The Switch (11 page)

Tia laughed. “No, he’s about my age, no worries there.”

Glena wiped her forehead and shook off her hand as if she had been sweating over the answer. “That’s good then, but what else is goin’ on? Besides the man.”

Tia nibbled on another cookie. “I’ve spent some time trying to figure out where I came from.”

“I thought you already figured that out when you found Jesus, honey.” When Tia didn’t respond, Glena’s mouth firmed. “You mean you’ve been lookin’ into that blood-type fiasco. Your momma stepped out on your daddy. There ain’t no other explanation. She always did have a wandering eye, even when they first met. I don’t know what your daddy ever saw in her.”

Tia played with the cookie, studying it for a moment. She would ignore the slurs on her mother—Glena had hated Mona for as long as Tia could remember. Since long before her parents’ marriage had imploded. “Actually, there is one other explanation for the blood types.”

“Tia, you don’t want to go there.”

“We did a DNA test. Mom, Dad and me. All three of us.”
 
She sipped her drink, hoping to get the lump in her throat to slide down, but it didn’t help. She kept her eyes firmly focused on the cookie. “It turns out I’m not their biological daughter.”

“Hogwash.” Glena waved her hand, as if to bat the notion away. Tia looked up in surprise and saw her grandmother’s red face. “I don’t believe it,” Glena said.

“It’s true. I’ve been trying to wrap my mind around it, figure out what to do next, but I feel so overwhelmed. I even went to the newspaper office and looked up the births from the day I was born. Did you know there were ten girls all born within twenty-four hours of me? Ten? Do you have any idea how long it’s going to take me to weed through all of them?” She’d spent so many hours already just covering four names, and she still wasn’t sure about a couple of them.

“Why waste your time, child? Does it matter who your biological parents are? You have that sweet father of yours, and your mother will certainly keep meetin’s from gettin’ boring—she has a flare for drama.” There was censure in her voice, and a bit of pleading.

Tia smiled at her grandma, though the last thing she felt was mirth. “I know you and Mom don’t get on well.”

“We haven’t gotten on at all almost since the day I met her. The tramp.” She crossed her arms over her chest and put on a stubborn expression.

“Grandma,” Tia protested.

“I’m sorry it pains you to hear it, dear, but you know how she is.”

There was no question about that. Tia sighed. Fighting about this wouldn’t make anything better. “Yes, I know how she is.”

“Now, you put all thoughts of search out of your head, and focus on the great life you have. Two adorable girls, a job you love, a cookbook in the works, and a hunk of man who you better be bringin’ to meet me soon.”

“Grandma!” Tia wasn’t scandalized, Glena had always been outspoken. “If things look like they’re going to keep going between us, I’ll bring Danny by to meet you. No way am I going to have you pick at him to propose when we’ve only seen each other socially a few times.” Okay, way more than a few by now, but she wasn’t going to encourage her grandma.

“Well how long does it take you? Make your move, girl. Don’t let him get away!”

Tia felt the laughter bubble up inside of her before it flowed out her mouth. She loved this woman—funny how much more happy and comfortable it was to visit with her was than with Mona.

It was almost five when Danny reached the hospital and found the floor where Laura was staying. He felt his feet slow as he approached the room. What if it wasn’t her? What if, after all of this, it ended up being someone else entirely? He steeled himself for disappointment before rounding the open doorway and looking into the room.

The woman on the bed had the same brown hair, though considerably shorter than before, the same soft, open eyes. She turned her head and looked at him and a smile broke over her face. Something was different there, something in the face, besides the scars running along her brow. The smile, though, it was all Laura.

She grinned at him. “I should have known it would be you, if I’d remembered you.”

Danny stood for only a moment staring at her, not sure if he believed what he saw, or what he heard—Laura’s unmistakable voice. Then he took two long steps and scooped her into his arms, his throat clogging, his eyes watering and his heart bursting with relief. It was her. He buried his face in her silken hair, holding her tight. “I thought you were dead. I can’t believe it. When that guy tracked me down at the fire department and said you were alive, I thought he was crazy. I can’t believe it,” he mumbled as he held her close.

“How could I possibly forget you?”

“Nothing’s been the same since you died.” He took another moment to study her. Close up, he could see she wore heavy makeup, which nearly covered some scars he had missed before. When he slid his fingers across her cheek, however, he could feel the bumps. “You look really great for a dead woman. Beautiful as always. I love your hair like this.” He flicked a lock back and tried to figure out what else had changed. “I know what’s different—you have a new nose. Cute.” He tapped it with his finger. He preferred her old nose, but who was he to quibble when she was alive?

He saw her look over his shoulder at the door, and something altered in her face. The excitement shifted to longing. He glanced behind him and saw Gavin watching them, his brow furrowed. He looked at both of them, but didn’t say anything, or return Laura’s smile.

“Gavin, come in,” she said.

She extricated herself from Danny’s arms and he turned toward the doorway. “I guess you’ve met. Thank you. I think you picked exactly the right person to take me home.”

“I’m glad.” Gavin carried a suitcase, his other hand deep in his pocket.

“He didn’t tell me how you know each other.” Danny studied them both, watching their reactions.

Laura looked like she was trying to figure out how to explain. “He’s um, a friend. I’ve been working for him for the past few weeks.” She looked as though there was a whole lot more to things than she said. Her right eye twitched, a sure sign she’d left something out.

When she opened her mouth to try again, Gavin spoke first. “I was starting to think we worked for you, as efficient as you were at keeping us in line.”

Danny laughed even while wondering what really lay between this man and Laura. Something decidedly more than friendship. “She does tend to be that way. I’m glad to see amnesia didn’t change her too much.”

“Laura’s been a real asset to our business,” Gavin said and Danny took the bag he held out, his curiosity growing by the second. “As soon as she got home, Megan collected a few more things for you. She wanted me to bring them by. I know they’re Adrianna’s, but,” he shrugged. “It’s not like anyone else will need them.” He mumbled the last bit, as though thinking better of it.

Laura reached out and took Gavin’s hand. “Tell her and Jake thanks for everything, and please tell him I’m so sorry. I wish I’d had a chance to talk to him, but he’s probably not ready yet.”

Gavin nodded, then released her hand slowly. “He’s pretty broken up. It’s been an eventful couple of months, hasn’t it?”

All of the joy was gone from Laura’s eyes now. “Thanks for everything you’ve done. You’ve really helped me through. Take care of yourself and give Aiden a hug for me.”

“I will. The office won’t be the same without you.” His eyes lingered a while before he turned toward Danny. “Take care of her. She tends to try to do too much at once.” He looked back at Laura. There was a long moment of silence before he spoke. “Megan said to remind you to keep in touch.”

She nodded slightly. “I will. Everyone’s been so good to me. I can’t tell you how much I appreciate it. Especially considering . . . everything.”

The moment lengthened and Danny was about to interrupt the tense silence when Gavin asked, “Where’re you going?”

Laura looked at Danny. He hadn’t had a chance to tell her.

“Junction City. Our families live there. Her mom will be anxious to see her again. I sent my parents over there to break the news. They’re just waiting for me to verify that this is Laura first.” He tugged on her short-cropped hair, trying to lighten the mood. “It about killed me to stick to the speed limit on the way here.”

“Oh, please! As if you ever went the speed limit!” Laura nudged him with her elbow.

“I’m hurt you could say such a thing.” He put a hand over his stomach as if she had given him a mortal wound. Her nudge wouldn’t have irritated a bug.

Laura just rolled her eyes and looked back at Gavin.

Gavin’s mouth tightened and he nodded. “Good luck with everything. I hope it works out for you.” With a half-hearted wave, he left.

After she watched the other man walk away, Danny saw the tears in Laura’s eyes and pulled her into his arms, cradling her face against his chest. It reminded him of holding Tia while she cried—a completely different experience. “Hey, sweetie, it’s okay. It’s going to be okay.” He rubbed a hand down her head and cupped her neck, letting her cry it all out. He let a tear or two of his own fall, then wiped them off before she could see. It was so good to have her back.

When she finished, Laura pulled away and laughed as she saw the big wet spot on his shirt. “You’re going to need a towel after that one.”

He’d been aware of the spot for some time. He smoothed the hair back from her face. “It’ll dry. It’s not like my clothes haven’t soaked up your tears before.”

“I’ve always been a baby, I know.” She gave him a wobbly smile. “Thanks for loaning me your shoulder.”

“It’s my pleasure. Really, after thinking you were dead for almost three months, it’s great to have you leak all over me.” He moved away half-heartedly as she reached out and smacked his arm. “Now, perhaps we should head out. Have you been discharged?”

“I was waiting for you. They wouldn’t let me out on my own, and since I had no idea where to go . . .”

“Come on.” He shouldered her bags and led her out of the room. “So, about Gavin, you two seemed . . . chummy.” His powers of understatement sometimes astounded him.

“Chummy? He barely spoke to me.”

Danny sent her a look of disbelief. The walls practically vibrated with something special that ran between the two of them.

She explained, “We had a date last night, it was a lot of fun. We were supposed to go out again tomorrow, but I guess he’s changed his mind.”

“It didn’t look that way.” Was she trying to fool him, or did she honestly believe it? “You know me, I’m generally oblivious, and even I noticed something between you. He may not have said much, but those puppy dog looks he sent you spoke volumes. And when he came to tell me about you, he seemed pretty protective.”

She flicked that possibility away. “Regardless, it’s not like we could have a romantic relationship now. It’d be way too weird.”

He didn’t understand, but that was fodder for another conversation. There’d be plenty of time to grill her once they got in the car.

* * *

Tia put the kids to bed, then cleaned up in the apartment. Danny had said he and Laura were close friends. How close—exactly—was close? Carrie had insinuated it was quite a bit closer than he indicated. And why now when she’d finally met someone she wanted to get to know much better, did all of this come up? Had he and Laura been an item before? As if it weren’t bad enough he had to break their date the next day, it was so he could spend time with another woman.

And was she being completely stupid? Did she have a right to be jealous? It had only been a few dates, and one, okay, two kisses that blew her mind. She had too much going on in her life to allow herself to stress over a man—one she’d barely started dating, anyway. A man she’d really started to trust.

She let out a huff of irritation. She hated it when she kept going over old ground. Determined to forget it for a little while, she sat back at the computer and began working her way through more searches on the five remaining women who could be her parents’ daughter.

What did that make her—not a sister, not even a relative in any way, yet if Tia managed to narrow it down to the one woman who had been switched with her, then they would share something few other people would be able to claim. Would Tia want to share it with Claire, Lisa, Paula, Lois, or Rashelle? If Tia told them the truth, would they care? Would it be good for them? Bad? Would they love or hate Wes, would he hate her forever for searching? Should she let it go right now?

What if she checked and none of them looked like they could be the right woman? What if she even contacted them, and they all had tests done, and it was none of them? Would it mean she’d made a mistake with one of the other families she’d eliminated, or was she looking in the wrong place to begin with?

Changing gears, Tia began an internet search under the key words ‘baby switching.’ She found out there had been over 101 reported instances of switched infants in U.S. hospitals in the past twenty years. Then she learned the reported number was estimated to be far lower than the actual instances. She kept digging and tried some different key words. Eventually she came up with a bulletin board dedicated to support people who have been switched or had a family member switched.

Fascinated, she joined the group and began to read up.