Her Very Own Family

by Gina Wilkins

  They must look like a family to the others in the place, Brynn couldn’t help thinking. Tony’s children resembled Joe enough to be his own; gazing into their big, dark D’Alessandro eyes, Brynn could easily imagine a child of Joe’s. Too easily, actually. The image made her heart ache.

  He would be such a good father. He was so tender and patient with the children. He indulged them shamelessly but was able to be firm when they threatened to get out of hand. He reminded her very much of his own father—and she couldn’t imagine a more worthy role model than Vinnie D’Alessandro.

  By the time Brynn announced that they had to go, Joe and the children had won a significant stack of tickets from the arcade games. The children divided the tickets evenly among them, then spent a long time deliberating between the cheap prizes available for “purchase” with the tickets.

  Joe laughed at Katie’s fierce frown of concentration. “It isn’t a life or death decision, Katie. Just pick something.”

  “But I want it to be the right something, Dr. Joe,” Katie told him earnestly.

  “Oh. Of course.” He appeared properly chastened.

  Brynn finally had to speak firmly, or they might have been there for the rest of the day. “We really have to go now. Make your selection, Katie. Jason, Carly, do you know what you want?”

  Their hands filled with plastic toys worth perhaps a fifth of what they’d spent to win them, the satisfied trio piled into the van. Brynn and Joe made sure they were buckled in, then took them home.

  Her work finished, Michelle was waiting to hear all about the outing. Joe spoke over the children’s enthusiastic chattering. “Are you finished with Brynn for a while?” he asked Michelle.

  “For the rest of the day, actually,” Michelle replied, smiling knowingly at Brynn. “I’ve finished my work, and I promised the kids we’d watch their new video this afternoon.”

  “Great. Brynn, since you’re free, I’ll take you up on that coffee you offered.”

  She hadn’t offered coffee, of course. But she could hardly say so with everyone watching them.

  “We have coffee here, Dr. Joe,” Carly commented.

  “Why don’t you go put your things away and get the video ready, Carly,” Michelle said quickly. “I’m sure Dr. Joe and Brynn will enjoy a little time to rest after wrangling you three most of the afternoon.”

  There seemed to be no getting out of this, Brynn thought as she and Joe walked in silence to the guest house. It had been easy enough to spend time with Joe, to simply enjoy being with him, as long as the children had been there to distract them from their personal issues. But now they were alone again, for the first time since that frankly revealing telephone conversation, and Brynn was having a very difficult time not thinking about the last time they were alone together—in her bedroom.

  She reminded herself that Joe’s manner had been nothing more than casually friendly all afternoon. He hadn’t even touched her; he had actually seemed to go out of his way to avoid touching her. He probably just wanted to talk.

  They walked into her living room and closed the door behind them. Brynn turned to say something—she didn’t know what, exactly—but before she could speak, she found herself mashed between the door and Joe’s body, her mouth crushed beneath his.

  Acting solely on instinct, she wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him back.

  It had only been a few days since they’d kissed, but Brynn felt as if she’d been starving for him and hadn’t realized it. All the self lectures, all the mental arguments and denials, had apparently accomplished nothing. She couldn’t simply stop loving Joe just because she knew she should.

  Was it possible that he felt at least a bit the same way?

  Joe lifted his mouth just long enough to murmur, “I’ve missed you, Brynn.” And then he kissed her again.

  His hands raced over her, reminding them both of the pleasure their bodies had found together before. Brynn gasped into his mouth when he-clutched her hips and pressed her intimately against him, letting her know that he was as aroused as she was.

  Every nerve ending in her body tingled. She wanted him so badly she could hardly stand upright, which made her have to cling to him for support.

  If this was all they could have, it was still spectacular.

  Joe pressed his lips to her cheeks, her forehead, her chin, the tip of her nose. And then he pulled her close and simply held her. “You missed me, too,” he said, sounding both pleased and relieved.

  “Yes,” she said, because it would be foolish to deny it when she was plastered all over him, clinging to him as if her life depended on him.

  “I gave you some space because you seemed to want it, but I couldn’t stay away any longer. All I could think about was how badly I wanted to be with you.”

  She buried her face in his shoulder, an enormous lump forming in her throat. It had been hard enough to resist him over the telephone; it was impossible when she was being held in his arms, hearing him tell her how he’d missed her.

  Maybe Joe had decided that this was enough for him. That he could be content, for now, with what she had to offer—herself, and nothing more.

  “Remember that coffee we were going to have?” he murmured against her mouth.

  She traced the line of his jaw and nibbled a kiss on his lower lip. “You want me to make some now?”

  “Actually, I’ve decided it’s too hot for coffee. Much too hot,” he added, lifting her onto her tiptoes and sliding his hands around to cup her bottom.

  “Definitely too hot,” she agreed breathlessly.

  He tugged at the hem of the red knit top she’d worn with khaki slacks. “Maybe we would cool off if we get rid of some of these clothes.”

  Brynn gulped. “Or maybe we’d just get hotter.”

  Joe’s flashing white grin was the embodiment of wicked mischief. “I guess that’s a risk we’ll just have to take.”

  It had been nighttime when Brynn and Joe had made love before. They’d been alone on the estate, with no risk of interruption. It had been the most romantic night of Brynn’s life.

  This time it was midafternoon. The July sun slanted through the bedroom windows, making the room bright and warm. Michelle and the children were in the house just next door. The telephone or doorbell could ring at any time.

  But it was still incredibly romantic.

  When the last broken sigh had faded away, and the husky groans of satisfaction were silenced, Brynn lay limply on Joe’s shoulder, trying to recover enough strength to move. This, she thought ruefully, was no way to end an ill-fated relationship.

  Joe lifted his left arm—making it seem like a major undertaking—and looked at his watch. “I have to go,” he said reluctantly. “I have an appointment at five.”

  Which didn’t give them time for a serious talk, Brynn realized with a glance at the clock. “You’d better hurry, or you’ll be late.”

  He sighed deeply. “I’d rather stay here, with you.”

  There was nothing she would have liked more than to keep him in her bed for the rest of the day. And night. For the rest of the week, for that matter. But she had to face reality occasionally. She pushed herself upright and reached for her clothes.

  Fifteen minutes later, she stood at the front door to see Joe off. They’d dressed quickly, and Brynn still felt a bit disheveled. She ran a hand through her hair as she looked up at Joe, not quite certain what to say.

  He leaned his head down to kiss her. “I’ll call you later.”

  “All right.”

  “I enjoyed spending the day with you.”

  “So did I,” she admitted.

  He touched her cheek and smiled tenderly down at her. “Did you really think you’d scared me off?”

  “I, er—”

  “You should know me better by now. I don’t scare so easily. I’m here for the duration, Brynn. Get used to it.”

  While she was still trying to think of something to say, he kissed her again, then slipped out the front door
, closing it quietly behind him.

  Brynn staggered to the couch and collapsed onto it, her legs suddenly too shaky to support her. She supposed there was no denying now that she was having an affair with Dr. Joe D’Alessandro.

  Joe had made it quite clear that he would be back.

  “I’m here for the duration,” he had said. That made it sound as though he was thinking in terms of much more than an affair. His words implied permanence. Commitment.

  Hadn’t he listened to a thing she’d told him over the telephone? Did he really want to tie himself to the daughter of a deeply disturbed woman? Someone who could make no guarantees of her own future stability, based on what she knew of her parents—much less take a chance of passing her genes on to offspring?

  Did Joe, with his family-worshiping, Italian Catholic background, his great-aunt who’d already named his first son, his parents who made no secret that they wanted more grandchildren, really think he could be content with a decision to have no children of his own?

  Her doorbell chimed. Apparently, Joe had come back sooner than she’d expected. Had he forgotten something?

  She rose and opened the door. “Did you...?”

  Her voice faded. There was a man on her doorstep, but it wasn’t Joe D’Alessandro. It was one of the Walker twins. One of the private investigators who worked for Tony.

  Why on earth had he come to see her?

  “Hello, Brynn. I hope this isn’t an inconvenient time for you.”

  She wasn’t sure whether he was Ryan or Joe Walker. She settled for a noncommittal, “Not at all. Come in, Mr. Walker.”

  “ ‘Ryan,’ ” he supplied helpfully, stepping past her. “I suppose you haven’t been around us enough yet to tell us apart.”

  “I wouldn’t think many people can tell you apart.”

  “I’ll give you a clue. I have a scar in my right eyebrow. Joe doesn’t.”

  She looked at the thin white line that bisected his eyebrow and extended onto his forehead. “Thank you. I’ll try to remember that.”

  Although she couldn’t imagine why he’d called on her, Brynn fell back on the manners Mrs. Fendel had drilled into her. “Can I get you something to drink? Soda? Iced tea?”

  He shook his head. “No, thank you. I have a couple of questions I’d like to ask you, if you have time.”

  Brynn sat on the edge of a chair facing the one Ryan had selected. “What questions?”

  “First, I need to tell you something about my family. You probably know that we were separated as children, after our parents died.”

  Though it wasn’t a question, she nodded.

  “Jared was eleven, Layla was ten, our brother Miles was eight, Joe and I were almost six, Michelle was two and Lindsay was just a baby. Michelle and Lindsay were adopted; the rest of us grew up in foster homes.”

  She nodded again, wondering where he was leading. “I, um, heard your brother Miles died before the rest of you were reunited.”

  Ryan took a deep breath. “Yes. Miles Daniel Walker died in a car accident in Longview some twenty-six years ago. It was his eighteenth birthday, and he and his friends had been drinking beer to celebrate. He and two of his buddies died in the accident. A young woman survived.”

  Brynn knew she’d gone pale. Her voice came out as little more than a whisper. “My father died in a car accident in Longview. On his eighteenth birthday.”

  “Yes, I know. Shane told me.”

  Understanding now where the conversation was going, Brynn shook her head. “Sadly, teenagers die in car accidents all the time, often with alcohol as a contributing factor. My father’s name was Danny Smith.”

  “My brother’s middle name was Daniel. My full name is Robert Ryan, and I was called ‘Bobby’ until I decided I liked my middle name better.”

  “But you kept your real last name.”

  He shook his head. “I didn’t call myself ‘Ryan Walker’ from the time I was sixteen until I was reunited with my family ten years ago.”

  Brynn felt as if something heavy was sitting on her chest, making breathing difficult. “I really don’t think...”

  Ryan spoke gently when her voice lodged in her throat. “Shane came to my office today. He said he saw a photograph of your father the other day, and it has been bothering him ever since. He thought the photo looked a lot like the only one we have of Miles. And when you told him how your father died, he realized that the coincidences were simply too powerful to ignore. Since he wasn’t sure you would want us prying into your past without permission, he insisted I talk to you before I mentioned this to anyone else.”

  “Are you really suggesting that I could be...?”

  “My niece?” he filled in when she stumbled. “I think it’s a definite possibility, from what Shane told me.”

  Brynn’s head was spinning. This day had been one shock after another, from Joe’s unexpected participation in the pizza outing to the passionate lovemaking that had followed—and now this.

  “Would you mind showing me the photo of your father?” Ryan asked. His manner was still calm and relaxed, but Brynn sensed an eagerness in him he couldn’t entirely hide.

  For a few moments, she was almost immobilized by emotions she couldn’t have defined if she’d tried. She was more than half-afraid to show him the snapshot. She didn’t know whether she was more worried that he would recognize her father or that he would not.

  Her hands were shaking visibly when she handed him the old snapshot. Ryan gave her an encouraging smile before turning his attention to the photograph.

  Brynn watched him as he studied it. She saw a muscle work in his jaw.

  “Well?” she asked impatiently. “Does he look like your brother?”

  Rather than answering, Ryan reached into the inner pocket of the loose sport coat he wore with chinos and an oxford shirt. He pulled out a small brown envelope, which he offered to Brynn.

  She noted that his fingers weren’t quite steady, either.

  She swallowed and opened the envelope, sliding out a photograph that was even older than the one he held. This was a posed, studio shot of a weary-looking woman surrounded by children.

  Brynn spotted Jared Walker immediately; he hadn’t changed much since childhood, she thought dazedly. A girl who looked much like Layla stood beside Jared, and twin boys and a toddler girl were posed on either side of their mother, who held a baby girl in her lap.

  She finally found the courage to look at the last young face. It was a boy with freckled cheeks and sandy hair, and a broad, irrepressible-looking grin. Though this boy was at least ten years younger than the Danny Smith in Brynn’s snapshot, the similarities were so pronounced that she knew immediately why Shane had gone to Ryan.

  She lifted her eyes slowly, tears threatening. “I—”

  Ryan rose and slipped a supportive arm around her shoulders when she choked. “I’d like to look into this, if you don’t mind. I hope to find confirmation before we say anything to the others.”

  She nodded mutely. Even the possibility that she was related to the Walker family made her ache with mingled longing and anxiety.

  “It shouldn’t take me long to find something,” Ryan added. “Try not to think about it, okay?”

  She stared at him in disbelief. “How can I not think about it?”

  He grimaced. “You’re right. That was a dumb thing to say. I just don’t want you to worry.”

  “I’ll try. But I feel as though my whole world just tilted off its axis,” she admitted. “I’ve been so accustomed to thinking of myself without a family. Now just the possibility that I have aunts, uncles and cousins—well, it’s overwhelming.”

  “Trust me. I understand completely.” Ryan’s smile was rueful. “When Joe and I first found out our brother and sisters were looking for us, our first instinct was to run. We weren’t at all sure we wanted to deal with the entanglements of family after being on our own for so long.

  “It was even harder for Joe,” he added. “He’s always taken things more s
eriously than I do. He met Lauren at about the same time we found out about our siblings, and he resisted getting involved with her, as well, even though he’d fallen hard for her. After a lifetime of accepting being alone, it’s easier not to open your heart to potential disappointment or disillusion.”

  “You do understand,” she murmured, blinking back the tears she refused to shed in front of him.

  “Yes. But, Brynn, my brother and I found out that family is worth any risk.”

  “I’m still not convinced that my father was Miles Walker,” she insisted, refusing to allow herself to hope without more evidence. “It would just be too bizarre a coincidence that I’m here now, working for Michelle. Things like that just don’t happen.”

  “Things like that happen all the time,” Ryan corrected her with a smile. “Don’t you ever watch talk shows?”

  His expression then grew more serious. “All my siblings would tell you that there have been times we felt that a force we couldn’t explain drew us back together. Layla—the fanciful one in our clan—likes to believe our mother and Miles had something to do with it. That they wanted us to be together again. You’ve met Layla. None of us has the heart to argue with her. And who knows? Maybe she’s right.”

  But Brynn was still reluctant to hope too much. Her past hadn’t given her reason to be overly optimistic. “I need proof, Ryan. Paperwork, blood tests, whatever it takes. And then we’ll talk again. In the meantime, I don’t want anyone else to know about this, all right?”

  “It will be our secret,” he promised. “And Shane won’t say anything, either. But, Brynn...”

  “Yes?”

  He squeezed her shoulders before stepping away. “When we find our proof, I’ll be the first to welcome you to the family.”

  Chapter Fourteen

  Kelly left the hospital the next day. Brynn didn’t have to try to collect her alone—Tony, Jared and Shane all volunteered to help. They took Tony’s van, so there would be plenty of room for Kelly’s wheelchair and the things she’d needed for her six-week stay in the hospital.

  Kelly was so excited to leave the hospital she was practically bouncing in her chair. “Gosh, it’s hot out. Summer really set in while I was cooped up in this place, didn’t it? I can’t wait to see our house, Brynn. Oh, did you remember to pack my hairbrush? Careful, Shane, don’t drop that plant. The container is breakable.”