Bachelor Dad Read online

  “Since you’re Sophie’s caregiver, you should know what I’ve determined,” Jules told her. Leaning down to Sophie, she whispered in her ear and the little girl skipped across the patio to where Noah was playing with his friend Kirby.

  “Is she all right?” Garrett asked immediately.

  Jules’s smile was comforting. “If you mean is Sophie’s silence permanent, my professional guess is that it isn’t. You did say that Paige checked her out thoroughly and found no damage to her hearing, right?”

  Garrett nodded. “She can hear, plain as day. She just won’t talk.”

  “She giggles and laughs,” Libby added, “especially when she’s playing with Noah. And I’ve heard her humming, too.”

  Jules turned to look directly at Garrett. “You have no idea of what her life was like before her mother sent her to you? Where they lived? If anyone lived with them?”

  Garrett shook his head as he lowered it. “None at all. I walked into my office and there she was, with a short letter from her mother, telling me Sophie was my daughter and she was giving her to me to raise.”

  “It was a shock, I’m sure, and I know you’re worried. I would be, too, in the same situation. Is there anyone you can get in touch with who might know something? About her mother, at least.”

  “Maybe Sophie’s grandmother,” he answered. “But I can’t even be sure of that. I only met her once, and that was by accident. She and Sophie’s mother weren’t close.”

  “Do what you can,” Jules encouraged him. “All I can tell you is that she simply isn’t ready to speak yet.”

  “But you think she will?” he asked, a hopeful note in his voice.

  “I’m positive she’s choosing not to talk. I don’t know why, but it could be a trust issue. Maybe when she feels she can trust you or Libby she’ll speak. I suspect it’ll happen when you—and Sophie—least expect it, so don’t be surprised when it does—or doesn’t happen.”

  “I’m sure you’re right,” Garrett told her, then turned to Libby. “I guess we’ll just go on as we have been.”

  With nothing else she could do to help, Libby offered him an encouraging smile. “We’ll give it time,” she said, and turned to Jules. “Thank you.”

  Jules pressed a hand to Garrett’s arm and the other hand to Libby’s. “Anytime. I’m always here, if either of you need me.”

  For a brief second, Libby was tempted to speak privately with Jules about her past, but the moment was gone in a breath. Sharing any of what had happened that led her to Desperation could too easily be a mistake. Her past would have to remain a secret.

  GARRETT DIDN’T FEEL A WHOLE lot better after talking with Jules, but he swore he would stop worrying so much and let Sophie choose her time to speak. In the meantime, he’d remain positive that she would.

  As the group of friends was called to the buffet table set up on the patio, Paige and Tucker arrived. Garrett hurried over to pull his sister aside and tell her what Jules had said.

  “I’m glad you checked with Jules,” Paige told him. “Just give Sophie some time. I know it’s hard, but she’s a healthy little girl. She needs to get to know you, that’s all. Now, is that Libby I see at the table?”

  “It is,” he answered, leading her to the group filling their plates. “It took some doing, but I managed to convince her to come tonight.”

  “Good for you. And it looks like she’s having a good time.”

  Garrett watched as Libby laughed with Nikki MacGregor, Tanner’s sister.

  “Hey, Garrett.”

  Garrett turned to see Morgan Rule approaching. “No cuts, Sheriff,” he joked. “You know that.”

  Morgan chuckled and gave him an easy punch on the arm. “One of the drawbacks of being a lawman, I guess. And speaking of the job, when you have a few minutes tomorrow, could you come by the office? I need to talk to you about the Skinner thing.”

  Garrett sobered immediately. An accident involving teen drinking had left a fifteen-year-old paralyzed, and some in the town were out for blood when it came to the driver. Neither Garrett nor Morgan wanted to see anything happen that shouldn’t. “I’ll stop by in the morning, if that works.”

  Morgan nodded. “Is that Libby Carter with my wife?”

  Garrett noticed that Libby was smiling as she held Trish and Morgan’s little daughter. “Yeah, and I think she’s having a good time.”

  “Who wouldn’t? There’s nothing like an O’Brien barbecue for having fun.” Morgan leaned closer. “You two have something going on?”

  Morgan’s question caused Garrett to stare at him. “Nothing. Nothing at all, except she watches Sophie during the day, while I keep an eye on her boy at night while she’s at work.”

  “Sounds like a good arrangement. You made a good choice. She’s a nice lady.”

  “Yeah, she is,” Garrett agreed. But he wondered if everyone there was thinking there was something special going on between him and Libby. Not that he would mind, if they hadn’t been parents, but they both had their hands full. Too full to carry on anything outside of child care.

  He continued to assure himself into the next day that he and Libby were friends helping each other and nothing more. After spending an hour the next morning with Morgan discussing the Skinner case, Garrett decided to see if he could find Shana’s parents’ phone number in the book. With luck, they were still listed as living in Chicago, and he dialed the number.

  Just as he was about to hang up, thinking no one was home, he heard a hello. “Mrs. Dickinson?” he asked.

  “Yes?” The voice was hesitant.

  “This is Garrett Miles, Mrs. Dickinson,” he said, hoping she would remember him. “Your daughter, Shana, and I saw each other for a while.”

  “You’re Sophie’s father.”

  The statement took him aback for a moment. “Yes, yes, I am. I wasn’t sure if you knew.”

  “I told Shana the minute she told me she was pregnant that she should let you know. She didn’t, did she?”

  “No, she didn’t. I only learned a few weeks ago.”

  “Foolish girl,” she muttered.

  He knew Shana and her mother didn’t get along well. Shana’s birth had come as a complete surprise to her older parents. He’d always suspected that when Shana had become hard to handle, her parents had thrown money at her, just so they wouldn’t have to deal with her problems. But that was something he’d put together from pieces he’d heard, long after he and Shana had gone their separate ways.

  “Do you know where Shana is, Mrs. Dickinson?” he asked, physically crossing the fingers on one hand. He needed all the help he could get, even if it was a bit superstitious.

  Nola Dickinson snorted on the other end of line. “The last I heard—I think it was last winter—she was talking about Florida.”

  “Then you don’t know that she’s given Sophie to me,” he said.

  “She has, has she? Good. Sophie needs a stable life. Arthur had a stroke three years ago, and he isn’t doing well. I couldn’t raise Sophie, even though I knew Shana was doing a terrible job of it. From what I heard from friends—never from Shana, mind you—Sophie spent more time with babysitters and her friends than she did with her mother.”

  “I was afraid of that,” he admitted, before he realized he’d said it.

  “You’ll take good care of her, I’m sure,” the woman said. “You seemed like a good, stable man, and I never could understand how you got mixed up with somebody as flighty and irresponsible as my daughter.”

  Garrett couldn’t decide if he should thank her or not. “Just one more thing, if you don’t mind?”

  “I need to get back to my husband, but if you’ll be quick…”

  “Do you know if Sophie had any…I guess you could call it speech problems?”

  “Hmm, well, I did have a friend who told me that she’d heard from someone else that the last time she’d seen Shana and Sophie, oh, a few months ago, Sophie was very quiet. But that’s all I know.”

  “But she talk
ed before that?” he hurried to ask, before she ended the call.

  “Oh, yes.” She sighed. “Shana would put her on the phone, hoping I’d feel sorry and give her the money she wanted. Of course I couldn’t say no to that little girl.”

  “Of course. And you should get back to Mr. Dickinson. Thank you for speaking with me.”

  “Take care of that little girl, Mr. Miles,” she said. “And don’t let her mother get her hands on her again, you hear?”

  “I won’t,” he answered. At least he had a clue as to where to start looking.

  Chapter Six

  Libby slowly opened her eyes and stretched, then looked over at the sleeping child next to her. Dark eyelashes rested on cheeks sprinkled lightly with freckles. The hint of a smile lifted Sophie’s lips as she slept. Libby couldn’t believe how easy it was to take care of her and hoped Noah was half as good for Garrett.

  Sitting up carefully, so as not to wake Sophie from her nap, Libby looked at the clock. Noah would be home from school soon and she needed to get something started for supper. Garrett had told her that morning when he’d dropped off Sophie that he might be later than usual picking her up. He’d talked with Sophie’s grandmother. Although he hadn’t learned much, it had made him more determined to make his daughter legally his.

  After running a brush through her hair, Libby went to the kitchen and began placing the cooled cookies she and Sophie had baked after lunch on a plate for Noah’s after-school snack. She wasn’t aware Sophie had finished her nap until she heard humming coming from the corner where the dollhouse sat. Picking up the plate of cookies, she walked into the living room and knelt next to the little girl. “Would you like a cookie? It’s cool enough to eat now.”

  Sophie looked up and smiled, then carefully chose a cookie from the plate.

  “Next time we’ll decorate them,” Libby said, planning ahead. “But they’re good like this, aren’t they?”

  Sophie nodded as she munched away. Libby ate a cookie, too, as Sophie placed the family in different rooms in the dollhouse. The dolls were a family of four, with a father, mother, boy and girl. What some might think was the typical American family, Libby guessed. It was something she suspected Sophie knew nothing about. Noah’s memories were probably much the same. One-parent families were becoming the norm, and it saddened her. Children deserved two parents. Two good, loving parents. Noah had once had two, but one couldn’t be trusted not to hurt him.

  Shaking the depressing thoughts from her mind, she stood and returned to the kitchen to start supper. It wasn’t long before Noah was home, dumping his backpack on the sofa, giving his mom a hug and then joining Sophie in the corner with the dollhouse.

  Libby had talked with Noah about Sophie and how she didn’t speak to anyone. She’d asked if he thought the little girl was sad or missing her mother. He’d answered no, but she still wondered, and especially about what Sophie’s life had been like before coming to live with Garrett. Just as they were leaving the barbecue on Sunday night, Jules had mentioned that Sophie might never talk about her life before she’d been dropped off with Garrett. She cautioned both of them not to push Sophie, but to let her take the lead when it came to when to talk and what to talk about. Libby understood, and she and Garrett had both agreed that was best, but she knew they would both wonder, nonetheless.

  With nothing to do until dinner, Libby went to her bedroom and straightened the comforter, mussed during Sophie’s nap, then put away a stack of clothes she’d left on a chair after doing laundry.

  She was in the hallway, on her way back to the living room, when she heard Noah talking quietly to Sophie.

  “It’s almost time for dinner,” he was saying. “Where’s the mommy? And the sister?”

  “Here. They’re here and hungry!”

  Libby smiled.

  And then she stopped.

  Had Sophie spoken?

  “Me, too,” Noah said.

  And then Libby heard, “Is the daddy coming home?”

  Libby leaned against the wall, her knees weak with relief and tears of joy in her eyes. Sophie could speak!

  She could hardly wait until Garrett came to pick up his daughter. He would be so happy! The thought had her shoving away from the wall and wiping the tears from her eyes. But before she stepped out of the hall and into the living room, she stopped again, realization hitting her like a boulder.

  She wasn’t supposed to hear Sophie. It had been an accident that she’d overheard. If she were to tell Garrett, he would expect to hear Sophie talk. But Libby had a bad feeling Sophie wouldn’t. When she’s ready, Jules had said.

  The last thing Libby wanted to do was deceive Garrett by keeping the news from him, but she’d been deceiving him and everyone she’d met since leaving Phoenix eight months ago. Both deceptions were necessary, no matter how sad it made her feel to fool people. She was an honest person, but when it came to her past, she couldn’t reveal the abuse she’d suffered, nor could she let anyone suspect that not only had she taken her son and vanished from the home they’d made after the divorce, but she’d had help and couldn’t reveal from whom. And here she was again, considering adding to her list of deceptions. But a question kept running through her mind. If she told Garrett and Sophie refused to speak, he might insist. Could that make Sophie more reticent?

  She was removing the casserole from the oven when Garrett tapped on the door and walked in. Watching as Sophie jumped up and ran across the room to give him a hug, Libby felt a tug at her heart. There might not have been a shout of “Daddy!” heard, but it was definitely implied. In the few weeks Sophie had lived with her father, they’d formed a fierce bond. Libby smothered a sigh. If only she could tell him what she’d heard. But it would be even better when Sophie chose to surprise him.

  Libby placed the casserole on the table. “You’re right on time.”

  Scooping Sophie into his arms, Garrett tossed her onto his shoulder. “You didn’t need to do this.” He nodded toward the table Noah was setting with plates and silverware.

  “I know that,” Libby answered, “but I wanted to. This way you won’t have to worry about getting home and finding something for all of you to eat.”

  Garrett glanced at his watch. “Are you going to have enough time to eat? It’s nearly six.”

  “If I hurry.” She pulled out a chair and sat down.

  The others joined her at the table. Noah and Garrett talked about football and guy things, while Sophie seemed to be hanging on every word. Libby didn’t have time to dawdle and finished eating long before the others.

  “I’ll lock up tight,” Garrett told her at the door as she was leaving for her shift.

  “You haven’t mentioned if you found where Sophie’s mother might be,” she reminded him.

  “It looks like it may be Florida. She’d mentioned going there to her mother a couple of times, often asking for the money to do so, I’m sure.” His mouth turned down in a deep frown and he shook his head. “I’ve hired someone to look into it, but I’m not holding my breath.”

  Libby nodded. He looked so worried and dejected, she wished she could say something to cheer him up. She could tell him about hearing Sophie talking to Noah, but it might do more harm than good. Instead of being overjoyed, he might feel let down, because she chose to speak to Noah first.

  “Maybe you’ll get lucky,” she finally told him, before walking out the door to her car.

  Later, when her shift was over and she was on her way home with Noah in the backseat, after picking him up at Garrett’s, she wondered if she should tell her son she’d heard Sophie. She decided to keep it to herself. If, in a week or so, Sophie still hadn’t spoken to Garrett, she’d talk with Noah. Until then, she’d hope for the best.

  THE NEXT DAY, GARRETT HADN’T heard anything from the agency he’d hired to find Shana. In one respect, he was glad. He didn’t want to deal with a woman who would be so willing to give her child to someone who was virtually a stranger to that child. On the other, his biggest fear
had become that Shana would show up on his doorstep and demand he return Sophie to her. That was something he could never do. He hoped she would never try to be a part of his or his daughter’s life. To insure that would never happen, he wanted her to sign an affidavit, stating that she was giving up all parental rights. Nothing less would do.

  As Libby drove away after picking up Noah for the night, Garrett berated himself for forgetting again to ask her about school for Sophie. Shaking his head, he started to turn back inside the house when he noticed the night sky above. He stopped and took a deep breath, the cool autumn air clearing his lungs and refreshing his mind.

  He’d always enjoyed the outdoors. He wasn’t a hunter, although when he was a boy, some of his father’s friends had been. Instead, he’d stuck to other outdoor sports. Baseball and swimming in the spring and summer, then football, basketball, and some hockey in the winter kept him busy year round. He’d played on his college baseball team, but quit when he and his father disagreed over his decision to become a lawyer instead of a doctor.

  It had been the lure of the small town setting, surrounded by the great outdoors, that had brought him to Desperation four years ago. The irony was that he’d not yet taken advantage of the countryside around him. He hadn’t even made time to do much running, something he’d enjoyed in Chicago and later in Cincinnati, where he’d lived for a short time with Paige.

  Standing on the porch, staring at the sky, he suddenly had that eerie feeling that he wasn’t alone. Glancing back into the house, he saw his daughter, dressed in her long nightgown and standing only a few feet away.

  “What is it, Sophie? Did you have a bad dream?”

  Instead of answering, she ran to him and wrapped her arms around his legs, trapping him. Laughing, he picked her up and held her. He looked up at the sky again, the few twinkling stars he could see in the distance seeming to call to him.