her face and tried to calm her frazzled nerves. She was sitting on pins and needles waiting for word from Simone, wondering what Ryan Harrison was doing and thinking.
Her pounding head signaled a need for caffeine.
She rose, headed to the lounge where she poured herself a thick mug of black goo, then took a big drink. It tasted awful, but if it would help her headache, she didn’t care.
She slipped into her office without looking up and closed the door softly behind her. When she turned, she was surprised to see Simone standing behind her desk, looking out across the bay.
“Nice view,” Simone said.
“Hi. I didn’t expect to see you today.”
“I know. We need to chat.”
Oh, man. Something in her gut signaled this wasn’t good. On a deep breath that did nothing for her now frantic nerves, Kate wove around her desk and sat.
Simone sat across from her. “Okay, first of all, I need to share something with you. I had drinks last night with Mitch Mathews.”
Kate’s brow lifted. “Really?”
“Yes, really.” Simone straightened. “It wasn’t personal. I mean, okay, it could be personal. He called, I think, to talk about you, but there was a spark there. Nothing happened but…I’m only telling you this because I’m your attorney, and I want you to know you come first. I told him flat out that I wasn’t going to see him again unless the test results came back negative. And I won’t.”
Kate didn’t know what to make of that news. “Wow. You believe in being blunt.”
“It’s the only way to get the point across. I like Mitch, but he’s not the first man I’ve met that I like. I just didn’t want you to hear this from him later or for it to come up out of context.”
“I like Mitch too,” Kate said. “What I know of him so far. He seems like a nice man. If you’d told me you had drinks with Ryan, well, I think I’d have a problem with that. He hates my guts.”
“He doesn’t hate you, Kate. He’s confused. There’s a big difference.”
“Doesn’t seem like a big difference to me.” She studied Simone. “You’re allowed to have your own personal life, Counselor.”
Simone’s brow wrinkled, and Kate sensed she wanted to say something but didn’t.
“So is that why you came by today?” Kate asked.
“No.” Simone extracted a folder from her briefcase and drew in a long breath. “I got the DNA report back. I wanted to talk to you about it first. I called Ryan earlier. He’s meeting me at my office this afternoon.”
Kate swallowed the lump in her throat. Here we go. “Okay, let’s have it.”
Simone passed her the file, waited and watched as Kate scanned the page. “It’s a preliminary report, Kate. But it’s a pretty good match. They’ll want to take samples from Mr. and Mrs. Mathews to match parentage. I’m told they live in Seattle. I don’t believe they’ve been informed of your possible identity yet.”
Kate set the file on her desk. Rising, she walked on shaky legs to the window and crossed her arms over her chest where she blew out a calming breath. Then another that did little to slow her racing pulse.
It was true. She was Annie Harrison. Ryan was her husband. Julia was her daughter. The reality of the moment cut right through her, grabbed on to her heart and squeezed tight. She’d lost five years of a life she didn’t even know. And now she was left with…what? A family she couldn’t remember and a future that didn’t look any brighter than it had five minutes ago. If anything, that future looked a thousand times more confusing.
Swallowing the lump in her throat, she forced herself to speak. “I had a feeling it was going to work out this way.”
“I think everyone did. If it’s any consolation, I think they already know. I got that sense from Mitch last night. Maybe that’ll make it easier.”
“I expected it, but it doesn’t make it easier.” Wiping the tears from her face, she turned. So many thoughts, scenarios, questions swam in her mind, but she couldn’t focus on those yet. Pain lanced through her chest at what would inevitably come, but she tried to breathe through it. Knew she just had to get it out there. “Okay, Counselor. Time to earn your retainer. I have a son.”
Simone looked up sharply.
Kate’s lungs felt three sizes too small, but she forced herself to go on. “He’s four and a half. When I woke up from