The Secret Son's Homecoming. Helen Lacey
she explained when he frowned. “The truth is, I spent most of my early childhood living on one excavation site after another, but when I was eight they sent me back here to live permanently with my grandparents. They parented me the best they could when they came back in between trips, but since they’d never planned on having kids, most of the time they were a train wreck. At the moment they’re in South America somewhere, but I don’t hear from them very often. I’m very grateful that I had my grandparents.” She sighed, then took a breath, and when she met his gaze, her eyes were brighter than usual. “I don’t know why I told you that.”
“I’m not judging. Just listening.”
“I know,” she said and dropped onto the sofa. “You’re good at it. It’s very annoying.”
Jonah laughed softly. “Some people think it’s charming.”
“Some women, you mean?” she suggested. “You’ve probably had women standing in line for you since you hit puberty.”
“Not quite,” he admitted. “I was something of a geek in high school. And puny. And I had braces.”
“That paints quite a picture. I imagined you were the quarterback with cheerleaders hanging off your every word.”
“No. A computer geek. I didn’t really discover girls until college.”
“Did you make up for lost time?”
Jonah’s blood quickened. “I did my best. What about you? Were you the most popular girl in high school?”
She shook her head. “Not by a long mile. Book nerd.”
“No high school boyfriend to take you to prom?”
“I didn’t go to prom. I left high school at end of my sophomore year.”
Surprised, he asked the obvious question. “You didn’t graduate?”
“I was homeschooled by my grandmother. She used to be a teacher. I started working at the hotel before graduation and J.D. offered me a full-time job when I got my diploma, but he insisted I get a college degree no matter what. So I achieved my BA through online courses.”
“Why didn’t you go to school and college the usual way?” he asked quietly.
She shrugged casually. Too casually, he thought. But she replied. “I just didn’t fit in at school. But I was determined to get an education.”
Admiration settled behind his ribs. It was a harder road than he’d had, that was for sure. Jonah had spent his elementary years at private school and high school years at the best educational facility Portland had to offer. J.D. hadn’t neglected his financial support on his secret family. It was everywhere else that he’d failed in the parenting department.
His mother returned a few moments later, carrying a tray and looking delighted, and he knew he was in for a load of questions the next time he visited alone. As he looked around the room, he realized how much change had occurred in the house since she’d moved in a few months earlier. There were pictures on the walls now, and a large framed landscape above the fireplace. And a few plants were scattered around the room in heavy ceramic pots.
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