Chapter 231

“I’ll tell you what happened,” Mr. Gray said. “But you mustn’t say anything to Amy yet.”

“I won’t,” I promised.

I heard Mr. Gray groan. I could tell his memories were painful. But he began telling his story.

“During the first years of our marriage, my wife worked for a family of wealthy Alphas. There was a widowed Luna, her son and daughter-in-law, a grandson, and two granddaughters who lived in the family’s ancestral mansion.”

“Who were they?” I asked.

“The Archers,” he replied.

“I wonder if I’ve met them,” I said.

“Probably, all you Alphas seem to know each other,” he replied.

“Anyhow,” he continued. “My Brenna was a maid there for over three years when she went to work early one morning and found a newborn baby girl in a canvas tote bag on the backdoor stoop.”

“Somebody left a baby in a tote bag?” I repeated. “How could someone do that?”

“There was a note addressed to the grandson, Andrew Archer III, pinned to the baby’s blanket,” Mr. Gray said. “Young Andrew, or Andy, had a reputation for being a ladies’ man, and the baby was his with one of his conquests.”

“Did your wife take the baby home?” It was hard to believe Amy was that poor baby left at the door in a tote bag.

“Not right away. Brenna rescued the baby from the bag and took her into the house. You see, we wanted a baby of our own, but it never happened. So Brenna couldn’t believe a mother could abandon her child like that.”

“I can’t either,” I agreed. “What did the Archers do when they learned about the baby?”

“When Brenna took the baby to the Archers at their breakfast table, it caused such an uproar that the baby began screaming. Well, Brenna turned around and walked out of the room with the baby still in her arms.”

“I don’t blame her,” I said.

“The old Luna, Martha was her name, and young Andrew followed her. Brenna said Martha instantly began lecturing Andy about shaming the family while he took the baby in his arms and tried to read the note.”

“Brenna said Andy wasn’t surprised about the baby, and he seemed to care about it. That surprised her because Andy was spoiled like other handsome young Alphas. But he cared about the baby, and he refused to give her up.”

“But he must have, or you wouldn’t have Amy,” I said.

“It took three days for Martha and his parents to wear Andy down. They kept telling him it would be better for the child to be raised by two parents, and they reminded him he was still in college.”

“That would be rough,” I said. “Why wouldn’t they help him? They could have hired a nurse.”

“They refused and threatened to disinherit Andy if he did. Brenna helped with the baby while she was at work, but poor Andy was on his own the rest of the time. In three days, he gave up. That’s when Martha made a deal with my wife.”

“If Brenna and I would claim the baby as our own and raise her, Martha agreed to pay us more money than I had ever seen.” Mr. Gray’s voice shook with emotion. “We used the money to start our restaurant.”

“But you and your wife always loved Amy like your own daughter,” I pointed out. “And you’ve been great parents.”

“Amy is my own daughter,” he said. “Brenna and I loved her at first sight.”

“Did you ever find out who Amy’s biological mother was?” I asked.

“No,” he replied. “Brenna overheard the Archers talking about an ‘unsuitable girl of dubious parentage’ that Andy was seeing about a year before the baby appeared on their doorstep.”

“That had to mean the girl wasn’t an Alpha.” I had heard that phrase before.

“That’s what we always thought,” he agreed. “We should have told Amy the truth long ago, but you know how she’s always felt about Alphas, and we didn’t want to upset her.”

“Whether I throw her a party or not, Amy needs to know before her birthday,” I insisted.

“I agree,” he sighed. “Will you be there to help her through the shock? You’ve been in similar circumstances.”

“Of course,” I said. “Amy agreed to go to our school’s last football game with me. I’ll return to your restaurant with her. You can tell her then.”

“Thank you, Daisy,” he said.

We disconnected, and I sat staring out at the ocean, lost in thoughts of my best friend. I wasn’t sure how she would take the news.

“Daisy, are you ready for a boat ride?” Victor said as he walked onto the deck. “It’s all arranged. A yacht is picking us up at the end of the jetty in a half hour.”

“I’ll get dressed, and we can walk down there in a few minutes.” My mind was on Amy, but I didn’t want to ruin my vacation with Victor

I dressed in shorts and a t-shirt over a bikini before Victor and I walked to the jetty where the impressive yacht waited. The captain immediately started the engines and drove us away from the beach.

“The boat has three bedrooms and two bathrooms below decks,” the captain told us. “The bathing pool is on the aft deck, and the galley is fully stocked. Make yourselves at home.”

“Where are we going?” I asked. The beach was already fading behind us.

“I thought I’d take you folks out to circle around Brach's Island. Then we’ll cruise by the reef before I take you back to Hallston Beach before dusk.”

“Sounds good,” Victor said. He took my hand, and we left the bridge.

We stopped in the galley and grabbed cold drinks and snacks before going to the aft deck to check out the bathing pool.

I was delighted to find a small pool, about three feet deep, that took up half of the deck.

“I’m glad I wore a swimsuit under my clothes,” I said and pulled off my t-shirt and shorts. “Come on, let’s watch the waves while we soak in the pool.”

Victor chuckled and pulled off his shirt. Suddenly, I wanted to watch something other than the water. My fiancé is a remarkably hot male.

We climbed into the pool, and I sat backwards on his lap.

“This is nice,” I purred as I ran my hands over his broad chest. “You should give Findlay a raise for finding this boat.”

“I’ll tell him it was your idea,” Victor chuckled. “How was your call to Mr. Gray? Are you having a party for Amy?”

“I’m not sure,” I said.

Victor pulled me closer. “Tell me about it.”

I kissed his lips and told him everything Mr. Gray told me.

He was stunned. “I know Andy Archer. He’s a good guy, but his father and grandmother treat him badly.”

“Tell me more about him?” I asked.

“He’s a few years younger than your father, and he never married,” Victor said. “He’s a manager at Archer Industries, but he does most of the work to keep the business afloat.”

“His family sounds like awful people,” I said while kissing his neck.

“I don’t know them well enough to judge.” Victor ran a hand over my back, making my spine tingle.

I put my arms around his neck and pressed my lips to his. My tongue slipped into his mouth and lazily dueled with his.

“Victor!” I protested when he untied my bikini top. “What if the captain sees us?”

“He’s busy steering the boat,” Victor replied and bent his head to let his mouth meet my breasts.

I dug my fingers into his shoulders as his lips and tongue worked their magic on me.

“How can we make love here in the open?” I panted.

“Trust me,” Victor said. He pushed aside my bikini bottom and pulled his trunks down. Then he placed me back on his lap.

“I’m nervous,” I said. “What if someone sees us?”

Victor's mouth claimed my breasts again. “Don’t worry. The captain is busy, and no other boats are near us.”

My objections faded away when he guided his penis to my womanhood and thrust upward.

“Ooh,” I moaned. Making love in this position felt fantastic. My instincts took over, and I began to raise and lower my body to match his upward thrusts.

Soon, we were both spent and clinging to each other.

“That was amazing, my love,” Victor said.

“Yes, it was,” I agreed. But then I began to look around. “What’s that smell?” I asked.

“It’s smoke.” Victor got out of the pool. “Daisy, get dressed. The boat is on fire! The cabin is filled with smoke.”

I managed to get dressed a split second before the captain ran to us. “Hurry! We need to launch the inflatable dinghy. The boat’s going to explode any minute!”