She didn’t tell him about the baby until they were engaged. He used to wonder why she’d waited. But now he understood that if she’d told him before, she’d never be sure whether his proposal had been offered out of love—or guilt and regret. Waiting until she was utterly convinced of his love might have saved their marriage.
Roy leaned back in his chair and propped his feet on the desk. His best detective work was done in this old chair, a relic from his police days. The department had wanted to toss it, but Roy had saved it from a junkyard death, rolled it out to his car and brought it home. He’d been sitting in this chair ever since. Corrie hated it, pleaded with him to get rid of it. He wouldn’t.
The office door opened and then closed. “Dad?”
Roy let his feet fall to the floor. “In here,” he called out to his daughter.
Linnette walked into his office and threw herself onto the chair opposite his desk. “Where’s Mom?”
Roy had exactly the same question. “Apparently she took an extended lunch hour. I guess that’s what I get for hiring family,” he joked.
“Oh.” Linnette looked as if she wanted to weep.
“You need to talk to her?”
His daughter nodded. “Dad,” she said, straightening, “did you always love Mom? I mean, was there ever a time you had questions about the way you felt?”
“Sure,” he admitted, a little taken aback by the question, so close to his own recent thoughts. “Just the other day,” he teased, trying to lighten the mood. He wasn’t much good at giving advice. That was Corrie’s specialty.
“Dad, I’m serious.”
“I know you are,” he said, somber now. “Relationship problems?”
Linnette shrugged. “I screwed up.”
Roy hated to turn his daughter away, but he wasn’t comfortable with this heart-to-heart stuff. “You’d better talk to your mother.”
“She isn’t here. You are.”
“In other words, it’s any port in a storm?”
She gave him a half smile. “You could say that.”
“All right.” He tried not to sigh. “Tell me what’s on your mind.”
Pulling off her gloves, Linnette stood up for a moment and removed her coat.
“I did something I regret,” she said bluntly.
“What?”
“Mom bought me a date with this guy in that Dog and Bachelor Auction last summer. Cal, his name is, and he’s a horse trainer. We went out, mainly because Mom pressured me into it. I didn’t want to, but I finally agreed.”
“Was it so bad?”
“Not at all. I enjoyed dinner and later, I went out with him again. I had an even better time, and then he kissed me and—”
“Hold on a minute.” Roy raised one hand. “I don’t want to hear any of that. Otherwise, I might be tempted to bash his teeth in.”
Linnette looked up and smiled. “You’re such a father.”
“Sorry, can’t help it. You’re my baby girl.”
“I am not a baby.”
“All I can say is wait until you have your own children and then decide.” He gestured for her to continue.
“I liked the way Cal kissed me—don’t worry, I’m not going to say any more about it, except that when he kissed me I got scared.”
This got Roy’s attention. “Did he try any funny stuff?”
“No, nothing like that. He didn’t scare me—I’m explaining this badly. What I mean is, I knew that if he kept on kissing me, I’d want to see him again, and I couldn’t because there was someone else I liked better.”
“Hmm?” That was about as profound a comment as he could make. He was finding all this a bit difficult to follow. So she liked this horse guy but she didn’t? And who was the “someone else”?
“I wanted to be available for Chad,” she elaborated, “and I didn’t want to get sidetracked.”
Okay, now he got it. Sort of. “This is that doctor fellow?”
Linnette nodded. “The problem is, it didn’t work.”
“You mean the doctor fellow isn’t interested? Or you’ve been thinking about Cal?”
“Both. But I was incredibly rude to Cal, and I keep wondering, you know, what would’ve happened if we’d continued dating. I wonder if I might’ve let a wonderful man slip through my fingers—and all for nothing.”
“What’s happening with Chad?” Roy needed all the facts, logically presented.
She shook her head. “No movement there. He’s handsome and sophisticated, and at one time I would’ve given my eyeteeth to go out with him, but he’s never asked. I doubt he ever will, and you know what? That’s fine. I’m pretty much over him. It’s Cal who interests me now. Except I’m not sure what I should do.”
Okay. Scratch the doctor. But Roy had no idea what he was supposed to say next. He was clean out of romantic advice.
“I wonder if I should phone Cal and apologize or just let it go.” She raised expectant eyes to him. “What do you think?”
That was the million-dollar question, all right. “What do I think?” he repeated slowly. “You may not know this,” he began, “but your mother and I dated for a while and then split up.” He paused. “After almost two years, we met again. I’ve always felt fate put her in my path that day.”
“In other words, if it’s meant to be, I’ll see Cal again?”
Roy nodded. “Something like that.”
Linnette seemed to be mulling over his words. She stood up, her expression thoughtful, and reached for her coat. “Thanks, Dad.”
“You’re welcome.” He leaned back in his chair and placed his feet on the desk once again, crossing his ankles. “Any other problems you want me to solve?”
“Not this afternoon. Tell Mom I came by, okay?”
“Will do.”