Millionaire in Command(24)

Ginger straightened, holding a  velvet bag in her hands. "Here we go."  She sat on the edge of the sofa  and began withdrawing the wrapped  pieces. "Matthew and Kyle used to  argue every year over where to put  the Wise Men. Matthew is such a  traditionalist like his father. He  wanted them right there in the  manger. Kyle, however, pointed out that  the Wise Men really didn't show  up until two years later, so they  should be positioned somewhere outside  the manger."                       
       
           



       


Phoebe rocked Nina, eyeing the trio of  porcelain figures and  envisioning a young Kyle dreaming of the Wise  Men's world travels. The  reproduction of the antique crèche still looked  vintage, with an Old  World style to the rich-hued paints.

Ginger  cupped a camel in her hand. "Every year, my little smart-aleck  son  would cradle those three porcelain antiques and shake his head,  saying,  'Two years, for Pete's sake. That makes 'em the three wise  slackers, if  you ask me.'"

"That certainly sounds like Kyle." At least the  Kyle she'd known a week  ago. Would Nina have his sense of humor, as well  as his smile? Would  they see that humor again?

Ginger placed the  camel behind the three kings. "He always has joked to  cover when he's  uncomfortable with emotions. His father being gone so  much bothered him  deeply, but Kyle always shrugged it off as if it  didn't matter."

Could  he be shutting down as a different defense mechanism against   uncomfortable-hell, painful-emotions? He was all action, without a   doubt, and she'd learned long ago men sometimes overcompensate with   actions at the expense of words and feelings. "Kyle turned down the job   with Landis International."

Ginger didn't look up, just continued  to arrange the figures on the  coffee table even though it was weeks too  early for Christmas  decorations. "I was disappointed to hear that. I  take it he seems to  think he can't be a good father and travel the way  he wants."

"He even hinted that leaving would be the same as what  Bianca did." She  thought back to the time she'd expressed her fears  about attachment  disorder and how that must have fueled Kyle's concerns.  "Have you ever  talked with Kyle about this? Maybe he'll listen to you."

Laughing  lightly, her mother-in-law shook her head. "If I've learned  anything in  all my years parenting and in politics, it's that you can't  tell people  anything and have them accept it as truth. They have to  come to the  conclusion on their own."

"But you told me."

"You were almost there on your own and you already had all the pieces in place."

Phoebe  tried to understand where Ginger was going with her trip down  memory  lane, but the way she saw it, things looked so damn bleak. "Are  you  telling me this so I can give up on Kyle?"

Ginger leaned back on  the sofa, her blue eyes wise but kind. "I'm  helping you so you can show  him the pieces he needs to put it  together." She gave the camel a final  nudge so it lined up alongside  the magi. "It may take a while, even a  long while, but don't give up.  Some people see the pieces differently,  but as long as you're both  talking about how to work it out, you'll find  the answers that are just  right for you."

Phoebe looked at the  porcelain set resting on the coffee table. She  could almost see the four  Landis siblings taking turns arranging the  figurines, the brothers so  alike in looks, but different in many ways  now that she knew them  better.

And what about her? How would she have displayed the  scene? No matter  how many times she jostled it around in her head, she  couldn't recreate  what she'd put together before. Her mind kept  envisioning things  differently, from the perspective of a mother, with  Kyle's quirky,  slacker Wise Men off to the side.

Slowly her  vision cleared and the image of how her life should be came  together  again, differently than before, with Roger, but no less  wonderful. She  wanted a future with Kyle, a unique life together that  they built, not  some attempt to recreate the past. Something was going  on with Kyle, but  not for a moment did she believe he didn't care.

The time had come to truly take command of her life and be the wife and partner Kyle deserved.



Kyle  sensed a new determination in Phoebe as they sat around the table  in  the courthouse mediation room to discuss the first round of custody   specifics with Bianca. Kyle had buried himself in paperwork in the  hopes  that he could make this right.

He'd vowed he would do anything  to make Phoebe happy and look toward  the future rather than the past.  Keeping Nina absolutely topped the  list of securing everyone's  happiness. After they'd crossed that  hurdle, he would do everything in  his power to be the best husband and  father possible-even if that meant  nailing his ass to a desk in Hilton  Head.                       
       
           



       

He just hoped the  evidence they'd found about how Bianca had spent the  past months would  turn the tide in their favor. So much depended on the  judge's final  verdict, and Sebastian had told him that could swing  either way. Still  Phoebe sat next to him exuding quiet confidence, her  chin high and  shoulders square.

Bianca huffed a ragged strand of hair off her  brow, thumbing through  the stack of documents in front of her. "This is  all so complicated and  official."

Phoebe leaned closer to Bianca. "You have to understand we only want to keep Nina safe."

"That's what I want, too," Bianca rushed to answer. "I just want to play with her."

Kyle  started to reach for the file of damning photos. Phoebe placed a  hand  on his arm. "Wait a moment." She leaned on her elbow. "Bianca, do  you  truly want custody of Nina?"

The confidential tone in her voice  was soft. Non-accusatory. And  completely caught him off guard. What the  hell was she doing? Even  ever-stoic Sebastian tensed in the leather  seat.

Bianca scratched mascara from the corner of her eye, her  gaze darting  around nervously. "What kind of mother doesn't want  custody? Even you  want her and you're not her mom."

"No one here  is judging you, Bianca," Phoebe continued with admirable  calm. "We all  want what's best for Nina and best for all of us,  including you. Why not  let go of who you think you should be. Be who  you are and let's work  from there."

Kyle's neck started to itch. Phoebe had said much  the same thing to him  when he'd told her about turning down the job with  Landis  International.

Phoebe reached across the table to Nina's biological mother with an openness Kyle didn't think he could have scavenged.

"Bianca," she pressed gently. "What's really going on?"

Bottom  lip quivering, Bianca squeezed Phoebe's hand. "You're going to  think  I'm an awful person. All of you." She looked around the table.  "Nina's  sweet and I do want to see her. But I want to be an actress.  That's all  I've ever wanted." She blurted, "I need money."

Sebastian's eyes narrowed.

Anger gelled inside Kyle as what he'd feared and expected played out. "You want a payoff."

Phoebe touched his leg lightly under the mahogany table, patting his knee reassuringly to quiet the storm brewing inside him.

"No,  no." Bianca raised both her hands defensively, her long, manicured   nails reflecting the halogen bulbs overhead. "I'm not bribing you. I   wouldn't do that. I may have flaws, but I would never sell my baby. I   just want a decent shot at being an actress. I've got an audition in   Bollywood and I can't afford the plane ticket. All I want is a plane   ticket."

Bollywood? In India?

Kyle stared at her in shock.  She was already making plans to jet? To  leave their daughter all over  again? But on the plus side, all she  wanted was a damn plane ticket.  Less than a thousand dollars. If Bianca  was interested in bribing them,  she would have asked for a hell of a  lot more than that.

Bianca  twisted her hands in front of her, a blur of fuchsia nails and  silver  rings. "I realize you're pissed because I didn't tell you about  Nina,  but I knew if I came to you, you would get all wrapped up in  making a  family. I mean, God, all you talk about is family, family,  family." She  glanced up quickly. "No offense meant to any of you."