Shadow of Suspicion (Haunted by the Past) Read Free Page B

frowned at his
partner. Jason had to admit his father had a good point. It seemed strange that
Sandra exhibited no desire to see her own flesh and blood.
    Sandra slumped slightly. “Of course a
part of me wants to know how she’s turned out. I’ve thought of nothing else
since the day she was born. But it’s not as simple as that. My whole family
live around here. What am I going to do about them? You never saw what happened
when I fell pregnant.”
    Doug drew her into his embrace. “This
isn’t about your family, honey. It’s about you meeting your only child. It is
important for you and for her. I honestly thought I was doing the right thing
by contacting her for you. I can’t imagine not knowing my kids.” He squeezed
her shoulders.
    Sandra stiffened. “I know you meant
well, but you don’t understand. My family will not approve of her being here.
You have no idea how bad they can be. I really think it’s best that we tell her
to leave and I don’t want to do that on my own.” She whirled around to face
Jason and stabbed a finger in his direction. “You’d better not tell Mitch about
this. He’ll only report the whole affair to the rest of the family. I’ll skin you
alive if he finds out.”
    Jason exchanged a shocked glance with
his father. Doug shook his head slightly, warning Jason to say nothing. He
rubbed Sandra’s back gently. “Of course he won’t tell Mitch. Nobody’s going to
do anything you don’t want them to. There is no pressure. Just think about
things. Don’t make your mind up about this right now. Wait and see how you feel
when she arrives.”
    “I won’t change my mind!” Sandra
slumped back against his chest, the sound of her tears were muffled by his
thick coat.
    “I hate to state the obvious, but
can’t you just write and cancel the whole thing?” Jason suggested. “It seems
the obvious solution under the circumstances.”
    Doug cast a pained grimace towards
Jason. “I kind of left it a bit late to spring the surprise on Sandra.
Unfortunately, her daughter will arrive here before a letter gets to her. It’s
too late to stop her visiting, I’m afraid.”
    “And you don’t have her email address
or phone number?” Doug shook his head. Jason sighed. Great! He pinched the
bridge of his nose with his thumb and forefinger. He could feel the beginnings
of a headache.
    Right now, he wished his father had
never visited him when he’d moved to Devon. They wouldn’t be in this mess if
Doug had never clapped eyes on Sandra. And now her daughter was being thrown
into the mix. A daughter that none of the other Fuller’s wanted anything to do
with.
    The sinking in the pit of his stomach
warned him that trouble was headed their way. He could feel it on the horizon
like a thunderstorm.
    “So, when does she arrive?” he asked
his father, resigned to the inevitable. Nobody could mess things up quite like
his dad.
    “She’ll be here tomorrow.”
    Sandra’s head shot up, her eyes
blazing. “She’ll be gone tomorrow too. I won’t have her stay here, Doug. I
won’t!”
    Jason stared at the woman’s hardened
face. She was hiding something, he was sure of it. Her eyes flashed with fear.
What was going on? Judging by the expression on Sandra’s face, he rather
thought it would be better for this long lost daughter to stay lost.
    *****
    Callie shifted in her bed and rolled
over. She sighed. A soft breeze wafted against her face. Something tickled her
nose. Callie raised her hand and swatted at the air. She wrinkled her nose and
scratched it.
    Shifting around in the bed again, she
tried to relax her body so she could drift back to sleep. She was just on the
edges of slumber when something icy cold touched her cheek.
    Callie’s eyes popped open. For a
fraction of a second she saw a small pale face staring right into hers.
Shrieking, Callie sat up in bed and snapped on her nightlight. The warm glow
flooded the room. She stared around, blinking rapidly. Her heart thudded wildly
in