Blindsided (Indigo Love Spectrum) (9 page)

“No. I ate a little something earlier.”

Dahlia sat. “You sounded a bit out of sorts earlier. What’s this about your mother?”

Reese shrugged and pulled on a lock of her curly hair.
“I don’t know. She talked about my father last night.”

Dahlia maintained what she hoped was a noncom
mittal expression as she listened quietly.

“For years I asked her about him, and she sidestepped
every time. It got to the point I stopped asking. But last
night she brought him up, and she’s anxious we meet.
He’s in Denburg.”

“This isn’t a good thing for you? You said you asked her about him. Now’s your chance to get to know him.”

“I’m confused about the timing. She was very evasive, Dahlia. I think something’s wrong with her.”

“Wrong? What do you mean?”

“I think she’s sick.” Tears streamed unchecked down
Reese’s cheeks. “Why else would she want me to meet him?”

“Hey now.” Dahlia pulled a tissue from the box on
her coffee table and dried away the tears. “Reese, don’t
worry yourself needlessly.”

“I can’t help it.” Reese pulled a tissue and blew her
nose. “Something’s going on.”

“I know you’re confused, but don’t let your confusion
stir up needless fears. Do you really think your mother
would keep the fact she’s sick from you?”

“I don’t know, Dahlia. I know something’s up.”

What was up was Gail hadn’t told Reese about her
trip to Uganda. She would visit her friend to find out
why. “What’s up is you’re finally meeting the dad you
always wanted to know,” Dahlia said. “Maybe that might
explain her behavior. This is a change for her, too.”

“She never told him about me.”

“How did you feel to hear that?”

“Surprised. Hurt. I always figured he didn’t want to
be a part of my life because I’m black, and Mom stayed
quiet so I wouldn’t feel bad about being abandoned by
him. I guess I can’t feel that way now.”

“You guess?”

“I’m still black. To find out he has a sixteen-year-old is a shock, but the rest of it . . .”

“You think he’ll have an issue with your race?”

“Don’t you think so?”

Dahlia had to bite her tongue to keep from screaming
“Absolutely not!” Race was one problem Reese didn’t have to be troubled about where her father was con
cerned. Dahlia would have to find a way to get Reese to
lose that worry without divulging her connection to
Norris.

“Your mom wouldn’t want you to meet someone who
had an issue with you. And if your father had an issue,
we’d have nothing to discuss right now, would we?”

“I guess you have a point. Mom said he was a nice
guy.”

“There you go.” Dahlia draped her arm around
Reese’s shoulders. “It’s Saturday, and you don’t need to
w
aste this beautiful spring day fretting, as my grandma
says. Catch up with Diana and go to the mall or some
thing. Be a teenager. When you get to be an old lady of
thirty-six like me, you’ll look back at this time and be
glad you enjoyed it.”

Reese nodded and smiled. “All right, I’ll do that.” She
pulled Dahlia into a hug. “Thank you for talking and lis
tening. It helped a lot.”

“I’m glad. You take care.”

Dahlia showed Reese out and then placed a call to
Gail. The women exchanged pleasantries and agreed to
meet for lunch. Gail mentioned something pressing she wanted to discuss with Dahlia. Considering Norris’s rev
elation, Dahlia didn’t have to wonder about the nature of
the pressing matter.

Following a workout and shower, Dahlia dressed for
her lunch with Gail at Corlino’s Kitchen. The phone rang
as she walked to the door. Dahlia looked over her
shoulder, and after a short debate, decided to answer the
call.

“Hello.”

“Hi, Dee. It’s been a while.”

Dahlia grunted. She would learn to check the caller
ID before answering. “I can’t talk now, Leslie.”

“Are you saying that because it’s me?”

“I’m not particularly interested in talking to you, but
I was heading out the door.”

“You still sound angry,” Leslie said.

Dahlia rolled her eyes, galled by the statement. “You
slept with my husband!” She sucked in a breath in an
a
ttempt to calm her fury. “I have every reason to be angry
with you.”

“It’s been years, Dee. A lot has happened.”

“Not enough. I don’t have time for this right now, but I have your number. When I’m ready to talk, you’ll hear
from me.”

Without another word, Dahlia slammed down the
phone. Memories of Leslie and Jonah going at it like jackrabbits played in her head. She rubbed her temples.
If she needed a deterrent to relationships, that memory
provided it. No strings equaled no hurt, and she would
never allow herself to be hurt again. Tonight, she would
remind Norris why their arrangement worked.

“Don’t all speak at once,” Norris said, when the quiet
around the kitchen table got too loud for him to take.

“You have a daughter?” Ryan said, as Lara stared at
Norris unflinchingly.

“Finally, some words.” Norris pushed aside the cup of
coffee. The vanilla flavor was more than he could stand.
“Yes, I have a daughter. I promise, I’m as surprised as you
both.”

“How could that have happened?”

Norris pursed his lips as he glanced at the belly of his
best friend’s wife. “I think you know, pal.”

Lara touched Ryan’s shoulder. “I think what he’s
saying is that you’re so cautious.”

“Exactly,” Ryan said. “Now you’re saying you have a
baby.”

“No, I didn’t say I have a baby,” Norris corrected. “What I said is I have a daughter. She’s sixteen.”

Ryan’s eyes widened. “Years old?”

“That’s right. Remember back in college—Dr. Gail?”

“Doctor . . .” Ryan’s jaw dropped. “Are you serious?”

“Very.”

Lara turned to Norris. “Who was this Dr. Gail?” She
raised a brow. “You didn’t sleep with one of your profes
sors, did you?”

“
No, Gail is an M.D. She helped me with a baseball
injury.”

“And then you helped yourself to something. You
were in college and she was a doctor. Your Mrs.
Robinson, huh?”

Norris smiled. “Yeah, I guess you could say that.”

“How did you find out about this?” Ryan asked.
“Didn’t she move away?”

“To New York state. But now she’s back in Denburg,
with my daughter. My beautiful daughter.” Norris
smiled.

“You’ve met her?”

“Not yet, but I’ve seen a picture.”

Lara shook her head. “Wow. I can’t believe this.”

“You could have knocked me over with a feather
when Gail told me the news. I don’t know what I’m
feeling more: happy, surprised, or angry. She waited six
teen years to tell me. And get this, in two weeks she’s get
ting married and she and her new husband are leaving for
Uganda for six months to do relief work. Leaving yours
truly to be daddy.”

“She’s giving you time to bond?” Lara said.

“That’s the idea, but only if Reese agrees. If not, she’ll
have someone in place as a guardian and I’ll still have
freedom to see Reese whenever I want.”

“You and Dr. Gail have a child.” Ryan paused for a
moment and raised an eyebrow. “You told your parents
yet?”

“No,” Norris answered flatly. “I don’t quite know
how to break that one to them.”

“
I would think they’d be happy to know they have a
grandchild,” Lara said. “Your brother and sister aren’t
married or seriously involved, and since you’re not
exactly the settling down type, this news should make them happy.”

Norris and Ryan burst into laughter.

“Lara, sweetheart, you have no idea,” Ryan said.

Lara looked from Ryan to Norris and back again as
the chuckling continued. “What am I missing?” she
asked.

“The little fact Dr. Gail is African-American.”
Norris nodded as her surprised gaze fixed on him.
“Your daughter’s biracial?”

“Yes,” Norris answered.

“Hmmm?” Lara rubbed her chin. “What is Reese’s last name?”

“Elders,” he said.

Lara snapped her fingers. “Ryan, I think we know her.”

“You do?” Ryan said.

“Yes. Diana’s friend. The one Justin has the crush on.
Her name is Reese Elders.”

“That beautiful girl? Oh, there’s no way she can be
Norris’s daughter.”

“Ha-ha. The fact you acknowledge she’s beautiful is
all the proof you need to know she’s mine,” Norris
replied. “You say you know her?”

“Unless there’s another Reese Elders in Denburg,
who’s sixteen and has these familiar gray eyes, I think so.
We’ve only met her a couple of times, but since Justin
s
pends so much time at Celeste’s with Billy, he sees her
quite often. He thinks she’s . . . What does he say, Ryan?”

“‘All that,’ dear,” Ryan answered.

“Yep, that’s it. Does Reese know about you?”

“I honestly don’t know what she knows,” Norris
answered. “But if Gail is consistent, Reese doesn’t know
very much. All the more reason I think I should get to
know my daughter before I introduce her to the loving
grandparents.”

Ryan rested a supportive hand on Norris’s shoulder.

“No wonder you were in such a hurry to leave the restau
rant last night,” he said. “You’ve got a lot to deal with.”

“And Reese is just a part of it,” Norris said.

“A part? There’s something else?”

“Sure is, bud. This is the biggest surprise of all.”

“Bigger than having a teenage daughter?” Lara said.
“I’d say so.” Norris smiled as the mere of thought
Dahlia filled his heart with happiness. “I’ve fallen in love.”

* * *

“I’m not late, am I?” Dahlia asked as she settled into the chair across from Gail.

“No, I’m a little early,” Gail answered, closing the
menu. “That’s a lovely blouse. Lime green looks great on
you.”

Dahlia smiled. “Thanks.”

“I’m glad we could meet, Dahlia.”

“Me, too, Gail. I must admit, I had ulterior motives.”

“Really?”

“Yes.”

The conversation halted when a waitress approached
with a pitcher of ice water. Both ordered chicken
parmesan and resumed their discussion when the young
redhead left.

Gail sipped her water. “Ulterior motives, huh? What’s
on your mind, Dahlia?”

“In a word, Reese. She came by my place this
morning.”

“I see.” Gail dabbed her lips and draped the white
linen napkin over her lap. “She told you about her
father?”

“She did. I can’t help but wonder why you didn’t tell her about him sooner. She said she’d asked about him.”

“Countless times,” Gail admitted. “But the timing
wasn’t right to tell her.”

“And it’s right now?”

Gail nodded. “For many reasons, yes.”

“Are you sick?”

“Sick?” Gail’s confusion erased what little doubt
Dahlia had in that being the reason for her sudden need
to tell Reese about Norris. “No, I’m perfectly healthy. Why would you ask?”

“Because Reese thinks you’re sick. You didn’t tell her
about Uganda, did you?”

Gail’s mouth hung open. “How did you know about
that?”