A Hero for Her Heart (Truly Yours Digital Editions Book 885) (9 page)

“You do?”

He pulled a photo from his pocket. “This is Danny and his grandmother. I e-mailed it to myself and printed it out for you.”

“Wow, look at my handsome son. Aw, his grandma looks sweet.” Sandy glanced up. “Whoa, D-man, I just realized what you said. You got invited to a picnic at their house? How?”

He grinned and saw himself pulling Allie from the horse. “I guess you could say it sort of fell into place.” He explained in detail about the parade, meeting Shannon, playing Scrabble, and being invited to church. Then he explained about Michael and expressed his worry that Paige might recognize the Owens name.

“Maybe. But how many people have the last name Owens? She’d need good reason to tie you to Danny. Do you have a picture of Allie?”

Just the mention of her name sent a rush of adrenaline through his veins. “No, I don’t.” Derrick squinted at the photo for all the diversion was worth.

“I see. And she’s not married?”

“No.” Derrick massaged his forehead, hiding his eyes from his sister. Their relationship had always been close because they were together so much as children, tended by a nanny while their parents worked long hours. That bond gave them rare and precious insight into each other’s thoughts.

“Danny,” Sandy said softly. “Like Daniel, the Old Testament prophet. A man with great faith and conviction.”

Derrick nodded. “His eyes are dark like ours.”

“Danny’s family are good people then.”

“Real good people. Danny’s Aunt Allie and his granny love him. . .adore him. But they’re struggling financially.” Derrick looked directly into her eyes. “A big part of me wants to do something. Intervene. He’s family. He’s our blood. I want him to know, and I want to help take care of him.”

Sandy shook her head violently. “Derrick, no. The family has been through so much. A boy losing his parents and then just when he finds out he’s got a biological mother, she dies, too? That would be cruel. And then there’s Dad. If he found out, there would be no peace for Danny’s family.”

Derrick said nothing. Knowing Danny as short a time as he had, he wasn’t sure the boy would struggle, at least not for long. But Sandy was right about their father. “I feel dishonest. And now I have to go back.”

Her mouth fell open. “You’re going back?”

“Yes.” Derrick clarified about the Vahns’ land. “Danny phoned me on my way here. He invited me to his birthday party next Saturday night. I’ve woven a tangled web.” Derrick couldn’t help but think of Sir Walter Scott’s words, “
Oh what a tangled web we weave when first we practice to deceive.”

Sandy was quiet for a moment, then drew a ragged breath. “It’s risky, you know, but the land is a good way to help them. And I know you want to see Danny again. I want to see more pictures if you can get them. Close-ups.”

“The Vahns could discover I’m a fraud, I suppose.” A big part of him wished it would happen and save him the pain of an explanation. The more time went by, the harder it was to keep up the subterfuge.

Derrick squeezed Sandy’s frail hand. “Are you sure you don’t want them to know? I mean, the way you gave up Danny. . .I’m not sure it was on the up-and-up. At the very least, it was coercion. They took advantage of a young, drug-addicted woman.”

“We’ve talked about this. No.” Sandy’s voice was surprisingly strong. “ ‘In all things God works for the good,’ you know.”

Strange, Shannon had said the exact same thing.

“The thing is, D-man, I couldn’t have cared for Danny at the time. I was living on the streets. And I was on the outs with Mom and Dad and was afraid to face them with my story. Now, looking back. . .well, he wouldn’t have been raised in a Christian home. Mom and Dad weren’t. . .aren’t. . .”

“I know.” He and Sandy prayed for their parents. They thought their childrens’ conversion to Christianity was an annoying but passing phase. “Remember when Dad said we were in a cult?”

Sandy laughed and shook her head. “Oh, it’s not funny really.” She pointed at him. “Have Pastor Clark officiate at my funeral. If anybody can bring down the conviction of the Holy Spirit. . .” Sandy’s face lost all animation. “Seriously, if Mom and Dad hear him preach, they’ve got a real chance of coming to the knowledge of the saving grace of Jesus.”

“If Jesus takes you home, I’ll do that.”

“ ‘If,’ huh?” Sandy blew out a long sigh. “There’s no ‘if’ about it.”

Derrick wanted to argue, but he couldn’t. Instead he vented his anger at the disease that was killing her. “Why cancer? You could have fought the hepatitis.”

“I talked to the doctor about that. Hepatitis makes a person more vulnerable to lymphoma. Talk about reaping what you sow. I was in such a drug haze back then. I didn’t care about anything but my next fix.”

She grabbed his hand. “I was a fool. I didn’t even know who Danny’s father was. Could’ve been anyone, probably a dealer. I was a charity case in drug rehab. Scared to death. But God watched out for Danny. Cindy came along. She was a volunteer nurse at the clinic. She wanted a baby badly. Said she and her husband had been trying for a long time. She said if I agreed, she would adopt my little boy, and she seemed like an angel at the time. I never saw Cindy again, and before Paige disappeared, she gave me that picture I lent you.”

“I’d still like to tell them the truth, sis.”

Sandy raised his hand to her cheek. “Remember Danny’s namesake? God protected Daniel even in the lions’ den. His grace is sufficient. I’m dying, Derrick. Please let Danny be. God will take care of him.” A little twinkle lit her eyes.

“Now what?” Derrick frowned. “You’re up to something.”

“Tell me about this Allie. I think you find her attractive.”

Derrick leaned back on the bed and huffed out a sigh. Just as he’d dreaded, Sandy had seen through his facade. “It doesn’t matter. She can’t know who I am, remember?”

Sandy’s smiled died. “Yes, that’s true.”

“I’m invited back next weekend for Danny’s birthday party, and I’m going to inspect their property and see what I can do for them. Then I’m going to disappear from their lives.”

“I’m sorry.” Tears came to Sandy’s eyes. “I can tell you like this woman. Maybe more than like her?”

Derrick shrugged. “There are lots of women.” His statement was ironic. He’d always said that after ending relationships in the past because no one had ever captured his heart. But this time the words felt hollow. Allie wasn’t like the others. For the first time in his life, he realized he was truly capable of falling in love—deeply, madly, and forever.

Ten

On Tuesday afternoon after she’d shoed the Armstrongs’ two palominos in preparation for a show, Allie sat in her truck and consulted her planner. As she scanned her to-do list, she nodded. “Looking good.” She and Ma had worked out their schedules with Mary, the mother of one of Danny’s friends, so he could be cared for while Ma trained at Shannon’s shop.

Shannon. What would she do without her best friend? Tears pricked the backs of her eyes, and her nose burned. Another loss. It seemed the Lord saw fit to strip her of everybody and everything she’d given her heart to.

Allie drew a breath and shook her head. She was just feeling sorry for herself. She still had Ma and Danny. They were more than enough to be thankful for. They were her life. Her reason to get out of bed in the morning and keep going.

She swiped a tear from the corner of her eye, returned her attention to the planner, and groaned. She had to check on Eddieboy, Frank Johnson’s cranky pony, who was recovering from a bad case of thrush caused by a poorly cleaned stall. Frank, who was almost as cranky as his pony, could have treated the thrush himself, but Eddieboy was not cooperative, to say the least—one of the reasons he was often left to his own devices in his polluted stall. He had an enormous set of teeth and wasn’t hesitant to use them.

Allie tossed the planner on the passenger seat and started down Highway 12. If she survived her encounter with Eddieboy, she’d call on Raymond Connor. He ran a stable of trail horses and had given the Vahns business for years. But after Luke died, Raymond had moved on to another farrier. He didn’t believe women should be farriers, let alone work
outside
the home. Losing the man’s business had been a hard financial blow. If only she could convince him that a woman was just as capable as a man.

“Good luck with that.” Allie flicked the turn signal and hung a right.

So much to do today. She would stop at the bakery between her other appointments to ask if they were on top of Danny’s cake.

And last. . .she didn’t have to look at the planner to see what she wanted to avoid at all costs. She’d prefer to deal with Eddieboy and his teeth than to hear that deep voice and try to act casual.

Return Derrick’s call.

What luck that she’d been in the middle of an appointment when he’d phoned. Last thing she needed was to be caught off guard with nothing clever to say.

Allie grabbed her cell phone from her purse. She’d already heard Derrick’s message, but she wanted to hear it again. “Hi, Allie, this is Derrick. I’ve got a quick question for you. Call me back.”

She sucked in a breath. His deep voice. . .the way he spoke her name. . . An involuntary chill raced up her spine.

“Call me back,” Allie repeated. As though any single woman in her right mind wouldn’t return Derrick Owens’s calls. The man was not only self-confident and good-looking, but also nice. Which is precisely what drew her to him and scared her all at once. She shouldn’t waste her time. He was most likely only after her land. And she couldn’t really fault him for that. He was a businessman. But he had the courage to save her at the parade. That said a lot for the kind of person he was.

Allie glanced at the clock on the dashboard. She wasn’t due at the Johnsons’ for an hour. Plenty of time to call the tall, dark hero.

She pulled her truck over to the side of the road, threw the gearshift into P
ARK,
and rubbed her thumb over the clouded glass on her cell. Derrick was probably calling her with an offer. She’d either accept or reject. Nothing more to it. Then he’d walk out of her life.

“Oh, for Pete’s sake.” She had to grow up. Allie snapped on her headset, drew a breath, then dialed Derrick’s number.

After three rings, her shoulders relaxed. He wasn’t going to answer. She could leave a message and—

“Hello.” Derrick’s voice sounded close and intimate and sent a shiver of pleasure down her spine.

“Umm, Derrick. This is Allie. Allie Vahn.”

“Allie.” Was she imagining the smile in his voice? “I’m glad you called me back. I have a question for you.”

“Sure. Fine.” She readied herself for the worst. “Is this about selling my property?”

“No.” Derrick laughed. “I want to get Danny a birthday present, and I wondered what he’d like.”

A birthday present? Of all the things Derrick could’ve asked, this hadn’t been on her radar.

“You don’t have to do that.” What was he really getting at? “Between myself and Mom and Danny’s friends, he’ll have plenty of—”

“I know I don’t have to, but I want to. I’m not going to show up without a gift for him.”

“Show up?” Allie pressed her hand to her heart. “Show up where?”

After a long silence, she shook the phone. Had their connection been severed? “Derrick, you there?”

“Yeah, um, this is awkward.” Another pause. “On my way home on Sunday, I got a call from Danny. He invited me to his party. I assumed you knew.”

“He called you?” Where had Danny gotten Derrick’s phone number? Aha! The business card on the fridge. Smart boy. Wait till she got her hands on the kid.

“I’m sorry,” Derrick said, “this should’ve been cleared with you first. I won’t come.”

“What? No, it’s fine.” Her heart hammered as hard as the day she’d nearly been thrown from Chester. “Danny invited you. But I want you there, too.” Allie clamped her hand over her big mouth. What had possessed her? Heat traveled from her neck, into her cheeks, stinging the tips of her ears.

“Are you sure?” The softness of his voice seemed to suggest a deeper question. But she could be hearing what she wanted to hear.

She summoned her most casual tone. “Of course Danny wants you there or he wouldn’t have called.”

“As long as you’re okay with it, I—”

“Of course. It feels like you’re a friend of the family already.”

“Thanks for that. So. . .any gift ideas? I’m not up on the latest for nine-year-olds.”

“Hmm, I’m getting him a handheld game system. How about you get him a game to go with that?”

“Easy enough,” Derrick said, and the background noises suggested she should make a graceful exit.

Allie cleared her throat. “I guess—”

“I’ve got to—”

They spoke at the same time.

“Sorry.” Derrick laughed. “You first.”

“I was just going to say I have an appointment, and I guess I’d better go.”

“Sure thing. I’m about to head out to a meeting with a client who might be interested in your property.”

“Oh, that’s great,” Allie lied.

They exchanged good-byes, and Allie snapped her phone closed. “What’s wrong with me?” She rested her head against the steering wheel. Derrick ended the call with business, taking all the wind out of her sails.
Not that you’re in the market for a man,
she reminded herself.

Allie shifted the truck into D
RIVE
and headed toward her next appointment, her stomach aching and a dull throb in her head. Even if she couldn’t save herself from her foolish emotions, she had Danny’s feelings to consider. The poor kid had attached himself to any father figure she’d brought home. Derrick Owens had been in town to find land for a developer. She had Danny and Ma to consider. Time would tell if Derrick became anything else.

“Lord, if Derrick’s got a fatal flaw, please reveal it to me. If he’s nothing more than a real estate agent selling our land, please intervene and don’t let us all get attached to him.” Her prayer was heartfelt. Ever since Pastor prayed for her at the picnic, she’d found herself more expectant about God’s answers. Slow but sure, she was beginning to give her life back to the Lord. To trust Him.