Inner Harbor
Page 83

"'He just needs a chance, and a choice,' " Ethan read when Phillip passed the letters to him, then cleared his throat. " 'I couldn't give one to Gloria, if she's mine, and she won't take it now. But I'll see that Seth has both. Whether he's mine by blood or not, he's mine nonetheless now.' It sounds like him. Seth should read this."
"Why did she agree to this now, Sybill?" Phillip asked her.
"I convinced her that it was best for all concerned."
"No." He caught her chin in his hand, lifted her face to his. "There's more. I know there is."
"I promised her that her name, and the details, would be kept as private as possible." She made a restless little movement, then let out a breath. "And I threatened to write a book telling the entire story if she didn't do this."
"You blackmailed her," Phillip said with stunned admiration.
"I gave her a choice. She chose this one."
"It was hard for you."
"It was necessary."
Now he put both of his hands on her face, gently. "It was hard, and brave, and brilliant."
"Logical," she began, then shut her eyes. "And yes, hard. She and my father are very angry. They may not forgive me. They're capable of not forgiving."
"They don't deserve you."
"The point is Seth deserves you, so…" She trailed off as he closed his mouth over hers.
"Okay, move aside." Cam elbowed Phillip away and took Sybill by the shoulders. "You did good," he said, then kissed her with a firmness that made her blink.
"Oh," was all she managed.
"Your turn," Cam stated, then gave her a gentle nudge toward Ethan.
"My parents would have been proud of you." He kissed her in turn, then patted her shoulders when her eyes filled.
"Oh, no, don't let her do that." Instantly, Cam took her arm and pulled her back to Phillip. "No crying in here, no crying allowed in the boatyard."
"Cam gets jittery when women cry."
"I'm not crying."
"They always say that," Cam muttered, "but they never mean it. Outside. Anybody who cries has to do it outside. It's a new rule."
Chuckling, Phillip pulled Sybill toward the door. "Come on. I want a minute alone with you anyway."
"I'm not crying. I just never expected your brothers to… it's not usual for me to be--" She stopped herself. "It's very nice to be shown you're appreciated and liked."
"I appreciate you." He drew her close. "I like you."
"And it's very nice." She indulged in the luxury of both. "I've already spoken with your attorney and with Anna. I didn't want to fax the papers from the hotel as I did give my word the contents would be kept private. But both of them agree that this last document should move everything along. Anna believes that your petition for permanent guardianship will go through as early as next week."
"That soon?"
"There's nothing in the way of it. You and your brothers are Professor Quinn's legal sons. Seth is his grandchild. His mother agreed, in writing, to transfer custody. Reneging on that might stall the decree, but no one believes at this point that it would change it. Seth is eleven, and at his age his desires would be taken into account. Anna's going to push for a hearing early next week."
"It seems strange, it all coming together like this. All at once."
"Yes." She looked up as a flock of geese swept overhead. Seasons change, she thought. "I thought I would walk down to the school. I'd like to talk to him, tell him some of this myself."
"I think that's a good idea. You timed it well."
"I'm good at schedules."
"How about scheduling a family meal tonight at the Quinns, to celebrate?"
"Yes, all right. I'll walk him back here."
"Great. Hold on a minute." He went back inside, returning moments later with a very energetic Foolish on a red leash. "He could use a walk, too."
"Oh, well, I…"
"He knows the way. All you have to do is hold on to this end." Amused, Phillip stuck the leash in her hand, then watched her eyes go wide as Foolish made his dash. "Tell him to heel," Phillip shouted as Sybill trotted after the dog. "He won't, but it'll sound like you know what you're doing."
"This is not funny." She muttered it as she jogged awkwardly after Foolish. "Slow down. Heel! God."
He not only slowed, but stopped, burying his nose in a hedge with such determination she was terrified he would race through it and take her with him. But he only lifted his leg and looked immensely pleased with himself.
By her count, he lifted his leg eight times before they turned the corner down from the school and she caught sight of the buses. "What kind of a bladder do you have?" she demanded, looking hopefully for Seth while she struggled to cling to the leash and prevent Foolish from rocketing toward the crowd of children pouring out of the building. "No. Sit. Stay. You might bite someone."
Foolish slanted her a look that seemed to say, Please, get serious. But he sat, smacking her heels rhythmically with his tail. "He'll be along in a minute," she began, then let out a yelp as Foolish leaped up and raced forward. He'd spotted Seth first and was running on love.
"No, no, no, no," Sybill panted uselessly just as Seth caught sight of them. He let out a yelp himself, of pure joy, and dashed toward the dog as if they'd been cruelly separated for years.
"Hey! Hi!" Seth laughed as Foolish made one adoring leap and bathed his face. "How's it going, boy? Good dog. You're a good dog." Belatedly, he looked over at Sybill. "Hey."
"Hey, yourself. Here." She shoved the leash into his hand. "Not that he pays any attention to it."
"We've kind of had trouble with leash training."
"No kidding." But she managed a smile now to include Seth and Danny and Will when they hurried up behind him. "I thought I'd walk back to the boatyard with you. I wanted to talk to you."
"Sure, that's cool."
She stepped determinedly out of Foolish's path, then quickly back again as a bright-red sports car screamed up to the curb and stopped with a wild squeal of brakes. Before she could snarl at the driver that he was in a school zone, she saw Gloria in the passenger seat.