Lone Star Secret

“Hmm, let me see.” She pursed her lips. “It’s been a while. But I did go for ice cream with some of my coworkers last week.”

“I like ice cream. Maybe I can help in that department,” he said, the gleam in his eyes enticing.

“Uh, about that playground—” She got up to find some breathing room. Turning she said, “If you’ll just follow me.”

She didn’t miss the appreciative look he gave her. “So what exactly goes on around here?” he asked as they walked inside into the cool, dark hallway of the old house. “I know all about what your organization does, but what actually goes on back here?”

She turned at the porch door and said, “Oh, all kinds of things. We gather supplies to send to the war, we keep clothing on hand to give to the families of the soldiers and to give to those in other countries who are affected by the war, and well…we do whatever we can to help the children, including letting some of them live here temporarily if need be until relatives or foster care can take them in. They’re our main concern. Some of them become neglected, even though they still have a parent here. The stress of being a single parent with a spouse overseas becomes too much for some. We try to help with that, too.”

David held the door open for her then squinted toward the setting sun. “I guess I was lucky that way, at least. My mother was a soldier stationed at Fort Bonnell, but she always took care of me, somehow. But that’s the thing about war. The children certainly suffer more than anyone else and they’re so helpless.”

“Yes, they are,” she said, her mind whirling with a million questions about his childhood. “So you don’t have any relatives close by?”

He looked down at the gray boards of the porch. “No, I don’t. My mother moved to Louisiana and…I never knew my father.”

“Oh, I’m sorry to hear that.” She waited a beat then gave him a direct look. “Then I guess you really do understand…about why Children of the Day is so important.”

David nodded. “Oh, I understand, all right. That’s why I took Chaplain Steve up on his suggestion and came here to volunteer. I know exactly what it’s like to be little and afraid, and full of anger and questions.”

Anna saw darkness in his eyes and wondered just how much this man had suffered. She’d lost her father when she was young, but David had never even known his. That kind of pain left a deep, cutting scar.

But it immediately endeared him to Anna and made her want to nurture him and help him to heal. After all, that was her job.

Chapter Four

Early the next morning Anna heard the whine of a sports car’s gears shifting outside the house. Glancing up, she saw her best friend Trisha Morrison bringing her shiny white roadster to a grinding stop just inside the driveway. It didn’t take Trisha long to make her way into the front lobby then straight into Anna’s office, shutting the glass-paned door after her.

“Hi,” Anna said, waving. Then she noticed Trisha’s downcast look. Since Trisha was usually bubbly and outgoing, Anna knew something was wrong. “Trisha?”

Trisha burst into tears. “Anna, I need…”

Anna jumped up to come around the desk. “Trisha, what on earth’s the matter? Did you break up with Nick again?”

Trisha tossed back her silky brown hair and sniffed, then wiped her brown eyes. “No, Nick and I are fine. It’s about Daddy.”

“Oh, honey, I’m sorry,” Anna said, hugging Trisha close. “Of course, you’re still grieving.”

Trisha’s father, a brigadier general and once the commander of Fort Bonnell, had died a few weeks ago. Trisha had taken it very hard, since her mother had died years earlier. The apple of her father’s eye, Trisha had always been somewhat of a pampered princess. His death had left her a wealthy heiress who hadn’t been making the best of choices lately, but Anna loved her friend in spite of that. She knew Trisha was still struggling with this loss.

“Come and sit down. You’re just having a hard day, right? Do you need to talk to Mother?”

“I can’t tell Miss Olga this,” Trisha said on a sob. “Not yet. I haven’t even told Nick. I…came straight to you.”

Anna gripped Trisha’s hand. “And you found me.” While her vivacious mother was the grief counselor at Prairie Springs Christian Church, Anna often found herself taking over in that capacity, too, at Children of the Day. Seeing grief firsthand was one of the downsides of her charity work. But being able to help the spouses and children of soldiers more than made up for all the pain she had to witness. And right now, her best friend was clearly in pain.

“Want to tell me about it?”

Trisha nodded, tears still streaming down her face as she sank into an old leather office chair. “Yes. I need your advice. I got this today. Daddy’s lawyer gave it to me.”

Anna stared down at the crushed envelope in Trisha’s hand. “What is it? Part of the will?”

Trisha waved the envelope in the air. “Oh, it’s much more than that. It’s…it’s so hard to believe.” Then she looked up at Anna, her voice quivering. “He has a son, Anna. My father had an affair with another woman before I was born.”

“What?” Anna dropped down in the brown wicker chair beside Trisha, her heart thumping. Trisha was right; she couldn’t believe this.

Commander Morrison had been like her own father, always so kind and understanding, especially when she and her widowed mother had moved to Texas from Russia over twenty years ago. The commander and Mrs. Morrison had helped Anna and Olga become acclimated to all things Texas. He’d invited them to church and made sure they didn’t want for anything. He’d even invited Anna to one of Trisha’s parties, which was how they became friends in the first place.

Anna couldn’t think of a better, more honorable man than Commander Morrison. Or a more loyal friend than Trisha.

“Are you sure?” she asked Trisha, her hand tightening on the arm of her chair.

Trisha nodded. “Oh, yes. Daddy left this for me to open after his death. It’s all right here, Anna.” She held the envelope up, but didn’t give it to Anna. “And you won’t believe who my half brother is. You just won’t believe it.”

Anna swallowed back her own shock. “Are you sure you want me to know?”

“You need to know,” Trisha replied. “You have to know. But you need to understand, the man has no idea, no idea at all, that we had the same father. He doesn’t even know who his father was, according to this letter.”

Anna felt sick at her stomach. “Trisha, you’re scaring me. Just tell me, please.”

Trisha leaned close, her words barely above a whisper. “My half brother just got home a few days ago. He’s back at Fort Bonnell. He escorted Ali here.” She gasped, clutched a hand to her mouth. “It’s David, Anna. My brother’s name is David Ryland. He’s back but he doesn’t know that my daddy was his father. Oh, Anna, I have no idea how I’m going to tell him.”

Anna couldn’t speak. Last night she’d enjoyed her visit with David. She’d even hoped…Well, no need to hope for things that were impossible. There was no hope for them once David heard this news. It would make things very uncomfortable for them since he would soon find out that Trish and she were best friends. “I don’t know what to say.”

Trisha shook her head. “Me, either. Maybe I’ll just try to avoid him.”

Then Anna let out a gasp. “That might not be so easy. He came by last night. Trisha, he volunteered to help out around here. Starting today.”

Trisha jumped up out of her chair. “I can’t be here when he arrives. I’m not ready for that.” Before Anna could stop her, she rushed out of the house, slamming the big front door behind her.

Anna looked at the stack of mail on her desk and let out a sigh. She felt sick to her stomach. The phones were ringing, she had mail to read and a meeting with her board of directors to update them on the budget for next year. She tried to block out Trisha’s news.

“Why him, Lord?” she whispered as she took a sip of the herbal tea she always kept nearby. “Why David Ryland?”

And why was she suddenly caught in the middle of this drama? Caught between keeping a secret for her best friend and keeping the truth from the man she’d just met and had just a smidgen of interest in?

Probably just as well that I try to stay clear of David myself, she thought. When did she even have time for a serious relationship anyway? She’d given up on love, and her work had become her first love. But it would have been nice…so nice…to get to know David, maybe even in a romantic way. Anna had forgotten what romance was all about. But she couldn’t possibly think along those terms now, not with this big secret standing between them. She’d promised Trisha she wouldn’t tell anyone about David’s parentage. And it was Trisha’s place to tell him when the time came.

Caitlyn walked in, armed with files and records for the meeting. “Hi, Anna.” Dropping the files on Anna’s cluttered desk, she sat down. “What’s wrong?”

Anna couldn’t divulge her worries about David and Trisha, or mention how he made her heart do strange things, so she told Caitlyn about the prayer request Olga had called to discuss a few minutes ago. One that concerned Caitlyn and her children.

“Whitney and John Harpswell still haven’t answered their e-mails from Evan and it’s been weeks now. The twins haven’t heard anything from them recently, have they?”

She was worried about Whitney and John. She didn’t have to pretend on that subject. The newlyweds were overseas doing their duty for their country, but according to Whitney’s brother, Evan Paterson, no one had heard from them in a while. Caitlyn Villard was COTD’s care coordinator since she’d moved back to Prairie Springs to raise her nieces after the deaths of her sister and brother-in-law in the war. She would want to keep close tabs on this situation, too.

Caitlyn sat down in the old chair across from Anna’s desk. “No, and we’ve been worried, too, but their correspondence is somewhat sporadic at best.”

“Evan says Whitney always gets back to him within a day or two, just to let him know she’s safe.”