All right, well The Hybrid is coming to a close in a few chapters and I've been working on this story when I was blocked on that so here goes....
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{Chapter 1}
“Mr. Kennedy,” the somber faced doctor said softly, entering the waiting area on the cardiac unit.
Ken Kennedy looked up from the magazine he had been leafing through. The images and words on the pages flashed before his eyes, but he barely registered anything. His only concern was his father’s health. Seeing the young doctor he tossed aside the magazine, stood and walked over to her.
“I’m afraid your father has taken a turn for the worse. He’s in and out now…mostly out,” she said softly. “It’s doubtful James will make it through the night. I wish that we had been able to treat his cancer more aggressively. The most we can do now is keep him comfortable.”
“Thank you, doctor,” Kennedy said. “I appreciate all you’ve done for him.” The doctor patted him on the shoulder, giving it a momentary squeeze. “Is it all right for me to go in and sit with him?”
“Of course,” the doctor replied. “You should be with him now.”
Kennedy headed toward his father’s room. The news had hit him like a ton of bricks. His father was dying and there wasn’t a thing he could do to help him. Sure he had staved off death for a few months, but the cancer had spread too quickly and his health deteriorated in a matter of weeks.
Kennedy stopped outside his father’s room. Now he would have to say goodbye to his father. His only remaining parent. The realization of being alone hit him and he had to hold onto the wall for support. This just couldn’t be happening.
“Are you all right,” a nurse asked as she passed him.
“Fine,” Kennedy replied forcing a smile. She gazed into his father’s room and gave him a sympathetic smile, reaching out to touch his arm. The personnel on this floor knew all too well what the man’s prognosis was.
“He’ll be going to a better place,” she said softly, giving his arm a slight squeeze. “Where he won’t be in pain anymore.”
Kennedy nodded and watched as she made her rounds to the other patient’s rooms. With a sigh he headed into the room, pulling over a chair to take a seat. He reached out and took the frail man’s hand in his.
“Hey, dad,” he said softly. “It’s Ken. I’m here.” The older man opened his eyes, though they didn’t seem to focus on anything.
James coughed and squeezed Kennedy’s hand. “Ken,” he said hoarsely.
“Just rest, dad,” he said softly.
“Ken, I have a confession to make.” He coughed again, wincing in pain. “I’ve done a terrible thing.”
“Whatever you did doesn’t matter now,” Kennedy said trying to quiet his father.
“You have to listen to me,” James said adamantly. “Many years ago I cheated on your mother.”
“She forgives you, dad,” Kennedy said not understanding why his father was telling him such a thing.
“I fathered a child with this woman,” James said taking in a shuddering breath. “Your mother knew of the affair, but not the resulting child, Ken. I knew she would never forgive me for it, especially knowing what I did when I learned of the child.”
Kennedy was floored. “What..what did you do,” he asked.
“I abandoned the child and her mother. I left them and returned to your mother. She would have never forgiven me if she had known about the child.” He felt the life draining from him and knew he had to tell his son everything before it was too late.
“You did what you thought was best,” Kennedy said trying to assuage his father’s guilt.
“You were only four when it happened,” James said. “You have a half-sister out there, Ken.”
“That’s not important,” Kennedy said softly. He just couldn’t process what his father was telling him.
James gripped Kennedy’s hand with all the strength he had left in him, pulling his son down to eye level with him. “You’ll be all alone once I’m gone, son,” he said. “You need to find your sister. You need family. Promise me you’ll find her.”
“I will,” Kennedy said seeing how much it meant to James. “I promise you, dad. I will find her.”
Hearing these words James relaxed, letting go of Kennedy’s hand. His eyes slid shut and a soft smile curled his lips. Soon his breathing slowed and the monitors in the room began to beep. Kennedy closed his eyes, tears slipping down his cheeks. He knew all too well that his father had finally lost his battle.
The rest of the night and the days after James’ death were a blur. He had no idea how he got through the funeral arrangements. He barely recalled anything. All he could think about was the fact that he was alone in the world…until he found his half-sister.
He had been given time off from work and after spending much of that time in a fog he finally came to his senses. He had made a promise to his father and needed to follow through on it. With a feeling of trepidation he headed over to his father’s place to see if he could find a name or something that would give him a starting point.
After rifling through endless amounts of paperwork, old letters and newspaper clippings and photos he finally found something. A photograph of a woman with long jet black hair holding a small child with a mass of dark brown curls. Looking at the back of the photo he found the names Janice and Isabella, six months old. The name Janice sounded familiar and he dug through his father’s phone book until he came up with the name Janice Burroughs.
“I sure hope this is the woman,” Kennedy sighed picking up the phone and dialing the number. He frowned hearing that the number had been disconnected. “I guess I’ll need to hire someone to look for her.”
With a sigh he pocketed the picture and set about clearing out some of the items he had deemed as trash. He had been at it for a couple of hours when he heard the screen door in the kitchen bang shut.
“Ken,” he heard Cindy call. It wasn’t long before the petite raven haired beauty came into view. “You’ve been gone for hours,” she said. Her sky blue eyes full of concern for him.
“I’m all right, Honey,” he said standing, wiping the dust off his hands and placing a soft kiss on her cheek. “Just sorting through all this junk.”
“Well, I brought lunch,” she said, wiping a smudge of dirt off his cheek. “Come have something to eat and then I’ll help you get a little more done before we go home for the night.”
“What would I do without you,” he asked with a small smile.
“Probably starve to death,” she replied with a chuckle as she led the way into the kitchen. She had been by his side through everything and knew he was taking it really hard, though he refused to talk about it.
“Chicken salad,” Kennedy said when she set a sandwich in front of him.
“And a brownie for dessert,” she said smiling taking a seat next to him.
“You spoil me,” he said taking her hand in his. “Check this out,” he said pulling the photo out of his pocket and handing it to Cindy. “I think this is my half-sister.”
“Her mother is beautiful,” Cindy said flipping it over to read what it said. “Isabella is her name?” Kennedy nodded. “Do you have a last name?”
“Burroughs,” Kennedy replied with a mouthful of sandwich. “I found an entry in Dad’s phone book, but it’s been disconnected.”
“Well, you can always get in touch with Jackson,” Cindy suggested. Her old high school friend had gone into the private investigation field and she knew he would be more than happy to work the case. “I’ll get you his number.”
“Great,” Kennedy said finishing up his sandwich and digging into his brownie. “I could use all the help I can get on this. Who knows if she’s even going by Isabella Burroughs. She could be married with kids for all I know.”
“Jackson will find her,” Cindy said confidently. “He’s very good at what he does.”
“I’ll call him later,” he said downing the last of his drink and finishing off his brownie. “For now I should try to get some more work done here before it’s too late. I need to get this place ready for the realtor.”
Cindy cleaned up and followed him into the living room where there were various boxes and stacks of items that needed sorting. With a sigh she settled in to help him clean up a bit. Together they worked until late in the night.
“I think that’s all I can do,” he said after hours of work. “I need a shower and to hit the sack.”
Cindy smiled a mischievous glint in her sky blue eyes. “That makes two of us,” she said. “How about we make it a double shower and then hit the sack?”
“Baby,” Kennedy chuckled. “How could I say no to that offer.” He wrapped an arm around her shoulders and led the way out of the house and to the car.
~*~
Kennedy sat in the diner a few days later. He had called Cindy’s friend Jackson Douglas and made an appointment with him. Kennedy was just finishing off his coffee when Jackson met him.
“So, Cindy tells me you want to find your sister,” Jackson said once he had placed his order. He raked a hand through his shoulder length wavy chestnut hair and examined Kennedy with his deep brown eyes.
“Half-sister,” Kennedy replied. “It was important to my father that I find her.” Jackson nodded taking a sip of his coffee. “Money’s no object. I just need to find her.”
“You have a name…anything to go on,” Jackson asked digging in when his club sandwich was served.
Kennedy reached into his pocket and pulled the photo and slid it across the table toward Jackson. “My sister’s name is Isabella Burroughs. I have an old phone number and address for her mother, but when I called it I got the message that the number had been disconnected.” He jotted down the number and address he had memorized on a napkin and slid that across the table to Jackson.
“Well, it’s better than nothing,” Jackson said. “I’ll look into it and see what I can dig up.” He finished off half of his sandwich before calling the waitress over and asked her to put the other half in a doggie bag. “I’ll call you when I have more info for you.”
“I appreciate this Jackson,” Kennedy said shaking the man’s hand as he stood to leave.
