Inglath Cooper - The Lost Daughter Of Pigeon Hollow

“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have come.”

Judy waved a hand in front of her face. “Yeah, I know. It’s not pretty.”

Willa tried for a smile. “Have you got a minute?”

“Do you really think I’m going to let you leave without telling me what brought you out here at this hour?” She pulled the door closed and sat down on the top porch step.

Front paws on the dashboard, Sam barked his displeasure at being left in the car.

“So shoot,” Judy said.

Willa sat down, then sighed. “I don’t even know where to start.”

“How about with the date? How was it?”

She massaged the back of her neck with one hand, the tension there a hard knot. “First of all, it wasn’t a date.”

Judy raised a skeptical eyebrow. “By whose definition?”

“All concerned parties. Believe me.”

“Oook-kay. How about starting at the beginning?”

Willa stared at the step beneath her feet. “He came here to tell me I have a father in Lexington.”

Judy’s eyes popped wide. “Whoa.”

“Yeah. I know.”

“Are you serious?”

“He sent a letter saying he knows my mother never told me about him.”

Judy shook her head, pink sponge curlers jiggling. “Why?”

“I have no idea.”

“So what now?”

“Nothing, I guess.”

“Don’t you want to meet him?”

Willa lifted a shoulder. “No. I mean, I don’t know. The whole thing is just too weird.”

“What if he’s rich?”

“Judy.”

“Maybe you’re his only heir, and he wants to leave you the millions he no longer has any use for.”

“The lottery thing again.”

Judy smiled. “All joking aside, of course you have to meet him.”

“Why? What difference would it make now?”

“Because if you don’t, you’ll wonder about it for the rest of your life. That’s a long time to wonder.”

“I’ve managed twenty-eight years without him.”

“But that was before you knew he existed. That changes everything.”

Willa considered the words, wondering if Judy might be right.

“And our delectable Kentucky morsel. Where does he fit into all this?”

“Apparently, he’s an old friend of my—” She broke off there, unable to say the word. “I guess the whole dinner thing was just a big setup.”

Judy rewound a wayward sponge curler. “So you didn’t have any fun?”

“That’s not the point.”

“What’s that old saying? Don’t shoot the messenger?”

“The messenger could have just given me the letter sans the dinner and dancing.”

“Me? I would have preferred his version. You know, Willa, you’re way too young to be writing off the entire male population. Like me, you just picked wrong the first time around. Unlike me, you can still do something about it.”

Willa put one elbow on her knee, palm to her forehead. “I’ve got bigger stuff to worry about.”

“Let me guess. Katie.”

She nodded, miserable. “When I got home tonight, she was packing. She’s planning to quit school and move in with Eddie.”

Judy rolled her eyes. “Hormones must actually leech intelligence from the teenage brain.”

“She’s just so unhappy,” Willa said, shaking her head. “I don’t know what to do.”

“Maybe you’re going to have to let her make the mistake. It’s kind of like quicksand. Once you get out in the middle of it, it’s not that easy to remove yourself.”

Willa stared up at the sky. “I don’t know.”

They sat there for a few minutes, not talking. Finally, Judy said, “Okay, here’s the fix. Go to Lexington, meet this man, and take Katie with you. Get her away from here a while. Maybe that’s all it will take to make her see young Eddie in a different light.”

“She seems pretty hooked on him.”

“That old saying, absence makes the heart grow fonder?” She flapped a hand. “Hogwash. Out of sight, out of mind.”

OWEN HAD BEEN WAITING in Willa Addison’s driveway for a little over an hour when the Wagoneer rattled to a stop behind him. He got out of the Range Rover and waited for her.

She opened the door. A small beagle mix leaped out ahead of her, rocketing toward him like a mini torpedo.

“Sam, no!” Willa called out, jumping from the Wagoneer.

The dog latched his teeth on to Owen’s pants, his four legs planted like concrete columns. He growled and shook his head, looking over his shoulder at Willa for confirmation of his catch.

She bent to rub the dog’s back. “Let go, Sam.”

He did so with reluctance.

“I’m sorry,” Willa said, looking up at Owen. “He’s a little protective.”

Owen reached down and rubbed his ankle. “Is that so?”

“He’s really a teddy bear. Except when it comes to looking out for me. The only flaw is he doesn’t know a good guy from a bad guy.”

Owen let that hang a moment, then said, “At least he spared me my skin.”

She glanced at her watch, gave him a questioning look. “It’s two in the morning.”

“Ah, yeah.” He ran a hand through his hair. “Something’s come up. It’s Charles. He’s in the hospital again.”

Willa stared at him for a moment. “What happened?”

“The doctors are guessing another heart attack. I don’t know very much. But I’m heading back tonight to see him. I was hoping you would come with me.”

“Tonight?” She put a hand to her chest. “I’m sorry. I couldn’t possibly—”

“Look, Willa. I know this is all kind of crazy. I don’t want to sound like I’m pressuring you, but anything could happen. He’s a good man who’s looking to fix something he regrets. Can’t you just give him this chance?”

Her eyes softened. White teeth worried her bottom lip. “Even if I wanted to, I can’t go tonight.” She hooked a thumb at the house. “My sister. She’s having a tough time. I need to be here for her.”

“Sixteenish? Blond?”

“Yeah. Why?”

“She left a little while ago with a couple of suitcases.”

“What?” Willa whirled and ran to the house, taking the porch steps two at a time. The dog was right on her heels, barking like he’d just gotten a good rabbit scent.

Owen followed, opening the screen door and letting himself inside. He could hear her hurried footsteps upstairs, the beagle’s click-click-click behind her.

He waited in the foyer. A minute later, she came back down the stairs, her steps heavy, her expression defeated. He followed her back outside where she sat down on the bottom step of the porch and released a heavy sigh.

“Did you see who she left with?” she asked.

“A couple of guys in an old white Buick.”

“Eddie.”

“Boyfriend?”

“Boyfriend.”

“I take it you didn’t know about this?”