I pause, trying to take it all in.
"The reason I'm here today is that her own parents perished in a helicopter crash last week. They had been raising her. Posey's birth certificate was found. It listed you as the father.”
I'm too stunned to respond. "Without question, I'm the father?"
Radha pauses. She looks at me a long moment. "All we know is what the birth certificate says.”
"Anyone can name a man as the father," I say.
I can't quite read the expression on Radha's face, but she doesn't seem to be proud of the way I'm taking this news.
"Look, if I'm really her father, I'll step up to the situation."
"Glad you feel that way. Because that's exactly what you must do.Posey is alone at her grandparents' house in Nantucket with only her nanny and staff."
"You're suggesting we pick her up and take her back to New York?" I look around my pristine living room. No place for a four-year-old. "To this place?"
"Of course, Cameron. You're her father. She has no one else. I bought airline tickets. We just need to take a cab to the airport.”
"What happens if I don't claim her?"
Radha gives me another one of her looks. This one, darker than the first.
"Likely she'd go into foster care. Or a guardian will be appointed for her until she's of age.”
"The child's uncle doesn't want her?"
Radha’s silent for a moment. “I’m sure he does. But his parents disowned him years ago and cut him out of their will. From my elementary research, he has no claim on the estate or Posey. But we’ll find out more when we get to Nantucket.”
“I don’t understand …”
“Alice came from a wealthy family. Millions of dollars, Cameron. Properties, investments, trust funds.This isn't about a penniless orphan. There's serious money involved."
I run my hands through my hair, still damp from the shower.
"Cameron, I know it's early morning for you. But the first step is to get on that plane to Nantucket. I'll wait here while you get ready. We'll leave when you're dressed.”
A million thoughts fly through me at once. Airport. Nantucket. What to do with Edison when I’m gone. But then again, when I'm on tour, the staff always walks and feeds him.
Even though Nantucket is a short flight away and I could be back this afternoon, I’ll need Edison with me for emotional support.
"All right," I say, heading into my bedroom to change. "We'll leave as soon as Edison gets back from his walk."
CHAPTER 6
TARA
The café section of Nantucket's most historic hotel buzzes with the kind of energy that only comes from old money and newer egos. I balance three plates of forty-dollar eggs Benedict along my arm, weaving between tables of summer residents dressed in bright pastels.
Everything at the Patriot Hotel, from the scent of old wood to the sea breeze drifting in, screams authentic Nantucket tradition.
"Order up for table six!" Sam calls from the kitchen window.
I've been here exactly one week. Seven days of learning that rich people love their routines almost as much as they love local gossip. The vintage black uniform with a white apron makes me look like I stepped out of a 1920s postcard, which is probably the point.
Hostess Tiffany snaps her manicured fingers. "Tara! The Swain-Blacks just walked in. Take their table," she adds, gesturing to their location.
The mother has a natural grace that comes from generations of good breeding. Her husband looks perfectly at ease in his navy blazer. Two six-year-old twin girls sit on either side of an attractive, well-groomed girl around my age.A nanny?
