Summer Secrets - Barbara Freethy [99]
"He never had it, Mark, you know that," Tyler said forcefully. "That's why he charged you so much money for the adoption. That's why he told you to leave Hawaii immediately. And you did it, because you didn't want to ask any more questions."
"Yes, I did it. For Susan," Mark replied. "I loved her so much. I don't know if you can understand that. She was everything to me, and after all those miscarriages, I couldn't stand to see her in any more pain. I'd do it again, if I had to make the choice. I don't care if the birth mother signed the paper or not, she still gave her baby away."
"Or her father did," Tyler said. But did that make sense? Wouldn't one of the girls hate Duncan if he'd stolen her baby and given it away? No one reacted that way to him, except possibly Ashley, who seemed to be the most distant from her father.
"I'm thinking about leaving town," Mark said, ignoring his comment. "Taking Amelia and disappearing forever."
"You can't do that, Mark. You need medical care. You're rehabilitating. How can you go into hiding? You need a full-time nurse."
"You could help. You're not getting anywhere in Castleton. Why don't you come back here and help me and Amelia disappear?"
Like he and his father had disappeared? Always on the run. No chance to make friends, to feel a part of something, belong somewhere. Did he want that for his niece?
"It's my best chance," Mark added. "It's a big world. We couldn't find you for six years. I don't think it will take that long for Amelia's biological mother to give up."
"It's a terrible life. I don't want it for you, and I sure as hell don't want it for Amelia."
"It's better than giving her up. She's my life. She's all I have left."
"But you don't want to ruin her life."
"I'm not doing that. I'm trying to save us."
"You sound just like Dad." How many times had his father said, I'm trying to save you, Tyler. Save you from a life of pain, living in a home where no one wants you. But his father had been trying to save himself, not his child. Just as Mark was doing now.
"Don't ever compare me to him," Mark said coldly. "And I'll do this with or without your help. I thought you could find something out, but obviously you can't. I'll make other arrangements."
"Don't do anything yet," Tyler said, knowing he was well and truly caught. He couldn't let Mark go off half-cocked. He didn't want to lose contact with his brother again. "Give me more time. I'll find out who it is before Saturday. And we'll make a decision then."
There was a long silence on the other end of the phone.
"I'll think about it, Tyler. But make no mistake -- I'll do what I have to do. If they get too close, I'll be gone."
Chapter Seventeen
Kate debated what to do next. Torn between anger at her father for betting their portrait and concern for Caroline, Kate wasn't sure which way to go. In the end, she decided to go after her father. It would be smarter to track down Duncan before he went out on the practice run or drank too much to make any sense. She could not allow him to bet their portrait. It was the only picture she had of her mother and her sisters all together. And she wasn't about to let K.C. win it and hang it on his wall, as if they were his family. It was sick.
When Kate arrived at her father's slip on the other side of the marina, she found him on deck talking to Rick Beardsley, the man who had hired him to skipper the Summer Seas in Saturday's race. She'd met Rick a few times over the years. In his early fifties, he was younger than Duncan but close enough in age to remember Duncan at his best. Which must be why Rick had decided to give Duncan another shot at racing glory.
She paused for a moment, watching the two men talk. Her father had on his usual sailing cap, but what really disturbed her was the bright orange-red T-shirt he had on. He'd always claimed it was his lucky shirt, that it reminded him of the color of her mother's hair. She also didn't