“Oh!” she gasped, stepping backwards. “I’m sorry,” the beautiful woman yelped.
“Who are you?” Harrison demanded, pushing his hat back so that it didn’t cover his eyes.
“Are you a leprechaun?” Halley asked, obviously focusing on the copper curls.
The woman blinked, eyeing the little girl curiously. “Um…no. At least,” she tilted her head thoughtfully, her smile widening playfully. “I don’t think so. But it would be super cool if I was, wouldn’t it?’
“Can I help you?” Stevie asked, pulling the heavy front door closed, then wiggling the knob to make sure it was locked. And also to let the strange woman know that the door was locked. She didn’t look dangerous, but Stevie wasn’t about to take chances. Not with her children’s safety.
“I’m sorry to catch you at a bad time.” The woman reached into an inside pocket of her leather jacket and pulled out a card. “I’m Frankie Winward, Private Investigator. If you wouldn’t mind, I’d like to talk with you, at your convenience. You’re obviously on your way out, but if you wouldn’t mind giving me a call, I can come back when you have a few minutes to spare.”
Stevie took the card, glanced at the name, and stuffed it into her purse, refraining from laughing at the idea of “spare” minutes. Stevie didn’t know what that was. “Right,” she said, not intending to call the number. Private investigator. Hmph! “Well, I’m sorry to rush off, but I need to get my kids to school.”
The woman stepped back, then turned and walked down the porch steps. “I’ll get out of your way. Looks like you have your hands full.”
“Bye, Ms. Leprechaun!” Halley yelled, then dumped her project and book bag into the backseat of Stevie’s SUV before climbing into her booster seat. Halley was intensely independent and preferred to strap on her own seat belt. Harrison toddled around to the other side, bouncing his head from side to side as if he were singing a song in his head. Which was entirely possible. Her dark haired, silver eyed twins were…well, precious. After strapping Harrison in securely, she reached over to test Halley’s seat belt. The little darling hadn’t gotten it exactly right, but it took only a slight push to get the lock engaged. “Okay, now we’re off!”
Fifteen minutes later, Stevie pulled into the parking lot of the day care center. The kids were excited to show off their family tree project and, from the moment she walked in, her kids barely acknowledged her. Before they could dive into the fray, Stevie tugged both of them into her arms for a big hug. “Okay, now you can go,” she said, laughing. She watched for perhaps thirty seconds, just long enough to watch her children settle into whatever game was being played, then she left for her school.
Frankie pulled over to the curb and tugged her camera out of her backpack. Quickly, she took several photos of Stevie Hunt and the adorable twins by her side. They looked nothing like her, but the dark hair and silver eyes were eerily similar to Edward Meyers. He was a bastard right down to his pretentious, pompous, greedy soul. Meanwhile, these two tiny beings looked happy and sweet, eagerly waving to their friends as they toddled along beside their mother.
Frankie didn’t like or respect Edward, but the old man had hired her to find his sons. It had been a stroke of luck that Stevie Hunt had submitted her children’s DNA to the same company Edward had used. He’d been notified of a match to his DNA. Obviously, both parties had agreed to notification of any familial matches. Otherwise, neither would know about the other.
Hence, why Frankie was sitting here, watching two kids head into their school, trying to figure out what to do with this new piece of information. She was also a bit uncomfortable taking pictures of kids. Cheating spouses? Sure, she’d snap those pics, although even that aspect of the job was wearing thin lately. But for the first time in her career, kids were involved, and taking pictures of them left a bad taste in her mouth. Still, she had a job to do, even if she was starting to wonder if this was a job she actually wanted.
She’d located one of Edward’s sons, Lincoln Meyers, a tech genius with a body to die for! For all his faults, Edward Meyers was a tall, handsome man who had obviously passed good genes on to his offspring.
Unfortunately, Edward Meyers was a total bastard. He’d rejected the mothers when they’d informed him that they were pregnant. Now, decades later, the man was dying and wanted to find his three sons to determine which might be “worthy” to run his business empire.
As horrible, unethical, and amoral as Edward Meyers was, Lincoln Meyers, the oldest son, was a good man. He was also now a friend. Frankie had become friends with his now wife, Kinsley, last year, before they had gotten married.
Lincoln had chosen not to be reunited with his father and Frankie had respected his decision, telling Edward that the first son wanted to maintain his privacy and distance. Edward hadn’t liked that. In fact, the old man had tried to bribe Frankie into convincing Lincoln to talk with him. But Frankie wasn’t made like that. She didn’t lie or cheat, and she never violated a person’s trust. Then Edward had shown up at Lincoln’s wedding party and…well, apparently, Edward hadn’t approved of Kinsley.
Frankie shook her head and sighed. Kinsley was good, kind, and incredibly sweet. She loved Lincoln and their happiness was a sight to behold! How could a father disapprove of a woman who so obviously adored his son?
Edward wanted to leave one of his sons in charge of his business empire, but Lincoln was about
