Past Secrets, Present Love

by Lois Richer

  Kelly had almost forgotten Ross was still there. She stared at him for several moments, then nodded.

  “Sorry, my brain’s a little foggy tonight. You’re talking about Barnaby Harcourt’s dirty little secrets, aren’t you?” She shook her head. “It was horrible to learn that my birth certificate had been altered. I always knew I was adopted but to change something so basic—” She faltered to a halt.

  “Finding out about his machinations was the first stone unturned. After that, things just began to unravel.”

  “That’s what sin does, falls apart when the light of truth is shined upon it.” Sandra’s stare remained on Kelly. “Do you have anything else you’d like to ask, honey?” she asked softly. “I promise I’ll answer as truthfully as I can.”

  “Except that you won’t tell me the name of this man.”

  Sandra shook her head. “I can’t.”

  “Then maybe you can tell me how you met him.”

  Sandra was silent for several moments. When she finally spoke her voice was so quiet Kelly had to lean forward to hear.

  “I was twenty. I couldn’t afford to go away to college right after high school, so I was working for my parents and saving money. I met him in the diner when he came for lunch. He was handsome, a professional, sure of himself and a charmer. I was shy, self-conscious and plump.” She glanced at Kelly, nodded, her lips forming a half smile. “I’m sure it’s a story you’ve heard a thousand times in your office at Tiny Blessings.”

  “That doesn’t matter. This is your story. Please, go on.”

  “Well, that very first day he started to flirt with me. Nobody ever showered attention on me so I could hardly believe he’d even noticed me. He left me this really large tip and a note on the back of his bill. ‘You have beautiful eyes.’” She snorted. “What a fool I was!”

  “Don’t beat yourself up. The guy was a creep looking for a place to show his true colors. You just got in the way.”

  “My parents were strict and they would have put a stop to it if they’d known, but I made sure they never did.” Sandra’s winsome smile made her look years younger. “At first we’d meet for coffee at a place out of town. We’d talk and talk. I heard all about his horrible marriage, his depressed wife and how he so wanted to be free of her but couldn’t because she needed him.”

  “A married man?” Kelly could feel the color leaving her face. It was worse, far worse than she’d ever imagined. Somehow this scenario had never played out in her mind—she was the unwanted child of a married man!

  “We started meeting more frequently. I was flattered that someone so good-looking, so smart, would notice little old me. He was ambitious and he had plans for the future. I was living a fantasy.” She shrugged. “Maybe I had dreams that he would take me with him up the corporate ladder, I don’t know. I did believe him when he said he loved me, that he would divorce his wife as soon as she was mentally well enough.”

  “Don’t say any more if it hurts too much,” Kelly murmured. She could hear the pain in Sandra’s voice and had no wish to cause more. “You can tell me some other time if you want.”

  “No, I’d like to finish. Then I can finally put it away.” Sandra accepted the cup of coffee Ross offered to her. “Thanks.”

  “You’re welcome.” He had another for Kelly but she shook her head. Her stomach had started its tap-dance routine again and coffee wouldn’t help.

  “Anyway, the inevitable happened. I got pregnant.” Sandra set her cup down, shook her head. “I didn’t mean that quite the way I said it,” she told Kelly. “I just meant—”

  “It’s okay. She understands. Go on.” Ross smiled encouragingly.

  “I actually thought he’d be happy about it. I was so naive.”

  “Most normal men would be,” Ross muttered.

  “He was furious at first. Then he told me he’d pay for an abortion. I couldn’t do that. It went against everything my parents had taught me for years. I wasn’t living a right life, but I knew what was wrong and I couldn’t violate that. Thank God I didn’t.” She pressed her hands over her face to muffle her sobs. “Thank God.”

  “The louse changed tactics when she wouldn’t go along with his great idea, probably because he was afraid of being exposed.” Ross’s mouth pinched into a grim line. “That would ruin his career ambitions for sure. So he told Sandra that he’d stand by her and the child, that he’d leave his wife, take care of her and the baby, but that she had to keep quiet about her pregnancy and not name him or everything would go up in smoke and he wouldn’t be able to support her.”

  Kelly had heard the same story many times before from girls who’d been tricked just as badly. The fact that this time it was her mother who’d been duped was something she wasn’t yet prepared to deal with.

  “So he convinced you to move to Richmond, probably paid for your apartment and gave you a little allowance to scrounge by on while you waited to give birth. You were out of the way and he figured no one would suspect you carried his child.” She smiled at the surprise written all over Ross’s face. “You might say I’ve heard it before in various shapes and forms.”

  “It must sound tawdry and horrid to you,” Sandra murmured, eyes downcast. “I guess it was. At the time I didn’t see that, of course. I loved him. I thought he loved me. He’d promised me marriage and I wanted to believe him.”

  “There’s nothing wrong with that. Sometimes hope in people is all we have to hang on to.” Her stomach was roiling again. The weight of what she’d been told pressed like a wall of bricks on her spirit. Kelly needed time to absorb it all, time to figure out how to balance her world again. And she needed to do that alone.

  “You’re not feeling well again, are you, Kelly? Don’t lie, I can tell from the pea-green color of your face. We need to go.” Ross gathered the dishes, slid them into the dishwasher, wiped the table and rinsed out the coffeepot in a few practiced moves. “I’ll leave the rolls in this container, in case you get hungry.”

  “Thank you.” She knew Sandra was waiting…for something. “I’m sorry to cut this short, but thank you for dragging up the past enough to tell me. I’d still like to know exactly who my father is.”

  “Maybe I’ll be able to tell you someday. Are you sure you don’t want to go to the hospital? Your hands are shaking.”

  “I’ll be fine.” She rose, walked behind them to the front door. “You don’t have to worry about me. Good night.”

  “Good night, Kelly.” Sandra gave her one last look then pulled her collar up and stepped out the door.

  “Thanks for the soup,” she called out belatedly. “It was delicious.”

  “Anytime.” Sandra wanted to say more but Kelly saw the look she exchanged with Ross and was grateful for the almost imperceptible shake of his head. She hurried toward her car.

  “Call me if you need anything. Promise?” Ross kept glancing over his shoulder until Sandra was safely inside her car, then he closed the door, his gaze intent as he stared down at her. “I do mean anything.”

  “I’ll be fine. I just need to think things through.”

  “I know. It’s unexpected and you’ve got to adjust. But you’re not alone, Kelly. Sandra will be here in a flash if you ask her. So will I.”

  “Thank you. I may take you up on that. But for now I need to pray about this.”

  “Why?” His eyes hardened. “What do you think God is going to do, change the past?”

  “He’s going to help me find a way to get through this, to put my life back together,” she told him simply. “I don’t understand why any of this happened.”

  “I do. A creep abused the trust a young woman put in him and God let her child be taken away.”

  “You’re very angry at God, aren’t you?” She leaned against the wall, weary but willing to listen if it would help him. “Why is that?”

  “It’s too long a story and you’re too tired. Maybe another time.” Ross brushed a tendril of hair off her face. His hand stayed cupped around her jaw, feath
ering against her skin. “You’re a strong woman, Kelly. I admire you for listening tonight. It can’t have been easy.” He leaned forward, brushed his lips against hers. “Sleep well,” he whispered, then left.

  Kelly touched her lips with her fingers, but her roiling stomach drew her attention from his kiss and she didn’t linger. She locked the door quickly behind him, then began turning out the lights. She’d reached the bottom step before the question blew through her mind. She’d made sure all the doors were locked, so how had Ross been able to get inside?

  She picked up the phone and called him.

  “The side door of the garage was open,” he explained. “But I locked it behind me.”

  “Oh. Thanks. Good night.”

  Kelly walked back to the door that opened onto the garage. She stood looking at it while her mind played back her actions of earlier today. It had been locked. She knew it had.

  So if Ross found it unlocked, that meant someone else had been inside—someone who was able to move freely through her house whenever they wanted. That thought sent chills up her spine.

  She locked the door once more, then dragged the heavy mahogany hall table in front of it. Fatigued beyond description, she started up the stairs once more. The phone rang but she ignored it until the answering machine kicked in to record the caller’s voice.

  “Better forget about the past and think about your future. If you want to have one.”

  Chapter Eight

  “I’d like all the locks changed, please.”

  Ross’s hand, raised to rap on Kelly’s office door, froze midair. He’d thought she was alone.

  “As soon as you can. Yes, that will be fine. Thank you.”

  Locks changed? The little tic at the side of his neck that always signaled trouble began racing a mile a minute. Something had happened. He tapped on her door while trying to tamp down his frustration.

  Why hadn’t she called him?

  “Come in.”

  “Hi.”

  “Hi, yourself.” Kelly stared at him. “You look angry. What’s wrong?”

  “You tell me. You’re the one who’s having your locks changed. I didn’t listen in deliberately, I just happened to be there at the right moment.” He flopped down in a chair and glared at her until she told him about the phone call and the door. “You’re sure you locked it?”

  She nodded. “Positive. Zach said they’re trying to trace the call but all they’ve been able to find so far are pay phone numbers. They have no clues about who was in here the night I got stuck in that closet, either.”

  “Huh.” He didn’t assimilate much of what she said, he was too busy admiring her formfitting red suit. Sick or healthy, Kelly Young was a lovely woman. “You look beautiful,” he murmured.

  “Thank you.”

  “And tired,” he added, noticing the droop to her eyes. “Did you get any sleep?”

  “Some.” She shrugged at his disbelieving look. “Okay, I dreamed a lot. Staying awake seemed preferable.”

  “You said that before,” he reminded her. “That you dreamed. What was it about last night?”

  She sank into the big chair behind her desk, folded her hands on top. Her face seemed to pale even more as she spoke.

  “It was about a fire and someone burning to death. Then the fire came toward me, only it wasn’t a fire, it was a person, and they had my parents tied up.” She shook her head. “It’s just a dream. It doesn’t make sense.”

  In a way it did. She’d tied together Sandra’s story of her mother dying in the diner fire to her own parents. The very basic psychology courses Ross had taken at the police academy taught him how to defuse hostage and drug situations. Applied to this situation he realized Kelly was afraid that accepting Sandra would cost her the happy memories of her parents.

  “Did you work out how you feel about Sandra?”

  She smiled. “That isn’t going to take me one night, Ross. It’s a process and I have to get there in my own way.”

  “I know. You’re doing fine.”

  “I’ll talk to her in a day or so.”

  “Okay. In the meantime, I came to ask you out for dinner.”

  “Oh.” Something flared in her eyes, then was dampened. “I’d better not. I was planning to clean out that closet tonight. Or at least make another start.”

  “You have to eat.” He squinted at her. “You haven’t stopped eating as well as sleeping, have you?”

  “It’s easier not to eat than to be sick all the time.” She unscrewed the lid of a container and tapped out three tablets which she took with a glass of water.

  “What’s that?”

  “Penicillin. I had an ear infection a few weeks ago. I’m just finishing the medication.”

  “Maybe that’s what is making you sick.”

  “The drug?” She frowned. “I’ve never had a problem with it before.”

  “Things change, Kelly. This has gone on too long. I think you should see a doctor.”

  “I second that opinion.” Pilar stood in the doorway, frowning. “I’ve been trying to tell her that all day. I even made an appointment for her at the office down the street.”

  “When is it?” Ross asked.

  “In ten minutes. Guess I’d better go cancel.” Pilar turned away.

  “Wait.” Ross rose, reached out to touch Kelly’s hand. “Come on, I’ll go with you.” She frowned. “What’s it going to hurt, Kelly? Worst-case scenario, he says you’ve got the flu and Mrs. Know-it-all Morrow is proven right. Come on.”

  “I agree with Ross. You should get this bug checked out, Kelly. We don’t want to pass on anything contagious to the baby that’s coming in next week.”

  Kelly’s eyes widened and she stood. “I’d never want that,” she whispered.

  “So we go.” Ross turned, winked at Pilar, who gave a thumbs-up, then grabbed Kelly’s coat and held it out. “Time’s a wastin’.”

  “You two are so pushy,” she complained, sliding her arms into the sleeves. “Give you an inch and you take a mile.”

  “Exactly.” Pilar stood back as they passed. “See you tomorrow, Kel. If the doctor says it’s okay.”

  “I’ll be back tonight no matter what he says. I want that storage closet empty.”

  “Why? What’s so important about it?”

  She blinked, shook her head. “Put it down to my need to tie up loose ends. Besides, there are some things that we could store there for use when the children come in.”

  “Or we could just say you’re an obsessive-compulsive who has to have everything in its place,” he teased.

  “We could. But we’re not going to say that, are we?” She gave him the same look his seventh grade teacher had when he’d smart-mouthed her.

  “No, Miss Young,” he agreed placidly as they walked down the stairs. Ross held out his arm when they reached the icy street, relishing the touch of her fingers on his sleeve. She was gorgeous in the long black coat, the perfect foil for her golden hair. He felt about ten feet tall when several passing males turned for a second glance at her.

  “This must be the place,” he said, reading the nameplate in the window. He pulled open the door, waited for her to pass through.

  “You know what I hate the most lately?” she whispered as they walked toward the desk.

  “No, what? And why tell me now?”

  “Because I just realized that I’ve lost control of my life. You and Pilar talked me into this. I’ll have to think of payback.” She gave him an arch look, then began to explain her presence to the receptionist, who directed her to a room down the hall.

  Ross would have preferred to go with her to find out exactly what the doctor had to say, but he made do with sitting in the waiting room, watching the people who came and went. One of those who was going was Dr. Eli Cavanaugh, whom Ross knew was a pediatrician at the Children’s Hospital in Richmond.

  “Hey, Ross. Good to see you again. You sick?”

  “No, I brought Kelly in. She hasn’t been feeling well.”
He studied the other man more closely. “I didn’t know you worked here.”

  “Don’t usually. I didn’t have a clinic today so a buddy of mine asked me to stand in for him here. He doesn’t get a lot of time off. I thought I was finished for the day, but I’ll check with the desk.” He held a hurried discussion with the receptionist, then returned to Ross. “Dr. Klein is backed up. Rachel’s not expecting me home for another hour or so. I can see Kelly if she wants to see me.”

  “I’m sure she’d be happy to talk to you.” He wasn’t sure of any such thing but Ross had a hunch that Eli might be able to wiggle more out of Kelly than someone she barely knew.

  “Sit tight. It shouldn’t take us long.”

  But it did take a long time and Ross, alone in the waiting room, had just checked his watch for the tenth time when the two finally emerged.

  “Everything okay?” he asked Kelly as he helped her with her coat.

  “You should ask Eli that.”

  The doctor’s face bore a serious expression. “I don’t think it’s flu, Kelly. I think it’s more in the nature of an infection of some kind. The blood work will tell me and I’ll call you about it as soon as I have the results. In the meantime, I’m giving you this prescription. I want you to take it until it’s all gone.”

  “More pills. I don’t think I’ve swallowed this many drugs in years.”

  “Well, you’re getting older,” Eli teased. “We all are. We break down quicker.”

  “That’s encouraging.” She made a face at him, pulled on her gloves. “You’ll let me know the results?”

  “As soon as I have them. Don’t overdo it, get plenty of rest.” He glanced at the chart in his hands. “You might think about going back to your water aerobics classes as a way to get rid of the stress. Anyway, I know how much you love the water so an hour of splashing around in it shouldn’t be a hardship.”

  “I do not ‘splash around,’” she told him with a grimace. “But I stopped because of the time factor. There’s so much to do.”

  “I thought January was your slow season.”

  “Slow for clients, but busy for us because we try to get all the odds and ends cleaned up in the office. Have to keep Tiny Blessings running like a well-oiled machine, you know,” she said cheekily.