Man of His Word

by Cynthia Reese

  “Well, it just sort of occurred to me when we were changing. You look like us. You know, like a Monroe. I mean, technically, I’m an Anderson, because my mom married an Anderson, but everybody says I’m Monroe through and through. See? The cleft in the chin? That’s from the Monroe side. And your eyes? Ours are all either blue or green, just like yours. I’ll bet you’re double-jointed, too.” She stretched out her elbow and pivoted it into a twisty contortion.

  Marissa frowned and imitated the move. “Sure, I can do that. Can’t everybody do that?”

  “Uh-uh. My dad can’t. He says it grosses him out when Mama does it. But all of us Monroe kids can.”

  Marissa let Taylor’s words sink in. She treaded water for a minute or so in silence and stroked the cleft in her chin that she’d always thought made her look more like a boy than a girl. But Taylor was pretty, and she had one. Maybe cleft chins weren’t so bad.

  A strand of her hair floated across the surface of the water, spoiling the fantasy. “Yeah, but my hair isn’t like yours. I mean, it’s this awful strawberry blond, and all of you have either dark hair or really blond hair.”

  Taylor frowned. Then her face cleared. She fired her index finger at Marissa as if it was a gun. “Gotta be from your birth mom. You inherited it from her. But I think you’re mostly Monroe.”

  “So...” Marissa was still confused and couldn’t quite follow Taylor’s line of thought. “How does that figure into my adoption?”

  Taylor gaped at her and rolled her eyes. “Silly! Don’t you get it? Uncle Daniel has got to be your birth dad!”

  The breath went out of Marissa. She sagged against the pool wall. “You think so?”

  “Yeah. It’s the only explanation. Why else would that girl go to a fire station to have a baby? Probably it was like, I don’t know, what do they call Romeo and Juliet? Star-crossed lovers? You know, where the parents say, you marry her over my dead body? I’ll bet your birth mom was trying to get to Uncle Daniel so he could rescue her from her evil parents, but they caught up with her and made her give you up. Otherwise, you’d have stayed a Monroe.”

  Marissa could see more than a few holes in Taylor’s story—like why Daniel hadn’t kept her even if he couldn’t marry the woman he loved.

  But...

  “You know, he said that he tried to keep me.” Marissa recalled the wistfulness in Daniel’s voice when he’d told her mom and her that. “And he was kind of bummed that my mom had been able to adopt me, and she was his same age.”

  “See? You are a Monroe. And that means we’re cousins, cuz!”

  In an instant they were hugging each other and shrieking so loudly that Ma came out on the porch. “Y’all okay?” she called.

  Embarrassed, they shook their heads. “Yeah, we were just horsing around,” Taylor said.

  Ma shook her head. “You two look as if you’re seeing each other again after years apart. Come on, out of that water. The twins will be up from their nap, and they’ll want a snack, and I expect the pair of you could use some grub, too. How about some homemade ice cream?”

  Taylor scrambled for the deck. “Last one in the house is a rotten egg, cuz!” she shouted over her shoulder.

  “I’m no stinky egg!” Marissa cleared the poolside in one leap and grabbed for the towel. “’Cause I love me some ice cream, cuz!”

  Somehow, it gave her a special thrill to use the word. Finally, she had people. Cousins. Family. And family that she liked, which was a definite plus-plus, in her view.

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  DANIEL DID A double take Monday morning when he pulled up at the county’s Emergency Management Services headquarters. In front of the low, dun-colored building that housed not only the EMS, but also his brother Rob’s hole-in-the-wall office, a familiar car was parked on the blacktop.

  He squinted as he closed the truck door. Through the shimmering heat waves rolling off the asphalt, he made out a Fulton County tag.

  Kimberly.

  Daniel’s heart sank.

  He hadn’t heard a peep from Kimberly over the weekend—he’d gone by the hotel room Friday to issue Ma’s invitation, but they hadn’t been there. Part of him had hoped they’d left town.

  But they hadn’t. They were still here, still digging. And he’d totally forgotten about Randy Paxton—he should have warned Randy the same way he’d warned Tim this morning. It had been sheer luck that he’d gotten to Tim before Kimberly had.

  The door of the car swung open and one long leg extended out. His breath caught, and he tried to tell himself that he was simply glad that he still had a chance to protect Miriam.

  “Kimberly?” He closed the gap between his truck and her car.

  By the time he reached her she was out of the car, craning her head around to see who had called her name. The momentary flash of irritation on her face disappointed him in a way he couldn’t quite fathom.

  “Well. Aren’t you here, there and everywhere?” she remarked in a flat tone.

  “My brother Rob? The tall one? He’s in charge of arson investigations. His office is here, and I have a meeting with him. What are you up to?”

  She chuckled, and he felt his heart skip a beat as her expression lightened into amusement. “All of you Monroes are tall. I admit, it’s hard for me to keep the rest of your brothers straight—you, I know. The others? Sort of a blur.”

  Again, delight surged through him. He stood out. In a good way, he hoped. “Won’t be long, and you’ll know us all better than we do ourselves. We’re no mystery.”

  Her smile dimmed. “I’m afraid time is a luxury I don’t have. If I’m going to save back money to make the trip out to Indiana, then I—”

  “Indiana?” That was where Miriam’s family had been from. Had Kimberly already uncovered her identity? He’d clobber Tim if he had—

  “That’s where a doctor who specializes in PAI-1 deficiency is. She’s agreed to examine Marissa, see if they can determine without a genetic test if Marissa has the disorder. And anyway, this specialist knows all about bleeding disorders, so even if it’s not PAI-1, maybe she can figure out what it is.”

  Relief pulsated through Daniel. He breathed out a sigh. Here was a lifeline for him, another reason why he didn’t have to break his promise to Miriam. “So why not go there to start with?”

  “They’re not in network. And I have a ten-thousand-dollar deductible for out-of-network health care.”

  Daniel groaned. “Insurance companies.”

  “Me and you both,” she agreed. “If they’d agree to give me a waiver for either the genetic testing or to see this doctor, that would be wonderful. But the testing and examinations are sure to mount up—even with in-network doctors here in Georgia, one blood test was nearly a thousand dollars. A thousand! I—I—” She blinked, and Daniel saw that her eyes were awash with tears. “I don’t have that kind of money. This trip—” She waved her hand to encompass her surroundings. “It was a gamble. I hoped that we’d find something, anything...”

  Daniel swallowed past a lump in his throat. He could provide that something. All he had to do was say the girl’s name and the internet would probably take care of the rest.

  But a promise was a promise. That was why you had to be careful what you did promise.

  Silence stretched out between them. Then she twisted her mouth into a small smile. “Anyway, you asked why I was here. The EMS director? A Randy Paxton? Tim told me that he might be able to give me some information.”

  Daniel hoped he hid his dismay well. In as bright a voice as he could muster, he said, “Sure! He was there, same as me. Let me introduce you two—”

  “Oh, no, there’s no need for you to take that trouble—”

  “No problem. His office is right inside.” With a touch to her velvet-smooth arm, Daniel guided her toward the building. “Remember, I’ve got to see Rob anyway, and he’s right down the hall.”

  “But—” She twisted around to look him in the eye as they moved through the glass door. “I wanted—” />
  You wanted to meet him all by yourself so you could sweet-talk him like you did Tim, Daniel thought grimly. I made that mistake once already. I won’t do it with an old softy like Randy. One blink of those long lashes of yours, and he’d melt into a soft puddle of sure-I-can-help-you.

  “Oh, by the way,” he said, “Ma asked me to invite y’all out. To stay, I mean. And it is a waste for you to spend money on that hotel room—and no kitchen. She’d love to have you.”

  And there’s an upside for me: I can keep tabs on exactly what you find out about Miriam. If nothing else, I can at least give the girl a heads-up that you’re barreling her way.

  Kimberly came to a standstill in the hall. “Really?” Her lips parted in surprise. “Stay with her?”

  “With us. I live there, too, you know. That wouldn’t be a problem, would it?”

  He was gratified by the surge of pink that flooded her cheeks. For a moment she was completely... What was the word Ma always used? Discombobulated? The tip of her tongue touched the center of her upper lip, and she dropped her gaze. All Daniel could see was the crown of her head, shining with those dark, silky curls. He fought the urge to lift her chin, to...

  What? He had no business thinking these thoughts about this woman, of all women.

  “No. Of course not. Why would it be?” she replied in a husky voice, still not meeting his eyes.

  “Then after work, I’ll go by and grab your gear, and we’ll move you two in.”

  “I—I don’t know what to say.”

  Say you’ll stop chasing after Miriam. But he knew she couldn’t do that, no more than he could break his promise. They each had obligations.

  “It’s our pleasure. And Ma— Well, she’s—”

  “Wonderful,” Kimberly breathed, and at that exact moment looked up at him. The intensity of her voice and the shining emotion in her eyes vibrated through him. He imagined what it would be like for her to be saying that to him about him. “She’s wonderful. You’re lucky to have her.”

  “I know. After my dad... Well, I don’t take a single day for granted.”

  A door opened and slammed in a distant part of the building. It broke the spell. “So, um, can you direct me to Randy’s office?”

  “Sure, let’s go.”

  Daniel led the way, then poked his head into Randy’s office. “Hey, Pax.”

  “Daniel! Good to see you—wait, you’re not asking for me to apply for more grant money, are you?” Pax shifted back in his chair behind a desk piled high with files and ran a palm over a gleaming bald pate fringed with a dusting of salt-and-pepper hair. His white polyester uniform shirt strained over the spare tire he was always swearing he would work off. “Because my plate is full now, brother. Yeah, my plate runneth over.”

  “No, no. This isn’t to do with county business.” He opened the door wider and ushered Kimberly in ahead of him. “This is Kimberly Singleton—”

  “Hey, Tim called about you. You’re the one with the little girl—that baby. You delivered her, didn’t you, Daniel?”

  “Yeah. I did.” And in that moment, Marissa’s chubby newborn face sprang in clear relief in his mind.

  Kimberly stepped forward. “Tim and...uh, Daniel, too, thought maybe you could help? With remembering things about Marissa’s birth mother?”

  Pax looked past Kimberly to Daniel, who slowly shook his head and put a finger to his lips. In response, Pax scowled.

  “If—if it’s not too much trouble—” Kimberly stuttered, apparently thinking that Pax’s frown had been meant for her.

  “Nah, nah, not a bit. Whenever I see Daniel, it makes me think of that last firefighter’s grant we applied for—forty pages of nitpicky stuff. And he could have done it himself—”

  “Yeah, but you wear the grant coordinator’s hat. Wouldn’t want to horn in on your territory, bud,” Daniel quipped. He was grateful that at least Pax was covering for him. Maybe that meant he’d be careful with what he told Kimberly?

  “I know it was a safe-haven surrender,” Daniel said carefully, “and that means you can’t legally give her the girl’s name or any, well, clearly identifying details.”

  Pax raised one fluffy white eyebrow. “And you think you need to remind me of that? I’m the one always after you firefighters to remember patient privacy rights.” He shook his head and gave Kimberly a roll of his eyes. “Firefighters. A blabbety bunch.”

  Kimberly’s laugh was dry and nearly devoid of mirth. “Funny. Daniel seems fairly closemouthed to me.”

  “Yeah, well, he’s about the only one who remembers that even a fish wouldn’t get in trouble if he’d keep his mouth shut. Sit down. I might not be able to tell you identifying details, but you must have a number of questions. Maybe I can help.” Then he scowled at Daniel. “You staying? ’Cause if you are, you can start on this stack of paperwork for me.” He jabbed a finger in the direction of a foot-high pile.

  It was a clear warning to beat it. Daniel got the message, waved him off and made tracks. “Looks like you have this,” he told Pax. “Uh, Kimberly, I’ll call you? About moving your stuff?”

  She blushed. “Yes. Thank you...and be sure to tell your mother thank you, as well.”

  He nodded, closed the door behind him and sagged against it for a moment. A near calamity averted. From now on, if he was going to protect Miriam, he needed to think like Kimberly and be one step ahead of her.

  At least that would be an advantage of her sharing a roof with him. That, and enjoying the pink of her cheeks whenever she blushed.

  He shook off that last thought and headed down the hall toward Rob’s office.

  It was smaller and more cramped than Randy’s, but Rob didn’t mind. Most of the time, he was out in the field. Daniel pushed the door open. “Hey, Rob Roy, how’s it going?”

  Rob looked up from his computer screen. “Have I told you lately how much I hate bureaucracy? I thought I’d have that report for you this morning, but I’ve got one piece of information I still need to get—and the DA is saying we have to issue a search warrant to shake it loose. So here I am, doing the DA’s work for them, since they’re too busy for a Podunk third-degree arson charge.”

  “You reckon they’ll even take it to the grand jury?” Daniel collapsed into the folding chair by Rob’s desk. “I mean, if they’re not willing to help out now?”

  “Oh, sure, I do all the grunt work, and they get a slam-dunk indictment? You can bet they will. Plus, the woman has already pretty much confessed to me that she was the one who burned her boyfriend’s car. Remind me to never fall in love—all that happens is you get your heart broken, and then you lose all logic and think you can get over a broken heart by setting fire to somebody else’s belongings.”

  “So what do you need to finish the report?” Daniel asked.

  “The boyfriend’s financials. I have to show that he was current in his loan payments and his finances weren’t in distress.”

  “Can’t you ask him?”

  “Ah, he’s already forgiven Miss Matchbox Girl. I even think they’re engaged now—she probably popped the question so he wouldn’t testify against her.”

  “Wow. So how long will it take? The subpoena?”

  Rob shrugged. “Don’t know. Could be quick, if we get the right judge...and it could be a few days waiting for the right judge to come back from vacation. But, hey, maybe the boyfriend will wise up—hopefully before she burns down the house around him—and he’ll give us what we need without a subpoena. Sorry you made the trip for nothing. I meant to call—”

  “No, actually, Kimberly was here.”

  A slow grin kicked up the corners of Rob’s mouth. “Now, what did I just tell you about falling in love?”

  “I’m nowhere near falling in love,” Daniel huffed. “It’s only that Ma had asked me to ask Kimberly to stay with us while she was in town.”

  Rob’s eyebrows waggled. “Ma did, huh?”

  “You’re cynical, you know that?”

  “Me? No, cynical would
be that you’re moving Kimberly in to keep an eye on her little investigation. Me thinking you’re doing it so you can put the moves on her, that’s my born romantic side.”

  The fact Rob was too close to both sides of the truth made Daniel’s conscience squirm. “I haven’t been keeping tabs on what Kimberly’s doing,” he insisted. “Besides, she’s wasting her time. Nobody can tell her anything anyway. The law says so.”

  “Dumb law in this case, if you ask me. What’s so wrong with her knowing the family health history of her adopted daughter?”

  “Well, nothing in theory, but if girls had to fill out a batch of paperwork before they could anonymously surrender a baby, you can bet we’d be back to finding dead newborns rather than just abandoned ones, like we did before this law went into effect. It’s there for a reason, Rob. Like that subpoena. You wouldn’t want just anybody poking into your finances for kicks, now, would you? But if law enforcement needs to, for some legal reason, they can. There’s a remedy.”

  “Not for Kimberly, there’s not. Ma was saying she has no way of knowing anything about the girl who gave birth to Marissa, and she needs to know because the kid’s got this rare disease.”

  “She has options. They’re not easy ones, that’s all—or cheap.” Was he trying to convince Rob? Or himself? Either way, it didn’t seem to be working.

  “So which is it?” With way too much casualness, his brother flicked through a stack of files. “Are you moving her into Ma’s for romance or for spying? Or a little of both?” Now Rob looked up and winked.

  Daniel shoved back the chair, ignoring the screeching it made against the hard tile floor, and stood abruptly. “It was all Ma’s idea.”

  “Right. And that woman I’m investigating will never, ever again be tempted to solve problems with a pocket lighter and a can of lighter fluid. No, sir, officer, not on your life, officer—”

  But Daniel let Rob’s office door close behind him and cut off his brother’s sarcastic humor before he’d have to hear any more.