LITMIR.BIZ

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with him is asking for heartbreak.”

      “Then why plan on Quinn having anything to do with Molly? You want her to be heartbroken again? I think Christopher Blake already did enough damage to poor Molly and her little Sara.”

      “Quinn wouldn’t hurt either of them. All we have to do is make sure they spend time together,” Tillie said, narrowing her eyes as if trying to think of a plan.

      “That won’t be a problem,” Martha said calmly.

      Her friends all stared at her.

      “What do you mean?” Lydia asked.

      “Just wait and see,” Martha said, stitching again. “Are you ladies going to help or just sit there with your mouths open?”

      Chapter Four

      The next day was Saturday, so Quinn was able to justify not calling Molly Blake. After all, he didn’t conduct business on weekends. No one expected him to do that.

      So he could avoid the lady without admitting his reasons for not calling to tell her the good news he’d stopped by her house for yesterday. Or to tell her the idea he’d come up with. Or to see how little Sara was feeling.

      When his brother stopped by the family home Saturday afternoon, where Quinn lived, he asked, “Have you heard from Molly Blake?”

      Brady raised one eyebrow, staring at him. “No. Why would I?”

      Quinn shrugged, trying to look disinterested. “I thought maybe she’d call you if Sara didn’t get better.”

      Shoving his hands into his pockets, Brady leaned against the kitchen counter. “Why wouldn’t she be better? You think I didn’t make the correct diagnosis?”

      “Hey, I wasn’t insulting your skills,” Quinn hastily assured his brother. “I just thought—”

      “Have you called Mrs. Blake?”

      “No. Why would I?” Quinn demanded, taking a step back, repeating his brother’s words without even realizing it.

      “Do what?” Elias, their father, demanded as he entered the room.

      Quinn almost groaned aloud. He certainly didn’t want either his father or brother to think he had any interest in a woman like Molly Blake. “Nothing.”

      “I asked why he hadn’t called Mrs. Blake,” Brady explained, grinning at his brother.

      Quinn knew Brady was teasing him. He ground his teeth in silence.

      “Who is Mrs. Blake?” Elias demanded. When Quinn had moved back to Tyler over a year ago, he’d returned to his father’s house because he didn’t have enough enthusiasm for life to find his own place. Somehow his father had interpreted his moving in as a return to the parent-child relationship.

      “Dad, it doesn’t matter,” Quinn hurriedly said.

      “She’s the mother of a sick little girl. Quinn called me yesterday and asked me to see her.”

      “This Molly Blake?” Elias demanded.

      “No!” Quinn exploded. “Her child, Sara. She’s—she’s like a doll, tiny, sweet…”

      “How old is she?” Elias asked, a frown on his face.

      “Four.”

      “You’re interested in a four-year-old?”

      Quinn drew a deep breath and scratched his forehead. Finally he stared at his father. “I was concerned about Sara’s health, that’s all. Anyone would’ve been. She was running a high fever.”

      “And so? Why didn’t you call this Molly Blake and ask her how the child was feeling?”

      “Dad, you don’t need to— Never mind. I thought Brady might have heard from her, that’s all.” Quinn started for the door. He didn’t want to answer any more questions about Molly Blake and her daughter.

      “What’s she look like?” Elias asked Brady.

      Quinn spun on his heels and charged back into the room. “No! No, Dad. This isn’t a man-woman thing. It’s nothing personal. She’s one of Amanda’s clients and I was trying to help Amanda.”

      Brady shot him a sly grin. “A real looker. Blonde.”

      “Hmm, I like blondes,” Elias said, staring at Quinn.

      “Then you call her!” he snapped, and rose to get out of the kitchen before the speculation could go any further.

      Unfortunately, he didn’t escape. His oldest brother, Seth, and Cooper Night Hawk, a longtime friend and local deputy, came in.

      “Hi, guys, glad you’re all here,” Seth said. “Don’t leave, Quinn.”

      Quinn frowned. He wasn’t in the mood for a family moment. He had too much on his mind. “What?”

      “Cooper has some news.”

      That got everyone’s attention. A while ago Seth had asked Cooper to find out whatever he could about their mother, Violet Spencer. Now that he was married and had a child on the way, Seth had felt a need to know whatever became of his mother. He’d asked his father if he’d object, but Elias had approved of the search.

      Elias leaned forward. “About your mother?”

      Quinn returned to the table and fell into a chair.

      Everyone’s gaze shifted to Cooper.

      “Yeah, Mr. Spencer. I’m sorry, but she’s…she’s dead.”

      Seth came to stand beside his father, placing a comforting hand on his shoulder. “There’s more, Dad. Brace yourself.”

      “She died in childbirth,” Cooper said, after receiving a nod from Seth. “Over twenty-two years ago.”

      “What?” Brady said, leaping to his feet. “She was pregnant?” He turned to look at his father.

      Elias shrugged his shoulders. “She wasn’t pregnant when she left us. Probably she and—and that man—” It was as if he couldn’t bring himself to even mention the name of her lover. He sighed. “It was a long time ago.”

      Cooper cleared his throat. “Violet had the baby—and passed on—seven months after she left. Ray Benedict, the man she— Her— Anyway, he died recently. I need to know if you want me to find the child, a girl.” Instead of looking at Elias, he let his gaze travel to each of the brothers. “After all, she is your half sister.”

      “I say yes,” Seth said instantly.

      “The baby didn’t die during childbirth?” Brady asked.

      “No.”

      Brady looked at Quinn, and then Seth. “I agree with Seth. I think we should find her.”

      Quinn stared at everyone. They had a sister? A child his mother conceived with another man? Renewed anger filled him at her betrayal. But he couldn’t disagree with his brothers. They needed closure. Maybe this unknown sister would give it to them. He nodded his agreement.

      THE DIFFERENCE IN SARA in just three days was dramatic. By Monday morning, she was racing up and down the stairs in spite of Molly’s efforts to keep her in bed.

      “I’m all better, Mommy,” Sara assured her.

      “Just to be sure, come have a snack,” Molly tempted, putting a cup of hot chocolate with marshmallows on the kitchen table, along with a muffin.

      “First, I has to get Button,” Sara said, naming her favorite bear, as she ran out of the kitchen.

      Molly sighed. Getting Sara to sit down was like trying to catch lightning in a bottle. Her little girl never seemed to stop. But today Sara would take a nap, Molly decided, her lips tightening, even if she had to

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