Concealed Attractions (Cedar Island Tales) (47 page)

“I don’t know.
It’s been—I ca
n’t remember how long
since he tried to come home.
I thought he was working at the docks, but
maybe
he hasn’t been there, either
. M
aybe
that’s
why I haven’t been able to reach him.
I’m so sorry this happened.
”

“He kept saying I had to give up the baby—that I had to choose
between him and
Jimmy
. How can I do that?”
Danni
wept
as she rocked Jimmy
.

“
He was talking nonsense
. If your father can’t see that, he doesn’t deserve
to be part of your life.
Promise me you’ll lock the door
when
I leave.
”

Danni
nodded, her heart heavy.

Ben was furious when he learned what
had
happened.  He grumbled to himself while he fixed the cradle rocker
.
“I’m
call
ing
the cops if he shows up here again. I
wo
n’t have him scaring you or
trying to hurt
Jimmy.”

“
But
M
om says he’ll flip out if
the police
show up.
And he’s
my
father. I won’t send him to jail
.” S
he burst into tears
again
.

“He
certainly
isn’t acting like
a father, not a loving one
, anyway
. H
e doesn’t
deserve to be treated like one.
”

“But, Ben—” S
he
sniffed
, her eyes and nose reddened
. “He’s my father,
”
she repeated.

Ben grimaced. “I know he is.” He hugged her until she stopped crying
, grateful that she didn’t
prevent
him from holding her
.

Ben
, in
the
suit and tie he hadn’t worn since the first day he’d started his externship,
walked into the church, one hand
at
the small
of
Dannilynn
’s back. He couldn’t believe how beautiful she looked in
her
red silk dress
. A matching ribbon held her dark hair off her face. Next to her,
Anna
held
four-week old Jimmy
, dressed in the
sam
e baptismal gown
Danni
had worn
nearly twenty
-two
years
earlier
.

Behind them stood Joel and Angela. When he heard whisper
ing, Ben turned
around.
Joe
l
grinned
.
“You clean up nicely, Ben.
If you
wore that
suit
more often, we’d probably have better luck getting some of the business we’ve been after.” 

“Speak for yourself.
”
Angela
poked
Joel
in the ribs
. “He follows your lead in clothes.”
She
smil
ed at Ben. “You look great—all three of you.”

The minister began the special service. When he asked
Dann
i
for the baby’s name, she
replied
in a clear voice, “James
Logan
Kelly
.
”
S
he
beam
ed at her mother and Ben.

The service had nearly ended a
nd the congregation was singing
“
Borning Cry
,
”
when
Ben
heard a disturbance at the back of the church. He turned and saw
Dannilynn
’s father
standing
in the corner
. T
hen
the man
began to push
his way toward the group clustered around the baby.

“He
shouldn’t
be baptized here
—he’s
—he’s
a
—
” he began
.

Ben
left
Danni
’s side,
grabbed
the older man’s
arm
,
and
pull
ed him out of the sanctuary
before he
finished speaking
.

“You will
not
hurt
your grandson.
”
He
pressed
the
older man’s arms to his sides.
Ben’s
voice low and intense, he
added
,
“And leave
Danni
alone.
She
said she still
love
s you, though I can’t figure out why—after what you’ve done
.
If you come near
them, I’
m
call
ing
the cops. You can b
et
your next drink
on th
at.
”
He
released the older man
and
turned away
from
him
.

David
took
a swing at Ben, clipping him on the ear and stunning him.
He slipped down to his knees.

Ben
stood
up and
shov
ed David
against a tree.

“Don’
t tempt me to hit you
.
You have no idea how
much
I want to
.
Leave
and don’t come back until you can tell your daughter you
love
her and that you
love
her baby. She is part of you—
even
though you don’t deserve her.”

Joe
l
grasp
ed
Ben’s
arm
.
“Come
inside
, Ben. I think he’ll leave now
.
Your ear needs attention. Let’s take care of that.”

Together, they walked away from
Danni’s father
.
T
he rest of the congregation
was already
filing
out
of the church
.
Minutes later,
Ben escorted
Danni
, her mother,
and the baby back to the car
.
David was nowhere to be seen.

At the reception
at her mother’s
house,
Danni
excused herself and went into her
old
bedroom. She wiped her tears and adjusted her dress before going back out to greet the guests. Her mother was proudly holding the baby for all to see. As if aware that he was the center of attention, the baby waved his arms and cooed when people came up to talk to him. Ben
stood nearby
, a bandage on his ear where David’s ring had cut the skin,
occa
sionally
look
ing out the windows of the living room.

“You
look
beautiful in that dress,
Dannilynn
,” Angela compli
mented
.
“
I’m always amazed at how quickly
young
mothers get their shape back.
”

She
approached
Joe
l
and whispered in his ear. He nodded and went outside, returning with a bulky object, which he
se
t down in front of
Ben. 

“Take this home. I was meaning to get it to yo
u sooner, but I ordered it late
,
since
the baby came ear
ly
. I
t
’s a
car seat. Angela
made sure it was the right kind
. From us—for the baby.” 
He and Angela
said their good-byes. 

Monica, home from college
for
spring break
,
star
ed at the baby’s bright blue eyes and strawberry blond hair. “
Danni
, he’
s
so
beautiful! I hope my babies
look
as good as your l
ittle guy.” She
glanc
ed sidelong
at Ben, who was talking with Anna.
“
Is there something going on
between
you and that tall
guy
? He
’s
yummy
.
Here, let me get a
picture of you and Jimmy.”

“
H
is name is Ben
, and
y
our babies w
ill be beautiful, too
,”
Danni
repli
ed
.

She
spent t
he rest of the afternoon
helping her mother serve
the guests and relishing the attention
she and
the baby received. Only her
absent
father
seemed not to accept the baby for what he was,
Dannilynn
’s
much-
love
d first child.
Had Monica seen something in the way B
en looked at her, talked to her?
Danni
hadn’t told her anything
, but she knew Monica was curious
.

As they
drove
home, the baby safely strapped into the new car seat,
Dann
i
turned to Ben.  “
Joe
l
told me what you said to my dad. I’m glad you didn
’t hit him.
I just wish, I wish
…
”

“I wish that, too,
hon
, but it is what it is. As long as he doesn’t try to hurt you or Jimmy, we’ll be
okay
.” His knuckles whitened against the steering wheel
.
“I really did wan
t t
o belt him,
though
.” Then h
e turned to her,
grinn
ing
.
“
I
should
call my sister,
to give her all the details—about everything.”

“Ben, I need your opinion about something,”
Danni
asked
later that week when
he returned from the clinic
smelling of sheep manure, happy at what they had accomplished
at
Woolley Acres
.

“Give me a minute to get cleaned up,” he shouted. “I can’t stand these clothes another minute.”

He
came out
of his room
in dry
pants and a clean shirt
.
“
Okay
, shoot
.”  H
e
took
the baby from h
er
and
stuck
out
his tongue at
him. 

“Will you
look
at that?
He stuck his tongue out at me!” And he danced in circles
,
the baby secure in his arms. “You smart kid! A month old
and already a mimic!” H
e laughed
and
the baby
grinn
ed
back at him
.

“Hey, I thought you wer
e going to give me your opinion.
”
Danni
watched
Ben play with the baby.
He
love
s him so much.