Page 69 of Ethan

He nodded slowly. “You’re right.”

She looked down at her tea.

“I used to dream about it when I was little,” she said quietly. “That she’d show up one day and have a reason that made sense. Something that would make it okay.” She shook her head. “I stopped dreaming about it a long time ago.”

Ethan said nothing for a moment.

“I’m sorry I brought it up,” he said.

“Don’t be.” She looked up at him. “You can ask me anything.”

He came around the island and put his arm around her. She leaned into him and they stood there in the quiet kitchen while the tea cooled in her mug.

Chapter Ten

Naomi had worked Vader through two solid runs, had coffee with Serena after, and was heading back to her apartment to clean up before lunch when she saw the car.

It was parked near the barn, a rental by the look of it, a silver sedan with out of state plates. She didn’t think much of it at first. Carl had sent someone to pick up Copper last week and there were always people coming and going on the property.

Then the woman got out and Naomi stopped walking.

She hadn’t seen her in over thirty-three years. She was older, softer around the edges, her blonde hair threaded through with silver now. But the face was the same. The face that had looked back at her from the mirror her whole life, the one her grandmother used to touch sadly sometimes when she thought Naomi wasn’t paying attention.

The woman spotted her and went still.

Neither of them moved for a long moment.

Then the woman took a step toward her. “Naomi.”

Her voice was the same too. That was the thing that hit her hardest. After all this time, after everything, the voice was exactly the same.

“What are you doing here?” Naomi said. Her own voice came out flat and steady, which surprised her.

“I needed to see you.” The woman took another step. “Please. Just give me a few minutes.”

Naomi stood very still and felt something cold move through her that had nothing to do with the morning air.

“How did you find me?”

Her mother looked down briefly. “Your grandmother’s lawyer. It took me a while, but I tracked down the forwarding address.” She looked back up. “I’ve been trying to find you for two years.”

“Two years.” Naomi looked at her. “It took you years to even start looking.”

Her mother flinched. “I know.”

“Do you?” Naomi’s voice stayed even. “Do you actually know?”

Her mother’s eyes filled. “I deserve that.”

“You deserve a lot more than that.” Naomi crossed her arms. “Say what you came to say.”

“Can we go somewhere? Sit down maybe?”

“No.” Naomi didn’t move. “Say it here.”

Her mother looked around at the barn, the property, the apartment stairs, taking it all in. Something moved across her face that Naomi couldn’t read and didn’t particularly want to.

“You’ve done well for yourself,” her mother said.