“Yes, I did.” She placed a hand on Trevor’s shoulder to reassure the boy that she hadn’t changed her mind. “If you and Trevor are still here in another week or so when the danger of frost has passed, I told him he could help me in the gardens at home.” She met Ellis’s gaze head-on. “If that’s okay with you, that is.”
“It’s fine by me.” Ellis took the tray Trevor had just emptied and placed it on top of the other trays. “Maybe I could lend a hand and get some tips from a professional. I didn’t realize Trev would be interested in flowers.”
“It’s not the flowers so much.” She pushed the cart back out onto the wider center aisle. “It’s the digging in the dirt that has him so excited about gardening.” Trevor hopped onto the front of the cart as she carefully pushed it toward the doors. It was the game they had been playing all afternoon. She pushed, Trevor rode.
She glanced at Ellis as he automatically started to follow them. “Who’s Wayne?” She wanted to know not only who he was, but why he wouldn’t let Trevor dig in the garden.
“Wayne’s the man I hired to take care of the lawn. He cuts the grass, rakes leaves and mulches.” Ellis shrugged his shoulder as if he had never really given any serious thought to Wayne or the gardens at his house. “You know, stuff like that.”
She frowned. Stuff like that. What in the world did that mean? “What kind of flowers do you have at home?” She glanced at Trevor to make sure he was holding on tight and wasn’t in any danger of falling.
“Flowers?” Ellis held open the door as she pushed the cart outside and toward the greenhouse nurturing all the geraniums. “We don’t have any flowers.”
“You don’t have any gardens?” What kind of house did Ellis and Trevor live in? She had imagined Ellis living in some great big modern home filled with expensive furniture to match his expensive car.
“Of course we have gardens.” Ellis walked beside her and watched his son, who was glancing around in total awe.
“Well, if you don’t have flowers, what’s in them?” She stopped in front of a greenhouse and Ellis graciously opened the door.
“I don’t know.” Ellis followed her into the greenhouse. “Bushes and—” his arms waved into the air as if he was going to pluck the answer from the sky “—green things.”
She had to duck her head to keep from laughing. Ellis had green things in his gardens. “I see.”
“Don’t you dare laugh.”
She bit her lower lip and tried picturing something sad. She pictured Ellis’s fancy house surrounded by gardens without a single flower in them. The green things sprouting were little martians with big heads and six round glowing eyes. She couldn’t hold it in a minute longer. She burst out laughing.
“Sydney,” Ellis warned as he took a step closer.
“I’m sorry.” She glanced at his face and saw the smile twitching at the corner of his mouth. “It’s just that I’ve never seen a house without at least one flower in the yard somewhere.”
“We have flowers.” Trevor hopped off the cart now that she had stopped pushing. “They’re pretty yellow ones.”
“We do?” Ellis looked perplexed.
“Do you know their names?” Trevor had picked up on quite a few names this afternoon. Maybe he knew what kind of flowers Ellis obviously couldn’t remember owning.
“Yep, Wayne told me what kind they are.”
“What kind are they?” she asked.
“Damn dandelions.” Trevor appeared quite pleased with himself. “Wayne calls them damn dandelions. I remember because I like lions, but they don’t look like lions.”
Sydney tried to cover her laugh with a cough and failed miserably. Ellis seemed to be having the same trouble. “They’re just dandelions, Trevor, and they aren’t a flower. They’re weeds.”
Ellis reached for Trevor’s hand. “I think it’s time I took you back to the house so Sydney can get some work done around here.”
Trevor looked ready to cry. “But, Dad...”
“I’m sorry, Trev, but you need to take a bath before we go out.”
She glanced at the dirt smearing the front of Trevor’s jacket and hands. A little dirt never hurt anyone. “Out? Where are you two going?” Hopefully it was someplace Trevor would like.
“It’s not just the two of us, it’s the four of us.” Ellis smiled at his son. “Thomas wants to go out to eat, so you need a bath before dinner tonight.”
“My father wants to go out to eat?” First Thomas was visiting his friends at the police station, and now he was going out for dinner: Thomas hadn’t eaten in public since the accident When she had suggested going out to eat months ago, he had declared he wasn’t going to be someone’s evening entertainment. When his frustrated jabbing at the plate to locate his food had settled down to a gentle probing, he had finally decided to eat something once in a while. And since Ellis’s arrival, her father’s appetite had improved tremendously.
“There’s a steak house about twenty minutes away that’s owned by a guy who went to school with my mother. Thomas called him and he said to stop in tonight and he’d not only guarantee a great meal, but he’d answer any questions your father might have.”
“Do you mean Josh’s Place?”
“That’s the name. Josh has us down for reservations at seven.”
She couldn’t detect any hope in Ellis’s eyes, only curiosity. “Josh’s Place has the best steaks in the county.” She wondered if her father wanted to talk to the restaurateur for information or if he suspected that Josh might be Ellis’s father. Tonight would tell.
She smiled at Trevor, who was still holding his father’s hand. “You go ahead home with your dad and get ready. I’ll be there as soon as we close.” She glanced at her watch and frowned. Where had the afternoon gone? It was nearly closing time. “Tomorrow if you want to help, we can start putting out some of the asters and marigolds.”
“Can I, Dad, please?”
“As long as it’s okay with Sydney.” Ellis gave her a smile that not only thanked her for being so nice to Trevor, but promised a sweet reward later. “Let’s get going so you’ll have plenty of time to play in the tub. Say goodbye and thank-you to Sydney.”
Trevor smiled at her. “Thank you and goodbye.”
“You’re welcome and I’ll see you in a little while.” She gave Ellis a look that she hoped conveyed what she’d be doing with him in a little while.
Ellis’s answering smile told her he got her message, loud and clear. “Come on, Trev. On the way home I think it’s time we had a man-to-man talk on appropriate language.”
She watched as father and son walked out of the greenhouse and toward the path that would lead them back to the house. One day she would have to watch them walk out of her life, but not today. Not yet.
Josh was a big robust man who looked as though he should have been a cattle rancher out in Montana someplace. Instead, he was born, raised and still lived in Coalsburg. The farthest he had ever been was Atlantic City, New Jersey, and the only thing he knew about cattle was how to cook them.
Josh didn’t remember a whole lot about Catherine Carlisle. He remembered her parents more because his family had been members of their church.
“Sorry, Tom, but I can’t really remember too much about Cathy. She didn’t hang out with the gang. Her parents wouldn’t allow her to do anything that wasn’t related to the church.” Josh took a sip of his beer as the waitress cleared the table of the empty dishes. “She had some strict parents. Both of them used to frighten the living tar out of me. Preached about H E double L and damnation all the time.” Josh smiled at Trevor, who was busy coloring another kiddie paper place mat the waitress had brought him.
Sydney knew Josh was toning down his language for Trevor’s sake, even though the boy seemed totally disinterested in the conversation. It had been agreed upon that Thomas wouldn’t mention that Ellis was Cathy’s son unless it became necessary. Who Ellis really was would be circulating around town soon enough. Pete, Harvey and John down at th
e police station already knew, and she was sure the news was getting out and about. If Josh didn’t connect Ellis to Catherine, then they weren’t going to do it for him. They wanted honest answers. Josh might hold back some information or speculation out of respect for the departed Catherine.
And under no circumstance was Thomas to mention Trevor’s illness and the reason for all the questions.
She glanced at Ellis to see how he was holding up. He seemed more interested in his coffee than in what Josh was saying, though she knew he was listening carefully.
“Do you remember when she left town?” Thomas seemed to relax more now that dinner was done and the table in front of him was cleared.
“I don’t remember when she left, but I remember the stink her parents put up.” Josh sadly shook his head.
“Her parents were concerned for her safety?” Ellis suddenly appeared interested.
“Can’t say that they were.” Josh took another sip of his beer. “Her father preached for months about disobedience of children and breaking of the Commandments, especially the one about obeying thy father and mother. Her mother used to glare around the congregation and claim her daughter had been seduced away by the devil.” Josh drained the rest of his glass. “Me, I figured the poor girl couldn’t take any more and just split. Why you want to know about Cathy anyway?”
“Let’s just say I’m curious.” Thomas rubbed his chin with his thumb. “Do you remember if she was dating anyone back then?”
Josh shook his head. “Cathy didn’t date anyone. She wasn’t allowed. Quite a few of the guys asked her out, but she never went with any of them.”
“What about the prom?” Sydney couldn’t sit quietly by and watch Trevor’s only hope vanish before her eyes. Someone had to have some idea about who Cathy had been seeing. She hadn’t gotten pregnant all on her own. “Surely she had to have gone to her senior prom.”
“Afraid not.”
“Were you one of the guys who asked her out?” Ellis was staring directly at Josh.
Sydney glanced between the two men and couldn’t imagine them being father and son.
Josh chuckled and shook his head. “You obviously never met my wife, Paula. We’ve been together since we were fifteen. Paula would have cut my...ah...ears off if I so much as thought about asking out another girl.”
Thomas chuckled along with Josh. “How is Paula and the family?”
“Good, good. Paula’s out in Pittsburgh with Bethany, our youngest of six daughters. Bethany just had her first baby last week, another granddaughter.” Josh shook his head in wonder. “That makes our eleventh grandchild, and not a grandson among them. A man can get tired of buying pink frilly dresses and dolls.” A big grin split his face. “But they sure are cute when you hold them.”
Josh nodded to a waitress who was trying to get his attention. “I’ve got to go see what the problem is now.” He laid a big hand on Thomas’s forearm and gave it a gentle squeeze as he stood up. “It’s sure good to see you getting out and about now, Tom. Don’t make yourself so scarce in the future.”
“Thanks.” Thomas seemed moved by Josh’s words.
Josh released her father’s arm and smiled at her and Ellis. “It’s good to see you too, Sydney. I don’t know what all the questions about Cathy have been about, but I do know one thing. If she had a secret boyfriend, the boy had to be either incredibly stupid or incredibly brave. Her parents would have roasted him in Hades for just talking to her.”
Sydney watched as Josh disappeared into the kitchen. He hadn’t been able to shed any light on who Ellis’s father might be. The only thing he had done was confirm what she had been beginning to suspect. Cathy’s parents, Ellis’s grandparents, hadn’t been very supportive. They were dominating, severe and uncompromising. No wonder poor Cathy had fled when she had discovered she was pregnant.
“Well, that was interesting,” Thomas said to no one in particular.
“What was so interesting about it?” Ellis finished his coffee. “He didn’t say anything that we didn’t know before.”
“He confirmed what I was beginning to suspect. Your parents hid Cathy’s liaison very well. Too well, in fact.” Thomas’s thumb continued its journey back and forth over his jaw. “I was away at Penn State during Cathy’s last year in high school. I got home for summer vacation right before she graduated. I didn’t remember her having a boyfriend, but it was possible I might not have heard about it.”
“I still don’t see what’s so interesting?” Ellis looked discouraged.
“I think we might be looking in the wrong place. I don’t think her friend was in high school with her.”
“What makes you think that, Dad?” She gave Trevor a curious glance, to see if he had finally started to pay attention to the conversation. He hadn’t. He reached for a blue crayon and started to color in the sky on his picture.
“I don’t think they could have kept it such a secret in front of the whole school. One thing I have learned in all my years of police work is that high-school students don’t keep secrets.”
“What secret?” Trevor was done with the picture and his attention was finally drawn to the adult conversation at the table.
Thomas looked startled, as if he had forgotten about Trevor’s presence. Ellis looked guilty. She took pity on them both and answered Trevor’s question. “The secret is dessert.” Trevor didn’t need to know that they had been discussing his grandparents’ affair.
“Dessert?” Trevor appeared quite interested now. “What kind of dessert?”
She leaned in closer and whispered, “Do you like chocolate cake?”
Trevor licked his lips and nodded.
She forced herself not to smile. “I happen to know that this place has the best chocolate cake in the whole town.”
“Really?” Trevor looked around the room at the other diners.
“Really.” She moved in closer and kept her voice low. “But there’s one thing you have to do when you order it.”
“What?”
“You have to ask for a glass of milk with it.” She licked her own lips and rolled her eyes, causing Trevor to giggle. “Trust me on this one, Trev, it just doesn’t taste the same without the milk.”
Trevor nodded his head, folded his hands in front of him and gave the outward appearance of being a little angel. His gaze was glued to the waitress two tables away.
Ellis chuckled and motioned for the waitress. “What are we waiting for? Let’s order some chocolate cake.”
“Milk too, Dad.” Trevor grinned at Sydney. “Don’t forget the milk.”
Sydney glanced across the table and met Ellis’s gaze. There was a fire burning in the depth of his eyes that had nothing to do with chocolate cake. That fire was directed solely at her and it not only warmed her blood, it warmed her heart.
She had to swallow twice before she could manage to say any words at all. Then she only managed a foolish, “Yeah, Ellis, don’t forget the milk.”
Ellis knew he was in trouble. Deep trouble.
He pulled the blanket up higher and tucked it under Trevor’s chin and around a sad-looking Winnie-the-Pooh who was sharing a corner of his son’s pillow. Trevor had fallen asleep on the way home from the restaurant and he had barely stirred when Ellis had carried him upstairs and changed him into his pajamas.
Trevor was exhausted, but it was a good kind of tired. It hadn’t been caused by endless rounds to doctors and batteries of tests. His son was tired from working at the nursery with Sydney. The fresh spring air and the excitement of helping out had put a rosy glow into Trevor’s usually pale cheeks. Dinner out had furthered the excitement and the huge slice of chocolate cake the waitress had placed before him had done him in. Trevor had done a remarkable job of trying to finish off the entire slice.
Ellis brushed back a lock of his son’s hair and gently kissed his forehead. He loved Trevor beyond life itself and would do anything to try to save him. Right now he didn’t know if he was doing the right thing or not. The odds w
ere heavily stacked against them.
He felt sleazy and disrespectful poking around in his mother’s past. He knew there had to be a very good reason she never told him about his grandparents. The more he heard about his mother’s parents, the more he understood why she had chosen to raise him on her own. He was also beginning to understand why his mother never stepped foot into a church the whole time he had been growing up. The picture he was getting about her childhood wasn’t pretty. But that still didn’t explain why she had named Thomas St. Claire as his father.
He had DNA proof that Thomas wasn’t his father, and that his mother had lied. Somewhere out there was his biological father, if the man was still alive. There was no guarantee that the man would be in good physical condition if they did locate him. The odds weren’t even that good that his father would still be in town.
Then there was the fact that this man would have to step forward and claim him as his son, after thirty-three years of silence. Then this fatherhood dropout would have to agree to be tested. When Ellis added on top of all those insurmountable odds that there would have to be a match, the whole thing seemed just about hopeless.
If all that wasn’t depressing enough, he had come to care for a woman—really care—at the worst possible time of his life. Just as Trevor didn’t deserve this disease, Sydney, poor innocent Sydney, surely didn’t deserve all the emotional baggage Ellis would be bringing into any relationship they might have.
But when he had glanced across the table at her in the restaurant, he had known he couldn’t walk away from her. His heart wouldn’t let him. Just as his heart wouldn’t let him give up on Trevor. There was a miracle out there with his son’s name on it. All he had to do was search hard enough and he would find it. Bringing Trevor to Coalsburg showed him just how far he was willing to search.
He reached out and turned on his son’s night-light by the side of the bed. He never wanted Trevor to wake to total darkness. His son might not be afraid of the dark, but he was, and with good reason. A couple of nights he had awoken in total darkness and was seized with such fright that he had panicked uncontrollably until he had reached his son’s bed. He knew that if Trevor succumbed to the disease invading his body, the darkness would control the rest of his life.
A Father's Promise (Intimate Moments) Page 15