How about you? It seems we’re having some sort of get-together here.”
But Libby was watching the little girl, who slid down from the chair and walked slowly to Garrett. Holding her teddy bear in one arm with what appeared to be a fierce grip, she tugged on the sleeve of Garrett’s jacket with her free hand.
He looked down at her as if he was seeing her for the first time. “Do you want something?” he asked carefully.
She nodded and pointed to his coffee cup.
“Oh, mercy me,” Tootie exclaimed. “She’s thirsty. Don’t you dare give her coffee, Garrett Miles. It’ll stunt her growth.”
Libby had to clamp her mouth shut on the laugh that threatened. “Is there water somewhere?” she asked. “An extra glass or cup, maybe?”
“I have something even better,” Tootie said and turned to the little girl. “Do you like milk?”
The child nodded her head and almost smiled.
“We have some in the refrigerator in back for people who use it in their coffee. Why don’t you come with me and we’ll get you a glass.”
The girl took Tootie’s hand when she held it out, and they stepped out into the hall. Garrett let out a loud sigh of what was obviously relief, just as Tootie stuck her head back in the door. “Why don’t you show Libby that letter? She’s a mother. Maybe she can make some sense of it all.”
This time Garrett watched them as they walked away. When they’d disappeared around a corner, he shook his head and leaned his hip against his desk. “This is …” His hand went to his hair again, but stopped midway. He turned to Libby, saying, “I’m sorry you were dragged into this.”
Concerned that whatever was going on was not only serious but very private, she didn’t know what to say. “Since I don’t really know what’s going on, there’s no reason to be sorry. And before I do know too much, maybe I should go.”
She’d taken a step toward the doorway, when he spoke. “I’d rather you didn’t.” When she glanced back at him, he pushed away from the desk. “I could use a more unbiased yet knowledgeable person to counsel me.”
“Knowledgeable? Me?” She couldn’t imagine how she could help him. The only thing she knew about that he didn’t was how to disappear, and he might even have a clue about that. Her life prior to her arrival in Desperation eight months ago was a closed—and tightly locked—subject, not to mention something she’d rather forget.
“You’re a single parent,” he answered. “Most of the parents I know these days are couples, although back in the day, I guess I helped couples become single parents.”
He didn’t appear especially proud of that last part, and she could understand. She also understood that she had to remain silent when it came to her situation and how she managed to get to where she was now. Not only was secrecy about her escape from Phoenix with her son a necessity, but Garrett being a lawyer was a danger, not only to her but to those who had helped her.
And then she thought about what he’d just said.
“What does my being a single parent have to do with you?”
He picked up an envelope from his desk, pulled a folded paper from it and handed it to her. “This might answer your question and explain why I’m acting rather strange.”
She studied him for a moment, trying to decide if he was kidding. Unable to tell, she unfolded the letter and began skimming the handwriting. It didn’t take long before the skimming stopped and the reading began. From what she could tell, it was what people called a kiss-off letter, but it wasn’t Garrett who was getting dumped, it was the little girl. Her name was Sophie Miles, and apparently she was Garrett’s daughter.
Glancing up at him, she asked, “Were you aware of this?”
He stuffed both hands in his pockets and shook his head. “Not until Tootie gave me the letter.”
Libby looked around to make sure no one was nearby. “Are you sure you’re the father?” she asked in a whisper.
“She looks exactly like my sister at that age. Right down to the freckles across her nose.”
Libby didn’t want to make things worse for him, but even he should know that a resemblance wouldn’t stand up in court. “That’s definitely a good sign, but—”
“I intend to have a paternity test done, if that’s what you’re going to say.”
She studied him. “You really didn’t have a clue?”
“Absolutely none.”
By the set of his mouth, she knew she shouldn’t push it. Maybe he hadn’t known, but whether he had or not wasn’t the question. “I guess I should congratulate you,” she finally said, not knowing what else she could do. “It isn’t every day a man learns he’s the father of a four-year-old. And just so you know, you were lucky to miss the diaper and potty training years.”
He gripped the coffee cup tightly in his hands and stared into it. “That doesn’t convince me that this is going to be easy.”
She smiled. “It isn’t.”
He looked up with a pitiful smile of his own. “Which is why women have babies, not men.”
“You just keep thinking that,” she replied, swallowing a chuckle.
Their conversation came to a halt when Tootie returned with the little girl. “She’s hungry,” Tootie announced.
Libby looked at Garrett. “Is that the other half of your sandwich?” she asked, pointing to the sack on his desk. “You could give it to Sophie.”
“I don’t know why not. I seem to have misplaced my appetite.”
Tootie took the sack from Libby and bent down to Sophie. “The break room would be a much better place to have lunch than here in this busy office. Let’s take it in there, and I’ll get you another glass of milk. How would that be?”
The child nodded, but didn’t speak, and as Sophie followed Tootie out the door, Libby wondered why. But before giving any more thought to it, she realized how long she’d been there and that she still had the letter Garrett had given her in her hand. “I’d probably better be on my way,” she told him, giving the folded paper back to him. Turning for the door, she was almost in the hallway when she heard him speak.
“She hasn’t said anything. Not a single word.”
Libby looked back, but wasn’t sure how to answer. “She may be shy,” she tried, hoping that would ease the lines that had deepened between his gray eyes. “After all, everything here is new to her.”
He nodded, but the worry on his face remained. “Including me.”
She pressed her lips together, wondering if there was anything she could say that would cushion his shock at learning he was a father. But she didn’t feel she knew him well enough to give him advice. “You’ll both do fine,” she offered, hoping that would help at least a little.
He
