And what if her father wasn’t even her father? After all, his papers were fake. Maybe he was a fake. Maybe they weren’t related at all.
A wave of pain washed over her. No. He was her father. He had to be her father. She wouldn’t be able to love him so deeply, miss him so terribly if he weren’t her father, would she?
Where was he?
Sophie agonized over the events of the past two weeks. Question after question and not one single answer. She felt like she was starring in a science fiction movie. And she hated science fiction. Any second now she expected to stand in front of a mirror and see a different face—a different woman—an image she’d never seen before.
“Sophie?”
The deep, resonant sound of Cain’s voice pulled her thoughts back to the present.
“You okay?” Lines of concern creased his brow and drew deep frown lines at the edges of his mouth.
“Sure.” She smiled at both Cain and Holly. “Lunch was great. Thanks.” Cain raised an eyebrow and Sophie laughed. “Okay, it was more than great. It was the best!” The three of them chuckled. “But I really should be getting home.”
Before Sophie could rise someone jostled her elbow. “Hi, little lady.” Sophie turned her attention to the grizzled, disheveled man standing at her left elbow. “You must be new in town. I’ll admit I’m gettin’ up in years but these here eyes of mine still appreciate the sight of a pretty gal when I see one. And I’m seeing one now.”
“Hey, Charlie,” Holly said
“Charlie.” Cain nodded in the old man’s direction. His tone had been polite but Sophie couldn’t help but notice a subtle tensing of his posture. She sensed Cain wasn’t very fond of good old Charlie.
Sophie looked into pale, watery-blue eyes peeking out from beneath bushy white brows. His skin, leathered from weather and age, looked almost reptilian. His teeth, what few he still had, were yellow and stained, from years of tobacco use, Sophie suspected—smoking or chewing she couldn’t be sure.
“So introduce yourself, little lady. I know I haven’t seen you around town.”
“My name’s Sophie.”
“That right?” He swayed back and forth, rocking on the heels of old, worn boots. “Just passing through or planning to stay awhile?”
The strong scent of alcohol wafted her way and Sophie began to feel uncomfortable.
“I…I’m planning on staying…for a little while anyway.” Sophie smiled at the old man and tried to subtly move out of the line of alcohol breath.
“Charlie, you met the young lady. Now why don’t you sit down over there and Holly will bring you a cup of coffee?”
Charlie ignored Cain. “You wouldn’t be the gal I heard is staying in the old Weatherly place, would ya?”
Sophie nodded. “Yes. The cottage belonged to my grandfather and I’ll be staying there for a little while.”
Charlie’s whole demeanor changed. Instead of the overly friendly, tipsy man she’d been talking to just moments before, she found herself staring into cold, angry eyes.
“You tellin’ me you’re Elizabeth Weatherly’s young’un?”
Sophie, surprised by the abrupt and hostile change in the man’s demeanor, merely nodded.
“Your grandfather was a friend of mine. My best friend. We used to go fishin’ out at the old pond all the time.” The man stepped closer.
Cain sprang to his feet. “C’mon, Charlie. Go sit down and have some coffee. I’ll even throw in a slice of Holly’s apple pie…on me. What do you say?”
Spittle ran down the man’s whiskered chin as he spat out his words. “Your mama broke my friend’s heart. He was never the same after she run off. Never.”
Cain stepped between the two of them. “Charlie, don’t make me have to ask you to leave. Go sit down. Now.” His lowered voice and stern, no-nonsense tone brought chills up on her arms. She had a glimpse of what Cain must have been like when he was a cop, and she was glad she wasn’t a criminal on the receiving end of his wrath. Silence fell over the diner as the other patrons watched the scene unfolding before them.
“Do you know who this is?” Charlie yelled, flailing his arms and looking around at the people in the surrounding booths. “This is George Weatherly’s no-good kin. The daughter of the brat who ran off and broke his heart.”
“That’s it. You’re out of here.” Cain grabbed the man’s belt and heaved him toward the exit.
“We don’t want your kind in this town, missy,” he yelled as Cain lifted him through the doorway. “You hear me? We don’t want you in our town.”
Sophie couldn’t believe what had just happened. Her cheeks burned with embarrassment as she shot furtive glances around the room and saw people staring at her and whispering.
“Don’t worry about old Charlie.” Holly patted her hand. “Every town has its drunk and Charlie’s ours. Don’t pay attention to anything he says.”
Sophie glanced from side to side. Whenever she made eye contact with the other diners, the people looked away. She didn’t really understand what had just happened. She only knew that the entire incident made her feel embarrassed, ashamed and dirty.
She buried her head in her hands. How could this day get any worse?
A strong hand cupped her shoulder. “You’ve had enough excitement for one day. Why don’t I take you home?”
Emptiness filled her insides when his hand moved away. She longed for the comfort. She longed for someone to hold her and tell her that all this craziness would disappear and everything would soon be back to normal. If anything would ever be normal again.
“We’ll sit down tomorrow morning,” Cain said as he led her to his car, “after you’ve had a good night’s sleep, and we’ll talk it all out.”
Sophie was amazed at how easy and comfortable she felt with this man.
Maybe he’d be able to help her after all. Her father had taught her God never closes a door without opening another one. Sophie had prayed so hard for someone to help her find her father, to help her solve the puzzle of his disappearance and maybe even discover her true identity. Was Cain an answer to her prayers?
She stared at his profile, the firm set to his jaw, the perfect line of his nose. A hunk of errant hair refused to stay in place and fell on his forehead, drawing attention to his newly blackened eye, which came from his earlier superhero rescue. This morning he had been nothing more than a name in a church business directory. This afternoon he was not only the man who had saved her life but a man who was quickly becoming a friend.
The miles flew by and Sophie was surprised when the car pulled to a stop. Cain shut the engine off, hurried around and opened her door. She tried not to laugh. When was the last time anyone had held a car door open for her? Duh, never.
“Thanks
