Reunited By A Secret Child

“On what?”

“On how many questions people ask. I’m hoping everyone just leaves me alone.”

“Oh,” she said, feeling a bit hurt and offended at the same time. “Well, I suppose your old friends will want to talk to you, to find out where you’ve been and what you’ve been up to.”

“My friends are all gone now,” he said.

She thought he was teasing, but the look on his face told her he was serious. He’d gone pale and a flash of pain filled his eyes. She couldn’t think of one old friend of Reese’s who hadn’t been wilder than a March hare. Most of them had left town, which could be a blessing. She hated the thought of him falling back in with a rough crowd. But right now, she thought he was probably talking about his hotshot crew.

“Losing both of your parents and now your team members must have been difficult for you. I’m sorry for your loss,” she said.

He didn’t respond, and she adjusted the flow of the vent and took a gulping breath of fresh air. They entered town and she drove down Main Street. Reese sat up straighter, but he pulled a baseball cap out of his back pocket and tugged it low over his forehead as he looked out the window with interest. They passed the Rocklin Diner, the only restaurant in town. The two grocery stores still sat facing each other on either side of the street, and then the redbrick bank and post office.

Reese released a long sigh. “I see that nothing has changed.”

“Not much,” Katie agreed.

Except for maybe the two of them.

“We got a new swimming pool last summer, over by the high school,” Chrissy said.

“That’s right. It’s real nice. You’ll have to try it out sometime,” Katie said.

Reese nodded but didn’t comment.

“We don’t go to the pool in town. We’ve got our own pool at the motel. Mommy’s teaching me to swim,” Chrissy continued, her voice filled with delight.

“Is that right?” Reese asked in a conversational tone.

“Yep, and I’m getting good at it. I can float on my back all by myself and even duck my head under without getting water up my nose,” Chrissy said.

“That’s nice.” Reese flashed a brooding smile that used to turn Katie’s brains to mush. But no more. No, sirree. She was over this guy.

He glanced at Katie. “Who did you marry? Anyone I know?”

Here it was. She hadn’t expected to talk about such personal things so soon. She took a deep breath and let it out slowly. Before she could respond, Chrissy answered for her.

“Mommy’s not married.” The girl sat forward, her expression innocent.

He quirked one eyebrow at the child. “She’s not, huh?” He shifted his gaze over to Katie. “Are you divorced, then?”

A fist of emotion clogged her throat. Her face felt flushed with heat. And once again, that old crushing anger filled her. Anger because Reese had used her, then cast her aside. She’d meant so little to him. And yet it was not entirely fair to be upset at him for something he didn’t even know about. She was mostly angry at herself for getting herself into trouble. For ever trusting him.

“I’d rather not talk about it,” she said.

His eyebrows spiked.

“Mommy’s never been married,” Chrissy supplied.

Katie flinched. Maybe she shouldn’t have brought her daughter along on this visit. Maybe she should have met with Reese in private first. But she’d wanted to see how he acted around the child before telling him that he was Chrissy’s daddy.

“Sit back and put your seat belt back on, young lady.” She gave her daughter a stern look in the rearview mirror.

Chrissy pursed her lips but sat back obediently in her booster seat and reclicked the belt into place.

Reese hesitated, the corners of his eyes crinkling, so that Katie thought he might smile. But he didn’t.

“Sorry. I didn’t mean to pry,” he said.

Katie held her breath for several moments, forcing herself not to blurt it all out. He’d assumed because she had a child that she was married.

“I understand you’re staying tonight at the Cowboy Country Inn. Do you want me to take you straight there, or somewhere else?” Katie asked, glad to change the subject.

She’d come here with the single purpose of speaking the truth, but something held her back. After all, she wasn’t sure what to expect once Reese found out that Chrissy was his daughter. For all Katie knew, he might yell and scream and start throwing things. She didn’t want Chrissy subjected to anything unpleasant. It would be best if the little girl wasn’t present when she told Reese.

“Just take me to your inn. I figured it would be the best place for me to stay. Is Rigbee’s Motel still a dive?” he asked, a slight smile curving his handsome mouth. Was he teasing her?

“Oh, no, it’s a real nice place now. The bedbugs come at no extra charge,” Katie quipped.

His vivid green eyes were tinged by a bit of reckless laughter. “In that case, I’m glad I chose the Cowboy Country Inn.”

“Yes, my dad told me you’d made a reservation. Our rooms are always clean and comfortable,” Katie said.

“Does Rigbee’s have bedbugs?” Chrissy asked from the back seat.

Looking in the rearview mirror, Katie saw that her daughter’s expressive green eyes were round with disbelief. Eyes that looked so much like her father’s. Living in a motel, the little girl had heard all about bedbugs and cleanliness standards. It was their family business, after all.

“No, honey. We’re just joking,” Katie said.

“Because they’re our competition?” the girl asked.

“Yes, honey,” Katie said.

“Or maybe not,” Reese mumbled under his breath.

Katie chuckled as she turned the corner and headed toward home. “We’ve had a lot of reporters staying at our place.”

A flash of panic filled Reese’s eyes and his back stiffened.

“Don’t worry,” she said. “When you didn’t show up earlier this week, they all checked out this morning. I’m sure they’ve left town by now.”

She hoped. The pushy journalists and their cameramen had been a nuisance in their quiet town. Incessant questions about Reese and listening in on private conversations. She’d found one man hiding behind the ice machine. He’d given her the willies.

Reese relaxed as she pulled into the parking lot. Katie loved the old motel where she’d grown up and was now raising her own child. It wasn’t fancy, but it was clean and well maintained. And in that moment, Katie thought she was crazy to have gone to the airport to pick up Reese. Her life was boring and lonely, but at least she and her daughter were secure here.

What must she have been thinking? She’d kept her daughter’s paternity a secret for all these years, telling no one except her parents. Now that her mom was gone, only her dad knew the truth.

Two weeks ago, Katie had heard on the national news that Reese had lost his entire hotshot crew. And knowing that he’d almost died had changed something inside her.

Ever since she’d started kindergarten, Chrissy had been asking questions about her father. Why the other kids at school had a dad, but she didn’t. Why he never came to her dance recitals, or took her to the park. Katie had been surprised that her daughter missed her father’s presence in her life, even though Papa Charlie was always there. And that had made Katie realize it wasn’t fair for Chrissy to never meet her dad. To never know who he was. For good or bad, the girl had a right to know. So Katie had decided to tell Reese. But she had to proceed with caution. She had a lot to lose.

Within moments, they pulled into a parking spot. A long row of quaint, freshly painted doors sprawled out before them. A large, old-fashioned buckboard wagon sat near the main office, its side painted bright red, with the name of the motel written across it in tidy black letters. Antique milk cans filled with bright pink petunias stood like sentinels along the paved walkway leading to the front entrance. Charming and attractive. A homey place to stay.

“Here we are,” Katie said.

“It still looks the same. The milk cans are new,” Reese said.

“Yes, we put them in a couple of years ago.”

“I helped Mommy plant the flowers yesterday,” Chrissy chimed in.

“You did, huh? They look real nice.” Reese spoke in a kind tone and the child beamed happily.

Katie opened her door and hopped out, suddenly eager to get away from this man she could neither forgive nor forget. She needed time to think. Now that Reese and Chrissy had met, she had to plan how to tell him. She’d wait until Chrissy wasn’t around and find the right moment.

Turning, Katie reached into the back to help the little girl out of her booster seat. Reese popped his seat belt and stepped out, too, then lifted his duffel bag from the rear.

“Come to the office and Charlie will get you checked in,” Katie called.

Without waiting for his acknowledgment, she headed in that direction, forcing herself not to look back to see if he followed. He did. Like the pull of a magnet, she could feel him behind her, his gaze seeming to drill a hole through her spine.

She wasn’t sure she wanted him staying at the Cowboy Country Inn, but maybe it was for the best. Katie had to figure this out. But no matter what, she knew that telling him the truth would be the hardest thing she’d done yet. And once she did, nothing would ever be the same again.

Chapter Two

“Did you tell him?”

Katie dropped the mechanical pencil she’d been holding. It hit the computer keyboard and bounced onto the floor. Swiveling around, she picked it up, then sat back and stared at her father. Charlie Ashmore stood in the open doorway to the motel office, gripping his walking cane with one hand.

“Dad...” She spoke in an annoyed tone, hoping he’d take the hint and leave her alone. But he didn’t budge.

“I’d like to know. I don’t want to accidentally say something I shouldn’t while he’s staying here,” he said.

Katie chose to ignore his comments. “Did you get him situated in a room?”

“Yes. Milly took him some extra towels and a key to the pool. He walked down to Rocklin Diner to get something to eat.”

The restaurant was six blocks away. Maybe Katie should have offered Reese some lunch, but her mind was swirling with emotions. She told herself that she didn’t want him here. But deep in her heart, she was glad to see him again, grateful that he hadn’t died in the wildfire that had killed his crew. She refused to consider why she cared. Surely it was just because he was Chrissy’s father. Somehow, she knew it was something more. Something she couldn’t explain even after all these years.

“Maybe it’s not a good idea for him to stay here,” she said.

Charlie shrugged. “Why not? I know how difficult this situation is for you, but it was inevitable that he would come home for a visit someday. Besides, where else was he going to stay?”

He didn’t mention Rigbee’s Motel. He didn’t have to. It wasn’t a joke that they’d been accused of having bedbugs. Knowing her father was right didn’t make her feel any better.

“Where’s Chrissy?” Katie asked.

“In the living room watching TV.”

The living room. A large suite of rooms they’d converted for their own use. It included a soft sofa, two recliners, a bookshelf and a wide flat-screen TV. It wasn’t fancy, but it was clean and comfy, and they were happy, most of the time. With a few maids to clean the rooms, Charlie oversaw the front reception desk, while Katie did the books. They made a good team, running the Cowboy Country Inn together. But just now, Charlie’s mouth was stretched into a straight, solemn line that made his white mustache twitch.

“Did you tell him?” he asked again.

Katie’s gaze clashed with her father’s. “No, I didn’t.”

“Why not?” he persisted.

She looked away, an impatient sigh squeezing from her lungs. “I couldn’t tell him with Chrissy sitting there listening in.”

“You could have left her home with me,” he suggested.

She shook her head. “No, I wanted to see them together first. I want to proceed with caution. Telling him might be a mistake.”

“Why?”

“What if he causes trouble?”

Charlie shook his head. “I don’t think Reese is the type of man to do that. Not about his own child.”

She didn’t think so, either, but she wasn’t sure. After all, he was a fully grown man now, and she knew nothing about him. How he’d been living his life. If he was married or divorced. If he had other children somewhere. Nothing.

“He wasn’t a very nice person in high school,” she said.

“With his background, can you blame him?” Charlie asked.

“What do you mean?”

“Have you forgotten about his father?”

She crinkled her eyebrows. “No, I remember.”

Everyone had known Hank Hartnett. Passed out in the middle of the sidewalk. Causing a brawl in the bank when his account was overdrawn. The bruises on his wife’s face. And sometimes on Reese’s face, too. The man was a constant source of gossip. The town drunk.

“But that doesn’t excuse Reese’s actions. We don’t know him anymore. What if he takes me to court? He might try to take Chrissy away and then what would I do?” Katie met her father’s gaze, trying to keep the fear she was feeling from showing in her eyes.

Charlie’s stiff demeanor softened as he limped over to the desk and squeezed her arm. “Ah, honey. You’re worrying too much about this. I don’t think Reese would do something like that. Right now, I think he’s hurting. He just needs a place to lie low, where he can receive some kindness and understanding.”

Katie brushed a hand across her forehead, trying to keep her composure. She didn’t like this situation. Not one bit.

Charlie sat on a corner of the desk, one gnarled hand resting in his lap. “I looked into his eyes. He’s still got a lot of kindness there. Did I ever tell you about the time I saw some of his friends picking on a stray dog?”

“No,” she said.

“The poor animal looked scrawny and half-starved. Reese was only about ten years old at the time. His friends were throwing rocks and hitting the dog with a stick. Reese got so angry at them. He defended the dog. In fact, he took the animal home with him. Next thing I knew, his mom was down in town buying dog food. And you know what he named that mangy old mutt?”

She shook her ahead.

“Duke. He treated that dog like royalty. I saw them together a few months later and couldn’t believe the transition. Duke had filled out and looked happy and healthy. He followed that boy everywhere, completely devoted to him.”

Katie didn’t really care about a stray dog right now. “And your point is?”

“My point is that there’s goodness inside of Reese. I’ve seen it. His mom attended church every Sunday, fighting to keep her family together. She had to be a remarkable lady to stay with that no-good husband of hers. But I have no doubt her teachings rubbed off on Reese, whether he liked it or not. It’s still there inside of him. He just has to let it come out.”

Katie snorted. “I doubt that’s going to happen.”

“Why don’t we give him the benefit of the doubt?” Charlie suggested.

She pursed her lips and turned back to her work, trying to focus on the computer monitor. The electronic spreadsheet swam before her eyes, the numbers a blurry haze. She’d been working on the ledgers for over an hour and had accomplished nothing. Finally. Finally, she could tell Reese exactly what she thought of him. And yet words failed her somehow.

She glanced at her father, feeling annoyed. “This isn’t a simple matter, Dad.”

“Ah, honey. You take things way too seriously. Can’t you forgive him? After all, he doesn’t even know he has a child,” Charlie said.

True. And that left Katie feeling a tad guilty.

“Maybe if he hadn’t left town so fast, I could have told him I was pregnant,” she said.

“You could have tracked him down,” Charlie pointed out.

She jerked her head up. “How? Even his mom didn’t know where he’d gone. I asked. She was brokenhearted. It was horrible for him to leave the way he did. No forwarding address. No way to find him.”

Charlie folded his arms and gazed at her quietly. “Are we talking about how he left his parents, or how he left you?”

She blinked, wanting to cry. Wanting to scream and kick and yell. It had hurt her so deeply when she’d found out Reese was gone. It was obvious that their one time together had meant a lot more to her than it had to him. Of course, he’d been drinking heavily that night. Maybe he didn’t even remember what had happened between them. But she did. She could never forget.

Charlie quirked one bushy eyebrow. “I know you’ll tell him when the time is right.”

Maybe. Maybe not.

She tried to forget the past, but it wasn’t easy. Overnight, her full-ride scholarship had been flushed down the tubes. It wouldn’t pay for diapers and childcare. And giving her baby up for adoption wasn’t an option for her. So she’d stayed here in Minoa to raise her child. Without a husband. Living in a town where she’d become a pariah. No one wanted to date her. No one knew who Chrissy’s father was. For years, Katie had kept the gossip mill busy. And now Reese had walked back into her life.

A crash came from outside in the parking lot, as though someone had tipped over a large garbage can. Both Katie and Charlie whirled around. Someone yelled and then a low roar of voices permeated the small office.

“What on earth is that?” Charlie said.

Chrissy came running into the room, her eyes wide with fear, her little chin quivering. “Mommy! There’s a strange man looking in my window.”

At that precise moment, a man’s face appeared at the window in the office. Cupping his hands around his eyes to shut out the sunlight, he peered inside.

“Hey! There’s someone in here,” he yelled.

A large black camera lifted toward them, its red light blinking. And in an instant, Katie understood. Somehow, the media had found out that Reese was staying here.

“That does it,” Charlie said. “Call 9-1-1 and tell the police we’re being swarmed by reporters.”

“Reporters?” Chrissy said.

“Yeah, I figured it was just a matter of time before this happened, but I thought Reese would be safe for a day or two. Call the police.” Charlie limped toward the door, his jaw hard.

Turning toward the desk, Katie reached for the phone. As she dialed the numbers, she couldn’t help wondering where Reese was and what might happen next.

* * *

Reese heard the cacophony before he saw the myriad of people milling around the parking lot at the Cowboy Country Inn. He’d been hungry, so he’d walked the short distance to the Rocklin Diner and gotten a sandwich. Wearing a baseball cap pulled low across his face, he’d escaped recognition. No questions to answer. No big deal. Now he was beat. He hadn’t been sleeping well and longed to lie down and close his eyes for a million years.

“There he is!” someone yelled.

Reese lifted his head and paused. A small crowd of people stood in the parking lot of the motel. With a glance, he took in two camera crews and reporters running straight toward him. A news van with Channel 6 written on the side was parked directly in front of his room. A woman gripping a microphone in one hand pounded on his door. How had they found out which room he was staying in? Surely Katie or Charlie wouldn’t tell them.

For two brief moments, Reese thought about making a run for it. His hesitation cost him dearly. The swarm came at him like a trampling herd. He found himself surrounded, the reporters thrusting their mics into his face. The flash of cameras caused him to blink.

“Mr. Hartnett, can you tell us about the last few minutes before your hotshot crew died?” one of them asked, holding a recorder in front of his nose.

“How did it happen, Reese? How did it make you feel?” another one said.

They packed closer, vying for his attention. Reese felt the blood drain from his face. He tensed, his body cold and shaking. His stomach churned. This was exactly what he’d tried to avoid: a media frenzy. He wasn’t about to discuss his personal feelings with anyone. In fact, he’d rather forget the incident ever happened.

“Break it up. You’re on private property. I want you all to leave.” Gripping his wooden cane, Charlie Ashmore pushed his way into the group, a deep scowl pulling at his eyebrows.

The reporters ignored Charlie, jostling him so that he stumbled. Reese snatched the man’s arm to steady him. “Are you okay?”

Charlie met his gaze and nodded.

“What was it like, watching your crew die like that?” someone asked.

Reese shuddered as memories sliced over him like slivers of ice. His ears rang with the screams of dying men.

“You have no right to ask him such personal things. You need to leave right now.” Katie came out of the motel, brandishing a broom like a warrior. Chrissy stood close beside her mother, her eyes wide.

Katie took a sweep at two of the reporters’ legs and they jumped back. Anger flared across her face, her long auburn hair whipping about her shoulders like a flame. She was absolutely gorgeous in her fury.

“You get out of here, all of you,” she ordered.

“We don’t mean any harm. We’re just after a story,” one of the journalists said.

“I don’t care what you’re after. You need to leave. I’ve just called the police,” she said, throttling the broomstick with her hands.

Confusion fogged Reese’s brain. Katie was defending him? He couldn’t believe it. They’d been friends in high school. Sort of. Not really. But that was a long time ago. And he admitted silently that he’d never treated Katie very well. He’d been pretty drunk the night of their graduation when he’d used her abominably. He barely remembered the details, but he still knew what he’d done. So why was she standing up for him now?

“Look, I don’t want any trouble. I have nothing to say. There’s no story here, so you might as well leave.” Reese spoke above the dull roar.

He held up his hands, as if to ward them off. Like a wolf scenting blood, they moved in closer.

“You heard him, folks. You need to pack it up and go home,” Charlie boomed. Lifting his cane, he used it to push his way through the throng.

Reese made a break for it but found his path blocked by a short, stocky man holding a digital recorder. “What does it feel like to be the only one who survived?”

Bruce Miller. Reese recognized the award-winning reporter immediately. He was with the National News Registry. Headstrong, assertive and unwilling to take no for an answer. Bruce had been dogging Reese for two weeks. When he wasn’t carrying on an interview, he held a plump, stinky cigar clenched between his teeth. The guy was relentless.

In the jostling crowd, Charlie bumped against Bruce. “I asked you to leave.”

“You don’t have to be so pushy about it.” Bruce glared his disapproval.

A shrill siren sounded, growing louder as a squad car pulled into the parking lot. Tilting his head to one side, Reese breathed an audible sigh of relief. With the police here, Katie leaned her broom against the outer wall and stood with Chrissy beside the office door. Her cheeks were a pretty shade of pink, her eyes crinkled with concern. For him. No, surely he imagined that. She was just worried about all the people standing in the parking lot of her motel. It was bad for business, after all.

Reese gravitated toward her, grateful to see a familiar face. Right now, he felt adrift in a stormy sea of doubt, with multiple leaks in his life raft. She was like a lifeline, reeling him in. For the first time in a long time, he needed someone else’s help, and that left him feeling strangely humbled.

“What’s going on here?” Martin Sanders, the chief of police, got out of his squad car and strode toward the mob.

Reese hesitated. As a teenager, he’d had plenty of altercations with this officer. So had his father. Reese couldn’t remember the number of times his dad had been locked in a cell overnight for being drunk and disorderly or writing a bad check. Either Reese or his mom had always bailed him out. Most of the money Reese made working summer jobs had been taken by his dad to buy booze. Instead of buying new school clothes, Reese’s mom had let out the hems in his old pants and mended his threadbare socks and shirts. Being poor because of his father’s penchant for drink had taken its toll on Reese’s morale. He hated being the child of a drunkard.