Evernight Publishing
www.evernightpublishing.com
Copyright© 2014 Vanessa Devereaux
ISBN: 978-1-77130-774-1
Cover Artist: Sour Cherry Designs
Editor: Kerry Genova
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
WARNING: The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. No part of this book may be used or reproduced electronically or in print without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in reviews.
This is a work of fiction. All names, characters, and places are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
DEDICATION
For Uncle Freddie
FLYNN
Big Sky Cowboys, 2
Vanessa Devereaux
Copyright © 2014
Chapter One
Natalie took a deep breath, turned off her car’s ignition and then stared at the building in front of her. She’d gotten this far. However, now that she was actually here, she didn’t know if she had the strength to go through with this. She bit her lip and picked at the hangnail on the index finger of her right hand.
She leaned forward and rested her forehead on the top of the steering wheel. She’d never visited a hospice before, and knowing she was about to visit someone she knew…had once loved, in some strange way still did, made it that much harder.
Can I do this?
Get myself out of the car, walk across the parking lot, go inside, and see him.
Not just see him again after all this time, but see him lying in a bed clinging to life.
She raised her head off the steering wheel, hoping no one had walked by and seen her. A tear fell from her eye. She wiped it away, telling herself she had to be strong. She had to find the courage to go in there and see Jon because he’d asked for her. She’d never denied Jon anything, and this wasn’t the time to start.
Without giving it any more thought, she got out of the car and headed toward the hospice entrance. Her hand shook as she pulled open the door and stepped inside the lobby. A Christmas tree minus its decorations still stood in the corner of the reception, reminding her they were only a week into the New Year. At least Jon had hung on long enough to enjoy another holiday season.
“Can I help you?”
Natalie looked over at a lady, probably in her mid-fifties, sitting behind a desk.
“Yes, I’m looking for Jon Nelson’s room.”
“Jon’s one of our favorite residents, and he’s in 146. Head down the hallway to your right and it’s the room at the end on the left.”
Natalie smiled. Jon had always been likeable and he’d obviously not changed. “Thanks,” she said.
Her mouth suddenly felt devoid of salvia as she got mid-way down the hallway. She tried to swallow, rehearsing what she was going to say to him after all these years. The numbers 146 were in front of her before she realized it. The door was slightly ajar. She lifted her hand to knock but then let it drop by her side. She took a deep breath and lifted it again.
She tapped lightly, convinced that if her legs and feet didn’t feel like they were bolted to the ground, she’d turn around and run.
“Come in,” said a woman’s voice.
Natalie stepped inside to see Jon’s sister, Maggie, sitting reading on a couch by the window. She looked up and smiled as Natalie walked into the room.
She stood and put her arms out to her. “Look who’s here to see you?”
“Natalie, it’s really you.”
It was Jon’s voice. She turned to see him lying in bed. His head was bald; the gorgeous red hair that she’d loved so much was gone. Natalie guessed it hadn’t been too long ago that he’d stopped taking chemotherapy. Even though he was covered in blankets, she could tell by his bony shoulders and sunken face that he’d lost a lot of weight.
She tried to fight back the tears and bit her lip hoping that would help.
“I’ll go and get something to drink while you two have a nice visit by yourselves,” said Maggie.
His sister winked at her and left the room. Now it was just her and Jon.
“Come and sit down so we can talk.” He patted a spot on the bed beside him.
Natalie sat, and Jon put his hand out to her. She took it thinking how different it now felt to the days when they’d been high school sweethearts. Then it had been plump and warm, now bony and cold. She bit her lip again, willing herself not to break down.
“So here we are all these years later,” he said.
“Why didn’t your sister or even you, contact me sooner and let me know you were sick.”
He shrugged his shoulders. “I guess we kept thinking I’d beat this damn disease, so there was no need to alarm everyone I’d ever known.”
Jon rubbed the back of her hand. Something he’d always done when they’d gone on dates.
“I suppose my sister told you everything when she called you.”
“She said that you weren’t…”
Natalie choked up.
“It’s okay to say it, not going to live very much longer.”
Natalie sandwiched his hand in between hers. “Oh Jon, why is it always good people like you?”
“I don’t know, but I guess that’s what life is all about. Some things you win at. Some things you lose.” He started coughing. “Could you help me to sit up a little more?”
She stood and helped slid him up the bed a tad more. Years ago when he’d been muscular that act would have been next to impossible, but now his body felt like a bird that would break at any minute. Natalie pushed a pillow behind him and heard him groan as he eased his body back against it.
“Isn’t that anything else they can do for you?” Natalie sat and took his hand again.
“Had as much chemotherapy as I can stand, thank you very much. And now they say I’ve probably got a few weeks. I wanted to make sure I spoke with you just in case they’re patronizing me, or like the guy in the next room, I slip into a coma.”
Tears welled up in her eyes. She hadn’t seen him for close to fourteen years but the thought of him no longer being in this world broke her heart. In all honesty, a day hadn’t gone by when she hadn’t thought about him, even if it was just for a passing second. Him and…
“I have a request.” He coughed again.
“And what’s that?”
“I want you to find our baby…well, I guess it’s probably our teenager by now.”
Natalie squeezed his hand. That had been the other person she’d thought about everyday since she’d given birth.
Their baby.
“Jon, I…”
“You’ll do it right?”
She nodded. Finding him or her without Jon was going break her heart, but if that’s what he wanted, she’d do it.
“Once I’m gone my attorney will be contacting you. He has some items I want to give to the child. Also, when my condo’s sold, I’ve requested that the money go to the child for their college education.”
Natalie swallowed. He’d obviously thought a lot about this. About their child. Sometimes she thought she was the crazy one for still harboring a longing for what they’d lost.
“And when you find him or her; tell them that I love them and that I loved their mother more than anything else in the world.”
“Jon, please stop because this is breaking my heart.”
Natalie burst into tears and set her head down on Jon’s chest. She could hear his heart beating just like she did when they snuggled together after making love. Just like the night when she’d gotten pregnant.
****
Natalie pulled up in the driveway of her parent’s home and got out of her car. She headed to the door. She’d come from J
on’s funeral, and while she just wanted to go home and have a good cry, she had to get this out of the way.
Digging through her purse for the key, she looked up to see the door now open and her parent’s maid, Kym, standing there smiling at her.
“Hi, you want to come in?” she asked.
Natalie stepped into the foyer. “Are my parents home?”
“They sure are, and they’re both in the sun room.”
“I’ll go back there and see them.”
“You want anything to drink or eat?”
“Some tea would be great.”
She nodded and left while Natalie made her way to the back of the house, through the dining room, and into the sun room where her mother and father both sat reading.
Her dad was the first to spot her.
“Hi darling.”
He stood and hugged her. Her mother glanced at her over the top of her reading glasses.
“I take it by the outfit you’re wearing that you went to Jon Nelson’s funeral.”
Natalie hadn’t known whether or not to wear her black dress and shoes. She knew Jon wouldn’t want everyone looking sad and drab, but in the end, her proper upbringing had won out, and all black had been the color choice of the day.
“I did.”
“Yes, I saw his obituary a few days ago. You obviously did too.”
Her father offered his seat, and Natalie sat.
“No, Jon’s sister called me, and I went to see him at the hospice last week.”
“That was very nice of you,” said her father sitting next to her.
“It’s actually the reason I’m here.”
“Darling, I thought any business with Jon was well in the past,” said her mother.
Natalie knew this wasn’t going to be easy.
“It might be for you, but it never has been for me.”
Her mom and dad glanced at one another.
“Now, what’s brought back all these silly memories again?” asked her mother
“Jon’s requested that I find our child.”
Her mother jumped up from the chair like it suddenly had an electrical current running through it. “Still the same old Jon Nelson; even in death trying to cause problems for our family.”
“Mother, would you for once in your life have something nice to say about him? He’s gone, you never have to see him again so some respect would be nice.”
“I know it’s not polite to speak ill of the dead, but he was always trouble. He was back then, and it seems even in death he’s playing with your head. You had a baby. The baby was adopted, so it’s the end of that story.”
Her mother threw down the book she was reading, walked to the window and looked out, all the time pulling on the necklace around her neck. Natalie stood and walked over to stand beside her.
“This isn’t just about Jon. I’ve always wondered what my child looks like. You know that. What sort of person they are. I’d like to meet him or her.”
“Oh honey, you know that wouldn’t be a good thing. Think of how upsetting it would be for you. For them too after all this time.”
“I’d like to take my chances. And I’ve made a promise to Jon.”
“I think it best that you forget about what you promised him.”
“He’s left items for our child. He’s left money in his will for its college education. So I think it only fair I deliver them in person.”
Her mother turned to look at her. “Jon Nelson funding a college education! I always said the boy was nothing but a dreamer.”
Natalie tried to get her temper under control. She wanted to slap her mother’s face for such a nasty remark.
“Now if Jon hadn’t decided to ask about the baby, you wouldn’t have thought about it.”
“That’s not true, and you know it. I’ve thought about the baby every day since I gave birth and you took it from me. I’ve wanted to find out, but because I respected you and dad’s wishes, I’ve never pursued it. However, if Jon’s death has taught me one thing it’s that life’s short, so it’s about time I started thinking about what I want and not you.”
Kym chose that moment to walk in with the tea. She coughed and winked at Natalie. Kym had been with them long before Natalie had gotten pregnant and in a way been more of a support to her than her own mother.
“Thank you,” said Natalie taking it from her.
Natalie waited until Kym had left to continue with their conversation.
“I want the name and address of the couple who adopted the baby,” said Natalie.
Her mother gave one of her false laughs “You expect me to remember that after all this time?”
She pulled on her mother’s arm. “You arranged it. You took the baby to them. You must remember something.”
She pulled on her necklace again. “I really don’t, other than they were a charming young couple from South Dakota who I know gave the baby a loving home. Now don’t go prying or upsetting them or the child.”
Natalie turned to look at her father. He’d been the weak link in all this. Hell, he’d even worked on her mother every day in hopes that she’d see some sense and let Natalie keep the baby. But no, her mother won every single time.
“Moira, help our daughter out. I think she has a right to know the truth,” said her father.
Her mother turned around to look at her father and then back at Natalie.
“I can’t remember, and that’s my final word on the topic,” she said.
“Okay, if you won’t tell me I’ll have to find out on my own.”
“Oh honey, please don’t. Just let the past be exactly that or you’re going to be in for a terrible shock.”
Chapter Two
“Ms. White, Mr. Finesby is here to see you.”
Natalie looked up from the brief she was working on to see the receptionist, Jane, standing in the doorway of her office.
“Could you show him back here for me?”
She nodded and then left. Natalie quickly finished the paragraph she was in the middle of writing and looked up to see Jane returning with Mark Finesby, who she often turned to when she needed a private investigator to help with some of her cases.
“Come in and have a seat. Thanks Jane.”
Jane left, and Mark pulled up a chair and dug out a folder from his case.
“I hope you have some good news for me.”
He placed the folder on her desk and opened it. “Let’s just say this wasn’t an easy task. Your mother and her attorney went to lots of trouble to hide the information.”
“But you have found something?”
“Oh yes. The baby’s formal adoption papers were filed in Missoula, Montana.”
He slid the paperwork over the desk to Natalie.
“That’s strange because my mother said she’d given the baby to a couple in South Dakota.”
He shook his head. “No records there.”
Natalie looked at the papers in more detail.
She’d given birth to a girl. She’d hadn’t been allowed to know even that much.
She and Jon had a daughter.
She felt a tear welling up in her eye. What did she look like? What were the color of her hair and eyes?
“I see there’s just a man’s name on here,” said Natalie reading more.
“That’s right, Flynn Malone.”
“But it was supposed to be a couple.”
“I did find records of a divorce for him, filed a few months before this paperwork was officially filed so maybe he wanted sole custody.”
He pulled out some more paperwork. “In fact, I’ve done a background search on Mr. Malone. He runs a ranch just outside of Timber Creek, Montana with a Rory Malone, who I assume is a father or brother. And his daughter’s name is Emily Ann.”
Emily Ann. She liked both those names. Yes, they were something she would have picked for her baby.
Her baby, a girl named Emily. She felt happier knowing just those simple facts.
“Anything else you c
an tell me?”
“Not much. He’s never been in any sort of trouble. He’s registered to vote, has a driver’s license, not been picked up for even speeding, and owns two guns—which I wouldn’t think is atypical for a rancher. Besides that, there’s not much I can tell you.”
“I want to thank you for what you have found. This is a great start for me.”
“You were paying me and I was just doing my job. Only wish I had something more to tell you.”
“It’s enough. I mean I know where to go to meet my daughter now.”
He leaned back on the chair. “I know this is none of my business but I’ve done this more times than I can remember; found a child someone gave up for adoption and well, 99 percent of the time, it never ends happily. One of the people involved ends up getting hurt and things are never the same not just for that one person, but everyone involved, including the child. So can I suggest you sit and have a good think about what you’re about to do before you rush off to Montana?”
Natalie nodded. She knew that, but she’d made a promise. They were meant to be kept and now she knew Emily Ann was out there and where she was, she was going to say hello to her daughter.
Chapter Three
Flynn checked his watch for the third time in less than a minute, hoping the delivery of the new calf would soon be over. Normally, he or Rory played midwife, but this baby was refusing to come into the world without some expert help, and they’d had to call in the vet.
If the calf, or at least the vet, didn’t hurry things along, he’d be late collecting Emily from his mom’s café. He’d promised her they’d then go shopping for groceries so she could make cupcakes for Shane’s upcoming fundraising event.
“Here it comes,” the vet finally announced.
Flynn watched the calf exit its mother’s body and fall onto the straw underneath her hind legs.
“It’s a girl,” said Dr. Moore.
Flynn Page 1
