In July, Reese had attended a two-week science camp. The instructors had all been certified science teachers, and they’d used experiments and other hands-on activities to cover several topics. One of the activities had been to build a representation of the DNA double helix using toothpicks, marshmallows, and gumdrops.
“It’s the stuff in your cells that makes you who you are.”
“The lab we’re going to today is going to collect some of your cells so that they can look at your DNA.”
“And they’re not going to use a needle, right?”
Taylor took the exit onto the highway, glad that thanks to the time of day at least she didn’t have to worry about traffic in addition to Reese’s questions. “Nope. They’re going to rub a swab against the inside of your mouth. It won’t hurt. I promise.”
“Why does someone want to look at my DNA?”
Yep, I knew that was coming next. As much as Taylor disliked changing diapers, at the moment, she wished Reese was still the one-year-old baby she’d taken custody of, because then they wouldn’t need to be having this conversation.
“When you were with Judith on Saturday, Curt, Mimi, and I met with a man who thinks he might be your father. Once people at the lab have some cells from you and him, they can compare them and determine if Jordan is your dad.”
“I don’t need a dad. I have Curt
.”
My sentiments exactly. “And that won’t change. But if Jordan is your biological father, he deserves to know.” She’d told herself the same thing over a hundred times, yet her head and heart were still in disagreement.
“Do I have to live with him if he is my dad? I want to live with you and Curt.”
“No matter what, you’ll live with us. But if the results come back and Jordan is your dad, you might need to spend some time with him. For now, I don’t want you to worry about any of this.”
Until they received a definitive answer, either way, she’d keep doing enough of that for both of them.
Seven
Curt opened the door before his brother rang the doorbell. A moment or two later, Honey joined him in the foyer to welcome their guest.
“Love the addition to the yard.” Brett pointed toward the inflatable snowman on display.
Although the last day of November, the temperatures were remarkably mild. So after typing the magic words “the end” earlier in the day, he’d decided to take advantage of the nicer weather and put up the exterior decorations. Reese had seen the inflatable snowman that also lit up during a trip to 38 Lumber and Hardware in October and asked him to get it. After he finished setting the snowman up, he’d put up the lights he’d used last year and hung the wreath on the door.
“Your idea or Reese’s?”
“What do you think?”
Brett closed the door and shrugged off his jacket. “I think she has you wrapped around her little finger.”
His brother wasn’t wrong. “More like her entire right hand. Where’s Jen?” The last time they spoke, Brett and his fiancée were coming up together today.
“She went out with some friends she used to work with. It was a last-minute thing. Who’s the new addition?” Brett rubbed his hand across Honey’s head. When he stopped, the dog nudged him in the thigh.
“Honey. I adopted her in September. She likes attention,” Curt said as he walked down the hall toward his living room.
“Another of Reese’s ideas?”
“This one was all mine, but she adores the dog. Already she plans to have Honey sleep with her when she moves in. And thankfully, Honey and Reese’s cat get along.”
Brett looked around the room before sitting down in Reese’s favorite armchair. “I think you need a housekeeper.”
Since he’d gone into the basement to get the exterior decorations, he brought up the boxes of interior ones as well. At the moment, those, along with some containing Taylor and Reese’s belongings, were stacked around the room. In Curt’s opinion, it was a little cluttered but not a mess. But he knew to his brother, who’d spent most of his adult life in the military, this was utter chaos.
“About half these boxes are decorations. Another quarter of them contains Reese’s stuffed animal collection. I didn’t want to bring them upstairs until we finished setting up her room.” The girl owned enough stuffed animals to open her own store at this point.
“Where is Reese? Since it’s nice out, I figured she’d want to give me another soccer lesson. I even brought my sneakers with me.”