AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“I’m still not sure I’m the person you’re looking for.”
“Frankly, neither am I, but my mother said she met a wildlife photographer at an exhibition of his work in London and then she bought a book of your photographs for my grandmother.” Hearing herself, Harper broke off. She caught Ashton’s gaze and saw reassurance there. “It sounds a bit crazy when I say it out loud.”
“Let me see that photo of your mother.”
Harper pulled out her phone and handed it to him.
LeDay looked at the photo for a long time before speaking. “Penny.”
Penny?
“A beautiful girl.”
Harper clapped a hand over her mouth to smother a wild bubble of laughter. It was weird to hear someone call her formal, inflexible mother a girl. Even weirder to hear a man use a nickname in such fond tones. Penelope hated nicknames. And then Harper remembered.
“Her father used to call her that. He died when she was nine.”
“We spent almost two weeks together. She was quite the mystery. Had never tasted beer before. Couldn’t comprehend how to navigate the Tube. And yet she spoke effortlessly about art, history and politics.”
“My mother is fascinated with current events and the background that shaped them. Sometimes I think she knows more about what’s going on in Washington, D.C., than the journalists.”
“Is she a politician?”
“It’s just her hobby.”
“What do you do in Las Vegas?”
“My family... I manage a hotel. Fontaine Ciel.”
“Fontaine. That’s your mother’s last name?”
Harper nodded. “Did you know she was married when you were together?”
“She didn’t say and wasn’t wearing a ring, but I sensed that might have been the case.” He paused and stared out over the valley. “What gives you the idea that I’m your father?”
“My father... I recently found out the man I believed was my father was out of town in Macao when I was conceived. My mother isn’t the sort of woman to have an affair.” Harper glimpsed LeDay’s doubt and rushed on. “She was married to a man who cheated on her every chance he got, but I know you were the only time she broke her vows.”
“You said you had questions you needed answers to. I don’t know what I can tell you.”
She hesitated. What had happened to the woman who had all the answers? She never entered a negotiation without a strategy for how to get what she wanted. Beneath the table, Ashton’s hand closed over hers, offering support and strength.
“I don’t know what to ask. I thought everything would be clear if I met you.”
Harper had no choice but to fall silent. Meeting this man hadn’t made her confusion disappear. If anything, she was even more lost. As Ashton drew the man out, asking questions about his life in Africa and the magnificent photos he’d taken over the years, Harper listened in fascination and growing dismay. What had she been thinking to come here and expect he would gladly welcome her into his life?
/> His passion for the country of his birth was all-consuming. The wildlife. The ecosystem. He devoted himself to sharing his experiences and by doing so hoped to increase people’s appreciation for the animals and support for his conservation efforts.
A noble cause and one he was ideally suited for. Harper pushed food around on her plate, her appetite nonexistent, and listened with only half her attention until he said something that pulled her out of her thoughts.
“You have two sisters?”
It shocked Harper to think she had aunts she’d never known.
“And a half-dozen nieces and nephews.”
“That sounds lovely.”
She stopped herself from asking for further details. As much as she longed to hear about this family she’d never known, she remembered what it had been like when her grandfather had told her she had two half sisters. She’d initially viewed them as trespassers in her neatly planned life. This must be how LeDay was feeling. She’d descended into his life without warning and how he must resent her intrusion.
