't waste time hoping for anything where you're concerned."

"Such harsh words from my son. I'm appalled. Perhaps I've found my daughter just in time. Katherine Whitfield is looking for her father, isn't she?"

"So she says."

"Perhaps it's time we met." Jackson took advantage of Zach's confusion to push past him into the house. "Is this all you've got, boy?" He waved his hand at the small room. "I thought you'd be in the main house by now."

Zach followed his father into the room, but deliberately left the door open. He didn't want Jackson getting too comfortable. "This suits me fine."

"You're a lot more like your mother than me. She never had much vision. Satisfied with far too little."

Zach's heart hardened to rock. "I'm not like either one of you."

Jackson gave him a half smile. "You know, you should spend more time having fun, instead of trying to make sure no one mistakes you for me. I've had a good life. You could do worse. In fact, you are doing worse."

"And you hurt a lot of people in the process of having fun."

"I teach valuable life lessons, son. People are smarter after they've met me."

"I'm sure they're not thanking you for the lesson. Especially Cora Daniels. She spends most of her days at the cemetery since her husband killed himself after losing all his money to you."

"Now, now, let's not talk about that ugly business. It was years ago." Jackson settled himself on Zach's sofa. Dressed in a beige suit, crisp white shirt, and conservative tie, Jackson almost looked respectable, but Zach had known his father too long to be taken in by clean fingernails and a fresh haircut.

"I can't believe you even want to show your face around this town. People have long memories."

"No one could prove a thing, Zachary. They never can."

Zach sat down on the edge of the hard-back chair across from the couch. "What do you want?"

"Now, what kind of question is that to be asking your father?"

"A valid one. What do you want? Money? I told you that well had run dry the last time you came through."

"I don't need your money. I've got plenty of my own. In fact, I've got myself a business."

"Selling snake oil."

"Selling dreams."

Zach shook his head. "I don't want to know what you're up to. Just leave me out of it."

"It's not a crime to give people what they want."

"It is if it's a lie." Zach looked deep into his father's eyes, but it was impossible to find the truth. "Leave Katherine alone."

"I'm afraid I can't do that."

"She's not your daughter."

"According to my sources, she's twenty-seven years old. Let's see..." Jackson put a finger to the side of his face. "I think that was 1972, and as I recall, we were living in Louisville; you were about seven. I understand Miss Whitfield is under the impression her father lived in these parts back then."

"I don't believe you're her father."

"It's not you who has to believe."

Zach stood up and paced restlessly around the small room, knowing he would have to pick his words carefully or he'd only feed his father's latest obsession. "Why would you want to be Katherine's father?"

Jackson stood up and brushed the wrinkles out of his pants as if he were a fine gentleman, when in reality he'd slept in his clothes more often than Zach could count.

"Katherine's stepfather, Mitch.e.l.l Whitfield, is a wealthy man, an investment banker. He's worth millions."

"How do you know that?"

"I do my homework, son. Didn't you learn anything from me? You've had three days to find out about the girl, and I bet you don't know anything important."

Zach knew a few things, like how Katherine felt pressed against his body, her mouth under his. And how she looked when she was tired and hurting and stubbornly proud. He knew how much she wanted to find the missing piece of her life and how easy it would be for her to grab a clue, any clue, even one that came from his father.

Zach didn't believe for a second that Jackson was Katherine's father. The man had simply found a new game.

Or maybe Zach didn't want to believe. To discover that Katherine was his sister would be unthinkable, unspeakable. It couldn't be true, although a stray daughter wouldn't be out of the realm of possibility, considering Jackson's past. But to have it be this woman-no. It was too big of a coincidence.

"Have dinner with me tomorrow night," Jackson said, startling Zach out of his reverie.

"What?"

"With Miss Whitfield. I've left a message at her hotel for her to join us at Hastings Grill. Six forty-five." Jackson walked to the door. "The reservation is in your name. Don't be late."

"I'm not going to help you convince Katherine you're her father."

"I don't need your help for that. I just want you to get her there."

"I'm not coming. I won't be a part of this."

Jackson paused, tipping his head to one side. "All right. Maybe it's better if we meet alone. And she's so curious, I'm sure she'll come. I'd hate for you to give Katherine the wrong idea about me. And I suppose this is private, a father and his long-lost daughter."

Jackson's smile made Zach's stomach turn over. There was no way he could let Katherine meet his father on her own. "I'll be there."

"I thought you would be. It will be our first family dinner."

"And our last."

Jackson shrugged. "Life has a way of knocking you down just when you're picking yourself up."

"It's not life that knocks me down, it's you. Why couldn't you just stay away from me?"

"We're family, son. I love you. I was coming back to see you when I heard about Katherine. Fate."

Zach looked him straight in the eye. "Bulls.h.i.t. But if you want to be a good father, leave Katherine alone."

Jackson shook his head in regret. "I can't do that. Katherine might very well be my daughter. Besides, you always wanted a family. Wouldn't a sister be just what the doctor ordered?" Jackson didn't wait for a reply. "I'll see you tomorrow night, son. And try to change the expression on your face before you come. I wouldn't want Miss Whitfield to think we aren't a loving father and son."

"I'm not going to help you. I'm going to stop you."

Jackson's face lost all of its charm. His eyes turned to flint, his jaw to granite. "You'll help. Or have you forgotten what card I hold?"

"You can't blackmail me forever."

"Who says?"

"Harry Stanton wouldn't believe you anyway."

"If you think I'm bluffing, let's put it to the test. Or is there a part of you that wonders if good old Harry would believe me-if he'd turn you out on your a.s.s faster than you could take your next breath if he knew you had anything to do with his wife's missing wedding ring?"

"And you say you love me," Zach said mockingly. "How lucky I am."

"You are lucky, boy. And you could get even luckier. I'll see you tomorrow night. Don't be late."

"Katherine may not come," Zach said.

"Oh, she'll come." Jackson's gleeful smile returned. "And we'll be waiting."

Chapter 9.

Dinner with Katherine and his father-Zach couldn't think of anything worse. In fact, he'd spent most of Sat.u.r.day trying to find a way out, but it was now after six and he couldn't let Katherine face his father alone. Although he hated to let his father blackmail him, it wasn't the right time to take a stand. It was too close to the Derby; too close to the culmination of his dreams. He checked his watch again as he paced back and forth near the door. d.a.m.n his father and d.a.m.n Katherine, too.

If he had any sense, he'd let her deal with his father on her own. If she was so eager to pluck a father off the streets of Paradise, she'd have to learn to deal with the snakes that came up and bit her in the b.u.t.t. Snakes like his father. His muscles tightened at the thought of Jackson and his claim to be Katherine's father.

It wasn't possible. It couldn't be possible. Zach didn't want her to be his sister. He wanted her to be his lover.

The restaurant's front door opened and a chill ran down his spine. Katherine paused, letting her eyes adjust to the dim light, and in that moment he knew he was in big trouble. She looked so seductive, her blond hair billowing in a cloud around her shoulders, a red knit dress clinging to her b.r.e.a.s.t.s and her hips and her legs. Didn't the woman own anything dark and conservative?

"Zach?"

"Katherine," he said through tight lips. "Am I late?" she asked nervously, walking over to him.

"No." He had to force the word out. He'd never been a talker, but Katherine had a way of stealing all the breath out of his chest, making it difficult to think, much less speak.

"It was nice of you to invite me to dinner." Her words reminded him that this was not a date, and he had to talk to her before his father arrived.

"Kat-"

"I didn't think I'd hear from you for a while-after yesterday."

His gaze dropped from her eyes to her mouth, to the lips he'd tasted far too long ago. "It was just a kiss," he said forcefully, trying to make himself believe it. "No big deal."

She sent him a skeptical look. "I was there, remember?"

"You felt what you wanted to feel."

"And you're pretending disinterest because it's so much safer than admitting you're attracted to me."

"I never said I wasn't attracted to you."

"You're a very annoying man."

"Then why are you here?"

"I don't know."