More Than Words, Volume 7

by Carly Phillips

  “Ready for what?” she hedged.

  “Being the lady friend of a man with a child.”

  “I haven’t thought that far. I just want to get over this hurdle.”

  “How are things between you and Ronald?”

  She took a moment before answering. “Things are…were great. He’s a wonderful man. Over these past few months we’ve really gotten to know each other.” She swallowed. “I really care about him,” she admitted, surprising herself. And once she’d said it out loud, it was as if she were floating on a bed of happiness. She didn’t want to lose that feeling, not now, not after waiting for so long. “I know he’s hurt and angry at what I did. I lied to him. Right to his face. And I wouldn’t blame him if he never spoke to me again. I should have been honest from the beginning. I’ve probably ruined everything and maybe he’ll never trust me again.”

  Nichole stretched her hand across the table and touched Verna’s. “I’ve known you for a long time, Verna. He’s lucky to have you in his corner. You’ll both work it out no matter what happens.”

  Verna silently prayed her friend was right.

  “You wanted to see me, Dr. Scott?” April stood in the doorway of Verna’s office. She spotted Nichole, and her open expression turned wary. “Am I in trouble?”

  “No, not at all. Please come in, April. Ms. Graham and I both want to talk with you. Close the door, sweetie.”

  April’s gaze jumped from one face to the other as if she half expected to be cornered. She slowly sat, slouching down in the chair.

  “April, we’ve come across some information…about your father,” Verna began.

  The teenager wiggled up straighter. “What do you mean?” She began shaking her foot back and forth.

  “We’ve been going over all the records…” Nichole began.

  Taking turns, Verna and Nichole told April as gently as possible that they may have found her father.

  When they’d finished, April was rocking and tapping her foot and silent tears rolled down her cheeks. Her bottom lip trembled. She hadn’t said a word the entire time and the room hummed with tense silence. She looked from one face to the other. “Who—who is he?”

  Verna hesitated. “Sweetie, we think it’s best not to say right now. Not until we know for sure.”

  “April…” Nichole reached out to touch her.

  April snatched her hand away. “I hate him!” she screamed, jumping up from her seat. “I hate him! He left me. He never came for me.” Her voice rose like a tidal wave and swept over them in fury. “He never looked for me. Never!”

  Verna got up and pulled April into her arms. “I need you to listen to me.” She hugged her tighter, feeling the tremor of the girl’s sobs ripple up and down her thin body. “He may not have known what to do, sweetie.” Verna kept on talking, soothing, comforting, finding the words that April needed to hear. She’d talk all night if she had to. She reached out and took both of April’s hands in hers. “You must understand that we have to be sure. So you’re both going to have to agree to a DNA test. But you have to keep in mind that there’s a chance that he’s not your dad.”

  Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, April’s sobs quieted to little sniffles.

  “Can I go now?” she managed to say, looking fragile and helpless.

  “I think we should talk some more, April, and process this information,” Verna said. “I know it’s a lot to digest.”

  “I don’t have anything else to say.” She stared at the floor.

  “Okay.” Verna squeezed her shoulder. “Go on to your room. I’ll be up to check on you before I leave.”

  Without a word, April walked out.

  Verna and Nichole shared a look.

  “This is exactly what I was afraid of,” Verna said.

  CHAPTER TEN

  Patrice Howell gave birth to a baby girl, April, in Kings County Hospital. Patrice died in childbirth and the child was given to the maternal grandmother, Phyllis Davis, who adopted April and gave her Davis as her last name. When the grandmother became too ill to care for her, April was placed in foster care. The grandmother passed away shortly after and there were no known relatives or arrangements made by Phyllis Davis.

  That would explain the difference in the last names, Ronald thought as he put all the papers and notes into the folder.

  He’d lost track of how many times he’d read April’s case file, yet he knew in his heart that April was his daughter. His daughter with Patrice. Patrice was gone. He still struggled with that painful truth. All this time and he never knew. He felt as if his insides were breaking into a million pieces. The joy was there, along with another emotion just as strong. Anger at Verna. How could she have deceived him like that? What kind of woman was she to keep this kind of information from him?

  To think that he’d fallen for someone who could be so callous unnerved him. He cared about Verna, deeply, and he thought she felt the same way. The times they’d spent together were the happiest he could remember. He looked forward to their nightly phone calls, their weekend excursions. The woman he’d come to love was not the same Verna Scott who was keeping his daughter from him.

  He was hardly conscious of driving to Verna’s building until he looked up and saw he was standing in front of her door. He rang the bell.

  Verna opened the door, and instead of apprehension at seeing him, she conveyed a sense of relief.

  “Come in,” she said softly.

  More than an hour later, amidst tears and apologies, Ronald finally understood why Verna had not been honest with him. She’d shared her own past with him, then showed him the letter from her mother that she’d kept all these years. The roots of her hurt went so deep, and she’d sought to destroy the hold it had over her life by helping other young people, even at the expense of her own happiness. He understood that overwhelming need to make things right for others. Hadn’t he spent his life doing the same thing?

  “Look at me,” he said gently from his seat opposite her.

  With great hesitation Verna complied.

  “What you did for April took courage. It took love. A love that can only be understood and given by someone who has gone through what you did.” He moved from his chair to sit next to her on the couch. “But, Verna, just like you tell your kids, don’t let your circumstances define you. It’s your mother’s loss, baby. Her loss. You are an incredible human being.” He put his arm around her and pulled her close. She rested her head on his shoulder. “You need to know that, you need to believe it.”

  She nodded and sniffed, her voice shaky with emotion. “I’m sorry that I lied to you.”

  Ronald sat back and lifted her chin, forcing her to look at him. “How about if we make a deal? From here on out, if we’re going to make this thing work between us…no more secrets. Just the truth, even if it hurts.”

  The shadow of a smile touched her lips. “Deal.”

  “I say we seal it with a kiss.” He raised his fingers to caress the soft skin of her face.

  “So do I.”

  April refused to come out of her room, except to go to school, and she wouldn’t talk to anyone, none of the counselors, not even her friends, not even Ronald. Which, Ronald told Verna, was a bittersweet blessing. If she came to him and confessed what was on her mind, he wasn’t sure if he could hold back from telling her what was on his.

  Verna was concerned and she’d conveyed her concerns to him and Nichole. Ronald wanted to talk to April himself, but Verna strongly believed that the teenager needed to come to terms with her feelings. And with a little time she would come around. They would keep an eye on her and continue to try to break down the barriers that she’d erected around herself. But the tension was making everyone crazy.

  About a week later, Verna was in her office working on some files when there was an almost indiscernible knock on her door.

  “Yes? Come in.”

  The door slowly opened.

  “April.” Verna closed the folder and stood. “Please, come
in.”

  The girl stepped tentatively into the room, her focus on her feet. “I want to take the test,” she said, lifting her head to look into Verna’s eyes.

  Verna was jubilant. “We’ll make that happen. I’ll call the clinic tomorrow and set up a test date. We can have the results back in a couple of days at the most.”

  April inhaled a shuddered breath. Verna walked over to her. “I want you to understand that no matter what happens, I will always be here for you, and you will always, always have Home.” She hugged the teenager tight and prayed for a joyous outcome.

  The next few days while they waited for the DNA results were torture. Ronald could barely keep his mind on his work and April was short and snappy with everyone, flying off the handle at the slightest thing. Verna prayed that this would turn out right for everyone involved.

  Ronald and Verna spent whatever spare time they had together, talking about the possibilities, their growing feelings for each other, how having a daughter could change Ronald’s life dramatically.

  “I’m ready,” he’d said as Verna relaxed against him on his brown leather couch. “More than ready.”

  “Good morning, Dr. Scott. There’s a FedEx package for you.” The security guard handed it to her on her way to her office.

  “Thanks,” she murmured. She looked at the return address. It was from the lab. Her hands shook ever so slightly and the pressure began to build in her stomach. She went to her office and shut the door.

  Trancelike, she walked to her chair and sat down. She stared at the innocuous envelope, unsure of what to do. Did she have the right to open it or should she leave that up to Ronald?

  Knowing the answer, she picked up the phone and dialed his office.

  “Lexington High, Mr. Morris speaking.”

  “Ron, it’s Verna.” She paused. “The package from the lab is here.” She heard his sharp intake of breath.

  “Did you open it? What does it say?”

  “No. No, I didn’t. I thought that you should.” Her throat was so dry and tight she could barely swallow.

  “I’ll be there as soon as I can. I’ll ask Cara to get someone to cover for me.”

  “All right.”

  “And, Verna…”

  “Yes?”

  “Thank you.”

  It was barely an hour later and Ronald was standing at her office door. She stood and came to him. Not caring who saw, she put her arms around him and they clung to each other. She listened to the rapid beat of his heart and raised her mouth to meet his.

  His hand caressed her cheek and cupped her face as he looked down into her eyes.

  “No matter what happens,” she whispered, “I’m here for you.”

  He smiled. “I’ve always known that.”

  Verna took his hand and they walked to her table. The envelope dared him to pick it up.

  Ronald glanced at Verna for a last glimmer of encouragement, then snatched up the envelope and tore open the seal. His hands shook as he read the report, and then read it again.

  He turned to Verna, tears in his eyes, struggling for composure.

  “She’s…mine. She’s my daughter.”

  Verna leaped into his arms and they smothered each other in tears, kisses and laughter.

  Ronald arranged to take the rest of the day off. He wanted to be there when April got in from school. Verna was at the stairs when April arrived and asked to speak with her in her office.

  “We got the results back today, sweetie.”

  April’s eyes widened. Her throat moved, but she didn’t speak.

  “Your father is here. Do you want to meet him? Are you ready for that?”

  She blinked in alarm. “He’s here?” Her backpack thudded to the floor. She looked around the room with frightened eyes. “What should I do?”

  “It’s completely up to you, April. If you’re not ready, you don’t have to meet him.”

  April bit down on the nail of her forefinger. It seemed forever before she finally spoke.

  “Okay.”

  Verna released a soft breath. She took April to the family room and went in search of Ronald, who was out back with the boys shooting hoops. The instant he saw Verna he quickly excused himself.

  “She’s in the family room,” Verna said. “But why don’t you take her for a walk—for privacy.”

  “Right, right,” he agreed, nodding his head and realizing how nervous he’d suddenly become.

  Verna walked with him to the entrance of the family room, squeezed his shoulder and left.

  Ronald drew in a breath and walked toward April, who was huddled in the chair. Looking at her, he totally understood Verna’s apprehension about the impact this would have on the teen.

  He shoved his hands into his pockets and stepped closer. “Hi,” he said softly.

  She looked up at him, frowned in confusion, then hesitantly glanced past him to the door, waiting for her father to walk in.

  “I’m glad that you wanted to see me. I thought maybe we could go for a walk and talk a little bit.”

  “What?” She frowned again.

  “I’m your dad, April.” He held his breath.

  She uncurled herself from the chair, stared malevolently at him for a moment, then tore past him and ran upstairs. Verna came out of her office and met Ronald in the hall.

  “What happened?”

  “I told her and she ran out.”

  Verna pressed her palm to her forehead and briefly squeezed her eyes shut. “Let me go up and talk to her.”

  “I should go with you.”

  She stopped him with a hand against his chest. “No. You wait here. Please,” she added to soften her tone.

  Ronald paced until he’d memorized every thread in the carpet. Verna had been up there for nearly an hour. What could they possibly be… A movement in the doorway halted his steps. Verna stood with her arm around April’s shoulders. The girl’s head was lowered, but he could tell she’d been crying. He looked at Verna, who mouthed, “It’s okay.”

  “April,” he said softly.

  She didn’t budge.

  “Why don’t you two go for a walk,” Verna suggested, and gently urged April forward.

  Ronald and his daughter stepped out into the warm spring evening and began to slowly stroll down the street. The trees were coming out in bloom, the once-bare limbs now clothed in lush green finery.

  “I’m happy you decided to talk to me,” Ronald said.

  April glanced at him for a moment. “I was mad.”

  “Tell me why.”

  She was silent so long that Ronald thought he’d have to pose the question differently. But at last she spoke.

  “Why didn’t you ever come for me?”

  Ronald’s heart felt as if it had turned over in his chest. “Sweetheart, I didn’t know…”

  April stopped walking and came around to stand in front of him. “Tell me what happened.”

  Verna carved a new path between her door and the window. They’d been gone for more than two hours. Her mind ran wild. Just when she thought she couldn’t take another minute, Ronald tapped on her door with April in tow. Both of them were beaming, the remnants of joyous tears still glimmering in their eyes.

  “We had a good talk,” Ronald said. “I promised April that no matter what, I’ll be there for her.”

  “Everybody okay?” Verna gently asked, looking from one to the other. They nodded.

  “Better than okay,” Ronald said, “but we have a long way to go, a lot of years to make up for.”

  April looked up at her father.

  Verna felt as if her heart would explode with happiness.

  “I made a decision, though,” April said. She crossed the room and sat down.

  “What decision?” Verna asked.

  “I’m going to stay here until school lets out in June.”

  “It will give me some time to find a bigger place,” Ronald said, “with two bedrooms.”

  April nodded. “And it will give me some mo
re time with Denise. We’ve gotten really close and I don’t want her to feel as if she’s being abandoned, ya know.”

  Verna was so touched she could barely speak.

  “April, I want to talk to Verna for a moment. Okay?”

  The teenager gazed at Ronald as if she thought he might vanish.

  “I’ll come and get you in a minute. I promise.”

  She gave her father a long hug before she sauntered out of the room, taking short glances over her shoulder as if to make certain this wasn’t all some wonderful dream.

  Ronald closed the door.

  Verna looked expectantly at him. “What’s going on?”

  He crossed the short space between them, took her hands and eased her down into a chair then sat opposite her.

  “From the moment I met you, I knew my life was going to change and it did, day by day. The more time I spent with you, the deeper I fell in love with you. What you do here, at Home, is nothing short of a miracle, and what greater miracle could there be than me being reunited with my daughter.” He squeezed her hand, lowered his head for a moment, then looked directly into her eyes. “You’re an amazing woman and I want to spend the rest of my life helping you make miracles.”

  Verna could hardly believe what she was hearing. Ronald loved her.

  “I know it’s going to be a bumpy ride, but we’ll figure out all the details as we go along.”

  The words that tumbled from her lips had never been so strong and sure. “There’s nothing I would rather do than come along for the ride.”

  Ronald encircled her in his arms and kissed away all the hurt, the fears, the loneliness, and Verna knew that she had finally found the love and the family that she’d been searching for.

  Dear Reader,

  When I was asked to participate in Harlequin’s More Than Words anthology, I was both thrilled and honored to be part of such an important initiative that recognizes those unsung heroes who make the world a better place. My excitement doubled when I was given the assignment of bringing to the page Eva’s Initiatives and the Family Reconnect Program. The work that Nancy Abrams does with the Family Reconnect Program is nothing short of miraculous, and her effort is dear to my heart, having myself for many years overseen a residential facility for homeless teen mothers. In speaking with Nancy, her commitment and passion about working with teens and families in crisis and being the bridge that they could safely cross to “reconnect” was obvious—this was my inspiration for “Someplace Like Home.”