Lost and Found Groom, McLinn, Patricia [ebook reader for pc and android .txt] 📗

“Sure you do–the time with him in Santa Estella.”

“That was a different person.”

“I see. Well, then, let’s start with what you talked about?”

“Mostly about . . .” With a sideways glance she extracted a pledge she knew was unnecessary. “You can’t repeat any of this.”

“Who would I have to tell except you and Marti?” Under Ellyn’s good-natured realism, Kendra thought loneliness peaked through.

“NBC, CNN, People Magazine. I’m surprised he admitted it to me.”

Ellyn’s eyes widened. “You were right–he is Taumaturgio.”

Kendra looked both ways before turning onto the highway more from habit than necessity. Traffic rarely posed a problem.

“Yes. But he says Taumaturgio has been retired now.”

“That couldn’t have happened too long ago. There’ve been stories about him on the news, haven’t there?”

“Yes. It happened recently.”

“Oh, really?”

“What does that mean?”

“What does what mean?”

“That oh really, like you’re reading a lot into something–” For instance his making finding her a priority as soon as his reign as Taumaturgio ended, or so he said. “–when, in fact, there is nothing to be read into anything.”

“Me? I’m not reading anything into anything. So he quits being Taumaturgio, and the first thing he does is come to Far Hills, Wyoming, well-known garden spot of the world–that makes sense.”

Kendra didn’t buy her show of innocence, but let it pass. “He’s on a sort of leave of absence.”

“From what?” Ellyn’s voice skidded up in surprise. “Being a masked crusader? I didn’t know they gave leaves of absence. Does he get benefits, too?”

For the first time since her doorbell rang five hours ago, Kendra laughed. “I don’t know about Taumaturgio, but apparently Daniel Benton Delligatti works for the government.”

“Daniel Benton Delligatti, huh? That’s got a nice sound to it. For what it’s worth, he seems like a nice guy.”

Kendra gave a skeptical snort.

“Yeah, I know. I only saw him for a few minutes, but you’ve got to admit those few minutes were under trying circumstances, and that does tell you something about a man–about a person.”

“Now you sound like him.” It was an accusation.

“Maybe he’s right–at least partially.”

They’d reached the first stop light at the edge of town, and with the red bringing them to a stop, Kendra turned to her.

“Oh, come on, Ellyn. It takes time to truly know someone. Not a couple days in the middle of a hurricane. He’s a stranger. I don’t know him. He doesn’t know me. What happened on Santa Estella–it was no more than a one-night stand.”

“Give yourself a break, Kendra. It wasn’t a one-night stand.”

“What would you call it? Not knowing who he was. Having only a name–not even his real name. Not speaking the same language. What possible outcome could a responsible person have expected? No matter what, I would have been asking how he took his coffee and–”

Kendra bit off the rest of the sentence, concentrating on driving precisely the speed limit on the residential street to Far Hills Community Church.

Ellyn stared at her for half a block. “I’m tempted to say the simple solution would be to make him fix his own coffee, but somehow I don’t think that’s what’s bothering you.”

Kendra blurted out the truth. “I made love with him. I trusted him with my life. I got pregnant by him and had his child and I didn’t know the simplest things about him–his name or how he takes his coffee. What sort of person lets that happen?”

One like her mother. One hoping for love so desperately she’d close her eyes to reality.

“One who’s caught in a hurricane and thinks she could very well die!”

Without answering that defense of her actions Kendra pulled into the church parking lot and found an empty space.

“Besides,” Ellyn continued, “now you have an opportunity to get to know him, to find out all about each other. And you can take that as slow as you want–as slow as you need to.”

“I’m going to find out all about him all right,” Kendra said grimly, “but not slowly.”

“Good grief–you’re investigating him!”

“You bet I am. I made phone calls after he left. I already found out some, and by tomorrow morning I should know a lot more.”

Kendra turned off the engine and slid the keys into her jacket pocket. She reached for the door handle, but didn’t open it when she noticed how still Ellyn had gone.

“You know, Kendra, I knew exactly how Dale took his coffee.” Ellyn faced the passenger window, muffling her voice. “I knew every job he’d held and every grade he’d made. I knew his favorite color and where he would hide Easter eggs, which way he’d vote and how long he took in the shower and when he’d lose his temper over bikes in the driveway. But . . .”

Ellyn turned, and Kendra saw hurt and sorrow and confusion in her friend’s eyes, but also an acceptance that hadn’t been there even two months ago. “Sometimes something much more important than anything you can know with your brain is missing . . . and sometimes it’s there. Either way, there’s no explaining it away.”

Ellyn leaned forward to make her point.

“Don’t try to explain it away, Kendra. Certainly not yet. You found out this afternoon that the father of your child is alive, and.e’s not the man he told you he was–that’s a lot to deal with. You’re relieved and angry and confused. Give yourself time. And in the meantime, talk to him–really talk to him.”

“We talked–”

“Right, about Taumaturgio,” Ellyn scoffed. “That’s a lot easier than talking about what happened between you–or what’s going to happen next. And I just bet you latched onto the topic.”

“It’s the reason I went to Santa Estella in the first place,” she defended herself.

“Right. To find a man who showed up against all odds–in an airplane, by the way–to help children in need of rescuing. Haven’t you ever wondered about that?”

Ellyn obviously thought she was making a point, but she’d lost Kendra. “It’s a great story.”

Ellyn stared at her a moment, then waved it off. “No matter why you went to Santa Estella, your great story