Blindsided (Indigo Love Spectrum) Page 6

  “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 professors, 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 sixteen years to tell me. And get this, in two weeks she’s getting 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 spends 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 restaurant 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?”

  Dahlia grunted. Sometimes her mouth got ahead of her head.

  “The only person I told was . . .” Gail gave her a pointed look. “You know Norris,” she said.

  Dahlia nodded. “Yes, I know him.”

  “Well, well. That’s a surprise.”

  “No more than learning you share a past with him.”

  “You two must be pretty close for him to tell you about Reese and me.”

  Dahlia reached for her water glass and drank. The last thing she wanted was to be grilled about Norris and forced to think about feelings she shouldn’t be feeling. “It’s not what you think, Gail,” she said.

  “Oh, no? What am I thinking?”

  The waitress returned to the table with steaming breadsticks and salad. Dahlia breathed in the scent in of the freshly baked bread. Today food would be a welcome distraction.

  She reached for a breadstick. “These are delicious.”

  “You’re avoiding my question,” Gail said.

  “Not at all. Norris and I are . . .” She thought long and hard as she searched for the right answer. Acquaintances? No. You wouldn’t tell an acquaintance a significant secret. Lovers? Uh-uh. Too much information. “We’re friends,” she said.

  “Friends?”

  “Well, friendly. He’s a friend of a friend. I’m going through an audit, and my client Lara Andrews is married to his best friend, so she recommended Norris to me.” That wasn’t a lie, she just didn’t mention meeting Norris prior to the recommendation. “Now, back to Reese,” Dahlia said. “Why didn’t you tell her about Uganda?”

  �
��I’m trying to ease into it.”

  “She thinks you’re dying, Gail. Easing isn’t working.”

  “I knew this would be hard, but not quite this hard.”

  “You have to talk to her.”

  Gail pushed the salad around with her fork. “I know.”

  “You said there was something you needed to discuss with me,” Dahlia said. “I imagine it’s about Reese and Norris.”

  “Yes.” Gail dropped the fork to the plate. “I have a huge favor to ask of you, and as much as I want you to agree to it, I don’t want you to feel pressure.”

  “Sounds serious.”

  “It is,” Gail said. “I might want you to take custodial guardianship of Reese while I’m in Uganda.”

  “Custodial guardianship?”

  “I know this must come as a surprise, but I trust you and Reese adores you. We’ve known each other for years, and . . .”

  “Wait,” Dahlia interrupted. “What about Norris?”

  “I want him to spend time with Reese, and her living with him would be ideal, but I can’t force a father/daughter relationship between them. Their closeness is going to take some time, and if Reese doesn’t want to live with him, I wanted her to be with an adult she was close to. Knowing you and Norris are . . .”

  “Friends,” Dahlia readily said.

  Gail smiled. “Friends. I think your presence will be even better. You’ll be a bridge for them. Being friends of his friends is a plus. Reese will have more people to help with this transition. So, will you be that second option?”

  “This is a big deal, Gail, but I understand the importance of Reese and Norris getting to know each other, and I want to help however I can.” She nodded. “Yes, I’ll be her guardian if she doesn’t want to stay with Norris.”

  Gail squeezed Dahlia’s hand. “Thank you. Worrying about Reese is a given, but now I won’t be quite as worried.”

  “Are you going to talk to her tonight?”

  “Yes, I’m going to tell her everything. Now, you tell me everything.” Gail smirked. “What’s with you and Norris?”

  “There’s no me and Norris.”

  “ ‘The lady doth protest too much.’ ”

  “No protesting. It is what it is. He’s helping me.” Gail laughed. “I’m sure.”

  “The story is you and Norris. How did that happen?”

  “It just sorta did.”

  “He told me you were his E.R. doctor.”

  “I was. And a few days later we were playing doctor.” Gail chuckled. “Bet you didn’t expect that from your Sunday school teacher.”

  “Not at all.”

  “Norris was so attractive, young and hormone-driven. My biological clock kept me awake nights, and when I saw him that loud tick was silenced. I used him. He was my unwitting accomplice in becoming a parent.”

  “You didn’t feel bad about not telling him?”

  “Not at the time. He was twenty, and nowhere near ready to be a parent. I didn’t want nor expect him to be.”

  “You just wanted a sperm donor. You tricked him.”

  “I’m not going to apologize for wanting a child. And I wanted to see the actual father, not a little vial. I should have told him, but he wasn’t ready for the responsibility of fatherhood, and I didn’t want to thrust him into the role.”

  “But you want to now?”

  “A lot of years have passed, and I know I was wrong. Norris has grown up, and from what I can tell, he’s settled down. When I talked to him yesterday, I knew something in his life had changed, and now I know that change is you.”

  Dahlia sighed deeply. Was she wearing some invisible sign that said ‘mention the feelings I don’t want to think about?’ “Gail, why do you keep . . .”

  “You can deny it all you want, but you and Norris are more than friends, and pretty soon you’ll have to deal with it.”

  Don’t I know it. Dahlia pinched off a piece of bread and popped it into her mouth. Don’t I know it.

  Chapter 7

  Norris bounced the basketball over to Ryan, but what he really wanted was to throw it at his face. From the moment he confessed to falling in love, Ryan had been wearing a goofy grin, and after two hours, Norris was a little sick of it.

  “Maybe next time I won’t share such pertinent life information with you.” Norris frowned at Ryan. “You want to stop grinning already?”

  Ryan chuckled as he dribbled around the concrete half-court in the backyard of his spacious two-year-old house. He circled around Norris and tossed him the ball. “Say it again. Say ‘I’ve fallen in love.’ ” Ryan’s smile grew wider. “Mmm, mmm, mmm. There’s something about hearing those words coming from you.”

  “When did Lara say she’d be back?”

  “Just before Sue gets back with Angelica. And since Justin’s with her, we’ll have all this bonding time to talk about your love. Umph.” Ryan shook his head. “Your love? I never thought I’d be using those words about you.”

  “Me, either.” Norris shot a midrange jumper that found the bottom of the net with a soft swoosh. “Norris Converse does not fall in love. At least he didn’t before Dahlia Sinclair.”

  Ryan rebounded the ball and laid it back up. “How did that happen?” He passed the ball back to Norris.

  “I don’t know. The last couple of weeks, I’ve just been thinking about her more. When I’m awake, when I’m asleep. I want to make up excuses to call her, and I don’t need excuses.”

  “Because of this arrangement you have?”

  Norris’s shoulders slumped. “Yes.”

  “Why do you say it like that?”

  “Because it’s not about sex for me.”

  Ryan raised a curious brow. Norris tossed the ball back at him and walked over to the picnic table a few feet away. “It’s about more than sex,” he said, sitting on the edge of the table.

  “How do you know?” Ryan rolled the ball under the table and sat on the other end. “How do you know you’re in love?”

  “I told her about Reese before I told you.”

  “You were stressed and seeking comfort sex.”

  “I didn’t sleep with her.”

  Ryan’s brow lifted. “Come again?”

  “Being with Dahlia last night wasn’t about sex. I wanted to talk to her. I needed to tell her about my daughter. Last night was the most incredible experience I’ve ever had in my life, and I was fully clothed the whole time. We talked, and laughed, and listened to each other. I’ve never felt so close to a woman. I need Dahlia, and that—that’s scary.”

  “Oh, my—” Ryan’s eyes widened. “You are in love.” Norris nodded. “Yes, I am.”

  “When are you going to tell her?”

  “I don’t know if I can, or should.”

  “You love her. Why not tell her?”

  “Because our arrangement is what it is. It’s not about feelings. It’s not supposed to be. I’m in love with her, but I don’t know that she’s in love with me.”

  “You think she could be though, right?”

  “I want to believe it, but like Lara said, Dahlia’s had a lot of hurt in her life. That’s why she’s turned off on relationships. She’s confident, but a little bit afraid. She’s lost a lot of weight, and I think a part of her doesn’t think she’s worthy of love because her husband cheated on her. Talking with her last night told me the pain is still there. I’m not exactly Mr. Commitment. How can I want her to love me, to ask that she love me, when I know it will hurt her?”

  “I . . . I can’t believe what I’m hearing from you. I never doubted you were capable of love, but I never believed you would realize it. Norris, you love Dahlia, and you need to tell her.”

  “It’s not that simple, Ryan. It’s not just me anymore. For Dahlia to be with me the way I want her to be means she has to embrace my daughter. A teenager I’ve never met.”

  “But the fact you want Dahlia in your life as more than a pit stop is huge. You know what you want, Norris, and you’re not a man used to not getti
ng what he wants. You want to connect with your daughter and you want a real relationship with Dahlia.” Ryan grabbed Norris by the shoulder. “For God’s sake, man. You go and get it!”

  “Go and get it?” Norris sighed. Ryan’s impromptu pep rally sounded good, but winning this prize wouldn’t be easy. “How am I supposed to do that? I’ve never had to fight for a woman’s affection.”

  “That’s because affection implies feelings, and for you it was never about emotions, just physical gratification. Dahlia is different. You need to change your game plan. It’s time for Norris the playboy to meet Norris the romancer.”

  “Woo her?”

  “At the very least. What do you want from this relationship? I’m talking end game.”

  Norris smiled. “I want . . . I want what you have. A wife I’m madly in love with, wonderful children, and a happy home. Not a bachelor’s condo, not a revolving door of women, but a home. Something I’ve never had. That’s what I want. I want it with Dahlia and Reese.”

  “There you have it. It’s yours for the taking, Norris. You just gotta go out and get it.”

  * * *

  After a helpful meeting with friend and Attorney Dan Monroe about paternal rights, Norris drove home prepared to talk to Gail about their daughter. He definitely wanted to see Reese, and considering he’d been robbed of years of her life, Gail was in no position to argue with him. The anger he felt when he thought of the time he’d missed with his daughter set him on edge, but he vowed not to be short when he phoned Gail.

  The clean scent of carpet powder and wildflower air freshener greeted Norris when he walked into his place. His housekeeper, Mrs. Castanza, had been there. The sixty-year-old grandmother had been in his employ for twelve years, taking care of all the necessities a busy bachelor on the move could not. A note on the desk said she’d gone out for groceries and would be back soon. Maybe he’d have enough time to give Gail a call before Mrs. Castanza returned and got on him about being too thin—any man without a pouch hanging over his belt was too thin to her—and not having a steady girlfriend. Norris realized he would forever be too thin for her liking, but perhaps that steady girlfriend problem could be rectified soon.

  Retrieving Gail’s business card from the dresser, Norris punched in the numbers to her cell phone and got an answer on the third ring.