A Mother's Secret Read Free Page A

Kaitlin.
    But, no.
    This wasn’t the time to think about it.
    Joe waited at the altar, a big, dark, often grim man in a tux. Daniel, as best man, stood at his elbow, glad he had an excuse not to be sitting with the half sister and her daughter and assorted others who made up this new family that so entranced Joe.
    Joe’s little girl, Kaitlin, solemn with a flower circlet on her head, came first, sprinkling rose petals. Her dark hair, usually confined in tiny braids, was a wavy cloud. She looked so cute in a pretty peach-colored dress, Daniel grinned in pride and affection from her first step at the backof the church. Mostly she concentrated on her task, her brown eyes serious, but she smiled as she acknowledged her dad and her beloved uncle Daniel before she found her place in the front pew.
    And then came the maid of honor, another schoolteacher, and at last Pip, glowing for the man she loved. Her pregnancy wasn’t yet obvious, and she was lovely in beaded white satin.
    Joe watched her walk down the aisle, an expression on his hard face that was new to Daniel. There was no doubt at all, and something that might have been wonder, in Joe’s eyes. Daniel might have felt cynical if Pip hadn’t looked as amazed and awed and…soft…when she smiled at this American she’d unexpectedly come to love.
    The ceremony was simple, elegant and heartfelt. The kiss was passionate enough to send a stir through the crowd.
    In the wake of the bride and groom, Daniel ushered both the maid of honor and Kaitlin out. And after breaking free of the crowd, Kaitlin drove with him to the hall rented for the reception.
    “That was perfect,” she declared. “Did you see Dad? And Ms. Browne?”
    “I saw.” Not naturally comfortable with children, Daniel made an exception for Kaitlin. He reached out and squeezed her thin shoulder. “You’re happy about this, aren’t you?”
    “It’s perfect!” The ten-year-old gave a shiver of delight. “I knew it would be.”
    The young were capable of such faith and hope, but Daniel found that, for once, he wanted to believe. Joe deserved a kind of happiness he’d never known.
    He and Daniel had been raised more like brothers than uncle and nephew. Joe’s father, Adam, was twenty years older than Daniel. They’d been too far apart in age to be close, although Adam had tried, when Daniel was young, to stand in for the father who wasn’t very interested in his son.
    The reception hall wasn’t anything fancy; given how quickly this wedding had been put together, they’d been lucky to find anywhere large enough for the purpose. But white tablecloths, white gardenias, a band already warming up and a buffet table laden with food made the hall plenty festive.
    Daniel was glad to be insulated from the new family again, this time by Pip’s, sharing the bride and groom’s table. They were flying home to New Zealand the day after Christmas, and savoring every moment with her in the meantime.
    Pip’s father offered the first toast, Daniel the second.
    “To my nephew, who is really my brother and my best friend, and to the woman he loves as he’s never loved before…” Daniel had trouble finishing. Couldn’t remember what he’d meant to say. Joe pulled him into a rough embrace, slopping his champagne. Afterward, he went with what he saw on their faces, even though it was sappy as hell. Holding up his glass, he concluded, “To a lifetime of joy.”
    Everyone smiled and drank. Pip’s mother, he saw, wiped tears from her eyes, and her father looked to be battling them.
    The petite dark-haired woman at the next table offered a warm toast to her nephew and the lovely woman who’d joined her life to his.
    Daniel drank to that one, too, but he didn’t turn his head to meet her gaze.
    Incredibly enough, she was his half sister. His brother Adam’s full sister. Daniel was still dazed by the revelations that made it so.
    His mother had been married twice, first to a World War II war hero who had been