Finding Family. Gina Wilkins

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      “That’s not exactly indisputable evidence,” he insisted. “We should wait until we have the test results.”

      “But that could take weeks.”

      “Ethan.” Aislinn gave him a stern look. “Stop trying to railroad him. Give him time to come to terms with all of this.”

      “I gave him all day.”

      She snorted delicately. “One day to process having his entire life history changed? Seriously?”

      “My history changed, too,” he reminded her with a frown.

      “Yes. But it’s different for him. You’ve always known exactly who you are.”

      Mark cleared his throat. “I am still here.”

      Aislinn sent him a quick smile. “Sorry. We didn’t mean to talk about you as if you weren’t.”

      Rachel sighed when her cell phone rang in her purse. She’d forgotten to silence it again. At least she had the volume turned down low so that few people around would be bothered by the rings. Apologizing to her dinner companions, she fumbled in her purse, thinking that she would check the readout—just in case it really was important—and then mute the sound for the rest of the meal.

      “It’s your sister,” Aislinn said. “I don’t think it’s an emergency.”

      “It’s never a real emergency with Dani,” Rachel replied in resignation. “Only in her own—”

      She stopped abruptly as the significance of the number on her caller ID screen suddenly hit her. “How did you know it was my sister?”

      Looking suddenly sheepish, Aislinn grimaced. “I’m sorry,” she said again. “I guess I’m a little nervous, myself, tonight. I spoke without thinking.”

      Dropping the muted phone back into her purse, Rachel studied the other woman a bit warily. “Mark told me you’re a psychic.”

      Aislinn winced. “I don’t really like that word. I don’t consider myself a psychic. I just get feelings sometimes that usually prove to be true.”

      “From what you told me, it’s more than that,” Mark interjected. “Ethan said you knew I was still alive after looking at a picture of me as a toddler, taken before I was…taken. You somehow sensed that I hadn’t died in that flood, as my family believed.”

      Ethan nodded somberly. “It took her a while to convince me,” he admitted. “I didn’t know her very well when she first sprang it on me, and to put it bluntly, I thought she was trying to run some sort of scam on me. I probably wouldn’t have even given her a chance to change my mind if she hadn’t been my sister-in-law’s longtime best friend. My sister-in-law’s a cop—I figured she’d know if her best pal was a con artist.”

      “So you just thought I was crazy, instead,” Aislinn said wryly.

      Ethan gave her a look that was so blatantly intimate it made a funny little shiver run down Rachel’s spine. Maybe it was a touch of envy, she decided, wondering what it would be like to have a man look at her quite that way.

      “You managed to convince me otherwise,” he murmured.

      A slight touch of color tinged Aislinn’s cheeks as she returned the look. There was no doubt in Rachel’s mind that this couple was very much in love. It would have been interesting to watch that relationship develop, she mused, thinking of Ethan’s initial skepticism of Aislinn’s motives.

      “You said your sister-in-law is a police officer?” she asked. “She’s married to your other brother?”

      Looking away from Aislinn, Ethan nodded. “Her name’s Nic. She and Joel have only been married a couple of months.”

      “What does your brother do?”

      With a faint smile, Ethan glanced at Mark. “He’s a doctor. A pediatrician.”

      “It must run in the family,” Rachel remarked, struck by the coincidence. “And you said your father is an orthodontist?”

      He nodded. “And Mom’s practically a professional community volunteer. The whole family is into taking care of other people. Which makes me the oddball.”

      “That’s not true,” Aislinn argued loyally. “You’ve helped dozens of small business owners in your consulting practice. Not being as social as the others doesn’t make you an oddball.”

      “Who’s the older brother?” Rachel asked. “You or Joel?”

      “I’m the eldest. Joel’s three years younger and Kyle, here’s, a year younger than Joel.”

      Mark frowned. “I, uh, would rather you’d call me Mark. I know it wasn’t the name I was given at birth—hell, it was given to me by the woman who stole me from my family—but it’s the name I’ve used for thirty years.”

      “Sorry,” Ethan said. “You have the right to answer to any name you like. The family will get used to thinking of you as Mark.”

      Looking somewhat grim, Mark reached for his water glass. “We’ve all got a lot to get used to.”

      Rachel rested her hand lightly on his knee beneath the table. It was a gesture of support and understanding rather than flirtation, and from the way Mark covered her hand with his own, she could tell that he accepted it that way. She could imagine how conflicted he must be about his eventual meeting with his parents and his other brother.

      “It’s going to be all right,” Aislinn assured him kindly. “You have a very nice family. I’m sure you’ll all develop a close friendship with time.”

      “Is that one of your psychic predictions?” Mark asked, sounding more prickly than Rachel had heard him before.

      Though Ethan frowned in response to Mark’s tone, Aislinn didn’t seem to take offense. Perhaps she, too, understood the turmoil Mark must be experiencing. “It’s just an educated guess. I’ve met all of your family, and I like them very much. As a matter of fact, I’m about to become a Brannon, myself. Ethan and I are going to be married.”

      Because Aislinn seemed to be making an effort to defuse some of the tension at the table, Rachel cooperated eagerly. “That’s wonderful news. How long have you been engaged?”

      “About twenty hours,” Ethan replied, glancing at his watch. “Not even long enough for me to buy her a ring yet.”

      Aislinn laughed softly. “I don’t think she meant it quite so literally.”

      “Congratulations, you two.” Mark was smiling again now. “That’s great news.”

      “Thanks.” Ethan looked amusingly proud. “We had a few rocky spots—mostly due to me, I’ll admit—but she finally saw what a prize I am.”

      “And so modest,” Aislinn added with a roll of her eyes.

      Their food was delivered, and all of them concentrated for a few minutes on their meals, giving them a brief respite СКАЧАТЬ