For His Little Girl

returning. Obviously nobody had been at home, she thought, and he'd come straight back. But then another car followed his into the drive, and an endless river of people streamed out. Aghast, Pippa realized that Luke had brought the family with him, and not willingly, either, if his helpless shrug up to her on the balcony was anything to go by.

The next moment they were all pouring through the back door, and Pippa was emerging nervously to meet them. Luke's plump little mother surveyed her fiercely. 'Are you Pippa?'' she demanded.

'I…yes-' The rest was lost in a suffocating embrace. Pippa was half a head taller, but somehow Luke's mother still managed to engulf her.

Then her husband, so tall that it was clear where Luke's height came from, and with a face made for laughter. He, too, hugged her, with a great roar of delight. Zak was the same as in his picture, a younger version of Luke, not quite so tall, a little heavier, but with the same smile and the same air of knowing the world was his for the taking. Becky had gray eyes full of humor, and a no-nonsense manner than Pippa took to at once.

They were allowed only a moment before his mother shunted them aside and hugged Pippa again, saying, 'We should have met long ago, but better late than never.'

'Yes,' Pippa agreed, liking her instinctively.

Luke made the mistake of putting himself forward. 'Mom, why don't we-'

She rounded on him. 'Did anyone speak to you?'

'No, Mom.'

'You speak when you're spoken to, and be grateful you're being spoken to at all.'

'Yes, Mom.'

Becky and Zak exchanged grins. Luke glared at them, but otherwise subsided meekly. Suddenly a silence fell. All heads turned to the kitchen door where Josie stood rubbing the sleep out of her eyes. Pippa was about to introduce her, but some instinct held her silent. She knew it had been a wise instinct, when Luke slipped his arm around his daughter's shoulders and said simply, 'This is Josie. She's mine.' He looked down at his daughter. 'This is my family-your family now.'

Everyone was waiting for his mother's reaction, and it came quickly. The short woman and the tall child were almost at eye level. They surveyed each other. Then Josie gave her slow, gorgeous smile, and Luke's mom gasped.

'Clarrie!' she cried. And burst into tears.

'Who's Clarrie?' Pippa asked under cover of the commotion.

'She was Mom's kid sister,' Becky told her. 'She died years ago. I've only seen pictures, but I guess there is a resemblance.'

She, too, was swept up in the introductions, then Zak, then his mom again, then dad. Pippa feared that Josie might find this overwhelming, but not for long. As she'd already proved in the television studio, the child had inherited her father's natural self-possession when 'on show.' Josie sorted her thoughts out fast, said, 'I'd better get dressed,' and vanished.

Pippa followed her and took out some clean jeans and a T-shirt. 'Are you all right, darling?''

'Mom,' Josie said, awed, 'I've got grandparents.'

'Yes, you never had them before.'

'Isn't it great?'

'Yes, darling, it's great.'

Luke was waiting as they emerged from the bedroom. 'I'm sorry about this,' he muttered. 'I barely got the words out when they pounced on me and dragged me out to the car. I didn't even get the chance to call you first.'

'It's all right. I'm glad they've taken to her so well. And at least you're still in one piece.'

'I am now. But boy, the earful I got from Mom!'

'And your father?'

'No, he lets her do it for him.'

'It's nice that they're so pleased.'

'Are you kidding? This is their first grandchild. They're over the moon. Zak and Becky are pretty thrilled, too, because it takes the pressure off them to settle down and start breeding.'

Zak, who'd come out into the hall, grinned. 'Trust my big brother to come to the rescue,' he said. 'Pippa, she's a great kid. We're all going to love her. And you.'

He followed this up with a hug. Pippa was glad the hall lighting was low so that they shouldn't see the sudden tears in her eyes. All these years she'd thought she knew what she was missing, but there was so much more that she'd never dreamed of. She surreptitiously wiped her eyes and went back to the kitchen with the other two.

It seemed that Luke's dad would monopolize his new granddaughter. They were seated side by side at the bar, drinking milk shakes and talking nineteen to the dozen. Now and then one of the others would join in, only to be edged out by his dad. Luke's mother surveyed them with great satisfaction.

'He's found someone his own age at last,' she confided to Josie.

Pippa soon saw that she was right. Between the man of sixty and the girl of ten there was a true meeting of minds. Pippa watched in fascination, beginning to understand Luke as never before.

At that moment his dad's voice rose in horror. 'You mean you've never been to Disneyland?'

Wide-eyed, Josie shook her head. 'Never,' she said mournfully.

'Josie,' Pippa said, scandalized, 'you stop playing Orphan Annie right now.'

'Don't spoil it for him,' his wife said quickly. 'He loves the place. Now he's got a cast-iron excuse. You wouldn't want to deprive him of it, would you?'

'I guess not,' Pippa said, dazed.

In no time Disneyland became the agenda for next day. Zak and Becky had to work, but the other five would drive over to Anaheim. With that point settled the family departed, leaving Luke's house alarmingly quiet.

Next day she, Luke and Josie drove over to his parents' house. His mom greeted Pippa and Josie as if they'd parted a year ago instead of a few hours, and she took Pippa aside. 'I wanted to show you this,' she said, holding out a photograph. 'It was Clarrie.'

The picture was forty years old and taken by a very basic camera. Even so, Pippa was amazed at the likeness. She was used to thinking of Josie as resembling herself, but now she saw that the child's heart-shaped face was the same as the one in the picture. So, too, was the slight upward tilt of her nose.

'It broke my heart when I lost her,' Luke's mom confided. 'Well, I guess I've kind of got her back now.''

Pippa was shaken. She'd half suspected that the resemblance to Clarrie was an illusion, invented by Luke's mother. The discovery that it was real seemed to change everything in some subtle way. Josie really did belong in this family. She even looked different to Pippa's eyes.

'I'm glad,' she said.

The older woman eyed her. 'You look like a nice girl. How come you didn't want to marry my Luke?'

'I-what's he been saying?'

'He says he asked you to marry him and you said no. Isn't that true?'

Pippa's jaw dropped. 'Well, he's got a nerve,' she said wrathfully. 'He-I-well, yes, technically I suppose it's true, in a sort of way. But I could hear it in his voice that he was only asking out of duty-''

'Duty? Luke?' echoed Luke's mother.

'Well, there certainly wasn't any other reason. You should have heard how relieved he was when I refused!'

His mother's eyes were kind and shrewd. 'So, no meant yes, right?'

'Right! At least, it would have been if he'd really wanted me, but we sort of had a deal-no strings, and so I, well, you know-'

'Sure I know. He's my son. And his father's son, heaven help us all!'

Pippa was breathing hard. 'So he played the injured innocent, did he?'

'And good!'

'I can just hear him. 'Mom, I wanted to marry her, but she brushed me off.' I'm going to make him sorry he was born.'

'Hey, that's a mother's privilege. You wait in line.'

'No, you wait in line,' Pippa said firmly. 'The first bite belongs to me.'