Millionaire's Women Part 32

Joanna slept late next morning, and Kate, awake early as she always seemed to be lately, got up quietly and had finished her morning's work before Jo appeared in the study doorway, yawning widely.

'Sorry I slept so long, Kate.'

'Did you enjoy your lie in?'

Jo nodded with enthusiasm, pus.h.i.+ng the hair out of her eyes. 'But if you want me to get up earlier I will. Mum would never let me stay in bed after nine.'

Kate switched off her computer and got up. 'Let's have some brunch.'

'The thing is, Jo,' she said, when they were tucking into bacon and eggs, 'in my opinion you get enough rules and regulations in school. That doesn't mean you've got carte blanche to run wild at home now you've only got me to answer to, but you're definitely ent.i.tled to a lie in on your first morning.'

'Thanks, Kate. I had such a great time with Anna and Ben, but I was really tired by the time we came home,' said Jo. 'But you didn't have a long sleep, and you've been working all morning.'

'Which means we can now go out to play,' said Kate promptly. 'Anna is meeting us at two to go shopping.'

'I enjoyed that enormously,' said Anna later, while they were waiting for tea and cakes in her favourite coffee shop. 'I adore spending other people's money.'

'You spent some of your own, too,' Kate reminded her.

'Anna just had to buy the baby something,' said Jo, and smiled in satisfaction. 'We did, too.'

'Hard to resist,' agreed Kate. 'If I were any sort of G.o.dmother-to-be I'd be knitting those cute little white things instead of buying them, but I know my limitations.'

Anna chuckled. 'You're off the hook-both grandmothers are knitting furiously as we speak. Oops, I almost forgot.' She fished an envelope out of her handbag and handed it to Joanna. 'This is for you.'

Jo's eyes lit up like lamps when she took out a party invitation. 'Josh and Leo's birthday-it's a disco!' she added in excitement. 'I can wear some of my new stuff. What do you think-denim mini-skirt or white jeans?'

'Jeans!' said Kate and Anna in unison.

'The Careys are transforming their barn into a nightclub for the party, brave souls that they are,' said Anna. 'Ben's volunteered his services as extra doorman, and you can spend the evening with me, Auntie.'

With Joanna at home, life was no longer flat for Kate. The days took on an agreeable pattern, with a walk in the park every day as soon as Kate switched off the computer, and some kind of outing in the afternoon. On the first Sunday Kate put a chicken in to roast before the usual walk with Joanna in the park, and waved, smiling, as she saw Tom Logan coming along the lake path towards them with Bran.

Kate made the introductions as they met up with him,eye-ing Tom in alarm. At close quarters he looked pale and drawn, in such contrast to his usual health and vitality that she took his hand to feel his pulse surrept.i.tiously as he kissed her cheek. But his smile was warm as he turned to Joanna.

'I'm very glad to meet you, my dear. This handsome fellow is Bran, my son's dog.'

'How do you do, Mr Logan?' said Jo, and bent towards the dog in yearning. 'Will he let me stroke him?'

'As much as you like, pet. He laps it up.' Tom turned to Kate. 'Joanna's with you for the Easter holiday?'

'Most of it. I'm driving her to Worcester to stay with her grandparents later this afternoon, but only for a couple of days. She's invited to a party on Sat.u.r.day.'

'It's a disco,' Joanna informed him.

He smiled indulgently. 'I'm sure you'll have a really good time, sweetheart. Are you going along as chaperon, Kate?'

She laughed. 'And spoil the fun? No way; I'm just the chauffeur. Come back and have some coffee with us, Tom. Or better still, stay and share our roast chicken.'

He shook his head, his eyes on Joanna as she yearned over the dog. 'That's very kind of you, but Jack's due back from London in time for supper and I'm chef.'

'Are you sure you won't come back and just rest for a moment first?' asked Kate in an undertone. 'You don't look at all well.'

'I overdid it on the golf course yesterday, that's all, love. If you like dogs, Joanna,' he added, 'I'll bring Bran to see you another time.'

'I could walk him in the park for you,' she offered eagerly.

'I may take you up on that.' He turned to Kate and, to her surprise, hugged her close again as he said goodbye.

'Come and see us soon and, in the meantime, go easy on the golf.' She kissed his cheek affectionately.

'Goodbye, Mr Logan.' Jo bent to stroke the wagging dog one last time. 'See you later, Bran.'

Kate sent Joanna upstairs to pack while she checked on the vegetables roasting in the oven with the chicken, and then stood gazing out of the window.

'What's the matter?' said Jo, returning with a holdall.

'I'm really quite worried about Mr Logan. He looked very unwell-and normally he's as fit as a fiddle.'

'I hope he's not ill. I liked him-and I just adored Bran.' Joanna sighed. 'I love dogs, but Mum didn't, so I couldn't have one.'

'Neither could I, same reason,' said Kate, and got up briskly. 'Right then, let's get this lunch on the table. And no seconds today,' she warned. 'Grandma will probably have an enormous tea waiting for you.'

The drive to Worcester through the afternoon suns.h.i.+ne was pleasant, and the Suttons so welcoming that Kate gave in to their urging and spent an hour with them before leaving. And was glad she had when she got home. Without Jo the house seemed deadly quiet. Kate rang her to report in then stretched out on the chaise with a book and the Sunday papers. And wondered how Jack had spent his weekend.

At that precise moment Jack Logan was on his way home from London in determined mood. He'd spent the previous evening with a woman who was attractive, intelligent and very good company when their various commitments allowed them to spend time together. Hester Morris was a high-flyer with a successful career in advertising, and outspoken about having no desire for marriage and children. He liked her very much, and enjoyed their no-strings relations.h.i.+p. But their first evening together since Kate's reappearance had been oddly unsatisfactory and, cursing himself for a fool, Jack had pleaded an oncoming migraine after dinner and rung for a taxi. Hester had taken it in her stride and Jack had kissed her cheek, promised to get in touch soon, and went back to his own bed to avoid sharing Hester's. He'd never had a migraine in his life, but on the spur of the moment it had been the only excuse he could think of to avoid hurting someone he valued as a friend.

As he turned off the motorway to make for home Jack looked truth in the face. Life with Kate for a friend was a h.e.l.l of a sight more bearable than life without her. He'd call round tonight and tell her that, and hope to G.o.d she hadn't changed her mind since he saw her last. Her niece would be home for the Easter vacation by now, of course, but the little girl would surely be in bed if he left it late enough. He smiled sardonically. After forcing himself to keep away from Kate for weeks, his welcome was unlikely to be warm whatever time it was. After supper he would ask his father to keep Bran until tomorrow so he could stay with Kate long enough to make his peace-if she let him through the door.

Kate had just laid a tray with a chicken sandwich and a cup of coffee when the bell rang. Her heart took a flying leap against her ribs as she went into the hall. Jack Logan was the only man tall enough to identify through the fanlight over the front door. She clamped down on a rush of delight and smiled coolly as she opened the door.

'Why, h.e.l.lo, Jack. This is a surprise.'

'Let me in, please,' he said brusquely.

'Why?' she demanded, angered by his peremptory tone.

'I have something to show you.'

'You're interrupting my supper.'

'Are you alone?'

'Yes.'

'Good, because we need to talk. This is important, Kate.'

'It had better be. Close the door behind you.'

Jack followed her into the sitting room, eyeing the tray on the Pembroke table. 'One sandwich? Not much of a supper.'

'Big lunch.' Kate stood with arms folded. 'But you didn't come here to discuss my eating habits, so show me whatever you want to show me-'

'And get out,' he finished for her.

'I hope I wouldn't be as rude as that.' She looked up at him, wis.h.i.+ng she felt as indifferent to him as she was trying to make out. He obviously hadn't had time for a haircut lately and, in a battered trench coat over a crew neck sweater and cords, Jack looked so much like the young man she'd once fallen in love with it was hard to main tain her distance. But something in his demeanour was deeply disquieting.

'I had dinner with Dad before I came here. He asked me to show you these.' He handed her an envelope. 'Look inside.'

Kate looked at him questioningly, but Jack's expression gave nothing away. She withdrew two photographs from the envelope and sat down with a b.u.mp, feeling the colour drain from her face. Both studies were of the same girl, the first at Joanna's age, the second as a radiant, smiling bride in her twenties.

Jack tossed his raincoat on a chair and put a hand on her shoulder. 'Kate, are you all right?'

'No, I'm not all right,' she snapped, her eyes glued to the photographs. The girl in them had dark, curling hair, but otherwise the likeness to Joanna was unmistakeable. 'Who is this?' Though there was only one woman it could be.

'My mother. My father met her when the first photograph was taken. They were in school together.' Jack breathed in deeply. 'He thought he was seeing things when he met Joanna in the park this morning.'

Kate nodded slowly, her eyes on the photographs shaking in her unsteady hand. 'So that's why he looked so ill.'

'He idolised my mother. We both did.' Jack's deep,authoritative voice grew husky. 'You know she died when I was fifteen. It took me years to get over losing her. But Dad never has. Coming face to face with Joanna today was a h.e.l.l of a shock to him.' He sat on the end of the chaise and put an ungentle finger under Kate's chin to tilt her face up to his. 'When were you going to tell me that we had a daughter?'

CHAPTER ELEVEN.

'IWASN'T going to-ever.' Kate pushed his hand away and looked up at him with hostility. 'Because in the eyes of the world she's not our daughter,she's my going to-ever.' Kate pushed his hand away and looked up at him with hostility. 'Because in the eyes of the world she's not our daughter,she's my niece niece, Jack. All the time she was growing up I had to stand back and look on from the sidelines while my child called someone else Mummy.'

His fists clenched. 'Why in G.o.d's name didn't you tell me you were pregnant?' he demanded, glaring at her.

She glared back in hot resentment. 'I didn't realise I was for a while! There was a lot going on in my life at the time: the move to London, getting to grips with the new job,living alone in digs.' She wrenched her eyes away. 'And pining for you, Jack.'

Kate had put her sickness and weariness down to the changes in her life at first, but eventually she bought a test kit that confirmed her fears. At the time the Suttons had been packing up, ready for the move to London. Kate went home that weekend, officially to give them a helping hand, in reality desperate to contact Jack and tell him about the baby. But Elizabeth met her at the bus station with the shattering news that Jack Logan had married Dawn Taylor the previous weekend, and Kate's life fell apart.

'Dear G.o.d!' Jack seized her hand again. 'If I'd known in time I would have paid Dawn off and married you right away, Kate.'

She s.n.a.t.c.hed her hand away. 'Not the ideal way to start a marriage, Jack.'

'Better than letting you go it alone!'

She gave a mirthless little laugh. 'Ah, but I didn't go it alone. Far from it. Liz guessed my little secret right away and seized her chance to acquire the child she couldn't have herself because, she informed me, she'd had to look after me instead of having a child of her own. This was payback time.'

Jack sat back, his face haggard. 'No wonder she slammed the door in my face when I came looking for you. She was afraid to let me see the baby.'

Elizabeth's plans were cut and dried before Kate returned to London that terrible weekend. The Suttons would bring Kate's baby up as their own on condition that she obeyed their rules.

Jack looked sick. 'Don't tell me they sent you off to some kind of home!'

Kate shook her head. 'Nothing so dramatic. Elizabeth merely insisted I live with them in the new house in London. She wanted to make sure I took vitamins and received regular medical attention so that "her" baby would be a perfect, healthy specimen. She had no qualms about the father. She went off you big time when you married someone else, of course, but from a breeding point of view the Logan genes were perfectly acceptable.'

'I'm so glad my pedigree came up to scratch,' said Jack savagely. 'Did you manage to keep working?'

'Yes, thank G.o.d.'

Kate had always been slender. And, because morning sickness and misery over her situation killed her appet.i.te, her shape altered so little her condition went unnoticed at work. She was pa.s.sionately grateful for it. Her job was the only thing that kept her sane. She worked well into her sixth month, and by buying clothes a size or two larger than usual managed to disguise her not very considerable weight gain and keep her secret.

'I managed to carry on keeping my secret,' Kate told Jack, 'because at that stage I developed a kidney infection and had to take time off. I also suffered from depression, and sank into such depths of hormonal despair Liz and Robert decided to move to another part of London where no one knew us.'

Jack frowned. 'Surely neighbours must have noticed you were pregnant?'

'I never met Elizabeth's neighbours. Or wanted to. Besides, I was ill for quite a while, and even when I got better I never went out except to the antenatal clinic and for a daily walk in some park Liz drove me to, as far from home as possible. I felt like the skeleton in the closet!' Kate smiled grimly. 'It was around then that the sleepwalking started. Eventually Liz was so afraid I'd fall and harm the baby that Robert put a bed in the dining room on the ground floor, and I slept there until Jo was born.'

Jack closed his eyes for a moment. 'G.o.d, what a life! You must have hated my guts.'

She shook her head. 'No, Jack, I missed you and grieved for you, but I didn't hate you. After all, I was the one who left you and opted for a clean break. I could hardly object when you found someone else. Anyway the sleepwalking phase didn't last long because I went into labour a month early.' Kate looked away. 'I had a Caesarean section, which is why I wouldn't let you undress me that day. I didn't want you to see my scar.'

Jack grasped her hand so tightly she protested, and he lifted it to his lips in apology. 'Go on, darling. Tell me the rest.'

Kate faltered slightly at the endearment, but went doggedly on to talk about the deal with Liz, which meant handing the baby over the moment it was born. But when Kate went into labour both Suttons had such heavy colds they were barred from the maternity ward.

Kate sighed deeply. 'So I was the first to see her, and I loved her so much, Jack. I used to stand gazing at her for ages in the baby unit. She had to stay there for a while because she came early, and I had to go home without her. It was such a terrible wrench to leave her behind that I told Liz the deal was off. I wanted to keep my baby after all.'

'What changed your mind?' asked Jack with compa.s.sion.

'Liz was the only mother I ever knew, remember, and a pretty forceful personality. She played on the guilt angle that responsibility for me had kept her from having a child of her own, and this was a perfect way to repay the debt.'

Kate tried to sound dispa.s.sionate as she told Jack how her sister kept hammering on that to support a child Kate would have to work full-time and pay a child-minder. If she did that, Liz threatened to wash her hands of her. Kate would be forced to bring up her baby on her own in some poky bedsitter and farm her out to strangers so she could keep working. At that point post-natal depression hit Kate so hard she was in a terrible state by the time Joanna was discharged and Elizabeth took full advantage of it.

'I was in no condition to look after a child, physically, mentally or financially, she told me. She, on the other hand, could give my baby a good home, constant care and attention, and when the time came Robert would pay for a good school.' Kate took in a deep breath. 'In desperation I finally caved in, totally brainwashed about the good of my child, but I had to stick to Sutton rules. I was forbidden to give my baby her bottle, or bathe and change her, or even pick her up when she was crying in case she bonded to me and not Liz. But I dug my heels in and made two rules of my own. I insisted that I was made Jo's legal guardian, and that I chose her name. But I had no say in it when they sent her to boarding school at the age of eight,' Kate added bitterly.

Jack got up and paced round the room like a restless tiger. 'Did they keep you shut up in a downstairs room again after the baby was born?'