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The confusion in Paige’s eyes didn’t make him feel any calmer, nor did her next question for Sophie. “And who do you belong to?”
His nerves were like pins sticking him when Sophie slowly looked up at him. He had no choice but to answer.
After all, that’s why he was there to see his sister. “She belongs to me.”
Paige slowly turned her head to stare at him, her surprise bordering on disbelief.
“She’s my daughter.”
Paige’s mouth opened, as if she was going to say something, but instead, she closed it and turned back to smile at Sophie. “And how old are you, Sophie?” she asked.
To Garrett’s surprise, Sophie held up four fingers.
Standing, Paige turned to him and spoke softly. “I’ve always wanted a pretty little niece.” More quietly, she added, “Is there anything I can do to help?”
Relief washed over Garrett, and he leaned against the desk again. The activities of the afternoon had definitely tested him. At the moment, he wasn’t sure he was passing.
“Are you all right?” Paige asked.
He nodded and stood straight. “I’m good.” After glancing at Sophie, he turned back to his sister. “I’d feel better if I knew Sophie is okay.”
Paige smiled at his daughter. “We can do that.” When she opened the door to step outside, Fran Simpson, the other nurse, was in the hallway. “Which examining room can we use?” Paige asked her.
“They’re all free. The last of the patients are gone.”
“Good,” Paige replied. “I’ll lock up. You and Cara and Susan can go on home. I’ll see you in the morning.”
“Have a good evening,” Fran called, her voice coming from farther down the hall.
When Paige motioned for Garrett to follow her, he held out his hand to Sophie, who hesitated at first and then took it. Her tiny hand in his felt fragile as they followed Paige into the hallway, and his heart constricted at the thought of what Sophie’s life might have been like before she’d arrived at his office. He didn’t have a clue, and now that he thought about it, it scared him. If anything had happened … If anything was wrong with her …
“Right in here,” Paige said, stepping into the nearest examining room. She pointed to the padded table. “Put her up there, while I go grab a new chart.”
Sophie let go of his hand, and he lifted her onto the table. The paper runner crackled beneath her as she settled on it, and she looked up at him, her eyes wide.
“She’s my sister,” he said, moving back. “The doctor is,” he added. “Do you know what a sister is?”
Sophie shrugged her shoulders.
“So much for that,” he muttered.
Paige breezed back into the room, a manila folder in her hand. “They’ve all gone, so there won’t be any interruptions. Is there anything special I’m looking for?”
“Anything,” he answered. “Everything. I just want to know that she’s okay. Healthy.”
Placing the stethoscope at her ears, Paige glanced at him. “You have some explaining to do,” she said quietly, before putting the flat, round end of it on Sophie’s chest.
Fifteen minutes later, after what Garrett was sure was a thorough exam, Paige reached down into a basket on the floor and pulled out a children’s picture book. “Do you like to read, Sophie?” she asked. A nod was Sophie’s reply, and Paige handed her the book. “Your daddy and I are going to go out in the hall for a minute. If you need anything, all you have to do is jump down and open the door. We’ll be right on the other side of it. Okay?”
When Sophie had nodded and opened her book, Garrett followed his sister into the hall, still reeling at someone using the word daddy when referring to him. “Well?”
“She appears to be healthy. Her vitals are good. Heartbeat is strong, lungs are clear, no cold or anything else going on. Of course I can’t be completely sure without lab tests, but at this point in time, I don’t see a reason for them, unless you want them done.”
He shook his head. As soon as he could track down Shana, he’d know more. Lifting his gaze to his sister’s, he brought up the one thing that had been bothering him the most. “She hasn’t spoken.”
Paige shrugged. “My best guess is that it isn’t physical. Her hearing seems normal, as does everything else. She said ‘Ah’ when I asked her to, so it’s nothing with her vocal cords. It may be that she just isn’t ready to talk. Any clue why that would be?”
Knowing she was expecting an explanation, he told her what had happened, starting with the call from Tootie while he was having lunch. “If I’d known …”
“Apparently her mother didn’t want you to know. Her loss. She doesn’t sound very stable.”
“She isn’t.” But that’s all he would say. There wasn’t any reason to tell his sister about a relationship that had ended five years before. Not unless there was something wrong with Sophie, and apparently there wasn’t. Not physically, anyway.
Paige put her hand on his arm. “Is there anything else I can do to help?”
Garrett hoped what he was going to say next wouldn’t come out sounding wrong, but he didn’t have a choice. “I’d like to have a paternity test done.”
Paige nodded, her expression serious. “I can arrange that for you.”
“Good,” he answered. “I’d appreciate it. Just let me know when and where.”
“Do you have someone to watch her during the day?” she asked.
“That’s next on my list of things to do.”
“I’ll be happy to help when I can, but all I have free is evenings and weekends. That won’t help you during the day.”
“I’ll find someone.” At least he hoped he would. He didn’t know what types of day care were available in Desperation. He’d never needed to know.
“One more thing,” Paige said. “As soon as you can, have Jules talk to her. This whole thing sounds terribly traumatic. I’m not all that surprised that she isn’t talking.”
“I will.”
She gave him a quick hug. “You may not think so, but everything will work out. Give it time.”
He thanked her, and then he retrieved Sophie and headed for home. They were a block away when he realized there might not be anything in his house for dinner. Too often he didn’t think ahead and simply grabbed something at the café or at Lou’s. He was going to have to learn to do some real shopping. Cooking, too. Not that he didn’t know how, but cooking for one had never excited him, so he didn’t do a lot of it.
He slowed to a stop when Vern Isley stepped out between two parked cars to cross the street. Even when the eighty-something gentleman was all the way to the other side of the street, Garrett remained stopped. He chuckled to himself. Where there’s Vern, there’s Esther.
Sure enough, Esther Watson stepped out between the same two cars and hurried across the street, several yards behind Vern. “One of these days …” Garrett said, the car now in motion again.
Glancing in his rearview mirror, he tried for a cheery voice. “You’re in for a real treat, Sophie,” he said, while making a U-turn at the end of the block. “I’m going to take you to the Chick-a-Lick Café for dinner. You can’t ask for much better than that.”
From the used booster seat that Tootie had managed to find and was now attached in the backseat, Sophie watched him. The sky was darkening as dusk began to settle in, but he could see his daughter’s solemn expression. He hoped that would soon change. She’d come to him with a small suitcase, a battered teddy bear and a lot of questions that might or might not be answered. He had a lot of work to do, but he didn’t have a clue where to begin.
LIBBY PULLED INTO AN EMPTY parking spot at the sports park and shut off her engine. The view from her car made her smile. A dozen or so nine- and ten-year-olds, dressed in football pads and helmets, were gathered in a huddle in the middle of an unmarked, grassy field. She watched as they stacked their hands in a pile, then shouted, before breaking up the huddle and taking their places in the lineup.
It wasn’t difficult to find her nine-year-old in the midst of the others. He was the one making encouraging signals to the others. It was only a practice, but Noah didn’t let anything stop him from trying to inspire his fellow players with the will to win.
Leaning her head back against the seat, she closed her eyes. Life hadn’t been a bed of roses since she and Noah had left Phoenix in the middle of the night barely eight months ago. Even so, it was better than it had promised to be if they’d stayed. Living in a small town in Oklahoma had never been a part of her plans, but nothing she had planned had worked out well. And she liked Desperation. Noah did, too. So she prayed they wouldn’t have to leave, but neither did she count on staying.
A knock on her window jerked her out of her reverie, and she opened her eyes, then sat up with a smile.
“Hey, Mom,” Noah said, peering into the car with his own smile.
She rolled down her window. “Is practice over?”
“Yeah, we’re quitting early today.” He looked around at the other boys, who were drifting away in twos and threes or climbing into cars with a parent or two. “I didn’t expect you to be here, and I told Kirby we could hang out until you got here.”
Libby hated disappointing her son more than anything, but it couldn’t be helped. “I’m afraid not, honey,” she told him. “I came to pick you up because I thought maybe we could stop at the Chick-a-Lick for dinner before I go to work.”
His eyes lit up, then quickly dimmed, before he ducked his head. Without looking up at her, he asked, “I guess he can’t come to the café with us?”
She couldn’t help but feel disappointed. She’d thought he would be excited to have the chance to eat at the café. They so seldom were able to enjoy even the small things. But she’d worked the extra hours and had a few extra tips, so they could afford—
She stopped herself, suddenly realizing that she was having a pity party for herself, and her selfishness surprised her. How much could a nine-year-old boy eat, anyway? She knew the answer was that they could often be a bottomless pit, but it shouldn’t matter.
“Sure, Kirby can come along, too,” she said. She’d make up for the little extra somewhere along the way. Giving Noah the chance to spend time with his friend was worth it.
She heard a shout, and Noah turned to look. She looked, too. A fancy sports car had pulled up, and Kirby was headed for it, waving at Noah as he walked toward it.
“It’s okay,” Noah said. “Looks like Mac got here early, too.” He turned to his mom. “So we’re going to the Chick-a-Lick?” he asked, without a hint of disappointment.
Libby looked at her watch. They had less than two hours before she had to be at work. Just enough time, if they hurried, to enjoy dinner at the café. “I worked a few extra hours this morning,” she explained. “Get in. You can order anything you want.”
“Cool.”
She laughed as he circled the car and opened the back door to get in. How did she get so lucky to have such a good kid?
When Noah was settled in the backseat, she drove the two blocks to the café, thinking about how things might have been. Before she’d divorced Noah’s father, there’d been enough money to take an entire boys’ football team to a fancy restaurant—after every practice. In fact, Noah’s third birthday party had been held at Chase Field. More than one hundred guests had attended, most of them friends and business associates of her ex-husband and his family. She often wondered if Noah remembered it, but she’d never asked. It no longer mattered. They weren’t the same people they were then.
Those were the times Libby didn’t want to think about, so she concentrated on parking only a few spaces down from the café. Luckily the dinner crowd hadn’t yet arrived. “Any idea what you’re going to order?” she asked, as they stepped up onto the sidewalk.
“That depends,” he answered.
“Really? On what?” She reached for the door to the café to open it, but Noah beat her to it. Surprised, she thanked him with a smile as she passed inside.
“You know.”
She did, and it hurt her heart and her pride. Noah rarely complained when there wasn’t enough money left over at the end of the month to do something special. It was the price they paid for safety. She’d done her best to explain it to him when they left Phoenix, and he must have understood at least part of it.
She leaned down and spoke in a quiet voice. “You can have anything on the menu.”
He looked up at her as she straightened, a sparkle in his dark brown eyes. “Anything?”
The café was more than half full, and she nodded to answer him while they made their way to one of the smaller booths in the back. She’d just slid into the booth when Darla appeared to take their order.
“It’s good to see you two,” Darla greeted them. “Would you like menus?”
“Please,” Libby asked, winking at Noah.
Darla handed them each a menu. “I’ll be back in a couple of minutes with your water and to take your orders.”
After Darla walked away, Libby noticed that Noah was propping his menu on the table and apparently studying it closely. “Everything looks good, doesn’t it?” she asked, looking at her own.
“Yeah.”
Darla returned within minutes and took their orders. “Was that okay?” he asked when she was gone.
“Perfectly okay.” Libby glanced at her watch, making certain they still had plenty of time before she had to take Noah to his day care provider and get herself to work.
She asked about school and listened as Noah gave her a rundown of his day. Getting him to talk about school had always been easy. All he needed was a nudge, and he was ready to share. He was explaining something that had happened in gym class when Darla arrived with their order.
“It looks great,” Noah said, looking up at Darla with a grin.
“Then we’ll hope it tastes as good as it looks, won’t we?” she asked, winking at his mom.
“Oh, I know it will.”
Darla laughed and patted his shoulder. “He’s a keeper.”
They were well into enjoying their meal when Libby looked up to see Garrett entering the café with Sophie, who still held tight to her teddy bear. She smiled when he looked her way and was surprised when dad and daughter headed toward them.
Garrett stopped at their booth, with Sophie beside him. “If I’d known you were going to be here, we could have planned to have dinner together,” he said.
Libby noticed that the panic hadn’t completely left his eyes. “Last-minute plans,” she explained.
He glanced around the room, and then shifted from one foot to the other. “Well, we’d better let you both finish eating.”
Before he could move away, she touched his arm. “I don’t think you’ve met my son. Noah, this is Garrett Miles.”
“Hi,” Noah greeted him with a small smile.
“And that’s his daughter, Sophie,” she added.
“Hi, Sophie.”
Sophie grinned at Noah, but said nothing.
“She’s … uh … a little shy,” Garrett said, with a glance at Libby. “We stopped to see Paige.”
Libby hoped his sister had found the girl in good physical condition. “How did that go?”
“Good,” he said, although it sounded forced. When she didn’t reply, he blew out a short breath. “She said to give it some time. And to talk to Jules.”
“But everything else is okay, right?”
He nodded, and his smile was more relaxed. “Everything is okay. But we should let you finish your dinner,” he added, taking a step back.
