The Secret Child

“Jenna, you don‘t understand. It‘s complicated.”

“Then explain it to me.” Jenna plopped on the bed and stretched out across the bedspread. Resting on her elbow, she placed her head in her palm and looked pointedly at Marni, waiting for her to begin. Arlo hopped up on the bed beside her and laid his large head on her hip, as if he, too, were waiting for an explanation. The dog moaned and closed his eyes while Jenna rubbed his dark muzzle.

Marni‘s voice choked with emotion. “I didn‘t mean for any of this to happen,” she managed to say.

Regaining her composure, she tried to be as honest as possible, describing to Jenna as best she could what Cole had related to her about his disastrous marriage to Elizabeth Wakefield and his feelings about their child. “Now do you understand? If I told him about you, I was afraid he‘d try to sue me for partial custody, sweetheart.”

Jenna remained quiet and thoughtful while she digested the information Marni imparted about her father. “But do you know for sure? Would he really do that to us?”

The worry in her daughter‘s voice tugged at Marni‘s heart. “I didn‘t want to take the chance.” Now that he knew about Jenna, anything was possible. Imagining the worst, Marni closed her eyes, but her fears for her daughter refused to be quelled. As did her fear of Carson. He‘d paid her to stay out of his son‘s life, and she was certain he‘d see he got his money‘s worth.

Jenna sat up and scooted close to Marni, wrapping her arms around her mother‘s neck. “I love you, Mom. I wouldn‘t ever leave you.”

Marni hugged her daughter close, tears burning the backs of her eyes at the heartfelt confession. “I love you, too, Jenna.”

Jenna released her hold on Marni and sat back on her heels. “What are we gonna do?”

Falling back on the bed, Marni laid her arm over her eyes. Her head ached, and the light from the bedside table stung her eyes. “I‘m not sure yet. I‘ve got to think about this for a while.”

“I guess I shouldn‘t go with Denise now, huh?”

Marni lifted her arm to stare at her daughter. If Jenna really wanted to go skiing with the Lamberts, then she should go. Maybe getting away for the day would be good for her. Jenna was too young to be saddled with this sort of a dilemma. “You go ahead. I still have to work this weekend, and I need time to think this thing with your father through before Monday. I have a feeling he‘ll be waiting in my office when I get there.”

“I wish you‘d let me meet him,” Jenna said in a wistful tone.

Marni sighed and stood up. She tried to smile, but the result was more of a grimace. “I‘m sure he‘ll want to meet you, too.” In fact, if she knew Cole as well as she thought she did, he would demand to see his daughter.

Jenna reached over Arlo to the pillow covering the phone. “I‘ve gotta call Denise and tell her I can go.”

“Just make sure you take the phone off the hook again when you‘re done,” Marni told her.

Jenna nodded, then called Arlo before heading toward the door. “You still wanna watch the movie?” she asked, sounding hopeful.

Marni had no intention of denying her daughter anything tonight. Anything except seeing her father. “Sure. Just give me a few minutes, okay?”

“Okay, Mom.” Jenna smiled brightly. As if the entire situation threatening their lives no longer held importance, she bounded out of the room, Arlo at her heels. In a matter of seconds the pair would be ensconced on the old sofa in the den, the phone glued to Jenna‘s ear as she chatted with Denise, no doubt informing her friend of the exciting turn of events.

Marni entered the bathroom and filled the sink with cold water. The wonder of youth, she thought while splashing the icy water on her face. If only she could share the same resilience as her daughter. But Marni was a realist and knew she had no choice but to face her problem with Cole. For a fleeting moment she thought of packing Jenna up in the car and driving away, destination unknown. When they found a place they liked, they could stop. Marni could wait tables if she had to, just to keep Jenna with her. But life wasn‘t quite so simple.

She drained the water out of the sink and flipped off the light. Walking over to the night table, she opened the drawer and sat down on the floral bedspread. Marni reached beneath an array of silk scarves until she found what she was looking for.

The cheap gold frame was cracked and peeled and nearly as old as the photographs behind the protective glass. Marni looked at the four small snapshots of herself and Cole. The pictures had been taken in a photo booth a few days before she‘d left for California. She ran her hand over the glass, outlining Cole‘s firm jaw, tracing her finger over his full lower lip. Precious memories of a short time in her life when she‘d been truly happy.

Regardless of her reasons for ending her relationship with Cole, no matter what her motivation for coming to California, Marni knew in her heart her adorable, precocious daughter was a product of the love she had once shared with Cole. A love that would now turn to hatred, since she, like Elizabeth, had denied him the choice of being a father.

* * *

COLE GLANCED AT THE CLOCK on the VCR and downed the remains of the whiskey, the soda he‘d opened earlier neglected in favor of something stronger. He tried Marni‘s number again only to receive the irritating buzz indicating the line was busy. She‘d taken the phone off the hook.