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He heard the sound of a car engine and turned in surprise. “Genevieve?” he murmured. Why would she be dropping by this early on a Saturday morning? Especially since she’d had a late night herself.
“Oh hell.” This couldn’t be good news. Not Drew or Emma.Please, God, he prayed. He scooped AJ up into his arms and began to run. He arrived at the house after theSUV stopped in his circular drive but before Genevieve and her sister emerged from the vehicle.
Willow stood on his front porch, holding a cup of coffee and smiling at him.
Smiling. Not an emergency.Noah relaxed.
“Thanks for breakfast,” Willow said. “Thanks times ten for the extra sleep.”
She held out her arms for AJ, and Noah handed the toddler over, saying, “You’re welcome. Is everything okay? The kids are okay?”
“Yes. I called the Wheelers first thing. The boys are still asleep, and the girls are playing dress-up. They’re all going to story time at the library at two, and I’m picking them up at three.”
“Okay.” Noah and Willow both called hellos to their visitors. Noah studied Willow’s mother and aunt as they climbed the front steps. Genevieve looked stressed when she returned the greeting, he realized. Carrying a tote bag, Helen appeared defiant.That’s interesting.
They all went inside, the dogs darting in first, headed for the mudroom and their food and water bowls. Willow set AJ down, and the toddler headed for the toy box in the corner of the great room. He struggled to pull a bucket of giant building blocks from the box. Willow helped him, then once he was occupied, Genevieve asked her daughter to come sit down next to her.
“I know you wanted to talk to me, honey, but I beg your patience. I need to share some news and, frankly, I have a feeling that whatever you wanted to speak to me about is liable to be impacted by this.”
“Okay,” Willow began and if Noah wasn’t mistaken, her cheeks began to flush. “That sounds ominous.”
“Don’t be concerned,” Helen said. “Just lead me to the bar. I brought necessary supplies.”
Noah stood beside the front door, uncertain whether he should stay or make himself scarce. “Can I help you with anything, Helen? If not, I’ll head out to the workshop to give you folks some privacy.”
“No. Please stay. We could use some ice and glasses. A shot glass if you have one. I’m making Bloody Marys.”
Noah darted a glance toward Willow and saw that her wary gaze shifted between her mother and aunt. Okay, then. He sauntered to the wet bar at the far end of the great room, where he removed three tall glasses from a cabinet and filled them with ice from the ice maker. Next, he set out a shot glass, a cocktail shaker, and a spoon. Then, he sat on the floor beside AJ and began building the boy a tower with the blocks.
“Don’t you want a drink, Noah?” Helen called.
“No thanks. I’m good.”
Genevieve met her daughter’s gaze and began. “I have some information you need to know. About AJ.”
“Oh, Mom,” Willow said with a groan. “What did you do?”
“Well, as you recall, when you first told me about AJ and Maggie’s request, I wasn’t thrilled.”
“How does one forget that little trip to the ER?” Willow replied dryly.
“You know better than anyone how strong maternal instincts are. How we are moved toward protectiveness.”
Helen said, “Oh, Genevieve, don’t drag this out. Cut to the chase, why don’t you?”
“Oh, all right. Maggie lost her son. She has a vested interest in keeping her grandson in her life. But we only had her word that AJ’s mother had no other family, so we thoughtit imperative to establish that as truth. So, we investigated AJ’s mother.”
Having made drinks for the three women, Helen plopped a celery stick into each glass. “We did a DNA test, too. That’s why this has taken so long.”
Some of the color drained from Willow’s face. She slumped down onto one of the bar stools. “Why? He looks just like Emma. He’s Andy’s.”
“Yes.” Helen placed a drink in front of Willow. “He and your children are half siblings.”
Willow stared at her aunt for a long moment. “Wait a minute. You sampled my children’s DNA without my permission?”
“It’s a cheek swab. The test was done anonymously, so there’s no record.”
Genevieve said, “We needed to be sure before we took the next step.”
