A Town Called Valentine(52)

“Thank you. I know you must have remained friends through the years since Nate told me about the money you lent her. I promise I’ll pay you back as soon as the property sells.”

Mr. Thalberg glanced at Nate so quickly that Emily almost missed it, but it gave her a strange feeling. Yet how could she say, Why that unreadable look at your son?

“No problem,” Mr. Thalberg said. He and Nate took matching drinks of beer.

“My mother left Valentine right out of high school.” She hesitated, uncertain how to phrase her question. “It seems . . . strange that you would lend her money years later.”

“She had the buildin’ as collateral, and I knew where I could reach her. I was lookin’ for an investment at the time, and her store expansion looked promisin’. Why not help her?”

“Did she say why she didn’t just sell the building here?”

“No. Perhaps she wanted to give you a reason to return someday.”

Emily laughed with faint bitterness. “She didn’t speak well of her time here, but you probably know that.”

“Maybe she wished things had been different.” Mr. Thalberg sighed. “But she never told me. Sorry.”

Deke Hutcheson came limping through the door, and Mr. Thalberg stood up, taking his beer.

“Nice to meet you, Ms. Murphy.”

“It’s Emily, please, especially for an old friend of my mother’s.”

Mr. Thalberg nodded and glanced pointedly at Nate. “See you at home.”

Deke waved at them both but followed Mr. Thalberg to a table. Linda brought over their BLTs at that moment, leaving Emily’s to the side so she could finish her salad.

“Those are huge,” Emily said. “I’ll be taking half home for another meal.”

“Not me.” Nate took a big bite and closed his eyes in bliss.

She studied him for a moment, eating the last of her salad, then taking the first delicious bite of her BLT, thinking about his ability to keep quiet, and the way even the town elders regarded him with respect. His sister loved him, so that counted for something, too. Emily liked the easy camaraderie between him and his father. He understood families.

“Nate, I have something personal to tell you. Could you keep it between the two of us?”

He paused then swallowed his food. “Of course.”

“I . . . misled you about how I knew Cal Carpenter.” She told him about the letter from her grandmother and the old woman’s bombshell about Emily’s paternity.

He blew out a breath and sat back to study her. “I’m so sorry.”

“I tried to ignore it at first, figuring—what could I do? I loved my father and—” She broke off, the lump in her throat suddenly making speech difficult. Swallowing several times, she finally continued. “But ignoring it just makes it haunt me more.”

“You questioned my dad about her,” he said, his eyes widening. “Did you think he and your mom—”

“I never even considered it. I knew my mother. There’s no way she would have gone to your dad about a loan if she was keeping his baby a secret. She was a private person in many ways, and that would have been inviting trouble.”

“So you’re positive we’re not related,” he said with faint amusement.

“And why would it be a problem if we were?” she asked innocently.

He didn’t say anything at first, only looked at her with doubt and intensity, enough to make her squirm.

“As for my father,” Nate finally said, “he’s not the kind of man to let a woman leave town right after he’s slept with her. He’s too honorable. Once he cares about you, he never stops.”

“And that would have meant he had an affair,” she said quietly.

“No, it wouldn’t have.”

She frowned. “But you’re older than I am. Your parents weren’t married?”

“My father is the kind of man who would fall in love with a woman even though she had MS and a five-year-old kid. He adopted me. My biological father left us right after my mom’s diagnosis.”

Emily’s heart gave a lurch as she watched Nate continue to eat. Was he trying to pretend it didn’t still hurt? “Oh Nate,” she said softly.

He glanced up at her. “No puppy-dog eyes. It was the best thing to happen to both of us. He was . . . scum.”

“And Doug Thalberg adopted you.” She sat forward, intrigued. “I’m considering adoption myself. I would love to talk more with your parents.”