staying on Dr. Graham’s ranch.”
“It’s nice to meet you,” Pete said. “And although it’s too bad your appointment was canceled, you’re just in time for lunch.”
“Oh, no,” John said. “I don’t want to horn in.”
“Don’t be silly.” Barbara placed a hand on his arm. “Any friend of Betsy’s is a friend of ours. We’d love to have you join us. Besides, it’ll be nice for Pete to have another man to talk to.”
John would have jumped at the chance to join Betsy and her parents for lunch, but he didn’t have a wallet, a credit card or a penny to his name. And he wasn’t used to free rides…
Again, he was caught up in a fact that had no basis for that conclusion, no reason to give that passing thought any credibility.
“You don’t need to include me,” he said. “I can keep myself busy for an hour or two.”
“That’s up to you,” Betsy said. “But you’re welcome to join us. And my mom’s right. Daddy is always outnumbered whenever the three of us get together.”
“Well,” he said, “the problem is that I don’t have my wallet with me.”
“Don’t worry about that,” Pete said. “I’ve got lunch covered today. You can pick up the tab next time.”
“Okay. If that’s the case, then you’ve got yourself a deal.”
“Glad to hear it,” Pete said, a grin spreading across his face as he patted John on the back.
Barbara was smiling, too-as if his company would be a real treat.
John shot a glance at Betsy, to see if she was as happy as her parents seemed to be. But she wore the same unreadable expression she’d had on earlier.
As Betsy slid into a corner booth at Caroline’s Diner with her parents and John, she was both pleased and discomfited about his joining them for lunch. She could have dealt with one or the other, but the conflicting emotions made her uneasy.
Now here they were, seated at the table with their sodas before them and waiting for the waitress to serve their hamburgers.
Her father-a retired banker-leaned toward John and said, “Tell us a little about yourself, young man. What kind of work do you do? And how did you come to meet Dr. Graham?”
Betsy glanced at John, who’d yet to respond, and watched the dilemma weighing in his eyes. But before she could field the question for him, he answered her father truthfully. “Actually, sir, I had an accident a while back and suffered a head injury. I’m afraid I’ve got temporary amnesia, so there’s not much I can tell you.”
“I’m so sorry to hear that,” Betsy’s mother said. “That must be so difficult for you.”
“It’s tough, but I’m dealing with it.”
For a moment, pain shadowed John’s eyes. As Betsy’s heart went out to him, he rallied and changed the subject. “I was pleasantly surprised when I entered the Shady Glen lobby. It’s got a warm and cozy feel about it.”
“We like it,” her dad said. “And there’s a convalescent facility right next door, if one of us should ever need it. But the residents on our side of the complex are considered active seniors, and we have a lot of opportunities to get out on our own and with the others. I even have a couple of golfing buddies who play with me on Saturdays at a little executive course in Wexler. And Barb belongs to a book club and a quilting group that keeps her busy.”
Her mother added, “Betsy wanted us to live with her, but we didn’t want to be a burden.”
Actually, they’d been afraid they would get in the way if she ever started dating again. But that wasn’t going to happen. She’d given up the white-picket-fence dream for herself.
Still, each time she looked at John, she found herself wondering if she’d been wrong. If she could have both a career and a family and balance them as well as Molly Mayfield seemed to have done so far.
But considering something like that, especially with John Doe, was crazy. Look how wrong she’d been about Doug and she’d known him for years.
Sure, they’d been happy at first-or at least she’d thought they’d been. But she’d been so busy with her studies and then with her internship at Grace Memorial that she hadn’t realized that while she was working the night shift, her husband hadn’t been home in bed.
At least not alone.
And the fact that there had been numerous affairs during their three years together had been worsened by his criminal activity. The conviction for insider trading had left her feeling stupid and naive, confirming to her that the man she’d once thought she loved hadn’t been the man she’d thought he was.
Of course, John wasn’t anything like Doug.
She had nothing to go on but feelings and gut instinct. And when it came to romance and judging a man’s character, her emotional gauge had proven to be flawed in the past. Could she ever trust it again?
“Here we go,” the waitress said, as she brought a tray with their plates.
“Would you look at those burgers and fries,” her father said. “What’d I tell you? Caroline sure knows how to make them right.”
As much as Betsy wanted to focus on her meal and to take part in the chatter around her, she couldn’t seem to keep her eyes off John. Her curiosity and interest in him were growing by leaps and bounds, especially after that kiss, and she had no idea what to do about it.
So as a result, she remained fairly quiet over lunch, while her father and John seemed to hit it off.
John seemed to know quite a bit about sports and economics, and she wondered if being around her dad might trigger his memory.
Or had it done so already?
When everyone had finished eating and the waitress had picked up the plates, her father asked for the check.
“Don’t forget,” John said, “I owe you a meal, Pete.”
Her dad slid out from his inside seat at the booth, and before heading for the cashier, he tapped his index finger on his temple. “I won’t forget. And I’ll look forward to next time.”
Betsy told herself that John’s insistence to pay his own way was a good thing, a sign that he was a decent person at heart. And she reminded herself that some of her assumptions about him were based upon observations she’d made and not just on emotion.
After her father paid the bill, they climbed into her car and headed back to the retirement home. Before she knew it, she was dropping her folks off in front of the lobby doors.
John climbed out to help her mom with the walker-another sign of his character.
“It was nice meeting you,” her mother told John. “I hope we get a chance to see you again one day soon.”
He smiled. “I’d like that, Barbara.”
When they’d all said their goodbyes, she drove away, feeling a bit relieved. John and her parents had hit if off better than she’d expected.
She had to admit, she felt a lot more comfortable with John on the drive back to the ranch than she had coming to town. She wasn’t sure why that was, though. Nothing had really changed.
“Your parents are great,” he said.
“I think so, too.”
“They’re really proud of you.”
“Yes, they are.” In fact, just the other day, her mom had told her that they’d been blessed the day they’d adopted her. And Betsy felt the same way.
She had no idea what her life would have been like if she hadn’t grown up in the Nielsons’ home.
Yet whenever that question came to mind, she couldn’t help wondering about her birth mother, the woman who wanted to meet her. The woman who’d at least taken time to look at her red-haired newborn before handing her over to social workers.
She tried to imagine the possible scenarios that might have caused the woman to put her newborn daughter up for adoption. A teenage pregnancy? Illegitimacy?
How would the woman feel when she learned that the baby she’d given away had grown up to be happy, successful and well-adjusted?
