Two of a Kind

Barely an hour before, two guys from different bands had stopped by to tell her that attendance had been up for their concerts, along with CD and T-shirt sales. Downloads of their music had gone through the roof. Three of the food vendors had wanted her to know they’d nearly doubled their sales from the previous years. There was still friction with the honey booth guy, but no situation was perfect and this was more of a win than Felicia had expected.

Patience and Lillie raced up to her. “Did you hear?” Patience asked. “It’s Heidi. She had a girl. We’re going to the hospital later to see her. It’s the perfect end to a perfect weekend.”

“I hadn’t heard,” Felicia said, thinking she’d only met Heidi a couple of times. The woman had seemed very nice. She had married the previous summer and was now a new mother. “Please tell her congratulations from me. I’m a tiny bit envious of her happiness.”

Patience hugged her. “We’ll find you someone. Did you go to Denise’s booth? You could talk to her about Kent. Unless you’re interested in Ford.”

“I’m not, but thanks.”

“Just as well. Despite her protests, I’m convinced Isabel still has a thing for him.” Patience glanced at her engagement ring. “This town is just so magical.”

Lillie tugged on her mother’s hand. “Mom, we need to get to the hospital.”

“You’re right.” Patience hugged Felicia again. “Come to Brew-haha soon. I want to hear all about your first festival.”

“Sure.”

They ran off.

Felicia circled the park and checked on the cleanup. The crowd had drifted away, and the booth vendors were busy breaking down their displays and packing them away. People called out to her as she moved by. She greeted them and wished them a safe journey.

She’d done it, she thought happily. Survived her first big event. It hadn’t been easy, but she’d only had a mini breakdown and she had more information for next time. She would go a little slower with the changes and explain more. She would get input and then she would move forward.

She had a plan, she thought happily. Always a good thing.

She walked toward the front of the park. Gideon had said he would meet her there. She appreciated that he was checking up on her. She spotted him as she crossed the street, then realized he wasn’t alone. There was a boy standing next to him.

The kid was maybe twelve or thirteen, with dark hair and eyes. Neither was unusual, so she shouldn’t have found herself staring at the boy. Only there was something about him. Something almost familiar.

She wondered if she’d seen him that day. Or around town. There were so many children in Fool’s Gold. He might be a friend of Lillie’s or—

Gideon spotted her. His expression of both relief and panic had her walking faster. As she approached, the boy looked at her, too, and smiled.

The smile had her stumbling to a stop. She recognized it. Recognized the shape of his mouth, his eyes.

“You must be Felicia,” the boy said. “Gideon was telling me about you. I’m Carter.”

Felicia knew, even before he said the words, but still she had to hear them. “Carter?”

“Uh-huh. Gideon’s my dad.”

CHAPTER ELEVEN

“YOUR DAD?”

Carter shrugged. “Yeah, I know. Weird, right?”

Felicia glanced at Gideon, but he wasn’t talking. His gaze seemed locked on the boy, and if his trapped expression was any indication of what he was thinking, she would suspect he was seconds from bolting. A sniper rifle would make sense to him. An attacker would be quickly disabled. But a son?

Carter slipped his hands into his front jeans pockets. “My mom was Eleanor Gates. Ellie. They met when my d—Gideon was stationed in San Diego. He went overseas and then she found out she was pregnant. She always said he was a good soldier and she didn’t want to get in the way of that.”

Carter looked at Gideon. “Special Ops, right? That’s what she said, but she wasn’t sure. You didn’t talk about it much.”

“Need to know,” Gideon said, then cleared his throat.

Carter flashed another smile. “And she didn’t need to know. Kinda like in the movies. Anyway, she was pregnant and didn’t want to get in the way. She said if you wanted to be with her, you’d come back.”

The smile faded. “When you didn’t, she decided not to put your name on the birth certificate. But she told me. You know, when I was older.”

Felicia could hear the words and understand their meaning. But absorbing them was more difficult than she would have thought. Gideon had a son. Even without Carter’s story, she could see the physical similarities.

“Where is she now?” she asked, afraid she already knew the answer.

“She died,” Carter said simply. “A year ago. My best friend’s parents said they’d be my foster parents, so that worked out. I lived with them. Only now they’re getting a divorce and moving out of state. Neither of them wanted to take me, so it was find my dad or go into the foster system.”

He sounded confident, Felicia thought. But she saw the telltale tremble in the corner of his mouth.

“How old are you?” she asked.

“Thirteen. But I know stuff. I’m not a kid.”

“In many cultures you would be considered an adult male by now,” she said. “Usually there are rituals to mark the passage from one stage of life to another. Here we consider adulthood to start at age eighteen, although it isn’t difficult to become an emancipated minor.”

Carter stared at her. “Okay,” he said slowly. “You’re agreeing I’m not a kid?”

“Not exactly. How did you find Gideon?”

“That was easy.” He picked up the backpack at his feet and opened it. “I had his picture and his name. Once I knew about the divorce and having to find a new place to live, I went online and did some research. I’m good at computers and stuff.”

“Obviously,” Felicia said as she took the picture. It showed a younger version of Gideon with his arms around a pretty brunette. She was smiling with that “in love” glow Felicia had seen in other women but never in her own eyes. She passed the picture to him.

Gideon took it, then nodded slowly. “It’s Ellie.”

She knew there was no point in confirming the relationship. Carter was obviously related to Gideon. Not that he was prepared to take on a child, she thought. There had to be a next step and she had no idea what it was.

It was nearly eight on a Sunday night. She’d planned to go home and sleep for at least twelve hours. Maybe longer. But what about Carter?

Mayor Marsha walked up and smiled at Carter. “Hello, young man. I’m Mayor Marsha and you’re Gideon’s son.” She held out her hand.

“Carter,” the teen said, shaking hands with her. “How did you know I was here?”

“I know everything, Carter. After you’ve been here a while, you’ll accept that.” She looked between him and Gideon. “I see the resemblance. Based on your wide-eyed expression, Gideon, I take it you didn’t know about Carter.”

“No,” Gideon said. “I didn’t.”

“Then you have a lot to take in.” The mayor turned to her. “You’re exhausted, dear. This has been quite the weekend. But successful. Your first festival went extremely well.” She turned back to Carter. “I admire your initiative. However, I’m sure you’re aware there are consequences for your actions.”

Carter sighed. “I didn’t want to go into the foster care system. You hear stories, you know?”

“I do know. But there are also laws, and you’re still a minor. Plus, leaving a note for your guardians isn’t going to reassure them.”

“How did you know I left a note?”

She smiled. “Didn’t you?”

Carter nodded. “I’m not a kid.”

“You’re a teenager, which is worse. Believe me, I know.” She patted him on the arm. “You need a place to stay for the night.”

“I have my dad.”

“It’s not that simple. Here’s what I propose. You’ll spend tonight with a foster family. I’ll let your guardians know that you’re safe. In the morning, we’ll go see a judge I know. With no father’s name on your birth certificate, we’ll need to confirm the relationship with a DNA sample.”

“Like in the movies?” Carter sounded impressed.

“Exactly like that. You’ll get a cheek swab. It’s all very high-tech. While the tests are being run, we’ll get your father approved as a foster parent. We can figure out the rest as we go.”

Carter slung his backpack over his shoulder. His expression turned wary. “I’d rather stay with him now.”

Felicia understood that the thought of going to a strange place was frightening. Even if Carter had done it by choice, he didn’t know anyone, nor could he believe everything was going to work out.

She thought about offering herself as a foster parent but knew she would have to go through the approval process, just like Gideon. And that couldn’t happen on a Sunday night.

“You’re not to worry,” the mayor said gently. “I think you’ll like these foster parents. Pia and Raoul Moreno have three children of their own. Peter, their oldest, was in foster care and they adopted him. Raoul used to be a football player. He was a quarterback for the Dallas Cowboys.”

Carter brightened. “For real?”

Felicia nodded. “I know his wife. Pia’s very nice. It’s just for tonight, Carter.” She thought about how to make him feel safer. “I have a prepaid cell phone at the CDS office.” She had several, along with weapons and ammunition. Not that Carter would need any of that. “Why don’t I activate one and drop it by Pia’s house? I’ll give you my number. That way if anything happens, you can call me and I’ll come get you.”

“You’d do that?”

“Of course.” She moved close and lightly touched his shoulder. “You traveled a long way by yourself to find your dad. Now you’re here and everything is strange. It’s going to take a while until you feel like this is home.”

“Thanks,” Carter said. He started toward her, then stopped himself. Instead he looked at the mayor. “I’m ready.”

“I can see that. Let’s go, then. We’re going to walk. You’ll find we can walk most places in Fool’s Gold. Not that boys turning sixteen don’t want a car. What is it with a young man’s obsession about driving? Can you explain it?”

“Wheels are cool,” Carter told her as they rounded the corner.

Felicia waited until their voices had faded, then looked at Gideon. “An unexpected development,” she said.

He swore under his breath. “He just...showed up at the radio station. I didn’t know what to do, so I came here. I can’t have a kid. I can’t. This is wrong. He can’t live with me. What am I supposed to do with him? I’m not that guy. A father?”

He gave a laugh that was more bark than humor. “No,” he said flatly. “It’s not happening. He can go live with someone else.”

Felicia placed her hand on his arm, just above the elbow. She pressed in hard, finding the nerve point that would trigger a more relaxed response in his sympathetic nervous system.

“Did Ellie have any family?”

“I don’t remember.” He drew in a breath. “I don’t think so. She was an only child and her parents were dead. I remember thinking I wasn’t the kind of guy she would want to take home, but that wasn’t a problem.”

He jerked free of her grip. “You can’t calm me like some pet, Felicia.”

“I wasn’t trying to. I want to help, Gideon. You can do this.”

“I can’t. He needs to find somewhere else to live.”

“You’re going to put your son in foster care?”

“Better there than with me.” He turned away, then faced her again. “I’m not shirking my responsibility. I’m telling you I’m incapable of being what he needs.”

“You have plenty of spare bedrooms. That’s a start.” She thought about Carter and how he acted so brave and together, but inside he must have been terrified. With his mom gone, he was alone in the world. Gideon was his last chance.

“My parents handed me over to the university when I was four,” she said quietly. “It took me a long time to understand what that meant. But by the time I was seven, I realized I was completely alone in the world. There was no one. Carter’s older, but he’s still very much by himself. He needs stability. He needs his father.”

Gideon shoved his hand through his hair. “I get nightmares, Felicia. I wake up in a cold sweat, not sure if I’m going to kill someone or have a heart attack and die. A kid? No way. If you’re so worried, you take him.”

Her chest unexpectedly tightened. A child, she thought longingly. If Carter were hers, she would be delighted to welcome him into her life.

He swore again, then shook his head. He started to walk away, then turned back.

“You’re right. I know he’s my responsibility. I have to figure this out.” He looked at her. “Can you help? Can you stay with me the first few days and get me through this?”

“Of course, but my understanding of parenting is less than yours. You grew up with a mother and father, in a home. You can draw on those memories. I have no working knowledge of that kind of relationship.”

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