The Once and Future Father by Marie Ferrarella

Author:Marie Ferrarella [Ferrarella, Marie]
Format: mobi
Tags: Suspense
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2000-06-22T05:00:00+00:00

Alma dug herself out of Lucy’s overly comfortable chair. It was time to get going. She’d come over to drop off the inventory pages Lucy had requested and remained to coo over the baby and feel her heart melt to the consistency of a puddle within her chest. It was hard to believe that Dylan McMorrow had fathered such an adorable child. Not that the man wasn’t good looking, she’d give him that. It was just difficult associating the word “adorable” with him.

“So how long is the Great Stone Man going to be staying with you?” she asked.

Eager to begin doing something productive, Lucy spread out the inventory sheets Alma had brought her all over the coffee table. Alma and Beth and Margaret had gone over the wreckage in the store and salvaged as much as they could. The items on the list that were too damaged to be sold as new were marked with only one-half of a cross instead of an X.

A cursory glance had told her that things weren’t as bad as she had first thought. There was also nothing missing, not even a single video.

What was it they were looking for?

She realized that Alma was waiting for an answer. Too bad she didn’t have one. “I don’t know. Maybe until whoever tried to break in is caught.”

Alma frowned. “Or until some whim makes him leave.”

Lowering her eyes, Lucy began putting the sheets in order. “Drop it, Alma.”

“No, you drop it.” Her hand over the top form, Alma leaned forward until she got into Lucy’s face, forcing her to look up. “You drop the brave act. This is me you’re talking to, your best friend since pablum and strained beets. You can’t lie to me.”

With a determined movement, Lucy lifted Alma’s hand and removed it from the sheets. “I’m not lying, Alma, I’m just trying to get this ready for the claims adjuster.”

“The hell with the claims adjuster, how about the adjuster you’re dealing with right now?”

That caught Lucy’s attention. “What is it you’re talking about?”

“I’m talking about the guy who ‘adjusted’ your life by upending it. Who ‘adjusted’ your heart, using it as a jump rope, then moving on. I’m talking about Elena’s father, blind though he is.” Alma shook her head, clearly mystified. “Any idiot with eyes could see that she’s his daughter, why can’t he?”

Lucy looked down at the sheets, but she’d lost the ability to concentrate. “You don’t see what you don’t look for.”

“Great fortune cookie proverb,” Alma snorted dismissively. She looked down at the baby, who was peacefully sleeping through all this in the bassinet she’d given Lucy as a baby shower gift. “When are you going to tell him about her?” she asked more quietly.

“Never.”

Alma looked at her in surprise. “Still?”

She couldn’t believe that Lucy hadn’t changed her mind, that she was still determined to keep Elena’s parentage a secret from Dylan. It might have been different if Dylan had remained out of her life, but he was back and the opportunity was ripe.

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