‘Of course.’ Lucy grinned. ‘Great. Thank you! What about you, Stephen?’
‘You don’t have to—’ Noelle started.
‘It’d be my pleasure.’
Noelle pressed her lips together for a second and then nodded her head. ‘Okay, if you say so. C’mon, let’s go find Dad.’
She seemed pissed off at me for offering to help with the babysitting, but I was just doing what she’d told me to – be charming. Also, part of me didn’t want this day to end. The warmth of their house that had nothing to do with it being summer, the ease with which they’d invited me in, and the way Noelle was letting her guard down with me – it was like spending a day acting out someone else’s life. A life I’d never dared hope for. When I went back to my apartment and headed back into the office, I had a feeling it was all going to recede, and the security of my everyday existence wasn’t going to feel the same.
I half expected her dad to be polishing a gun. He was much quieter than most of her family, taking everyone in with the same shrewd focus Noelle had. But we found him in a small room, half asleep with a fishing magazine over his face as he leaned back on his office chair.
‘Sorry to wake you, Dad.’ Noelle spoke softly and shut the door over to the office behind us.
‘Whyareyou waking me then?’ he grumbled but sat up and threw the magazine on the desk next to him.
‘I have a favour to ask. A favour for me, for Stephen.’
‘Is that so? I figured you weren’t just here to sample an authentic US barbecue.’
‘No, but it was much appreciated,’ I thanked him. ‘As it will be if you could do this favour for me, sir.’
‘All right, all right, quit the sweet talk.’
‘He’s just built that way, Dad – he’s British.’ Noelle waved her hand dismissively.
‘If you say so. Go on, Noelle, why don’t you leave me to talk to him?’
‘Without me?’
‘I’m not gonna get out the thumb screws, if that’s what you’re worried about.’
‘That isn’t what I’m worrying about,’ she said dryly under her breath but backed towards the door. ‘You’ll be okay?’
‘He’ll be fine, darling,’ her dad answered and gestured for me to take a seat opposite him as she left. I wouldn’t have been surprised if she stayed out there with her ear to the door though. ‘Tell me what you need then and why.’
I explained about my mother passing and my father absconding and all we’d found out from the search calmly and succinctly, because I was certain this was a man who appreciated brevity.
‘I’m sorry to hear about your mother.’
‘Thank you.’
‘And you genuinely just want to pass on details to him? There’s no…ill will you feel towards him that will end up in trouble? I can’t be responsible for someone ending up in the hospital.’
I shook my head and wondered if there was something wrong with me.ShouldI have been planning to punch Trevor in the mouth when I finally found him? Maybe that was something I’d locked up in the box too.
‘I’ll run a check for you then, but I could do with a little more information. Don’t get your hopes up. I can’t say when I’ll get the chance either, so you might want to follow up with your legal team anyway.’
‘I understand.’
‘And you can’t mention to anyone you found out this way.’
‘It goes without saying.’
I wrote out the addresses we had, the places he’d worked and jobs he’d had and passed it over.
He nodded. ‘And when you’ve found him, will you and Noelle be parting ways, or will I be seeing you again?’
My mouth opened and closed. I didn’t know what to say to that. I knew what I should say – but I didn’t want to commit myself to not seeing Noelle again. The idea left a clawing feeling in my chest. ‘That’s up to her,’ I finally responded.
