“I thought she was showering. If I’d known she was in the kitchen all this time, I would have helped her.”
“You’re her guest. If you’d given me half a chance, I would have driven you to the cottage for the night.”
“She said she wanted the company. So did I.”
His mouth hardened. “But you didn’t want mine.”
Kit couldn’t give him the answer he wanted to hear. Instead she hurried past him and found her way to the study, where Maggie had brought in a tray of food.
“Good. Cord found you. After this long day, I prefer to lounge in here rather than sit at the dining room table.”
“So do I.”
“Help yourself to anything you want.”
“Thank you.” Kit put some potato chips and a ham-and-cheese sandwich on a plate. After reaching for a cola, she relaxed into one of the two easy chairs upholstered in tan leather. Maggie sat in the other. Cord found a place on one end of the matching couch.
“Have you contacted your parents yet?” Kit asked.
“No,” Cord replied, before devouring a sandwich half in two bites. Kit knew he didn’t want to tell them anything until Pat phoned with the results of Frankie’s DNA test.
In the unnatural quiet that followed, Maggie’s house phone rang. “I’ll let the answering machine pick up.”
After four rings, Kit heard a woman’s voice over the speaker.
Maggie? I’ve been calling you and Cord all afternoon. Where are you? Neither of you has phoned back. It’s not very nice to worry your father and me like this.
It was Ellen McFarland. Kit stopped chewing. Was this woman her biological mother? Was it really possible?
We’ve left message after message. Julie and Ben are on their way over to the house with the children. They have something important to tell us and want all of us together. Please call or come as soon as you hear this.
Kit didn’t miss the glance Cord exchanged with Maggie. “If Ben and Julie were getting a divorce, they wouldn’t be taking the kids to the house to announce it,” he stated.
“I know they wouldn’t!” Maggie’s expression had brightened.
Cord looked at Kit. “It seems Brock’s unorthodox way of getting our brother’s undivided attention might have worked a minor miracle.”
She nodded. “I sincerely hope so. You two need to get going. Don’t worry about me.”
“We’ll all go,” Maggie stated in a matter-of-fact tone. “This will be the perfect opportunity for you to meet Mom and Dad. You’ve already been introduced to everyone else except Katy.”
Cord swallowed the rest of his soda, then got up from the couch. “Tonight isn’t the time, Maggie.” His forbidding tone caused Kit to shiver.
“I disagree, brother dear. Forget the DNA results for a minute. Last night when Ben and Julie asked who Kit was, and how come she was the one who found Brock, I’m afraid our nephew gave them an earful.”
“What exactly did he say?” Kit blurted.
“Something about his uncle Cord dating a homeless person whom he’d let stay at the cottage. Before the family jumps to too many conclusions, we need to sit down and talk with them. This is about their missing baby. Mom and Dad deserve to hear the whole truth tonight.”
Anxiety drove Kit to her feet. “I went about this all wrong from the beginning. After Mother’s confession, I should have contacted someone in the FBI down in California.”
Cord studied her through his dark lashes. After a tense silence he said, “Maggie’s right. Brock’s unwitting involvement has complicated the situation. Our parents won’t understand if we keep this from them any longer. As for your posing as a homeless person, I’m convinced it wouldn’t have mattered how you dealt with your mother’s revelation. In the end we were destined to meet. The result would be the same.”
Kit couldn’t hold his gaze because she knew he was right. Their attraction would have been there no matter how hard they fought it.
“Let’s go. I’ll drive.”
“Give me ten minutes to get ready.”
She dashed through the condo to the guest bathroom to shower and wash her hair. With naturally curly hair, all she had to do was dry it with the towel and style it with her brush. It was vital she look her best.
After she’d applied her pink-frost lipstick, she hurried into the bedroom and opened her suitcase.
The wrinkle-free, sage-colored suit hung from a hangar on the wardrobe side. Kit put on the three-piece outfit and bone-colored sandals. With a spritz of floral cologne, she felt a little more prepared to meet the people who might be her real parents.
Maggie stood waiting for her in the condo foyer. She was wearing a casual skirt and top.
“You look lovely, Kit.”
“Thank you. So do you. I envy your height.”
“It’s my experience that shorter women attract most men, even the tall ones.”
They left the condo and started toward the elevator.
“When I met you at your office, my first thought after deciding you couldn’t be my sister was that no man could see you in a room and look anywhere else,” Kit admitted.
Maggie smiled. “I haven’t had a compliment like that in years.”
“It’s true,” Kit averred. “You’re incredibly nice, too. Cord says you’re his best friend. I can see why.”
“Thanks. He’s my best friend, too.”
That’s because he’s so wonderful. But Kit didn’t dare say it out loud.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
CORD STARTED UP the Land Rover and drove around to the garage elevator to wait for the women.
Since the moment Kit had returned to the prison waiting room and insisted that Frankie Burke couldn’t be her biological father, Cord realized she couldn’t possibly be objective about her observations. But he believed in his heart of hearts that Frankie was her birth father. In about twelve hours, they would have proof.
As for meeting with their parents tonight, the one thing that helped Cord most was the opinion Maggie shared with him—that Kit didn’t resemble their grandmother enough to believe she was a McFarland. The rest of the family wouldn’t see a strong similarity either.
But even as he thought this, he realized he was equally guilty of not being objective. Who in hell could be, in circumstances like this?
When the elevator door opened and Maggie walked out with Kit, who looked more appealing to him than ever, he gazed long and hard at both of them, trying to be objective.
No way was Kit related to their family. No way.
Maggie took the front seat while Kit climbed in back. That was fine with him. During the five-minute drive to Federal Heights, he watched her through the rearview mirror. Several times he caught her staring at him. Her cheeks would fill with color before she turned her head to gaze out the window.
Before long his parents’ Tudor-style home loomed on their right. It sat high on a wooded property with an enormous sloping hill of grass and shrubs. He turned into the driveway to make the climb. When his car reached the top, he was surprised to discover Ben and his family getting out of their Blazer. The timing was uncanny.
As Cord parked his car next to theirs, Brock came running around to greet him. He wore a sunny smile, the kind Cord hadn’t seen for a couple of years. Out of the corner of his eye he noticed Maggie and Kit talking to the others on their way into the house.
Cord climbed out of the Land Rover.
“Hi, Uncle Cord.” Brock gave him a hug.
He looked down at his happy nephew. “How are you doing, sport?”
“Good. Dad’s not staying up in Deer Valley anymore. He’s moved back home.”
“That’s about the best news I ever heard.”
“Yeah.” He raised up on tiptoe to whisper, “Kit’s your girlfriend, huh?”
Cord closed his eyes tightly for a moment. “Let’s put it this way. She has become a good friend.” He started for the entry. Brock stayed right with him.
“Ryan and I saw you kissing
her at the lake, so we went back down to the shore and messed around near the water some more. After a while we started getting hungry for dinner, so we climbed back up the slope. Whoa! You really love her, don’t you.”
Hell. “Have you told anyone else what you saw? The truth now.”
“Yeah.”
“Who?”
“Mom and Dad. Ryan probably told his parents.” His nephew’s expression grew troubled. “Are you mad?”
“No, Brock. I’m not mad.”
“I didn’t know it was supposed to be a secret.”
“It’s not.”
“Then how come you look upset?”
“Because it’s complicated.”
“Are you two having a fight? Is that why she wasn’t sitting in the front seat with you?”
Brock was such a sensitive kid, he noticed everything. “No.”
Cord wished he and Kit were having a lovers’ quarrel over some small misunderstanding that could be remedied with a simple apology before they kissed and made up.
“You don’t have to worry that the family won’t like her because she’s homeless. I think she’s cool. So does Ryan.”
“Kit likes you, too, sport.”
By now they’d entered the house. Cord followed voices to the sitting room. His parents preferred it over the living room because it was smaller and cozier.
When he walked in with Brock, he saw Kit standing next to Maggie. Introductions hadn’t been made yet because Katy held everyone’s attention. Evidently Ben had brought her a music box from Switzerland.
“It plays ‘The Happy Wanderer’ song,” she squealed in delight. “Look, Nana! When you open the lid, it starts all over again.”
Cord’s father turned to Brock. “What did your dad bring you?”
“This Swiss Army knife.” Brock whipped it out of his pocket.
“I still have the one my father gave me when I was a boy. They come in handy for all sorts of things,” Reed said.
“Yeah. It’s cool.”
Cord saw his father’s gaze swerve to Kit. “Who’s your friend, Maggie?” As soon as he asked the question, Cord’s mother looked up.
“Mom and Dad? I’d like you to meet Kit Burke from Venice Beach, California.”
Brock piped up. “Kit’s the one who found out I was hiding in the attic at the cottage.”
“Of course!” Cord’s mother cried. “We’re all so grateful to you.” She and Cord’s father took turns hugging her.
Kit’s warm, poised response stunned Cord. His parents could have no comprehension of what this moment meant to her.
“I’m so glad to meet you at last.” Her voice wobbled, betraying the true state of her emotions.
“So, Ben…” Cord turned to his brother in a deliberate effort to take the attention off of Kit. Maggie thanked him with her eyes. All of their emotions were explosive right now.
“Mom said you and Julie had some news for us. I heard the message on my cell phone.”
Ben nodded and clapped his hands together, as if he were ready to make a presentation at a board meeting. “Why doesn’t everyone sit down and I’ll tell you what it is.”
While Cord took a seat in the nearest chair, the rest of the family found places on the sofa and love seats arranged around the coffee table. Kit sat next to Maggie.
From his vantage point, all he could see was her profile. Like a prim maiden, she sat with her hands clasped in her lap. He sucked in his breath. He wasn’t the only one in agony.
“While I was in Zurich, Peter Richter invited me to his home for dinner. He has a son, Rolfe, who’s a year older than Brock.
“Rolfe showed me where I could wash my hands. While we were walking down the hall he looked up at me and said, ‘Is my dad really going to be the head of the whole MicroVision company in Switzerland?’
“When I said yes, his eyes filled with tears. I asked him what was wrong. At first he didn’t want to tell me, but I kept at him until he finally admitted, ‘He’s hardly ever home.’”
Cord heard a gruffness in Ben’s voice. His brother was so choked up he could hardly talk.
“Rolfe’s comment haunted me because I knew I’d been guilty of the same thing. That night I took Peter aside and we had a long talk. The upshot is, I cut my trip short to get home to my family.
“Julie and I talked the entire night about our lives, about the changes I planned to make to put our family back together. At the point where we were going to drive over and pick up the kids at Maggie’s, she and Cord showed up with Katy. That’s when we heard the horrifying news that Brock was missing.”
His voice shook. Cord hadn’t seen his brother this emotional since they were boys suffering over their sister’s abduction.
Ben stared at their parents. “I got my first taste of what you must have gone through when you discovered Kathryn had been stolen. I felt a blackness come over me I can’t begin to describe. I felt helpless to comfort Julie.
“Even though Brock had left a note, it was no consolation. I could see his disappearance turning into another tragedy that would have been my fault. Again.”
“I’m sorry, Dad!” Brock hurled himself into Ben’s arms. “I didn’t mean to make you feel that bad. Uncle Cord told me you two always felt guilty because you didn’t stop the kidnapper. I only planned to stay away overnight.”
By now everyone in the room had broken down in tears. Kit’s face was buried in her hands.
“Don’t apologize, Son. I know exactly why you did what you did. I’m the one to blame for everything. But things are going to be different from here on out.”
Cord watched him put his arm around Julie and hug her hard. Katy clung to both her parents. “I wanted all of you to be the first to know that I’m not going to run for senator,” Ben announced.
“Thank God,” Reed said, his voice hoarse with emotion. “I didn’t do this family any favors by going into politics.”
Brock raced toward his grandfather and hugged him. “It’s okay, Grandpa. Uncle Cord said you felt the worst about the kidnapping because you were the dad who was supposed to protect the family. He said that’s why you worked so hard, so you wouldn’t feel so bad.”
Reed turned and stared at Cord through wet eyes. “How long have you had us all figured out, Son?”
“Lisa accused me of putting my work before her. She commented that Maggie was just as driven. After we broke up, I thought a lot about what she’d said. That’s when I began to see the pattern running through our family.”
Ben turned to Cord. “You’re right, but it’s a pattern that’s going to end right here and now.” He cleared his throat. “I have a lot to thank you for, Cord. Julie tells me you took her to the hospital the night her bronchitis got so bad. I understand you stayed all night to help her with the kids.
“I know how much time you’ve given Brock. You were there for him when I wasn’t. When I think you went all the way to Lake Catherine in that storm looking for him, I have to tell you—”
His shoulders heaved so hard, he couldn’t talk for a minute. “And then to learn he’d hidden out in the cottage where he knew he’d be safe with you…”
“If it had been a nice day, I would have slept overnight in Brighton at the old fire lookout,” Brock admitted.
“You really would have gone there?” Kit’s astonished exclamation drew everyone’s attention to her.
“Yeah. Tour buses drive up the canyons every day. I would have taken one and hiked the rest of the way.”
She looked at Cord in disbelief. It was the first time all night Kit had dared look at him.
“As I told you before, you’re a natural with kids. Your instincts are right on.”
Julie smiled at Kit. “We all love the ant farm.”
Katy nodded. “Did you know another ant died? This one ant dragged it through a long tunnel to be with the other dead ant.”
“They have cemeteries just like humans,” Kit murmured. “I find everything in nature fascinating.”
“That’s why you’re a Webelos leader, huh.”
“She’s a lot more than that, Brock.”
Cord’s declaration silenced everyone in the room. All eyes turned on him with an expectant look. Except for Kit’s.
Even across the distance separating them, he could tell her body was trembling.
He braced himself.
What he was about to say was going to shock the family down to its foundations.
KIT KNEW WHAT CORD WAS about to say, but she could hear her mother’s plea.
Go to the McFarlands, your real parents. Tell them who you are. You’ve got to do it so God will forgive me. Promise me!
She rose to her feet.
Maggie and Cord had done all they could to prepare the way. Now it was up to her to do the hard part. She owed it to the attractive older couple sitting across from her. They could very well be her parents. Years of anguish over their loss had put the lines on their faces, the tinge of silver in their hair.
While Kit had been sitting there, she’d had the opportunity to study them at close range. Ellen McFarland had a small frame like her own. Her brunette hair was similar to Kit’s in tone. The whole family had been blessed with blue eyes, some clear like hers, some with hazel or gray flecks.
Only a DNA test would tell them for sure, but if she had to go on the warm feelings she experienced around the whole family, it wouldn’t take much of a stretch to claim them for her own.
Don’t think about Cord right now, Kit.
“Poor Cord,” she began. “Why don’t you sit down?”
To her relief he did her bidding. Not because his emotions were as fragile as hers right now, which they were, but because he knew this was why she’d come to Salt Lake.
“He’s been watching out for me since the moment I arrived at Renaissance House a little over a week ago.”
“I told you she was homeless,” she heard Brock whisper to his parents, but it was loud enough that everyone heard him.
“Actually I’m not homeless, Brock. I lied to Gwen Barber to get in.”
Brock’s eyes widened in surprise.
“I have a story to tell all of you. It’s a true story. As Maggie said, I’m from Venice Beach, California. I’ve lived there all my life with my mother. I never knew my father. He deserted my mom when I was a baby. I had no relatives on either side. The two of us were literally alone.
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