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In My Mother's Footsteps by Forbes Arnone

Available July 2nd

With slow, nervous steps, I made my to the office door and stepped inside. There was a man behind the counter with Takata, and I felt myself freeze in place. His face was familiar – I saw those features in my mirror every day. I could feel my chest heaving quickly again; the air had a hard time moving in and out, and I felt like I was suffocating.

“May I help you?” Takata asked, helping me get back to our plan.

I flashed him a look before I put my game face on.

“Oh, yes.” I walked toward the counter and pulled out the envelope of information, placing it on the counter with trembling hands. “I'm looking for someone, a . . . um . . . a Colonel Neil McDonald.”

I watched out of the corner of my eye as my father snapped his head up at the sound of his name.

Takata turned around and looked at Neil, pleading for help. Already a step ahead of him, he treaded toward me.

“What do you want with Colonel McDonald?” he asked.

“Oh, ah . . . well, you see, I think he's my father.”

Nerves ran through me as I dropped the bomb. I could've smacked myself for it, but his reaction was priceless. He looked at me good and long, inspecting every inch of my face and when he got to my eyes, he froze.

“How old are you?” Neil pressed, still staring straight at me.

“Twenty-two, sir.”

“Who's you mother?” he blurted out much too fast.

“Carla Alborn,” I replied.

Neil squeezed his eyes shut and blew out a long breath, while he braced himself on the edge of the counter with both hands. I watched his knuckles turned white while his face went red. Was he angry? I flashed my eyes to Takata to gage his reaction and he seemed okay with this response from my father.

“I have a picture,” I mentioned, picking it out of the pile of papers.

Neil’s body gravitated toward me just a tiny bit and he opened his eyes. The picture seemed to be his main focus in that moment and I knew he wanted to see it better so I handed it over to him.

“Pack this stuff up and come with me,” he told me, before turning back to the desk.

The author's website:  http://about.me/itlnbrt

Note from Ginger:  At the time this was scheduled and posted, the book was not yet available so I had no buy link.  I'm sure you can check "Jennifer's" Web Page to find out how to get your own copy.  Sounds, fascinating.