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“I remember a Jessica, but I don’t remember her last name. I met her before I left Lyntacky to study.”
Her heart thudded hard enough to hurt now.
“Um, well, the thing is…” She gulped. “This is not easy for me to say, but I’m her daughter.”
“You’re Jessica’s daughter?” He smiled again. “How old are you?”
“Twenty-nine, sir.”
His smile dimmed a bit, and she guessed that was because he could add a great deal faster than her.
“Maybe you should tell me the rest of your story.”
“I don’t know all of it. My mom died when I was four.”
“I’m sorry about that. From memory, Jessica was a special girl.”
Autumn opened her bag and took out her mother’s diary.
“Before I hand you this, I need you to know that I don’t want to cause trouble. I don’t know if I will find him or not.” Her words came out fast. She didn’t want to say that this man could be her father. He’d come to that conclusion when he read the diary. “I had decided not to do anything, but…” Her words fell away as she looked at his outstretched hand. She opened the book to the page she’d turned down at the corner, then handed it to him.
He read it slowly, and then she was sure he read the words again.
“You know that my name is Asher?”
She nodded. “But I did not know that until today when your sister called your name, and then you introduced her as Robyn. I know that plenty of people have those names—”
“Your mother and I were intimate when she was here. We spent most of her two weeks in Lyntacky together. My sister Robyn and her became friends too—the sister who you look identical to.”
She couldn’t read what he was thinking, which she was sure was an asset in his job. “I— Um, I don’t know what to say.”
He closed the book and handed it back to her. His eyes studied her, searching her face as if he was looking for something. “Well, if we were going on family resemblance, I think we can say it’s a high possibility we’re related, but I think I need you to take a DNA test, Autumn.” His eyes were cooler now.
“I already have one.”
“On you?” He tilted his head to the side as she nodded.
“I always carry it with me. I don’t want to cause you trouble,” she said again.
“I don’t think any of this is your fault. In fact, if I had to lay the blame on anyone, it would be your mom. I would have wanted to know about you if it turns out you’re mine.”
“You’re angry.”
“Wouldn’t you be? It’s not every day you find out you may have a daughter, especially when you don’t have kids.”
I could be his daughter.The thought was terrifying.
She nodded and then looked down at her hands, which were clutching her mother’s diary. She’d have wanted to know him too.
“I’m not entirely sure how to read a DNA test, but I know someone who can. I’ll give him a call. I have mine here.”
“Y-you have one too?”
“My sister wanted me to do an ancestry test. I thought it was foolish. Turns out now it’s damned handy.”
Her stomach was suddenly full of butterflies. Her thoughts went to Ford, and she wished he was here with her. But Autumn was strong. She could do this alone, like she’d done a lot of things in her life.
She watched as he made a call.Was this man her father?It all felt surreal. When he hung up, he got out of his chair and went to a cabinet. Pulling it open, he rifled through and found a piece of paper.
