Her Sister's Secret Son

“Not at all,” Nora insisted. “Dylan’s a joy to have around.” She was a kind, warmhearted woman, naturally friendly and inquisitive when it came to her new neighbors. The entire O’Neil family had taken Rachel and Dylan under its protective wing—for which Rachel was grateful, except when it came to answering questions concerning her personal life.

“Have you got time for a cup of tea?” Nora said.

Hoping to avoid one of Nora’s “heart to heart” talks, Rachel refused politely. “I’m running late for work.”

Nora just smiled. “Mary Ellen tells me Jared Carlisle’s been spending a lot of time at your house.”

“Just to see the puppies.” Rachel eased her way from the kitchen, down the hall, to the front door.

Nora followed. “That’s not what Mary Ellen said.”

With one hand on the doorknob, Rachel stopped. “What did she say?”

“Well, I don’t know about you, but it seems like Dylan’s got a huge crush on the man. He needs a father. Seems like he’s decided Jared’s a good candidate for the job.”

Rachel closed her eyes. “Oh, God.”

Smiling, Nora said gently, “Maybe I shouldn’t ask, but were you in love with Dylan’s father?”

“He’s my sister’s child, but he’s always been with me.”

“Is that why you never married?”

“Not really. At first, Dylan and school took up every minute of the day,” she admitted. “Then, when I finally came up for air, I discovered all the suitable men in town were taken, and the rest were too old, too young or too married.”

Nora laughed. “Well, you could do a lot worse than Jared. The Carlisles are good people. Ira’s a little testy at times, and there was all that trouble years ago with the mother, but Jessie and Jared turned out okay.”

Rachel shook off the urge to ask for more details. “I really do have to go….” She made her escape.

But she couldn’t escape Nora’s words—Dylan had decided Jared would make a good father.

Thus, a few days later, when Jared stopped by with the casual invitation, “I thought we could go out for pizza, you, Dylan and I,” Rachel balked.

She was thinking of Dylan when she said, “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

Jared raised an eyebrow. “Why isn’t it a good idea?”

“This is difficult to put into words, but you may have noticed that Dylan is a very friendly little boy.”

“He’s a great kid. You must be proud of him.”

“Yes, well.” Rachel took a deep breath. “Of course, I’m proud of Dylan, but his openness often leads to his getting hurt. He puts his faith in people too easily.”

“I’m not sure I follow you. Why don’t you spell it out?”

“He likes you,” she said. “I don’t want him getting ideas.”

“Let me get this straight. You’re turning down a date with me because I included Dylan in the invitation.”

“Please understand, he’ll read more into it.” She sighed. “He has a habit of getting attached to people, then he doesn’t understand when they drop out of his life.”

By “people” Jared guessed she meant men. Although he didn’t like it, he had to admit she had a point. He had no serious intentions toward Dylan’s lovely aunt—not honorable ones.

Rachel was simply a means to get at the answers concerning Dylan. Wasn’t she?

Considering himself well-warned, Jared said, “Are you protecting Dylan? Or yourself?”

She stiffened. “It doesn’t really matter, does it?”

Jared shrugged. “I suppose not. But just as a matter of interest…you did let Drew get close.”

“That’s different. He’s Dylan’s father.”

Jared caught the ring of conviction in her voice. It made him pause—she was so sure that Drew was Dylan’s father.