His Secret Child

by Lee Tobin McClain

  Daisy patted her arm. “That could’ve happened to anyone. You’re a wonderful mom, Fern. You and Mercedes will be great for each other long-term. I’m so happy it turned out this way.”

  “Is it going to be weird,” Susan asked, “working out joint custody with Carlo when you weren’t even married to him?”

  Fern nodded. “Yeah, especially when we’re...basically not speaking to each other.”

  Susan gave her a hard look. “Does that bother you?”

  “Well, of course it does.” She opened her mouth to say something about communication being important for Mercedes’s sake, but what came out was different. “I like him. A lot.”

  Susan lifted an eyebrow. “As in like like?”

  “I’m not totally surprised,” Daisy said. “You should let him know how you feel.”

  Fern heaved a sigh. “Easier said than done. He’s just so nice. He’d do anything for Mercedes, but...I wish he liked me for me, you know?”

  Daisy and Susan exchanged glances.

  “It’ll never happen,” Fern said to forestall a pep talk. “I’m just not the type of woman men go for. And someone like Carlo, all handsome and hunky and kind? There’s no way.” As she said it, a heavy weight seemed to settle atop her heart.

  Susan looked at Daisy. “Chatterbox?”

  “It’s two-for-one appetizers tonight,” Daisy said.

  “Come on, Fern,” Susan said, reaching for Fern’s hands and pulling her up out of her chair. “This calls for a lot more girl talk.”

  “Yeah,” Daisy added, patting Fern’s shoulder and then slipping into her coat. “Let’s go get some dinner. It’s five thirty and still a little bit light out. Spring’s only a heartbeat away.”

  “The Chatterbox’s fried zucchini will make everything better,” Susan said.

  But as she walked out of the bunkhouse with Susan on one side and Daisy on the other, Fern’s heart ached.

  She had Mercedes. She had friends. Life should be good.

  But she didn’t have Carlo. And wouldn’t. Not ever. “I’m going to have to take a rain check, guys,” she said.

  Daisy eyed her sharply. “You going to be okay?”

  Fern nodded. “I think...I just need a little time alone.” And not just alone; she needed time with the Lord.

  * * *

  Carlo and Angelica were sitting at the kitchen table the next morning when a car door slammed outside.

  Troy, spatula in hand, stepped from the stove to look out the window. “It’s Fern,” he said.

  In the cool of the slightly drafty kitchen, Carlo started to sweat. He was about to do one of the hardest things he’d ever done in his life.

  Fern knocked on the kitchen door and then opened it, sticking her head in. “Hey,” she said with just a trace of librarian shyness.

  Carlo’s heart constricted at the sight of her. She looked stressed, as though she’d been crying. The fact that he’d caused more than some of that stress bit at him.

  At least now he knew he was going to alleviate it.

  Inside, she accepted hugs from Troy and Angelica and peppered them with questions about how Mercy had done and how they’d survived the party. She was coming out of her shell, and he knew without a doubt that every unattached guy in Rescue River would want her. What would it be like if she started seeing other guys? If she found someone special to be with, to help her raise Mercy?

  The very thought made him nauseated.

  “Sit down, I’ll fix you some pancakes,” Troy said. “You’ll need your strength for the rest of the day. The kids didn’t get much sleep last night.”

  “Aw, thanks, but I’m not hungry. Where are the kids anyway?”

  “They’re watching the end of a movie.” Angelica lifted her hands in apology. “Sorry, I know you don’t let Mercy watch much TV—”

  “No problem! I totally understand.” She turned to Carlo. “We need to talk,” she said.

  Dimly he wondered what she had to say to him, but whatever it was, it couldn’t be as world changing as what he had to say to her. If she was going to tell him he was around too much, that he needed to back off, or that she’d decided to sue for full custody... Well, he could trump that.

  Oblivious of the undercurrents, Troy flipped pancakes like a short-order cook. “So, Fern, what have you been up to?”

  She shrugged, smiled at the man. “Actually, I’ve been writing and painting like crazy.”

  “That’s so cool,” Angelica said. “Our local librarian is going to be famous!”

  She blushed and shook her head. “I doubt that, but it helps me to think.”

  “Did you hear about Carlo’s new job?” Angelica asked. “Tell her, bro!”

  Fern looked surprised and interested. “Where? Doing what?”

  “A nonprofit that helps some of the migrant families,” he said quickly, wanting to get the unimportant stuff over with. “They needed a Spanish speaker, someone with field experience in the country. I start next week.” He looked over at his sister, his stomach churning. “Would you mind if we went for a little walk?”

  “Go for it. Troy and I will finish cooking, and the kids are content here with the dogs.” She gave him a tiny grin and a subtle thumbs-up.

  Whatever that meant.

  So they headed out the door and into the snowy countryside. The sky was a brilliant blue, and long icicles dripped from the eaves of the barn. In the distance, a farm truck chugged down the highway.

  It was as good a time as any. “I’ve been thinking about something—”

  “I’ve made a decision—” she said at the same time.

  They both laughed, awkwardly. “You first,” she said.

  He swallowed. “Okay. Fern, I’ve gone over and over this situation with Mercy. I’ve thought about it and prayed about it and I can only think of one thing that’s really best, best for both of you.” He paused, his heart hurting, and then forced the words out. “You should take her full-time.”

  She’d opened her mouth to speak, but with her words, her jaw dropped open and stayed that way a good few seconds.

  He rushed on, wanting to get this over with. “It’s not right to have a child go back and forth between two houses. She’s happiest at your place, with her books and her cat and her stars on the ceiling. And with...with you, Fern. You’re the best mother a little girl could ever hope for, and I trust you completely with her.”

  She was still staring at him.

  Why wasn’t she saying anything? “Of course, I’d hope you would let me have visitation rights. I want to be in her life,” he said. “I mean, who am I kidding? I want to raise her. But for her sake—and for yours—I’ll gladly give that up.”

  Silence. He couldn’t interpret the look in her eyes. “What do you think?” he asked.

  “Carlo.” She took his hand in her smaller ones, staring up at him.

  Being this close to the woman he loved made him a little dizzy. “Yeah?”

  “You’ll never believe this, but...I was going to offer the same thing. I’ve been up all night, reading my Bible and thinking about it, and I realized that Mercy would do fine being with you full-time.”

  “But—”

  She stopped his protest with a finger to his lips. The touch was quick and soft, like the feather of a bird, but it took his breath away.

  She went on, her voice resolute. “You have a great family. I mean, look at all this.” She waved a hand, encompassing Troy and Angelica’s house and the rescue barn and the snowy fields around them. “But more than that, you’re a great dad. And, well, it’s time to think about what’s best for her, not for me.”

  He couldn’t believe what he was hearing. He cocked his head to one side. “You’d sacrifice what you want for me and Mercy?” he asked.

  She
nodded. “Once I got my head on straight, yeah. I would. It’s the only thing to do. When you care about someone, you want the best for them.”

  “That’s what I thought, too.”

  They were quiet for a minute, staring at each other. Around them, sunlight sparkled on snow.

  A chilly wind loosened a lock of hair from Fern’s red cap. He brushed it back with a finger, thinking he’d never seen anything so beautiful as her face. “What part of the Bible were you reading?”

  She cocked her head to one side. “King Solomon?”

  Of course. He nodded slowly. “It just doesn’t seem right to divide the living child in two, not when she has a perfectly wonderful mother and home.”

  “What happens,” she asked in a voice that was barely louder than a whisper, “if both parties want to keep the child whole?”

  The question hung in the frosty air between them.

  Her bare hands looked cold, so he encased them in his larger ones. “I asked you before if you would marry me,” he said, “but you turned me down. Would you... Could you reconsider?”

  When she shook her head decisively, his heart sank.

  “No, Carlo,” she said, squeezing his hand, her eyes going shiny. “No! I just can’t. I can’t pretend about something as important as marriage.”

  “I wouldn’t be pretending,” he blurted out.

  Her eyebrows shot up into her hairline. “You wouldn’t?”

  He shook his head. “I think I fell for you the first night I saw you, taking such good care of a little girl I had no idea was mine, bringing me soup in a storm.” He smiled a little, remembering. “That feeling’s only grown over time, as I’ve gotten to know you. You had a bad start, Fern, just like I did, but you didn’t let it stop you from loving and helping and being part of the community.” He paused, unaccustomed to making such a long speech, but he felt as if his life and his future depended on it.

  The occasion demanded something else, too. He sank to his knees in the snow. “The fact that you’d be willing to give Mercy up, for her own good... That just seals it, Fern. You’re the woman I want to spend the rest of my life with. I know you said no before, but do you care at all about me? Maybe even enough to marry me?”

  “For Mercy or for real?” she asked, her eyes wide and insecure.

  “For real.” He kissed her cold hands, each one, and then wrapped them together in his own larger ones. “Totally for real.” He held his breath.

  “Then...yes!” She sank down to her knees, facing him, as his heart soared. “Oh, Carlo!”

  He clasped her to him and felt that everything he’d ever dreamed of was right there in his arms.

  Moments later, she lifted her head. “Do you want to go tell Mercy?” she asked. “As her daddy, I think you should do the honors.”

  Carlo stood and pulled her to her feet. He tucked her under his arm and pressed her close to his side. “I think,” he said, “we should do it together.”

  Epilogue

  “I am so not a party person.” Fern taped the end of the last crepe-paper decoration into place and surveyed it, frowning. It looked crooked.

  “It’s for a good cause,” Carlo said as he dumped a load of firewood into the holder beside the fire.

  She smiled at her husband, taking her time to enjoy the view of his muscular arms emerging from rolled-up flannel shirtsleeves. “Two good causes. And it’s my favorite kind of party—small.”

  She looked around the room with satisfaction. They’d bought this little farmhouse only two months ago to accommodate their growing family, and it was absolutely gorgeous. Fern had brought all her favorite things from her little cottage, and they’d hustled to get the decorating done in time for the holidays.

  Right at the edge of town, the place perfectly accommodated her need for both social and quiet time.

  Mercedes called from the living room, “Sissy and me are gonna go build a snowman to meet everybody, ’kay?”

  Fern met Carlo’s eyes. “Could you help them?”

  “I’d love to.”

  And it was true, Fern thought as she watched him usher the two little girls outside. Carlo was a natural father. To Mercedes, of course, but he was the one who’d heard about Paula in his new job reaching out to migrant groups.

  Adoption. It came naturally to Fern anyway, with her background and with the way she’d come to love Mercedes. There were so many children who needed homes. And Paula was exactly Mercedes’s age. They’d had her for six months, and of course there were issues, but the two girls were already inseparable.

  Carlo helped Paula form a snowball and then roll it into a snowman. The little girl’s dark eyes shone as she emulated Mercedes and stared up adoringly at Carlo.

  Smiling, Fern hurried back into the kitchen to stir the tortilla soup she’d prepared for this double celebration—housewarming and adoption. It was comfort food for Paula. And then she returned to watch her family out the window, sketch pad in hand.

  She’d gotten the go-ahead on a new picture book, and she’d deliberately chosen to work with snowy landscapes and with a family much like her own. Far from halting her creativity, being a wife and mother only added to it.

  Time was an issue, but with Carlo’s encouragement, she’d gone down to half-time at the library. That way, she had some time to paint while the girls were in school, and time to nurture them when school was over.

  Pretty near perfect.

  The gates to their front yard opened and Susan and Daisy came in. Angelica and Troy were right behind them, carrying presents, with Xavier running ahead to meet the girls. They’d also invited Lou Ann Miller, Gramps and Miss Minnie Falcon, but the older generation had a birthday party to attend at the Senior Towers and they were coming later.

  Fern put down her sketch pad and went out onto the porch. Carlo came to stand beside her as the girls ran ahead to greet the new arrivals.

  Fern looked up at her husband and shut her eyes for a two-second prayer of thanks. Carlo squeezed her shoulders and kissed the top of her head. “See, a party isn’t so bad,” he teased.

  “Not when it’s all the people you love.” Fern slid an arm around his waist, and together, they went to bring their friends and family into their new home.

  * * * * *

  Keep reading for an excerpt from A DADDY FOR HER TRIPLETS by Deb Kastner.

  Dear Reader,

  Thank you for reading His Secret Child! This book is especially close to my heart because Fern—introverted, bookish and creative—is a lot like me. Not to mention that some of my very favorite people are librarians! Portraying Fern’s struggles to connect with others was easy because I’ve sometimes had similar ones. I’m also very aware that quiet people need human connections and love every bit as much as do more outgoing types—and that they have a lot to offer the world.

  God made such an amazing variety of people, and it’s fun to explore that variety as I dream up my characters and stories. Please visit my website at www.leetobinmcclain.com for more information about my books. You can even download a story for free!

  Wishing you peace,

  Lee

  We hope you enjoyed this Harlequin Love Inspired story.

  You believe hearts can heal. Love Inspired stories show that faith, forgiveness and hope have the power to lift spirits and change lives—always.

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  A Daddy For Her Triplets

  by Deb Kastner

  Chapter One

&nbs
p; “Olivia Barlow, as I live and breathe. Finally! There you are. I’ve been looking all over for you. I was beginning to think you weren’t going to show up tonight at all. Then what would I have done?” Elderly Miss Betty Leland had clearly been watching for Olivia, because the sprightly old woman made a beeline for her the moment she herded her triplet six-year-old boys into the league’s brightly decorated red-and-pink-crepe-papered banquet hall.

  A cold finger of premonition skittered up Olivia’s spine. Miss Betty was clearly up to something. Olivia could see it in the pale blue sparkle of the aged woman’s eyes. Nothing good could possibly come out of that kind of mischief, however friendly and well-intentioned.

  Olivia forced a laugh she didn’t feel and returned the elderly woman’s smile. It wasn’t Miss Betty’s fault Olivia wasn’t in the mood for a party, especially Little Horn’s Lone Star Cowboy League’s Valentine Roundup.

  Valentine’s Day anything was more than widowed Olivia wanted to deal with. She felt out of place here among seeking singles, newly engaged couples and newlyweds. It seemed as if everyone was in love except her—not that she wanted to be. She had her plate full to overflowing already.

  The local band was warming up its fiddles, playing a lively Texas two-step for eager dancers. Various couples and hopeful single men and women were flooding into the Grange hall. There were also quite a few teenagers. The boys were roughhousing and trying to look cool for the groups of giggling girls watching them, but Olivia knew they hoped to pair up before the night was over.

  She spotted Carson Thorn and Ruby Donovan, a newly engaged couple who were laughing together as they helped serve the punch. Engaged couple Finn Brannigan and Amelia Klondike were already testing out the dance floor. In a far corner away from the noisy speakers, Grady Stillwater stood with his grandma Mamie and his fiancée, Chloe Miner. Chloe was bouncing Grady’s seven-month-old nephew, Cody, on her shoulder in time to the music.

  Tyler Grainger, the local pediatrician, had recently married pretty Eva Brooks, and Olivia had heard they’d already started the process to adopt a baby.