Family Found

Frustrated with herself, she took a large sip of her latte, forgetting until it was too late that the liquid was still very hot.

“Getting burned?” Mitch asked.

“What?” Had he read her mind? Realizing she had advanced beyond ridiculous, Laura settled the lid back on her drink. “No, not really. It’s just so good I got impatient.”

“And a good thing shouldn’t be rushed.”

Laura glanced at him skeptically. “Really?”

“Yep.” His gaze sidled over her face. But he didn’t add anything else.

And judging from the reaction in her twisting insides, he didn’t need to.

CHAPTER THREE

MITCH’S OFFICE appeared even more disreputable-looking under the latest pile of materials. He knew that Laura Kelly wanted answers yesterday, but in truth, investigations rarely moved quickly. And they seldom held the excitement portrayed in television and the movies.

An image of Laura Kelly flashed in his mind. Then again—

The phone intruded. Snatching it up, Mitch was disappointed to learn that a fairly reliable lead had been a dead end. Despite what Laura appeared to think, he had placed dozens of phone calls, while building her personal profile and creating a comprehensive search file. It was the plan, his blueprint. And despite his casual approach to many things in life, he never undertook a case without a well thought-out plan.

The door flew open and Mitch didn’t need more than one guess to know who was behind it.

Laura’s dark hair was thrown back like a banner, and her eyes glistened like polished lapis. She seemed to bring in the rush of the city streets, the whirl of incoming breezes and a touch of captured sunshine. He’d never seen so much contained energy in any other person. But having it all directed at him was a tad unnerving.

“Galveston,” she began by way of greeting. “My parents never wanted to go there. Once, though, I remember coming in the house and overhearing them. They didn’t realize I was inside and I heard them mention Galveston. But as soon as they noticed me, they stopped talking. Do you think that means something?”

“And good morning to you, too, Laura Kelly.”

She waved away the greeting. “Do you?”

“It could be something.”

Her eyes brightened.

“And they could have been discussing a clandestine meeting when they hoped to ditch you so they could be alone.”

Deflated, she slumped into a nearby chair. “I suppose you’re right. I keep replaying reels of my life like some sort of out-of-whack movie theater in my mind that I can’t shut down. In the middle of the night, I’m sure I’ve come on some incredibly important memory and by morning I realize it’s worthless.” Easing back in her chair, she glanced around at the piles of books on the couch and coffee table.

“Phone books?” she questioned, flipping one open, then shoving it aside. “Isn’t that kind of low-tech?”

“Depends on your point of view,” he replied evenly. “Investigative tools range from low-end phone books to high-end computer databases. Don’t discount what you don’t know.”

“Point taken. So, what are we working on today?”

Mitch creased one hand over his forehead. She was using the royal “we” again. And she was becoming a royal pain. As quickly, he remembered the reason behind her insistence and realigned his attitude. He’d be insistent, too, if his son’s life hung in the balance. “I’m following up on some leads.”

She leaned forward anxiously. “Ones that have panned out?”

“Not yet.”

“Damn!” Laura rose in one hurried motion, frustration pouring from every gesture. “That’s not good enough!”

“What do you suggest? You want me to lean on your relatives? Maybe your aunt Rhoda?”

“Of course not! I…I…”

Mitch gentled his voice. “You’re paying for my expertise—trust it.”

She hesitated for a moment. “I suppose I do. I’m just so terribly worried.”

Mitch sighed inwardly, knowing she would feel no peace until they had some answers. And it wouldn’t hurt him to fill her in. “I’m requesting a copy of your original birth certificate. With the sealed records law in Texas, we’ll get a copy of your adopted certificate, but we need the paper trail proving our intent, showing we’ve taken all the steps. We’ll have to have that once we request a court order to unseal the original.”

A contemplative expression covered her face. “You mean I have two birth certificates?”

He nodded. “One filed with the information on your actual birth parents, another with your adopted parents listed.”

“Will that one say I’m adopted?”

“No. That’s part of the sealed records process. For all appearances, the second birth certificate looks like the real thing. Unless you know about the original information, you’d have no reason to suspect it’s been changed.”

“This is a whole new world,” Laura murmured. “I feel like I’m in some sort of strange limbo and I’ll wake up tomorrow and find out this has all been some sort of bad dream.”

“Including Alex’s illness?”

“Especially that,” Laura agreed, the pain in her eyes surfacing.

“I don’t suppose your ex-husband has been much help.”

“As you know, he was willing enough to get tested for a bone marrow match.” She shrugged, a forlorn movement. “But beyond that he acts as though Alex’s illness really isn’t his concern. It’s all I can think about. I eat, sleep and live wondering how we can beat this. But Kevin acts as if—” Laura brought clenched fingers to her mouth, unable to complete the words.

“Maybe he doesn’t know how to express his feelings,” Mitch suggested.

“That wouldn’t be a first,” Laura commented bitterly. “But to ignore his son, to act as though it doesn’t matter whether he survives—”

“It won’t help to torture yourself,” Mitch soothed.

“Why not? I’m the one who chose the worst possible father material as my husband. I’d have done better if I’d blindfolded myself, twirled in a circle until I was dizzy, then stabbed my finger in the direction of the first man I encountered.”

Mitch shifted uncomfortably. “Maybe he feels impelled to hide how worried he is.”

“He never wanted a baby,” she admitted, surprising him. For a moment even Laura seemed surprised that she had allowed the admission. “Alex wasn’t planned. In fact, I didn’t learn I was pregnant until after Kevin and I had agreed to divorce. Still, I always wanted my baby. I considered him a great gift, a wonderful blessing after so much hurt. But for Kevin it was different. He seems to have divorced his feelings for his son along with our marriage. He’s seen him only twice since he was born, and then only at my insistence. Kevin has made it clear he’d prefer to forget Alex altogether, to never see him again.” Bewildered, she raised widened eyes to meet his. “Do all men feel this way after a divorce?”

Staggered by the question, and far too aware of his past, Mitch hesitated. “I can’t answer for all men—and the truth is you could ask a dozen men and get a dozen different answers. I can only speak for myself, but if I ever had a son, I wouldn’t let anything come between us. People get divorced every day. That’s a fact of modern life. It’s not often people can stick a marriage out forever—that’s become kind of a myth. And people remarry, which is okay. But you have just one set of parents. You can’t take that away from a kid.”

If possible, her face blanched even further.

Then it struck him. “Hell, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean the adoption thing.”