The Daddy Secret. Judy Duarte

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      They’d no more than parked along the curb in front of Mallory’s house when she rushed out onto the porch to meet them. She was wearing a pair of black slacks, a green blouse and a frantic expression.

      “Where have you been?” she asked Lucas. “I’ve been worried sick and looking all over for you.”

      “I’m sorry. I went to see Dr. Martinez at the clinic, and we just... Well, I didn’t know how late it was.”

      Mallory, her hands splayed on her hips, shot an angry glare at Rick. “Why didn’t you call and let me know where he was?”

      Rick’s first impulse was to blame Lucas for not mentioning that he had to be home at a certain time, but why throw the boy under the bus?

      Besides, a defensive retort like that was only going to make things worse, especially when Rick was in way over his head when it came to parenting. If truth be told, he didn’t have a clue what Mallory expected of him as a father, but he couldn’t admit that. Revealing his flaws and insecurities so early in the game probably wasn’t a good idea.

      Instead, he gave the only excuse he could think of. “I didn’t have your phone number.”

      “But you have a watch, Rick. How long was he with you?”

      “About two hours, I guess.”

      “Didn’t you realize I’d be looking for him after all that time? Besides, it’s getting dark.”

      “Mallory,” Lucas said, “please don’t be mad at Dr. Martinez. It wasn’t his fault. It was mine.”

      The boy had called her Mom earlier, but apparently, in the heat of the moment, he’d slipped back to old habits. Or had he done that on purpose as an act of rebellion?

      Rick stole a glance at Mallory, saw her softening expression melt into a wounded frown that touched something deep inside of him. And while he was glad that Lucas had stuck up for him, he hadn’t wanted it to be at Mallory’s expense.

      “I’m sorry,” Rick said. “Lucas stopped to see me at the clinic, and while he played with Buddy, I got busy feeding my rescue animals. I should have sent him home earlier, but I didn’t. It won’t happen again.”

      Their gazes locked, and the conversation stalled for a moment, then Mallory said, “I’m sorry, too, Rick. I didn’t mean to sound so harsh. I was just worried. He’s always home before it gets dark.”

      She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, looking more vulnerable than he’d ever seen her. More beautiful, too.

      The years had been good to her, and if the two of them hadn’t shared a painful past, if they’d met for the first time in downtown Brighton Valley, maybe at Caroline’s Diner, Rick might have asked her out.

      As it was, there was too much water under the bridge for them to consider something like that—no matter how attractive he still found her.

      “I promise never to be late again,” Lucas said.

      Mallory turned to the boy, then wrapped him in her arms and drew him close. “I love you so much, sweetheart. I don’t know what I’d do if something happened to you.”

      “I love you, too.”

      Rick shoved his hands in his pockets, feeling like the odd man out. But why shouldn’t he feel that way? Mallory had placed him in that position a long time ago.

      “I’d better go,” he said. “It’s probably past your dinnertime, and I won’t keep you from it any longer.”

      Mallory released Lucas from her embrace, but kept her hands on his shoulders. “Actually, dinner will be ready in about fifteen minutes. We’re having spaghetti tonight, and I have plenty. Why don’t you stay and eat with us?”

      As hungry as he was, and as tempted as he was to join them, he probably ought to decline. After all, she was just trying to make it up to him for jumping all over him for something that hadn’t been his fault.

      “Please?” Lucas said. “She makes really good spaghetti.”

      There were probably a hundred reasons why Rick ought to climb into his truck and go home. But instead of grabbing hold of one of them and running with it, he found himself saying, “Sure. Why not?”

      * * *

      Mallory hadn’t meant to snap at Rick for not sending Lucas home or for not letting her know where he was. After all, Lucas knew the rules. He also should have realized that it was getting dark and Mallory would have been worried about him.

      So she’d offered the dinner invitation to Rick as a peace offering. Still, she really hadn’t expected him to accept. Things had ended badly between them when she’d left town to have their baby, and then again yesterday, when he’d found about Lucas. So the evening was sure to be awkward at best.

      She left Rick and Lucas in the living room while she finished in the kitchen, but it didn’t take her very long. As soon as the pasta was done, she called them to the table, where they all took their seats, just like a typical all-American family, when they were anything but.

      “Mallory, I mean my mom, is a good cook,” Lucas said.

      Rick looked up from his plate of spaghetti and smiled at the boy. “She certainly is.” Then he looked at Mallory. “The sauce is really tasty. Is it homemade?”

      “Yes, it’s Sue’s recipe. I have her cookbook and have been making all her family favorites.”

      “We should have Dr. Martinez come over for the tamale pie casserole tomorrow,” Lucas said.

      Something told Mallory things could really get out of hand if she didn’t do something to discourage her son’s budding friendship with Rick. But then again, what would happen when she told the boy that the vet down the street was actually his biological father, the man she’d told him was dead?

      Gary and Sue had been great parents—close to perfect, in fact. So Mallory had some big shoes to fill. They’d valued honesty above all else and had done their best to teach Lucas to be truthful.

      Mallory valued honesty, too! It’s just that she’d had a good reason for telling Lucas what she did, when she did.

      At the time Lucas had asked about his biological father, Gary had just lost a grueling battle to cancer. She’d feared that Lucas only wanted to find Rick as a means of filling the painful hole his father’s death had left in his life.

      But how could anyone ever replace a man like Gary Dunlop?

      Then there was the fact that Rick might not have wanted to be found. And even if he had, what if he hadn’t been able to hold a candle to Gary’s memory? What if he would have disappointed Lucas when the poor child had been so vulnerable?

      There’d been so many what-ifs, all of which would have hurt the grieving child in the long run. So Mallory had made it simple on them all. She’d told Lucas that she and Rick might have been able to keep Lucas and create a family together if Rick hadn’t died. But at her age, raising a child alone wouldn’t have been fair to him.

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