Page 3 of Staking His Claim

“Me?” Drawing a deep shuddering breath, Ella went cold. “Keira,     this is a baby we’re talking about—you can’t just walk away.”

Her sister’s gaze dropped pointedly to Ella’s very round     stomach. “You’re still the legal mother—the adoption doesn’t kick in until     twelve days after the baby’s born. You know that, Ella. Because you told me so     yourself.”

Of course she knew it. Knowing stuff like that was part of her     job as one of the most respected family lawyers in Auckland. But the knowledge     was only just starting to sink in that Keira was planning to leave her holding     the baby!

“Oh, no!” Shaking her head, Ella said emphatically, “The only     reason I lent you my body was so that you could have the baby you always dreamed     of having. This is your dream, Keira. Your baby.”         My nightmare. Then, in case it hadn’t sunk in,     she added pointedly, “Yours and Dmitri’s.”

“It’s your egg.”

“Only because you can’t—” Ella bit off the words she’d been     about to utter.

Too late.

Keira had gone white.

Driven by remorse, Ella propelled her colossal self from the     sofa and reached for Keira. Her sister was as stiff as a wooden block in her     arms. “I’m so sorry, sweetheart, I shouldn’t have said that.”

“It’s the truth.” Keira’s voice was flat. “I don’t have eggs or     a uterus—I can’t have children.”

“So why—” Ella almost bit her tongue off. She tightened her     hold around her sister.

“Don’t worry, you can ask. No, I’ll ask for you. ‘Why are you     doing this? Why are you going to Africa without the baby?’ That’s what you     really want to know, isn’t it?”

Ella inclined her head.

“I’m not sure I can explain.” Keira shrugged out of her     hold.

Given no choice, Ella let her sister go.

While Keira gathered her thoughts, Ella became aware of the     stark silence that stretched to the breaking point between them across the     length of the sofa. A silent divide. It might as well have been the blue-green     of the Indian Ocean that stretched beyond Australia all the way to Africa that     yawned between them...because her sister had already retreated mentally farther     than the arm’s length that separated them.

Then Keira started to speak. “This is something both Dmitri and     I have to do.” The blank, flat stare she fixed on Ella was a little unnerving.     “I have to find myself, Ella. Find out who I am. All my life I wanted to teach     little children—and have my own houseful of kids at home.” Her eyes grew more     bleak. “But things didn’t go according to plan.”

“Keira—”

“I loved my job at Little Ducks Center—”

“Keira.” The pain in her sister’s voice was unbearable.     “Don’t!”

But Keira carried on as if she hadn’t heard. “I couldn’t work     there after the car accident...after I found out the truth—that there never     would be any babies.”

“Oh, honey—”

Keira ducked away from Ella’s enfolding arms.

An unwelcome sense of rejection filled Ella. Followed by     emptiness. Instantly she scolded herself for her selfishness. She shouldn’t feel     hurt. Keira was suffering.

Yet, despite all her empathy for her sister, the most important     question still remained unanswered: What about the baby? The baby I helped create to fulfill your dream? “But Keira, you will     have a baby now—and you have a husband who loves you.”

Wasn’t that enough?

Eyes softening, Keira admitted, “Yes, I was very, very     fortunate to find Dmitri.”

Ella hadn’t been so sure of that in the beginning. In fact,     she’d foreseen nothing but heartbreak ahead for her sister. The arrival of     Yevgeny Volkovoy in Auckland had been big news. Not satisfied with inheriting     millions from the hotel empire his father had built up, the Russian had expanded     the dynasty by building up the best river cruise operation in Russia. In the     past few years he’d expanded into ocean cruise liners. With the planned     expansion of Auckland’s cruise ship terminal, it was not surprising to learn     that Yevgeny intended to secure Auckland as a voyage destination. What had been     surprising had been learning through the newspapers that the Russian had fallen     in love with New Zealand—and planned to relocate himself permanently. He’d sent     his brother to New Zealand to secure corporate offices and staff them for     Volkovoy Cruising’s new base. At first Ella had been less than impressed with     the younger Volkovoy. With all the Volkovoy money Dmitri threw around, Ella had     considered him spoiled and irresponsible. Nothing fortunate in that. Yet there     was no doubt that he loved her sister...and thankfully he’d lost that reckless     edge that had worried Ella so much at first. But heading off to Africa without     the baby was not the right thing for Keira.

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