Part 35 (1/2)

He pulled the tie off of his neck and tossed it over the back of the chair. ”I have something to tell you.”

Leeanne wanted to stand up, so he wouldn't be looking down at her, so she wouldn't feel so small. But she was afraid to be standing when he told her whatever he had to tell her. She swallowed back a thick lump of worry. ”Would you sit down?”

He hesitated, then sat in the chair next to her. ”I told you the other day that I'd never heard of an Evelyn Jones. But I was lying.”

”You were?” Her heart started beating so fast, she was afraid she might wind up in the hospital with J.T.

”Yes. We dated years ago. We broke up when I met you. In fact, you were the reason we split up.”

”You never told me you were seeing someone else back then.”

”She was living in Lexington at the time. We'd dated in college. I used to go in on weekends after I graduated. Margaret and I used to share the drive.”

”I remember. Is that why you thought Katherine Whitfield might be your daughter?” she asked boldly. ”Don't try to deny it, Jimmy. I followed you.”

Jimmy looked at her in shock. ”You followed me to Lexington? You were there?”

”On the porch. I heard you ask that woman if she'd had a baby, your baby.”

Regret filled his eyes. ”There was a chance, especially with the name. And the way Katherine looked, blond hair, blue eyes... But Evie a.s.sured me that she'd never had a baby, that she would have told me.”

”Who were those other kids?”

”They were her kids. Evie's. She got married ten years ago. I hadn't seen her since before our wedding until yesterday. You have to believe that.”

She searched his eyes for the truth, and as always, she found it. This was Jimmy, practical, dependable, trustworthy Jimmy. This was the man who had never lied to her. But... Her mind ran off in another direction. Jimmy didn't know. He thought Evelyn Jones was Evelyn Jones.

”Jimmy,” she began. ”Did you know that when Margaret left town, she took the name Evelyn Jones?”

Jimmy looked at her in bewilderment. ”Excuse me?”

”She took the name of Evelyn Jones. Margaret is Katherine Whitfield's mother.”

”That's impossible.”

”It's not. Claire told me and Mary Jo the whole story. See, Mary Jo thought that J.T. might be Katherine's father as well, seeing as how his name starts with a J just like yours. But now that we know that Evelyn is really Margaret, it puts a whole new twist on things.” She watched his face carefully, noting his nervous agitation, his disbelieving eyes. ”Maybe it puts a new spin on things for you, too.”

”Why would you say that?”

”Because.” She paused, feeling like she was poised on the edge of a sheer cliff. She didn't want to jump, but she had to. ”If you were driving into Lexington with Margaret, I'm thinking there's a possibility you slept with her, too.”

”Leeanne! How can you say that?”

”How can I say that? I followed you into Lexington yesterday and caught you in a lie. Why shouldn't I believe there's another lie, another secret?”

”Because there isn't.”

”Oh, come on. Why would Margaret take Evelyn's name when she left town?” She didn't wait for him to answer, imagination taking flight. ”My guess is, she wanted to remember you. Maybe she wanted you to come looking for her. Maybe you're the only one who knew where she was. Can you really sit here and tell me there is no way you could be Katherine Whitfield's father?”

Chapter 22.

Friday and Sat.u.r.day pa.s.sed in a blur for Katherine. She spent hours with Claire in Margaret's old bedroom, looking through sc.r.a.pbooks, listening to stories, glancing through books and old record alb.u.ms, watching home movies, and even trying on some of Margaret's clothes. Katherine didn't just talk to Claire. She spoke to the aging housekeeper who'd kept Margaret's room clean for forty years. She spoke to the handyman who'd adjusted Margaret's bike. She even spoke to Harry a few times, although those conversations had been kept to a minimum.

She didn't understand her grandfather. She didn't trust him, and she wasn't sure he trusted her. But Claire was different. Claire was the grandmother Katherine had always wanted. Claire had open arms and teary eyes and a loving heart, and she seemed willing to accept Katherine for whoever she was.

It was a heady experience feeling unconditional love. Obviously Margaret hadn't received such love from her parents, but Katherine was reaping the benefit of that painful rift. And she couldn't stop herself from letting the affection warm her chilled heart.

Katherine had avoided the barns completely. Even though she'd heard Zach had moved into a motel by Churchill Downs, she hadn't wanted to take a chance on running into him on one of his stops in at the farm office. She'd also avoided seeing anyone in town, only going back to the hotel to sleep.

By Sunday her oasis of privacy was over. For above all things, all personal secrets, all revelations, the Derby took precedence, and Sunday night was the night of the yearly Stanton pre-Derby party. It was a tradition, Claire had told her, one that had gone on for more than fifty years. Everyone in the valley would be there along with horse owners from all over the world. It was a tradition Katherine desperately wanted to miss.

But the Stantons wanted to introduce her to the town as their granddaughter. She'd refused over and over again, but had been worn down by Claire's persistently gentle coercion. There was no reason to hide, Claire told her. She was a Stanton and it was time everyone knew it.

Katherine didn't much care about everyone knowing it as much as she cared about Zach. He'd think she was rubbing his face in it. Telling the world that she was a Stanton and he wasn't. But it was much more complicated than all that.

She wanted to be a Stanton. She couldn't help it. She had relatives, and for the first time in her life she was truly part of the circle, not an outsider, not an extra, but someone who belonged. And whether or not she went to the party wouldn't change the fact that she was a Stanton and Zach wasn't. She knew that. He knew that. But still it felt wrong to go.

And now as she stood in Margaret's old bedroom getting dressed for the party, she wondered if she could really go through with it.

Katherine walked over to the mirror and picked up a brush. She ran several long strokes through her hair, which she'd decided to leave down, the way Zach liked it. She couldn't stop the thought from forming in her mind, couldn't help the grimace of pain that turned her lips down as she remembered Zach running his fingers through her hair. She wondered how long it was going to hurt.

A knock came at the door, and she called, ”Come in.”

Claire walked into the room, dressed in a silky silver s.h.i.+ft with a diamond clip. She looked beautiful, elegant, sophisticated.

”Katherine, you look stunning.” She shook her head in amazement. ”And so very much like Margaret. I'm surprised I didn't notice it the first time I saw you.”

”You weren't looking then.”

”Are you ready to stand beside us?”

Katherine shook her head. ”I don't think so.”

Claire offered her a compa.s.sionate smile. ”We love you, Katherine. I hope you believe that.”

”I believe you do.”

”Harry, too.”

”Well, it doesn't matter. I'm not asking him to love me. I won't do that.”

”Of course you won't. You are your mother's daughter, after all.”

Katherine smiled. ”I feel like I know her a little better now. But more importantly, I'm starting to know who I am.”

”I'm glad.”