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“Hey, what’s going on?”
“Where are you guys? We have a bit of a situation here.”
“We’re in the car. What’s up?”
“Last night Ronnie went to visit her mother. Things had been going well over the last month, and she was trying to keep the connection between them. Ronnie mentioned the DNA test.”
“Oh,” Nick said, switching his phone to speaker. “And that didn’t go well?”
“It went very badly. Ronnie came home a wreck. Apparently, her mother lost it. They eventually had to sedate her. The place she is staying is threatening to kick her out if she can’t be more stable. She was slashing scissors through the air, making a lot of threats.”
“She doesn’t want Ronnie to find out who her father is?”
“I guess. Things are escalating quickly here. I think there must be a reason she wants to keep that quiet. Ronnie didn’t sleep all night, and I tried to wait to call you guys as long as I could, but—”
“No, it’s fine. We were up anyway.”
“You were trying to get some downtime.”
“We’re fine,” Cleo cut in. “I hate downtime. We’ll get it sorted out. This is obviously a trigger for Ronnie’s mom. Hopefully, the reason for that won’t blow back on everyone.”
“There is one more thing I didn’t mention.” Carter sounded uncharacteristically shaken. “She was yelling that he is a killer.”
“Who?” Nick asked, shooting a nervous look over to Cleo.
“I guess the man who might be Ronnie’s father? She said to leave it all alone, that the man is a killer and that if we go and kick the hornets’ nest, we’ll ruin everything.”
“A killer?” Cleo asked, drawing in a deep breath. “Did she say anything else?”
“Nothing coherent. She was really bad. Worse than Ronnie had ever seen her. I think we can assume the DNA test is going to confirm Don is not Ronnie’s father. I just don’t know where we go from there. Maybe we just leave it alone?”
“We can’t,” Cleo said apologetically. “There is too much on the line now. It was never just about finding answers for Ronnie. There is Sammy to think about. And the entire Kinross Corporation could have some liability depending on who this man is. We need to do a full threat assessment. A corporation that size can’t afford any skeletons that might burst out of its closet someday. We need to figure out who this man is and why his existence triggers Ronnie’s mother so deeply.”
Nick shook his head in agreement. “Especially if we plan to use the farm as a safe haven for people fleeing abuse. It needs to be vetted completely.”
“I understand,” Carter said, sounding conflicted. “I just hate to see Ronnie find out her biological father is actually worse than the guy she already thought was her dad. I thought rock bottom might be a deadbeat. But murderer could trump that completely.”
Cleo leaned in toward the phone. “We’ll be back as soon as we can. Just remember you could get a visit from a social worker at any time. The house is ready. You are ready. Just don’t let this rattle you.”
“We got this,” he assured her, sounding a bit more positive now. “Thanks for heading back this way. I hope you’re able to find something helpful.”
They disconnected the call, and Nick gripped the steering wheel tightly. “I did not see that coming.”
“I know,” Cleo agreed. “Naively, I was hoping this mystery dad, if there was one, would be some kind of TV sitcom dad. Sweater vest. Wire rim glasses. Good advice. Maybe he could swoop in and make things a little easier on Ronnie.”
“Now we’re going to be making sure he’s nowhere near Ronnie, the farm, or any of the Kinross businesses.”
“We shouldn’t have left,” Cleo said, choking the words out guiltily. “We could have talked her out of going to her mother.”
“Could we have?”
“What do you mean?”
Nick put the car in reverse and headed back onto the road. “People want to tell their mother things. They want the sounding board. The comfort. Even when they're completely incapable of giving those things, there is some kind of biological draw to it. My mother was always my first call. Good news. Bad news. Bail money. Ronnie might have a terribly complicated relationship with her mother, but when something significant happens, she’s still who she wanted to talk to.”
“Mothers and daughters.” Cleo felt the pang of her own separation from her mother. She could empathize with the complicated relationship and recognized that Nick was right. There had been dozens of times over the years that she’d nearly dialed that old number. But there had always been one thing to stop her. One thing she knew for sure. No one on the other end would pick up the phone.
“We weren’t wrong to leave for a bit to recharge. We can’t solve everyone’s problems if we’re running on empty. Who knows what we’re about to jump back in to? It doesn’t sound good.”
