Page 62 of Destiny

I walk out of the bar, leaving Johnny and Laney to get ready for the day. I walk the few blocks to my parents’ house in the residential area. Dad is already outside waiting for me.

“What did you tell Mom?” I ask.

He shrugs. “Same thing I told her when we went for the blood tests. That I had some errands to run. She didn’t ask a lot of questions. I’m always running errands, fixing stuff up around the house now that I’m retired.”

“Good. Better not to invite a lot of questions.”

“So Ruby’s meeting us there?”

“Yeah.”

The drive into Barrel Oaks takes a mere fifteen minutes, and Ruby Steel is already there in her car, waiting outside Lauren Wingdam’s home.

She’s dressed in jeans and a leather blazer, her brown hair pulled back in a high ponytail.

“Brendan, Sean,” she says.

“Ruby.” Dad clears his throat.

“You all ready?” I ask.

Ruby nods. “Yeah, Brendan. Thanks for putting this together.”

“Does Ryan know you’re here?” Dad asks.

“No, but I don’t plan to keep this from him. He and Ava are busy with Wendy at the moment.”

Of course they are.

We walk to the door and ring the doorbell.

Jack answers. “Hello, Brendan, Sean.”

“Hi, Jack,” I say. “This is Ruby Steel, Ava’s mother. Ryan’s wife.”

“Nice to meet you, Ruby,” Jack says. “Come on in, all of you. Mom arranged for Margaret to serve some tea.”

“You didn’t have to go to any trouble,” Ruby says.

“It’s no trouble. Besides, Mom likes to take tea in the afternoon.” Jack leads us into the same living room where Dad and I met him and Lauren only days ago.

“How is your mom doing?” I ask.

“She’s as perplexed as the rest of us about the DNA results.”

“I can assure you,” Ruby says, “that Tucker Madden is the best in the business. He and I have worked together for over thirty years.”

“He sure was quick,” Dad says.

“He was,” Jack says. “The guy my physician referred me to will take a few more days.”

“I’m sure you’ll find that the results are the same,” Ruby says. “And if you don’t, then something’s wrong on the other end. I trust Tucker implicitly.”

“You guys go ahead and sit down,” Jack says. “I’ll get my mom.”

Margaret comes in and serves our tea while Jack returns with Lauren.

Dad and I stand.

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