stop. She slid out of the booth, following him outside onto the sidewalk. They saw the SUV pull away from the curb and travel down the street.
“He’s gone!” Alex stood on the corner, his shoulders sagging.
Frannie gently put a hand on his. “Come back inside.”
He shrugged off her hand. Frannie didn’t try to take his arm again, but let him stand there for a few moments before she again said, “Come back inside.”
Finally, he did as he was told. As soon as he sat down, Rosie came over to the table. “Did you see him?” he asked the waitress. “Do you know who he is?”
“That was Joe Smith. Are you sure he’s your father?” she asked uneasily, then looked at Frannie, who shook her head gently.
Alex unzipped his backpack and pulled out one of the yellow flyers. “See? Doesn’t he look like that guy in the SUV?”
Rosie studied the photograph, her eyes narrowing. “It sure does look like Joe, but he wears his hair different.”
“What I’ve been trying to explain to Alex is that there are men who look like his father. You know, they have the same color hair, the same nose, similar smiles,” Frannie said to the waitress. “I’m sure that’s the way it is with this Joe Smith. He’s simply someone who resembles Alex’s father.”
The waitress nodded in agreement. “And to be honest, Joe doesn’t seem like the kind of guy to lie about who he is. He’s a pilot. If you want, I can give you directions to his place. It’s on the Gunflint Trail.”
Alex said yes at the same time Frannie said no. He looked at his mother and asked, “Why not?”
“Because he’s not your father. Your father isn’t a pilot,” Frannie reminded him. Joe Smith isn’t Dennis Harper, she told herself, and to take a trip up the Gunflint Trail would only make the day more frustrating for all of them. Alex’s eyes were filled with a false hope that Frannie had no doubt would be replaced by disappointment if he were to meet this Joe Smith.
When Luke indicated he needed to go to the bathroom, Frannie gave the twins strict instructions. “Don’t either of you move from this booth. Understand?”
Both nodded. As much as Frannie hated leaving Alex alone for even five minutes, she knew she needed to tend to Luke. As she walked past Rosie, she said, “Would you do me a favor and let me know if Alex tries to leave?”
The young woman smiled. “Sure.”
When she and Luke emerged from the rest room, Frannie was grateful to see that Rosie had followed her request. Emma and Alex were still seated in the booth. Alex’s face was animated, and it was only as Frannie returned that she saw the reason why. In his hands was a crudely drawn map on a white paper napkin.
“What is that?” she asked, eyeing the map suspiciously.
“Rosie told me how to get to the Gunflint Trail,” Alex answered.
“We’re not going there,” Frannie said as she helped Luke back into the booster seat.
“Why not?” It came out as a whine. “Mom, please! I spent all of my can money to buy that bus ticket.”
Frannie felt even worse. She knew how hard Alex worked to collect cans. Every week he’d go from house to house in the neighborhood, gathering aluminum cans so they could take them to the recycling center where he’d receive a small amount of cash. Every cent he made went into a locked box he kept under his bed because he had a goal: to buy his own computer.
Now he’d spent that money on a bus ticket to go in search of a man who didn’t want to be found. A man who didn’t care that Alex even existed.
“We’re already here,” Alex continued to plead with her. “Can’t we at least go see him?”
It seemed as if two hands had a hold of Frannie’s heart and were tugging it in opposite directions. She briefly closed her eyes, hoping that when she opened them she’d discover this entire day was a bad dream.
It wasn’t.
Alex could see she was weakening and pushed even harder. “Can’t we, Mom, please?”
“I need to pay the bill. Sit here,” she ordered the three of them, then went up to the cash register near the door. Rosie immediately hurried over to help her.
“Is everything all right?” she asked, glancing back to where Alex sat slouched in the booth, frowning.
“It will be. Thanks for keeping an eye on Alex. I appreciate the kindness you showed him today.” She handed the girl several bills.
“It wasn’t a big deal.” She counted out the correct change into Frannie’s hand. “He still thinks Joe Smith is his father, doesn’t he.”
Frannie nodded. “How far is it to this Gunflint Trail?”
“Not very far at all. It wouldn’t take but maybe half an hour to find the Smith place. Then at least Alex would know for sure…” She let her voice trail off, giving Frannie an understanding smile that indicated she was more mature than her age indicated.
“Yes, he would,” Frannie said with an answering smile. “Thank you, Rosie.”
When Frannie got back to the booth, Alex was silently sobbing. She knew how much he hated to cry.
Frannie’s emotions were near the breaking point as well, yet she knew there was only one way for any of them to have peace of mind. She said a silent prayer that she wouldn’t regret what she was about to do.
“All right. We’ll drive up to this Joe Smith’s place.”
“I’M HOT,” Emma complained.
So was Frannie. When she’d left Grand Marais, she’d turned off the car’s air-conditioning because of the road’s steep grade. She felt the engine needed all of its power just to get them up the incline. Although the windows were down, the air inside the car was hot and sticky.
“Are you watching the signs?” she asked.
“There should be a lookout point coming up soon,” Alex told her, acting as navigator. “There it is—” His arm shot out to the right. “Now we just keep going straight on this road.”
Apprehension crept down Frannie’s spine just as beads of perspiration trickled down her forehead. Because of the tall trees, what little there was left of the sinking sun vanished as she drove deeper into the forest. As often as she told herself that this Joe Smith was not Dennis Harper, she knew that her anxiety wasn’t only due to what effect meeting this man would have on Alex. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t ignore the tiny voice that asked mercilessly, What if it really is him?
“We should be getting close,” Alex said, when she expressed her concern that they had gone a long way without seeing the next landmark.
“There! On the right!” he said excitedly.
Frannie glanced to the side of the road and saw a small sign: Nature’s Hideaway.
“Stop!” Alex called out.
Frannie turned onto the dirt road and encountered a wrought-iron gate barring the entrance. “It says Private and No Trespassing.”
Alex hopped out of the car and went to investigate. Within minutes he had pushed opened the gate and was motioning for his mother to drive through. When he got back in the car, she said, “We shouldn’t be doing this. It’s private property.”
“But the gate was open. If he didn’t want anyone coming in, he would lock it,” he reasoned.
The hair on the back of Frannie’s neck rose as she continued down the winding gravel road. The sun had completely disappeared, and if she hadn’t glanced at her watch, she would have thought it was much later. Having difficulty seeing the road, she switched on her headlights.
“How