By the time he knocked, Anne had donned her calm, professional manner. But after she opened the door, her coolness began to unravel. He still wore the uniform that seemed almost a part of him, and his dark gaze was intent and determined.
Chief Donovan. Come in.
He nodded, moving through the doorway as assuredly as if he were walking into his office. The small room suddenly filled with his masculine presence.
Its the uniform, she told herself, fingers tightening on the brass knob as she closed the door. That official uniform would rattle anyone, especially combined with the sheer rock-solid nature of the man wearing it.
Getting settled? His firm mouth actually curved in a smile. I see Kate gave you her best room.
Apparently he hoped to get this meeting off to a more pleasant start than the last one. Well, that was what she wanted, too. You need his cooperation, she reminded herself. For Emilies sake.
Any friend of Mitchs deserves the nicest oneI think thats what she said. Anne couldnt help it if her tone sounded a bit dry.
He walked to the window, glanced out at the street below, then turned back to her. Kate said you took a walk around town.
The small talk was probably as much an effort for him as for her. She longed to burst into the crucial questions, but held them back.
Cooperate, remember? Thats how to get what you want.
I stopped by the pharmacy to pick up some extra diapers for the baby. The pharmacist already knew Id been to see you. That had astonished her. Your dispatcher must work fast.
The source of the information had to be the dispatcher. Mitch Donovan certainly wouldnt advertise her presence.
He grimaced. Wanda loves to spread news. And it is a small town, except during tourist season.
Tourist season?
He gestured out the window, and she moved a little reluctantly to stand next to him.
Take a look at those mountains. Our only claim to fame.
The sun slipped behind a thickly forested ridge, painting the sky with red. The village seemed wedged into the narrow valley, as if forced to climb the slope from the river because it couldnt spread out. The river glinted at the valley floor, reflecting the last of the light.
It is beautiful.
Plenty of people are willing to pay for this view, and the Chamber of Commerce is happy to let them.
I guess that explains the number of bed-and-breakfasts. And the shops. She had noticed the assortment of small stores that lined the main streetcandles, pottery, stained glass. Bedford Creek must have an artistic population.
Dont let any of the old-timers hear you say that. The tiny lines at the corners of his eyes crinkled as his face relaxed in the first genuine smile shed seen. They leave such things to outsiders.
Outsiders. That seemed to echo what shed been thinking. You mean people like me?
He shook his head. They make a distinction between outsiders and visitors. Outsiders are people like the candle-makers and potters who want to turn the place into an artists colony. The old guard understands that, whether they approve or not. But visiting lawyersvisiting lawyers must be here for a reason.
So thats why everyone I passed looked twice.
He shrugged. In the off-season, strangers are always news. Especially a woman and baby who come to call on the bachelor police chief. His mouth twisted a little wryly on the words.
Shed clearly underestimated the power of the grapevine in a small town. But his apparent concern about rumors might work to her advantage.
No one will know why Im here from me. I promise.
She almost put her hand out, as if to shake on it, and then changed her mind. She didnt want friendship from the man, just cooperation. Just his signature, that was all.
Thanks.
He took a step closerclose enough that she could feel his warmth and smell the faint, musky aroma of shaving lotion. Her pulse thumped, startling her, and she took an impulsive step back, trying to deny the warmth that swept over her.
She must be crazy. He was tough, arrogant, controllingeverything she most disliked in a man. Even if she had been remotely interested in a relationshipwhich she wasntit wouldnt be with someone like him.
But her breathing had quickened, and his dark eyes were intent on hers, as if seeing something he hadnt noticed before. She felt heat flood her cheeks.
Business, she reminded herself. Shed better get down to business. It was the only thing they had in common.
Have you thought about signing the papers? She knew in an instant she shouldnt have blurted it out, but her carefully prepared speech had deserted her. In her plans for this meeting, she hadnt considered that she might be rattled at being alone with him.
Whatever friendliness had been in his eyes vanished. Id like to talk about this. His uncompromising tone told her the situation wasnt going to turn suddenly easy. About the woman, Tina.
Do you remember her now? She didnt mean the words to sound sarcastic, but they probably did. She bit her lip. There was just no good way to discuss this.
No. Luckily he seemed to take the question at face value. Do you know when she was here?
Emilie was born in June. Tina said shed been here the previous summer and stayed through the fall. He could count the months as easily as she could.
He frowned. Tourist season. They come right through the autumn colors. That means there are plenty of transient workers in town. People who show up in late spring, get jobs, then leave again the end of October. He shook his head. Impossible to remember them all or keep track of them while theyre here.
Shed left her bag on the pie-crust table. She flipped it open and took out the photograph shed brought. A wave of sadness flooded her as she looked at the young face.
This was Tina. She held it out to him.
He took the photo and stood frowning down at it, straight brows drawn over his eyes. She should be watching for a spark of recognition, she thought, instead of noticing how his uniform shirt fit his broad shoulders, not a wrinkle marring its perfection. The crease in his navy trousers looked sharp enough to cut paper, and his shoes shone as if theyd been polished moments before.
He looked up finally, his gaze finding hers without the antagonism she half expected. How did you meet her?
She bit back a sharp response. Isnt it more pertinent to ask how you met her?
His mouth hardened in an already hard face. All right. I recognize her now that Ive seen the picture. But I never knew her name. And I certainly didnt have an affair with her.
That was progress, of a sort. If she could manage not to sound as if she judged him, maybe hed move toward being honest with her.
She tried to keep her tone neutral. How did you know her?
She worked at the café that summer. He frowned, as if remembering. I eat a lot of meals there, so she waited on me. Chatted, the way waitresses do with regulars. But I didnt run into her anywhere else.
His dark gaze met hers, challenging her to argue. Your turn. How did you get to know her?
She answered an ad Id put on the bulletin board at the corner market. She wanted to rent a room in my house.
His eyebrows went up at that. Sorry, Counselor, but you dont look as if you need to take in boarders.
She answered an ad Id put on the bulletin board at the corner market. She wanted to rent a room in my house.
His eyebrows went up at that. Sorry, Counselor, but you dont look as if you need to take in boarders.
I didnt do it for the money. She clipped off the words. Her instincts warned her not to give too much away to this man, but if she wanted his cooperation shed have to appear willing to answer his questions. My husband had died a few months earlier, and Id taken a leave from my job. Id been rattling around in a place too big for one person. The roomer was just going to be temporary, until I found a buyer for the house.
How long ago was that? It was a cops question, snapped at her as if she were a suspect.
A little over a year. She tried not to let his manner rattle her. I knew she was pregnant, of course, but I didnt know she had a heart condition. Im not sure even she knew at first. The doctors said she never should have gotten pregnant.
What about her family?
She said she didnt have anyone. Tina had seemed just as lonely as Anne had been. Maybe that was what had drawn them together. We became friends. And then when she had to be hospitalizedwell, I guess I felt responsible for her. She didnt have anyone else. When Emilie was born, Tinas condition worsened. I took charge of the baby. Tina never came home from the hospital.
His strong face was guarded. Is that when she supposedly told you about me?
She nodded. She talked about the time she spent in Bedford Creek, about the man she loved, the man who fathered Emilie.
He was so perfectly still that he might have been a statue, except for the tiny muscle that pulsed at his temple. And if I tell you it was a mistakethat she couldnt have meant me?
Look, Im not here to prosecute you. Why couldnt he see that? Im not judging you. I just want your signature on the papers. Thats all.
You didnt answer me. He took a step closer, and she could feel the intensity under his iron exterior. What if I tell you it was a mistake?
It was all slipping away, getting out of her control. How could it be a mistake? Everything she said fits you, no one else.
He seized on that. Fits me? I thought you said she named me.
She took a deep breath, trying to stay in control of the situation. While she was ill, she talked a lot aboutabout the man she fell in love with. About the town. Then, when we knew she wasnt going to get better, we made plans for Emilies adoption. She looked at him, willing him to understand. Ive been taking care of Emilie practically since the day she was born. I love her. Tina knew that. She knew I needed the fathers permission, too, but she never said the name until the end.
She shivered a little, recalling the scene. Tina, slipping in and out of consciousness, finally saying the name Mitch Donovan. Why would she lie?
I dont know. His mouth clamped firmly on the words. Im sorry, sorry about all of it. But Im not the father of her baby.
She glared at him, wanting to shake the truth out of him. But it was no use. It would be about as effective as shaking a rock.
You dont believe me. He made it a simple statement of fact.
No. There seemed little point in saying anything else.
Mitchs jaw clamped painfully tight. This woman was so sure she was right that it would take a bulldozer to move her. Somehow he had to crack open that closed mind of hers enough for her to admit doubt.
Isnt it possible you misunderstood? He struggled, trying to come up with a theory to explain the unexplainable. If she was as sick as you say, maybe her mind wandered.
For the first time some of the certainty faded in her eyes. She stared beyond him, as if focusing on something painful in the past.
I dont think so. Her gaze met his, troubled, as if she were trying to be fair. Wed been talking about the adoption. Certainly she knew what I was asking her.
Look, I dont have an explanation for this. He spread his hands wide. All I can say is what Ive already told you. I knew the girl slightly, and she was here at the right time. I dont know how to prove a negative, but I never had an affair with her, and I did not father her child.
Something hardened inside him as he said the words. He didnt have casual affairsnot that it was any of Anne Mordens business. And he certainly wasnt cut out for fatherhood. If there was anything his relationship with his own father had taught him, it was that the Donovan men didnt make decent fathers. The whole town knew that.
If you were to sign the parental rights termination she began.
He lifted an eyebrow. Is that really what you want, Counselor? You want me to lie?
Her soft mouth could look uncommonly stubborn. Would it be a lie?
Yes. That much he knew. And he could only see one way to prove it in the face of Annes persistence and the mothers dying statement. I suggest we put it to the test. A blood test.
That must have occurred to her. It was the obvious solution. And her quick nod told him shed thought of it.
Fine. Is there a lab in town?
Not here. He didnt even need to consider that. We cant have it done in Bedford Creek. He hoped he didnt sound as horrified at the thought as he felt.
Why not? The suspicion was back in her eyes.
Youve obviously never lived in a small town. If the three of us show up at the clinic for a paternity test, the town will know about it before the needle hits my skin.
That bad? She almost managed a smile.
Believe me, its that bad. Rebecca Forrester, the doctors assistant, wouldnt say a word. But the receptionist talks as much as my dispatcher.
The nearest town where they have the facilities
Id rather go to Philadelphia, if you dont mind. She shouldnt. After all, that was her home turf.
Thats fine with me, but isnt it a little out of the way for you?
Far enough that I wont be worried about running into anyone wholl carry the news back to Bedford Creek. It was a small world, all right, but surely not that small. I have a friend whos on the staff of a city hospital. He can make sure we have it done quickly. And discreetly. Though what Brett would say to him at this request, he didnt want to imagine.
This friend of yours she began.
Bretts a good physician. He wouldnt jeopardize his career by tinkering with test results.
She seemed to look at it from every angle before she nodded. All right. Tomorrow?
Tomorrow, it is.
He forced his muscles to relax. Tomorrow, if luck was with him, a simple screening would prove he couldnt possibly be the childs father. Anne Morden would take her baby and walk back out of his life as quickly as shed walked in.
He should be feeling relief. He definitely shouldnt be feeling regret at the thought of never seeing her again.
Chapter Three
A nne made the turn from the Schulkyll Express-way toward center city and glanced across at her passenger. Mitch stared straight ahead, hands flexed on his knees. He wore khaki slacks and a button-down shirt today, his leather jacket thrown into the back seat, but even those clothes had a military aura.