A Mother's Secret Read Online Free PDF Page A

if indeed Carson was his biological father. The results of a DNA test might raise more questions than it answered. If Robert Carson had been the love of Jo Fraser’s life, and Daniel, too, was Robert’s son, why had she so clearly favored Adam?
    Maybe it was just me, he thought bleakly, then reminded himself that how his mother had felt about him was history. He was all grown-up and no longer seeking his mommy’s love.
    “Yeah,” he said. “Yeah. I want to know.”
    She nodded in satisfaction, and he felt a shift inside him. There was a link between them, unexpected and even unsettling. Maybe this was what Joe had felt earlier, discovering family.
    Jenny Carson would be his full—not half—sister, Daniel realized. Arrogant Sam would be his half brother, and the pretty blonde smiling at him would be his niece. Half niece.
    Hell, what difference did that make? She’d be related.
    Adam and Joe had been enough for Daniel. Not since he was a child had he craved extended family. But the truth did matter to him. He’d spent a lifetime wonderingwhy his mother had been able to give Adam affection she hadn’t given him, why his father hadn’t cared enough to spend time with him after the divorce. He had to know .
    “Let’s do it,” he said. “But…can we not tell everyone today?”
    They agreed, saving him from an hour of public speculation.
    The two cousins left shortly thereafter, taking the husband and fiancé with them. Daniel pretended to enjoy his coffee a little longer before saying, “Merry Christmas,” a last time and making his getaway.
    Driving home, he was struck by the fact that, assuming all this was true, Robert Carson should have guessed Daniel was his kid. Guessed, and apparently had no trouble staying away.
    So it appeared he had two fathers, the one on his birth certificate and his actual biological father, neither of whom had wanted to claim him.
    Objectively, he knew Carson’s reasons had nothing to do with Daniel himself. Why would they? He’d probably never even seen him. Vernon Kane had, but it wasn’t as if, in photos, Daniel had been an ugly kid. Adam had insisted Daniel was born cheerful and ready to like everyone. His reserve and cynicism were learned, not innate. But at some point Vern had begun to suspect Daniel wasn’t his son.
    It was also true that, for whatever reason, Daniel’s own mother had been less than enthusiastic about motherhood when he was born.
    Occasionally, like now, the knowledge still hurt. Maybe the hurt had a sharper edge today, given this new revelation. Shrugging it off, it occurred to him that now, at last, he might be able to understand why she’d been ambivalent about him. Think of the stress, having to wonder whether he’d been fathered by her husband or her lover.
    Daniel had turned down a street that was gaudily lit with Christmas lights on every house, where Santas and elves and crèches were wedged into small front yards. The sight raised his spirits.
    Hallelujah, he thought. Christmas was officially over.
     

    R EBECCA BEGAN TO RELAX as Christmas came and went. If Daniel had been going to call, he would have done it by now. Clearly, he’d taken the hint.
    She’d blown her worries out of proportion. Okay, he’d given her a passing thought now and again. Nonetheless, in five years, he hadn’t mustered enough interest to come after her. So then they’d run into each other unexpectedly, and on impulse he’d been about to ask her out. He’d likely been thinking—as she unwillingly was, as well—about how good the sex they’d shared was.
    She rolled her eyes. Not good—fabulous. Extraordinary. They had been hungry for each other until the very end.
    That is, when they were together. Those last couple of months, he’d called less and less often. Conversation became superficial. His expression was often brooding when he thought he was watching her unobserved. She had guessed he’d met another woman, someone whose conversation did inspire him