His Long-Lost Family

Lukas and Ava were both on their second slices of pizza by the time Kelly made her way to the kitchen. They also had cans of soda, which Lukas had obviously brought in one of the grocery bags. Beside Kelly’s plate was an open bottle and a glass of her favorite Shiraz.

“Okay, you’re forgiven for not meeting us at the airport.”

He smiled. “I figured you’d had a long day and might need some help to unwind.”

“Food and good company would have sufficed, but the wine is a definite bonus.” She picked up the glass and sipped.

“Eat.” He nudged her plate toward her. “If you drink that on an empty stomach, you’ll fall asleep at the table.”

Kelly dutifully picked up a slice of pizza and took a bite.

“I brought a few essentials for the morning, too,” Lukas told her. “Bread, milk, eggs, juice, coffee.”

“Coffee?” She nearly whimpered with gratitude. “Now you’re definitely forgiven.”

Ava polished off her third slice and wiped her fingers on a paper napkin. “Can I go now?”

“‘Thanks for dinner, Mom,’” Kelly said, mimicking her daughter’s voice. “‘You’re very welcome, honey.’ ‘May I be excused now?’ ‘Of course.’”

Lukas lifted his can of soda to hide his smile. Ava, predictably, rolled her eyes, before she dutifully intoned, “Thanks for dinner, Mom. May I be excused now?”

“Of course,” Kelly said agreeably. “After you put your plate in the dishwasher.”

Lukas reached for another slice as Ava clomped up the stairs. “So,” he said, when she was out of earshot. “How does it feel to be back?”

“I’m not sure,” she admitted. “It’s been such a long time. I don’t know if this is the right thing—for Ava or for me.”

“She’s not happy about the move?”

“That’s the understatement of the year.”

He shrugged. “She’s twelve. She’ll get over it.”

“I hope so.”

“So—belly button ring?” he prompted.

She just shook her head. “Can you believe it?”

“I’m having a little difficulty reconciling my memories of the cute little second-grader who clutched my hand so tightly with the brooding purple-haired preteen-ager who barely looked up from her plate.”

“The purple streaks aren’t so bad. You should have seen her a few months ago—her hair was Pepto-Bismol pink. Her best friend’s older sister put the color on for her one afternoon when I had to work late.” She sighed. “The first tangible evidence that my formerly docile angel had developed a rebellious streak.”

Lukas winced sympathetically. “How did you handle that?”

“I took a deep breath and reminded myself that hair color is easily undone—unlike a piercing or a tattoo. And I knew that it was, at least in part, my fault. I’d been so preoccupied with my job that I didn’t realize how much distance had grown between us,” she admitted.

“When rumors of cutbacks first started circulating around the lunchroom at work, I crossed my fingers and prayed that I wouldn’t lose my job. And when those cuts were made and I was spared, I was so grateful I didn’t balk at all the extra hours I had to work.

“And then I realized that I’d given up my life to keep my job. And I’d somehow lost the close connection I used to share with Ava.” Her daughter’s recent willful behavior was proof of that—and reminded Kelly uncomfortably of the impulsiveness that she herself had occasionally exhibited before motherhood had taught her to consider the consequences of her actions.

“And because I was working so many extra hours,” she continued her explanation, “Ava was hanging around with her friend Rachel—and Regan, Rachel’s sixteen-year-old sister—a lot.”

“Then I’d guess that you made this move at the right time.”

“I hope so,” she said again.

“What aren’t you telling me?”

Kelly lifted her glass and took another sip of wine as she considered how much she should say.

“Because I know there’s more to this cross-country move than that,” he prompted when she failed to respond.

She nodded. “I wanted a career change and a change of scenery for Ava, but I also hoped that coming back to Pinehurst might provide a chance for her to meet her father.”

His brows rose. “Then he does live in Pinehurst.”

“He does live in Pinehurst,” she confirmed.

“Someone I know?” he asked.

The undercurrents in his tone were exactly why she’d never revealed the identity of her daughter’s father to him. “Doesn’t everyone know almost everyone else in this town?” she countered.

“Who is it?”

She touched a hand to his arm. “Please—let me tell him before I tell you.”

He frowned. “Are you saying that this guy doesn’t know he has a twelve-year-old daughter?”

“I couldn’t tell him,” she reminded Lukas. “By the time I knew I was pregnant, he was already with someone else.”

She’d wanted to tell Jackson that she was going to have his baby. Although she’d had no expectations of a future for them together when he’d left Chicago, she’d hoped that the revelation of her pregnancy would make him want to be a father to their child. But as much as she didn’t want to do it alone, she’d had no doubt—even then—that she was going to keep her baby.

Except that when she’d finally gotten up the nerve to call, he’d told her that he was once again engaged to Sara Ross—the daughter of one of the senior partners at his firm. And while Kelly didn’t believe he would get married solely for the purpose of advancing his career, she didn’t doubt that dumping the boss’s daughter would jeopardize his future at the firm. And nothing had mattered to Jackson as much as his career. So she’d only offered congratulations and ended the call with her heart in pieces and the news of her pregnancy unrevealed.

“Yeah, you told me what happened,” Lukas admitted now. “But you didn’t tell me who the father was.”

“No, I didn’t,” she agreed. “And I’m not going to tell you now. Not until I’ve told him.”

She could tell by the muscle that clenched in his jaw that Lukas wasn’t finished with his interrogation, but she also knew he wouldn’t press for more details. At least not yet.

Jack was distracted, and he’d never been the type to let anything—or anyone—interfere with his concentration, especially when it came to his work. He was a well-respected and generously compensated family law attorney because he was diligent and focused. He paid attention to details and he made every client feel as if his or her case was the only one that mattered.

And yet, in the middle of a cross-examination during a custody hearing that morning, he’d actually lost his train of thought. Sure, he’d recovered fairly quickly, and it didn’t seem as if anyone else in the courtroom had even noticed that he’d faltered. But he’d noticed. And he knew that it was Kelly Cooper’s fault.

“Hello, Jackson.”

He blinked, half-suspecting that her appearance in the open doorway of his office was an illusion, and more than half-hoping that she would disappear again. But when he opened his eyes, she was still there—and looking even hotter than the woman who had starred in his dreams the night before. And the night before that. In fact, every one of the five nights that had passed since she’d come back to Pinehurst.