Valentine's Secret Child

And she couldn’t go through with it, couldn’t hold the truth back. Not from Tanner, who was her beloved big brother, her rock, the first one to show her what it could be to have a real family. She came and sat beside him and took his hand. “Is DeDe asleep?” She pitched her voice barely above a whisper.

His brow crinkled with concern. “She went to bed at nine. I checked on her about fifteen minutes ago. Dead to the world.”

“Good. I…”

“God, Kell. What?”

“Mitch Valentine? The guy who was speaking tonight?”

“Yeah?”

“He’s Michael.”

He looked every bit as stunned as she felt. “What the hell?”

“It’s true. Oh, Tanner. I’ve found Michael. At last…”

He let go of her hand. “Are you sure?”

Kelly bobbed her head up and down. “Oh, yeah. He’s Michael, though he’s changed a lot. You know how thin he was? Not anymore. He’s…buffed up. And he’s wealthy. Owns a couple of companies and he’s written a book about how he turned his life around.”

Tanner said patiently, “Kell. Listen. How can you be certain this guy is the kid you knew in high school?”

“What do you mean? I saw him, face-to-face. I talked to him.”

“Tonight?”

“Yes. I waited around after he spoke. The minute he saw me, he recognized me, too.”

“You really are certain.”

“I am. You wait. You’ll see. He’s changed, yes, but he’s still Michael.”

“Mitch Valentine. That’s the name he goes by now?”

“That’s right.”

“What’s going on with that? Why did he change his name?” Tanner wore his most unreadable expression. Kelly knew what that look meant. He’d be burning the midnight oil on the Internet tonight, using the various tools at his disposal as a P.I. to find out everything he could about the man named Valentine.

“Oh, Tanner. Come on. Don’t be so suspicious. I know you didn’t like him, but—”

“Sorry. I am suspicious. The guy vanishes into thin air. For ten years. And now he’s back and rich and buffed up—living under an assumed name?”

“Please. I left him and his mother died. A one-two punch. He took off, started over. And people do change their names, you know. It’s not as though it’s a crime.”

“But he didn’t tell you why he did it.”

“We talked for like, three minutes. There wasn’t time. Tomorrow, I’ll find out more.”

“Tomorrow?”

“We’re meeting for dinner. He’s leaving town Thursday.”

“To go where?”

“Haven’t a clue. All I know is somehow I have to get up the nerve to tell him he’s got a daughter.”

“And you want me to watch DeDe again, while you talk to him?”

“If you can…”

He was silent for a moment, then he nodded. “Of course I can.”

“Thank you.”

“When will you tell her?”

“Soon. After I tell him. I need to see how he takes it. I’ve waited so long to find him.” She shook her head. “And now I have, I have no idea how he’s going to react to this. I just…I don’t know. He’s the same, but so different. If that makes any sense at all.”

Tanner reached for her hand again. She gave it. He squeezed her fingers. “Damn. Not easy, huh?”

She let herself sag against him. “I can hardly believe this is happening.”

“Yeah. I hear you. Me, neither.”

She rested her head on his broad shoulder. “Tanner?”

“Huh?”

“At least we finally found him.”

“Right.” Something in his tone alerted her.

She straightened so she could see his face. “Please. Don’t feel bad because you weren’t the one who found him. I know you did everything you could. I always felt so awful for you. So many times I’ve asked you how the hunt was going. And each time you had to tell me you had nothing. I know how much you hated that.”

His dark gaze slid away, but only for a second or two. Then he looked straight at her again. “Listen. You found the guy. That’s what matters.”

She smiled then, in spite of her apprehensions. “Yeah. It’s happened, after so many years I’d begun to wonder if it ever would. Now I have to tell him that he’s got a daughter, that he’s missed the first nine years of her life. I have the strangest feeling he’s not going to take that especially well.”

Tanner scowled. “He’s the one who turned his back on you—and then ran away without leaving a clue as to where he’d gone. There’s no way he can expect you to have found him. He didn’t even keep the same name.”

“Tanner. Chill. Really, maybe I’m worrying over nothing. It’s not as if he was a mixed-up teenager anymore. He was perfectly charming. Sophisticated. With a great sense of humor…”

“Now I know for sure you’ve got the wrong guy.”

“Oh, stop.” She slapped him playfully on the arm and mentally added, He’s also sexy. Very, very sexy. She thought about the way Mitch had looked at her, the heat in those beautiful eyes, and suppressed a dreamy sigh.

Tanner grumbled some more. “The man had damn well better watch himself, that’s all.”