Chapter 1

Frank Donovan was a tall, thin built man with flowing, long, curly black hair. He had a neatly cropped beard and mustache. Most men thought he was arrogant and most women thought he was God’s gift to them to feast their eyes upon. He always looked debonair even in a t-shirt and jeans, which he preferred most days, like this day. He was attending Harvard to become a lawyer. At first, he had gone to Dartmouth, to get his degree in psychology to follow in his father‘s footsteps, but now he was leaning more toward law enforcement since that is the field of choice of his brother.

Frank was coming into his criminology class when he saw a familiar face. The professor was talking non-stop to her, so he knew they couldn’t talk before class. He decided to sit up front, so he could possibly talk to her when the class was over.

Elaina Blakely was a well-dressed woman with dark red hair…at least it was at the moment. In her line of work, it changed often with her assignments. She was a Federal agent and sometimes worked overseas for other government agencies due to her skills. Now, here she was about to place another in harms way by becoming an active agent. It was her duty to let him know what his assignment was going to be.

She heard professor call for everyone’s attention. While looking at all the students her hands started to sweat. She hated talking in front of a big audience. She was better with small groups. She sighed heavily and tried to steady her nerves when she saw him sitting in the front row, staring right at her.

She became more nervous seeing him. She needed more time before she tried to speak. She went over to the professor who was about to introduce her and whispered she needed a few moments to collect her nerves. She strode out to the hallway and took in a deep breath. Why did she have to activate him? She knew why she didn’t fight it. She thought since he had been to the academy that summer he might have grownup more than when she had seen him last. A night that she wished she remembered more of. She blamed her clouded memory of that night on the wine she drank.

Elaina had been working a case involving a serial killer and she used a local psychiatrist to profile the man they were after. It was Vincent Donovan, Frank’s father. After the case was over, Vincent invited her home. He was having a birthday get together for his youngest son. She needed the distraction after the horrific case and accepted the invitation.

When Vincent introduced his sons, she started laughing, then she explained they had sort of met years before at Cooney Lake. It was then he knew she was the Elaina his son had spoken of back then. Fate was playing a game with his son and he only hoped things turned out the way he wanted.

Frank monopolized Elaina’s time while she was there. He wanted to know everything about her and by the end of the party, he had most of the information he wanted. She was still the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. Yes, there were other girls in his life, but this woman was going to be his wife. Come hell or high water he was going to have her.

Elaina thought he was just a college boy with a crush on an older woman. However, she did find herself falling for him while they sat and talked most of the night. Occasionally, his family would ask her questions about her job, but it was Frank who asked all the pertinent questions about her life. The most important was finding out if she was seeing anyone.

When she left their home that night, she left with a date for the next evening. Frank wouldn’t take no for an answer. He wined and dined her and they danced into the wee hours of the night. When he took her to her hotel room, she couldn’t say no to him coming in with her. That was the night that changed her life. The night she fell in love and became pregnant with their son. However, the following day she was called back to work and she didn’t know when she would be able to see him again.

Frank was angry when she told him about leaving. He wanted her to stay with him forever. She explained that she had a career and was not ready to settle down. She told him it was not the end of the world that maybe someday they would meet again, but for now, she wanted to concentrate on her career. She didn‘t know she was carrying their son at the time or she might have did things different, but she didn’t and she had kept their son a secret for three years now.

She had no other choice, she had to go back in and give her lecture about the FBI and then talk to him. She took another deep breath and steeled herself against the looks she was going to get from him. She walked back in and smiled to the professor.

“Today we have a special guest. This is Special Agent Elaina Blakely. She’s here to talk to all of you about the possibility of joining the FBI after graduation. Please give her a warm welcome.”

A resounding round of applause made her giggle slightly. She was definitely not used to this sort of greeting. She even felt herself blushing, hearing wolf whistles coming from a few of the men, particularly, from one man in the front row.

“Thank you, Professor Lawrence. If we were talking one on one, I would probably tell you a little about my personal life, so you would know how a career with the FBI would interfere with a social and family life. However, since I’m talking to you as a group, I will just say you can have a social life and family, yet still have an adventurous career with the FBI.”

“Talking about your social life might be more fun,” Frank said, loudly.

“I will not have anyone disrupting this lecture,” Professor Lawrence said, looking in Frank’s direction.

“It’s all right professor. It shows me someone is interested in what I’m saying. Even though he isn’t going to hear what he wants to know.” Elaina stared at Frank. “I’ve been with the government, working here and there, for about six years now. I’ve worked kidnapping cases as a negotiator, as well as your average investigator. Right now, it is my duty to work recruitment.”

“What did you do to deserve that?” Frank yelled out.

“Mr. Donovan. I expect you to conduct yourself as you would when I am speaking,” the professor scolded.

“I’ll answer that question. As a matter of fact, I’m in the doghouse for doing something I shouldn’t have.” She saw Frank’s hand shoot up. “Yes, Mr.…Donovan, is it?”

“Yes, it is. That really didn’t answer my question.”

“It’s the best and only answer I’ll give,” she said, smiling.

The other students started laughing, causing the professor to reprimand them.

Elaina went on with her spiel, making the work she did sound as exciting and enticing as she could. She had many questions to answer after she finished and students were still asking her questions when the hour was up.

Frank waited patiently for her outside of the lecture hall. A few of his buddies stood talking to him, but he didn’t pay much attention to them. He was too intent on watching Elaina. When he saw her coming out he told his friends he’s see them later and ran after her.

“Hey, can I buy you lunch?” he asked, catching up to her.

“You have a half hour to pack and drop out of here,” Elaina said, while they walked down the hall together.

“Why are you in such a hurry? You said you weren‘t working a case right now.”

“You and I have to have a long talk about something, you have to go to headquarters fill out papers, get shots to go into a foreign land, and such. It is all in this file,” she said, smacking it to his chest.

“Wait a minute, I‘m not 23 yet. They said I wouldn‘t be active until then. What‘s going on?” he asked, not even opening the file.

“You’re only a month away from your birthday. However, that doesn’t matter. You’ve been drafted by the CIA. You‘ll be working with me. Will that be a problem, Mr. Donovan?”

“No. Are you going to wait for me here or somewhere else?” Frank grabbed her arm to stop her. She was walking so fast it was hard to keep up with her.

“Is your car here?”

“Yeah, it’s in the student parking lot,” he answered.

“I will expect you at the airport in an hour,” she said, she said, handing him his ticket. “That gives you less that a half hour now to pack up. I suggest you halt any further questions until we meet there.”

“What‘s the hurry?”

“Move it, Mr. Donovan. You are wasting time I don’t have,” Elaina said.

He gave her a mock salute and ran back toward the dorms. He was thrilled to see her again finally. It took all his strength not to grab her and kiss her. The only thing that really bothered him was that she was being so bitchy. He then remembered her words, “You and I have to have a long talk.” Yes, they had plenty to talk about. He wanted to ask her to marry him before she walked away from him again.

When Elaina made it back to her car, a woman in her late 40’s with long black hair was standing next to her car. She was holding a little boy’s hand. When he saw Elaina, he broke free and went to her with his arms outstretched.

“Allie, he almost followed me to the car,” she said, picking the little boy up.

“You need to tell him before he gets on the plane. Or is it your plan to tell him on the plane in front of other people?”

“There is security in numbers,” Elaina said while they got into the car.

“Not funny,” Allison said.

Allison had been her best friend since college. Allison was the college psychologist and part-time professor. They had a lot of the same interest, with other things in common. Allison volunteered to be Elaina’s personal babysitter when her son Derek was born. She was there through the pregnancy and birth. Elaina was more like a sister than a friend. They shared everything with each other, including secrets.

Elaina refused to talk about Derek on the flight, mainly because she chickened out. Allison and Derek were seated near the front of the plane while she and Frank sat in the last row of First class. She wanted to wait until they were alone to tell him he had a son. She kept the conversation on catching up with his family. Then he asked about her family and their ranch.

When the plane landed, she told him to get their luggage while she went to find Allison. She found her waiting past the rental area with Derek asleep on her shoulder. “I’m going back with Frank. Take the rental and get to the house before we do. Get some things for Derek and take him to up your apartment,” she said, giving her a set of keys. “Put the rental in the garage.“ Allison had an apartment above Elaina’s garage so she was close by if she was needed.

“Elaina, you’re playing with fire. Don’t get hurt. Tell him everything…and I do mean everything.”

“He won’t believe me.”

“You don’t know that for sure,” she said, seeing Frank coming their way. “He’s coming.”

Elaina spun around and smiled at him. When she turned back to Allison, she was already walking away. She let out a sigh of relief before he reached her.

“Meet someone?”

“I was just telling her how sweet her little boy looked,” Elaina said. “I forgot my car is here in the parking lot. Sometimes you can be distracting,” she said, covering the fact she didn’t have the car.

“Get with it, Lady. You said not to waste time,” he said, smiling.

Elaina let him drive, giving directions along the way. Her home was a few miles from the Quantico academy, which they drove by on the way there. She watched as they passed by some recruits out jogging down the road. “That brings back memories,” she said quietly.

“I get leg cramps remembering the long runs we did.”

“Poor fella,” Elaina teased. “Take the next left up here. I’m the fourth house on the right.” When they pulled up, she was horrified to see the rental car still sitting out front. She had stalled as long as she could, thinking they would have been out of site.

“Looks like you have company,” he said, parking behind the car.

“Yes, it does.”

“They aren’t waiting in the car, so I’m guessing its family,” Frank said.

“I’ll go see who it is while you get the bags,” she said. She walked briskly and opened the door finding them still there. “Why are you still here?”

“Derek decided to see what was in the fridge; he made a big mess. I had to clean it up,” Allison explained.

“Shit,” Elaina said, walking over to the couch where Derek was lying down asleep again.

“I‘m sorry, I thought I could get out quick...”

Frank walked in, carrying their luggage. He was puzzled when he saw the woman from the airport standing in Elaina’s house. “Elaina? What is going on here?”

Of all times for Derek to wake up. He looked directly at Elaina and called her Mommy. She heard Frank drop the luggage hard on the floor. Elaina picked up her son and smiled uncertainly at Frank and then Allison while she walked over to her taking Derek from her.

“Come on, Derek. Mommy needs to talk to someone in private.”

“Who you?” the little boy asked when they walked by Frank.

“I’m Frank,” he said, looking the boy directly in the face. He looked just like he did when he was younger.

“You know Mommy?” Derek asked.

“I think I do,” Frank answered.

“This is Derek,” the lady explained. “I’m her friend, Allison.”

“You didn‘t mention a child when we talked,” Frank said, walking over to her.

“I guess I can’t hide it anymore.”

“I told you so,” Allison said quietly.

“Allison, you’re my good friend, please don’t piss me off right now,” Elaina said, gritting her teeth.

“Sorry. We’ll give you some alone time.” She carried Derek to his room only turning back once to sign good luck to her.

Elaina stood a few feet from Frank, feeling her knees shaking.

For a moment he didn‘t know what to say to her. When he finally found his voice, he asked the question she had long dreaded. “Am I his father?”

“I see by the look on your face you’re angry. You have every right to be. I should have told you the moment I found out.”

“You’re damn right you should have told me,” he said, getting toe to toe with her.

“I didn’t think you were mature enough at the time,” she said.

“What the hell kind of answer is that?”

“A truthful one.”

“This is bullshit. Why would you think I couldn’t handle it?”

“I talked to your father.”

“You told my father!”

“Frank, please sit down,” she said, trying to calm the situation.

“I can’t believe you. We make love, you have my child, and whom do you turn to? My father, not me, but my father!” he said, flopping down on the sofa.

“I need you to calm down and listen to me,” she said, taking hold of his hand.

“Yeah sure. Tell me what the great Vincent Donovan had to say,” he ranted.

“Your father thought you were not ready to handle a child. I agreed, because I felt I wasn’t ready. He knew you better than anyone, Frank. I had to talk to him. I needed guidance as well. I had actually thought a few times about an abortion. I was raised a catholic and yet I thought removing the child would be the answer to my problems.”

“Why changed your mind?”

“I couldn’t hurt an innocent child. I’ve worked kidnapping cases. I’ve talked to families that would give their own life to keep their children safe. How could I kill my own child?”

Frank sat there in silence for the longest time. He held her hand in his, rubbing his other hand over it. “Until you said that last sentence I was going to say something awful.” He cleared his throat, looking into her ocean blue eyes. “I almost said you should have had the abortion.”

“And that would have proved just how immature you are?” Elaina walked to the kitchen to get a glass of water.

“How long have you lived here?”

She almost dropped the glass not expecting him to have followed. “I’ve lived here since I had Derek. We still stay with my mom and dad when I’m not working,” she said, placing the glass in the sink.

“Do you want me to be in Derek’s life?”

“You are his father. However, if you feel you can’t be a father to him, I prefer you just stay away and not confuse him.”

“Did you know prior to coming after me today that I had been to Quantico a few months ago?”

“Yes, your father called and gave me the news that you had made your career choice.”

“Why didn’t you come to me then?”

“I thought about it. I decided you didn’t need the distraction. So, I asked for a transfer. I went to Chicago for a few months.”

“I can‘t believe you did this to me. I have missed the first years of his life because of you and my father. How long were you going to take before you told me?”

“I was going to tell you today. I just wanted to be alone when I did.”

“How long Elaina if this assignment hadn’t happened?”

“I don’t know. You know now and yelling at me is only going to upset your son. Please calm down and stop yelling.”

“Are you going to allow me to be in his life? Or am I to just forget he exists?”

“I’m truly sorry I didn’t tell you before now. I was afraid you would hate me and try to take him away from me. There was never a day that went by that I didn’t want to pick up the phone and call you. I was scared.”

“When are you going to understand I love you? I will always love you. Now that I know I have a little boy there is no way in hell I would leave you,” Frank said, taking her in his arms. “As angry as I am there is no way I can find it in my heart to hate you.”

“I want you in his life…our lives.”

“We’ll work this out. I give you my word. I will never leave either of you.”

“Frank, if you ever did break that little boys heart by leaving us. I will guarantee you that I will hunt you down,” Elaina warned.