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“It’s true,” Cleo lied, winking and smiling at Ronnie. “You know he was bugging me. I’d much rather be here with you guys.”
“Ugh,” Ronnie groaned as they followed her into the kitchen. “You should have seen my mother. She really lost it. Whatever the story is with her and that blizzard, she doesn’t want to talk about it.”
“We do have a lead,” Nick said as he opened the fridge and started taking ingredients out. “You mind if I make some pasta?”
“That would be great,” Ronnie replied. “I’ve been kind of in a holding pattern today. Carter and Sammy went to the barn to help out with the chores. They’ll be back in a little while. I was trying to get up the energy to cook.”
“You know I enjoy it.” Nick made himself right at home and got to work. “Just chill.”
“What’s the lead?” Ronnie finally asked, looking unsure if she wanted to know.
“We went to talk to Father Benjie.”
“Oh, he hates me.” Ronnie rolled her eyes.
“I don’t think so.” Nick was stoic in his belief that the church was something that couldn’t hate or lie. Cleo wouldn’t challenge that. There was a time in her life she believed something so deeply too. That her family was that kind of perfect. She wouldn’t rob him of his belief.
“He’s very protective of your mother,” Cleo said. “And so it was a little difficult to come to an agreement on how to move forward.”
Nick was chopping onions as he shot Ronnie a knowing look. “Cleo strong-armed a priest.”
“I did not.” Cleo picked up the kitchen towel from the counter and tossed it at him. “We came to an agreement. He gave us a name. Some place to start. We passed it on to Brian. I expect we’ll hear back from him sometime tonight. A big part of what they do, keeping abuse victims safe, requires a solid network of information. If we’ve got the right name, they’ll find him.”
“And then what?” Ronnie asked, hugging her arms around herself. “I mean, you find him and tell him he is my dad?”
“No,” Nick asserted quickly. “We do a threat assessment.”
“Which is what exactly?” Ronnie was nervously nibbling her lip.
“Well...” Nick seemed to chew on his answer, looking like he didn’t want to alarm her. “If your DNA doesn’t match as a full sibling to your sisters, that will be one important indicator. Then Cleo and I will get an idea of who this man is, what is happening in his life, and if he poses any threat to you, the farm, or the hopes we have to make this place a safe stop for people fleeing violence through the pipeline Brian and Carmen have created. There’s a good chance he left town and never knew you existed. If he’s not looking for you and doesn’t have any idea he’s connected to you, maybe this will be a non-issue.”
Cleo turned toward Ronnie and smiled warmly. “I know the temporary custody arrangement for Sammy feels fragile. And I’ll be frank, it is.”
“I don’t want him going into the system. We have a loving home for him right now.”
“I know that,” Cleo said softly. “You’re doing everything right. But the legal steps involved are extensive. Don is his father, and though he’s saying he’s waiving his parental rights, it’s a process. The goal is often reunification. He’s also a U.S. citizen, which makes things here in Canada a little more challenging as well. Being a blood relative to him strengthens your standing as his guardian. If that changes, we need to be prepared. Information is power. We need to know things before anyone else does. That’s how we stay ahead of it. If you and Sammy are not genetically related, we need to know that. If this man is your father and he comes with some baggage, we need to know that as well.”
“You mean if he’s a murderer like my mother said?”
“I highly doubt that’s true,” Nick cut in. “Your mother was agitated and trying to deter you from finding the truth. I doubt she wants anyone to find out she cheated on your father many years before he did the same to her.”
“I honestly can’t imagine my mother hooking up with some guy in a church. Her church. The one she grew up going to. It just doesn’t add up to me.”
And there was the elephant in the room that Cleo refused to be the one to address. The peril of womanhood that was always looming around. Perhaps this man did not find himself entangled in a romantic winter love affair with Mariena. Maybe she wasn’t a willing participant at all. The silence between them made Cleo wonder if they were all thinking the same thing but equally as unwilling to say it.
“We’ll get to the bottom of it no matter what, and Cleo is right. The more we know, the better we can protect everyone involved,” Nick finally said.
Ronnie nodded, and her ears perked up as voices blew in from the open window. “They’re done at the barn. I’m going to get Sammy cleaned up and change my clothes too. I guess I need to come out of emotional hibernation and face reality.”
“Everyone needs a break sometimes,” Cleo said. “Don’t feel bad about taking a beat for yourself. This stuff is heavy.”
“I really didn’t mind the idea of finding out Don wasn’t my father. When I went to talk to my mother, I actually had some hope that maybe she’d tell me the truth and it would be something lovely. Something sweet even if she wasn’t proud of it. I romanticized the blizzard and the church. Don chose to leave my mom there, and she was feeling hurt about it. I don’t know. It’s silly.”
“I get it,” Cleo sighed. “I’ve told myself all sorts of fairy tales about my parents over the years. Just trying to make reality seem a little better than it was.”
“Yeah, and I wasn’t expecting her to lose it completely and start shouting he was a murderer. That’s a step down from Don, something I didn’t think was possible.”
Carter and Sammy came clamoring through the front door, locked in a conversation about stars and galaxies.
