Eternally Yours - Brenda Jackson [101]
“And you think you’ve found him.” It was a statement rather than a question.
“I know I have.”
The senator took a deep breath and stood. He paced the room several times before coming to a stop in front of Clayton. “And you believe I’m your man, don’t you?”
Clayton’s gaze never left the senator. “No. I know for a fact that you’re not.”
The senator raised a surprised brow. “Do you?”
“Yes. My investigator is a very thorough man who loves putting together puzzles. The only reason I came here before going to see her father is to get some answers about a few things.”
“If you’re going to ask me if he knew about her, the answer is a definite no. There’s no way he would have known and not claimed his child. He was too deeply in love with Jan. In fact, he still loves her. Her dying changed nothing. The second week of May of each year, on the date they met, he tortures himself by first visiting her grave, then later he tries to erase the pain by drinking himself to death for two days. And he’s not a drinker. I’m the only one he’ll let see him that way. And I make it a point to go visit him every year in May to help him through that painful period.”
Braxter had been sitting quietly listening to Clayton and the senator, trying to follow along and piece together what they were talking about. The only thing he understood was the explanation for the senator’s mysterious trips each May.
“Excuse me,” he interrupted the two men. “I’m trying to follow the two of you here.” He turned to the senator. “Are you saying that report I gave you from the investigator indicates you’re Syneda Walters’s father?”
“After reading it, one would assume that, yes.”
“But you’re not?”
“No, I’m not.”
Braxter shook his head. “I don’t understand. Why would anyone assume you’re her father if you aren’t?”
The senator went over to the window and looked out. He could see the Lincoln Monument in the distance even in the dusk of night. He turned back to Braxter. “Most people thought Syneda’s mother, Jan Walters, and I dated exclusively during our senior year of college.”
“But that wasn’t the case?”
“No. We just wanted people to think that we did.”
A look of ungoverned confusion shone in Braxter’s eyes. “Why?”
Sadness shone in the senator’s gaze. “Because society wasn’t ready to accept what they considered as forbidden love.”
When Braxter looked even more confused, Clayton decided to intercede by asking him, “Have you ever heard the term ‘jungle fever’?”
“Yes, of course.” Braxter stared first at Clayton then back at the senator when understanding dawned. He paused for a moment before finally asking, “And just who is Syneda Walters’s father?”
The senator hesitated briefly before saying quietly, “Syntel Tremain Remington.”
Braxter was shocked into silence. “S. T. Remington of Remington Oil?” His voice was filled with disbelief.
“Yes, and I need to talk to Syntel as soon as possible. He knows nothing about any of this. The shock may be too much for him. Arrange a flight that will take me to Austin tonight.”
“I’m going with you,” Clayton spoke up.
“I think this is something he needs to hear from me personally.”
“I agree, but I intend to be there when he hears it. Like I said earlier, there are a number of questions that I want answered. My main concern is Syneda and how she’s going to handle all of this. For years she assumed her father abandoned her. Now from what I understand that’s not the case. I want to know if he knew his father had intercepted a phone call meant for him and paid the caller good money not to give Syntel’s name to the authorities as Syneda’s father.”
“Is that what happened?”
“Yes. We were able to find the woman, and she told us everything. She even admitted taking the money.”
The senator shook his head. “He will never forgive his father for that. He loved Jan deeply.”
At that moment there was a soft knock on the door.
“Yes, come in,” the senator called out.
The door to the senator’s office