Read Online Peekaboo Baby by Delores Fossen - Free Book Online

belonged to a Defender of the Alamo.” He shrugged. “A shrink would probably say I was trying to give myself a meaningful personal history to counteract my actual personal history, which wasn’t so meaningful.”
    Delaney didn’t want to be fascinated by that, but she was. “Was that what you were trying to do?”
    A muscle flicked in his jaw. “Of course.”
    He left it at that. Which was just as well. She’d heard rumors that as a child Ryan had been abandoned by his teenaged mother, passed from one family member to another and then channeled into the foster-care system. He never mentioned these childhood events in interviews.And it probably wasn’t a good thing to discuss with him now. Delaney didn’t want to feel any sympathy for this self-made man.
    â€œWhy are you here?” she asked.
    He waited a few more seconds. There were several flicks of his jaw muscles and a slight shift of his posture. “I’ve been thinking about what happened the other night. In fact, I’ve given a lot of thought to everything that’s gone on since you walked into my office. You know where this is leading, where it has to lead, right?”
    That question did away with the semikindheartedness she felt over his butterfly search and his less-than-perfect childhood. “That depends on perspective, and from my perspective, all of it ends here. The accident was just that—an accident. And the allegations by the medical watchdog group are merely allegations.”
    â€œYou really believe that?”
    She stared at him. “I have to believe that.”
    â€œWell, I can’t take the head-in-the-sand approach. For one thing, it could be dangerous.”
    Delaney wanted to dash off a cool comeback, but his warning put a sizable dent in her composure. “You’re working under the assumption that what happened is connected to the rumors associated with the New Hope clinic.”
    â€œNo. I’m working under the assumption that the attempted murder, aka the car accident, was connected to one of us. That means, it could ultimately be connected to your son.”
    She shook her head and began to twist one of her rings. “But you said you didn’t believe the technology exists for human cloning.”
    â€œI don’t. But someone else might believe it. Someone associated with the clinic who wants the watchdog group’s allegations to go away.”
    â€œAre you saying—”
    â€œI’m saying we need answers, and I don’t think we can rely on Sheriff Knight to get them for us.”
    The ring fidgeting wasn’t helping, so she tried pacing. Not far, and she kept herself positioned between Ryan and the nursery. “And how do you propose we get answers?”
    He reached into his inside jacket pocket and extracted a small, clear plastic bag. Inside was what appeared to be a Q-tip.
    â€œIt’s a buccal swab test kit to collect genetic material,” Ryan explained.
    Oh, God.
    Delaney’s pulse was suddenly thick and throbbing and vibrating throughout her entire body. She actually dropped back a step to put some distance between herself and the test kit.
    â€œIt’s not invasive, definitely not painful,” Ryan went on. He paused and cleared his throat. “According to the doctor, all you have to do is swab the inside of your son’s mouth.”
    And then what?
    The question exploded inside her head, but the words never made it past the tight clamp in her throat.
    â€œWe can have Patrick’s DNA tested,” Ryan continued a moment later. Not easily. He was obviously having his own personal problems with speech. His voice was strained and clipped. “Then, we’ll know.”
    Yes.
    Then, they’d know.
    And that’s what terrified Delaney.
    Because she wasn’t sure she could live with the answer.

Chapter Six
    Ryan hadn’t even been aware that he was holding his breath until he became