The Secret Child

“Oh, there‘s an old movie on cable tonight,” Jenna said, dropping onto the sofa.

Arlo wandered into the kitchen. Probably to search the floor for crumbs. Marni couldn‘t seem to keep the junk food out of her daughter or her dog.

“Which one?”

“Oklahoma.” Jenna shared Marni‘s love for old movies, particularly old musicals. Marni had taken her to a Rodgers and Hammerstein film festival in Venice, and Jenna had become as hooked as Marni.

Marni smiled at her daughter. “Let me get out of this monkey suit.” She crossed the beige carpeting and headed toward the master bedroom. The phone rang, and Marni said, “Will you get that, sweetie. I don‘t want to talk to anyone tonight, unless it‘s urgent.”

Jenna darted past Marni into the bedroom and picked up the cordless phone. “Hello?

“Uh, she‘s not here right now. Can I take a message?” Jenna mouthed the words “It‘s a man” to Marni and grinned broadly.

Marni rolled her eyes at her daughter and kicked off her pumps. Probably one of the policemen who‘d taken the witness‘s statement. Well, Marni could call him back tomorrow after she had reviewed the transcript. Tonight more than anything, she wanted to spend time with her daughter.

“What‘s the number?” Jenna jotted down the number while Marni stepped into the walk-in closet to change her clothes, pulling off her jacket along the way.

“Okay, and what‘s your name?” Jenna asked.

She smiled at her daughter‘s attempt at professionalism and hung the suit on a hanger and unbuttoned her silk blouse, tossing it in the basket of clothes destined for the dry cleaners.

“Say that again?” Jenna asked cautiously.

Marni discarded her slip, camisole and stockings, then slipped into the navy blue sweats she pulled from a drawer and tugged a matching hooded sweatshirt over her head. She quickly loosened the tight French braid and shook her hair before scrubbing her fingers over her scalp.

“Cole Ballinger?”

Marni‘s heart stopped beating as she gripped the built-in dresser for support. She began to shake. She gasped, trying to suck air into her lungs as the small room swam before her eyes. A cold knot formed in the pit of her stomach.

Jenna‘s voice sounded miles away. “Cole Ballinger? My father?”

CHAPTER FOUR

“T HIS IS SO COOL,” Jenna said.

Move, dammit! Marni couldn‘t get her body to cooperate with the commands issued by her brain. Too late to sever the connection between father and daughter. Her secret could no longer be hidden from Cole. He knew the truth.

“Me? I‘m Jenna. Marni‘s daughter.”

Marni got moving, but not fast enough.

“I‘ll be thirteen in May.”

Jenna responded to her father‘s questions openly. Through the years Marni had tried to teach her daughter honesty was all-important, telling her that the omission of facts was the same as deceit. She‘d never imagined herself a hypocrite until now.

She bolted out of the walk-in closet and practically tore the phone out of Jenna‘s hands, ignoring the startled look on her daughter‘s face. Pushing the button to disconnect the phone nearly proved impossible, her hands were shaking so badly.

“Mom!” Jenna wailed, a fierce frown creasing her brow. “What are you doing? You hung up on him!”

Marni ignored Jenna‘s indignation and began to pace. “I know.” She had to think of a plan. There had to be a way out of this rapidly growing nightmare.

“Why did you do that?” Jenna repeated.

Marni knew she was behaving like a first-class idiot, but she couldn‘t help herself. Panic did that to a person.

The phone rang again, she turned to look at her daughter. She pressed the button with her thumb and lifted the phone to her ear. “Hello?”

“Marni? What the hell is going on?” Cole sounded angry. More than angry.

Marni pushed the Disconnect button again. My world is falling apart!

“Mom!” Jenna cried.

Marni sat down on the bed and stared at the phone. The darn thing rang again. She pushed the button to answer, then promptly disconnected the caller, unable to face the dreadful fact that Cole had finally learned the truth. She wondered if she should feel guilty, yet the only emotion she felt was cold, stark fear. Fear of what Cole would do next.

“Mom? What are you doing?” Jenna asked again. She stood in front of Marni, hands placed on her slightly rounded hips. “Mom?” Her voice was soft, questioning, and Marni didn‘t know how to begin to explain her fears to Jenna. How could she tell her daughter she could lose her? That the father of a man she didn‘t even know had the power to take her away? That the cozy life they shared might never be the same again?

“Mom, why did he call here?”

She should unplug the phone. No, she thought, better to keep it off the hook. She couldn‘t turn off the ringers on the other two extensions in case of an emergency.

“Mom? Are you all right?” Jenna said, her tone even and controlled and much too grown-up. Her eyes held unanswerable questions, and Marni wished she could be anywhere in the world right now except this bedroom, facing her daughter‘s inquisitive gaze.

A high-pitched tone emanated from the phone, and Marni reached across the bed and covered it with a pillow.

“Why did he call, Mom?” Jenna asked again.

Marni took a deep breath and grabbed Jenna‘s hand, guiding the girl to the bed to sit beside her. She struggled for the right words to explain to her daughter what they could be facing in the not-too-distant future. “Jenna, until a few minutes ago, your father didn‘t know about you.”

“I know.” Bright green eyes looked at Marni. A slight smile, almost as crooked as Cole‘s, was on Jenna‘s lips. “I guess I gave him a shock, huh?”

Despite the possible frailty of their future together, Marni chuckled. “I‘m sure you did.” She pictured Cole, frustrated because he couldn‘t get through, questions pounding through his mind. How could she avoid him until Monday? She needed time. Time to bolster her waning courage before she faced Cole‘s wrath.

She began to wonder if perhaps Rebecca had been right. Maybe she should have told Cole before he learned the truth. But when? How? None of that mattered now. He knew and he was angry. Marni supposed she really couldn‘t blame him; if she was in his shoes right now, she‘d be downright furious.

“Why did he call?” Jenna asked for the third time.

Arlo sauntered into the bedroom and nudged Marni‘s hand, begging for attention. She absently scratched the dog behind the ear. “I ran into him yesterday.”

“You saw him?” Jenna shot off the bed. “You saw him and you didn‘t tell me?” Confusion threaded through her young voice.

“Jenna, I...”

“Why didn‘t you tell me?” the girl demanded, her arms bouncing off her sides in agitation.

“Jenna, calm down.”

“When can I see him? I want to meet him. He knows about me now, so there‘s no reason why I can‘t.”