The Heart Surgeon's Secret Son

“What have you got?”

“Tyler’s mom made me.” He gave a dimpled grin that said otherwise. “I didn’t put up too much of a fight as I figured it would win me brownie points when I start bugging you to get my driver’s permit.”

Kimberly laughed and hugged him again. “I missed you.”

“I couldn’t tell.” His lips twitched in perfect imitation of Daniel.

“Oh, Ryan.” Her eyes watered and she held him tight.

“Mom?” he asked when she didn’t let go.

Kimberly sniffled, trying to get her act together because the Atlanta airport wasn’t the place to break down and spill a fifteen-year-old secret.

“Mom?” he repeated when she still didn’t let go.

Kimberly pulled back, straightened her shoulders and gave a smile that was meant to be brave but wobbled too much to win any awards. “Did I mention that I missed you?”

He gave her a funny look, the one that said he saw more than she was letting on. Then, perhaps sensing she needed it, he leaned over and kissed her cheek. “I’m glad you’re home, Mom.”

“Me, too, Ryan.” She raised the flowers, inhaled their sweet fragrance. “Let’s go get my bags. We have a lot to catch up on.”

That night, Kimberly stretched out on the sofa, listening to Ryan go on and on about the things he and Tyler had done during the week.

She tried to remain focused, but her mind kept slipping back to thoughts of Daniel.

What was he doing? Was he okay? Did he really hate her so much that he hadn’t been able to bear seeing her again? And what about Ryan?

He’d said he was going to seek custody.

With him refusing to see her again, did that mean he’d changed his mind? Or just that he didn’t plan to see her outside the courtroom?

“Mom?”

She blinked, realizing she had no idea what Ryan had been saying.

“You okay?”

Scolding herself for her lack of concentration, she met his gaze. His intelligent eyes said he saw too much and she recalled what she’d told Cathy Clark regarding Peyton.

Not quite able to keep the sadness from her eyes, she smiled softly. “I’m sorry, Ryan. I’m fine. It’s been a long week, that’s all.”

Ryan stared at her, fiddled with the zipper on his fleece pullover, then pinned her beneath a blue stare that was pure Daniel Travis.

“You saw him, didn’t you?”

Fear crawled up Kimberly’s spine. “Saw who?”

“My father.”

She couldn’t suppress her surprised gasp.

“Why would you ask that?” She hadn’t been lying to Daniel when she’d said that Ryan had only asked about him on one occasion. That had been not long after he’d started kindergarten and had been confronted with traditional families. He’d asked about his father, wanting to know why he didn’t have one.

“Grandma told me he left you to go to Boston.”

Grandma? Her mother and Ryan had talked about Daniel?

“That’s why you didn’t want me to go with you, wasn’t it? Because you were seeing him.”