AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I rang the doorbell and waited for a moment. I looked around the street and thrust my hands into my pockets. But no one recognized me as they passed along the street. I preferred to keep myself out of the limelight as much as possible.
But all the same, I felt wary. And I realized that my caution had been well-placed when the door opened, and I came face-to-face with a bubbly, breathless woman with curly red hair.
She opened the door with a smile and then froze when she saw me. Her mouth hung slightly open.
“I’m so sorry,” I said. “I think I must have the wrong address. This isn’t Jamie Reed’s place, is it?”
“I know you,” she said.
“Oh,” I said. “I’m sorry.” I’d never seen the woman before in my life.
“You’re him, aren’t you?” said the woman. “The helicopter guy.”
I smiled thinly. “Yeah,” I said, trying to look casual. Even though I never managed to look casual about anything in my whole life. “That’s me.”
“JAMIE!” she called behind her. “Your friend’s here.”
“Janine? You, okay?” said Jamie from within the house. I looked over Janine’s shoulder, trying to see if there was a sign of her in there.
Then, finally, she appeared, rounding the corner. She was dressed in a pair of slacks and a sky-blue blouse. She wore sandals on her feet.
She came out of the room, and down the hall, but stopped when she saw me.
“Hi,” I said.
“Eric?” she said quietly.
“I was just in the neighborhood,” I said. “Could we talk for a bit?”
Jamie paused for a second. Janine gave a wry smile and stepped back from the doorway. Jamie folded her arms.
“You couldn’t call?” she said.
“I … uh … it’s important. Can we talk?”
Janine threw Jamie a look, and I knew exactly what it meant.Is this guy bothering you?
“Janine, why don’t you go see where the kids are?” said Jamie. Janine nodded and stepped back, wandering back into the house.
Then it was just the two of us.
“Aren’t you gonna invite me in?” I said jokingly. But Jamie wasn’t in the mood for jokes.
“What are you doing here, Eric?” said Jamie.
“I thought you would have wanted to see me,” I said. But who was I trying to kid?
“I did,” she said. “But you didn’t call. Didn’t tell me anything.”
“I’ve been busy,” I said.
“Well, I’m busy, too,” she said. “Julia’s coming over later and we’re going to take the kids to see a movie. So why don’t you say what you have to say and then you can go?”
Her voice was tense, and her eyes wary. In the cool shadows of the house, I looked at the floor. There was a toy truck there.
I hadn’t had time to think again about it, about any of it. I threw myself into my work so I didn’t want to give any more thought to what the DNA test had revealed. I only knew I was Cassie’s biological father.
“I wanted to talk to you about a project,” I said. “You know I’m manufacturing diamonds now?”
