Libby didn’t want to make things worse for him, but even he should know that a resemblance wouldn’t stand up in court. “That’s definitely a good sign, but—”

“I intend to have a paternity test done, if that’s what you’re going to say.”

She studied him. “You really didn’t have a clue?”

“Absolutely none.”

By the set of his mouth, she knew she shouldn’t push it. Maybe he hadn’t known, but whether he had or not wasn’t the question. “I guess I should congratulate you,” she finally said, not knowing what else she could do. “It isn’t every day a man learns he’s the father of a four-year-old. And just so you know, you were lucky to miss the diaper and potty training years.”

He gripped the coffee cup tightly in his hands and stared into it. “That doesn’t convince me that this is going to be easy.”

She smiled. “It isn’t.”

He looked up with a pitiful smile of his own. “Which is why women have babies, not men.”

“You just keep thinking that,” she replied, swallowing a chuckle.

Their conversation came to a halt when Tootie returned with the little girl. “She’s hungry,” Tootie announced.

Libby looked at Garrett. “Is that the other half of your sandwich?” she asked, pointing to the sack on his desk. “You could give it to Sophie.”

“I don’t know why not. I seem to have misplaced my appetite.”

Tootie took the sack from Libby and bent down to Sophie. “The break room would be a much better place to have lunch than here in this busy office. Let’s take it in there, and I’ll get you another glass of milk. How would that be?”

The child nodded, but didn’t speak, and as Sophie followed Tootie out the door, Libby wondered why. But before giving any more thought to it, she realized how long she’d been there and that she still had the letter Garrett had given her in her hand. “I’d probably better be on my way,” she told him, giving the folded paper back to him. Turning for the door, she was almost in the hallway when she heard him speak.

“She hasn’t said anything. Not a single word.”

Libby looked back, but wasn’t sure how to answer. “She may be shy,” she tried, hoping that would ease the lines that had deepened between his gray eyes. “After all, everything here is new to her.”

He nodded, but the worry on his face remained. “Including me.”

She pressed her lips together, wondering if there was anything she could say that would cushion his shock at learning he was a father. But she didn’t feel she knew him well enough to give him advice. “You’ll both do fine,” she offered, hoping that would help at least a little.

He shook his head. “I don’t see how we can. I don’t know the first thing about raising a child.”

“Neither do most mothers with their first,” she pointed out. “But they learn.”

“No, women are endowed with maternal instincts.”

“Endowed?” she asked, laughing.

“You know what I mean. And I’m serious. I really don’t know what to do.”

“You’ll learn, Garrett, and before you know it, you’ll be a great father.” At least she hoped he would be. All he really needed was to get off to a good start. To do that he needed—”Why don’t you have your sister take a look at Sophie? Make sure she’s in good physical shape, and then go from there.”

His worry lines eased a little, and a hopeful smile appeared. “You’re right. I’ll take her to see Paige today. Thanks, Libby.”

“You would have thought of it yourself.” Before he could deny it, she hurried on. “I’d better be getting home. I’m working the night shift, too, and Noah will be home from school soon.”

He nodded. “Thanks again.”

“Any time.” But something kept her from taking that step away. Surely she could do something else for him. She wouldn’t have to get involved, just offer a little support.

“Garrett?”

When his gaze met hers, she saw that his usually bright eyes were clouded with worry. “If you need some help—you know, a question about food or clothes or whatever—let me know.”

His eyes cleared, and then his smile slowly appeared, spreading wide. “Yeah. Yeah, I’ll do that.”

Good grief! she thought as she hurried down the hallway toward the main door. Was she out of her mind? The less she was around Garrett Miles, the better. But, fool that she was, she’d just offered to help.

Chapter Two

Garrett had hoped the waiting room of the small medical clinic where his sister was the only physician would be empty. He should’ve known it wouldn’t be, but hope seemed to be the only thing he had left. He was worried. Sophie hadn’t spoken a word since Tootie had taken charge of her at the city building nearly four hours earlier. Even now, as she and Garrett stepped inside the waiting room of the clinic, she was silent, holding his hand with a grip a wrestler would admire while she clung to her teddy bear with her other hand.

Don Fulcom, the husband of one of the nurses, sat in a chair, thumbing through a magazine. He looked up as Garrett and Sophie crossed the room. Garrett nodded in greeting and guessed the man was probably there to pick up his wife.

“Hello, Garrett,” Cara Milton said from the other side of the receptionist’s window.

Garrett noticed she was trying hard not to stare at Sophie, and he tried just as hard to ignore her obvious curiosity. “Is my sister free?”

She turned to look into the hallway behind her before answering. “Not quite yet, I’m afraid, but she shouldn’t be too much longer.” She crooked a finger at him, and he leaned closer, hoping she wasn’t going to ask him about Sophie. Instead, she asked, “Would you like to wait in her office?”

He looked down at Sophie, so small and silent next to him, and he nodded.

Cara smiled as he crossed to the door that led from the waiting room into the hallway and on to his sister’s office. He knew full well that he and Sophie would soon be the talk of the town, especially when, before he was completely out of earshot, he heard a whisper.

“I wonder who that little girl is?” Cara was saying to Don Fulcom.

Garrett didn’t wait to hear the answer and doubted Don even had one. With a sigh and a shake of his head, he took Sophie into Paige’s office.

“Do you want to sit down?” He pointed to two chairs facing a worn desk that was stacked with medical files and journals.

Sophie hesitated, before climbing onto the chair closest to the wall.

Knowing that news spread fast in Desperation, Garrett wanted to be the one to tell his sister he was a father. Not that he had any idea of how to do it. She’d probably ask questions, and he knew so little, except that Sophie was the result of a relationship with a young woman he’d once thought he might be in love with. It had taken a few months for him to know the real Shana, and once it became clear that she wasn’t the kind of person he’d thought she was, he broke it off. A month and a half later, he moved to Cincinnati, where he lived with his sister until he was hired by the City of Desperation.

Nervous, he leaned a hip against the edge of the desk, crossed his arms, smiled at Sophie and waited. He’d learned quickly that trying to have a conversation with a four-year-old who didn’t speak—for whatever reason—was pretty much futile. Hopefully Paige could give him a clue as to what was going on, and then he would do whatever was needed to correct the problem. It was that simple.

Several silent minutes later, he heard Paige’s voice outside the small office. As the door opened, he pushed away from the desk and gave Sophie what he hoped was an encouraging smile.

“Cara told me you needed to see me?” Paige made it a question as she stepped into the room. For a brief moment, she looked only at Garrett, but when Sophie shifted in the chair, Paige looked down. “Well, hello there!” she greeted Sophie. “I didn’t see you.” Kneeling to Sophie’s level, Paige smiled and stuck out her hand. “My name is Paige. What’s yours?”

When Sophie didn’t answer, but placed her hand in Paige’s, Paige looked up at Garrett, who managed to swallow his nervousness enough to speak. “Her name is Sophie,” he answered.

The confusion in Paige’s eyes didn’t make him feel any calmer, nor did her next question for Sophie. “And who do you belong to?”

His nerves were like pins sticking him when Sophie slowly looked up at him. He had no choice but to answer.

After all, that’s why he was there to see his sister. “She belongs to me.”

Paige slowly turned her head to stare at him, her surprise bordering on disbelief.

“She’s my daughter.”

Paige’s mouth opened, as if she was going to say something, but instead, she closed it and turned back to smile at Sophie. “And how old are you, Sophie?” she asked.

To Garrett’s surprise, Sophie held up four fingers.

Standing, Paige turned to him and spoke softly. “I’ve always wanted a pretty little niece.” More quietly, she added, “Is there anything I can do to help?”

Relief washed over Garrett, and he leaned against the desk again. The activities of the afternoon had definitely tested him. At the moment, he wasn’t sure he was passing.

“Are you all right?” Paige asked.

He nodded and stood straight. “I’m good.” After glancing at Sophie, he turned back to his sister. “I’d feel better if I knew Sophie is okay.”

Paige smiled at his daughter. “We can do that.” When she opened the door to step outside, Fran Simpson, the other nurse, was in the hallway. “Which examining room can we use?” Paige asked her.

“They’re all free. The last of the patients are gone.”

“Good,” Paige replied. “I’ll lock up. You and Cara and Susan can go on home. I’ll see you in the morning.”

“Have a good evening,” Fran called, her voice coming from farther down the hall.

When Paige motioned for Garrett to follow her, he held out his hand to Sophie, who hesitated at first and then took it. Her tiny hand in his felt fragile as they followed Paige into the hallway, and his heart constricted at the thought of what Sophie’s life might have been like before she’d arrived at his office. He didn’t have a clue, and now that he thought about it, it scared him. If anything had happened … If anything was wrong with her …

“Right in here,” Paige said, stepping into the nearest examining room. She pointed to the padded table. “Put her up there, while I go grab a new chart.”

Sophie let go of his hand, and he lifted her onto the table. The paper runner crackled beneath her as she settled on it, and she looked up at him, her eyes wide.

“She’s my sister,” he said, moving back. “The doctor is,” he added. “Do you know what a sister is?”

Sophie shrugged her shoulders.

“So much for that,” he muttered.

Paige breezed back into the room, a manila folder in her hand. “They’ve all gone, so there won’t be any interruptions. Is there anything special I’m looking for?”

“Anything,” he answered. “Everything. I just want to know that she’s okay. Healthy.”

Placing the stethoscope at her ears, Paige glanced at him. “You have some explaining to do,” she said quietly, before putting the flat, round end of it on Sophie’s chest.

Fifteen minutes later, after what Garrett was sure was a thorough exam, Paige reached down into a basket on the floor and pulled out a children’s picture book. “Do you like to read, Sophie?” she asked. A nod was Sophie’s reply, and Paige handed her the book. “Your daddy and I are going to go out in the hall for a minute. If you need anything, all you have to do is jump down and open the door. We’ll be right on the other side of it. Okay?”

When Sophie had nodded and opened her book, Garrett followed his sister into the hall, still reeling at someone using the word daddy when referring to him. “Well?”

“She appears to be healthy. Her vitals are good. Heartbeat is strong, lungs are clear, no cold or anything else going on. Of course I can’t be completely sure without lab tests, but at this point in time, I don’t see a reason for them, unless you want them done.”

He shook his head. As soon as he could track down Shana, he’d know more. Lifting his gaze to his sister’s, he brought up the one thing that had been bothering him the most. “She hasn’t spoken.”

Paige shrugged. “My best guess is that it isn’t physical. Her hearing seems normal, as does everything else. She said ‘Ah’ when I asked her to, so it’s nothing with her vocal cords. It may be that she just isn’t ready to talk. Any clue why that would be?”

Knowing she was expecting an explanation, he told her what had happened, starting with the call from Tootie while he was having lunch. “If I’d known …”

“Apparently her mother didn’t want you to know. Her loss. She doesn’t sound very stable.”

“She isn’t.” But that’s all he would say. There wasn’t any reason to tell his sister about a relationship that had ended five years before. Not unless there was something wrong with Sophie, and apparently there wasn’t. Not physically, anyway.

Paige put her hand on his arm. “Is there anything else I can do to help?”

Garrett hoped what he was going to say next wouldn’t come out sounding wrong, but he didn’t have a choice. “I’d like to have a paternity test done.”

Paige nodded, her expression serious. “I can arrange that for you.”

“Good,” he answered. “I’d appreciate it. Just let me know when and where.”

“Do you have someone to watch her during the day?” she asked.

“That’s next on my list of things to do.”

“I’ll be happy to help when I can, but all I have free is evenings and weekends. That won’t help you during the day.”

“I’ll find someone.” At least he hoped he would. He didn’t know what types of day care were available in Desperation. He’d never needed to know.

“One more thing,” Paige said. “As soon as you can, have Jules talk to her. This whole thing sounds terribly traumatic. I’m not all that surprised that she isn’t talking.”

“I will.”

She gave him a quick hug. “You may not think so, but everything will work out. Give it time.”

He thanked her, and then he retrieved Sophie and headed for home. They were a block away when he realized there might not be anything in his house for dinner. Too often he didn’t think ahead and simply grabbed something at the café or at Lou’s. He was going to have to learn to do some real shopping. Cooking, too. Not that he didn’t know how, but cooking for one had never excited him, so he didn’t do a lot of it.

He slowed to a stop when Vern Isley stepped out between two parked cars to cross the street. Even when the eighty-something gentleman was all the way to the other side of the street, Garrett remained stopped. He chuckled to himself. Where there’s Vern, there’s Esther.

Sure enough, Esther Watson stepped out between the same two cars and hurried across the street, several yards behind Vern. “One of these days …” Garrett said, the car now in motion again.

Glancing in his rearview mirror, he tried for a cheery voice. “You’re in for a real treat, Sophie,” he said, while making a U-turn at the end of the block. “I’m going to take you to the Chick-a-Lick Café for dinner. You can’t ask for much better than that.”

From the used booster seat that Tootie had managed to find and was now attached in the backseat, Sophie watched him. The sky was darkening as dusk began to settle in, but he could see his daughter’s solemn expression. He hoped that would soon change. She’d come to him with a small suitcase, a battered teddy bear and a lot of questions that might or might not be answered. He had a lot of work to do, but he didn’t have a clue where to begin.

LIBBY PULLED INTO AN EMPTY parking spot at the sports park and shut off her engine. The view from her car made her smile. A dozen or so nine- and ten-year-olds, dressed in football pads and helmets, were gathered in a huddle in the middle of an unmarked, grassy field. She watched as they stacked their hands in a pile, then shouted, before breaking up the huddle and taking their places in the lineup.

It wasn’t difficult to find her nine-year-old in the midst of the others. He was the one making encouraging signals to the others. It was only a practice, but Noah didn’t let anything stop him from trying to inspire his fellow players with the will to win.

Leaning her head back against the seat, she closed her eyes. Life hadn’t been a bed of roses since she and Noah had left Phoenix in the middle of the night barely eight months ago. Even so, it was better than it had promised to be if they’d stayed. Living in a small town in Oklahoma had never been a part of her plans, but nothing she had planned had worked out well. And she liked Desperation. Noah did, too. So she prayed they wouldn’t have to leave, but neither did she count on staying.

A knock on her window jerked her out of her reverie, and she opened her eyes, then sat up with a smile.

“Hey, Mom,” Noah said, peering into the car with his own smile.

She rolled down her window. “Is practice over?”

“Yeah, we’re quitting early today.” He looked around at the other boys, who were drifting away in twos and threes or climbing into cars with a parent or two. “I didn’t expect you to be here, and I told Kirby we could hang out until you got here.”

Libby hated disappointing her son more than anything, but it couldn’t be helped. “I’m afraid not, honey,” she told him. “I came to pick you up because I thought maybe we could stop at the Chick-a-Lick for dinner before I go to work.”

His eyes lit up, then quickly dimmed, before he ducked his head. Without looking up at her, he asked, “I guess he can’t come to the café with us?”

She couldn’t help but feel disappointed. She’d thought he would be excited to have the chance to eat at the café. They so seldom were able to enjoy even the small things. But she’d worked the extra hours and had a few extra tips, so they could afford—

She stopped herself, suddenly realizing that she was having a pity party for herself, and her selfishness surprised her. How much could a nine-year-old boy eat, anyway? She knew the answer was that they could often be a bottomless pit, but it shouldn’t matter.

“Sure, Kirby can come along, too,” she said. She’d make up for the little extra somewhere along the way. Giving Noah the chance to spend time with his friend was worth it.

She heard a shout, and Noah turned to look. She looked, too. A fancy sports car had pulled up, and Kirby was headed for it, waving at Noah as he walked toward it.

“It’s okay,” Noah said. “Looks like Mac got here early, too.” He turned to his mom. “So we’re going to the Chick-a-Lick?” he asked, without a hint of disappointment.

Libby looked at her watch. They had less than two hours before she had to be at work. Just enough time, if they hurried, to enjoy dinner at the café. “I worked a few extra hours this morning,” she explained. “Get in. You can order anything you want.”

“Cool.”

She laughed as he circled the car and opened the back door to get in. How did she get so lucky to have such a good kid?

When Noah was settled in the backseat, she drove the two blocks to the café, thinking about how things might have been. Before she’d divorced Noah’s father, there’d been enough money to take an entire boys’ football team to a fancy restaurant—after every practice. In fact, Noah’s third birthday party had been held at Chase Field. More than one hundred guests had attended, most of them friends and business associates of her ex-husband and his family. She often wondered if Noah remembered it, but she’d never asked. It no longer mattered. They weren’t the same people they were then.

Those were the times Libby didn’t want to think about, so she concentrated on parking only a few spaces down from the café. Luckily the dinner crowd hadn’t yet arrived. “Any idea what you’re going to order?” she asked, as they stepped up onto the sidewalk.

“That depends,” he answered.

“Really? On what?” She reached for the door to the café to open it, but Noah beat her to it. Surprised, she thanked him with a smile as she passed inside.

“You know.”

She did, and it hurt her heart and her pride. Noah rarely complained when there wasn’t enough money left over at the end of the month to do something special. It was the price they paid for safety. She’d done her best to explain it to him when they left Phoenix, and he must have understood at least part of it.

She leaned down and spoke in a quiet voice. “You can have anything on the menu.”

He looked up at her as she straightened, a sparkle in his dark brown eyes. “Anything?”

The café was more than half full, and she nodded to answer him while they made their way to one of the smaller booths in the back. She’d just slid into the booth when Darla appeared to take their order.

“It’s good to see you two,” Darla greeted them. “Would you like menus?”

“Please,” Libby asked, winking at Noah.

Darla handed them each a menu. “I’ll be back in a couple of minutes with your water and to take your orders.”

After Darla walked away, Libby noticed that Noah was propping his menu on the table and apparently studying it closely. “Everything looks good, doesn’t it?” she asked, looking at her own.

“Yeah.”

Darla returned within minutes and took their orders. “Was that okay?” he asked when she was gone.

“Perfectly okay.” Libby glanced at her watch, making certain they still had plenty of time before she had to take Noah to his day care provider and get herself to work.

She asked about school and listened as Noah gave her a rundown of his day. Getting him to talk about school had always been easy. All he needed was a nudge, and he was ready to share. He was explaining something that had happened in gym class when Darla arrived with their order.

“It looks great,” Noah said, looking up at Darla with a grin.

“Then we’ll hope it tastes as good as it looks, won’t we?” she asked, winking at his mom.

“Oh, I know it will.”

Darla laughed and patted his shoulder. “He’s a keeper.”

They were well into enjoying their meal when Libby looked up to see Garrett entering the café with Sophie, who still held tight to her teddy bear. She smiled when he looked her way and was surprised when dad and daughter headed toward them.

Garrett stopped at their booth, with Sophie beside him. “If I’d known you were going to be here, we could have planned to have dinner together,” he said.

Libby noticed that the panic hadn’t completely left his eyes. “Last-minute plans,” she explained.

He glanced around the room, and then shifted from one foot to the other. “Well, we’d better let you both finish eating.”

Before he could move away, she touched his arm. “I don’t think you’ve met my son. Noah, this is Garrett Miles.”

“Hi,” Noah greeted him with a small smile.

“And that’s his daughter, Sophie,” she added.

“Hi, Sophie.”

Sophie grinned at Noah, but said nothing.

“She’s … uh … a little shy,” Garrett said, with a glance at Libby. “We stopped to see Paige.”

Libby hoped his sister had found the girl in good physical condition. “How did that go?”

“Good,” he said, although it sounded forced. When she didn’t reply, he blew out a short breath. “She said to give it some time. And to talk to Jules.”

“But everything else is okay, right?”

He nodded, and his smile was more relaxed. “Everything is okay. But we should let you finish your dinner,” he added, taking a step back.

She looked at her watch and then at her son. “We should probably be on our way. I still have a full shift to work tonight.”

Garrett moved away from the booth as Libby gathered her things. “I’m glad we ran into you,” he said. “And, Noah, the next time we see each other, I want to hear a little about that football team you play on.”

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