Thunder stared at her intently. “You’re the spittin’ image of Karen all right, except for the eyes.” He kept staring. “God damn it if those aren’t my eyes. Funny your mother named you Amber. People always tell me my eyes are amber. Did she name you after your eye color?”
“I honestly have no idea,” Amber said. “I never thought about it. Aren’t all babies’ eyes blue when they’re born anyway? They must’ve turned later.”
“If you’re truly mine, why didn’t your mother contact me?”
Harper raked his fingers through his beautiful brown hair. “That’s why we called you, actually,” he said. “Karen told us that she tried to contact you after Amber was born, but some woman told her you’d have them both killed if she didn’t leave you alone.”
Thunder’s golden eyes turned to saucers. “What?”
“Mama swears it’s true,” Amber said. “She swears she wasn’t going to ask you for anything. She just wanted to let you know you had a little girl, but whoever took the call scared the hell out of her. She never tried to contact you again.”
“I would never have said anything like that.”
“I know,” Harper said. “And Amber doesn’t believe it either, do you?”
“No, of course not. I mean, I had met you. You seemed like such a nice guy.”
“How old are you, darlin’?” he asked.
“I’m twenty-two.”
“Well, the timing’s right.” Thunder scratched his head. “I wonder… I was livin’ with a woman around that time. She was my assistant and she had a thing for me. We weren’t involved, but she wormed herself into everything. One of her jobs was to take phones calls. She…was obsessed with me. I ended up having to get a restraining order.”
“She must be the one who took Karen’s call,” Harper said. “I knew there had to be an explanation.”
“That must be what happened. Damn it!” Thunder pounded the table with his fist. “That woman caused me more trouble. And if I missed out on a child… God damn it!”
“It’s okay,” Amber said. “It wasn’t your fault.”
Thunder’s eyes glazed over. “She was a mighty fine-lookin’ woman, your mother. How is she?”
Amber sighed. “She’s not good, I’m afraid. She’s an alcoholic, and I don’t think she’s right mentally. It could all be part of the alcoholism. I don’t know.”
“Well, were you happy? Did you have a good life?”
“My life was fine.”
“Tell him the truth, Amber,” Harper said. “He deserves to know.”
“Yes, darlin’, please. The truth.”
She sighed. “The truth is I grew up in a poor neighborhood, but Mama kept me clothed and fed. I even got riding lessons from a local breeder who Mama kept house for. I loved riding…” She sighed wistfully. Those were good years. “Once the drinking got out of hand, though, times were tough. She made me leave when I was sixteen.”
“Christ,” Thunder said. “Go on.”
“I was lucky. My friend Laura took me in and I was able to finish high school. I learned how to do nails at the vocational high school, and I graduated with honors. Unfortunately, as soon as we graduated Laura’s mom kicked us both out.”
“I’m so sorry, darlin’. But you’ve obviously done well for yourself.”
Amber didn’t want to get into the whole Rachel’s thing right now. She hoped Harper wouldn’t bring it up.
“I’ve done all right. I have a good job now in a nice town.”
“I’d like to see Karen,” Thunder said. “If this is true, I have a lot to make up for.”
“No, you don’t,” Amber said. “Please, I don’t want you to feel that way. I’d love to be a part of your life, but I don’t want you feeling guilty for not being there before. It’s not fair.”
“I’m sorry your life was hard,” Thunder said, “but you came out wonderful. Your mama must’ve done a few things right.”