Valhalla Rising (Dirk Pitt 16)

"I was named after Mother," said the young woman. "My name is Summer, too."

The man smiled. "She named me after my father. My name is also Dirk Pitt."

Discovering that Summer, broken in body, had borne him a son and daughter, and then raised them without his knowledge all these years, tore at his heart. He was devastated and jubilant at the same time.

Pitt gathered himself together and stepped forward. He circled his arms around their shoulders and embraced them. "You must forgive me. Suddenly discovering that I have two lovely grown children comes as no small surprise."

"You don't know how happy we are to finally find you, Father," said Summer, her voice on the verge of a sob.

Tears came to everyone's eyes. Both children cried openly. Loren buried her head in her hands. Pitt's eyes watered like overflowing wells.

He took them both by the hand and pulled them into the hangar. Then he stepped back and smiled broadly. "I prefer you call me Dad. We don't stand on formality around here, especially now that you've come to my home."

"You don't mind if we stay here?" asked Summer innocently.

"Is there a dome on the Capitol?" He helped them with their luggage and led them inside. He pointed at the big Pullman car with the letters MANHATTAN LIMITED painted in gold on the side. "You have your choice of four lavishly appointed staterooms. As soon as you settle in, come upstairs. We have a lot of catching up to do."

"Where did you go to school?" asked Loren.

"Summer received her master's from the Scripps Institute of Oceanography. I recei

ved mine in marine engineering from the New York Maritime College."

"I suspect your mother had something to do with your curricula," said Pitt.

"Yes," replied Summer. "She inspired us to go into ocean science."

"A wise woman, your mother." Pitt knew full well that Summer had prepared her children to eventually work with their father.

The young people stopped and stared in astonishment at the collection of classic cars and aircraft in the hangar. "Are these all yours?" asked Summer.

"For the moment." Pitt laughed. "But I think I can safely say that someday they'll belong to the two of you."

Dirk gazed wonderingly at a big orange-and-brown car. "Is this a Duesenberg?" he asked quietly.

"Are you familiar with old cars?"

"I've loved old automobiles since I was a little boy. My first car was a 1940 Ford convertible."

"A chip off the old block," said Loren, wiping her tears.

Now Pitt was really touched by his newly found offspring. "Ever drive a Duesenberg?"

"Oh, no, never."

Pitt put his arm around his son and said proudly. "You will, my boy. You will."