Page 10 of Silver Fox's Secret Baby

Knightly shrugged. "I think Mrs. Tillis would love to have a child in the home again, Sir."

“Mrs. Tillis wants that, eh?” I had no doubt Knightly did two. My own parents were too stiff to be warm, loving grandparents to Victoria. No, that role had been filled by Mrs. Tillis and Knightly.

Knightly’s lips twitched up. “Yes, sir.”

I stood and made my way toward the dining room for dinner. I was amused by Mrs. Tillis’s thinking, even as I knew there was no need to have a place for Victoria and her child.

I stopped short just before the dining room.

"Is everything okay, Mr. Banion?"

"Yes, I think so. Have Mrs. Tillis prepare my mother's old room and the nursery."

Knightly nodded. “Of course.”

As I entered the dining room and sat at the large, empty table, I knew I was going mad. I was about to do something that absolutely should not be done. And yet there was no stopping me.

I was going to invite Samantha and her son to stay at my house, and I was going to find her a job in my business.

Truly, it was an exercise in sadism. The woman was haunting me six months after I'd last seen her. How was it going to be to see her every day in my house?

3

Samantha

Eight thirty at night was the first time during the course of the day that I could relax and breathe. All the day’s to-dos were done, from getting Pax up and off to preschool, dealing with my mother's effects, trying to figure out how my father had ended up as my mother's beneficiary, starting to pack to move, as well as looking for a new place to live and applying to jobs.

Now with Pax in bed and my brain too tired to do anything, I poured myself a glass of wine and went into my mother’s sitting room. I thought I might read a book, but I wasn't sure I had the brainpower for even that.

I had just taken a seat in her chair, closing my eyes and inhaling the scent of her that lingered and offered calm, when there was a knock on my door.

So many things were going wrong in my life, so I suppose it was natural that I assumed it was my father ready to evict me. I considered ignoring it, but if it was my father, he’d become more insistent and possibly wake up Pax and scare him.

When I was growing up, we had live-in help, including a butler and a housekeeper. When my mom became ill, mom encouraged them to seek new employment. Not because she needed to save money, but because she knew their jobs with her would be coming to an end and she wanted them to find secure employment.

Only Marie had stuck around, but Marie was off in her room probably doing like I’d been doing, looking for a new job. So if the door was going to be answered, it had to be by me.

I set my wine down and rose from the chair, feeling the weight of the world on my weary bones. I went through the foyer to the door, looking through the security screen.

I gasped. What was Henry Banyan doing here? The memory of him telling me that I had to leave and that we couldn't see each other ever again flashed through my mind. With it came the raw emotion of pain, followed by anger.

I took a breath and did my best to stand up straight and hold my head high as I opened the door.

"Hello, Samantha. I'm sorry to drop by so late—"

Maybe it was from exhaustion, or maybe the inability to deal with one more hit in my life, but I’d hit my limit. "I just buried my mother and I've been staying out of your way. I tried to get out of going to Victoria's wedding, but I stayed away ever since. You don't need to come run me out of my home, Henry."

His silver brows rose to his hairline. "I'm not here to run you out."

"As soon as I deal with my mother's estate, I’ll be gone." I had no idea how long that would take or where we’d go.

"Samantha, I'm not here to tell you to leave."

His words finally sank in, but my anger and frustration continued to simmer. "Then why are you here?"

"I was hoping to talk to you. It's cold out here. Can I come in?" He gave me a soft smile.

I thought about Pax upstairs in bed and of my secret. Fortunately, once Pax was asleep, he was out for the night. I wouldn't have to worry about his getting up and making an appearance. Not that Henry didn't know I had a son, because I was sure that he did.

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