The Secret Child

Cole smiled. “Peg, this is Cole Ballinger again. I‘m sorry to bother you, but I can‘t seem to find Marni‘s number. She gave it to me today, but I seem to have lost it.”

“I should really ask Marni first.” Cole noted the hesitation in Peg‘s voice.

What the hell, he thought. No sense stopping now. “I was supposed to pick her up about eight-thirty and I need to let her know I‘ll be late,” he improvised.

Peg was quiet and Cole waited. He could almost imagine her weighing the consequences of releasing Marni‘s home number.

“Have you got a pen?” Peg finally asked.

Cole jotted the number on a scratch pad, thanked Peg and hung up the phone before his luck changed. That had been too easy. He wrote the number on his Rolodex, then placed the slip of paper in his wallet. Dear, sweet Peg. She deserved a raise for her cooperation, or at least a bouquet.

The drive across town took him twenty minutes in Friday evening traffic. He let himself into his quiet, ultramodern apartment, checked his answering machine for messages, then took a cool shower.

Dressed in a worn pair of Levi‘s and a University of Kansas sweatshirt, he glanced at the clock on the bedside table. Six-twenty. Marni had said she lived by the beach. But which beach? Southern California was one long coastline. She could live anywhere from Malibu to Newport. Cole decided she‘d be home in an hour, either way. He snapped on the television on his way to the kitchen, made himself a sandwich, grabbed a Coke from the fridge and went back into the living room to wait.

The phone rang and Cole reached for it. “Hello?”

“How‘s the software end of things, son?” Carson Ballinger‘s baritone voice sounded affable.

“Fine,” Cole answered, surprised to be hearing from him.

“Your mother‘s been complaining you haven‘t called her.”

“I‘ve been busy.” Cole wondered what his father really wanted.

“I‘m flying out next week. I‘ll be arriving on Wednesday.”

“Coming to check up on me?” Cole wanted nothing more than to tell his father to stop breathing down his neck, but wisdom prevailed. For now, Carson Ballinger still called the shots, but Cole was becoming increasingly weary of living in his father‘s shadow.

“Just routine. Wouldn‘t be doing my job if I didn‘t make the rounds occasionally.” Carson chuckled.

“Well, it‘s nice to hear from you, Dad, but I‘ve got an appointment. I have to run.”

“Can I tell your mother you‘ve got a date?”

“You could say that,” Cole answered, not yet willing to divulge the fact Marni might become part of his life again. She didn‘t seem too willing, but Cole hoped like hell he could change her mind.

“Anyone we know? That vice president of marketing is a nice young lady. Her father owns the Masters Hardware chain.”

“Really.” Cole didn‘t care if her father was president of the United States. Hanna Masters was an attractive and intelligent woman, but she reminded him too much of Elizabeth. Definitely not the kind of woman he wanted to become involved with.

“I ran into an old friend yesterday,” he offered, hoping to steer his father away from the subject of Hanna Masters‘s financial attributes.

“Who is she?”

Cole ran a hand through his hair in an agitated gesture. No sense putting it off. “Marni Rodgers. She went to school with Janelle.”

“Oh, yes. Her mother was ill. No father, either, if I remember correctly.”

“That‘s her,” Cole answered.

Silence.

“How is she?” Carson finally asked.

Cole wondered about the caution in his father‘s voice. “She‘s an assistant D.A. here in Los Angeles.” A surge of pride filled him. She‘d accomplished her dream to become an attorney. He‘d never imagined her as a prosecutor, though. To him, Marni was more of an environmental type. Save the whales, or the kangaroo rat, or some other endangered species.

“I see. You‘re not planning to see her again, are you?”

“I‘ve thought about it.” Who was he kidding? She was all he‘d thought about for the past twenty-four hours.

“That‘s not a good idea.”

“Oh?” Cole ignored the warning note in Carson‘s voice.

“She has no background, son. Her mother was a waitress, for goodness’ sake. She‘s all wrong for you.”

“And Elizabeth was right for me?” Cole thought again about his father‘s reaction when Cole had told him Elizabeth was pregnant. He‘d expected a tirade, a stern lecture on how he‘d disappointed the family, but his father had been strangely elated. Not for the first time, Cole wondered why.

“At least Elizabeth had breeding,” Carson shot at him.

“Breeding? What about a heart? Compassion? Sincerity? Those are the qualities I look for in a person.”

“I only want what‘s best for you, son. I don‘t want you to get hurt. Marni turned her back on you once before. Thank goodness you had Elizabeth.”

“I have to go,” Cole said, not wanting to argue with his father–at least not over the telephone. He‘d known for a while now it was time for him to step away from Ballinger Electronics. After successfully turning two faltering divisions into profit-making entities, Cole knew he was ready. More than ready. If anything, the move might improve his relationship with his father.

“All right, son. I‘ll see you next week.”

Cole replaced the receiver and glanced at the clock again, putting the conversation with his father behind him. He‘d deal with Carson next week.

* * *

MARNI PULLED INTO the driveway of the white beach house twenty minutes after seven. Fortunately the transcript of the Kendell trial had arrived early, and Marni managed to escape the office sooner than she‘d expected, leaving Peg to field any last-minute telephone calls. With the Kendell appeal and Cole‘s appearance in her life, she needed time to catch her breath. Somehow she had to handle both calamities, but she didn‘t have the faintest idea how.

Jenna came bounding out of the house, the screen door banging behind her. The light from the porch cast a hazy yellow glow over the small veranda and spilled onto a fraction of the manicured lawn. A large German shepherd rounded the house, trampling through the dormant rose garden, and barked, wagging his tail at Jenna.

“Arlo, shush. It‘s only Mom,” Jenna scolded the dog. The point was lost on the large animal, who barked again in reply.

“Sorry I‘m late,” Marni said, stepping from the car. “It was one of those days.”

“Denise called. She wants to know if I can go skiing with her tomorrow.”

Marni stepped through the gate and put her arm around her daughter. A flood of protectiveness and love rushed through her. She was reluctant to let Jenna out of her sight but quickly quashed her foolishness. “I don‘t see why not. I‘ve got a lot of work to do this weekend, anyway. Have you eaten?”

“Yeah. I was hungry so I warmed up the leftover pizza. I saved you some.” Jenna opened the front door and Arlo trotted into the house.

Marni didn‘t think she could eat a bite. Not after her conversation with Rebecca. She couldn‘t get over the fact that her friend had insisted she tell Cole about Jenna. The notion bordered on insanity.