Accidental Family Read online

  An

  Accidental

  Family

  Donna Fasano

  This eBook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This eBook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each person you share it with. If you are reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then you should return it and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

  Copyright © 2011 Donna Fasano. All Rights Reserved. This book may not be reproduced in any form, in whole or in part (beyond that copying permitted by U.S. Copyright Law, Section 107, " fair use" in teaching or research, Section 108, certain library copying, or in published media by reviewers in limited excerpt), without written permission from the author.

  Smashwords edition

  Cover design, Rayna Januska

  Learn more about this author by visiting her website: http://www.DonnaFasano.com,

  or consider subscribing to her blog: http://www.DonnaFasano.blogspot.com,

  following her on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/DonnaFaz,

  or friend her on FaceBook: http://www.facebook.com/Donna.Fasano.

  Acknowledgements

  No author can do it alone. I consider myself lucky to have found Lala Price, Al Kunz, Allirea Brumley, and Vickie Boehnlein, dedicated book-lovers who were zealous in the proofreading of this novel. Your eagle-eyes and willingness to be candid about my work have made this a better story. Mere words cannot express the magnitude of my appreciation.

  And to my readers, thank you for coming back for more.

  Dedication

  This book is lovingly dedicated to Doodlette,

  who is still just a cute little peanut.

  What reviewers are saying about Donna Fasano's novels:

  "…complex, funny, and realistic…" ~Wilmington News Journal (Where's Stanley?)

  "You'll vicariously experience a wide range of emotions from the sorrow of dealing with family tragedies to the joy of new love…" BigAl, Books & Pals, http://BooksAndPals.com (Mountain Laurel)

  "Award-winning author Donna Fasano skillfully weaves a story consisting of funny, imperfect characters, love lost and found, sexual attraction, and an old merry-go-round. Told with humor and honesty, this novel is an entertaining and satisfying read. I highly recommend it!" ~Karen McQuestion, best-selling author of A Scattered Life (The Merry-Go-Round)

  "I found Taking Love in Stride to be a fun filled read and I'd recommend it to anyone interested in a taking a few hours out of their schedule. Settling down with a romance is a nice way to spend some time, especially one like this." Kelly Irish, Vine Voice Reviewer (Taking Love in Stride)

  "This delightful and warmhearted tale...is everything romance is about." ~Judith Rippelmeyer, Romantic Times Magazine (The Sheriff's Six-Year-Old Secret)

  "Donna Fasano (award-winning author Donna Clayton) takes us on a journey of intense passion, exploring the boundaries of love and repercussions. Her writing style is such that I was hooked right away, and completely invested in the love affair between Savanna and Danny. I look forward to reading many more books by this amazing author." Imogen Rose, Vine Voice Reviewer and best-selling author of the Portal Chronicles (Return of the Runaway Bride)

  Prologue

  "My brother did what?" Robin Hampstead clutched the telephone receiver in her fist until her knuckles turned into little white knobs. Her insides trembled as she stared out the sliding glass door of her hotel room. The tropical storm that had stalled over the island thrashed the lush Hawaiian vegetation. Violent wind tore at the palapalai ferns and the blooming plumeria while rain battered the thick glass.

  "Robin, listen to me." The elderly female voice on the other end of the phone line held a calming intonation "I want you to stop and take a deep breath. It hasn't even been twenty-four hours since you found out about Jeff and Sara's... accident."

  Swallowing around the painful lump of emotion in her throat, Robin closed her eyes and took a shaky inhalation. Her brother and his wife were dead. The realization, the loss, the devastation were still sinking in.

  "I haven't been able to reach anyone, Lynn. I still don't know what happened. I've got no cell reception to speak of and the land lines are iffy at best. I'm surprised we haven't been cut off yet."

  As if on cue, static skittered across the connection.

  "You'll find out soon, I'm sure," Lynn said. "In the mean time, we should talk fast."

  Robin's voice rasped as she said, "Jeff and Sara are gone."

  Just when she thought she had a handle on the tragic idea, a fresh surge of grief would gush forth and fill her to overflowing. Her teeth clenched tight against the agonizing ache in her chest.

  The person on the other end of the telephone was a friend, she reminded herself. It was okay to express to Lynn all the overwhelming sorrow she was experiencing over the sudden death of Jeff and Sara. But, once again, Robin found herself unable to confide her innermost feelings.

  "Sit down," Lynn softly commanded.

  Robin's knees bent of their own volition and she sank onto the upholstered chair positioned beside the desk. Her mind raced with a thousand questions… questions that weren't able to form completely before being overrun by another, then another. It was impossible to think coherently in the midst of this jumbled chaos.

  "I knew I shouldn't have opened your letter."

  Lynn seemed to be talking to herself, and although the woman's voice barely penetrated her wretched stupor, Robin felt the instinctive urge to comfort her.

  "But I asked you to." The words sounded rusty and grating to Robin's ears. "There wasn't time to forward it. And there won't be time for me to stop in New York." It seemed as though someone else was speaking instead of herself, so distant and hushed was her voice. "I'll be flying straight to Baltimore and then renting a car..."

  "Has the storm cleared enough for the airport to open?" Lynn asked.

  "Not yet. It doesn't seem to be moving. All the airlines are still on standby."

  Lynn sighed. "It won't be long. You'll be on your way soon."

  She swallowed with difficulty. "I'm packed and ready. I have all my notes together about the restaurants I visited. And what recipes I could gather. Some chefs are so protective, and it makes no sense, really. Some of the ingredients would just be too difficult to find. Or too expensive. But I'm sure I have enough information to finish the article."

  If she could locate some internal switch for babbling, she'd have shut it off. Her nerves were frayed and her thinking hazy to the point that she was talking nonsense. Who cared if she wrote the article or not? The editors at Fancy Food would understand, wouldn't they? Of course, they would. She'd just been notified of two deaths in her immediate family.

  Immediate family. To most people, those two words meant warm, close ties. But to Robin... Suddenly the cold, empty loneliness that engulfed her was not only staggering, it was also frightening.

  "Oh, Lynn." Suppressed emotion strained the words. "I hope I arrive in time for the memorial service."

  She heard her friend heave a commiserating sigh.

  "It seems all the arrangements were stipulated in your brother's will," Lynn reminded her, seemingly more for something to say than anything else. "The woman who called didn't leave her name. She just said there would be no funeral. Only a memorial service for family and friends to be held within forty-eight hours after..." Here she let the sentence fade with yet another sigh. "Then the letter arrived."

  The original purpose of Lynn's call had been the letter. Robin swiped her hand across her forehead as if she could physically clear some of the fog that had enveloped her brain. She tipped up her
chin. Her voice seemed to gain strength as she said, "Read the letter again, Lynn. The important part, anyway."

  Lynn cleared her throat with a gravelly sound. "You have been named by Jeffrey Aaron Hampstead and Sara Marie Hampstead as co-guardian of Anthony Aaron Hampstead."

  "Little Tony," Robin whispered.

  She fought back the panic that swirled in the pit of her belly, but like unrelenting waves crashing against the sandy beach, her anxiety built higher and higher.

  "I don't know anything about babies, Lynn," she said. "I've only been out of college three years. Traveling all over the place." She sucked in air through her mouth to fight the queasiness in her stomach. "I don't have a home. I rent a room, for goodness' sake. Where am I going to keep a baby?"

  An unbidden memory swamped her, and suddenly she was back at little Tony's christening feeling awkward and clumsy and extremely inadequate as she held her brother's child in her arms. She remembered how hurt she felt as Jeff, Sara and Jonas Winslow, Sara's brother, had laughed at her lack of maternal instincts. She'd been embarrassed by their good-natured jeering, but Robin had to admit that their opinions had been correct; she didn't have an ounce of knowledge where children were concerned.

  "That poor little boy would be at a terrible disadvantage having me as his…" She stopped abruptly. "How am I ever going to…" Again she stopped. "I couldn't possibly continue to travel…" Her breath seemed to catch in her throat and she gasped, failing to keep her hysteria at bay. "What's going to happen when…"

  "Robin, stop this." Lynn's chide was sharp. "Everything's going to be okay. The letter said co-guardian." She emphasized the prefix.

  "Yes, yes," Robin whispered, latching on to this small ray of hope with both hands.

  "Do you have any idea who… might be named?"

  Thunder rumbled across the sky and lightning flashed at the same instant that static crackled right through the middle of Lynn's question. Robin nodded vigorously even though her friend was thousands of miles away and unable to see. "Sara's parents," she said emphatically. "In fact, Mrs. Winslow was probably who called you about the memorial arrangements. I've tried but haven't been able to reach her or her husband. They live in the same small town. I'm sure that's who Sara would want helping me."

  It's not like Sara and Jeff ever expected anything like this to happen.

  "The baby's grandparents," Lynn said. "See there, you have nothing to worry about. Grandparents love their grandchildren."

  Again, Robin found herself nodding. "Mr. and Mrs. Winslow do love Tony." Relief flooded her until she feared she'd cry, but she succeeded in fending off the tears. "And they're very nice people. I met them at Jeff and Sara's wedding and then again at Tony's christening."

  "You have nothing to worry about then, do you? The little fella's grandparents have experience with children. They raised Sara, didn't they? And Tony knows them. Surely he's comfortable with them." Her words lightened considerably. "There should be no reason you can't continue traveling for the magazine."

  Robin thought a moment. "It would probably make things easier for Mr. and Mrs. Winslow if I were to sign over all rights to them. I mean, I trust them implicitly to take good care of the baby. And Jeff loved Sara's mom and dad."

  "When you stay calm," Lynn commented, "all kinds of options come to mind."

  Now it was Robin's turn to sigh. "Lynn, thanks for talking this through with me. I feel so much better about this whole thing."

  A blaze of light flashed, thunder boomed, and the line went dead.

  ~ ~ ~

  Jonas Winslow reread the letter he'd received from his sister's lawyer via overnight courier, and then let it fall atop the scatter of penciled drawings on his desk. His heart ached for Sara. He had so many wonderful memories of growing up with her. Being a 'big brother' was a job he'd taken seriously from the very first day his mother had brought home the red-faced and wrinkled baby swathed in a soft pink blanket. He might not have understood what all the hoopla had been about back then, but he had realized that his life would never be the same. They'd been close, he and Sara. And he'd always been extremely protective of her. Yet, when Jeff Hampstead had come along, he'd stepped aside and let the love of his sister's life take over. He'd liked Jeff. Had even come to think of him as the brother he'd never had. And now they both were gone.

  Sadness prickled behind his eyelids, threatening to take the shape of tears. He sniffed and rubbed firm fingers across his jaw. He didn't have time to grieve. There were too many arrangements for the memorial service to attend to, too many phone calls that had to be made.

  The sound of his mother's sobs came back to haunt him. With the condition his father was in, Jonas knew there was no way his mother could leave him to fly up for Sara's memorial service. She'd tearfully suggested a home nurse, and then immediately rejected the idea, knowing how her husband became so easily disoriented and frightened these days. Besides, neither of them had been in the retirement village long enough to even settle in yet. Jonas had tried to console his mother and had finally convinced her that staying in Florida with his dad was the best thing for both of them.

  When his mother had asked after the baby, Jonas had explained how Sara's best friend, Amy, had called and offered to take care of Tony until he could make arrangements for the memorial service. He needed to call his mother again sometime today to let her know of the plans he'd arranged so far.

  He gazed down at the document that sat on top of the disorganized pile of articles in various stages of editing and he thought of his fourteen-month-old nephew. The memory of the child's wide-eyed, frightened gaze continued to prey on Jonas's mind. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't exorcise the image of those huge, teary brown eyes as Tony had called out longingly for his mother.

  The lump that rose in Jonas's throat nearly choked him. He coughed, pushed himself to his feet and paced the room.

  He wanted to abide by the wishes of his sister and her husband. Hell, that's why he'd worked so hard to quickly pull together a decent memorial service. Why the two of them had stipulated that the ceremony be held within such a short time period was beyond him, but he'd done all he could to abide by their wishes.

  Yes, he wanted to do the right thing by Sara and Jeff. And little Tony. But Jonas had to admit, if to no one but himself, that there couldn't be a worse time for him to take on the responsibilities of a child.

  He gazed over at the file cabinet and thought of the brand-new, multi-book contract he'd signed… a contract that called for all new, never-before-published material. The next year was going to be very busy if he was going to create new material for a book and keep up with his daily syndication demands. How was he ever going to work and take care of Tony at the same time?

  As he searched through his brain for possible solutions, he dragged his fingers through his hair and realized just how badly he needed it cut. He looked around his office at the messy piles of computer paper, research books, newspapers, and empty coffee mugs. A blunt-tipped pencil sat forgotten on the floor in the corner of the room. A thick layer of dust covered the file cabinet and the unused corners of his desk. He wondered how long it had been since he'd cleaned the place. And then his stomach rumbled softly, alerting him that he hadn't eaten since late yesterday.

  "How can I possibly take care of a baby when I can't even remember to take care of myself?" The words were harsh and grated with self-disgust. He went to his desk and picked up a small, framed photograph of his nephew.

  "Tony," he whispered to the picture, "you deserve better than what your Uncle Jonas has to offer."

  As he stared down at the boy's image, he wondered how life could be so cruel to one so young. Tony's little bow-shaped mouth curled into a tiny smile so like his mother's. The child had gotten his carrot-red hair and big brown eyes from his father. Sadness and grief welled inside Jonas, making his chest tight, his breathing ragged. His vision became blurred with the moisture that gathered in his eyes. He blinked several times, hard, then pressed his thumb and
index finger against his closed lids.

  He set the picture down and inhaled deeply. There had to be an answer to his time dilemma. How could he keep up with his column and write his book while taking on all the responsibility that came with accepting custody of his nephew?

  Jonas had to confess that he'd been surprised when he'd received the letter informing him that he'd been named as Tony's guardian. He guessed Sara just wanted him to know that she loved him and was thinking of him. As a bachelor, Jonas spent very little time around children. In fact, his nephew had been the one and only child he'd ever been exposed to. But he loved the boy. Loved to drop by unexpectedly to see what havoc the little fellow was wreaking on his sister and brother-in-law's household. So, realizing his lack of experience with children, he had been taken off guard to learn that Sara wanted him to help raise her son.

  But it was the co-guardianship that intrigued him. And he also realized that it was the co-guardianship that would be his saving grace. He wasn't going to be in this alone. And the fact that there was someone else who would be responsible for the baby along with himself might be the answer to his problem.

  Although he hadn't had a chance to talk to her, Jonas knew that the other person named by his sister would be Amy. Sara's best friend would be the perfect person to raise Tony. The woman was part of a strong and happy marriage, which was really an amazing feat in these days and times. And Amy was a wonderful mother with two adorable children of her own. He'd seen Amy and her husband in parental action at Tony's first birthday party two months ago and they'd been wonderful with their kids.