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“Later,” I mouthed to her. “It didn’t have anything to do with drugs. She broke up with me. I’ve been distant and…”
I tried to explain it, but it sounded lame, even to my ears. I wanted to say we’d grown apart, but who grows apart after only a few days together and then a few more days of tension. What did that say about the two of us, that we couldn’t weather even the simplest of storms?
You mean, what does it say about you, I thought. It says you have too much rage and distrust and anger to ever forgive and forget. To even try to understand where your girl is coming from. And it says that Greer knows she’s too good for you. She always has been.
I cut off those thoughts like a knife through butter. Whatever problems we were having, it wasn’t like before. This was entirely my fault, and I knew I could fix it. Eventually.
“Well, I think she’s a fool,” Anna gushed. “And anyway, it’s probably for the best. When the judge grants me ownership of Richmond House, I’d love to have you over some time. I know how much you’ve always loved the house. Tell me, when you were working on the boats for Daddy, did you ever dream of someday being master of the house yourself?”
I cleared my throat. Janae was long past vocalization, just staring dumbfounded at Anna blatantly shooting her shot. I wish I could answer her honestly and tell her, in no uncertain terms, that I’d never, not once in my life, ever wanted anything to do with that house. Especially now that I knew what had been going on inside. The thought made me sick. I’d rather die than live there—unless that’s where my girl wanted to live. Then I’d have to suck it up and get over it somehow.
“I’ve never really thought about it,” I said smoothly. “But as I said, there has been something on my mind that I’m hoping you can give me some insight into.”
“If it’s about Greer Richmond, why don’t you just ask her? That reminds me—I forgot to tell you that I’m legally changing my name. I’m going to be a Richmond too. Anna Richmond.” She giggled and clapped her hands together once.
“Congratulations,” I choked out, trying desperately to steer the conversation away from Anna’s apparent need to compete with Greer in everything from name to legacy to…me. “I can’t ask Greer because she wasn’t around. As I said, it’s sort of about her, but it’s more for me. For a genealogy project I’m working on. For Oren,” I lied.
“I didn’t know you were a genealogist too.”
“I’m not—I’m definitely not. But I do know the history of Astoria as well as anyone, so I’m just helping out, tracking a few families. And I couldn’t help but notice that Greer’s paternal family is a big blank. No one ever found out who was responsible for Blair’s pregnancy?”
“Blair,” Anna scoffed. “My sister from the same mister. I haven’t thought about her in so many years.”
“You weren’t that old when she left, pregnant,” I said, careful to avoid saying Greer’s name now that I thought I was getting somewhere. “But do you remember who Blair hung around with then? Do you remember any men hanging around the house?”
She smiled, her large, straight teeth vampiric in her thin face.
“I was only four, Jace—you’re a year older than I am, remember? Do you know what I think? I think you want to know who Greer’s father is so you can bring the information back to her like a cat with a mouse in its jaws,” Anna concluded, her face twisting with malice. “Maybe you think she’ll forgive you and take you back if you give her the one thing she’s always wanted.”
She laughed. “And you’re sure it was Oren who asked you to research Greer’s family tree?”
“Yeah…Oren.”
Anna was all indulgent smiles. “Then I suggest you ask him. He was around, you know. I remember that he was around a lot in those days.”
