Free Her Secret Sons by Tina Leonard Page A

as he glanced at her. She saw confusion and pain in his eyes, though he clearly didn’t want to share his emotions. She quickly looked away.
    She nearly jumped when he touched her arm. “I brought you here. I’m taking you back.”
    Her insides were so tight she thought she might be ill. “Boys,” she said hurriedly, “Mr. McGarrett is going to drive us home. Can you gather up your things, please?”
    They did her bidding, following Luke to his truck. After everyone was buckled in he drove away.
    Ten minutes later he parked in front of their house. Pepper got out and the boys did, too, walking to the porch. Luke stood by his truck, watching to see they got safely inside but not coming close enough to be invited in. Pepper thought she’d feel relief; instead, she felt more confused. As if she’d betrayed him all over again.
    The boys waved goodbye politely and went insidethe house. Pepper turned to glance back at Luke—she shouldn’t have, but she couldn’t help herself—and was horrified to see him wiping away tears he didn’t want her to see.
    She fled.
     
    L UKE WENT HOME , or at least to the place he’d called home again for the past week, his steps heavy and his heart torn. He sank into the couch near his father’s recliner.
    He was beyond noticing much of anything.
    “Luke?” his dad said, and Luke acknowledged him with a nod.
    “Something wrong?”
    Luke couldn’t speak. His emotions were tangling up everything vital in his body.
    “Are you ill, boy?”
    Slowly, he rolled his head to the side so that he could make eye contact with his father. His dad squinted at him, then reached to flip off the television. “You look like something bit you on the ass.”
    How was he going to tell his father—whom he barely knew—that there were two more people in his life that he didn’t know at all? As much as he wanted to doubt that Toby and Josh were his children, he’d known the truth from the stark, frightened look on Pepper’s face. Even if he’d doubted her, their pictures bore a startling resemblance to himself at that age. Meeting them in person was a study in similarities—he’d seen himself all over again. Twice.
    Now he knew why he’d really been called home.If he’d recognized the children as his at a glance, so had any other person in Tulips who’d seen them.
    “Dad,” he said slowly, “we have to talk.”
    His father scowled. “I’ve already taken no for an answer. I’m talking to Holt about buying out my business. He’s always wheeling and dealing, anyway.”
    Luke looked at his dad. “This isn’t about that.”
    “Oh?” His father cocked his head. “Can’t imagine what else would have you looking like your dog ran off, except going into business with me.”
    Luke sighed. “Dad, I’m…a father.”
    His dad squinted. “A father?”
    Just saying the words felt crazy. Luke couldn’t figure out how he was going to bring his two worlds together. “I have twin teenaged sons.”
    His father stared at him, not sure what to make of his pronouncement. “Where?”
    “Right here. In Tulips.”
    “Nope.” His father leaned back in his recliner. “Son, you have no children here. I’d have seen them over the years. Believe me, I wasn’t always sitting in this chair. And nobody keeps that kind of thing quiet in Tulips.”
    Luke shook his head. “I do, Dad.”
    His father turned to him, frowning. “Who’s the mother, then?”
    Luke could barely bring himself to say it. No wonder Duke had stared at him last night with such intensity. Pepper, the mother of his children? It was like mating a black sheep with a good unbred lamb. “Pepper Forrester,” he said after a long moment.
    His dad started to laugh. “That little doc that comes around trying to make me take care of myself?” He stopped laughing after a moment when Luke didn’t say anything. Scratching his head, he said, “Well, hell, maybe she was trying to tell me something.”
    Luke looked up. “Like