Chapter 6

CHAPTERSIX

Tanner crouched downon the green in order to get a better look at the tin cup three feet in front of him. His body was so tense he was surprised he could even bend his knees. Of the first nine holes during the afternoon’s practice round, this was by far the shortest putt he needed to make. He should be able to do it with his eyes closed. Of course, after missing his previous eight putts, maybe he should just close his eyes and take the damn shot.

“The green slopes to the right about six inches in front of the hole,” Sonny advised from where he was bent over Tanner’s back, studying the same line.

The caddy could read the greens better than anyone in professional golf. Both men knew his advice wouldn’t matter for shit today, though. Tanner couldn’t seem to sink a putt from six inches away much less thirty-six. That’s because every time he gripped his putter, his wrists began to twitch.

He got to his feet and stepped up to address the ball. Sure enough, there was the damn twitch again. He could feel the eyes of the other golfers and caddies in his foursome looking on sympathetically. None of them looked his way when the ball rolled past the hole, however.

A few years ago, a much less mature Tanner would have angrily tossed his putter into the pond to his right. The tantrum would have fueled headlines for weeks. Fortunately for his family—and the prototype putter his sponsor let him experiment with—the anger management techniques he’d spent a fortune to master were helping him keep his frustrations from becoming social media fodder.

But just barely.

“I think that’s it for me today, gentlemen,” he announced to no one’s surprise. “Obviously, I’d be better off spending my time on the practice green.”

The other men all murmured their agreement, trying, and failing, to hide their relief. Golfers were a superstitious lot. They all knew it just as easily could be one of them self-destructing during a practice round days before a tournament. None of them wanted any part of what Tanner was experiencing to rub off on them. And they certainly weren’t going to acknowledge Tanner’s condition for what it likely was: a bad case of the yips.

“There’s already a crowd over at the practice green,” Sonny said quietly. “You sure you want to go over there?”

“It’s only a matter of time before everyone in the clubhouse is talking about it,” Tanner replied. “But you’re right. No amount of practice is going to fix this. Let’s head back to the condo.”

He needed a stiff drink and some privacy to make the phone call he’d been dreading since learning the truth about Whitney last night. The shock of the paternity results was messing with Tanner’s head. Not to mention his game. The sooner he resolved the situation, the sooner he’d leave the yips in the rearview mirror of his golfcart.

An hour later, his wrist was twitching for another reason as he dialed his phone. He needed to get this conversation over with, but a big part of him wished he could just remain oblivious. To go back to playing the game he loved at a level he’d worked hard to attain.

Except there was a living, breathing child he couldn’t ignore. A child that had his twin brother’s DNA but Tanner’s name on her birth certificate.

Tanner needed answers. Unfortunately, the one person with all the answers was no longer among the living. That meant he had to go to the next closest source.

Melinda answered on the fourth ring.

“Tanner,” she said. “What’s up?”

His brother’s widow always sounded breathless and harried on the phone, like she was doing the caller a favor just by answering. Tanner got along well enough with her when Tristan was alive. She adored her husband and likely deserved some sort of monument for putting up with Tristan’s idiosyncrasies and superiority complex. Not only that, but she was a good mother who doted on her twin boys.

Now that Tristan was no longer around to act as a buffer, Melinda’s frosty indifference toward Tanner held a bit more bite. No doubt her view of him was tainted by whatever tales Tristan told her about their childhood. His reputation as a hothead on the links and a playboy off the course likely didn’t help their relationship either. Still, she never denied him access to his nephews.

“I wanted to check in on the boys,” he said. Not entirely a lie. With Tristan gone, Tanner was determined to be the devoted uncle/father figure to his brother’s sons. “And you, of course. It’s been a few weeks since we last spoke.”

“Has it?” Her tone implied she hadn’t been waiting by the phone for his call. “Time seems to run together when you have little ones.”

Melinda was far from a frazzled mother. She was born with a silver spoon in her mouth just as shiny as the ones Tanner and Tristan were born with. The Arizona home she shared with her sons was by no means a shoebox, either. Not to mention the staff of three that came with it.

“How are the boys doing?” He thumbed through the photos on his phone to find the weekly snapshot of the twins she religiously sent to Tanner and his parents. At nearly seventeen months, the boys already had the same twinkle in their eye as their father and uncle.

“Both are getting their two-year-molars right now. Liam continues to walk with his arms above his head as though he’s got a gun pointed to his back.”

Tanner chuckled at the image.

“And Luca still does all the talking for both of them,” she continued.

Shit.

The twitch in his wrist suddenly became more pronounced. He dropped onto the sofa, unsure how to proceed from here.

“Listen, Mel, I’m trying to locate someone from the Silver Canyon project.” Tristan spent three years developing the six-thousand-acre community just north of Las Vegas. The timeframe coincided with Whitney’s conception. On the day of her birth, however, his brother was on his honeymoon in Fiji. “Do you happen to know if Tristan kept a staff directory?”

The line was quiet for several long heartbeats before Melinda answered. “I have no idea. Your dad would have all of that, anyway. You should check with him.”

Except Tanner couldn’t ask his dad. Not without the man becoming suspicious. Tanner never cared about the company or its property development before. Sure, he showed up to promote the golf courses and surrounding homes when asked. He benefited from the company’s success after all. The day-to-day operations were well beyond his sphere of interest, however. His father would immediately know something was up if Tanner started asking for an item as innocuous as a staff directory.

And he wasn’t sure how to broach the discovery of Whitney yet. His parents were both so fragile right now. They would relish having another living part of Tristan, though.

But would the woman on the other end of the line?

What the fuck was he doing?

He dragged his fingers through his hair. As much as he wanted to hand this problem off to someone else, he couldn’t very well ask Melinda if Tristan ever mentioned a woman named Donella. He certainly couldn’t tell his brother’s widow her twin sons had a half-sister.

The mum accidentally left her with me before she disappeared. Tag. You’re it.

Nope. He couldn’t pull the trigger. Not now anyway. Maybe not ever.

The answer to his problems was out there somewhere. Just not with Melinda. So far, none of Sheriff Hollister’s contacts had turned up anything. Tanner would hire a private detective to track Whitney’s mother down, that’s all. Hell, he’d hire five it that was what it would take.

“Is that all you needed, Tanner?”

“Um, yeah. Some guy who says he used to work out there claims Tristan promised him a round of golf with me. I’m happy to honor it if the guy’s legit.” Tristan had promised countless people a round of golf with his famous brother. Melinda would never suspect the lie. “I’m sure Dad can verify it for me.”

“Your parents will be in the States later this spring,” Melinda said. “Hopefully, you can fit us all into your busy tournament schedule. It will be good for the boys to see you.”

He hung up saying a fervent prayer that the situation with Whitney was cleared up long before then. If not, he wouldn’t have to worry about a busy tournament schedule. His days would be wide open.

* * *

Paige closedthe book then nearly jumped off the chaise at the smattering of applause filling the bookstore. Aside from Lou and Denise, two other women were clapping a little bit too enthusiastically. The taller woman had a mischievous grin to go with her wavy shoulder-length dark hair. The blue eyes behind her glasses seemed vaguely familiar. An infant carrier was strapped to her chest, the only evidence of the sleeping baby inside was a tiny foot sticking out from one of the leg holes.

The other woman wore her long blonde hair in a messy braid to the side of her head. Her almond-shaped eyes practically twinkled within her delicate face. The rest of her was just as slight, except for the large baby-bump protruding from her middle.

“That’s Emily’s favorite book right now. Alden and I pride ourselves on being good bedtime story readers,” the dark-haired one said. “But your rendition puts us to shame.”

Lou charged forward. “She’s right. That was amazing.” She clapped her hands. “I’ve been wanting to start a story-time hour here in the store for months, but I couldn’t find the right person. You would be perfect. Oh, please say you’ll do it.”

The four women stared at Paige expectantly. As though it was a perfectly reasonable request.

“Um—”

“Whoa there, Louella.” Denise gently pulled her wife back toward the front of the store. “You’re scaring the poor woman.”

The blonde woman laughed. “Stand down, Lou. Paige is only visiting for the week.” She turned to Paige. “Acclimating to life in a small town can be a little overwhelming. Trust me, I should know.” She extended her hand. “I’m Ginger, Gavin’s wife. And this is Kate.”

Paige already surmised the taller woman was Patricia’s eldest daughter based on her earlier comments. What she couldn’t figure out was why they were here. She shook hands with both of them.

“How did you know where to find me?”

“It’s hard to fly under the radar in Chances Inlet,” Ginger replied. “We ran into Deputy Lovell outside Knotical. He mentioned seeing you come in here.”

Kate elbowed her sister-in-law. “Knotical is the yarn shop next door. His mom owns it. It’s not like he was tailing you or anything like that.”

Of course not.

Paige’s expression must have telegraphed her thoughts because both women laughed.

“I didn’t say your father isn’t keeping tabs on you,” Kate teased. “But then, that’s a father’s prerogative. Especially with their daughters.”

There was no point in explaining that “keeping tabs” on her didn’t make Lamar Hollister a father. Whatever issues she had with her dad had nothing to do with these women. Or anyone else in Chances Inlet. She didn’t come here to tear down the good reputation he had within this town or the McAlister family. Their lost relationship was water under the bridge.

At least that’s what she kept telling herself.

Kate bent down to shake Whitney’s hand.

“And you must be Whitney.” She reached for the rabbit’s paw and shook it. “And that makes you Gladys. So nice to meet you both.”

Gladys?

Kate winked at Paige. “Emily noticed it written on the tag,” she murmured. “She confirmed it with Whitney. What can I say? My daughter comes from a long line of formidable women. She scares me sometimes with her superpowers.”

Paige glanced down at Whitney. “Gladys?”

The little girl nodded.

“That’s a perfect name for a bunny.” Paige glided her palm over Whitney’s head. “Why don’t you pick out three books to take home with us and put the rest away.”

While Whitney quietly sorted through the books, Paige turned to Kate and whispered, “Did she say anything to Emily?”

Kate shook her head in defeat. “I’m afraid not.” She laid a hand on Paige’s arm. “But she will. I’ve seen these kinds of cases before and all it takes is for the child to trust someone. It’s obvious she’s comfortable with you. We are just going to have to wait it out. Be patient with her.”

Patience was not exactly one of Paige’s virtues. She only had a week to unlock Whitney’s secrets.

“Those books are wonderful choices,” Ginger was saying to Whitney. She patted her growing belly. “I may need your advice for some books for my baby. Do you think you can help me pick some when the time comes?”

Whitney gave Ginger a shy grin as she nodded.

“It’s a date,” Ginger said.

The kindness everyone kept showering Whitney with was touching. However, the assumption neither of them was ever leaving Chances Inlet was starting to freak Paige out a little bit.

The little girl proudly carried the books she’d chosen to the counter. Lou shot Paige a pleading look. Something fluttered in her chest. It had been nearly three months since she’d read aloud to a child. Truth be told, she’d forgotten how much she missed it.

Damn you, Jon, for taking that away.

“I’ll be in town through Sunday,” she heard herself saying. “I’m happy to come back later this week.”

Lou raced around the counter and pulled her into a tight hug. “Thank you! Thank you!”

“Any day but Saturday,” Kate chimed in. “She’s busy that day.”

Paige eyeballed the other woman.

Kate pointed at Ginger’s belly. “Saturday is Ginger’s baby shower,” she said as if that explained everything.

Ginger nodded. “It’ll be a great opportunity for you to meet everyone.”

It wasn’t until they were on the sidewalk outside the bookstore that the full force of what just transpired hit Paige. Her father would certainly have unearthed Paige’s embarrassing secret by the weekend. She would likely be too paralyzed with humiliation to read aloud in front of a crowded bookstore. The realization had her feeling gloomy. For some unknown reason, it meant something to her to have these people respect her.

Whitney climbed aboard the gardener’s cart.

“Don’t tell me you pulled her on that all the way from Tanner’s place?” Kate asked.

Paige shrugged. “It’s not that far. And I like the exercise.”

Kate narrowed her eyes. “Let me guess. ‘Number One in the World’ didn’t think to pick up a booster seat?”

“Bingo. And the car he left me is only a two-seater. My car should be ready tomorrow afternoon. I’ll use Tanner’s credit card to order a booster online. Hopefully it will be here by then.”

“You’ll do better than that.” Kate pulled a key fob from the baby carrier and pointed it at a giant SUV parked three doors down. “I’m on my way to grab some diapers for this little poop machine. My car is equipped with built-in booster seats. I’ll give you two a lift to the super-store. You can use his credit card to buy one there. And whatever else we think you’ll need.”

Whitney looked at Paige expectantly.

Paige grinned back at her. “Only if they sell ice cream.”

“Well, it looks like that problem is solved.” Ginger had to maneuver around her belly to give Paige a hug. “I’m so glad to meet you, finally, Paige. Your father always talks about you with such pride.”

An uneasy tremor shot through Paige.

Ginger gave Whitney a squeeze. “We will definitely see you Saturday, if not before. Now, I’m off to the studio to get ready for my afternoon dance classes.”

A strangled sound escaped Whitney’s throat. All three women stilled.

Kate cocked her head to the side. “Do you like to dance, Whitney?”

The girl’s chin bobbed up and down swiftly.

“Oh my gosh, we are going to be great friends, then.” Ginger sat down on the cart next to her. “I’m thrilled to share my love of dance with little girls like you. Emily has dance class tomorrow. You’re welcome to come with her.” She quickly glanced up at Paige. “If that’s okay?”

One look at Whitney’s eager face and Paige realized this could be an opportunity to unlock the little girl’s voice.

“It’s not like we have any other solid plans.” She cupped Whitney’s cheek. “And we’ll need a way to work off all that ice cream, won’t we?”