Daddy Bombshell. Lisa Childs
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that he’d easily disproved. But about not wanting a relationship with him.
He was her son’s father, and that was all he would ever be to her. Not her lover. Not her boyfriend. Not even her friend.
Because she couldn’t trust him. But she wouldn’t have been able to beat him, either, if she’d fought to keep him away from Mark. Now, seeing them chase each other around the yard, she was glad that she hadn’t tried. She’d worked hard the past three years to be both mother and father to her son, but the little boy needed more than she had been able to give him.
He needed Thad.
And, as Thad grinned and laughed, she began to wonder if Thad didn’t need Mark, too. Enough to stay?
But then he glanced to the street again, his body tensing as if he’d identified a threat. To himself or to their son?
She knew when he left St. Louis that Thad put himself in danger. But she hadn’t realized until now that he could be in danger in St. Louis, as well. He had killed his sister’s stalker, but maybe in doing so, he had picked up his own. Or he had brought danger back with him from one of those war-torn countries?
She’d already had her doubts, but now she was certain that Thad Kendall was more than just a photojournalist.
Whatever else he was, he was also a father now. Would he put their son in the danger that he had constantly put himself in?
Chapter Four
Thad paced his brother’s office at Kendall Communications. This was all Devin had ever wanted, to be CEO and take over the running of their father’s company.
Uncle Craig might have been technically in charge ever since Joseph Kendall’s murder, but the business had grown even more after Devin had joined the company. The stock each of the Kendall siblings had inherited had definitely increased in value due to Devin’s initiatives.
Over the years, throughout his travels, Thad had come up with some ideas he’d love to see the company explore. While it may have been just a cover, he had become an expert on communications, some less legal than others.
Devin opened his office door but didn’t see Thad yet as he continued his conversation with the red-haired secretary who was also his fiancée. “I didn’t give you a chance to give me my messages,” he murmured to her as he wiped her lipstick from his mouth. “Did Turner call back?”
“No,” she replied. “According to his staff, he hasn’t been in the office at all this week and not much in the past few months. Not since his wife died. Maybe he is ready to retire and sell the company.”
Turner Connections LLC? Excitement coursed through Thad at the thought of Kendall Communications acquiring the company, which had a good number of defense contracts.
Devin snorted. “He’s younger than Uncle Craig. I doubt he’s ready to retire.”
Jolie sighed. “So you’re going to be one of those guys who never knows when to quit.…”
“I thought that’s what you liked about me.…” He leaned forward and kissed her again.
Thad cleared his throat to make them finally aware of his presence.
Jolie pulled free of Devin’s arms, her face flaming nearly as red as her hair. “I forgot to tell you Thad was waiting for you.”
“Probably because the two of you were too busy making out to remember I was back here,” Thad teased.
Jolie’s ringing phone drew her back to the outer office. With only a wave at Thad, she closed the door, leaving him and Devin alone together. Her fiancé stared after her for a moment, as if he’d not been ready to let her go. Natalie was right that each of his siblings had found true love.
“I’m surprised you manage to get any work done around here.”
“We don’t have a choice.” Devin pushed his hand through his hair as he made his way around his desk and dropped into the chair behind it. “It’s been pretty crazy around here since September.”
That was when Rick Campbell, the man behind bars for their parents’ murders, had been cleared of the crime. It hadn’t been long before authorities had been looking at a new prime suspect, though.
“I can’t believe that damn D.A. tried to blame Uncle Craig.” Thad wished he’d been home then; he would have skewered the man in the media. Instead, his family had been smeared. One of the first things he’d noticed on his return was how much his aunt and uncle had aged since he’d been gone. He suspected most of that had happened since September.
“He’s a son of a bitch,” Devin bitterly murmured. “But clearing Uncle Craig hasn’t ended the media circus.”
“Some good things came out of the coverage,” Thad reminded his older brother.
To protect Jolie’s reputation and the company image, Devin had proposed a fake engagement with his secretary. But that engagement had quickly become real when his stubborn brother had finally realized the depths of his feelings for the amazing woman who’d been his friend and right hand for years.
“It would be nice if the press would give us a break for a while,” Devin said, “especially with Christmas coming.”
“The media coverage has always been bad around Christmastime,” Thad reminded him. “And it’s even worse this year.”
Devin groaned. “It was going to be bad enough, given the twenty-year anniversary, but then with everything else that’s happened, the reporters have been relentless.”
Which was why Thad had told no one about Mark and Caroline. He didn’t want them being pulled into the media circus that was life as a Kendall. It might make Caroline change her mind about allowing Thad time with the boy, and it would no doubt frighten the child. Sure, his family wouldn’t let anything slip to reporters, but they would want to meet his son and that meeting would not go unnoticed by the press.
Thad glanced at his watch; he had a meeting to go to. He couldn’t believe he’d agreed to what he had. But then Mark had asked and he doubted he’d be able to deny the kid anything. It was a wonder that Caroline hadn’t spoiled the little charmer rotten. But he was a great kid. And kids loved Christmas. At least kids whose parents hadn’t been murdered on the holiday.
“Will you actually be here this Christmas?” Devin asked.
Thad shrugged. “Depends on when we catch our parents’ killer. Finally finding the real murderer is the only way to stop the media frenzy.” His body tensed with anger. “And get justice.”
“Is that why you came to my office?” Devin asked. “Have you found out something new?”
“I did,” Thad said, “when we found out that Natalie is only our half sister. But you didn’t seem very surprised by the news.” News that they hadn’t shared with anyone who hadn’t been at the meeting at Rachel’s lab. Thad had to tell Natalie first, but not only did he dread doing that, he’d also been too busy with Mark and Caroline.
Devin leaned back in his chair and rubbed his hand over his face. He had always looked the most like their father but never more so than now. Despite the happiness he’d found with his fiancée, he looked tired and tense, as if he’d been working too hard. At the family company or at keeping family secrets?
“What do you know about that night?” Thad wondered.
“I wasn’t even home,” Devin reminded him, his voice gruff with guilt. “I’d snuck out.”
“You were sixteen,” Thad said. “You wanted to hang out with your friends like other sixteen-year-olds. None of what happened was your fault. You couldn’t have prevented their deaths if you’d been home.”
Knowing Devin, he probably would have gotten himself killed, as well, if he’d even heard anything at all. The master bedroom was in an entirely