Angel Mine

“I couldn’t put her on a plane all by herself. And I can’t afford to be flying back and forth with her.”

“Then maybe Todd would come to New York to be with her. He makes fairly frequent trips there now. That wouldn’t be a hardship.”

“Then Angel would stay with him at a hotel for the weekend or something?”

“I think he still has his place there.”

That could work, then, she concluded. If Todd would agree to it. After yesterday, she wasn’t at all sure that was likely.

“What if he says no?” she asked hesitantly.

“Is that what he said yesterday?”

She nodded. “He was pretty adamant about it, too.”

Jake muttered a curse. “I was afraid of that.”

“I thought so. That was what you expected, wasn’t it? What I don’t understand is why you were so sure that would be his reaction.”

“Never mind. Maybe he’ll change his mind once he adjusts to the news. After all, this had to be a big shock.”

She thought of Todd’s bewildered expression, the panic in his eyes. “Yeah, you could say that.”

“Give him time, Heather. Todd might be in denial right now, but we both know the kind of character he has. He’s an honorable man. It’ll be best if we can work all of this out amicably. You don’t want to back him into a corner. You don’t want him spending time with Angel just because he has to, do you?”

“No,” she said at once, then added with a plaintive note, “I want him to love her.”

“Then give him some time.”

She thought of how vehement he’d been the day before. “How much time?”

“As much as it takes. After all, what matters here is arranging what’s best for Angel, right? Or are you on a timetable I don’t know about?”

“No, but I know how stubborn Todd can be. If he decides to dig in his heels, Angel could be in college before he changes his mind.”

Jake grinned at her defeated tone. “I don’t think it’ll take quite that long, not once my wife gets wind of this. Have you thought of letting her in on the secret?”

Heather figured that was just about the worst thing she could possibly do. Having Megan as an ally might have certain benefits, but the drawbacks were tremendous. Todd might never forgive her for dragging their personal business into the middle of his career, for one thing.

“I can’t do that,” she told Jake. “And you have to promise not to say a word.”

“You know I can’t. But I still think you ought to consider it.”

“Ganging up on him won’t work,” Heather said. “You said it yourself. Forcing him into a corner isn’t a good idea.”

“Then we’re back to time,” Jake said.

Much as she hated to admit it, time was the one thing she had plenty of. It wasn’t as if there were Broadway producers clamoring for her quick return.

“Okay, we’ll wait him out,” she said.

“In the meantime, I’ll make the arrangements for the blood work and the DNA testing.” He gave her a reassuring smile. “We’ll work this out, Heather.”

“I hope so.” She regarded him worriedly. “I hope you’re not too uncomfortable about keeping all this from your wife.”

“It won’t be the first secret I’ve kept from Megan,” he said. “The last one pretty much turned her life upside down and she forgave me, anyway. I’m not worried. There’s no need for you to be, either.”

Unfortunately that wasn’t quite true. On her way out of Jake’s office, Heather ran smack into Megan. They’d met only twice, both times right after Todd had first gone to work for her, but Megan had an astounding memory. It was why she was able to juggle so many details in her professional life. Head down, Heather murmured an apology for bumping into her and tried to move on, but Megan recognized her at once.

“Heather? Aren’t you Todd’s friend, the actress?” she asked, a speculative gleam in her eyes.

Heather paused, considered denying it, then finally nodded. “Hello, Megan, it’s nice to see you again.”

“What brings you to Whispering Wind? Are you on vacation?” she asked as if she thought she already knew the answer. In fact, there was a glint in her eye that suggested she had spent the past few seconds putting two and two together.

“Not exactly. I’m working here temporarily.”

“An acting job? I wasn’t aware there were any films being shot around here just now.”

“There aren’t. I’m working across the street.”

Megan’s gaze shot toward the diner, then up and down the block as if there might be some other business there, maybe even a theater she hadn’t noticed before. “Where?”

“At the Starlight Diner.”

“You’re waitressing for Henrietta?” Her tone registered genuine shock.

“For the time being.” Heather forced a smile. “Gotta run. It’s almost lunchtime and I’m due back.”

“Wait,” Megan said, the single word a command that had Heather stopping against her will. “Have you seen Todd?”

Again, Heather forced that fake smile. Denying the meeting would only make it look more significant when Megan eventually discovered the truth.

“Yes,” she said cheerfully. “I ran into him unexpectedly last night at the diner. It was great to see him again.”

“Uh-huh,” Megan said, her expression thoughtful. “You didn’t know he was here in town?”

“I knew your show was being done somewhere in Wyoming and that he was wherever you were, but I didn’t expect to be bumping into him. It’s a big state.” Well, she hadn’t exactly lied. She really hadn’t expected to bump into Todd on her first day in town.

“So, he didn’t know you were coming?”

“Nope. Todd and I haven’t spoken in years,” she said honestly.

“I see,” Megan said, as if those wheels in her brain were clicking away, trying to process this new tidbit of information.

“Gotta run,” Heather repeated. She didn’t want Angel spotting her from the window of the café and running outside. For once Megan saw her daughter, she would leap to her own, probably very accurate conclusions. “Good to see you again.”

“You, too,” Megan replied distractedly.