cut the camera light and Sophie turned, her heart lodging in her throat at the sight of Ally bundled into Gary Barksdale’s arms. He’d shaved today and the dimples winking out from his cheeks reawakened long-dead memories of lazy afternoon walks and long talks that had lasted into the wee hours of the morning.
The mental pictures grabbed Sophie’s heart and squeezed.
She swallowed down the unwanted tangle of emotions and plastered on her most professional smile.
“Sorry to interrupt,” Gary said with a wink. “Thought you’d be done by now.”
WHEN MAGGIE HAD PHONED to let Gary know Sophie was on her way over to do a feature spot, he couldn’t resist watching. He knew his sister’s game, but so what? She had designs on putting him in close proximity with Sophie, no doubt wanting to rekindle the spark of what they’d once shared.
The diversion had fit perfectly into his day. His next piece wasn’t due until tomorrow, and after he’d spent the morning reviewing the photos and stories that had covered Rebecca and Robin Markham’s deaths, he had to admit Sophie might be on to something with her theory.
Seeing her again would give him a chance to dig more deeply into just what had awakened her suspicions.
At the time of the fire, the investigators’ determination that the absence of the child’s remains needn’t be questioned had been acceptable. But the case had been unprecedented. Shouldn’t that alone have raised a note of doubt?
The cause of the fire had been ruled accidental. Gary realized that point was crucial. Any sign of foul play would have raised a red flag, but there had been none.
End of story. Closed case.
Closed, at least, until Sophie’s questions had kicked his investigative brain into overdrive. The what-ifs had been rattling around inside his skull all day.
As he watched Sophie now, he took stock of how far she’d come with her career. He remembered the day she’d done her first live report for WNJZ. He’d watched every second, had followed her career from graduation forward. As much as he tried to deny it, Gary had always been sure of one thing.
For him, Sophie Markham would always be the one that got away. Hands down. No matter that she had broken his heart, he’d never been able to shake the depth of what they’d shared for however briefly they’d shared it.
Ally had begun to alternate between licking her lollipop and singing. Maggie shot Gary the evil eye and he smiled. He recognized that nonverbal cue. He held out his hand to his niece and tipped his chin toward the kitchen.
She smiled, tucked her tiny fingers into his hand and skipped all the way down the hall. Ah, the wonders of refined sugar.
Ally settled at the kitchen table and lost herself in her coloring books. Gary absentmindedly nodded encouragement as she showed him page after page of brightly colored scribbles. All the while, however, his brain clicked through everything Sophie had said at their meeting.
She’d seen someone.
So at some point in the recent past, Sophie had seen someone who looked enough like what she thought her niece would look like to raise her suspicions.
A child.
Ally bounced away from the table, having lost interest in her works of art. He watched as she danced around the kitchen, swinging her lollipop as if it were a magic wand, her short brown hair bouncing with the motion. Her blue eyes sparkling with happiness.
A child the right age and coloring.
Gary’s throat tightened as he flashed on the images of Robin Markham’s photos. The little girl who would have been five years old.
Just like Ally.
Gary had given Sophie step-by-step instructions on what to look for. Fingerprints. Bone structure. Eye color.
“Wanna lick, Uncle Gary?” Ally waved the lollipop in his face.
He shook his head. “No thanks, kiddo.”
“Miss Sophie gave it to me.” She gestured dramatically as if he didn’t know what he was missing. “It’s good.”
DNA.
The puzzle pieces flew into place.
Disbelief and fury tangled inside him as he turned away from Ally and headed back to where Sophie and Maggie were finishing up.
Sophie had met Ally at the fund-raiser, then she’d sought out Gary only because of his relation to his niece. Not because she’d needed him. She’d needed his connection. Furthermore she’d used him for information on how to ID a kidnapped child.
What a fool he’d been.
How typical of Sophie Markham to walk back into his life without so much as an apology or an explanation of the past. He should have known she had her own agenda.
Well, he had a news flash for the woman.
If Sophie thought she could use him against his own family, she had another think coming. And when she lifted her gaze to his, the look of surprise on her pretty features told him she knew exactly what he was thinking.
Chapter Three
Sophie straightened, willing herself not to wilt beneath the fury emanating from Gary’s gaze. He crooked his finger, and she turned to Maggie, pasting on a phony smile.
“You were wonderful. I’ll be sure to let you know when your segment’s going to air.” She tipped her head toward Gary. “I think your brother needs me for a moment.”
Maggie eyed her warily as she excused herself, and Sophie wondered just how much the woman knew about her and Gary’s shared past.
The question evaporated when she stepped into the kitchen and took in the sight of Gary, hands on hips, color blazing in his cheeks.
He gave Ally’s shoulder a pat and nodded toward the hall. “I think your mommy’s calling you.”
The little girl took off like a shot, leaving her lollipop glued to a page in her coloring book.
“Just who in the hell do you think you are?”
Gary’s words hit her like a slap, and she adopted a tone of indignation. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
But she did. She knew in that instant exactly what he was talking about. The man wasn’t an award-winning journalist without reason. He’d put the pieces together and knew she’d been talking about Ally when she’d questioned him the day before.
“Do you want to start, or should I?”
Sophie flinched. “Why don’t you.” She wasn’t a fool. She could formulate her response as he spoke. No sense giving away any information he hadn’t already figured out.
“You spot my niece at the fund-raiser, learn she’s adopted, and decide—for whatever reason—she’s your niece.” He dropped his voice low and stood so close
