His Daddy's Eyes

by Debra Salonen

  “You do? You’re not appalled?”

  She grinned and made her brows waggle suggestively. “Actually, I’m flattered. I haven’t had time for a lot of dates, so this one is kind of special. It doesn’t have to be anything more than that.”

  Ren seemed surprised by her candor. “You never cease to surprise me,” he said.

  “Give it time. You haven’t known me very long.” She opened the menu, aware of his gaze on her. “What’s good here? I’ve seen this place from the road.”

  “I haven’t been here in a long time, but I understand the food’s great. I think I’ll have the pasta primavera.”

  When the waiter returned, she ordered the steak and shrimp, and Ren ordered a bottle of wine.

  “How’d it go at the clinic today?” he asked, after the waiter had left.

  Sara focused on buttering a piece of sourdough bread. It was one thing to talk flirtatiously, quite another to pull it off. She decided it would be best if she treated Ren as she did Bo—like a big brother.

  “Kee was a wreck. Claudie gave her a hard time to keep her focused.”

  “Big stretch there,” he said drolly.

  Sara took a sip of water. “Claudie isn’t as brave as she acts. When the technician put a needle in Kee’s arm to get a blood sample, she almost lost it. She once told me she saw a girl OD on heroin. That might be why she’s trying so hard to turn her life around.”

  The wine arrived. Ren tasted it, then nodded his approval. When both glasses were filled, he lifted his glass to hers and smiled. “To good company.”

  Sara took a sip. Buttery and delicious.

  “Bo told me Claudie’s working on her high-school equivalency exam. That’s a good start.”

  Before she could reply, an older couple stopped at their table. The man’s silver hair added to his aura of power and wealth. He shook Ren’s hand. “Lawrence, good to see you. Your mother tells me you’re thinking of running for office in the near future. I’m glad to hear it.”

  “Actually,” Ren said, “politics is Babe’s forte, not mine. I tried to convince her to run for office, but at the time, Senator, your seat was the only one up for vote.”

  The man guffawed, then looked at Sara. She thought she read speculation and curiosity as Ren introduced her. “Sara owns a bookstore. We share an interest in literacy,” he told them. Under his breath, he added, “Among other things.”

  The older couple asked a few questions about mutual acquaintances, then wished them a good evening and left. Ren looked at Sara over the rim of his glass. “What?” he asked, cocking his head.

  “Nothing. It’s just…they didn’t seem overly surprised to see you with someone other than Eve.”

  He shrugged. “Yesterday’s news. And, frankly, I doubt if our breakup was a big surprise to anyone other than my mother.”

  Before Sara could say anything, the waiter arrived with their meals. He added a bit more wine to both glasses, then tactfully disappeared. Ren lifted his glass, “To new beginnings.”

  Sara touched her glass to his, but found it hard to swallow over the lump in her throat. Fortunately, Ren steered the conversation to more light-hearted subjects, and Sara relaxed. Between his dry wit and the best meal she could ever remember eating, the evening flew by.

  On her front porch later, she found herself wishing Claudie hadn’t been quite so specific about what not to do.

  “I had a great time. Thanks,” she said, meaning it.

  Ren kept his distance. “So did I. Maybe we could—” His words were cut short by Bo, who stumbled outside like a just-released hostage.

  “You’re back,” he cried. “Thank God.”

  Sara frowned. “What happened?”

  “You didn’t tell me he likes to hide, but I only lost him twice,” he boasted.

  “Lost him?” Ren repeated, his tone tense.

  “Hey, it’s a big house, and he’s fast. But Claudie called, and when I told her what happened, she suggested I tie a bell around his ankle.”

  “Like a cow?” Ren snarled.

  Bo bristled. “I’d like to see you do any better.”

  Laughing, Sara stepped between them. “Thank you for baby-sitting, Bo. I’m sure the bell delighted Brady. Claudie and I put little bells on his shoes when he first started walking, because he’d take off in a blink. I should have warned you.”

  He gave Ren a smug look, then told Sara, “Actually, I had a pretty good time, but he wore me out. I’m taking off, if that’s okay with you.”

  She gave him a friendly hug. Then Bo and Ren exchanged nonverbal grunts that made her repress a giggle.

  Once the Mazda disappeared into the night, Sara took a deep breath and looked at Ren. He was studying her face for some reason. “Thank you for the wonderful meal and great company,” she said, pleased by how calm she sounded. Memories of that first kiss were never far from her mind—a teasing hint that made her crave more. “I felt like a real grown-up.”

  Ren took a step closer. “A grown-up? Was that ever in doubt?”

  Sara’s breath caught in her throat. “All the time. Right now I feel like a teenager on her first date.”

  “Really?” He smiled wolfishly, his fingertip tracing the scalloped trim at her shoulder. “In that dress you look young enough to get me in trouble.”

  Leaning down, he narrowed the gap between them. Sara’s heartbeat sped up; her lips parted on their own accord. Kiss me.

  But at the last second he veered slightly, his lips brushing her cheek. “I have a feeling where Claudie’s concerned it wouldn’t take much to get me in trouble. I should leave while I’m still ahead.”

  Sara dropped her chin to keep her disappointment from showing. “I’ll tell her you were a perfect gentleman,” she said softly.

  Ren didn’t move. When Sara looked up, she saw something that took her breath away. Desire.

  “Good night, Sara,” he said, his voice low and husky. “I’ll call you tomorrow. Sleep well.” When he turned and walked away, Sara thought she heard him add, “Lord knows I won’t.”

  CHAPTER TEN

  REN STOPPED PACING the moment Rafael Justis poked his head around the door between their offices, his brows knit with concern. “Are you okay?” he asked.

  “Fine,” Ren said, and to prove he meant it, he walked to his desk and sat down. The young man didn’t look thoroughly convinced, but he backed out and closed the door.

  With a weighty sigh, he pulled his calendar into his line of vision. Six weeks…the results of the DNA test wouldn’t be back for at least six weeks. It wasn’t a lifetime, but it sure felt like one.

  All parties had met at Armory’s office earlier that morning. Sara hadn’t wasted any time living up to her part of the bargain. “If it’s as easy as you say it is, we can stop by on our way to the bookstore,” she’d told Ren on the phone last night. He was certain he detected a nervous tremble in her voice, but she didn’t hesitate when he suggested meeting at his attorney’s.

  “He’s old school, Sara, a friend of my father’s. He wants to oversee everything to ensure there are no problems farther down the road,” he’d explained.

  She didn’t quibble. “Tomorrow morning at nine? We’ll be there.”

  When Ren called Armory at home to confirm this morning’s meeting, the older man had expressed curiosity about why Sara had agreed to the test. “You’re not in any way coercing her or taking advantage of her circumstances, are you?”

  Ren smiled, pleased that Armory had the strength of character to care about Sara’s welfare, too. “I’m paying to have her eaves scraped,” he said.

  “I beg your pardon? That’s not some kind of kinky body surgery, is it?”

  Ren was well acquainted with Armory’s sense of humor, so he’d let the question slide. “I’m helping her finish some repairs that should have been done long ago through the estate. As a matter of fact, I’d like you to check up on the lawyer handling those matters. I’ll give you the details when I see you tomorrow.”

&nbs
p; The actual test had gone smoothly. Both Sara and Brady seemed to relax, thanks to Armory’s gentle charm and obvious goodwill. His grandfatherly white hair had thoroughly entranced Brady, and Ren’s heart had clutched for a moment as he wished his own father were there.

  To get the ball rolling, Ren began by reading the instructions aloud. Brady had been intrigued for about one minute, then wanted off his mother’s lap.

  “It can’t be all that complicated,” Armory said, pulling his chair out into the middle of the room adjacent to Ren’s and Sara’s. “You’ve got some extra stick-things there. Let’s all do one, so Brady can see how easy it is. If you don’t mind, young lady, I’ll do yours,” he said to Sara.

  She giggled when the swab touched her inner cheek, and Brady immediately wanted in on the action. “Me?”

  “Why don’t you try Ren, Brady?” Sara suggested. “Be very gentle, sweetie. You don’t want to hurt him.”

  Ren added extra sound effects that made Brady chortle. “Me?” he asked.

  “Okay. Your turn. Open wide.” Just to be safe, Ren collected two samples from Brady, then two from himself.

  Armory produced four lollipops. “Sugarless,” he told Sara with a wink.

  And that had been the end of it. Armory had assured Ren that he would have the samples sent by courier to the company that afternoon.

  Flawless. Simple. It was just a matter of waiting, Ren thought now, penciling out the weeks on his calendar. Could he wait that long? What choice did he have?

  “Sir?” Rafael asked, opening the door. “You wanted to finish up the defense witnesses before lunch.”

  Ren rose and reached for his judge’s robe. “I know. Would you please do me a favor? Call Sara Carsten at No Page Unturned and ask her to meet me in Capitol Park by the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. Twelve-thirty.”

  SARA HUNG UP THE PHONE—for once grateful the store wasn’t busy. Her stomach felt queasy. The test this morning had been painless and she’d liked Ren’s attorney, but she hadn’t slept well the night before, thanks to her talk with Daniel. His concern about the test had made her begin to second-guess her decision. Was her attraction to Ren getting in the way of common sense?

  “Are you sure you can trust Ren Bishop?” Daniel asked. “I’m not saying he’s a low-life bum like Jeff, but he could be using you for his own purposes.”

  Daniel’s words had haunted her sleep. Could Ren be believed, or did he plan to take Brady away from her once his paternity was established? What would keep him from seeking sole custody if he was Brady’s biological father? Even Julia’s wishes would take second place to that kind of leverage, wouldn’t they?

  Sara rubbed her temple, cocking her head to listen for Brady’s quiet chatter in the story area. One of her regular customers had popped in a few minutes earlier, asking Sara to keep an eye on her little girl while she ran to the bank. Brady and the little girl had spent five minutes staring at each other before finally deciding it was safe to engage in play. Sara had felt saddened, realizing how much Brady needed to be around children his own age and how rarely the opportunity arose.

  Then Ren’s clerk had called, shaking her even further. The procedure that morning had gone smoothly—almost too smoothly. Why did Ren want to see her? Was something wrong?

  The bell over the door tinkled, making Sara start. Her tension eased a bit when she saw Keneesha and Claudie enter. “Hello, ladies,” she called. “Aren’t you looking chipper today, Kee. That medicine must be working.”

  “I not only look good, I feel good,” her friend replied, helping herself to a cup of coffee from the air pot. Instead of her usual sweet roll, however, she took a banana from the bowl and carried her snack to Sara’s desk. “See this. I’m watching what I eat. Natural sugars from fruit are better for you than refined sugars.”

  Sara blinked. “Wow. You’ve been reading all that literature the doctor sent home, haven’t you?”

  Keneesha gave her a sober look. “A visiting nurse came to see me this morning. She told me if I didn’t take care of myself I could wind up losing a leg or going blind.”

  Claudie joined them. “There’s an image. How much money do you think a one-legged, blind hooker could make on the street?”

  The blunt question made Sara cringe, but Keneesha and Claudie looked at each other and burst out laughing. Sara shook her head. “You guys are bad.”

  “Not for long,” Keneesha said.

  Sara could tell by her serious tone that something was up. She waited for the woman to continue.

  “I called back home last night. My mama lives in Georgia. She’s got my kid.”

  “You have a child?” Sara asked, astounded by the news. “And you never told me?”

  “A boy. He’s fourteen. I haven’t seen him since he was three. My mama told me if I left, he was as good as dead to me, so I tried to pretend he was.” She was quiet a minute, then said, “Mama says he’s doin’ real good. Plays sports in school. She told me I could come home if I wanted to.”

  “So when ya leavin’?” Claudie asked, her face stony.

  Keneesha gave her a look that said she understood her friend’s attitude. “It’ll take me a couple of weeks to get all my shi—stuff together. I gotta get my blood sugar level and my medication stable, too.”

  “You’re moving to Georgia?” Sara exclaimed. “Really?”

  Keneesha nodded. “My mama’s got diabetes, too. I figure we can watch out after each other. And being around Brady so much has made me kind of miss my kid.”

  Impulsively, Sara hugged her friend, tears coming to her eyes. “I will really miss you, but I think it’s wonderful you’re reuniting with your family. How can I help? Do you need boxes? There are a million out back.”

  Planning Keneesha’s move helped take Sara’s mind off her upcoming talk with Ren, but Claudie seemed to sense something was amiss. When they walked into the storeroom, she asked, “So what’s going on with the judge? How was the big date?”

  Sara sat down on a wobbly stool. “The date was fabulous. Beautiful restaurant. Wonderful food. Ren was a perfect gentleman. He even brought me flowers.”

  Claudie didn’t look impressed.

  Sara took a breath, then said, “We did the DNA test this morning.”

  “Bo told me.” Claudie shrugged. “It was gonna happen, anyway. Are you sorry you did it?”

  “No, but Daniel’s worried that Ren is only being nice to me because of some ulterior motive.”

  “Like what?”

  “Like he wants to lull me into a false sense of security so he can get close to Brady, then sue for sole custody.” Sara couldn’t stop her voice from squeaking as she spoke.

  “Sounds like something a lawyer would do,” Claudie said under her breath.

  “Ren’s clerk called a little while ago and said Ren wanted to see me at the park at twelve-thirty.”

  Claudie scratched her chin thoughtfully. “I haven’t quite figured the guy out. My gut says he’s dangerous, but so far he’s been okay. I think I should go with you. Kee’s ready to kiss the ground he walks on for insisting we take her to the clinic, so she wouldn’t be much help if he tries something shady.”

  “Good idea,” Sara said, feeling a little less troubled.

  Claudie, who was neither naive nor gullible, had killer instincts when it came to men. She’d help Sara guard against her unreliable response to Ren Bishop’s sex appeal.

  REN SHIFTED against the wooden slats of the bench. At an adjacent bench, a homeless man slept curled in a tight ball as if trying to ward off society. Ren could sympathize with him. All morning he had been bombarded—defense lawyers, prosecutors, the District Attorney, his mother.

  Somehow Babe had managed to weasel Sara’s name out of Eve, and now seemed convinced Sara was a shakedown artist trying to extort money from him to support her child. Exasperated, Ren told Babe she was wrong. If anything, just the opposite was true: he was trying to extort shared custody from Sara. He’d managed to hang up without blowing up, but his pat
ience with his mother’s interference in his life was diminishing.

  “Ren!” a gleeful voice cried.

  Ren looked up to see Brady racing toward him. A prickly sensation attacked his sinuses, and he swallowed against the emotion that constricted his heart. If anyone had told him a child could affect him this way so quickly, he’d have laughed out loud. Actually, the strength of the bond he felt for Brady helped convince Ren of their biological connection.

  He sank to one knee, and when Brady hurled himself into his open arms, Ren hugged him fiercely. “Hi, big guy, how’s it going?”

  Brady returned the hug, then squirmed to be free. “’Quiddels,” he said, pointing toward a skinny creature with a moth-eaten tail.

  Ren released him, and the boy took off, chasing the animal, which raced up a tree and then scolded raucously.

  “Hi,” Sara said, walking up to Ren.

  Something’s up, Ren thought, rising. If they were at a different place in their relationship, he’d take her in his arms to reassure her that whatever the problem, they could handle it together. But they were a long way from that point, which was probably why she’d brought along reinforcements.

  “Hi, Sara. Hello, Claudie.”

  Claudie acknowledged him with a nod, then set about putting out their picnic lunch. She unfurled a blanket in the shade of a leafy buckeye tree and withdrew a soft-sided cooler from the stroller.

  “I brought an extra peanut-butter-and-jelly sandwich, if you’re hungry,” Sara told him.

  Ren knew he wouldn’t be able to relax until he’d gotten his proposition out of the way. “Maybe we should talk first,” he said, nodding toward the park bench.

  She exchanged looks with Claudie, then walked to the bench. Her tan cotton slacks showed grape jelly smudges that almost matched her lavender pullover. A pair of dark glasses held her hair off her face. Her eyes looked worried.

  He didn’t know how to begin.

  Sara watched his face intently as if sensing his nervousness. Claudie broke the silence by calling Brady to come eat his sandwich. Ren watched the boy swerve from his pursuit of another squirrel and run to the blanket. Brady dropped flat, wiggling in protest when Claudie wiped his hands and face with a cloth she produced from a plastic bag.