CHAPTER10
After two fruitless hours in the attic, Caitlin discovered little more than dusty, but modern, broken furniture. She had a look in some of the boxes she’d ignored earlier and discovered twentieth-century Christmas cards someone had saved. They might provide more leads to check into. Anyone close enough to the family to exchange cards might be able to provide more answers. But not now. Giving up, she went in search of Holt. She found him where she expected, in the office where they’d first met. He was reading and didn’t seem to notice her presence in the doorway, so she leaned on the jamb and studied him, noting the similarities with either of the men she believed could be his father. The nose and chin were similar in all. The eye and hair color were different. Holt was a little taller than Doc Coates but had the same long-limbed build. If her wild theory was right, she could see him in Holt, though suspected Holt took after his mother more than his father. She couldn’t be certain based on looks alone, but add their histories to the mix, and it made sense.
She must have made a noise because he glanced up and noticed her.
“Caitlin, do you need something?”
In for a penny… “What was your mother’s name?”
“Her name? Why do you want to know that?”
“Humor me. I’ll tell you in a minute.”
“Jennifer Ridley.”
Caitlin’s heart dropped. “Jennifer Cooper Ridley?”
“How did you know that?”
Her heart started pounding a staccato beat in her chest. She grabbed onto the doorjamb to stay upright, kicking herself for not being prepared for a confirming answer, and took a deep breath. She had to get through this without hurting Holt any more than he’d already been hurt. “I learned it from the man who might be your father.”
Holt frowned and leaned back in his chair. “He’s here? Who is he?”
“I…I can’t say.”
“Can’t? Or won’t?”
She held up a hand to forestall his questions. “I don’t have permission…”
“What does that mean?” Holt straightened up. His brows drew together.
“It means he doesn’t know about you, either. He told me he had a girlfriend in school named Jenny Cooper.”
After a dismissive wave, Holt said, “There might have been more than one Jenny Cooper. Maybe Ginny with a G-I, not J-E. And even if he meant my mother, a lot of people went to school with her. She probably had plenty of friends, even boyfriends. What’s so special about this one?”
Caitlin crossed the room to Holt’s desk and perched on the edge near him. He was looking as dazed by her announcement as she felt. Without mentioning his name, she repeated what Doc Coates told her about his military career and the timing of his return on leave to the village years ago, leaving out vet school. Mentioning it would be a dead giveaway. “He thinks your mother married, changed her name, and moved away. He has no idea you exist.”
Holt leaned away so suddenly, the chair tipped.
Caitlin grabbed the arm to keep him from going over. “If I squint, you look like him, but not a lot. You must have taken after your mother. A simple paternity test would prove whether it’s true.”
“DNA. Right. I saw the list of labs on your desk. The genealogy chart you drew.”
He knew! “You went through my desk?” He’d let her rattle on when the whole time, he knew who she meant. Caitlin swallowed against the sudden burn at the back of her throat.
“You’re going through my life,” Holt reminded her.
“Not the same.”
“No, it’s not. What you’re doing is…more. You have plenty of access to things I’ve touched. You could easily take something with my DNA on it. Hell, you don’t even need to go to that trouble. All you and Doc Coates have to do is fake a report.”
Even though she’d been warned, she flinched when he said Doc Coates’s name. “I would never do anything like that. Nor would he. He’s a good man.” Caitlin clenched her fists. How could he think she’d try to hurt him like this? “I know this is a shock, but I’ve told you the truth, and as much as I know.” Not quite, she’d withheld the veterinary training, but Holt knew that, too.
Suddenly the skin around Holt’s mouth turned white, and a muscle in his jaw flexed. “If this is a scam to get access to my money…” He trailed off and shook his head. “I can’t believe you’d be party to such a thing.”
Caitlin froze, her stomach sinking. She expected him to be dubious about finding his father, but suspicious of her? Why? Anger made her blood heat, and she fought to keep her voice calm.
“I am not a party to anything. No one is trying to steal from you.” She took a breath and stood. “I told you what…Doc Coates…told me about his past. We were just having a conversation. He was answering my questions, not trying to convince me of some elaborate, fraudulent scheme.”
