“Oh.” Mom shrugged. “Well, what do I know?”
Relief buzzed through Josh’s veins as his parents carried on about the nurses Dad used to work with. There had been nothing suspicious in his expression or response—nor in Mom’s.
That relief carried him through the thirty-minute conversation, then Mom yawned and they admitted they’d been up before sunrise for a tour.
Seconds after they ended the session, Josh called Maggie.
She answered on the first ring. “How’d it go? Did you find a way to bring up Robyn?”
“I did. Dad didn’t recognize her name.”
“Are you sure?”
“If he did, he’s one heck of an actor. Mom didn’t miss a beat either. They were both calm and casual as could be.”
“Well, I guess he doesn’t know Robyn then.” Her voice held a note of confusion.
“Or he doesn’t remember her name.”
A beat of silence ensued. “Surely you’re not suggesting your dad slept with a stranger.”
“I don’t want to believe it.” During the conversation with his folks, Josh’s mind had strayed a time or two. “He mentioned he might recognize her if he saw her. What if I produced a picture?”
“How are you going to do that without seeming like you’re on some kind of mission?”
She was right. He sighed. “I don’t know. I can’t screw up my relationship with Dad unnecessarily. Maybe we should just wait for the DNA results.”
“That won’t be for weeks. Are you okay with waiting that long? Also, it’s entirely possible we won’t learn anything at all, and then what?”
“I don’t know.”
“I don’t either. But I was wondering this morning... What if other family members are in that DNA database and you show up in their matches? Will they wonder why you had yours checked?”
“As far as I know, none of our immediate family has done anything like that. If there’s a match, I’ll just say I was curious about our ancestry. I am, in fact.”
“Ethan always said you guys have Irish roots.”
“That’s the family scuttlebutt. Along with a little English on Mom’s side. But I wouldn’t mind finding out for sure.”
Zoey’s sleepy voice sounded on her end.
“Guess who just woke from her nap hungry as a hibernating bear?”
He wished he could be there to wrap Zoey in a big hug. “I’ll let you go then. Tell Cupcake I said hi.”
“Okay. See you tomorrow at seven. Wait. Can you at least give me a clue how to dress?”
He was picking her up for a surprise date. He’d been tempted to take her dancing again—just to be certain he got his arms around her at least once. But for the sake of variety, he decided on something different. “Definitely casual, comfortable shoes.”
“Like T-shirt and shorts casual?”
“That’s perfect. See you tomorrow.”
“See you.” He could tell she was smiling by the soft tone of her voice.
And by the time he disconnected the call, he was smiling too.
Chapter 28
