Next Door Secrets (Secrets Series Book 2) (18 page)

When we met in
college, we knew we’d get married someday. Timothy and I
were
both pre-vet and were determined to finish school before tying the knot. Once
we earned our DVMs, we worked for other vets until we had enough money to start
our own practice together. Since then, we’ve been taking care of Coal, our
black Lab, and trying to start a family. Unfortunately, we have fertility
issues. We’ve tried several rounds of IVF, but I keep having miscarriages. At
this point, we’ve decided that God wants us to adopt. Timothy and I both love
kids and can’t imagine our lives without them. We enjoy reading, hiking,
canoeing, and of course, animals. I would even take a year off of work in order
to devote myself to our new baby. Please allow us to be a part of your child’s life.
We are willing to do any kind of open adoption, even welcoming regular visits
from the birth parents, if they would like.

As Beth finished
reading, she returned to the page with all of the parents’ profiles. Every
single picture was a couple. No single parents. They probably didn’t have a
shot. Like Hannah said, if she wanted her baby to have a single mother, she’d
raise him or her herself.

CHAPTER TWENTY

Sometimes the cure
was just as bad as the problem. Parker stifled a yawn as Tina handed him the
messages that had been left on her voicemail overnight. “How are you?”

Today she wore a
navy sheath dress on her tiny frame. “I’m good. And you?” She stood there at
attention as if whatever Parker had to say was her top priority.

“Fine. I didn’t
sleep well, but I’ll get over it.” He wondered if this was a side effect from
the Haldol. If so, he wasn’t sure it was worth it.

“Would you rather
I brought you regular coffee today?”

“No.” He didn’t
want to risk his hands twitching. “I keep telling you that I don’t expect you
to bring me coffee at all.”

She shrugged. “I
don’t mind. It’s just as easy to pour you a cup when I get mine.”

He sorted through
the pink message slips and hesitated when he saw Ivy’s name. “What does she
want?” An involuntary sigh pushed out of his lungs.

“Something wrong?”

Shaking his head,
he thought about the fact that Ivy’s mom had sent a baby shower invitation to
Beth. Ivy probably hadn’t told her mom yet about the end of their friendship.
Just like she hadn’t mentioned the end of her marriage to her mom. “My ex won’t
accept that it’s over.”

Tina gave him a
sympathetic look.

Thinking of Beth,
he wasn’t doing too well separating from her, either. He’d nearly brought her
to tears yesterday when he announced they’d never get married. A box of
chocolates could hardly make up for that. “Tina, you’ve dated a few guys,
right?”

She crossed her
arms. “I suppose.”

“Do you mind if I
ask you some advice?” He got up and closed the door to give them some privacy.
“Have a seat.” He gestured toward the sitting area in the corner of his office.
After she selected a chair, he sat across from her. She always seemed a bit
skittish, like a mouse, and he didn’t want to make her uncomfortable.

“This is kind of
strange. You’ve never asked for my advice before.”

Theirs had always
been a professional relationship. He knew she grew up on a farm, but because of
hay fever, preferred the city life. She knew that he worked from sun up to
sundown, pouring his heart into Mall Land. First, as founder and CEO and even
now, when he was supposed to focus on their educational outreach programs, he
still assisted the new president in most major decisions.

He cracked his
knuckles. “I’m wondering, what’s the best way to break up with someone?”

“Are you talking
about Ivy? I would think the fact that you’ve hired a divorce lawyer would make
it pretty clear that it’s over.”

Chuckling, he
leaned back. “I’m talking about someone else. I don’t want to hurt her
feelings, but I also don’t want her to get too attached.” Even as he spoke the
words, he knew it was too late. “Is it possible to gently let someone know
you’re not interested?”

“Do you want to
remain friends after the break-up?”

“Definitely.” The
scene from
When Harry met Sally
popped into his mind. Harry said it’s impossible for men and women to be
friends if it’s someone they’re attracted to. And Parker was definitely
attracted to Beth with her perky nose, blue eyes and curvy physique. “Do you
think that’s possible?”

She crossed her
legs. “That’s probably the most difficult kind of break-up to achieve.”

“Whenever I broke
up with girls in college, it wasn’t a big deal. I’d simply not schedule another
date. After a while, they figured it out. In hindsight, I wonder if I was too callous.
I don’t know. They seemed to deal with it OK, but I’ve been out of the dating
scene for sixteen years. I keep trying to pull away from this woman, but it
doesn’t seem to be working.”

“Why not?”

Thoughts collided
inside his brain.
Because he couldn’t stand to hurt Beth.
Because every time she called, his heart skipped a beat and he couldn’t wait to
talk to her.
Because in another situation, he’d ask her to be
his wife.
“Can I tell you a secret?”

Leaning forward,
she raised her eyebrows. “Sure. I’m good at keeping secrets.”

He swallowed. “I’m
thinking of doing volunteer work in Africa for a while. Before I go, I need to
break-up with my girlfriend.”

“She won’t support
your going away?”

“I don’t know. She
might be willing to wait for me, but that’s just it. I don’t want her to. I
want her to move on with her life. I want her to find someone else and pursue
her dreams just like I’ll be pursuing mine.”

Her tiny mouth
twitched to the side. “It sounds like you really care about her.”

“I do. That’s the
problem. So how do I break up with her without being a total jerk?”

“Good question.
Have you tried telling her the truth?”

A smile pulled at
the corner of his mouth. “What a crazy idea.”

# #
#

Standing on Beth’s
stoop,
Kaylee
demonstrated the Walk the Dog yo-yo trick.

Beth clapped
before she picked up the basket of goodies resting at
Kaylee’s
feet. “Wow! How did you learn to do that?”

“By watching
YouTube.”

Chuckling, Beth
unlocked the apartment door so they could go inside. “You must’ve practiced a
lot.” She put down the basket and reached for her smartphone. “Let me get a
video of that.”

 
While being recorded,
Kaylee
demonstrated the trick again. “Did you know today’s my birthday?”

 
“It is?” Beth put down her phone and
kicked off her loafers. “How old are you--nine?”

“No.”
Kaylee
pulled a homemade granola bar out of the basket and
took a bite. No matter how much Beth corrected her, she still had no problem
talking with her mouth full. “Now I’m eight. Today’s my secret birthday.”

The air stopped
moving in and out of Beth’s lungs for a second. “What’s a secret birthday?”

“It’s my real
birthday, but Dad said I’m not supposed to tell anyone. I figure me and you are
friends, though.”

“You and I.” Even
though grammar was the least of her worries, the maternal instinct never seemed
to take a vacation for Beth. She crouched down to the child’s level. “I’m
confused. You really were seven until today?”

Kaylee
nodded. “My school records say I’m eight, but my
real birthday is today! Can we go get ice cream to celebrate? Dad’s killing me
with all of these healthy snacks.” She gestured toward the half-eaten granola
bar in her hand.

Returning to her
five-foot-four-inch height, Beth rubbed her head. Her mother hadn’t found out
any information yet, but this gave credibility to the Facebook page. It had
said the missing girl was seven and the truth was,
Kaylee
had been seven until today. Jim must’ve forged her birth certificate, changing
her birthdate and name and everything. This poor girl had to live a lie.

“Maybe after we
visit Maria at the church, we can get some ice cream. Or low-fat frozen
yogurt.”

“I want ice cream!
Dad said he might bake me a cake, but I can’t have a party or invite any of my
friends. It’s not fair.” She bit into her granola bar with a vengeance.

Beth patted
Kaylee’s
shoulder. “OK. Let me change clothes and I promise
we’ll get ice cream.”

Dropping a raisin
on the floor,
Kaylee
shoved the last of the granola
into her mouth. She picked up the shriveled fruit and dropped it into the
trash. “What’s this?” Holding up Ivy’s baby shower invitation that had been in
the trash, she followed Beth into the bedroom. “Is this your friend we visited
in the hospital?”

“Yes.” It was the
easy answer. “We were roommates in college.” Beth stepped into the bathroom to
change into jeans and a T-shirt. When she returned to the bedroom, she tossed
her dirty clothes into the laundry hamper.

“The baby’s name
is Parker?” Confusion crossed
Kaylee’s
smooth
features. “Isn’t that the name of that guy--your friend?”

“Uh-huh.” Beth
focused on tying her walking shoes. That guy who was not her boyfriend. That
guy she loved. That guy who didn’t want to be with her. Yeah, that was Parker
all right.

Beth took the
invitation out of
Kaylee’s
hand and set it face down on
her coffee table. Soon they were out the door, enjoying the mild weather. Birds
were singing and the flowers were starting to bloom. “I love spring, don’t
you?”

“It’s my favorite
time of year because it’s when I was born.”

“Of course.” How
could Beth not know that? Birthdays were such a big deal to little kids. It
didn’t seem right that
Kaylee
couldn’t have a party.
“Did your dad tell you why you can’t tell anyone today’s your real birthday?”

The girl’s mouth
pulled shut and for once, she didn’t speak.

Beth didn’t want
to put
Kaylee
in the middle. “Never mind.” As they
crossed the street, she reached for the little girl’s hand and experienced a
rush of warmth when the tiny fingers wrapped around hers. “I’m touched that you
felt you could trust me.”

Once they were at
the church,
Kaylee
zipped over to Maria. Somehow they
managed to communicate and agree that they wanted to play in the toy kitchen.
Beth walked around and offered all of the adults and kids granola bars. Her mom
mouthed to her, “I have news.”

While waiting for
her mom to finish her English lesson, Beth sat down in the play kitchen and
asked if she could have a glass of milk and a slice of apple pie. Giggling,
Kaylee
brought her a cup and pretended to pour milk into
it. Maria served her a plastic triangle of pie on a miniature plate. Beth took
a pretend bite and sip. Smiling, she said, “Delicious.
Bueno
.”

The two little
girls giggled some more and beamed with pride. They went to the pretend pantry
and pulled out plastic cans of vegetables and poured them into a square pan. Apparently,
they’d agreed to make some kind of casserole for dinner.
 

As the children
cooked together, Beth noticed that
Kaylee
didn’t seem
quite as chubby as she once was. Their daily walks and
playdates
must’ve been making a difference. Of course, it helped that
Kaylee
wasn’t done growing in the height department. But still, Beth allowed herself
to indulge in a little bit of self-congratulation.

When Maria’s
mother closed her book, Beth held her breath, hoping she’d stay to socialize
with some of the other immigrants rather than take Maria home right away. The
woman turned toward another student and struck up a conversation in Spanish.

Beth sighed with
relief as her own mother approached.

Her mom signaled
for them to step outside the door for privacy. “I found out some information.”
Her voice was quiet. “I still have feelers out, but I’ll tell you what I know.”

Happy the area
outside the classroom was vacant, Beth whispered, “What?”

“
Gola
Moon is alive, but maybe not so well. She’s serving an
eight year
sentence for vehicular homicide. She has a
history of DUIs and domestic violence. She has filed several restraining
orders.”

“Against Jim?”

“None of them
involved a Jim Stein.”

“Of course Jim
Stein probably isn’t his real name.”

“Right. I checked
marriage records and
Gola
was married three times, to
Michael
Brenneman
to Conner Walker and to John Tate.”

“OK. Do we know
which one is Jim?”

“Conner Walker is
listed as the father on one of
Gola’s
children’s
birth certificates and John Tate on the other.”

“Which one is
Willow’s dad?”

“John.”

“Then Jim’s real
name is Conner Walker.” Beth scratched her head. “So does that mean you know
Kaylee’s
real name?”

“Well, Conner was
the father of Skye. We still don’t know for sure that
Kaylee
and Jim are really Skye and Conner.”

“It’s starting to
look like it.
Kaylee
told me today that this is her
secret birthday. Was Skye’s birthday in May?”

“I don’t
remember.”

Beth peered around
the corner to check on the girls. They stood side-by-side washing and drying
the pretend dishes and chattering away. She wondered if
Kaylee
had started to pick up on some Spanish or if it was Maria who had learned to
recognize some English. “Try to find out. I just hate that Jim has been lying
not only to me, but to
Kaylee
, as well. If her mom’s
alive, that’s a huge secret. An unforgivable one.”