They’d lost touch soon after she returned home. It hadn’t been a great love, but it had been an intense connection, and Tess had hoped it wouldn’t die out so fast. She figured he’d been turned off by her father’s interference and couldn’t really blame him. It wasn’t until years later, after she got engaged to Brady, that she’d found out the truth. Glad that she’d found someone suitable to marry, her father told her how he’d threatened Paolo to make him stay away from her. Paolo had been indignant, but Charles II had won. Their relationship had healed and gotten past the whole debacle, but she’d never fully forgiven her father for it.
There had been other incidents over the years, big and small. There had been the way he treated her brothers as well, Pierce in particular. He claimed everything he did was for the good of the family, out of love. But the years of limitless power had warped his mind. She remembered him being a loving father when she was very small . . . but that had been before her parents’ marriage had blown sky-high. Now, the bottom line was: Charles Harrison II was controlling, egomaniacal, and ruthless. His children, though grown, were like trophies as much as people. The heart attack had softened him some. She’d seen that. But not enough. A seventy-year-old leopard couldn’t change his spots.
Now she wondered what he’d do if he found out her current plans and didn’t like them. Would he somehow shut down the clinic? Put Dr. Fuller’s career in jeopardy? Find Logan and threaten him within an inch of his life? She took a long sip of water. Yeah, she had damn good reason to keep her dreams and plans to herself.
She knew her brothers would never tell their father her plans if she asked them not to. They were loyal to her above him, without question. But . . . what if they didn’t approve either? They all had their own wives now, their own families. If they started with the maybe you just haven’t found the right person yet, give it more time crap, she’d pull her hair out. Maybe she wasn’t giving them enough credit. But she just didn’t want to argue or defend her position to anyone. She’d made this decision on her own, and was handling it on her own. It was how it had to be.
Because she knew what her brothers already knew, though none of them had said it aloud. The Harrison money and power was as much of a curse as it was a blessing. All the money in the world couldn’t buy happiness, or the love of your family. Their own parents were both walking proof of that. Biggest cautionary tale ever.
The four siblings always stuck together, understanding one another in a way outsiders simply couldn’t. And all four of them had fought through the murky parts to blaze their own paths to happiness—finding love, creating family. Her three brothers had somehow found their happy endings. It was her turn, dammit.
Logan had signed the initial papers waiving paternity rights. There’d be more to sign once she was actually pregnant, but he’d been completely agreeable every step of the way. And, if all went well, he was even willing to freeze a few samples so later on, a year or two down the road, she could give her child a sibling or two.
She’d given up on finding romantic love, but she could create a family and have that joy, that bond, on her own. That was all she wanted now. And she wasn’t ready to share that with her brothers, or her father, or anyone. For now, anyway.
Aspen had been a welcome retreat so far. Everything about it, from its quiet natural beauty, to spending time with Logan, to painting and reading and just . . . being on her own. The exhilaration and thrill of leading her own life away from the watchful eyes of her family was astonishing. The freedom . . . she’d never known how much she needed to break away from the Harrison clan until she’d done it. Being a dutiful daughter, a constant source of support as a sister, the face and responsibility behind the Harrison Foundation . . . being away from it all was revitalizing. A powerful renewal.
Movement outside caught her eye and she focused on it. A large, dark bird soared above the trees, cutting through the bright blue sky. A hawk? She narrowed her eyes and watched . . . No, it was an eagle. A bald eagle. Her breath caught as she watched the magnificent bird sail on the wind. Free to soar. She smiled as she watched him fly.