Dear readers, I wrote this a couple of years ago but scrapped it for a different approach to the same story.

Dear readers, I wrote this a couple of years ago but scrapped it for a different approach to the same story. There is NO SEX in it. This is a romance. Chapter 01 It had been a busy day for a Thursday. Dean Coates, had been the only doc on site for primary care. The nursing staff had just checked in the last patient of the day and Dean was more than ready to wrap things up and go home. "Your last patient is in room 3. Her name is Anita. She's 22," Alex, the medical assistant, told him. "What's she here for?" "She wants your opinion on some labs." "Did we order them?" "No. She had them done somewhere else." "New patient?" "Uh huh. She lives in Ohio." "Ohio? What's she doing in California?" "I didn't ask. I thought you'd prefer I get her checked in." "Room 3?" "Yep." He walked to room three on the far side of the clinic. Knocked once on the door then stepped inside. She initially had her back to him as she was drying her hands. He smiled at her pretty sandy blonde hair. That was his favorite. She was slim and shapely. "Good afternoon, I'm Dr. Coates." She turned to him and smiled. His eyes widened when he saw her beautiful face. Perfectly shaped, hazel eyes, dimples, and perfect white teeth. Her smile was that of an angel. "You seem startled, Dr. Coates." "You look very much like someone I knew a long time ago." "An old girlfriend?" "Yes, actually, she was. How can I help you?" "I have a lab test I'd like your opinion on." "Your regular doctor would be the best one for that." "I did the test through a mail in company and I don't have a regular doctor." "Go ahead and have a seat. Let's see what it is." She sat in the chair near the exam table and reached in her purse. He sat on the end of the exam table near her. The young woman handed him an envelope. The return sender was 23 and Me. He was familiar with the company and had even had testing done there. He removed the papers from the envelope and looked at the first page. "It's pretty straight forward. They tested DNA in your saliva to give you an idea of your family lineage. I had mine done too." "Look at the last page. That's the part I'm wondering about." He turned to the fourth page and began looking at the list of relatives. When he saw his name, he was taken aback. But when he saw the relationship his jaw dropped. "It must be another Dean Coates." "I don't think so. It was Dean Coates 7221. I checked with the website. It's you." "Then it's probably a mistake." "You said I look like an old girlfriend," she said. "How old are you, Anita?" "22." "The last time I saw that girl was 27 years ago and we never had sex. Sorry." "Okay, so let's assume it is a mistake. How could we find out for sure?" "Have a parentage DNA test. That would answer the question definitively." "Is there a place that can do that around here?" she asked. "Twelve miles north of us. Same day service, I hear." "Would you be willing to do that?" "Yes, Anita, I would. If I have a daughter I'd like to know." "When can you go with me? I'm only in town until Wednesday." "I'm off tomorrow. Hold on a second. I'll be right back." She nodded and he went to the front desk. "Rhonda, cancel the visit on this last patient it wasn't a clinical issue." "Anita Reynolds?" "What did you say her name was?" "Anita Reynolds, that's the patient in 3." "Yeah, that one. Call Alex and let her know we're all done and she's free to leave." "Okay." He went back to the room. "Anita, who is your mother?" "Carol Reynolds." "Did she live in a children's home?" "The same one you did." "Anita, I remember your mother very well, but she and I never had sex." "That's what Mom told her sister." "Sarah?" "Uh huh." "Has your mother seen these results?" "No. I've asked many times who my father is. She gets mad every time and refuses to tell me." "Let's get the test done. I'd like to get to the bottom of this mystery. Where are you staying? I'll pick you up in the morning." he asked. "I took an Uber here from the Redding airport. Any place you'd recommend?" He thought for a moment. "I have plenty of room at my house if you'd be alright with that." "Are you sure I wouldn't be an inconvenience?" "It's a fairly good size house. No trouble at all. I don't cook much so we'd have to eat out." "No problem here." He stood and tore the wrinkled paper off the exam table and replaced it. "I've never seen a doctor do that before," she said. "The staff takes good care of me. I try to help when I can. Do you have a bag with you?" "The girl at the desk has it." "Let's grab that and go to the back so I can close out the computer." He picked up her bag and they walked to his office. "Have a seat. It takes about five minutes." He sat at the computer and closed his notes, checked messages then logged out. They left and went to his truck. He held the door for her as she got in then put her bag in the backseat and got in himself. "Are you hungry?" he asked. "I really am." "Do you like Mexican food?" "Love it." "I know just the place." When they arrived, he got out and opened her door then took her hand as she climbed down. At the restaurant he held the door again. "Are you always such a gentleman?" "I try. It's how I was raised. Old fashioned, I guess." "Manners are never old fashioned. Did you open doors for my Mom too?" "Always," he said with a distant smile. They were shown to a table and once again he used his manners by helping her with her chair. She smiled. "I don't think anyone's ever done that with the chair before." "That's a shame. It really is." He sat across from her. The server brought them water and menus then took their drink orders. Both looked over the menus. "What do you recommend, Doc?" "I've had pretty much everything on the menu. Everything is good. It's real Mexicans that own and operate the restaurant." She looked back at the menu and a moment later noticed him looking at her. "You're staring," she said. "Sorry, I guess I was." "Why, Doc?" "If you'll quit calling me Doc, I'll tell you." "What would you like me to call you?" "Dean or D. Your mother always called me D, never Dean unless she was mad at me." "May I call you D then?" "Sure. The reason I was staring is because of how much you look like you Mom. She doesn't have dimples but otherwise it's uncanny." "I must have gotten the dimples from you." The server brought their drinks and took their orders. "Anita, about the DNA, it's just not possible. The last time I saw your mom was 27 years ago. Five years before you were born. I lived in Illinois when you were conceived. I've never donated sperm, and your mom and I never had sex. Trust me, I'd remember that." Anita chuckled. "How long were you and mom a couple?" "Three years." "Why'd you break up?" "That's a long story. Let's just say I broke a promise." "Did you cheat on her?" "No. I would never have done that, but she thought I did." "So, what was the promise you broke?" "I've never told this to anyone. She and I and several other couples snuck out one night for a make out session. While we were talking, I promised I'd never leave her and that I'd love her forever. The next day I ran away from the home." "That was a pretty shitty thing to do." "I had a good reason." "Would you mind sharing that?" "Someone ratted us out on the date. Punishment for doing that was a beating with a leather strap and thirty days on restriction. If they caught everyone involved that's what they all got. If they couldn't catch everyone they'd cool off in a couple of days and skip the beatings. You still got restriction, but I ran away so they wouldn't beat her." "Couldn't you come back?" "I tried." "And?" "Anita, this has to stay between you and I." "Why?" "First, she'd never believe it if she heard it. Second, she loved the administrators involved like fathers and they loved her. I knew a different side of those men. A side that was bad. I'd rather let her keep the good memories of them than being responsible for giving her any more bad memories than I already have. Does that make sense?" "Yes. So why didn't you come back?" "My father brought me back two days later. I was taken to the Dean's office, Mr. Worth. He said I could come back, but if I did, they would take your mom to the hospital for a D&C to make sure she wasn't pregnant. I told them we'd never had sex. He said that didn't matter. They'd do it anyway. I pleaded with him. He finally relented and said that if I'd leave for good, they wouldn't do it. I couldn't let them do that to her. I chose to leave." "You left to protect her?" "Yes. They told her I didn't love her and chose not to come back." "Why didn't you tell her the truth?" "They wouldn't let me see her and put out a restraining order to keep me off the grounds until my youngest brother graduated. He was six at the time. I saw my sister Debi about a month later. She was your mom's best friend. She was so pissed at me. The superintendent had one of the boys tell your mom I was cheating on her. I wasn't but she fell for the lie. My sister's boyfriend even overheard the guy telling his buddies what the superintendent had him do. Debi told Carol but she didn't believe it. She trusted the superintendent and the dean." "Why was your sister so pissed at you?" "For 'choosing' to leave for good." "But they blackmailed you." "She didn't know that. You're the first person I've ever told." "And you never saw Mom again." "About three months after I left, I went to the town where the home was. I knew from Debi she'd be in town. I had every intention of telling her. She refused to look at me or talk to me. When I followed her out of the drugstore, she told a cop I was following her. He told me to leave town or he'd put me in jail. I never tried to see her again." "D, is this all true?" "Every word of it. I have nothing to gain by lying. I told you today because I wanted someone to know what really happened." "I think you should tell her." "To this day I'd wager she'd be the same as she was in the drugstore. Anita, we genuinely loved each other and as far as she knows I cheated on her and ran out on her. You don't do that to someone you love." "But, D, that's not what happened." "It would be my word against the two officers. She'd never believe the truth unless they told her. One's dead and the other one would never admit what happened." The server brought the food and during dinner they were quiet. While waiting on the check Anita asked, "Are you and Mom really soulmates?" "Yes, I'm sure we are." "Then she still loves you." "No, she hates me." "If she didn't love you, she would have written the hate off years ago." "I wish I could believe that, but unless Mr. Worth were to tell her the truth, she would never believe it. Let's just let sleeping dogs lie. There's no point in waking them." "Oh, I don't know. You both love each other and you're both single." Dean chuckled. "You're wasting your time. It isn't going to happen." The server brought the check. After paying it they walked to the car and began the eight-mile drive to his house. After about four miles of two-lane winding mountain road Anita chuckled. "You really live in the boonies." "It's actually in a nice, gated community. You just have to do six miles of boonies to get to it." When they finally got to the gate she was impressed. "The mountain on your left is Mt. Shasta. Straight ahead is Mt. Lassen and Broke Off mountain. All dormant volcanoes." "Not extinct?" "Nope, Lassen erupted about a hundred years ago. Many of these lava rocks in the yards are remnants of that. Shasta is about a thousand years past due for eruption but there's no indication she'll wake up soon. The community has its own airfield over here to the left." "D, this is beautiful." "Beautiful is about a mile ahead when we start into the valley." As they came over the ridge looking over the valley she gasped at the beauty. The valley was beautiful pastures with mountains on three sides. A large river ran twisting from the left to the right. There was a lake visible ahead of them and very pretty homes throughout the area below around the lake. "Welcome to Lake California." He slowed the truck. "Keep your eyes open. There are often deer in this area." As they went around the bend the deer were standing in the road. There were about a dozen of them. As they neared the deer slowly moved out of the way. About a hundred yards farther they met a second herd that did the same. "Horse stables to our left. Country Club ahead on the right there on the lake." "Gorgeous. What river is that?" "Sacramento river, it's the water supply for much of California's breadbasket." "D, this is beautiful." "Yes, it is." When they got to the T intersection at the lake, he turned left then right into a cul-de-sac then right into the drive of the first house. It was an adobe style and looked small. They went in through the garage. They entered through a laundry room and stepped into a hallway. "My room is down the hall to the left. The rest of the house is to the right." As they left the hall, they entered the foyer and turned right. "Two bedrooms here with a bath between them. Take your pick. The one on the left has the best view." She looked at both and when she looked out the window with the view she grinned. "D, there are deer right outside the window." "They come through in the morning, around one and again late afternoon." "Do you feed them?" "No, it's important they stay independent. Are you a big deer fan?" "I'm a nature lover." "Then you're going to love the back yard." They left the bedroom and stepped into the great room. The entire back wall of the house was glass and overlooked the lake. On the right was the living area with an adobe style fireplace. To the left was a chef's kitchen with a large island bar and behind that were more kitchen cabinets than she'd ever seen. Toward the lake from the kitchen was a small round table and four chairs. The sliding doors to outside were just beyond that. "Can we go outside?" "Sure, it's probably not locked." She slid the door open and stepped outside. The porch was tiled and at least twelve feet deep. The center twelve by twelve was covered and screened in with two chairs and a table facing the beautiful lake. The right side was filled with planters of both flowers and vegetables. The other side had a patio table with an umbrella and beyond that a covered fire pit. Leading down from there was a walkway to the dock. "Oh my God! This is heaven." "Let's walk down to the dock. I'll introduce you to a couple of the neighbors." They walked down and stood on the floating dock. "Look way over there to the right. See the egret? Over on the dock by the pontoon boat is a Great Blue Heron. Just past that on the next dock there's a family of otters playing. The logs to our left and right are covered with turtles. There are also coyotes in the area. That's why the special screen on the patio. Sometimes in the evening the cows down the road start mooing. That's from the bear. He never comes over here though. About three blocks from here is a waterfowl sanctuary. It has trails and an eagle's nest. Tons of different types of birds too. You'll hear the owls later. This place is crawling with life." "I thought places like this only existed in books." "So, did I for most of my life. Then I finally realized that peace, like happiness, comes from within us. Learn that and choose it then you'll discover the beauty of life all around you." "Can you swim in the lake?" "You can if you don't mind an occasional bump into a blue gill. There's also a pool at the Country Club." "Mom would love it here. She'd either be fishing or at the pool all the time." "I knew she loved swimming. It was at the pool when I asked her what her name was. That was when I saw those amazing eyes of hers. I didn't know about the fishing. That wasn't an activity the boys and girls did together at the Home." "How did you meet?" "In a grocery store when we were four was the first time." "I assumed you met at the Home." "We met again at the Home." "Tell me, please?" she asked. "For some reason, my Mom took my siblings and I to a grocery store in Columbus. We lived near Dayton. As we went down an aisle, we passed your Mom and her mother. I was smitten. After my Mom led us down another aisle, I went back to look for your Mom. Apparently, she came looking for me too. I asked her to marry me and she agreed but said we'd have to wait until we were big. She said we'd have one girl baby. We held hands and skipped the length of the store laughing. Your grandmother found us and took me back to my mom. Carol and I both cried when my Mom took me away." "D, my mom told me this story. She invited you to come and live at her house." "She did." "Did it really happen or is it something you talked about later?" "She and I never talked about it. I didn't connect the girl to your Mom until about ten years ago." "That's wild. When did you see her again?" "The day after I arrived at the home. I was standing outside the softball field near third base watching a co-ed game. She rode up on a palomino. I complimented her on how pretty the horse was. She said thanks. Then I said, "Prettier rider." She blushed and rode away." "So, what happened at the pool?" "All the High School kids had jobs at the home. In the mornings I took little kids on pony rides. In the afternoon and evening I lifeguarded." "At fourteen?" "Yeah, I got my Red Cross certification when I was twelve at summer camp. The Junior High girls were swimming. Someone asked me to help her out of the pool. I looked over; it was her." He chuckled. "She was standing right next to the ladder and could have gotten out easily, but I helped her anyway. I melted when I saw those eyes. We talked for a few minutes and swapped names. She already knew who I was. She and my sister were in the same dorm. A couple of days later my sister introduced us at Town Hall. We were an item from that day until I left three years later." Anita had watched his expressions as he related the events to her. It was obvious he was loving reliving the memories. "Let's go to the screened porch. The mosquitoes like it here too," he suggested. The walked back up the ramp and sat on the patio. "You and Mom were in different grades at school?" "Yeah, I started first grade a year before she did, and she got held back in either first or second. She was a lousy speller," he chuckled. "She still is. Smart woman, loves to read but can't spell worth a darn." "Yep, that's Carol." "So, what did you do after you left the home?" "Lived with my Dad for a couple of months then got my own place. Graduated High School then went to work in a print shop. I joined the Air Force a couple of years later. They sent me to Med school. After my commitment was up, I moved to Texas. Three years ago, I moved out here. That's about it." "Why Texas?" "Too much snow in Ohio." "Doesn't it snow here?" "About once a year here but if you go twenty miles north it worse than Ohio." "What are summers like here?" "Hot but less humid than Texas. Spring comes in February and winters are mild and short. I love the climate." "Sounds like the perfect location." "Almost, forest fires are an every summer problem. We have at least one smoky month every summer." "It seems pretty safe in the valley though."r"