Lili swallowed, twisting her hands in her lap. “Well, the most obvious thing, of course, is the sketches on the Internet.”
“She does look like the sketches,” Caroline said.
“Half the teenage girls in America look like that sketch.”
“She has Hunter’s jaw.”
They heard a car screech to a halt in front of the house.
“Speak of the devil,” Michelle said.
Caroline pushed herself off the sofa and ran to the front window. “What’s he doing here?”
“I called him.”
“What? When?”
“A few minutes ago. I caught him as he was leaving the gym, told him to get over here as fast as he could. Looks like he broke the sound barrier.”
“You shouldn’t have called him.”
“Why not? Don’t you think he has the right to meet his own flesh and blood? You’re anxious to meet your father, aren’t you, Lili? Or would you prefer we call you Samantha?”
“I’d prefer to wait until we find out the truth,” Lili said.
“Which will probably take at least a few days,” Michelle calculated. “Tell me, where are you planning on staying in the interim? Excuse me,” she said, walking to the front door without waiting for an answer.
“Welcome home,” Steve said with a smile.
“How’d you get here so fast?” Caroline heard Michelle ask her father as he stepped inside the foyer.
“You said it was urgent. What’s going on?” Hunter asked in return.
“See for yourself.”
Hunter entered the living room, looking warily around. “Steve,” he acknowledged in greeting. “Mary.”
Caroline looked toward her mother. She’d been so quiet since Lili’s dramatic entrance that Caroline had almost forgotten she was there.
“What’s going on?” Hunter asked again, this time of Caroline, his gaze shifting to the young girl sitting on the sofa. “Who is this?” he asked warily, although his eyes said he already knew.
“This is Lili,” Caroline said. Then, to Lili. “This is Hunter, my ex-husband.”
“And quite possibly, your father,” Michelle elaborated. Her tone indicated she didn’t believe for a second that that was possible.
“This is the girl who phoned you? The one you flew to Calgary to see?” Hunter proceeded cautiously into the room. “Stand up,” he directed Lili.
Lili got to her feet. Hunter drew within inches of her, circling her slowly, studying her face from every angle as Caroline watched him, holding her breath.
“Well?” Steve asked as Hunter took a few steps back. “What’s the verdict, counselor?”
Hunter shook his head. “I don’t know. I just don’t know.” He looked toward Michelle, then back at Lili. “The two of you don’t look anything alike.”
“They never did,” Caroline reminded him. “She has your jaw.”
“Well, I guess that settles that,” Michelle said. “She has Dad’s jaw. Pretty definitive evidence, if you ask me. Don’t think we even have to bother with some pesky little DNA test. The prodigal daughter has returned. Let the celebrations begin.”
“You sound so angry,” Caroline said.
“I am angry. Some girl calls out of the blue and claims to be Samantha and the two of you are so blinded by your fantasies and your guilt that you throw reason out the window and welcome her with open arms…”
“Nobody is doing that,” Hunter protested.
“She’s come all this way,” Caroline began. “What harm could it do to take the test…?”
“What harm?” Michelle demanded. “How many times do we have to go through this? Do you think I enjoy having my mother made a fool of—again? Haven’t you suffered enough humiliation? Have you forgotten what happened five years ago when that reporter—?” She broke off. “What’s the use? You never listen to me.”
“Who are you, really?” Steve asked Lili, picking up where Michelle left off. “What is it you want? Money? Publicity?”
“No.”
“You think that by showing up here, by playing on my sister’s vulnerability, her desperate desire for some sort of closure, you’ll make a name for yourself, maybe be interviewed on TV? Have your fifteen minutes of fame?”
“That’s not why she’s here,” Caroline said. Was it?
“I don’t want fame. I don’t want publicity,” Lili said. “I just want to know the truth. We’ll take the DNA test. If it’s negative, I’ll be on the first plane out of here.” Her voice broke, the first sign that she was as nervous and confused as the rest of them.
“We need to ease up a bit here,” Caroline said to the others. “This is a big risk she’s taken. Leaving her family, flying here on her own. It’s pretty amazing when you think about it.”
“What’s amazing is how na?ve you still are,” Michelle said. “And she still hasn’t answered my question: where are you planning to stay till the test results are in?”
Lili shrugged, her lower lip trembling. “I don’t know. I guess I thought…”
“You’d stay here?” Michelle asked.
“Of course she’ll stay here,” Caroline said.
“Mother, for God’s sake…”
“You’ll stay here,” she told Lili.