don’t know who you think you’re talking to, but you’ve obviously mistaken me for someone else.”
“No. I know exactly who you are, and that you were granted custody of my daughter, Constance Boatman. That’s where the mistakes comes in. I’m her father, which makes me next of kin—not you.”
“You’re lying.” The words had flown to her mouth. Only she couldn’t be sure of their accuracy. She had no idea who Constance’s father was. She had her niece’s birth certificate filed away in her upstairs living quarters, where Constance was sleeping right now. No father was listed. She was certain of that.
The social workers who’d testified in the custody hearing had insisted there was no record of the father’s identity. That had been eight months ago, weeks after her sister, Amber’s, tragic death. If he was the father, where had he been all this time?
“Who are you?” she demanded.
“You know my name. James Haggard. It’s on the birth certificate. Your sister, Amber, and I were very much in love back then. Your niece is a love child, if that matters to you. That was before your sister let the addiction turn her into a slut.”
“My sister is dead and I will not tolerate you talking about her that way. Get out now or I will call the police.”
“Not a good idea. Once the law gets involved, things get really sticky. I prove I’m Constance’s birth father, I get custody. Case closed. Trust me, I’d make a lousy father. She’s better off with you.”
That she believed, but she refused to accept he had any claim on Constance. But what if he did? Someone contributed the sperm that led to her birth. That person might well be an obnoxious jerk like James Haggard.
From the time Amber turned sixteen and moved out, she had slept with any man who’d supply her with drugs. And her sister had ignored both their mother’s tears and Dani’s constant pleading for Amber to go into rehab. Their mother had never fully recovered from the heartbreak.
Dani’s precious niece was all she had left of the sister who had meant the world to her. She wouldn’t turn her over to this irresponsible jerk even if he was her biological father.
Dani’s stomach retched. She had to deal with this. “What is it you want?”
“My share of the insurance settlement from the car manufacturer. The faulty air bag that led to my dear, sweet daughter losing her mother earned you a hefty payout.”
“I should have known it was greed that brought you here.”
“Don’t be so pious, Dani. This little business setup you have here didn’t come cheap. You didn’t pay for it with pocket change.”
“No, which is why I’m up to my eyeballs in debt.” Not that it was any of his business.
“Don’t try to pull one on over me. I’ve had all of that I’m putting up with. I know how much the payoff was. By my estimates, even after you paid for the bakery and the lawyers took their share, I figure you have at least a couple of million dollars left. I deserve all of that, but to show you what a nice man I am, I’ll settle for a mere million. In cash. In one week.”
“You...” Dani bit back the words she wanted to hurl at him. They wouldn’t phase a lowlife like him. Yet she could easily believe he would have gotten Amber pregnant and then abandoned her and the baby.
Amber had been a stunning beauty before her addiction took its toll, just as James Haggard said. She’d had long auburn hair that fell in loose curls about her shoulders, gorgeous amber-colored eyes, lush eyelashes and a dynamite body.
Amber had always been the pretty sister. Everyone had said it. The comments had cut Dani to the quick when they were growing up. That hadn’t changed the fact that she worshipped her older sister.
Now it was Constance who mattered more than anything.
“Even if you are Constance’s father—which I seriously doubt—you’re wrong about the insurance money. It’s all in a trust fund for Constance and can’t be touched until she turns twenty-one.”
“Yet you found a way to get your greedy little hands on it,” the man snarled. “And you can cut the pretense. We both know you have at least a copy of the birth certificate that lists me as the father.”
She shook her head. She’d had enough. “You’re wrong. Now get out. And stay away from here. If you show up again, I’ll call the sheriff and press harassment charges.”
He glared at her, his eyes dark and penetrating, and it was almost as if she could feel a bizarre mix of evil and madness fighting for his soul.
Chills ran up her spine, but she stood her ground. She pointed to the door. “Out. Now.”
“I’m leaving, but I’ll be back next week for the stacks. If you don’t have all the big ones, I’ll not only file for paternal custody, but have you prosecuted for stealing my daughter’s money. Is that what you want?”
“You won’t have a prayer of getting custody without proof of paternity. Bluffing won’t help you. DNA won’t lie for you.”
“DNA won’t have to lie. In the meantime, take care of my beloved daughter.” He smiled at his own sarcastic quip, turned and walked away.
Anger and dread left Dani shaking. This was blackmail, plain and simple. A scam. A bluff. James Haggard’s name was not on the birth certificate.
But what if a paternity test proved he was Constance’s father? Was there a judge alive who’d actually take a child who’d been through what Constance had suffered and rip her from this safe, secure life, where she was loved?
Would any judge grant custody to a man who’d abandoned his child and her addicted mother years before? Wouldn’t a judge realize that Haggard was in this strictly to find a way to get at Constance’s trust fund?
But then, crazier things happened in the court system every day.
“I’ve told you the insurance is in an untouchable trust and there’s no way I can come up with the amount of money you’re talking about.”
“Then I guess I’ll just have to do that myself—once I have custody of Constance.” He started to the door, then turned and pointed at her as if he was pulling a trigger. “Next Friday. Before noon.”
She waited until she heard the front door slam behind Haggard before she walked over and locked the door behind him.
She looked out the huge front window and stared at the dance of light and shadows beneath the antique streetlights. Winding Creek was the ideal, small Texas town. Friendly. Safe.
A place where Constance could heal from the ordeals she’d endured living with Amber and her addictions. A home where she felt protected and loved after years of neglect and frequent abandonment by her own mother. That had been the deciding factor in Dani’s going into debt to open her own bakery here.
James Haggard had shattered that illusion.
Dani went back to the kitchen to finish cleaning up. The cake she’d worked hours on meant nothing to her as Haggard’s vicious threats echoed through her mind.
