The Secret Son

by Joan Kilby

  She finished affixing labels to all the jars that were ready. While Linda and Taylor pitted another bushel of cherries, she quietly went out of the room and across the hall to Robert’s study and knocked on the partly open door.

  “Come in.” His empty plate and cup were set to one side and he was already at work on his computer, entering what appeared to be expenses from the bills spread across his desk.

  Hovering in the doorway, she tugged on the end of one braid. “Sorry to disturb. Any word on the house?”

  Robert looked up from the computer and leaned back in his chair, pushing his reading glasses to the top of his head. “I put in your offer. They’ve had another offer, as well.”

  Her fingers tightened on the door frame. “Higher than mine?”

  “A little. The other buyers are after an investment property. They’ll either use the house as a rental or else tear it down and put up condos.”

  She entered the room and sat in a leather and wood chair. “That’s exactly what I’m afraid of. I’ll increase my offer, do whatever it takes.”

  “You’re a sensible girl, Emma. Don’t get carried away and pay too much out of emotional attachment. This is business.”

  “I’m not being emotional!” she burst out, then recalled that Alex had given her the same warning. “Okay, I am a bit because it was my grandparents’ house. There’s family history there. My mom grew up in that house. I lived there until I was six.” She planted her hands on her thighs. “So what’s next?”

  Robert opened his mouth to answer but no sound came out. His face turned gray and he bent forward, pressing a hand against his sternum. His glasses fell down his nose and sat crookedly. She could hear him struggling for breath.

  “Are you all right?” Emma shot to her feet. “Should I call Linda? 911?”

  He held his other hand up and shook his head. Seconds later, his expression cleared and he sat up straight again. “Just a small chest pain. It’s passed, nothing to worry about.”

  “Chest pain is something to worry about.”

  “I really do wish everyone would stop fussing over me.” Robert looked over his reading glasses at her.

  Emma leveled a stern glance back at him. “Are you taking your medication?”

  “Yes, despite what Linda thinks.” He smiled, the color seeping back into his face. “Honestly Emma, I’m fine.”

  “Okay.” She wasn’t convinced. Even the fact that he wasn’t out in the orchard as he normally would be during harvest told her he wasn’t feeling up to par. But going against Robert’s authority was difficult. “I’d better get back to labeling. You’ll let me know if I need to up my offer, won’t you?”

  “Of course. I doubt if anything will happen until after the weekend.”

  Back in the kitchen, Emma sidled up to Linda at the stove and spoke in a low voice. “I was talking to Robert just now. He had a chest pain. I wanted to call you but he brushed it off. A moment later he did seem to be all right. I just thought you should know.”

  Linda pursed her lips. The wooden spoon she was stirring the simmering cherries with jerked, splashing red juice onto the white enamel stove. “That man is so stubborn. He thinks the normal rules don’t apply to him.” She turned anxious eyes to Emma. “He’s worried about something and it has to be his heart. When I try to talk about it he clams up. Between the festival preparations and the harvest, there’s no time to sit down and discuss things.”

  Emma put her arm around Linda’s shoulder and squeezed, not knowing what advice to offer. “Once the festival is over everyone will relax.”

  “I hope so.” She glanced over her shoulder at Taylor and Jodi. “Don’t tell the girls. I don’t want them to worry.”

  Emma nodded but privately she didn’t agree. The more people who were keeping an eye on Robert, the better.

  *

  Alex drove the tractor and flatbed up to the processing shed and signaled to the forklift driver. While the bins were being emptied into the hopper he wandered over to Will at his desk in the corner of the shed.

  “How’s it going?” Seeing Will struggling to keep up with the orders coming in through the website made him itch to reorganize their software and make it more efficient.

  “Computer work isn’t my strong suit. I’d much rather be out in the orchard. Dad always takes care of the orders but I don’t want to burden him now.” Will leaned back and dragged a hand through his mussed blonde hair. “The program he uses has been around since the dawn of computers. It’s slow but it’s the only one I know.”

  “One of our clients in Seattle produces a program to manage online orders. I could download it so you could check it out. If you’re interested, I would set it up so that orders coming through on your website go directly to that spreadsheet.”

  “That would be awesome.” Will rose and gestured to the chair for Alex to take his place at the computer. “For a random picker you’ve turned out to be a huge asset. If I thought we could afford you I’d offer you a permanent job.”

  “This stuff is child’s play. And fun.” Alex slid into the chair and pulled up to the computer.

  “You don’t need to work a cherry harvest.” Will leaned against the wall. “What are you getting out of this?”

  Alex kept his gaze on the computer screen as he tapped in a search for the software into the browser. “It’s good to get out of my comfort zone once in a while.”

  He didn’t mean climbing ladders or driving a tractor, although that was interesting in itself. Getting to know his half-brother and half-sisters was the real reward. He’d expected to resent the hell out of them. Then he’d found out they were very nice people, turning everything on its head. Even more surprising was discovering that what he felt about them wasn’t as important to him as what they felt about him. Whether they ever learned he was their half-brother or not, he wanted them to like him.

  Will poured them both a cup of coffee while Alex downloaded the program.

  “You have a free trial for the first month,” Alex said, taking a sip. “After that I recommend paying for the professional version. I can pretty much guarantee you’ll love it.” He started to enter contact details into the fields provided to set up an account. “You need a password.”

  “I always use my birthdate.” Will stood behind Alex chair to watch. “15. 4. 1985.”

  Alex froze, his fingers poised above the keys. 1985. April, 1985. That meant… His mind tried to calculate rapidly but he could hardly think over the roaring in his ears. “You’re also thirty?”

  “Hard to believe, I know.” Will gave a dry chuckle. “People tell me I don’t look a day over twenty-nine.”

  His half-brother was three months older than him. How could that be? Robert had sworn he wasn’t married to Linda when he was with Alex’s mother. Was he lying? Or had his father carried on relationships with two women at the same time? If so, it was no wonder Robert hadn’t told his wife and children he had another family in Canada.

  “I know it’s not the strongest password,” Will said, misinterpreting the reason he hadn’t yet entered the password. “Add my middle name at the end if you want. Nathan.”

  Nathan was Alex’s middle name, too. His fingers curled into his palms. He and Will shared not only a father but a name. And Robert had never told either of them about each other. That day when Alex and his mom had come to the cherry orchard, had Will been inside the big log house, no more aware he had a half-brother than Alex? A huge sense of loss for all the missing years washed over him. Quickly followed by a burning anger.

  “Everything okay?” Will said. “Look, you can make the password whatever you want. Just write it down somewhere or I’ll forget.”

  Alex shook his head and started typing, his fingers moving mechanically. “It’s fine. 1541985Nathan. Nathan. Is that your grandfather’s name?”

  “Yeah, how did you know?”

  He smiled grimly. “Just a lucky guess.”

  Robert Jackson had a hell of a lot of explaining to do.r />
  *

  Alex presided over the smoking barbecue on the Jacksons’ patio, his polo shirt and shorts protected by a navy barbecue apron. Pickers, family, friends and neighbors stood in groups in the entertainment area or spread out across the lawn.

  As he turned the meat, his gaze followed his father. Robert Jackson, the jovial host, mingled with his guests, moving easily from group to group, his hearty laugh ringing out through the balmy evening.

  Emma delivered another platter of uncooked hamburgers. She wore her hair in a high ponytail tonight. Long shorts and a loose sleeveless top displayed tanned, toned arms and legs but frustratingly, revealed nothing more. “I see you got roped into helping, too.”

  “I’m spelling off Will so he could grab something to eat.” Alex scooped a batch of cooked meat onto a clean plate and passed it to Taylor who carried it to the long row of tables laid end to end and piled high with food. “It’s a big job to cater for this many people.”

  “The pre-festival barbecue is an annual event. They invite everyone.”

  “Are your mom and sister here?”

  “Yep.” She craned her neck to scan the crowd. “There, next to the wheelbarrow planter; my mom, Karen, is the auburn-haired woman in the long skirt and white top looking at the flowers with my niece, Carly. Zoe, my sister, is the one talking to Jens. She’s divorced in case you’re wondering.”

  Alex studied Emma’s family. Looking at her mom he could see where Emma got her red hair. Zoe, a raven-haired beauty displaying more skin than a centerfold, had the tall blonde backpacker from Sweden eating out of her hand. “Your sister’s very beautiful.”

  “Half-sister,” Emma said. “As you can see, we look nothing alike.”

  Alex flipped a steak and gave it a quarter turn to get the criss-cross pattern. Emma’s tone might be dry but her expression was wistful. “Well, she’s not my type.”

  Emma’s ponytail swung indignantly. “Men go crazy over her. And so they should. She’s a sweet person.”

  Alex smiled, bemused. “Sorry, I misunderstood. Do you want me to like her?” he teased. “Should I ask her to the dance instead?”

  Emma’s mouth clamped shut. There was a limit to her sisterly altruism.

  Well, good. It proved she was interested in him. That’s all he wanted to know. Rather than upset her, he dropped the touchy subject. “Who is the couple talking to Jess and Damon?”

  “Oh, that’s Carrie, another cousin. Her mom and Jess’s mom are Robert’s sisters. I don’t know the man Carrie’s with but apparently he lives out of town with a bunch of big dogs. He looks a little scary but if he’s with Carrie he must be okay.”

  So many cousins he’d never met, never even heard of.

  “There’s Brett with Jacie and Darcy,” Emma went on, nodding toward a cowboy with dark brown hair escorting a woman with long honey blonde hair and a young blonde girl. “Brett’s father is Robert’s brother, Hal, the man standing next to Robert.”

  Brett crossed the yard to say hello to his dad and uncle. Hal had less gray in his hair than Robert but possessed the lean and rugged Jackson profile. Alex frowned. No wonder Robert was reluctant to introduce him to his family. An awful of lot of people would be surprised, if not shocked to meet him.

  “It’s nice to see Robert looking more like his old self,” Emma added.

  “I wouldn’t know.” He must have sounded bitter. Emma’s gaze flicked back to him and she tilted her head. Damn. He had to be careful of what he said and how he said it. She noticed everything. “I don’t know what he’s normally like so it’s hard to tell,” he explained. “Have you heard anything more about your house?”

  “Not yet. I’m trying not to think about it too much.”

  “I could help you take your mind off it,” he teased. “Just say the word. I’ll meet you out in the orchard.”

  Her cheeks flamed, rivaling her burnished hair, but her chin came up on cue. “Do you realize you resort to sexual innuendo whenever you’re uncomfortable?”

  “Do you realize how pretty you are when you blush?” What she had wasn’t naivety exactly, more a lack of pretence and guile which he found refreshing. Next to her he felt jaded and cynical. “So what about the orchard?”

  “Sorry, I don’t do men in aprons.” Even flustered, she still threw it straight back at him.

  “I’ll take it off. I’ll take everything off. Will you?” He pretended to snap his tongs at the button on her shorts.

  She jumped back, laughing. “You’re impossible.”

  “No, actually, I’m very possible.” He reached for his bottle of beer from the table next to the barbecue. “Easy, in fact.”

  “Your hot dog is on fire.”

  “You’re telling me.”

  Her burst of laughter ended with a tiny snort. “I’m serious. That hot dog is burning.”

  Sure enough, flames were leaping from a wiener that had fallen through the grill. Swearing and laughing, he tugged it out and tossed it into a nearby metal garbage bucket which luckily didn’t contain anything flammable.

  “Nice to see you back in Cherry Lake, Emma.” An older man well into his seventies, lean and good-looking for his age, put a hand on her shoulder with easy familiarity. He glanced from her to Alex then held out his hand. “I’m Nate, Robert’s father.”

  “Pleased to meet you.” Alex put down the tongs and wiped his hand on his apron, as much to remove a sudden dampness as streaks of charcoal.

  His grandfather took Alex’s hand in an iron grip while his piercing gray gaze searched his face. “Who might you be?”

  Alex returned the firm handshake, keeping his gaze level, sensing the older man would scorn weakness. Looking into his grandfather’s face brought a jolt of recognition. His likeness to Nate was disconcerting, almost like looking into a mirror. Same color eyes, same strong nose and jaw, same prominent cheekbones. And something else, an indomitable will. The pioneering spirit that had brought the original Jackson settlers to plant orchards in Cherry Lake had carried Alex from a tiny mountain town in British Colombia to forge a career in Seattle. “Alex Chernoff. I’m in town for a couple of weeks, helping out with the harvest.”

  The older man’s eyes flickered. He released his grip. “Good to hear.”

  Alex nodded, feeling as if he’d just been tested and wasn’t quite sure if he’d passed. “Emma, could you get a fresh plate to put these cooked steaks on?”

  “But…” She glanced at the clean plate next to the grill then shrugged. “No problem. Talk to you later, Nate.” And she walked back across the patio to the house.

  “I understand you planted this orchard.” Alex was making conversation, avoiding Nate’s piercing gaze. “Must have been quite an undertaking.”

  “I know who you are,” Nate said gruffly the instant Emma was out of earshot. “I’ve wanted to meet you for a very long time. My friend, Pansy—young folks call her Aunt Pan—saw you in the street and recognized the family resemblance.”

  “Yes, I remember.” Alex glanced across the lawn at Robert. His father had noticed him talking to Nate and was frowning. He’d promised not to say anything to anyone. Did that include his grandfather? Nate was the one person in town besides Robert who knew who he was. “It’s an honor to meet you, sir. I wish I could say I’ve heard all about you.”

  Nate’s jaw set as he sucked in a long breath through his nostrils. “I suppose he told you not to tell anyone who you are?” He held up a hand thickly veined and liver-spotted. “No, don’t bother to answer. I can see he has.”

  “I came to Cherry Lake of my own accord,” Alex said. “He wasn’t expecting me.” Was he defending his father now? Screw that. He was angry, not a kid wanting daddy’s approval. But he had no beef with his grandfather. How would the old man react to Alex criticizing his son? He needed to try to stay neutral, objective. “The orchard needed pickers so I signed up.”

  “While Robert was in Billings, I take it.” Nate shook his head. “After years of keeping you a deep dark secret, yo
u’re here.”

  Alex concentrated on turning the burgers. “I guess he had his reasons.”

  “I was partly to blame for him taking off back in the summer of ’84,” Nate mused. “We were both too damn stubborn to compromise. Never thought he’d stay away for goddamn years. Might never have come back except that I got sick.”

  The old man was rambling but at least he was talking about the past. It felt surreal to be actually standing here with his grandfather. “Didn’t you know where he went?”

  “Not at the time. Oh, he phoned his mom now and then to let her know he was all right. But he refused to come back or tell her what he was doing. Guess he didn’t want to be told to get his ass back to Cherry Lake.”

  Alex glanced over at Robert, who was now talking to Linda and another woman on the far side of the patio. His father must have felt his gaze because he said something to Linda and started toward the barbecue.

  Alex only had moments to find out precious information. “What did you fight about?”

  “The orchard. Robert wanted to buy more land and plant more trees. I was more cautious.” Nate sucked on his teeth. “Turns out he was right but neither of us knew it then. He was already stomping around like a bear with a sore head on account of Linda breaking up with him so she could go back east for work.”

  “What month was that?”

  “Let’s see now. The harvest was all in but the kids weren’t back at school. Must have been August. Linda left for Boston. She was staying with an aunt, I believe. A few weeks later Robert and I had our big blow up and he took off. Would have been September by then.” Nate tipped his close-cropped gray head to one side and squinted at him. “Why? What difference does it make what month?”

  “Just trying to piece together the past.” Things were starting to fall into place. Will must have been conceived in August, before Linda and Robert broke up. Then Robert had come to Castlegar in September and met his mom. Three months later she was pregnant with Alex. Apparently that generation didn’t know about birth control. Or his parents were very unlucky. Alex doubted his eighteen-year-old mother had been on the pill. Anything like that was frowned upon in their strictly religious community. But two pregnancies inside a few months? That was bordering on freakish. Truth was often stranger than fiction though.