Prodigal Daughter

by Patricia Davids

  “That sounds good.” With Richard to help her, maybe this wasn’t going to be so bad after all.

  “I’ll draft a letter to Dean to let him know what you’re planning. He won’t be able to relinquish his rights until after the baby is born. You understand that you can’t, either. Nothing will be final until the baby arrives.”

  “I understand that.”

  “Good. There is something else I’d like to discuss. You mentioned that you don’t want to move back home. Do you still feel that way?”

  “Absolutely. I’ve talked to my mother and she understands how I feel.”

  “In that case, I have an offer for you to consider. My sister and her family recently had a fire at their home. While their house is being renovated, they’re staying with me. To make a long story short, Angela is working a lot of overtime and Dave is spending his free time trying to get their house repaired. That leaves the girls with me or on their own. My sister has been thinking about hiring someone to help with the housework and entertain the girls when she can’t get home. Would you be interested in the job? She can’t pay much, but you would get free room and board. You would have a bedroom and a bath to yourself. Are you interested?”

  “You’re offering me a job?”

  “Let’s call it a temporary solution to several problems. My sister needs help and you need a place to stay. It won’t be for more than five or six weeks, but that should give you time to find a place of your own.”

  “That’s very kind of you, Richard.”

  “This isn’t kindness. It’s a business offer. Unless, of course, you really like sleeping on Amy’s couch. In that case, I’m sure Angela can find someone else to help.”

  Melissa gave the cream-colored divan a sour glance. It was pretty, but as a bed, it didn’t quite make the grade. “If you’re sure this is a job and not charity, I accept your offer. When do I start?”

  “I could help you move in tomorrow. Would that be too soon?”

  “Not at all. Tomorrow will be fine.”

  “Good. I think you’ll like the girls. Samantha is twelve and Lauren is eight. They’re old enough that they don’t need a lot of supervision, but they’re still too young to leave alone for any length of time.”

  Something in his voice made her question him further. “I get the feeling there is something you aren’t telling me.”

  “The girls have had some trouble adjusting since the fire, especially Samantha. Usually she is as happy as a lark, but since the fire, she has been unhappy and withdrawn. I’m hoping that having someone new in the house will help take her mind off of things.”

  “I’m sure we’ll get along. I come from a big family, remember?”

  “I remember. I’ll pick you up tomorrow afternoon. What time works for you?”

  “I think I can have my duffel bag packed by four.”

  “So, I won’t need to rent a moving van?”

  “No, not this time.”

  “Great. My back was aching at the thought.”

  “I’ll see you tomorrow.” She chuckled as she hung up the phone. In spite of her current situation, Richard always seemed to make her smile. But then, he always had been able to make her laugh.

  Melissa pulled open the glass door to Betty’s Bakeshoppe a few minutes before two that afternoon and was instantly surrounded by the mouthwatering smells of cinnamon rolls, aromatic coffee and baked apples. The shop was more than a coffee house. Over the past twenty years Betty and her daughters had expanded the bakery into a restaurant area and had added a small used bookstore at one end. Betty’s Bakeshoppe now took up three connecting shops along the downtown street. But it was Betty’s excellent cooking and the convenient location across from the Hamilton Media building that made it a prime meeting place for employees and downtown business people.

  Looking around, Melissa saw several faces she recognized from the paper. The Saturday-afternoon lunch crowd was long gone, but there were still a few customers lingering over their desserts. She spied her mother seated at a table by the window in the corner, where shelves made a partial wall between the eatery and the bookstore.

  A petite woman, Nora Hamilton might have been mistaken for one of her own children if not for the strands of silver in her shoulder-length blond hair. She was dressed simply in a belted red dress with a wide white collar and white trim on the short sleeves.

  Nora’s face brightened when she caught sight of her daughter, but not before Melissa noticed how tired her mother looked. Guilt gnawed at Melissa’s conscience. She was responsible for adding to her mother’s already heavy worries.

  Threading her way between the tables, Melissa watched her mother rise. An instant later she found herself gathered in a warm embrace, one she returned fiercely as a tear slipped from the corner of her eye. She had missed her family more than she realized.

  Nora was the first to draw back. “I’m so glad you came. Let me look at you.”

  “Mom, I’m fine.” Melissa wiped the tear from her cheek with the back of her hand and submitted to her mother’s scrutiny.

  “I believe it now that I see you with my own eyes. You had us all worried.”

  They took their seats and Melissa glanced around the room to avoid looking at her mother. Embarrassment made the sudden silence painful. Instead of talking about herself, she sought a neutral subject. “I’ve always liked coming to the Bakeshoppe.”

  “I remember how you would beg your father to meet us here for lunch when you were little.”

  “I thought it was the coolest place. I’d never been to any other store where the drapes were painted on the windows. I see they still have that rug painted on the old wood floor in front of the cash register.”

  “Remember how you used to stand on it and hop on and off? You told me you could make it fly.”

  “Mom, I think I must have been four then.”

  Nora smiled softly as she looked back in time. “It always made your father chuckle. Time goes by too fast.”

  “Then I grew up and made Dad mad all the time.”

  “Not all the time, dear.”

  “More times than not.”

  “You went through a very difficult time after Jennifer died. We knew that but we couldn’t seem to help you.”

  Talking about Jennifer was the last thing Melissa wanted to do. Fortunately, Justine, Betty’s daughter, came up to the table with her order pad in hand. “Mrs. Hamilton, it’s nice to see you. How is Mr. Hamilton? We’ve been keeping him in our prayers.”

  “He’s doing better, Justine. Thank you for asking.” Nora glanced toward the kitchen. “Is your mother here?”

  “No, she had to leave early today. Melissa, I haven’t seen you in a while.”

  “I’ve been out of town, but I’m back now.”

  “What can I get for you ladies? Our special today is apple pie.”

  After ordering a slice of pie and a cup of tea, Melissa waited until Justine served them and then moved away. Before she could decide how to bring up the subject that hung in the air between them like an elephant in the middle of the room, her mother reached across the table and laid a hand on Melissa’s arm.

  “I want you to know that I understand what you’re feeling, Melissa. I faced the same thing when I was pregnant with Jeremy.”

  “I couldn’t believe it when Amy told me Jeremy wasn’t Dad’s son. How? I mean, who was his father?”

  “His name was Paul Anderson and we were engaged to be married. We were young and careless. We were in love, and we thought nothing else mattered. Then he died in a motorcycle accident. I didn’t even know I was pregnant. A few months later, I met your father.”

  “Did he know?”

  “Not at first. It took a lot of courage to tell him, but I knew it was the right thing to do.”

  Melissa wanted to ask her mother another question, but she wasn’t sure she wanted to hear the answer. She picked up her spoon and began to stir her tea, but couldn’t contain her troubling thoughts. “Was that the only reason
you married Daddy? For the sake of the baby?”

  “Melissa, look at me,” Nora said softly.

  Melissa raised her eyes and met her mother’s unflinching gaze.

  “I fell deeply in love with your father, and I have thanked God every day of my life that He sent Wallace to me. Never doubt that.”

  Melissa had always believed her parents loved each other. It was good to know that that part of her life hadn’t been a sham. She looked down at her teacup again. “Did you ever think about giving Jeremy up for adoption?”

  “Of course I thought about it. I prayed about it, and I wavered back and forth, but in the end I knew it wasn’t what God wanted for me. Are you thinking about adoption?”

  “Yes. I’ve already spoken to Richard McNeil. He is going to help me find a family. In a way, it’s a relief to have finally made a decision.” Melissa forked a bite of sweet, tart apples and featherlight crust into her mouth.

  Nora’s eyes filled with sadness. “I can’t tell you what to do, sweetheart, but please give this a lot of thought and prayer. God has a plan for all of us, even if we can’t see it. It would be hard to raise a child alone, but I would help all I could. I know your father will feel the same way. This is, after all, our first grandchild.”

  It was hard for Melissa to swallow her food past the lump that pushed up in her throat. “I’m sorry, but I’m not like you. I don’t have what it takes to be a mother. I don’t have patience or good sense. This child will be better off with someone who wants a kid. Besides, I’m not so sure that Daddy will want anything to do with this baby.”

  “You’re judging him harshly, Melissa. It will be a shock for him, but he’ll come around. You’ll see.”

  “You always believe the best of people.”

  “And I’m rarely disappointed. What about the baby’s father? Will he help?”

  Melissa pushed her pie aside. “He doesn’t want either of us. We didn’t fit into his big plans.”

  “I wish I could ease your heartache, Melissa. Things look bleak now, but God heals all wounds. Have faith, honey, and give it some time.”

  “I wish I shared your beliefs, but I don’t. See, that’s one more reason this baby belongs somewhere else.”

  “Giving your child up for adoption takes great courage and great love. Whatever you decide, your family will support you.”

  Melissa struggled with the next question on her mind. “Amy told me there is a rumor going around about Dad and another woman. Do you think it’s true?”

  “I know your father, and I know he has been a faithful husband to me since the day we wed. I will admit he’s not always an easy man to live with, but his love for me has never wavered. Never.

  “Our family has been blessed with material wealth and much more. There are people who don’t have what we have and resent that fact. Any influential family can find itself the target of jealously and rumors.”

  “I guess you’re right, Mom.”

  “I am. Now, enough about our tale of woes. Tell me what it was like traveling around the country with a rock band.”

  “You do not want to know that stuff.”

  Nora sighed. “I imagine you’re right. You might not believe this, but I did envy you your freedom to pick up and go. I’ve always wanted to travel, to see the world and exotic places.”

  “Why don’t you?”

  “Your father has always been too busy with the company for us to spend more than a week away. Perhaps we’ll travel someday. When he’s better.”

  Behind the bookshelves, former Hamilton Media employee Curtis Resnick replaced the novel he had been feigning interest in and left quietly by the book room door. He could barely contain his glee. Once again, the Hamiltons had provided the perfect fodder for the town’s gossip mill. Now, all he had to do was deliver this delightful nugget to Ellen Manning. Her new position at the Observer made her the perfect accomplice for his little plan.

  The Hamilton family would continue to pay for ousting him and damaging his reputation, not to mention his finances by making him repay the money he had “borrowed.” The town was already abuzz with speculation about Wallace’s affair and the fact that Nora Hamilton had been pregnant with another man’s child when they wed. The Hamiltons might pretend they were better than all the rest of Davis Landing, but he would take them down a peg or two. No, a peg or two wouldn’t be enough. He wanted to destroy them and all they stood for.

  Curtis smiled as he thought about the youngest daughter following in her mother’s footsteps. She couldn’t have played into his hands better if she had tried. He would have to do a little digging, maybe even a little stalking, but he was sure he could come up with some photos to go along with the story. Soon everyone in town would know about Melissa Hamilton’s illegitimate child.

  Chapter Five

  Sitting on the front seat beside Richard in his car, Melissa waited eagerly for a glimpse of his house as he turned first left, then right, down the quiet streets in one of the newer residential areas of Davis Landing. She had never been to his home, and she found herself wondering what kind of house he would have chosen for himself. The dwellings they passed were large with spacious lawns, but they lacked the mature oak and pine trees that graced the homes in her old neighborhood. When he turned, at last, into a circular drive, she was pleased to see a modern, Colonial-style house.

  The two-story wood and stone home had wide multipaned windows spaced evenly on either side of an oval porch that jutted out in front. The two tall white columns that supported the porch gave the home a regal appearance. Yew trees in matching white containers were set as accents beside the front door. Yellow climbing roses covered a wrought-iron trellis at the side of the garage. The low box hedge bordering the property gave it a neat, well-cared-for and stately air. Beyond the house, the backyard rose at a gentle slope to a densely wooded hillside.

  Richard parked in the drive out front and after getting her bag from the trunk, he held her door open. Melissa got out and saw Angela Hart coming down the walk. Melissa remembered his sister fondly from college. Angela’s happy personality, vibrant green eyes and beautiful, thick red hair worn in a braid down her back had always made Melissa think of Ireland. At her side was a tall burly man with brown hair, a neat goatee and a wide smile.

  “Welcome to our temporary home,” Angela said as she extended her hand.

  “Thank you, Mrs. Hart.”

  Angela gave Melissa’s hand a quick squeeze. “Don’t thank me until after you meet our hooligans, and please call me Angela. This is my husband, Dave.”

  “How do you do?” Melissa said.

  “We can’t thank you enough for agreeing to help look after the girls. It surely does take a load off my mind.” Melissa’s hand was engulfed in his as he gave it a hearty shake.

  “I’m happy I can help.”

  Angela said, “Come in and meet the rest of our family. Your room is ready. I hope you like it.”

  “I’m sure I will.” Melissa followed Richard’s sister and brother-in-law into the house. The oversize white front door opened into a spacious foyer tiled in pale native stone. Beyond was a formal living room decorated in tastefully muted shades of browns and beiges with rich, textured fabrics covering a large sofa and matching chairs. The oak floors gleamed with warmth as the tall windows framed in pale gold drapes let the autumn sunshine pour in.

  Melissa glanced at Richard and found him watching her closely. She smiled. The house fit him exactly. It was masculine, yet not overpowering or dark.

  Giggles and the patter of feet on the stairs announced the arrival of one of Richard’s nieces. The girl rushed to her mother’s side, looking Melissa over with frank curiosity. She wore a pair of faded jeans and a yellow T-shirt with a rock band logo on it.

  Angela slipped her arms across the child’s shoulders. “This is Lauren. Lauren, this is Miss Hamilton. She is the lady who is going to be staying with us for a while.”

  Lauren obviously took after her mother in looks. Her curly, bright
red hair was cut short and framed a round face dotted with a liberal sprinkling of freckles. Her green eyes studied Melissa intently. She gave a bob of a curtsy. “Pleased to meet you, Miss Hamilton.”

  “Please call me Melissa. Miss Hamilton sounds so formal.”

  “Where is Samantha?” Dave asked.

  Lauren said, “She’s upstairs.”

  “Please go tell her our guest is here,” Angela said.

  “She knows. She says she doesn’t need a babysitter.”

  Angela gave Melissa an apologetic look. Dave patted his wife’s arm. “I’ll go talk to her.”

  “I’m coming.” A sullen voice from the stairs caused Melissa to glance up.

  Samantha Hart had inherited her father’s straight, dark hair and brown eyes. She was dressed in jeans and a red T-shirt and she sauntered down the steps with evident reluctance. She sent a covert glance toward Melissa. On one hand, it was apparent that the girl was trying to look bored, but it was equally obvious that she was curious about the woman who would be living with them. She stopped beside her mother and crossed her arms over her chest.

  “Pleased to meet you, Miss Hamilton,” she drawled, but Melissa could tell she wasn’t pleased in the least bit.

  Melissa smiled at Samantha. She knew a thing or two about being a rebellious child and she wasn’t put off by the frosty reception. “I’m pleased to meet you, too. I’m sorry, everyone, but I’ve had a long day. I believe I would like to lie down for a while. Samantha, could you show me to my room?”

  Samantha glanced at the disapproving adults in the room and wisely chose to comply with Melissa’s request. “Sure. It’s this way.”

  Melissa winked at Richard as she walked past him and he nodded. Following Samantha down the hall, Melissa waited until the girl opened the door of a spacious guest room before speaking. “Samantha, can I ask you a favor?”

  The girl regarded her with a suspicious frown. “I guess.”

  “I’d rather you didn’t tell your mother this, but I’ve never babysat before and I have no idea what I’m supposed to do.”