Child of Mine

“Sure.”

Annie put the coffeepot on the sideboard, waved goodbye to the other guests and joined her.

Leah twisted the linen napkin, wondering how to begin.

Annie waited patiently.

“I need to know something.”

“I’ll tell you if I can.”

“Did you know John Johnson?”

Annie nodded. “Yes. It’s been a long time. He died…I’m not sure…seems like almost ten years ago.”

“Do you know anything about his child?”

She sighed. “Saddest thing. John met a girl in California. They got married and had a baby, but she ran out on him when the baby was just tiny. So John brought the baby back here, but he got killed in a car crash not long after he came home. His brother raised the boy like he was his own. He’s Matt Whitaker—the man you came here to talk to.” Her eyes widened.

Leah lowered her chin. “Is that what the whole town believes?”

Annie nodded slowly. “Leah?”

“Yes. I’m the girl. But it’s not true.” She looked into Annie’s honest eyes. “I need someone to trust.”

“I can keep your confidences…but, Leah, you have to know…the town feels really strongly about this. Everyone backs Matt. They admire how he took in the baby.”

“But they don’t know the truth.”

“It’s the truth everyone’s lived with for nearly a decade,” Annie reminded her gently. “Even if it wasn’t true to begin with, it’s going to be hard to convince people otherwise, especially after seeing a big strong guy like Matt with a baby. He’s raised Danny by himself…. He never married.”

Leah’s heart caught as she thought of all the time she’d missed, all the firsts, all the accomplishments.

“Do you want to tell me about it?”

So Leah told her.

“John wasn’t exactly wild,” Annie remembered. “But he didn’t run with my kind of crowd. He was a year ahead in school, but I remember he was different. Actually, I can see him taking off for California. So, if you didn’t abandon Danny, that means you have legal rights.”

“Yes.”

“But if you take him away from everything he knows…”

Leah sighed heavily.

“If it helps,” Annie said, “Matt seems to be a great father.”

“I’m not sure it does. Of course, I wouldn’t want to know Danny had been miserable. But his relationship with Matt complicates everything. I’ve always known that if I found him, it wouldn’t be simple. But the reality is a lot harder than I ever imagined.” And Leah was longing to put her arms around her little boy, to hug him close, to tell him that he was hers…to let him know how much she loved him. Instead, she sat drinking coffee, not even sure where he went to school.

Annie plucked the petals from one of the daisies on the table. “There’s another way.”

Leah met her gaze.

“Stay here in Rosewood. Get to know Danny. Establish some trust before you tell him who you are.”

“Do you think Matt would let that happen?”

“I’ve seen Matt with him. I don’t think he could hurt Danny by telling him the truth right now.”

For all the other objections Leah might have about Matt, she couldn’t deny his love for Danny.

She would do what it took to restore her maternal rights to her son, to convince Danny that she loved him. “Thank you, Annie. You’ve got a full-time guest.”

Leah learned that Danny attended the Community Church’s elementary school. No wonder his name had never appeared in public school records. Then she found out that he went by Danny Whitaker. In a small-town private school, a birth certificate hadn’t been necessary, she guessed.

Or maybe Matt had taken the legal steps and adopted him.

She didn’t have the heart to find that out just yet.

Instead, she decided to put her design skills to their best use. She made an appointment with the principal, explained that she was taking a break from her stressful job in L.A. but would love to volunteer at the school to give herself something to do while in Rosewood.

“Miss Hunter, we’d be delighted to have you,” Principal Gunderland said after their meeting. She was taking Leah to see the lounge she had agreed to work on.

“Leah. And I’m pleased that I can be of help.”

“An actual designer to help redecorate our teachers’ lounge. The last time we tried to do anything with the room, we wound up painting it ghastly pink. No one liked it, so we repainted it institutional green, which is just as awful, maybe worse.”

“I’ll try for something a little more aesthetically pleasing,” Leah murmured, struggling not to be obvious as she peeked into the classrooms they were passing.

“Don’t take this the wrong way, but we’ll be thrilled with anything.”

Leah spotted a room full of children who looked to be about the right age, but she didn’t see Danny among them. She needed to know what grade he was in. “Um…anything?”

“As long as it’s in keeping with the church school.”

Leah glanced into another classroom. “Of course. Tasteful, I understand.”

“Mr. Whitaker!” the principal said in a delighted voice.

“Whitaker?” Leah echoed, jerking her gaze back to see Matt stalking down the hall toward them.

“Yes, he’s one of our best supporters and volunteers.”

Of course.

And he was glowering at her.

“Mr. Whitaker, is something wrong?” Principal Gunderland asked. “I saw the new bookcase in the library. It looks wonderful.”