Summer Secrets - Barbara Freethy [139]
"It was a combination of both," Caroline said tightly.
Not exactly what he wanted to hear, but close enough. "Then you had no business hiring an attorney to go after my brother. Do you know what kind of pain and turmoil you've caused by threatening to take away his child? Do you have any idea what it's like to spend eight years loving and raising a daughter only to find out that the birth mother suddenly wants a second chance?"
Caroline appeared shocked by his comments. Her eyes had grown wider with each word. Was it all an act? Or had she just not considered the consequences of her actions?
"I didn't," she said finally. "I didn't threaten to take her away."
"Your hotshot attorney did."
"Steve? He must have done that on his own."
"You hired an attorney?" Kate asked. "When did you decide to do that? Why didn't you tell me?"
So Kate didn't know about the attorney. For some reason, that made Tyler feel better. Maybe if Kate had known, she would have advised Caroline not to do it. Maybe there was still some hope that he and Kate might wind up on the same side.
"What's going on?" Ashley asked, returning to the room with a tray of hot drinks. "Don't tell me something else is wrong."
'Tyler came here to find out which one of us gave up a baby," Kate answered her sister. "I can't believe that possibility never even crossed my mind."
"You were too busy covering up the Jeremy story," Tyler told her. "Ironic, isn't it?"
"Sorry, I'm a little too tired to appreciate the irony." Kate glanced back at Ashley. "Tyler's brother adopted the baby."
"I think I'd better sit down." Ashley put the tray down on the coffee table and took a seat on the couch next to Kate. Caroline sat down on the other side of her big sister. They were a united front, but Tyler wasn't intimidated.
"I'd really like to know how you became pregnant with Amelia," he said.
"Amelia? Is that her name?" An eager light blossomed in Caroline's eyes.
"Answer the question."
"Don't interrogate her," Kate said sharply. "She's not on trial here."
"It's okay," Caroline said. "I want to tell. In fact, I've been dying to talk about the baby, but I knew I couldn't talk about it with Kate or Ashley."
"Why not?" Kate and Ashley asked at the same time.
Caroline looked at both of them and shook her head. "Because we never talk about the past, especially that night."
"We didn't want to cause you more pain," Kate said. "We figured if you wanted to talk about it, you would."
"To answer your question," Caroline said, turning her attention back to Tyler, "I was a little wild back then. I started drinking on the boat, swiping some of my dad's stuff, and it was easy enough to drink onshore, too. I just sat by my dad at the bar, and people were always willing to give me sips of this and that. Kate and Ashley tried to keep the reins on me, but I was a rebellious teenager, and we were living like gypsies. One night I got into trouble. I wound up going further than I wanted to. It wasn't like rape or anything," she added quickly. "I let things get out of control. I didn't try to stop until it was too late. The worst thing is that I didn't even know his name or who he was."
"I'm sorry," Tyler said sincerely. Despite Caroline's brave words, he had a feeling the night had been more traumatic than she was saying. "But how could you keep it a secret? That's what I don't understand. Didn't anyone see you?"
"We wore heavy weather gear a lot of the time," Caroline explained. "And once I was showing, I didn't really go off the boat much. Besides that, I was a teenager in great shape. I wasn't eating that much. We were racing. We were working hard. I didn't even, know I was pregnant until I was five months along."
"That doesn't seem possible," he said.
"It was, believe me. My periods weren't that regular. I never threw up. And if I felt queasy, I just chalked it up to being on a bouncing boat. But my growing stomach finally got my attention,