Girl In The Spotlight. Virginia McCullough

nod. “I’m fine with whatever they want.”

      He glanced at his watch. “I need to go. Pack for my trip and all that.”

      She stood and shooed him toward the door. “Go, go. I’ve got an interview to prepare for, anyway. First, though, I’ll research the coach. I’ll text you his phone number or email address, or whatever I can find.”

      Miles retrieved his coat from the couch. “We have a plan, huh?”

      “We do,” she said, frowning. “But in spite of the way I’m talking, be prepared. Coincidences and resemblances aside, it’s quite possible Perrie Lynn isn’t our child after all.”

      “I’m trying to stay reasonable,” he said slipping into his coat, “but if she isn’t, that only means our daughter is out there somewhere.”

      “Oh, Miles. Then you’ll contact the adoption agency, so we can both be found? If she looks for us, that is?”

      “Yes. What’s happened in these last twenty-four hours has changed everything for me.”

      Lark moved in front of him and opened the door. “Safe travels and all that.”

      He said a quick goodbye. One way or another, they’d talk again soon.

       CHAPTER FIVE

      A WOMAN ANSWERED Declan Rivers’s phone and in a girlish voice identified herself as Tricia. No last name. But in a stiff, formal tone, she responded to Miles’s request to speak to the coach by informing him that Mr. Rivers was unavailable at this time. She, however, was Mr. Rivers’s assistant, and would be glad to help. “And what’s the nature of your call?” she asked.

      “It’s a personal matter,” Miles said.

      “I see,” Tricia said. “Could you be more specific?”

      “Uh, well, it concerns one of his skaters, Perrie Lynn Olson.”

      “And whom do you represent?”

      Represent? She had the wrong impression. “I’m not with a media organization, if that’s what you mean.”

      Was that a sigh he heard on the other end of the phone?

      “As I said, this is a personal matter.” Miles suggested that he could call later at a time convenient for the coach.

      “No need,” she said in a flat, almost dry tone. “How can Declan reach you? He’ll get back to you.”

      And so he had, late that night when Miles was sitting in a reading chair with his feet propped up on the hotel desk. For the better part of an hour he’d been pretending to focus on pages of the Richmond Times-Dispatch. Mostly, though, he stared at his phone and willed it to ring. He’d already responded to two texts from Lark, in which she admitted feeling restless and impatient.

      He jumped when his phone buzzed, the adrenaline rush swift and strong.

      “Declan Rivers here, returning your call,” the deep male voice said abruptly, “but I must warn you I’ve returned a few calls today already.”

      “I understand,” Miles replied with a quick laugh, although he didn’t feel all that good-humored. “I’ll keep this brief. I’m calling to discuss a matter related to Perrie Lynn Olson.”

      “Yes, yes,” Declan said brusquely, “I see that in the notes.”

      Miles ate up a couple of seconds considering his next move, but finally got to the point. “I won’t waste your time. I believe there’s a good chance I’m Perrie Lynn’s biological father. And I’m in touch with the woman who would be her birth mother.” Without pausing, Miles added, “Please understand, we have no desire to alarm Perrie Lynn or disrupt her or her parents in any way. We mean that. We only want to learn the truth.”

      “Okay, then, why do you think you’re her parents? You and quite a few other people, by the way.” Declan’s tone wasn’t exactly rude, but it fell short of friendly. “And did this sudden realization come after you saw her skate this weekend?”

      Mild sarcasm had seeped into the coach’s tone, but Miles didn’t let it divert him from briefly explaining how he became aware of Perrie Lynn. He recounted his conversations with Lark, and her earlier contact with the adoption agency and the Minnesota registry. “In other words, if our child, whoever she is, wants to find her birth parents now that she’s eighteen, the information is available.”

      “So why did you call me?”

      Miles took a deep breath. “Ms. McGee—Lark—and I agreed it was best not to approach the family. We want to be discreet, and we’d never intrude. It could all be a case of mistaken assumptions. Frankly, we’re parents, too, and social media seemed way too risky.”

      “Funny you should say that.” Declan scoffed. “Just today, Mrs. Olson has received more than a couple of dozen legitimate Facebook messages. And then there are all the random ones that regularly come around, like the person last week who claimed Perrie Lynn is an alien from the Pleiades on a mission to save humanity. You see, theoretically, it’s Perrie Lynn’s page, but Maxine—Mrs. Olson—monitors it and deletes anything that’s not legit.”

      “I understand the problems with kids and social media. And it starts so young.” Miles rubbed his forehead. He already worried about keeping Brooke safe from internet trolls and predators. He could only imagine what having a teenager newly in the public eye must be like.

      “Maxine would be happy to shut the page down,” Declan said. “Naturally, given recent press coverage of Perrie Lynn, Eric and Maxine are worried about stalkers—internet and otherwise. That’s a factor for all athletes in the spotlight.”

      “No parent should have to worry about that, Mr. Rivers. For what it’s worth, Lark and I will follow the family’s lead. Whatever they want. Under no circumstances would we do anything to harm Perrie Lynn or the Olsons. That’s the last thing on our minds.”

      As if to fortify his words, he filled in some information about Lark and her work and then his own. “I’m a professional speaker with a consulting practice. When I called earlier, I was home in Green Bay, Wisconsin, but now I’m on a consulting job in Richmond, Virginia. And by the way, we’d be happy to channel all communications through an attorney if that’s what you prefer.”

      “Are you and Ms. McGee married?”

      Miles had to quickly switch gears. He didn’t welcome the need to explain. “No, we married other people, but we’re both divorced now. Lark has a son and I have a daughter. We haven’t been in touch for eighteen years. At this point, all we want is to make ourselves easy to find if our child wants to locate us, even if it’s just to satisfy her curiosity. Believe me, we understand that physical resemblance and the birthday could be a coincidence.”