Flynn (2 page)

Her
dad was the first to spot her.

“Hi
darling.”

He
stood and hugged her. Her mother glanced at her over the top of her reading
glasses.

“I take
it by the outfit you’re wearing that you went to Jon Nelson’s funeral.”

Natalie
hadn’t known whether or not to wear her black dress and shoes. She knew Jon
wouldn’t want everyone looking sad and drab, but in the end, her proper
upbringing had won out, and all black had been the color choice of the day.

“I
did.”

“Yes,
I saw his obituary a few days ago. You obviously did too.”

Her
father offered his seat, and Natalie sat.

“No, Jon’s
sister called me, and I went to see him at the hospice last week.”

“That
was very nice of you,” said her father sitting next to her.

“It’s
actually the reason I’m here.”

“Darling,
I thought any business with Jon was well in the past,” said her mother.

Natalie
knew this wasn’t going to be easy.

“It
might be for you, but it never has been for me.”

Her
mom and dad glanced at one another.

“Now,
what’s brought back all these silly memories again?” asked her mother

“Jon’s
requested that I find our child.”

Her
mother jumped up from the chair like it suddenly had an electrical current
running through it. “Still the same old Jon Nelson; even in death trying to
cause problems for our family.”

“Mother,
would you for once in your life have something nice to say about him? He’s
gone,
you never have to see him again so some respect would
be nice.”

“I
know it’s not polite to speak ill of the dead, but he was always trouble. He
was back then, and it seems even in death he’s playing with your head. You had
a baby. The baby was adopted, so it’s the end of that story.”

Her
mother threw down the book she was reading, walked to the window and looked
out, all the time pulling on the necklace around her neck. Natalie stood and
walked over to stand beside her.

“This
isn’t just about Jon. I’ve always wondered what my child looks like. You know
that. What sort of person they are. I’d like to meet him or her.”

“Oh
honey, you know that wouldn’t be a good thing. Think of how upsetting it would
be for you.
For them too after all this time.”

“I’d
like to take my chances. And I’ve made a promise to Jon.”

“I
think it best that you forget about what you promised him.”

“He’s
left items for our child. He’s left money in his will for its college
education. So I think it only fair I deliver them in person.”

Her
mother turned to look at her.
“Jon Nelson funding a college
education!
I always said the boy was nothing but a dreamer.”

Natalie
tried to get her temper under control. She wanted to slap her mother’s face for
such a nasty remark.

“Now
if Jon hadn’t decided to ask about the baby, you wouldn’t have thought about
it.”

“That’s
not true, and you know it. I’ve thought about the baby every day since I gave
birth and you took it from me. I’ve wanted to find out, but because I respected
you and dad’s wishes, I’ve never pursued it. However, if Jon’s death has taught
me one thing it’s that life’s short,
so
it’s about time I started
thinking about what
I
want and not
you.”

Kym
chose that moment to walk in with the tea. She coughed and winked at Natalie.
Kym had been with them long before Natalie had gotten pregnant and in a way
been more of a support to her than her own mother.

“Thank
you,” said Natalie taking it from her.

Natalie
waited until Kym had left to continue with their conversation.

“I
want the name and address of the couple who adopted the baby,” said Natalie.

Her
mother gave one of her false laughs “You expect me to remember that after all
this time?”

She
pulled on her mother’s arm. “You arranged it. You took the baby to them. You
must remember something.”

She
pulled on her necklace again. “I really
don’t,
other
than they were a charming young couple from South Dakota who I know gave the
baby a loving home. Now don’t go prying or upsetting them or the child.”

Natalie
turned to look at her father.
 
He’d been
the weak link in all this. Hell, he’d even worked on her mother every day in
hopes that she’d see some sense and let Natalie keep the baby. But no, her
mother won every single time.

“Moira,
help our daughter out. I think she has a right to know the truth,” said her
father.

Her
mother turned around to look at her father and then back at Natalie.

“I can’t
remember,
and
that’s my final word on the topic,” she said.

“Okay,
if you won’t tell me I’ll have to find out on my own.”

“Oh
honey, please don’t. Just let the past be exactly that or you’re going to be in
for a terrible shock.”

Chapter
Two

“Ms. White,
Mr.
Finesby
is here to see you.”

Natalie
looked up from the brief she was working on to see the receptionist, Jane,
standing in the doorway of her office.

“Could
you show him back here for me?”

She
nodded and then left. Natalie quickly finished
 
the paragraph she was in the middle of writing and looked up to see Jane
returning with Mark
Finesby
, who she often turned to
when she needed a private investigator to help with some of her cases.

“Come
in and have a seat. Thanks Jane.”

Jane
left, and Mark pulled up a chair and dug out a folder from his case.

“I
hope you have some good news for me.”

He
placed the folder on her desk and opened it. “Let’s just say this wasn’t an
easy task. Your mother and her attorney went to lots of trouble to hide the
information.”

“But
you have found something?”

“Oh
yes. The baby’s formal adoption papers were filed in Missoula, Montana.”

He
slid the paperwork over the desk to Natalie.

“That’s
strange because my mother said she’d given the baby to a couple in South
Dakota.”

He shook
his head. “No records there.”

Natalie
looked at the papers in more detail.

She’d
given birth to a girl. She’d hadn’t been allowed to know even that much.

She
and Jon had a daughter.

She
felt a tear welling up in her eye. What did she look like? What were the color
of her hair and eyes?

“I
see there’s just a man’s name on here,” said Natalie reading more.

“That’s
right, Flynn Malone.”

“But
it was supposed to be a couple.”

“I
did find
records of a divorce for him, filed a few months
before this paperwork was
officially filed so maybe he wanted sole
custody.”

He
pulled out some more paperwork. “In fact, I’ve done a background search on Mr.
Malone. He runs a ranch just outside of Timber Creek, Montana with a Rory
Malone, who I assume is a father or brother. And his daughter’s name is Emily
Ann.”

Emily Ann
. She liked both
those names. Yes, they were something she would have picked for her baby.

Her
baby, a girl named Emily. She felt happier knowing just those simple facts.

“Anything
else you can tell me?”

“Not
much. He’s never been in any sort of trouble. He’s registered to vote, has a
driver’s license, not been picked up for even speeding, and owns two guns—which
I wouldn’t think is atypical for a rancher. Besides that, there’s not much I
can tell you.”

“I
want to thank you for what you have found. This is a great start for me.”

“You
were paying me and I was just doing my job. Only wish I had something more to
tell you.”

“It’s
enough. I mean I know where to go to meet my daughter now.”

He
leaned back on the chair. “I know this is none of my business but I’ve done
this more times than I can remember; found a child someone gave up for adoption
and well, 99 percent of the time, it never ends happily. One of the people
involved ends up getting hurt and things are never the same not just for that
one person, but everyone involved, including the child. So can I suggest you
sit and have a good think about what you’re about to do before you rush off to
Montana?”

Natalie
nodded. She knew that, but she’d made a promise. They were meant to be kept and
now she knew Emily Ann was out there and where she was, she was going to say
hello to her daughter.

Chapter
Three

Flynn
checked his watch for the third time in less than a minute, hoping the delivery
of the new calf would soon be over.
 
Normally, he or Rory played midwife, but this
baby was refusing to come into the world without some expert help, and they’d
had to call in the vet.

If
the calf, or at least the vet, didn’t hurry things along, he’d be late collecting
Emily from his mom’s café. He’d promised her they’d then go shopping for groceries
so she could make cupcakes for Shane’s upcoming fundraising event.

“Here
it comes,” the vet finally announced.

Flynn
watched the calf exit its mother’s body and fall onto the straw underneath her
hind legs.

“It’s
a girl,” said Dr. Moore.

Emily
would be pleased because Flynn had told her she’d be in charge of this one. She’d
already named it Sharon, assuring her father she knew the cow was
having
a daughter. He guessed she’d been right.

“She
okay?” asked Flynn.

“Looks
fine to me, guess she thought she’d stay somewhere safe and warm just a little
longer, and hence didn’t want to leave her mother.”

Flynn
couldn’t blame her. This morning had been a cold one, and even he’d been
reluctant to get out of bed.

“I
have to go and collect Emily, and I’m already running late. Can I leave you to
finish up here and then send us the bill?”

“Sure
thing, and tell her hello.”

“I
will.”

Flynn
changed into his clean boots and walked toward his truck. He turned on the
ignition and cranked up the heat. He backed out of the driveway and headed down
the road onto the main country road that would take him into the town of Timber
Creek.
 
He glanced up at the sky. It had
been brilliant sunshine until about an hour ago, but now it was dark and
dreary. If he was any judge, it was going to snow soon.
 
He glanced at the clock in the truck,
realizing that his watch had been slow. Damn thing probably needed a new
battery. Now he was really was late collecting Emily. He put his foot down on
the gas pedal hoping Shane or his deputies weren’t around to give him a ticket.

Flynn
turned onto Main Street wondering if Emily had gotten herself into a panic
thinking something had happened to him. He hoped not because she could work
herself into quite a state, and it usually took hours to calm her down. Right
now he was tired, and after a quick trip to the grocery store, he just wanted
to head home, eat, and then sit in front of the fire and relax. He turned the
corner and then made his way into the café’s parking lot. He rushed inside and
to his delight Emily was simply helping her grandmother bag some cookies for a
customer.

“Hi
daddy.”
She smiled at him. Luckily his mother had kept her occupied so she hadn’t
noticed his tardiness.

“Hi
honey. The new calf finally arrived.”

“Sharon’s
here?” said Emily.

“Sure
is, and you were right about her being a girl.”

“Well,
that’s a lucky thing for her
or
he’d be stuck with a girl’s name,” said
his mother. “Okay Emily, you grab your coat and run along with your dad.”

“I
might not be able to help out tomorrow because I’ll have a calf to look after.”

“That’s
fine honey. I understand.” She winked at Flynn.

Emily
grabbed her coat and Flynn held the door open for her. She unlocked the truck
and slid in beside him and then pulled up her coat collar.

“It’s
gonna
snow.”

“Yeah,
I think so too.”

“Can
we still go to the store?”

“That’s
where I’m heading.”

“I
need more period pads.”