“What if…” he trailed off. He couldn’t ask. He could barely think the idea, let alone voice it aloud. His stomach cramped and he bit down a wave of nausea.
Calling on his sniper training, he inhaled deeply through his nose and blew it out slowly through his mouth. A small measure of calm returned, but not enough.
“What if what?” She asked, turning his face to look at her.
He looked down at their entwined fingers. He couldn’t meet her eyes. What would a lovely woman like her want with an ex-sniper who didn’t even have a family? Nothing. That’s what.
“You know what? I think I better just go home.” He tugged his hand.
She refused to release him. “Look at me, Ira. Look at me,” she squeezed his fingers. “I think I get it. You’re worried about the results. Ask yourself this. What if you are related to the Flints?”
Warmth blossomed through him. He liked the Flint family. They were kind and welcoming. They gave him a sense of family and companionship he’d lost with his discharge. Rather than force an answer past the lump in his throat, he nodded.
“What if you aren’t?” she pushed. “Does it matter? Does it change who you are?”
She’d hit the nail right on the head. “I don’t know. That’s the trouble.” The results shouldn’t matter, but they did. Being accused of lying when he honored the truth above almost anything else would cut deep and leave scars almost as ugly as those from his military memories.
“They’ll think I’m a liar and after their money.”
“I didn’t know they had money.” She sounded surprised. “Did you ask for money?”
“No! Is that what you think of me?” He smacked his palm on his thigh and rubbed the sting away.
“Of course not. If you’ve never given any indication you want their money, and you agreed to the paternity test, why would they think the worst? It doesn’t make sense.” Her voice was filled with compassionate logic. Maybe she was trying to be soothing.
“I suppose.” He wasn’t convinced they’d be so kind, not even close.
“So why don’t we take this letter,” she waved it at him, “and go see Robert and Sue. Let them open it. Let the chips fall where they may. You can’t change what is inside here, and you don’t have a way-back machine so you can’t go back in time and not come to visit them. Why not strap on a brave face and get it over with?”
“I could lose everything. My family, my pride.” She was probably right, it was best to get it done, but what if something was wrong? What if his mother was mistaken?” He voiced the last question aloud.
Honey chuckled, a huge smile wrapping her face. Her giggles turned to breathless laughter. Tears of laughter ran down her face. She gasped for air before apologizing. “I’m sorry. It’s not funny, but it is.” She patted his cheek. “Have you looked in the mirror? I mean really looked?”
“Every morning.” His lack of understanding came through in his voice.
“Look now.” She flipped down his visor and opened the mirror. “Look hard.”
He stared in the mirror. Same old face. Scruffy beard, dark hair. A few small scars. “I don’t get it.” She was driving at something, and for the life of him, he didn’t know what.
“Look at your bone structure. Look at your eyes.”
“Same old me.”
“Oh, for Pete’s sake.” She pulled out her phone and fiddled with the screen. “Look at this.” She thrust the phone in his face.
The screen held an image of him alongside Robert and two of his brothers.
“I took this shot the other day. Look hard,” she urged. He recalled the gathering they’d gone to together on one of their dates.
He looked, but didn’t see what she was getting at. He shook his head. They were all dark haired. So what?
“Good grief,” she exclaimed. “You boys could be triplets. And you’ve all got the same eyes. Those Flint green eyes. I suspected a connection the first time I saw you with Robert. Any fool can see it. I didn’t need a DNA test, and neither should you.”
He stared at her. She couldn’t be serious. He looked back at the phone in his hands and tapped the screen before it went dark. He zoomed in on the faces. It was right there, in living color. Four men, all clearly related. If he had stumbled upon this picture, and it was of strangers, he’d know they were family. Beyond doubt. He’d known there were similarities, but their likeness was uncanny.
He blinked stupidly at Honey. “How did I miss this?”
“Beats me,” she grinned. “Half the town is talking about it. Stop being afraid of what you can’t change. Go for it. Open the danged letter. Confirm what we all already know. The truth is right in front of you.”
