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carly phillips
Sealed with a Kiss
PROLOGUE
MOLLY GIFFORD PACKED the last of her suitcases and boxes into the trunk and slammed it shut tight. Another door closing, she thought. Her life here in Hawken’s Cove was over. Finished. Time to move on. She spared a last glance at the house she’d lived in for the last year, a year she’d spent grasping for that elusive thing called family that was always just out of reach.
She should have known better. Shouldn’t have gotten her hopes up that this time would be different. That her mother would marry, settle down and make a family that included Molly instead of excluding her. And at the ripe old age of twenty-seven, Molly should be way past caring. But she wasn’t. She was still the kid shuffled from boarding school to boarding school, the quality of which depended on the size of her mother’s current husband’s checkbook. Her real father wasn’t good for more than a couple of cards a year, her birthday and the punch-in-the-gut Christmas card with the photo of his family.
Just a week ago, her mother had broken her engagement, then dumped her suddenly broke, scandal-ridden fiancé and taken off for Europe with barely a goodbye to her daughter. Molly finally got it. She was on her own and always would be. So she was leaving in search of herself and a life that didn’t include unrequited hopes and expectations weighing her down.
“Molly? Molly, wait.” The voice of her landlady, make that ex-landlady, Anna Marie Costanza, called for Molly’s attention.
“Don’t worry, I was going to say goodbye,” Molly assured the older woman and headed up the driveway to meet her.
“Well, of course you were.” Anna Marie’s faith in Molly was unwavering.
Molly smiled and watched Anna Marie make her way down the porch steps. She would miss her nosy neighbor.
Anna Marie walked up beside Molly. “You don’t have to go. You could stay here and face your fears.”
Pearls of wisdom, but she couldn’t heed them. She looked into the older woman’s face. “Here’s the thing. My fears will follow me wherever I go.”
“Then why leave?” She reached out a hand and touched Molly’s shoulder. “I know for a fact I’m not the only one who wants you to stay.”
“Listening in on my talk with Hunter earlier?” Molly’s stomach lurched at the reminder of a man she’d been trying not to think about as she spent the last few hours packing up her old life.
Anna Marie shook her head and thin gray strands fell from their binding. “This is one time I can say emphatically not. I’ve learned my lesson about eavesdropping and passing on information that isn’t mine. It’s just obvious how much that man wants you around.”
Molly opened her mouth, then closed it again. She swallowed over the lump in her throat. “I can’t stay.” But she’d thought about it.
She still did, especially when she remembered the hope in Hunter’s eyes when he’d asked her to stay with him in his hometown of Hawken’s Cove, New York, and the pleading edge in his voice when he’d offered to go with her wherever she needed to run in order to escape the pain.
I never had family, either. I understand what you’re going through. Why not work through it together? Hunter had swallowed his pride and handed her his heart.
He tempted her and her heart had begged her to change her mind but she couldn’t. Because she didn’t know who she was or what she wanted out of life, she’d rejected him. She opened and closed her fingers in useless frustration. She was a woman without ties, without real friends, without an anchor. She needed time to figure it all out. Yet her throat swelled with longing and emotion just the same.
“He loves you,” Anna Marie said.
Molly inclined her head. She swallowed hard, the pain growing with each passing minute because she loved Hunter, too. Enough to know she wasn’t whole enough to offer her sometimes friend, sometimes nemesis, not yet lover, anything worthwhile.
“I made my decision,” Molly said, the words feeling thick and uncomfortable, nearly lodging in her throat.
The other woman nodded. “I already know you won’t change your mind. You’re like me that way. But I had to have my say anyway.” She treated Molly to a sage smile.
“I know and I appreciate it.”
“Here. Today’s mail came and seeing as how you don’t have a forwarding address yet, I wanted to make sure you had everything before you took off.” She handed Molly a large envelope.
Molly turned it over and looked at the return address. Napa Valley, California. Her errant father had surfaced on a day other than her birthday or Christmas? That was odd.
“I’ve got to get back inside. I’m working on an ad to place in the paper to rent your apartment.” Anna Marie spoke matter-of-factly but her words only added to the knot in Molly’s stomach.
“You were a wonderful landlady, neighbor and friend.” Molly enfolded the other woman in a hug. “Thanks for everything.”
“You keep in touch, Molly Gifford. I hope you find what you’re looking for in this world.” With a final wave, Anna Marie headed back for the house.
Molly reached for the car keys in her jacket pocket, accidentally dropping the envelope Anna Marie had given her. She scooped it back up. The paper burned her hands. The urge to drive far away from the memories here warred with curiosity over what was inside. Curiosity won and she tore open the sealed binding, pulling out a card and a separate, folded sheet of paper.
She scanned the beautifully printed, pink baby announcement. Her father’s other daughter, Jennifer, had had a baby. Molly’s dad was a grandfather. Molly didn’t know her half sister at all and the news would normally barely register on her radar except as another arrow in her heart. The accompanying note changed everything.
She scanned the attached page, reading and rereading as if the words would change on the next viewing. They didn’t.
She grew dizzy fast and realized she’d stopped taking in air. Forcing herself to breathe deeply and evenly, she leaned against the outside of the car and read the note once more.
Dear Molly,
As you can see I’m a grandpa. It’s the most amazing thing. More so than becoming a parent even. And this new phase in my life has caused me to reevaluate some decisions I made when I was young. I understand biological ties and family so much more now and I owe you this information. What you do with it is up to you.
We both know your mother is a woman with an agenda. Always was. She married me and passed her pregnancy off as mine, but I soon learned that you were the product of her affair with a man she’d known before coming to California. His name is Frank Addams. General Frank Addams, which explains why your mother chose a vineyard owner with family money to name as her baby’s father rather than a man planning an army career. Since I knew you’d never want for anything, I kept her secret, but I now realize the fact that you had food and shelter couldn’t possibly replace family.
I took the liberty of looking into things for you. General Addams currently resides in Dentonville, Connecticut. I wish you well.
Martin
Molly’s stomach cramped and nausea enveloped her. It was all she could do to keep from doubling over in real physical pain. Only reminding herself that she hadn’t lost a father, at least not one who truly cared, enabled her to push forward if not really process the news.
With shaking hands, she refolded the papers and tried to stick them back into the envelope but they wouldn’t fit. Just like Molly had never fit anywhere. Now she knew why.
The man she thought was her father wasn’t and he’d known it all along. “Well that explains his disinterest,” she muttered. As for her mother, Francie was a selfish, self-centered prima donna and always had been. Molly would deal with her another time.
The magnitude of this letter left her stunned and reeling. She’d turned her back on Hunter and what could be the love of a lifetime because in her heart, she’d known something was missing inside her. Five minutes ago she hadn’t known what that was or where she’d go to find it. Now, looking at the address Martin had provided, she had a destination and more. She had the name of the man who was her father.
Her real father. Her heart picked up speed as she realized those missing pieces could very well be in Dentonville, Connecticut. She’d either be welcomed or rejected, but she’d know.
She climbed into the car and paused to open a bottle of water she’d put in the vehicle earlier. She drew a long sip. If nothing else, Molly thought, she’d have answers. And just maybe, she’d find herself at last.
She turned on the ignition, shifted into reverse and backed out of the long driveway, starting her journey. She wouldn’t just show up on the man’s doorstep. In fact, she might detour the long way via California to see the man who’d given her the news first. Some confirmation and a little more information would be nice. Regardless, Molly hoped she found something good at the end of her journey because she’d given up something very precious to get there.
CHAPTER ONE
Eight Months Later
“I WANT MY FATHER out of his jail cell now,” Molly demanded of the public defender assigned to her father’s case.
Bill Finkel, Esq. rummaged through the papers in front of him, searching for heaven knew what. Each time she asked the man a question, he responded by first sifting through his disorganized folders and briefcase. He finally glanced up at Molly. “It’s a murder case.”
She cocked her head to one side. “And?”
He looked down and shuffled some more papers.
Molly was getting tired of looking at the top of his bald head. “I may not specialize in criminal law, but even I know that since the general is a decorated soldier and an honorably discharged war hero, there’s no reason you can’t get him released on his own recognizance or a minimal amount of bail.” Her years in real estate law felt like a waste right about now.
Bill cleared his throat. “It may not be that easy. Your father is accused of murdering his friend and business partner. He had a key to the office where the body was found, and motive since he discovered Paul Markham had been embezzling money from their real estate business.” The public defender read word for word from the paper in front of him.
Weren’t good lawyers supposed to think fast on their feet? “It’s all circumstantial. Ask the judge to balance the weight of the evidence against my father’s reputation in the community, his ties to his family and business, not to mention his service to this country!” Molly slammed her hand against the old metal table in frustration. “Speaking of my father, where is he? They were supposed to bring him to this meeting twenty minutes ago.”
“Ah, I’ll go see what’s holding him up.” Bill scrambled to his feet and practically ran out the door in an effort to get away from Molly and her questions.
She didn’t care if she scared him silly or if he wet his pants. He was all her father could afford after discovering his partner’s embezzlement, which meant unless Molly had a better idea, that bumbling excuse for a lawyer held her father’s life in his hands.
From the moment Molly had shown up on the general’s doorstep, he’d accepted her into his heart and made her a part of his close-knit family. She might not feel as if she was completely a part of the family yet but she couldn’t deny how badly she wanted to be. She’d also grown to love the man and she intended to see to it that he lived his life outside prison walls.
Another ten minutes passed before Bill walked back into the room. “They said they’re shorthanded and can’t bring him down right now.”
And he’d stood for that? Molly had had it. She needed a lawyer who would break down walls to get her father free. She needed Daniel Hunter. Without pausing to let herself think about what that would entail, she slung her bag over one shoulder and made a beeline for the exit.
“Where are you going?” Bill asked, running after her. “We have strategy to discuss. The guards said he’d be here within the hour.”
Molly glanced over her shoulder. “I’m going to do what I should have done the minute I got the call that my father was arrested,” she said to the dim-witted attorney. “Tell Dad I’ll be back to see him tomorrow, but not to worry. I have a plan.”
Bill blanched, his white, pasty skin turning even paler. “Aren’t you going to share it with me? I’m his lawyer.”
Not for much longer, Molly thought. To Bill, she said, “It’s on a need-to-know basis and right now, you don’t need to know.”
Her plan hinged on getting the best criminal lawyer she knew to represent her father, but the chances of Hunter agreeing to help her were slim. After all, she hadn’t ended things between them on a positive note. Hunter had offered to uproot his life and his practice and leave town with her. To go wherever she needed to run to so they could be together. She’d walked away from him instead.
Although she’d had her reasons, she held no illusions that he understood. Then or now. It wouldn’t matter to him that she’d never stopped caring, never stopped thinking of him. After the way she’d rejected him, Molly had no choice but to visit him in person if she wanted him to even consider representing her father.
Faced with the sudden prospect of seeing Hunter again, Molly’s stomach churned with a combination of excitement, panic and fear. She would have to risk everything by trusting her father’s life and the rest of the family’s future to Hunter.
A man who probably hated her guts.
MOLLY KNEW she could make the drive to Albany in one day. Three hours there, three hours back. She could do it, but first she had gone home to change into comfortable driving clothes, and yes, gather her nerve. In the privacy of the guest room where she was staying until she decided where she wanted to live more permanently, she tossed a few spare things into a duffel bag in case she had to stop overnight.
She didn’t miss the irony of her situation now. Over the last year, she hadn’t been able to think about anything more than how to fit in here. She’d taken one step at a time, trying to gain the trust of her two half sisters and her grandmother who’d ruled the family since her father’s wife died nine years ago. Now she found herself in charge of keeping them together by calling on Daniel Hunter.
Drawing a deep breath, she headed downstairs.
She’d almost reached the front door when she heard her half sister Jessie speak. “My father’s been arrested for murder. That ought to do wonders for my social life.”
Molly rolled her eyes. Jessie was fifteen years old. Teen being the operative syllable. Angst and drama were typical overreactions to even the slightest shift in her half sister’s universe.
At fifteen, Molly had been taking care of herself for years. She hadn’t had time to indulge in tantrums or histrionics. She’d been a mini adult for as long as she could remember, which put her in the position of not being able to relate to Jessie. And since Jessie didn’t want anything to do with Molly, she found herself at a stalemate with the teen.
“You can be such a brat.” The well-deserved verbal smack came from Robin, Molly’s twenty-year-old half sister, who like Molly had grown up too fast. Her mother had died while Molly’s had just been perpetually absent. She liked Robin and not just because the other woman had accepted her without question. Robin was an all-around good soul and there were too few of those, at least in Molly’s world.
She had planned to sneak out without conversation but she realized she should tell them she’d be gone for the rest of the day and possibly night. Although she still wasn’t used to living in a house with other people, where her goings and comings would be questioned and dissected, she’d been trying to train herself to do just that.
She stepped toward her father’s office where the rest of the family was apparently gathered.
“Shut up,” Jessie said to her sister. She never gave up without a fight. “You don’t get to tell me what to do.”
“But I do.”
Molly grinned as Edna Addams spoke in a firm, commanding tone that explained why the older woman was more often known as Commander rather than Grandma. She was the general’s mother, which made her Molly’s grandma, too. Molly stepped into the doorway at the same time the double thud of the commander’s cane hitting the floor caused everyone to snap to attention.
Edna stood in the center of the room, her focus on her youngest granddaughter. “And I suggest you stop worrying about yourself and think about your father’s situation instead.”
“I didn’t mean it like that.” Jessie’s eyes immediately filled with tears.
Edna strode to her granddaughter’s side and stroked her long, brown hair. “I know you didn’t, but as I’ve said before, you need a permanent yield sign between your brain and your mouth, so you can take the time to think before you speak.”
Molly nodded, silently applauding. “Let’s try to concentrate on what’s important and that’s helping Dad,” she suggested as she entered the room.
Jessie whirled around, the hair she’d spent hours straightening this morning in the bathroom she shared with Molly flipping over her shoulder as she moved. “Dad?” she asked. Her tears were gone, replaced by sarcasm and anger, which was as usual, directed at Molly. “That’s rich since you didn’t even know him until a little while ago. He’s our dad.” She gestured between herself and Robin. “Not yours.”
“Jessie!” Edna and Robin yelled in unison and shared horror.
Molly’s heart clenched tight in her chest and almost immediately a headache threatened, one of the migraines she’d fought since childhood.
Despite being used to Jessie’s outbursts, the teenager’s verbal abuse still stung. Was it so much to want everyone in this family to accept her? She’d already paid her dues as a child born out of wedlock and lies, and she’d spent a lifetime believing the man she thought was her father didn’t have any more time for her than her mother had.
She was damn tired of putting up with Jessie’s crap, but out of respect for her father and for the sake of family peace, Molly had bit her tongue. She’d hoped in return, Jessie would eventually come around but, so far, no such luck.
“Apologize to Molly.” Robin perched her hands on her slender hips.
Molly hated that her other sister fought her battles. Turning on Jessie now wouldn’t help anyone, but soon they would have to come to terms with each other.
“I mean it,” Robin said in the face of her sister’s silence.
Jessie looked to her grandmother for salvation.
But the older woman merely shook her head and tacked on another command for the teen to follow. “Now,” Edna instructed and leaned on her cane, waiting for the obligatory I’m sorry to come from Jessie’s lips.
Without warning, Jessie let out a loud groan. “You always take her side,” she said on a misunderstood wail. Then she stomped her feet dramatically as she flung her body out of the family room.
“Crybaby, crybaby,” Edna’s macaw crowed from his cage across the room.
Leave it to the mouthy bird to make his presence known now, Molly thought. A quick glance out the family-room door told her Jessie had already fled far from hearing distance.
“Never you mind,” Edna said to her pet. She turned to Molly and Robin. “I’ll speak with Jessie. She can’t talk to you that way.”
“Just let her go.” Molly dismissed her half sister’s behavior with a wave, pretending to be unfazed by the outburst.
“Only if you promise to ignore her. Sometimes Jessie acts like she’s fifteen going on thirty and other times she behaves more like she’s three,” Robin said, her blue eyes flashing with regret. She walked over and placed a comforting hand on Molly’s shoulder.
“Amen to that.” Molly managed a laugh and tried not to squirm beneath Robin’s touch. Unused to any kind of affection, she was still growing accustomed to the gestures that came so easily to the rest of the family. She didn’t want to insult them though or discourage their attempts to reach out to her. Besides, Robin’s caring was exactly what she’d needed when she’d arrived here. She’d left Hunter behind and it had helped to know she’d found something solid. Not that it replaced him or the place he could have had in her life.
“What’s with the duffel bag?” the commander asked, interrupting Molly’s thoughts.
“You’re leaving?” Robin asked, panic in her voice.
Molly shook her head. “I have to go see a friend about Dad.” Despite Jessie’s outburst, the word flowed easily off Molly’s tongue, due completely to how Frank had pulled her into his home and his family.
Robin’s shoulders relaxed. She leaned forward, her hands folded over each other on the desktop. “I worry about leaving you and Jess alone when I go back to school.”
Robin attended Yale on partial scholarship with her father assuming responsibility for the rest. General Addams believed it was a parent’s job to pay for his child’s education and Molly respected him for it. They’d had more than one discussion that ended in an argument because he wanted to take over Molly’s student loans.
As much as she appreciated the offer, she wouldn’t hear of it. She paid her own way. She’d never emulate her mother’s behavior of taking from others. Living in this house was as much of a handout as she was willing to accept. It was a compromise she made in order to have a real family.
Molly laughed. “Don’t worry. Your sister and I won’t kill each other while you’re gone. I still hold out hope we’ll make peace, eventually.”
Robin nodded. “Just don’t think anyone would hold it against you if you did strangle her.” She grinned, then her gaze shifted to the suitcase once more. “So what can this friend do about our father’s arrest?”
“Praise the Lord and load the ammunition,” the macaw said.
Molly chuckled.
“I swear, I’m buying that bird a muzzle,” Robin uttered the threat made by everyone in the house at one time or another against the noisy pet.
Edna shook her vibrant red head.
Molly wondered if her grandmother had changed her hair’s shade yet again. On meeting the commander for the first time, Molly had immediately discovered she’d inherited the other woman’s passion for bold, standout colors. Although, Molly had to admit, since moving here she’d packed away her most vibrant outfits. Fear of not fitting in had been too great. But Edna changed her hair color weekly depending on which color of Miss Clairol she picked up at the local CVS. Molly never knew what the other woman would look like from one day to the next and she looked forward to the adventure. Edna and Molly had hit it off immediately, Edna becoming the maternal influence Molly had never had. Another thing she didn’t want to lose.
“I don’t know what you expect from the poor bird. I told you I rescued him from two men in South America, one a preacher, the other a pharmaceutical salesman.”
“You mean a drug dealer?” Robin asked sweetly.
Edna ignored her.
“Me padre,” the bird said next.
Edna smiled. “You do your namesake proud, Ollie.”
Robin laughed. “I’m sure Oliver North would be thrilled to know you named a foulmouthed parrot after him.”
“Bite me,” Ollie replied.
Molly chuckled again. “Now children, no bickering,” she said before turning her attention back to their problem. “I have an old friend who might be able to help with Dad’s representation.”
“Thank God because Dad’s lawyer is a halfwit,” Robin said.
“He’s an imbecile,” Edna agreed, her words accentuated by a sweep of her emerald green sleeve. “In fact, I’d like to see his degree.”
Molly swallowed a laugh. Despite her words, nobody would ever accuse the commander of being ditsy or stupid. She was book smart, people smart and street smart, all knowledge born of firsthand experience. After her husband died, she’d traveled extensively, visiting different cultures and countries until she had returned home to help her son raise his children. With Jessie she’d had her hands full.
“I was hoping the police would realize their mistake and free Dad, but that’s not happening,” Molly said. Having collared their man, the Dentonville, Connecticut police weren’t looking any further. “So I’ll be back after I try to talk my friend into taking Dad’s case.”
Robin jumped up from her seat in excitement. “Who is he and how do you know him?” She perched on the corner of the big mahogany desk, ready to hear all.
“Most importantly, can you be sure he’ll help us?” Edna asked, walking closer, cane in hand.
They’d cornered her, and Molly swallowed hard. “His name is Daniel Hunter.” Her words sounded rusty, foreign after a year of thinking about him but never speaking his name.
“Oh my God!” Robin practically squealed. “The man who represented the governor’s son on a rape charge and got him off? I watched the trial on Court TV.” Her half sister’s blue eyes sparkled like their father’s, the resemblance between them unmistakable.
While Molly had inherited her mother’s brown eyes, she’d been pleased to discover her bone structure bore more than a passing resemblance to the general’s.
“Am I right? Is that him?” Robin asked.
“One and the same,” she told her family. “Like I said, he’s an old friend.” She chose her words wisely.
“He’s gorgeous,” Robin said. “The girls would get together to watch him in my dorm. The man is a genuine hunk.”
“Hubba hubba,” Ollie said, shaking his big green feathers and scattering pellets onto the rug beneath him.
Hunter was a hunk all right, Molly thought, and felt a heated flush settle in her cheeks.
“So he’ll do this for you, right?” Robin asked.
The hope in her voice tugged at Molly’s heart and she wished she could give her half sister the answer she desperately needed.
“I can’t say for sure. We didn’t actually part on the best of terms.” She held no illusions. Hunter would not be happy to hear from her at all.
Molly glanced down, recalling the hurt and devastation in his eyes when she’d rejected him. Her stomach twisted with regret but she couldn’t change the facts. Hunter had grown up in foster care. The little boy who was convinced nobody could love him had grown into a man who believed the same. And Molly had done nothing but prove him right. He’d put his heart in her hands and she’d squashed it.
“You were more than friends with Daniel Hunter, weren’t you?” Edna asked with all the gentle wisdom provided by her years.
Molly glanced up and met her grandmother’s warm gaze, wishing not for the first time that she’d had this kind of compassion and caring during the difficult years she’d spent growing up alone.
“Hunter and I, we were complicated.” But Hunter was nothing if not passionate about his work. She was counting on that passion to help persuade him. “If I can convince him to take the case, he’ll make sure justice is done regardless of his personal feelings. It just depends on whether he’s gotten over things enough to help me.”
“Oh great. It’s not enough that you turned our world upside down by showing up here but now Dad’s life depends on you and some guy you screwed?” Jessie reentered the room as dramatically as she’d left it.
The commander smacked her cane against the floor in response to her rude words.
The young girl flinched but didn’t miss a beat. “Screwed over. Dad’s life depends on some guy she screwed over,” she quickly added.
Robin groaned.
“Hey, it’s what I meant to say but as usual nobody gave me a chance to finish.”
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