The Doctor's Secret Son

by Deb Kastner

  Riley glanced up at Delia for permission, and she nodded. A moment later the boy was racing across the narthex at full speed.

  “Hey, son,” Zach called. “Slow down a bit. We’re at church, not a racetrack.”

  Riley didn’t acknowledge him verbally, but he slowed his pace, so Zach assumed he’d heard him.

  “Riley is Zach and Delia’s son,” Jo exclaimed, so enthusiastic that her red curls bounced along with her words.

  As if there hadn’t already been enough people crowding around them, now it seemed like the entire population of Serendipity wanted to congratulate them and know more about the exciting news. For Serendipity, an announcement of this kind was front-page news.

  “I guessed it from the start,” Alexis said, looking very pleased with herself at her own cleverness.

  “We’ve been talking about it since the Christmas party,” Samantha added. “The three of us, I mean.”

  “We wondered when you were going to admit it, Delia,” Mary scolded.

  Delia’s cheeks turned a deep rose. Zach reached for her hand, but she brushed it away. Friends and neighbors continued to hover around them. With so many voices clamoring for attention, it was hard to distinguish one from another.

  “What’s the big problem, here?” an old, scruffy-faced man grumbled. Deftly, he used his cane to get past the crowd and into the middle of the circle.

  “Frank.” Zach had known the man since childhood and knew that his apparent gruffness was just his way of dealing with things. “How are you feeling?”

  Frank Spencer made an odd growling sound from his throat. “Miserable, that’s what I am. Miserable.”

  Zach’s grin didn’t falter. The old man was fitter than the proverbial fiddle, at least for being seventy years old. He had the normal complaints for his age—he just complained louder and longer than the rest of them.

  Frank turned his attention to Jo. “Now what are you doing, old girl? Stirring up trouble again?”

  “I do not stir up trouble,” Jo informed him.

  Zach caught Delia’s eye and winked. The obvious flirtation between the older couple was amusing, but he knew if he asked either one of them separately, they’d deny an attraction of any kind to the other.

  “I was just saying,” Jo continued, “that I’m glad Delia and Zach have finally cleared the air. Now we all know Riley is Zach’s son.”

  Jo nudged her shoulder against Delia, hard enough to tip her off balance and into Zach’s chest. She clenched her fists across the front of his shirt to stabilize herself, and he instinctively put his arm around her waist to keep her from pitching to the ground.

  Jo beamed at the sight of Zach and Delia together. “And don’t they make a lovely family?”

  Chapter Thirteen

  Delia knew Jo Murphy well enough to know this was a setup—Jo pushing her into Zach’s arms. It certainly wasn’t a coincidence.

  And was it really so crucial for Zach to hold her longer than was absolutely necessary? If she didn’t know any better, she would think he was enjoying this.

  As for her, she was mortified.

  Inordinately self-conscious, she released the death grip she’d been holding on Zach’s shirt and stepped back, brushing a nervous hand down her dress. Her anxiety blasted toward the stratosphere at an alarming rate.

  Going to church in and of itself was more difficult than she could have possibly imagined, especially within this little chapel, where she’d enjoyed many hours worshiping and singing and praying when she was young. At one time it had been her refuge, but now it was simply a glaring reminder of all that could have been.

  When had she lost her faith? And why did it suddenly matter to her now?

  She couldn’t shake the feeling that she was missing something. Something important.

  And what was up with Zach? He was acting peculiar, as if he wanted their neighbors to think they were a couple—or rather, a family.

  A real family. At one time that had been her dream—their dream. Kids, dogs, the whole nine yards. Talk about youthful folly.

  She couldn’t even go there. Wouldn’t go there.

  Fortunately she was saved from herself—and from the horde of neighbors trying to offer their congratulations—by the chiming of the bells indicating the service was about to start.

  She gestured to Riley and he broke away from the group of boys and came to join her.

  Zach placed a hand on Delia’s back and the other on Riley’s shoulder, then herded them straight up the aisle to the front, where he gestured to the second-row pew.

  Really?

  Delia saw no reason for them to have to sit where everyone could ever-so-discreetly watch them. In fact, she would have done the opposite—sat in the back where she wouldn’t have curious eyes drilling into her. She was uncomfortable enough as it was.

  But it was too late to change what Zach had done. She didn’t want to make a scene, so she slid into the pew with a soft sigh. She had nobody to blame but herself for being caught in this position. If she’d told Zach the truth from the start, maybe things would have been different.

  Then again, maybe not.

  She struggled to regain her composure. She was not ashamed of the fact that Zach was Riley’s father, even if it had not come about in the best way. Come what may, she would get through this, head held high.

  To her surprise, she found the service familiar and comforting. It was nice to be home, surrounded by her neighbors. It was wonderful to hear various members of the congregation reading the Word of God aloud. It had been a long time since she’d heard the Scriptures.

  Too long.

  It was no wonder Zach couldn’t understand why she didn’t want to attend church, never mind why she would keep Riley from the services. This was part and parcel of life in Serendipity—but it was something else as well.

  She settled in to hear the sermon, her hands clasped in her lap. Zach was seated beside her with Riley to his right. He shifted, placing his arm on the pew over her shoulder, almost, but not quite, touching her. But he might as well have been.

  Sitting this way, in Zach’s arms, it was nearly impossible not to react to him. Would she ever stop responding so strongly to his mere presence?

  She didn’t know the answer to that question, but she’d have to work out her feelings somehow. She’d be seeing a lot of him, for the rest of her life—not just in their work, but in the shared custody of their child.

  As if he sensed where her thoughts had wandered, Zach glanced down at her and smiled briefly before returning his gaze to the pulpit. She also stared forward, although afterward she couldn’t have given the topic of the message the pastor had preached if she’d been asked. Instead, she’d been struggling with her feelings for Zach, and the gentle whisper of the Spirit prodding her to remember the grace of God.

  After the service, the folks in the congregation generally migrated to the fellowship hall where the church served cookies and coffee. Today was no exception, although people appeared more interested in hearing about Delia, Zach and Riley than they were in eating baked goods.

  It was nerve-wracking to be the constant center of attention, even when the people congratulating her were those she’d gone to church with all through her youth. What was really disquieting was that the whole tenor of the conversation sounded more like she and Zach had just had a baby together, rather than having made an announcement about their nine-year-old son’s paternity.

  Talk about awkward.

  Predictably, Riley had taken off with his friends the moment the service was over. Thankfully, he seemed to be fitting in just fine.

  Zach was surrounded by a group of men. He’d been a loner in high school, but now he appeared particularly sociable. What a difference ten years could make.


  She glanced around but could not see Riley in the crowd. Delia assumed he was outside playing some sport or other with the boys. Being in Serendipity, she felt perfectly safe leaving her boy to run free as he liked. In Baltimore, she’d had to be more cautious.

  Actually, she was a little relieved that Riley wasn’t here with her. A boy could only endure so many people ruffling his hair.

  Lost in thought, it took her a moment to realize that someone had linked arms with her. She turned to find Samantha at her side.

  “Looks like you could use a breather,” she said, close to Delia’s ear so no one else could hear her. “Care to use the facilities? Mary and Alexis are out there waiting for us.”

  “Of course.” Relief flooded through her. Count on her best friends to read her mind and rescue at the exact moment when another congratulatory statement might have sent her over the brink and into la-la land.

  Samantha gently escorted her from the busy room, taking the heat off Delia by speaking on her behalf whenever they passed anyone. She had mentioned visiting the bathroom, or at least Delia had thought she had, but Samantha went right on past the ladies’ room and into one of the smaller rooms used for Sunday school classes.

  Sure enough, Mary and Alexis were waiting, and they wasted no time on formalities. Swarming around her, they tossed question after question at her.

  “We didn’t even know you had a son. How could you not tell us?” Alexis demanded.

  “He’s such a cutie,” Samantha added. “He’s the perfect combination of his mother and father.”

  “And Zach is the father. How romantic.” Mary sighed.

  Delia shook her head vehemently. “Okay, now, let’s get a few things straight. First of all, you three are crowding me in a whole lot more than the people in the hall. I’m getting claustrophobic.”

  There was a cheerful round of sorries, but none of the women moved an inch.

  Delia took a deep breath and shook her head. “I didn’t tell anyone about Riley. My parents were the only ones who knew about him. Yes, he is a cutie. He is the center of my world. And there is nothing, nothing romantic about the fact that Zach is Riley’s father.”

  “Delia,” Alexis chided, “this is us you’re talking to. We may have been separated by physical distance for years, but our hearts have always been together. You can tell us the truth. It won’t go beyond these four walls.”

  Mary lifted her fingers to her lips and turned them like a key in a lock. Samantha made an X sign over her heart. Alexis just grinned.

  “What truth, exactly?” Delia hedged. “When I left Serendipity, I was pregnant with Riley, only I didn’t know it. As for why I didn’t come back to Serendipity when I learned I was carrying Zach’s child? That’s complicated. You three more than anyone know how Zach was back then.”

  “Yeah, a smokin’ hot bad-boy,” Samantha agreed.

  “Emphasis on bad,” Delia stated with a frown. “Just being around Zach was like playing a game of Russian roulette. He got me into trouble more times than I could count. I was terrified he might do the same to Riley, even if he didn’t mean to do it.”

  She paused. “I couldn’t risk what had happened to me to happen to my son.”

  Her three friends had, surprisingly, grown rather quiet, which was atypical of them to say the least. They each had pensive looks on their faces, as if they were struggling to process what Delia had just told them.

  “And I had school to attend,” Delia added, once again feeling the need to justify her actions.

  As if she could.

  “I couldn’t become a doctor without going to college first. And then there was medical school. Having a baby changed my heart and my life, but it didn’t change my goals—or my dreams.”

  “But now you’re back,” Mary, the quietest of the bunch—relatively speaking—said softly.

  “Yes. I have my degree and I’ve realized I can be useful here in Serendipity. Besides, you all know how sick my mother is.”

  “And Zach is all grown up,” Samantha said.

  “Wow has he grown up,” Alexis added, laughing at her own observation.

  “Is there a point to any of this?” Delia asked, deciding there was no way to avoid the one question she knew all three women were dying to ask. She might as well face it head-on.

  “Of course there’s a point,” said Samantha.

  “Have you seen Zach in his paramedic uniform?” asked Alexis with a mischievous grin. “He’s dreamy.”

  “Really?” Delia shook her head. “That’s your question?”

  “No!” Mary and Samantha exclaimed, even though Alexis nodded fervently.

  “Then the answer is yes.” Delia jumped in before anyone else could speak. “I have seen Zach in his EMT uniform. As you pointed out, he is quite good-looking—and I’m very aware of that fact. A woman would have to be dead not to notice.”

  With that, Delia turned and walked toward the door.

  “Wait,” Samantha said, bubbling with laughter. “You come back here this instant, girlfriend. That’s not the question we have for you, and you know it. Well, it kind of is, but not really.” She laughed even harder.

  Delia really, really didn’t think this was funny. She had fallen for the oldest ruse in the book—jumping from the flame into the fire. And, like a sheep to the slaughterhouse, she’d gone willingly.

  Suddenly the mass of neighbors offering their congratulations seemed insignificant compared to what her friends were putting her through.

  “You want to know if Zach and I are back together,” she stated.

  It wasn’t a question, and she continued before they could jump in to answer.

  “No, we are not, and we aren’t going to be. We have Riley in common, and that’s it. There’s too much of the past between us for it to be anything else. Sorry, girls.”

  This time she headed for the door in earnest.

  “But if it were up to you, you’d at least consider it, right?” Samantha called after her.

  Delia didn’t turn and she didn’t answer, at least not out loud. In her heart, she acknowledged what she would never say aloud.

  She just might.

  Chapter Fourteen

  On Tuesday afternoon, while Delia was busy at the clinic, Zach picked up Riley from his grandparents’ house and headed for Cup o’ Jo. He had spent the previous day in San Antonio putting together what he hoped would be a pleasant surprise for Delia. Now all he needed was Riley’s help.

  Zach stretched his arm across the back of the booth and grinned at his son, who was sitting across from him eating an enormous cheeseburger with all the fixings. Zach just couldn’t stop looking at the boy, drinking in the miracle of Riley’s life and thanking God for the blessing of a son with every breath and every beat of his heart.

  “How’s the cheeseburger?” Zach asked with a laugh. Riley hadn’t said a word since his meal had been placed in front of him.

  “Great,” he mumbled around a mouth full of food.

  “Cup o’ Jo serves up mighty fine meals,” Zach agreed.

  Riley nodded so vigorously that a lock of his hair fell over his brow.

  “Are you looking forward to starting school here in Serendipity?” That was only one of about a million things Zach desired to know about the boy. He was afraid he was going to overwhelm him, pelting him with questions like the rounds out of a machine gun.

  As for Zach’s query about school, Riley shrugged, then nodded and then shook his head. His lips twisted as he thought of a verbal response, and Zach’s heart weaved a loop of its own. Many of the boy’s little quirks had been picked up from his mother, and the distinctive twist of Riley’s lips was one of them.

  “So what is it?” Zach queried with a chuckle. “Yes? No? Maybe
?”

  “No, not really.” Riley lowered his gaze back to his meal. “I don’t want to go to school here.”

  “But you’ve made friends, right?”

  “Yeah, but I miss my old ones. My best friend Justin and I used to hang out all the time. Now we only get to text each other.”

  Zach had never moved away from his hometown, so he hadn’t any experience of what Riley was going through. It had to be tough for a boy, moving clear across the country as Riley had, especially on such short notice. Zach wanted to say something to make his son feel better, but he had no idea what that would be, and he was starting to regret the fact that he’d brought up the subject at all.

  “I reckon Justin can come down here for a visit sometime,” Zach suggested, tapping his fingers on the table. “Would you like that?”

  “Sure,” Riley agreed with a half grin that was definitely a mirror image of Zach’s.

  “You’ll be all right, son,” Zach assured him.

  Riley nodded, but he still looked skeptical.

  Zach knew there was no reassuring the boy beyond simply allowing Riley time to adjust to his new home. He bit into his own sandwich and the two of them were silent for a few minutes as they ate.

  When their meal was over and Jo had cleared the dishes from their table, Zach leaned forward on his elbows, his hands clasped against the smooth laminate tabletop.

  “Do you want some dessert, champ? Maybe a slice of pie or a brownie?”

  Riley shook his head. “I’m full.”

  “All right, then. We’ll get you some cookies to go and you can eat them later.”

  “Cool.”

  Jo, her red curls bouncing and a T-shirt boasting “Pray, Cook, Love,” bustled over to the table with a white paper bag, which she set in front of Riley.

  “There you are, dear. Cookies, hot out of the oven and compliments of the house. I hope you like chocolate chip.”

  Riley nodded enthusiastically.

  Zach chuckled. “You must have read my mind. I just asked Riley if he’d like to take some cookies with him for later.”