Lost and Found (22 page)

“
So it’s hidden, but
there?”

“
Right.”

Oh, now she knew she’d have to see
it.

She looked down at her phone and noted
the time. “I should get back upstairs. I have a conference call
meeting with Ed and Zach.”

“
I certainly don’t envy
you. But tell him and Mary Ellen hello.”

“
I will.”

“
Isn’t she the nicest
person you’ve ever met?”

“
She’s taken very good care
of me.” She gave some thought about asking about her. “She and Zach
were never a couple before he met your aunt, were they?”

“
Mary Ellen and Zach?” The
question made her laugh. “No.”

“
They’re just very
comfortable together.”

“
They should be. I think
they’ve worked together for thirty-some years. Mary Ellen was there
when Zach got his first desk. They grew up in the company, if you
will. But he’s always collected nice women as his dearest friends.
Aunt Simone was his best friend from boarding school in
Paris.”

Darcy narrowed her eyes. “Best friend?
Did they date?”

Again, Clara laughed. “No. He never
wanted anything to do with her in that sense. It was almost like he
knew Regan would come along.”

“
Fall into his
lap.”

“
Ah, you do know the
story.”

Yes, she’d become very familiar with
it.

Clara reached out her hand and covered
Darcy’s. “I’m glad you ran into Ed. I look forward to having you
for a sister.”

There was a lump forming in Darcy’s
throat now. She wanted that too—almost too much.

Darcy sat at the table with Mary Ellen
and Zach. When the call came through and she heard Ed’s voice, she
did her best to contain the emotions it brought to the surface. She
missed him—terribly.

They discussed current builds, new
builds, and a design change to the one in Saint Louis. They laughed
about the bad Chinese food brought to the site and how the foreman
ate six chocolate doughnuts each morning.

When business was over, Zach stood.
“Well, Ed, we’ll see you in a few days. But I’ll let you talk to
Darcy before you hang up.”

He gave her a smile and then led Mary
Ellen out of the room, and they shut the door behind
them.

“
I miss you.” The words
rushed out of her mouth.

“
I miss you,
too.”

“
I had coffee with Clara
today at lunch. Just by chance. She walked into the
Starbucks.”

“
You didn’t spill anything
on her, did you?”

They both laughed, but she leaned in
to the speaker and whispered, “I know you have a
tattoo.”

“
I sure do.”

Okay, well, he wasn’t hiding it. “I’ve
never seen it.”

“
I keep my boxers on when
you’re around.”

“
I know. You’re quite the
gentleman.” She looked around as if to check that they were alone.
“I want to see it.”

There was silence for a moment. “I’ll
show it to you.” He was very matter-of-fact. “But it’s not going to
change anything.”

She smiled, even alone in the room. “I
wouldn’t expect it to.”

“
You know, you’re a part of
that family.”

“
What do you
mean?”

“
I mean, in time, I want
you to be.”

She’d fought that damn lump in her
throat and now tears stung her eyes. “You do?”

“
I think you need a Keller
tattoo. Besides, your family is just as important. You’ll always
belong to your family, and well, you’ll always belong in
mine.”

That was it. The first tear ran down
her cheek, and she brushed it away quickly. “When you get home, we
may have to look into that.”

He agreed and they ended their phone
call, but Darcy sat alone in the conference room and collected
herself.

Ed Keller wanted her forever. She was
ready.

The phone call that had come in on the
morning Ed was expected home had completely ruined Darcy’s mood.
With the changes they’d approved in Saint Louis, he was going to
need to be out there for a few days and fly from there to
Miami.

It would be another four days before
she saw him, and she didn’t like the arrangement.

“
I’ll be home soon,” he
assured her.

“
I don’t mean to be so
silly about it, but…”

“
It’s okay, Darcy. Trust
me, I don’t want to be here either.” He let out a long breath. “My
mom called and wants to have you over for dinner. She wasn’t sure
if you’d accept.”

“
Of course I’d
accept.”

“
I told her as much. So
Christian is expecting you to give him a ride over
tonight.”

Darcy laughed. “My mother and father
used to do this. You know, she’d wonder what he was thinking, so
she’d ask me and I’d find out.”

“
It’s much the same in our
family, only there are many more of us.”

“
It’s a good thing I’m not
shy.”

“
You can’t be in this
family.” There was a brief silence before Ed spoke again. “You
haven’t given any more thought about finding your birth parents,
have you?”

“
No.” She was quick to
answer. “I am who I am, and without my mom and dad, I wouldn’t be
me. Besides, what’s to find? My dad told me that my birth mom died.
Case closed.”

“
You didn’t mention that
before.”

Darcy tapped her fingers on her desk.
“It’s not important anymore. It was what brought me to Nashville,
and the rest has been fate.”

“
Well, if you ever change
your mind…”

“
I won’t, but thank
you.”

“
Enjoy your evening with my
family.”

Oh, she missed him something terrible.
If she were more impulsive, she’d fly to Miami and meet him, but
she wasn’t like that. “I’ll see you in a few days.”

Ed had hated to deceive Darcy like he
had, but it was all going to be worth the element of surprise. Now
he sat in the showroom of an exclusive jewelry designer that his
Aunt Simone had set him up with in Miami.

He was about to make the biggest
purchase of his life. Tomorrow he’d drive to her father’s and ask
for her hand in marriage.

Ed rubbed his palms together. He’d
never been so nervous in all his life. This was crazy.

He’d negotiated million dollar deals
and met some of the world’s most influential people, but looking
now at the platinum ring setting and the two carat diamond that the
jeweler placed in it to show him, he pegged himself for the next
heart attack victim at Miami General.

The next morning, he called to make
sure Christian was well taken care of before his
surgery.

“
It’s no wonder Mom tried
to have surgery without telling anyone. She spent the night on my
couch.” He scoffed, and Ed laughed. “This isn’t the first time I’ve
gone through this.”

“
Yes, but you’re still her
baby boy.”

“
Right. So when are you
coming home?”

“
Tomorrow. I have some
things I need to take care of first.”

“
Your girl is a little
mopey without you. You’d better hurry home.”

“
Can you keep a secret? I’m
going to plan a surprise party for her birthday.”

“
And you think this group
can keep a secret?” Christian laughed.

“
I think I’ll just tell you
and mom. That way everyone can show up for a dinner, and we’ll have
a party instead.”

“
Oh, so dinner on a Tuesday
instead of a Sunday? Yep, she’ll never see it coming.”

“
You are a
smart-ass.”

“
And to think I used to be
the quiet one.”

That had Ed laughing. Baseball and
locker rooms had completely transformed his brother from a shy boy
to, well, a smart-ass. But still, there was no man who was more
compassionate that Christian Keller. The woman who finally landed
him for a husband would be well taken care of.

Ed disconnected the phone call with
his brother and headed down the highway. Her father had moved to a
small retirement community outside of Miami.

It was a nice setting, he thought,
when he pulled through the front gate.

Each house looked exactly the same.
Older men drove golf carts on the streets, and he’d seen more than
one porch with a group of women sitting back and
chatting.

Finally, he pulled up to the house
that George McCary had given him the address to. A Marine flag
waved in the breeze from the front porch. Yep, this was the
place.

Before he could make it all the way to
the door, a tall, strong man walked out of the front door and stood
on the porch. His hair was cut high and tight, and he stood with
his feet apart and his hands grasped behind his back. There was no
mistaking this was Dr. George McCary, retired Marine.

Ed’s mouth went dry, and he could feel
the small, square box in his pocket digging uncomfortably into his
upper thigh as he walked toward the man. Again, they might have to
call for that ambulance that was going to carry him away. He’d
simply never been so nervous.

“
Mr. McCary?”

“
Yup. You Eduardo
Keller?”

“
I am, sir.” He held out
his hand to the man. “It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

George McCary shook it firmly. The man
might be working his way into his seventies, but Ed was very sure
he could easily kill Ed with one quick move.

“
So, you’re the man keeping
my daughter in Nashville, huh?”

Ed swallowed hard. “That’s what I’d
like to discuss with you, sir.”

George ran his tongue over his teeth.
“Well, c’mon out back. My sister made some lemonade and set up the
patio. She likes to fuss about like that.”

George led him through the small
house. Everything had been tidy and clean, he noticed. Just as a
military man would keep it. He thought of Darcy’s small, dark
apartment. The furniture wasn’t hers and the space was very small,
but she kept it neat as a pin. Now he knew why.

The patio on the back of the house
faced many others like it. It was as if each neighborhood had a
cul-de-sac of backyards instead of driveways.

Ed sat in the chair George pointed to.
The ring box dug deeper into his leg.

George poured Ed a glass of lemonade
and handed it to him. Then he did the same for himself and eased
back in his chair.

“
Well, Ed, let’s cut to the
chase. Something tells me you’re not just dropping by for
lemonade.”

Ed cleared his through. “No, sir, I
made a special trip to come see you.”

“
That would explain why
you’re alone, and Darcy never mentioned you coming by.”

Ed nodded. “I’ve come seeking your
blessing. I’d like to ask your daughter to marry me.”

He’d done better than he thought he
would. His voice hadn’t wavered. But as he lifted his glass to his
lips to ease the dryness that was nearly disabling him, he noticed
his hands shook.

He quickly took the drink and lowered
the glass.

George McCary wasn’t a man to show
emotion.

Ed thought better of it. Perhaps he
knew how to show emotion—when he found the need to kill someone. He
wasn’t feeling threatened, so he took that as a good sign. But as
the moments turned into minutes of silence, Ed thought maybe he’d
rather have been run off the property.

“
You haven’t known Darcy
very long.”

“
No, sir, I
haven’t.”

“
And you think you love her
enough to want to marry her?”

“
I know I do.”

George gave a long, slow nod. “You’re
a successful man?”

“
I’d like to think I am.
I’m the vice president of Benson, Benson, and Hart.”

“
Nephew to the owner, I
think she said.”

“
Yes.” Ed hoped this man
understood that nepotism wasn’t a cushy job.

George McCary crossed his ankle over
his knee and relaxed his shoulders. “My daddy owned a grocery store
in Georgia when I was little. My friends always teased me about
being rich because I got to work. Damned fools. They didn’t know
that working for your father’s business means you have to start at
the bottom and you don’t usually get to the top.”

Ed smiled. He did understand. “I
started my job at fifteen on a job site. I have emptied my share of
trash cans.”

That made George laugh. They were
making progress.

“
She’s a strong girl, my
Darcy Ann.”

“
Yes, she is.”

George rubbed the whiskers on his
chin. “Is she still mad at us over the adoption thing?”

Ed bit down on his lip. “No, sir, I
think she’s over that. I told her I’d be happy to help her find her
birth parents, if that would make her feel at ease, but she says
she’s not interested.”