A Father's Vow. Tina Leonard

“What would you say if I told you that Ben Mulholland came to see me yesterday?”

       “That it was an interesting turn of events. How did he look?”

       Carolyn smiled at the teasing tone in Emily’s voice. “He hasn’t changed much in the looks department.”

       “So your heart went pitty-pat?”

       She rolled her eyes. “I met his daughter, and his wife. Ex-wife.”

       “And?”

       “His daughter is sick with leukemia.”

       “Oh, no!”

       “She’s five, Em, and she’s adorable. Precious. Demanding. Wants as much of her daddy as she can get.”

       “Ahem. And your heart…”

       “Went right out the window. I’m waiting to have a blood test right now to see if I’m a preliminary match.”

       “Oh, God, Caro,” Emily said on a sigh. “You were born a trouper.”

       “Don’t tell anyone.”

       “Of course not. But I love you for being brave.”

       Carolyn thought about the lines of anxiety around Ben’s eyes, the tightness around Marissa’s million-dollar lips. “I’m not brave. I’m so afraid I’m looking for an easy way out.”

       “Meaning?”

       “Ben came to me with a case request, and I’m not sure I’m the one to handle it.”

       “And you’re calling me to get the green light.”

       “I’m calling you for a healthy dose of common sense.”

       Emily cleared her throat. “Let me see if I have the picture right. Ben wants you to help him with something, but already you feel the tugging of little heartstrings not just for him, but for his too cute daughter who is very ill. And you’re not sure you can keep your heart from getting steamrolled flat again. So you’re having the blood test done on the improbable chance that you’re a match, so you could give him what his daughter needs and duck out on him.”

       “Without sparing me, you seem to have outlined my dilemma pretty well,” Carolyn muttered.

       “You’re still in love with him.”

       “Would that shock you?”

       “Would it shock me? No. Would it astound me that you finally admitted it? Yes. Beyond words, actually.”

       Carolyn closed her eyes. “Oh, Emily. What a mess.”

       “All right. I think you should have the test and pray for a miracle, for Lucy’s sake. But if you’re not a match, all you can do is talk to Dylan and Lily about the case. They’re the ones who’ll steer you right.”

       She opened her eyes again. “Emily? Do you remember when we first met each other, when we were working at the adoption center? And there were all those kids who needed families, and we always wanted to scoop them into our hearts and love them?”

       “We tried to be pragmatic, though,” Emily said. “If you can’t help Lucy and Ben, you can’t, hon. There’s only so much one person can do.”

       “That’s what I keep telling myself. Only this time, that knowledge doesn’t make me feel any better.”

       “The fact that you’re personally involved is what Ben was counting on, Caro, or he wouldn’t have specifically sought you out. He’s hoping that because you cared about him and Eileen, you’ll do your damnedest to help his daughter. But you can’t save her, Caro. All you can really do is save him by being his friend.”

       Friend. Could she be his friend? Sure. She could do that.

       “Thanks, Em. I feel much better now.”

       “Good. Go get your arm stuck, and let me know what you find out. It’s too easy to work out this neatly, you know. The ex-girlfriend having the one thing the hero desperately needs. It’s too romance novel, but I admire you terribly for trying.”

       Carolyn snorted. “You said I was looking for a cop-out to keep myself from having to fail if I couldn’t solve the case in a satisfactory manner.”

       “I didn’t say that,” Emily told her, “you just did.”

       Carolyn was silent.

       “Besides, what does motivation matter? The cold fact is Lucy needs a donor. So go get tested, and see if you can escape from the past that easily.”

       “Thanks, Em—I think.” She wrinkled her nose and hung up the phone.

       The thought of Ben alone in the world made her open the car door and get out, locking it behind her. On the surface, taking the test seemed like a brave thing to do, but what made her even more afraid was not being able to give Ben what he wanted most.

       Again.

      CHAPTER THREE

      SUPPRESSING ANY lingering reservations, Carolyn called Dylan Garrett on his cell phone the following morning. “There’s a case which has been brought to Finders Keepers,” she told him. “Ben Mulholland wants us to see if there’s any chance he had a twin who was taken from his mother at birth. His mother became suspicious because of the Austin baby ring which was broken. She was also convinced she heard two children crying when she gave birth.”

       “She’s waited all this time to mention that?”

       “Ben believes medication may have jogged his mother’s memory. She was dying of breast cancer and heavily medicated, which he believes helped unlock her memory of Ben’s birth.”

       “Or it could be the confused dream of a seriously ill woman.”

       “Right. But I knew Eileen Mulholland, and she was firmly based in reality. I tend to believe the story’s credible, mainly because of that.”

       “And Mr. Mulholland wants this twin found to make his mother rest easier on her deathbed.”

       “Actually, his mother has already passed away,” she said with a lump in her throat. “It’s his daughter he’s concerned about now.”

       “Because?”

       She sighed. “She has leukemia, and she needs a donor match.”

       “There’s no guarantee the twin could provide one.”

       “Right.”

       “But a missing twin might provide what the bone marrow database hasn’t been able to,” he mused. “Hope.”

       “Ben gave his mother’s story some credence once the shock wore off,” Carolyn said. “If I didn’t know the people involved, I wouldn’t think it very likely. It’s your agency, and your decision to accept or refuse the case—”

       “This is what Finders Keepers does,” Dylan interrupted. “Find the impossible. Start the preliminary search, and let me know what you find out. Lily’s pretty swamped with wedding details, but this is more my area anyway. The first thing I’d do is get on the phone with Jennifer Rodriguez, and pick her brain as to what kinds of files are best and most available for this kind of search. Bounce it off her, and keep in touch.”

       “Thanks, Dylan,” Carolyn said softly.

       “No need to thank me. I know you can handle it, or I wouldn’t have hired you to oversee the office.”

       That wasn’t what she meant. She was grateful he wanted Finders Keepers to take the case. But there was no need to correct his assumption. It meant a lot that he had that kind of faith in her abilities.

       “Don’t worry. You’ll do fine. You’re tenacious when you get into something, Carolyn.”