by Pamela Bauer
“Alex asked Joe Smith if he’d take a DNA test, and he agreed,” Frannie explained.
“This way he won’t be able to hide from us,” Alex added. “DNA doesn’t lie. You said so.” He looked at his aunt.
“No, it doesn’t,” Lois agreed.
“So you approve?” Frannie cast a sideways glance at her sister.
“Sure, but what puzzles me is why you’re going to Duluth to have it done. I could have arranged for it to be done right here in Minneapolis. You wouldn’t have had to even see this Smith guy.”
“I appreciate the offer, but as it turns out, I have an assignment in Duluth, and since it involves staying overnight at a hotel, I thought it would be an opportunity for me to take the kids away for a couple of days.” She didn’t tell her sister that she’d specifically requested the assignment, or that Joe had offered to pay for the DNA test.
“They’re going to have to take blood out of my arm,” Alex boasted.
“You’ll probably faint,” Emma warned him.
“Will not. You’re the one who cries at the doctor, not me.”
Frannie managed to change the topic of conversation, not wanting to talk about Joe with her sister. She should have known, however, that Lois wouldn’t let it rest until she was satisfied with the answers she’d been given.
“Okay, so you’re going to Duluth on an assignment. That doesn’t mean you have to do the DNA testing there,” she said as she stood next to her car.
“I know that,” Frannie replied. “But this isn’t only about the DNA test.”
“Since when?”
“Since Alex took the paperweight. I thought it would be a good idea for him to return it in person. It could be valuable, and I didn’t think I should return it through the mail.”
She could feel her sister’s eyes on her, studying her.
“Send it by courier.”
Frannie shoved her hands to her waist. “What’s wrong with us going to Duluth to take the test?”
“Nothing. I just wish you had let me handle it.”
“Why? It’s not that big a deal.”
“You meet a guy who’s a dead ringer for your ex-husband and you don’t want me to be concerned?”
“He’s not Dennis.”
“You said he looks just like him. If you hadn’t told me Dennis’s twin brother had died, I’d think this guy could be his long lost brother. You want me to run a check on him?”
Frannie threw up her hands. “Please don’t. It’s embarrassing enough that Alex has been writing letters to him telling him all sorts of personal things about our family. I don’t need him to find out my sister’s checking up on him, too.”
“If he’s got nothing to hide, it shouldn’t matter.”
“Spoken like an attorney,” Frannie stated dryly. She leaned against the open car door, a plea in her eyes. “I would appreciate it if you would try to look at this from Joe Smith’s perspective.”
“You seem to be awfully concerned about just that,” Lois said, her eyes narrowing. “Frannie, I hate to even have to ask this, but you’re not attracted to this guy because he looks like Dennis, are you?”
“No!” Her denial came immediately because it was the truth. What she didn’t add was that she was attracted to Joe Smith—but for reasons she couldn’t explain to Lois. She knew it was better not to even try. “Do you think you could stop cross-examining me like I’m some hostile witness?”
Lois reached for her sister’s hand. “I’m sorry. I’m just doing what a big sister is supposed to do. I’m also your lawyer. I’m supposed to watch out for you.”
“I know. And I appreciate your concern, but there’s no need for you to worry about any of this.”
Just then Emma stuck her head out the front door. “Mom, telephone’s for you!” she called out. “I think it’s your work.”
“I gotta go,” Frannie said, giving Lois a quick hug.
“All right. Call me when you get back, all right?”
Frannie nodded, relieved to have the conversation end. As much as she loved her sister, she didn’t need to answer questions about emotions she didn’t understand. Nor could she explain that when she pictured Joe Smith, she didn’t see a man who looked like her husband. She saw someone very different. A man with strong convictions. A man of commitment. A man she wished she had met under different circumstances.
CHAPTER SEVEN
JOE ARRIVED at the clinic early. Instead of going inside, he parked his SUV and rolled down his windows, content to listen to a Santana CD and gaze at the scenery below. Because the clinic sat atop a steep hill, he had a bird’s-eye view of the harbor. On such a warm summer day traffic was heavier than usual, as recreational boaters spending the afternoon on the water vied for the right-of-way with tour boats and freighters loaded with ore.
Since he’d moved to Grand Marais, Joe had come to Duluth often with his father, who never seemed to tire of watching the ships sail in and out of the harbor. Joe knew his father loved being in the port city, as it was the closest he could get to the life he had once known as a career naval officer.
Today, however, Joe had asked Letty to stay with his dad. He doubted the Admiral would understand why he was meeting Frannie, nor did there seem to be any point in telling him. It would only add more uncertainty and confusion to his already unstable world.
Like Frannie, Joe wanted the paternity issue settled as quickly as possible, which was why he had agreed to meet her at the Duluth clinic. He had read Alex’s letters and knew that with each passing day, the boy’s belief that Joe was his father only grew stronger.
Joe knew that dispelling that notion would be much less complicated if he could only reveal his true identity. If he weren’t using an assumed name, he could have produced indisputable proof that he wasn’t Dennis Harper. Hidden in a safety deposit box were legal documents that stated he had been born Joseph Hawthorn. Joe wished he could tell Frannie his real name, but not knowing what she’d do with the information meant that was a risk he couldn’t take.
Thinking of her, he glanced toward the street, looking for the dark green station wagon to pull into the parking lot. Today would more than likely be the last time he’d see her. Once she had the results of the DNA testing, there would be no reason for them to have any further communication.
It was for the best, but that didn’t keep him from wishing he could see her again. Her independent attitude intrigued him, as did the way she hovered over her kids, ready to do battle with anyone or anything that threatened them. He also liked how her eyes darkened with emotion when she was angry and the enticing movement of her hips when she walked.
He closed his eyes and tried not to think about her. A man in his position had no business thinking such thoughts about any woman, yet Frannie Harper had left an impression on him that was hard to ignore. He wanted to know what it would be like to get to know her…all of her. If they had met under different circumstances, at another time in his life…
He sighed as he opened his eyes and forced his attention back to the clinic. Convincing Alex Harper that he wasn’t the boy’s father was the hurdle he needed to leap so that he could get back to taking care of his father. If he were smart, he would regard Frannie Harper as Alex’s mother and nothing else.
Only she didn’t look much like the mother of a ten-year-old when she climbed out of the station wagon a few minutes later. She wore a pair of blue shorts with a white top that emphasized her youthful figure. Joe wasn’t sure of her age, but figured she couldn’t have been past thirty. As she bent over to unstrap Luke from his car seat, Joe caught a peek of flesh that normally was hidden by her shorts. He quickly looked away, but it was too late. His body had reacted.
He pulled his keys from the ignition and climbed out of the SUV, just as Frannie and her three kids walked past.
She smiled at him and said, “Hello. Have you been waiting long?”
“Not long,” he answered. “You had a good trip?”
“Yes. What about you?�
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“It was fine.” He felt ridiculous making small talk. He had the crazy urge to tell her that she looked good. Really good. A narrow copper-colored metal band held her blond curls away from her face, emphasizing the exquisite bone structure. “We should go inside.”
“Yes, but before we do, Alex has something for you.” She put her hand on her older son’s shoulder, urging him to step forward.
Joe saw that the boy had the missing paperweight in his hands and a contrite look on his face.
“I’m sorry I took this,” Alex said, handing it to him. “I hope you’re not mad.”
“No, I’m not mad,” Joe reassured him. “Thank you for returning it.”
Alex didn’t say another word, but simply eyed him suspiciously.
“He never should have taken it and he’s been punished,” Frannie added, which caused Alex to look at Joe with even more distrust.
“I know Alex didn’t intend to do anything wrong,” Joe said. “He was simply trying to find an answer to a question. Isn’t that right, Alex?”
Some of the suspicion slid from the ten-year-old’s face as he nodded.
Then Joe said, “We should go inside so we can get a step closer to finding that answer for Alex. I’ll put this—” he held up the paperweight “—in the car and be right in.”
Frannie nodded and ushered her kids into the clinic, while he went back to his SUV. By the time he entered the reception area, she had already started to fill out the necessary forms. The woman at the front desk gave Joe an identical clipboard with instructions for completing the paperwork.
He could feel two sets of eyes on him—Alex’s and Emma’s. Frannie, however, didn’t look up as he took a seat across from her. Over the top of the clipboard, Joe could see her long slender legs crossed at the knees, distracting him from the papers that needed his attention.
She finished ahead of him, and subsequently Alex’s name was the first one called to have his blood drawn. Frannie went with him, carrying Luke in her arms and leaving Emma to wait in the reception area.
She sat quietly, looking away whenever Joe glanced in her direction. When he had finished filling out the papers, he gave the clipboard back to the receptionist. As Joe went to sit back down he saw that Emma had moved to the vacant chair next to his. He reached for a magazine on the table. Flipping through the pages, he could feel the young girl’s eyes on him. He wondered if she wanted to talk to him. Did she, too, think he was her father?
“Would you like a magazine?” Joe asked, motioning to where several periodicals lay scattered across the table next to his chair.
“No thank you,” she said politely.
She wore her blond hair the same way her mother did—pushed straight back from her forehead, except that her headband was a wide strip of leather, not metal. Joe noticed she had the same delicate bone structure as Frannie and the same small rounded nose, yet her eyes were brown.
“Do you think they use a big needle to take your blood?” she asked Joe.
“I hope not. I don’t like needles, and especially not big ones.”
“Me, neither,” she said with a shy smile.
Curious, he asked, “Emma, you don’t think I’m your father, do you?”
“Not anymore,” she admitted. “You kinda look like him, but I can’t really remember him. He’s all fuzzy in my head.”
Joe felt himself softening toward the girl. “It’s been a long time since you’ve seen him, hasn’t it?”
She nodded, her lips closed tightly.
“You must miss him.”
“Mom says you can’t miss something you never had.”
“Does she?” Joe asked rhetorically, wondering what other things Frannie had told her children to help them cope.
“He’s not a very nice man so we’re probably better off without him,” she stated pragmatically.
That was one statement he wasn’t about to contest.
“It’s too bad you’re not our dad,” she said on a sigh. “The Admiral would make a nice grandpa.”
It was said with such innocence, Joe couldn’t help but be touched by the sincerity. “Thank you. That’s a very nice thing to say about my father. I know he’d appreciate hearing that.”
“Are you going to tell him?”
“Do you want me to?”
Again she smiled shyly. “I guess it’s okay.”
“For somebody like my father, it’s probably the nicest thing anyone could say to him.”
“Really?”
“Really.”
She didn’t comment, but sat quietly for a brief time before announcing, “We’re going to Canal Park when we leave here.”
“That sounds like fun. There’s a lot to do there.”
“We couldn’t stop the last time we were here because my mom was kinda crabby because of…well, you know,” she said with a lift of her brows.
“Yes, I do,” he commiserated.
“My friend Ashley told me when she was in Duluth with her mom and dad there was a carnival here, but I didn’t see one. Do you know if they have a carnival going on?”
“No, I’m sorry I don’t.”
“It probably doesn’t matter because we’re going to stay overnight at a motel with a pool so we can go swimming. I’d rather go swimming than go on rides,” she said.
“You’re staying overnight in Duluth?”
“Uh-huh. My mom asked her boss if she could take some pictures for the paper and he said yes, so we get to stay overnight.” She leaned closer, as if to share a secret. “It’s gonna be free because she’s working on a story.”
Curious, he was about to ask Emma if she knew what pictures her mother would be taking, when a nurse called his name. Not wanting Frannie to leave before he was finished, Joe said to Emma, “Would you tell your mother that I’d like to talk to her before you go?”
“Sure.”
“You won’t forget, will you?”
“Uh-uh, I won’t,” she promised.
To Joe’s relief, Frannie was sitting in the reception room when he returned. When she saw him, she rose.
“Emma said you wanted to speak to me about something?”
He glanced behind her to where the twins sat watching their every move. “They told you the results would be mailed in a week?”
She nodded. “We’ll each get a notarized, legal document. Everything seems fairly straightforward, don’t you think?”
He nodded. “Yes. It’s just a matter of waiting for the results—Emma said you’re staying overnight in Duluth.”
“Yes. They wanted to see the sights.”
“Want some company?”
“You want to come with us?” It was obvious from the look on her face that she didn’t understand why he’d even make such an offer. Neither did he. There was no reason for them to have any further contact, yet he was reluctant to say goodbye to her.
“I thought it might be helpful.”
“Helpful?” She looked puzzled.
You don’t want to be doing this, a little voice warned him. Leave now. You’ve provided the blood sample for the paternity test. You’ve done all you need to do.
He didn’t listen to the voice. “For Alex. If he spent some time with me he might realize that I’m not his father.” It wasn’t exactly a lie, but it wasn’t the true reason, either.
They spoke in voices that were barely above a whisper, which had the two little people behind them craning their necks to hear. Frannie glanced at the kids, turned back to him and asked, “You said the letters were—” she shifted from one leg to the other “—I guess what I’m trying to say is, wouldn’t that only make things more awkward than they already are?”
“Not for me. What about for you?”
It had been a while since he’d looked into a woman’s eyes and asked a silent question. By the way she lowered her gaze, he knew that she’d understood this wasn’t simply about Alex.
“If circumstances were different, I might have taken you up on your offer.” Sh
e gave him an apologetic smile.
“You would.”
“Yes, I would.” This time she held his gaze, and he could see in her eyes the same message that had been in his. She was interested. Plain and simple.
She glanced again at her children, then back at him. “They’re not sure about you,” she said in an even lower voice.
“What about you, Frannie? Are you sure about me?”
Again she held his eyes. “Yes.”
The receptionist chose that moment to call Joe over to the desk, where she asked him to sign one more form. When he was done, he asked, “Is that everything? We can go?”
Getting an affirmative response, Joe turned and saw that Frannie had gathered her children around her and was getting ready to leave. She extended her hand to him. “Thank you for doing this. I appreciate you coming here today.”
“You’re welcome,” he said, taking her hand in his. It was warm and soft, making him wish he could touch more of her. Seeing the direction his thoughts were taking, he quickly released it.
“I hope everything works out for you.”
“Thank you.” He held the door for them as they filed out, Emma and Luke each calling out “Bye” as they ducked under his arm. Alex went silently past him.
Joe wondered if the boy had finally accepted that he wasn’t his father. Not that it should have mattered to Joe. The trouble was that in a very short time a bond had been established between him and this single mom and her children. He hadn’t wanted it to be there, but nevertheless, it was.
As he drove back to Grand Marais, he couldn’t stop thinking about them. What were they doing at Canal Park? Was Alex still sullen or had swimming in the indoor pool lifted his spirits?
One thing Joe knew for certain. They were no longer any concern of his. That should have given him some peace of mind.
It didn’t.
By the time he arrived home he was feeling even more restless than he had when he’d left Duluth. Letty noticed, attributing his mood to overwork. She offered to stay and make dinner for the two men.
“That’s very kind of you, Letty, but I don’t want to put you out,” he told her.
