Page 44 of Just What She Needed

The office in which they sat wasn't that of a school administrator, but an attorney. They had been summoned there by a letter that arrived two days after Rhys left to go back to Canada, a letter that shattered Rhett's blissed out state of mind and threw her straight into turmoil. The letter was from J. Rutherford Wallace III of the firm of Kellerman, Wallace and Turman in Fort Worth, and asked to meet with the Vandergriff sisters to settle their father's estate.

Mel took it in stride, but Rhett switched into panic mode. Her mind conjured up scenarios of owing large sums of money to the IRS or being stuck with mountains of debt run up by the man who abandoned his children. Myles Vandergriff cut his daughters from his life when they were little, so why should they be responsible for things now that he was dead?

"Ladies?" The cool, professional voice of a secretary cut through the roar of dread in Rhett's head and brought Mel's jiggling foot to a stop. "Mr. Wallace will see you now."

Based on the man's name —J. Rutherford Wallace the Third, for Pete's sake—Rhett expected an older man, maybe silver-haired and dignified, certainly pompous and full of himself. The man who met them at the door to his office, though, was a pleasant surprise. Yes, he was wearing a suit that screamed expensive and tailored, but the mop of unruly black curls and the friendly blue eyes negated the snobbery of his clothing. Tiny lines at the corners of his eyes and beside his full mouth made him appear to be around the same age as the Vandergriff sisters, but he exuded a boyish charm that made him seem younger. He held out his left hand, which Rhett noticed was not burdened by a wedding ring.

"Thank you so much for coming. I'm Ford Wallace."

Mel stepped forward and shook his hand. The thaw that took place in her manner was visible to the naked eye. Apparently, she noticed the lack of a wedding ring, too.

"Mel Vandergriff. Nice to meet you."

Oh, boy. This guy was in trouble whether he knew it or not. Rhett did everything in her power not to whoop with laughter as she shook the attorney's hand and murmured her name. He probably didn't hear it anyway since his gaze was still riveted on Mel. The minute Rhett released the man's hand, her sister took his arm and sauntered into the office.

"Thanks so much for contacting us." Mel's throaty purr could have made a roomful of rabid dogs lie down and coo. "We had no idea our father passed away."

"Um, yes. A couple of months ago." Ford took a deep breath and regained a little of his composure. "I'm truly sorry for your loss."

"No condolences are necessary." Mel's sidelong smile took the sting out of her words. "We lost him over thirty years ago, so this is just closure."

Feeling about as useless as a third arm, a third leg, or a third ball, Rhett sat in one of the tufted leather chairs that faced Ford's desk. Though it was fun to watch Mel work her magic, Rhett just wanted to find out how much of a financial hardship they'd been left in by their deadbeat dad and move on. The courtship ritual and its inevitable fuck-fest could wait. She decided to speak up before things got more off-track.

"Since he did abandon us so long ago, I'm wondering why he bothered to include us in his final affairs at all. Did he leave us in a huge mess or something?"

"Oh, no, Mrs. Davis. Not at all." Rhett's voice seemed to recall the attorney to the purpose of their visit, and he escorted Mel to the chair matching one in which her sister sat. "Our firm has represented your father, and his parents before him, for a number of years. When Mr. Vandergriff's wife died last year—”

"He was married?" Shock obliterated the purr from Mel's voice. "Did he have children?"

"No, he and his wife were childless. When she passed away, he drafted a new will that left the two of you his sole beneficiaries." He leaned over his desk and flipped open a plain, innocuous-looking manila file folder, and extracted two sheets of paper. "He also left a letter for you. I'll step out and let you read it in privacy."

As he distributed a copy to each of them, Mel looked up through her lashes. "Thank you so much, Ford. You're being so kind."

"Oh, I...Why, you're welcome. I, uh, I'll just leave you alone for bit."

After he closed the door to the office behind him, Rhett turned an exasperated look on her sister. "Can you wait to seduce him until we've finished this estate crap?"

Unperturbed, Mel flipped her hair off her shoulder. "I'm not seducing him. I'm just laying the groundwork. Loosen up, Rhett. It's not illegal to mix business and pleasure."

"Fine. But can we delay the pleasure until we get this sorted out?" She waved her copy of the letter in Mel's direction.

"If you insist. Okay, let's see what ol' Myles had to say."

With a deep, fortifying breath, Rhett lowered her eyes to the letter in her hand.

Dear Melanie and Rhett,

You don't know how much I wish I could say these things to you face to face. You don't know how much I've wanted to talk to you both, to know you, for so long. But I was prevented by a clause your mother insisted be inserted in our divorce papers that forbade me to have any contact with either of you. It's my deepest regret that I agreed to that, and if I could go back and change things, I'd never have signed it.

Though I wasn't able to be part of your lives, I did keep up with you. Melanie, I was there when you graduated high school, and when you received your college degrees. My friends in the banking industry tell me what an asset you are to your profession, and I'm proud to tell them you're my daughter. Rhett, I also attended your high school graduation, even though you didn't get to. And later that night I stood at the window of the hospital nursery and watched my beautiful little granddaughter sleeping in her crib. What a wonderful mother you are, Rhett, because Lilith has become a wonderful young woman. How I wish I could have known her, too.

I just wanted you to know that even though I had to do it in silence and on the periphery, I was there watching you grow up, amazed that I was the father of the two most beautiful women God ever created. I wish I could have told you this one more time, but I love you both. I always have.

Love,

Dad

Rhett waved the paper in front of her face as if that would dry the tears that stung her eyes. "Do you think it's true what he said about Mom putting that in the divorce papers?"