From Here to Paternity by CHRISTINE RIMMER

Author:CHRISTINE RIMMER
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Silhouette
Published: 2007-10-14T16:00:00+00:00

Charlene used the fax machine in her office at the diner to send Tanner a copy of Sissy’s note and of the phone bill for the month after Sissy’s stay in town, with each of the numbers she couldn’t account for clearly marked. Once it was sent, she put the original back in her purse. She would try the numbers again herself, as soon as she got the chance.

Out in front, everything was pretty much under control. She worked the register, bussed the counter and tables during the lunch rush. On a Saturday, lunch would usually go late. Things didn’t start slowing down until around three, and since Mia wasn’t fussing, Charlene stayed on without a break until closing at five.

At home, she changed into a white shirt and a fresh pair of jeans and prepared for dinner with Irma, who knocked on her door at six sharp. Her aunt stayed for three hours, during which she was pleasant and complimentary and held Mia every chance she got. Not a single harsh word crossed her lips and she didn’t ask any questions, except about harmless things: “How’s the diner doing?” and “This zucchini is so fresh. Do you get all your groceries right here in town?”

After the meal, Irma insisted on helping to clean up. “It’s the least I can do after this delicious dinner you’ve prepared just for me….”

She complimented the house. “So charming. And I love the picture window looking out on the deck.” Ruefully she asked, “Do you miss that big white house you grew up in?”

Charlene thought, You mean the one I sold to fight you for custody of Sissy? But she didn’t say that. It seemed too cruel a thing to say to this new, strangely sweet Irma. “Sometimes. But I love this little house and I still have my memories of the other one. And I can look at it anytime, just by crossing a bridge and walking down Jewel Street.”

“I’m so sorry,” Irma said, “that you had to sell that house. It’s a regret of mine, that because of me you lost your family home. A regret among many, I must admit….”

Wow. Never in this lifetime had Charlene imagined she’d hear her aunt Irma admit to regrets. She said, “Well, it’s gone now. And I’m fine right here.”

The evening seemed almost as surreal as the breakfast at the B&B had been—surreal, but not quite so nerve-racking. Charlene was actually beginning to believe that her horrible aunt had really changed. She had to constantly remind herself to keep her guard up. Surely the bad Aunt Irma that Charlene had always known was bound to resurface. Nobody changed this much, this fast.

But it was the new, sweet, good-natured Irma who said good-night at nine.

Alone, with Mia asleep in her crib, Charlene considered getting out that old phone bill and making a few calls. But it was after nine and it seemed a little late to be calling up strangers to ask them if maybe they knew her missing sister.

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