“What about Mom and Dad?” Raina looked toward the door that their parents had just gone through to get a cup of coffee. Their parents, Crystal and Anthony Martin, were financially secure and lived in a huge four-bedroom house with a swimming pool. They could easily take care of Zoe. “You know they would be up to the task.”
“Would they love and care for her? Yes, but would they be the fun-loving parent that I know you will be?” Alexa inquired, shaking her head. “I doubt that.”
“I’m honored that you trust me enough to take care of her,” Raina replied, touching her chest. “But...” Her voice trailed off. She didn’t know how she would manage taking care of herself and Zoe and running her thriving business, but somehow she would. It was Alexa’s dying wish. Losing her was like losing a part of herself.
“Don’t doubt yourself like you always do,” Alexa stated. Her twin had never been bold; that trait had been her strength. “You have what it takes, Raina.”
“Oh, Alex...” Raina started to cry. Her sister’s optimism for life was what she would miss the most. Alexa always saw the glass as half-full and encouraged Raina to go after what she wanted, even if that meant leaving her cushy gig as an executive chef at a fine dining establishment in favor of starting up a catering business. How was she going to go on without her and be strong for Zoe? Zoe would be grieving and would need a mother. Raina barely knew how to take care of herself.
“Don’t worry. I know you’re up to the task,” Alexa said. “It’s because of you that I even had Zoe.”
Alexa had been a wild child from the start, always sneaking out to meet boys and going out to parties. When she’d gotten pregnant, she hadn’t been sure what to do, but Raina had told her what a blessing her child would be and had promised to support her—and she had. Their parents had been terribly disappointed, but as soon as they’d seen their granddaughter, they’d fallen in love.
“Yes, but what about Zoe’s father?” Raina inquired. Alexa had never spoken of him, and Raina had never pushed for his identity until now. She had to know. What about child support?
“He...he won’t be issue,” Alexa said, coughing uncontrollably.
At her vague response, Raina realized the reason Alexa had never mentioned him and what she’d always suspected. “He has no idea he has a child, does he?” She stared into her twin’s dark brown eyes. The man hadn’t even shown up when Zoe had been born. As far as she knew, he’d never met his daughter.
“Please, Raina.” Alexa’s coughing continued.
“Take a deep breath, okay?” Raina wiped Alexa’s brow with the damp cloth lying on the nightstand and sat down on the hospital bed to hold her sister’s hand.
“Can’t you just let this drop?”
Raina shook her head. “No, I can’t. What if, God forbid, something happens to Zoe and I need him for medical reasons? What if Zoe wants to get to know him one day? You have to tell me, Alexa.”
“Raina...” Alexa began wheezing.
Raina could feel her sister starting to drift, but she couldn’t let her die without an answer. “I need to know, please,” she begged.
“Purse.” Alexa pointed to the nightstand drawer that held her belongings. Raina went over, pulled out her handbag and rushed over to the bed. Alexa sat up as best she could. Summoning strength, she reached inside and pulled out a tattered photo, then handed it to Raina.
“Spencer. Spencer Davis will help you,” Alexa said, handing Raina the photo.
“Thank you.” Tears began to fall in earnest from Raina’s eyes as she watched her sister drop back onto the pillows and succumb to the cancer she’d been fighting for so long. “I promise you I will take excellent care of Zoe.”
“I know you will,” Alexa replied. “That’s why I can die knowing she has you by her side. Tell Mom and Dad that I love them.”
“I will.” Raina wiped the tears away with the back of her hand. “I love you, Alexa.”
“Tell...Zoe,” Raina whispered, “that I love her and that—” she took a long tortured breath “—she was the light of my life.”
Raina nodded and reached across the bed to close her sister’s eyes. “Goodbye, Alexa.” Raina lowered herself onto her sister’s lifeless body and wept.
Chapter 1
“Zoe, hurry up or we’ll be late for school,” Raina said, looking around the living room for her car keys.
They’d overslept because she’d come back late from a catering gig and fallen asleep on the couch, which meant she hadn’t heard her alarm going off.
Raina glanced at herself in the mirror as she quickly put her unruly wavy hair into an unflattering ponytail. She could thank her German mother and African-American father for her café-au-lait-colored skin, naturally thick mass of long curls and almond-shaped eyes. She attributed her slim physique to her mother, who was naturally thin and had been a model in her youth, and her father, a former military man who followed a rigid exercise plan. Both her parents were vegetarians, so it was funny when she turned out to be a meat-loving carnivore who ran her own catering business.
“C’mon, Zoe.” Raina snapped up the keys from the end table and rushed down the hall to Zoe’s room. Zoe was still packing her book bag on her bed and going at a snail’s pace.
Raina rushed over to help her, throwing books into a book bag. “I told you to pack your bag last night.”
“I know, but I forgot,” Zoe said, looking up at Raina with sad eyes. Her niece was her splitting image, possessing the same wavy hair and café au lait skin. The only difference was she had Alexa’s spitfire personality, which was evident by her outfit of a bright fuchsia print T-shirt, jeans and pink flats.
Raina sighed and took a deep breath. It wasn’t Zoe’s fault she was rattled this morning. She just had to be more prepared for their morning ritual; she had to act and think like a mother. Not that she exactly knew what that meant. Sure, she’d had Zoe overnight the odd night or two while Alexa was alive, but that was completely different than being responsible for her care 24/7.
So much had changed in the past three months since Alexa had died and left guardianship of Zoe to Raina. She’d moved Zoe into the home that she’d bought after her catering firm had acquired several large contracts to cater parties for an advertising agency. After those contracts were finalized, the business had flourished. She’d been so busy, she hadn’t found the time to follow up on the piece of information her sister had given her before she’d died, which was that Spencer Davis could help her. Raina was sure Alexa had meant he was Zoe’s father.
And it was time she finally did something about it. Just the other day, Zoe had mentioned she wished she had a dad like other kids. But what should Raina do about it? Show up at his doorstep with Zoe in hand and confront him? There was no easy way to tell a man he had an illegitimate daughter he knew nothing about. Her parents had advised her to consult an attorney. Raina was a nonconfrontational kind of woman, and she didn’t relish going down that avenue, but Spencer Davis had a responsibility to his daughter, her niece.
As she and Zoe drove the short distance to her elementary school, Raina resolved to take action and soon.
“So how’s Miss Zoe this morning?” Summer Newman, Raina’s business partner and childhood friend, asked when Raina came rushing through the kitchen door of their catering shop a half hour later.
“Forgetful as usual.” Raina sighed, grabbing her apron off a nearby hook and wrapping it around her middle. “Sorry I’m late, but Zoe hadn’t packed her book bag this morning and she’d forgotten her lunch on the counter and didn’t