“Glad to hear it.” She crossed her legs. “I’ve been down that road.”
“Ah, yes, your deadbeat ex.”
“I thought about what you said and you’re right.”
“I like being right and it happens often.” I smirked. “But what am I right about?”
When she laughed, I realized how much I liked making her happy.
“We are better off without him and I’ve decided not to dwell on him any longer. If he doesn’t want to be in Zoey’s life then that’s what’s meant to be. He doesn’t have to be her father. That’s a privilege not a right.”
“Exactly.” It’s my right. “I couldn’t agree with you more.”
“Thank you.” Her face wasn’t as bright as it was a few moments ago.
“What’s wrong?”
“I’ve come to the right realization about Josh but now I have to make sure I do everything I can to make Zoey’s life as good as it can be.”
“You’re already doing that,” I assured her. “I’ve never seen such a well-rounded, advanced four-year old.”
“Sometimes I think that has more to do with biology than environmental.”
“What do you mean?”
“Since meeting you, I’ve given this some thought.”
“Me?”
“I never really gave Zoey’s biological parents much energy. I’ve always considered her my daughter even if I didn’t give birth to her. Everything was done through an attorney. I never met them.”
I knew all of this but where was she headed?
“I have some health history on the biological mother’s side but not much about the biological father. I have a feeling he wasn’t in the picture.”
“Why?”
I had to swallow back the bile in my throat, trying to control my emotions. What I wanted to say was, don’t you think he would have been involved if he could have been? It wasn’t his fault that no one bothered to tell him he was going to be a father. Maybe if someone had, I wouldn’t be in the predicament I was in at the moment. Take a breath, I reminded myself. None of this is Kara’s fault.
“The attorney found us early on. We knew we’d be adopting Zoey from almost the beginning of the pregnancy. It was all so final. I never had that anxiety that adoptive parents often have about the birth mother changing her mind. I never met her but according to her attorney, it was a done deal. The woman did not want to keep her child.”
Oh, Lanie, why? Why didn’t you come to me?
“Anyway, I was thinking that Zoey’s parents must have been like you.”
“Why would you say that?” This was hitting a little too close to home.
“I don’t know.” She shrugged. “You’re so smart and successful. You love to read. You went to an Ivy League school. I know every parent thinks their kid is the smartest but Zoey has always been ahead of kids her age. It got me thinking that maybe her parents were like you. I have nothing to go on and sometimes I wonder.”
“Would you like to meet them?”
“I don’t think so.” She bit her lip. “If they sought her out, I wouldn’t stop them but I wouldn’t go searching for them.”
“You wouldn’t stop them?”
“They have no legal claim to her and I’m not certain I’d want to share her but she’s such an extraordinary kid, if they came to me one day, maybe when Zoey is older, I’d be open to it.”
“That’s very kind of you.”
“Her adoptive father doesn’t want anything to do with her. Too bad he still has a claim to her.”
Not for long. I was in the process of taking care of that. “Don’t worry about him. I’m sure that will sort itself out.”
“I hope.”
“How did you know I went to an Ivy League school?” Was she investigating me? Could she make the connection about me?
“Oh, well, my friend Carla is a little protective when it comes to men, especially since you’re the first one since my divorce.”
“What did she do?”
Carla Del Valli was a well-known socialite who sat on several charity boards. I’d never met her but I knew of her. When I went looking for Zoey, my P.I. had done a thorough search of anyone who was in her life. Carla came up in the search. She and her husband were extremely wealthy and certainly had the resources to investigate me.
“Don’t be so worried.” Kara inched closer to me, smiling as she nudged me. “Are you hiding something?”
“Not at all.” God, if you only knew.
“She knows of you because of your… financial status. Carla loves money and she’s captivated by people who have a lot of it.”
“Interesting.”
“I’m surprised she hasn’t solicited you for one of her charities yet.”
“She wouldn’t be the first.”
“Carla was curious, so she Googled you. You’re as private on-line as you are in person.”
“That’s good to know.” Really good to know. “Your search probably told you where I’m from, I have a brother named Zachary, my mother raised the two of us on her own, and I went to Princeton. Anything else?”
“You’re a formidable businessman.”
“That’s putting it politely.”
“I understand how you got so successful.”
“I do what most wouldn’t even consider to get what I want.” That was an understatement.
“I don’t see that side of you.”
“You don’t know me that well.”
“I’d like to get to know you better.”
If you find out who I am, you might not want to know me at all. Maybe it’s better if I never tell you.
“I didn’t find much about your social life on-line. You don’t even have social media.” She waved at Zoey when she came into our view. “Do you do anything but work?”
“No.”
“Really?”
“Occasionally.” I glanced at Zoey and then back to Kara. “I’m working on it.”
“Am I helping with that?”
“You are.” I took her hand in mine, running my thumb over her knuckles. “More than you know.”
“Can I ask you something?”
“Yes.” I wish I could tell you everything.
“In Carla’s search, I saw that this library was dedicated to Elaine Hightower.”
Shit!
“Who was she to you?”
I didn’t answer right away. I had to be careful with my words.
“Is that too intrusive,” she asked. “You don’t have to tell me.”
“At one time, she was very important to me. I didn’t realize how much until it was too late.” I was still coming to terms with the fact that Lanie was the mother of my child. It was even harder for me to deal with her choices. “We had broken up a few years before she died.”
“I’m sorry for your loss.”
“She was a fantastic soul. So vibrant and free-spirited.” I truly meant that. I loved her for a long time and was devastated when she died. “We tried to make a go of things and we worked for a while. At least, I thought we did. She was ready to move forward in our relationship and I wasn’t.” I stopped, experiencing a moment of clarity. Lanie thought I was too busy for a child. “I couldn’t give her what she wanted.”