A Family, At Last

“I’ve never been to Disneyland.”

“Are you serious? You’ve never taken Cassidy? We have to correct that.”

The air between them felt heavy with sudden tension.

“Maybe we will,” he said finally. “Good night, Karyn. Try not to get too anxious waiting.”

“Fat chance.”

“I know.” He left.

* * *

Karyn wandered back into the living room to look out the window. She saw him walk up the street and out of sight. He must’ve parked where she wouldn’t be able to see him coming.

After a minute his car went past. He gave her a wave.

“You’re a nice guy, Vaughn Ryder, cowboy lawyer,” she said out loud. “But if you think you’re going to make all the decisions and I’m going to go along with them without discussion, you’re crazy.” She’d already missed six years of her niece’s life.

She knew she was counting on being that sweet little girl’s aunt way too much to be healthy, but Karyn needed something to get her through Christmas, which was always a tough time of year for her.

Her stomach growled, reminding her she hadn’t eaten since breakfast, but the soup and leftover pizza didn’t appeal. In fact, nothing sounded good, so she went into her bedroom to get paper to wrap the presents she’d purchased today. She would drop them off in the morning to her clients, along with the ones stacked on her dining table.

She couldn’t wait to get them out of her house. They were a painful reminder of how little she had to look forward to with her trip home to visit her parents on Christmas, no longer a day that they celebrated. For a month she’d shopped for everyone else, but she hadn’t bought a single present herself to give. She didn’t even go through the motions.

Sometimes it just about killed her.

She’d finished the seventh of ten packages when her doorbell rang. She looked through the peephole, wondering if Vaughn had come back. Kind of hoped he had, actually, but it was a stranger.

“Who is it?” she asked.

“Delivery from Mr. Ryder for Ms. Lambert.”

Surprised and curious, she opened the door.

“Here you go,” a teenage boy said then took the stairs three at a time, hopping out of sight.

Karyn knew what it was without looking at the logo on the box. The incredible scents of chocolate and vanilla, and a hint of lemon, filled her head as she carried the box to the kitchen and opened it, finding a dozen cupcakes, three of them red velvet.

She found herself grinning as she peeled the paper off one and took a big bite, closing her eyes and savoring the treat, eating the whole thing before she picked up his business card and dialed the cell number listed.

“Vaughn Ryder,” he said.

“I devoured one. I expect it’s not the last I’ll have tonight.”

“I figure I owed you that much.”

She heard the smile in his voice. “Thank you. It was very thoughtful. I hope you got one for yourself.”

“Two. Red velvet and chocolate marshmallow.”

She waited a beat. “Vaughn? Would you do something for me?”

“If I can.”

Cagey. But then, he was a lawyer. “Would you give Cassidy an extra hug for me? For Kyle. She won’t know, but...”

“I can do that.”

Karyn heard the sound of a jet in the background and figured he’d arrived at LAX. “One more thing,” she said before letting him go. “If Cassidy is Kyle’s daughter, I’m going to want more than just to be a part of her life.”

“What do you mean?”

“I’m not sure what my rights might be. You probably know better than I do, but I’ll find out. There was something in his will about heirs. I’ll have to look it up. Have a safe flight.”

She tucked the phone under her chin. Yes, a nice guy.

But she still wouldn’t cut him any slack when it came to Kyle’s daughter.

* * *

It was after midnight when Vaughn got home. Cassidy was staying with his parents, so his four-bedroom, two-story house seemed especially quiet. Each of Jim and Dori Ryder’s children had been gifted a piece of land on Ryder Ranch property on their twenty-first birthday, and Vaughn had chosen his without ever expecting to build on it. In fact, he’d never thought he’d live on the ranch after he’d left for college, anticipating law school then fulfilling a dream of life and work in San Francisco, his favorite city.

Funny how having a child could change so much.

Vaughn climbed the staircase, went into Cassidy’s room and switched on the light. The walls were painted her favorite denim blue. Rows of running horses were printed across her bedspread. She’d named every one of them. The only doll in sight was dressed as a cowgirl, a lasso in her hand and tiny red hat on her head.

A wall shelf holding framed photographs drew Vaughn. There was one of the two of them when she was a few minutes old, another when she’d sat her first horse alone at age two. A group photo of the entire family was tucked behind the others and was the only photo of her mother on display. The picture had been taken at a Fourth of July barbecue. Everyone had worn red, white and blue.

Vaughn slipped it out. He hadn’t put away Ginger’s photos after she left, but Cassidy had. Vaughn would find them hidden in various drawers upon opening them. He’d left them alone. Finally she’d stacked them in a box and handed it to him.

“Please put her away,” she’d said, looking much older than her age.

He had, but she’d kept the one, even though they’d taken other family photos more recently. She hadn’t given up on her mother completely.

He’d kept Ginger’s farewell note because it was proof she’d voluntarily given her to Vaughn. It hadn’t said much. “I’ve had enough. Cassidy’s yours. She’s the one you want anyway.”

She was right about that.

Too wound up to sleep, Vaughn went to his office. He booted his laptop and opened personal shopper Karyn Lambert’s Facebook page. There were photos and testimonials from a few clients, including Josh Renard, the Crime and Punishment star she’d mentioned, and Gloriana Macbeth, a major Hollywood star.

Karyn’s publicity photo showed a competent-looking but also sexy woman. Under different circumstances he might have accepted her dinner invitation. He bet she’d have some interesting stories to tell.

The long day caught up with him. He shut down the computer then went upstairs to his bedroom. He had nothing to unpack except the tube with the swab in it. He would package it well tomorrow and send it to a private lab in San Francisco.

And then the wait would start.

Chapter Three