Desperately Seeking Dad Read Online Free Page B

recognize her now that I’ve seen the picture. But I never knew her name. And I certainly didn’t have an affair with her.”
    That was progress, of a sort. If she could manage not to sound as if she judged him, maybe he’d move toward being honest with her.
    She tried to keep her tone neutral. “How did you know her?”
    â€œShe worked at the café that summer.” He frowned, as if remembering. “I eat a lot of meals there, so she waited on me. Chatted, the way waitresses do with regulars. But I didn’t run into her anywhere else.”
    His dark gaze met hers, challenging her to argue. “Your turn. How did you get to know her?”
    â€œShe answered an ad I’d put on the bulletin board at the corner market. She wanted to rent a room in my house.”
    His eyebrows went up at that. “Sorry, Counselor, but you don’t look as if you need to take in boarders.”
    â€œI didn’t do it for the money.” She clipped off the words. Her instincts warned her not to give too much away to this man, but if she wanted his cooperation she’d have to appear willing to answer his questions. “My husband had died a few months earlier, and I’d taken a leave from my job. I’d been rattling around in a place too big for one person. The roomer was just going to be temporary, until I found a buyer for the house.”
    â€œHow long ago was that?” It was a cop’s question, snapped at her as if she were a suspect.
    â€œA little over a year.” She tried not to let his manner rattle her. “I knew she was pregnant, of course, but I didn’t know she had a heart condition. I’m not sure even she knew at first. The doctors said she never should have gotten pregnant.”
    â€œWhat about her family?”
    â€œShe said she didn’t have anyone.” Tina had seemed just as lonely as Anne had been. Maybe that was what had drawn them together. “We became friends. And then when she had to be hospitalized—well, I guess I felt responsible for her. She didn’t have anyone else. When Emilie was born, Tina’s condition worsened. I took charge of the baby. Tina never came home from the hospital.”
    His strong face was guarded. “Is that when she supposedly told you about me?”
    She nodded. “She talked about the time she spent in Bedford Creek, about the man she loved, the man who fathered Emilie.”
    He was so perfectly still that he might have been a statue, except for the tiny muscle that pulsed at his temple. “And if I tell you it was a mistake—that she couldn’t have meant me…?”
    â€œLook, I’m not here to prosecute you.” Why couldn’t he see that? “I’m not judging you. I just want your signature on the papers. That’s all.”
    â€œYou didn’t answer me.” He took a step closer, and she could feel the intensity under his iron exterior. “What if I tell you it was a mistake?”
    It was all slipping away, getting out of her control. “How could it be a mistake? Everything she said fits you, no one else.”
    He seized on that. “Fits me? I thought you said she named me.”
    She took a deep breath, trying to stay in control of the situation. “While she was ill, she talked a lot about…about the man she fell in love with. About the town. Then, when we knew she wasn’t going to get better, we made plans for Emilie’s adoption.” She looked at him, willing him to understand. “I’ve been taking care of Emilie practically since the day she was born. I love her. Tina knew that. She knew I needed the father’s permission, too, but she never said the name until the end.”
    She shivered a little, recalling the scene. Tina,slipping in and out of consciousness, finally saying the name Mitch Donovan. “Why would she lie?”
    â€œI don’t know.” His mouth clamped firmly on the