Valentine's Secret Child. Christine Rimmer

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СКАЧАТЬ I ask around, get some recommendations for the right restaurant, or do you know where you’d like to eat?”

      She named a place in midtown, on 28th Street. “It’s quiet there,” she said. “And the food’s good.”

      “I remember it,” he said. “A Sacramento landmark. Though we never could afford to eat there, back when…” The place wasn’t terribly expensive, but for two kids with no money, it had seemed so—And Dr. Benson must be getting impatient, because Mitch was glancing over her shoulder and nodding. “Right there…”

      She stepped back. “I’ll let you go then.”

      “Until tomorrow…”

      “Seven. I’ll be there.”

      Tanner was stretched out on the couch in the family room at the back of the house, channel-surfing, when Kelly got home. He turned off the TV and reached over to set the remote on the coffee table when she came in through the dining room.

      He didn’t get up right away, but braced his right arm behind his head and regarded her through lazy, dark brown eyes. “You’re late. I was practically asleep.”

      “At twenty after ten? You know you never went to sleep this early in your life.”

      He sat up then, kind of stiffly. He’d been in a car accident six weeks before and had only gotten the casts off his left arm and leg a few days ago. A week or two more, his doctors said, and even the residual stiffness should disappear. He yawned. “Good speech?”

      “Excellent.”

      “What was that name again?”

      “Mitch Valentine.”

      He shrugged. “Never heard of him.”

      She only smiled. She’d made up her mind on the drive home not to tell Tanner that she’d found Michael at last until after she’d managed to tell Mitch about DeDe. It seemed right that she should come clean with Mitch, first and foremost.

      But she and her brother were very close. Guilt nagged her, to hold out on him this way.

      He was frowning. “Okay, what’s going on?”

      And she couldn’t go through with it, couldn’t hold the truth back. Not from Tanner, who was her beloved big brother, her rock, the first one to show her what it could be to have a real family. She came and sat beside him and took his hand. “Is DeDe asleep?” She pitched her voice barely above a whisper.

      His brow crinkled with concern. “She went to bed at nine. I checked on her about fifteen minutes ago. Dead to the world.”

      “Good. I…”

      “God, Kell. What?”

      “Mitch Valentine? The guy who was speaking tonight?”

      “Yeah?”

      “He’s Michael.”

      He looked every bit as stunned as she felt. “What the hell?”

      “It’s true. Oh, Tanner. I’ve found Michael. At last…”

      He let go of her hand. “Are you sure?”

      Kelly bobbed her head up and down. “Oh, yeah. He’s Michael, though he’s changed a lot. You know how thin he was? Not anymore. He’s…buffed up. And he’s wealthy. Owns a couple of companies and he’s written a book about how he turned his life around.”

      Tanner said patiently, “Kell. Listen. How can you be certain this guy is the kid you knew in high school?”

      “What do you mean? I saw him, face-to-face. I talked to him.”

      “Tonight?”

      “Yes. I waited around after he spoke. The minute he saw me, he recognized me, too.”

      “You really are certain.”

      “I am. You wait. You’ll see. He’s changed, yes, but he’s still Michael.”

      “Mitch Valentine. That’s the name he goes by now?”

      “That’s right.”

      “What’s going on with that? Why did he change his name?” Tanner wore his most unreadable expression. Kelly knew what that look meant. He’d be burning the midnight oil on the Internet tonight, using the various tools at his disposal as a P.I. to find out everything he could about the man named Valentine.

      “Oh, Tanner. Come on. Don’t be so suspicious. I know you didn’t like him, but—”

      “Sorry. I am suspicious. The guy vanishes into thin air. For ten years. And now he’s back and rich and buffed up—living under an assumed name?”

      “Please. I left him and his mother died. A one-two punch. He took off, started over. And people do change their names, you know. It’s not as though it’s a crime.”

      “But he didn’t tell you why he did it.”

      “We talked for like, three minutes. There wasn’t time. Tomorrow, I’ll find out more.”

      “Tomorrow?”

      “We’re meeting for dinner. He’s leaving town Thursday.”

      “To go where?”

      “Haven’t a clue. All I know is somehow I have to get up the nerve to tell him he’s got a daughter.”

      “And you want me to watch DeDe again, while you talk to him?”

      “If you can…”

      He was silent for a moment, then he nodded. “Of course I can.”

      “Thank you.”

      “When will you tell her?”

      “Soon. After I tell him. I need to see how he takes it. I’ve waited so long to find him.” She shook her head. “And now I have, I have no idea how he’s going to react to this. I just…I don’t know. He’s the same, but so different. If that makes any sense at all.”

      Tanner reached for her hand again. She gave it. He squeezed her fingers. “Damn. Not easy, huh?”

      She let herself sag against him. “I can hardly believe this is happening.”

      “Yeah. I hear you. Me, neither.”

      She rested her head on his broad shoulder. “Tanner?”

      “Huh?”

      “At least we finally found him.”

      “Right.” Something in his tone alerted her.

      She straightened so she could see his face. “Please. Don’t feel bad because you weren’t the СКАЧАТЬ