A Mother's Secret by Janice Kay Johnson Page B

beer in a salute. “You win. And I have to admit, some bucks will be welcome. Pip and I are planning to buy a house.”
    Remembering what Belle had said, Daniel smiled. “With two bathrooms.”
    Joe’s laugh rumbled out of him. “Definitely two bathrooms.”
    Halftime was over. Daniel reached for the remote control to restore the sound, but hesitated. This was as good a time as any to tell Joe about Malcolm. He suspected his nephew wasn’t any more invested in the outcome of this game than he was.
    “Uh…remember me mentioning Rebecca Ballard?”
    “Sure I do. Did you call her?”
    Damn it, maybe he shouldn’t have started this. Eventually he’d have to tell everyone that he had a son. But he still hadn’t figured out how to handle it. As furious as he was at Rebecca, she was Malcolm’s mother. He didn’t like the idea of his friends and Joe despising her. She might have reason to meet some of them when they were exchanging Malcolm. And he sure as hell didn’t want the boy overhearing some snide remark about his mother.
    But, since Adam’s death, Joe and Daniel had become increasingly close. And he wanted to tell somebody. A man who usually kept a tight rein on emotions, he felt as if he’d been in free fall lately. God knows, if there was anybody who’d understand, it was Joe.
    Not letting himself have second thoughts, Daniel said, “When we parted ways, Rebecca was pregnant.”
    “What the hell…?” Joe digested that. “You didn’t know?”
    “No. She’d, uh, gotten the vibe that I wasn’t interested in marriage or family.”
    Joe grunted, as if that was a given. “You’d have paid child support.”
    “She didn’t want my money. Or to give me any rights.”
    “Did she claim the kid was yours when you ran into her? Are you sure she isn’t scamming you?”
    “I’m sure. She had Malcolm with her. She was trying to hustle me out of the restaurant so I didn’t see him, but he came looking for her.” Daniel paused. “She was with a friend, and I thought he was the friend’s kid. But, damn it, I couldn’t get him out of my mind. He looks like me, Joe. I could show you his picture, and you’d think it was me at that age.”
    “How old is he?”
    “Four and a half. He’s a smart kid. Likes to talk.”
    “When do I meet him?” Joe asked promptly.
    “I’m not sure.” Daniel took a swallow of the now-warm imported beer he’d been nursing for the past hour. “We haven’t told Malcolm I’m his father yet. Rebecca wants him to get to know me first.”
    “And you’re going along with this?” Joe sounded incredulous. “Aren’t you pissed?”
    “Pissed? Yeah. You could say that.” He frowned. “But I want to make it as easy on Malcolm as I can. I don’t want to have to bring him home sobbing because he misses his mom.”
    “No. God forbid.” Joe was quiet for a minute. “So what’s the deal? You’re just stopping by now and again?”
    “I took them out for pizza Sunday. He’s a funny kid. He has a lot more confidence than I ever had.” Thanks to Rebecca. Daniel had to admit as much, if only to himself. She was a good mother.
    He might have felt trapped back then, if she’d told him about her pregnancy, but his kid would still have had a good father, too. Daniel remembered too vividly his hurtand puzzlement when Vern canceled weekend visits or forgot to show up when he’d promised to. Maybe Vern had an excuse, if he’d found out Daniel wasn’t his kid after all. Daniel had been too young to even guess the truth.
    What he knew was he’d never let down any kid of his. Not then, not now.
    “Believing you weren’t a family man doesn’t seem like adequate reason not to tell you.”
    “It was more complicated than that. Her parents got divorced when she was eight or nine. I guess they had a bitter custody battle. She and her sister got yanked back and forth and hated it. She wanted Malcolm to be confident about where home was.”
    It was a minute before Joe said anything.