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Kerri-Ann pulled out a chair at a nearby table and sat down, tucking her hair behind her ear in the exact same gesture Hannah used when she was feeling nervous.

Cleo swallowed. The similarity was amazing. Apart from this woman being older, it could have been Hannah sitting there opposite her, working out how to start a difficult conversation. She stared across the table to see Stan’s thick blond hair, his deep blue eyes, his tall athletic build. This woman was even more like Stan than Hannah was; her daughter had inherited some of Cleo’s delicate build. This was Stan’s daughter. There was no doubt.

‘How did you find me?’ she asked, after an awkward silence.

Kerri-Ann, whose eyes had been wildly darting around the café, met Cleo’s. ‘Facebook. I… I found your daughter, Hannah, on Facebook. It was after Mother…’ Her voice broke. She took a tissue from a pocket, patted her eyes and took a deep breath before continuing. ‘My mother has passed. Before she died, she told me a story about my father. She was ill, dying. I suppose she wanted to tell me before it was too late.’ She started to weep. ‘I’m sorry, I…’

‘Let me get you a cup of tea, or would you prefer coffee?’

‘Coffee please, if it’s not too much trouble.’

Cleo rose and went into the kitchen. Once there, she stood, frozen, holding onto the benchtop for support. She could hardly believe what was happening. The woman who claimed to be Stan’s daughter – no, whowasStan’s daughter – was sitting out there in the café. In a trance, Cleo fixed herself a cup of chamomile tea and coffee for Kerri-Ann, and carried them through to where Kerri-Ann was wiping away her tears.

‘Thanks… and sorry. I didn’t intend to break down.’

‘It’s okay.’ Cleo waited.

‘I didn’t plan to do anything about it. I’d lived for twenty-seven years without knowing, without a father. I only found my mother when I was eighteen. Before that I lived with the family which adopted me as a baby. They were good to me, but I never felt I belonged there.’ She wiped her eyes again and sniffed. ‘Anyway, after Mother died, I decided to try to find out more about the man she said was my father. I googled Stan Johansen and discovered he had lived in Australia and he had died, too.’ She sniffed and scrunched a tissue in her hands.

‘I was about to give up when one of Mother’s friends told me she’d seen a girl downtown who looked like me.’ She took another ragged breath. ‘I asked around and discovered her name was Hannah Johansen. She’d been visiting her aunt. By this time, I was planning to leave town – to go back to San Francisco. I work as a marine biologist in the Bay area. I took leave when Mother became sick. Sorry,’ she wiped her eyes again, ‘you don’t need to know all this, but I want to explain. I kept thinking about this girl who was my sister. I checked out Facebook, and there she was. Hannah Johansen who lived in Queensland, Australia in a place called Bellbird Bay. I couldn’t believe it. All this time, I’d had a sister living on the other side of the world. So, I sent her a message.’

‘And she didn’t reply.’

‘No. Then her profile went private. But, before it did, I’d seen a photo of her with you at this café. I remembered the name.’ She took a sip of coffee. ‘When I went back to San Francisco, I kept thinking about Hannah Johansen, here in Australia. I tried to message her again, but I think she must have blocked me. Then I had a bit of luck.’ She looked up to meet Cleo’s eyes. ‘I discovered there was to be a marine science conference held here in Australia, in Queensland, in Townsville. I’d read a lot about the Barrier Reef, about the degradation. It seemed to be a sign. Mother left me a bit of money. I took six months’ leave. I bought a ticket and here I am.’ She looked up from where she’d been staring at the table. ‘Sorry it’s such a long story. She’s the only real family I have left. I just… I just want to meet her – and to find out more about my father.’

Cleo was torn. She felt sorry for the woman sitting opposite, brushing away her tears. It had been a big step, coming all the way here. But she knew what Hannah’s reaction would be to hearing Kerri-Ann was here in Bellbird Bay.

‘She does live here, doesn’t she? Can I meet her?’ The eagerness in Kerri-Ann’s voice made Cleo wince.

‘Hannah does live in Bellbird Bay,’ she said slowly, ‘but I doubt she’ll see you. I found out about you from Stan’s sister – she couldn’t bring herself to call Stan this woman’s father. ‘But Han doesn’t want anything to do with you. I’m sorry. You may have made this trip for nothing.’

‘But…’

Seeing the woman’s woebegone expression, Cleo made an instant decision. ‘I’ll tell her you’re here, but I can’t promise she’ll agree to meet you,’ she said, stifling the knowledge she’d incur Hannah’s wrath by even suggesting it. But it was the least she could do. This was Stan’s daughter. She couldn’t send her back to California without at least making an attempt to bring the two together. ‘Where are you staying?’

‘I’ve booked into a B&B. It’s called…’ Kerri-Ann searched in her bag to produce a card. ‘Headland View,’ she read. ‘Do you know it?’

Kerri-Ann was staying at Ruby’s.

*

When she finally reached home, Cleo was exhausted. The conversation with Kerri-Ann had drained her. She couldn’t get the girl’s face out of her head, and the thought she was staying in Bellbird Bay was a worry.

After a shower and changing into a pair of track pants and a tee-shirt, she felt better, and turned the radio to the local station while she made a quick stir fry for dinner. Her reflections on the appearance of Kerri-Ann in the café were interrupted by a police announcement. Cleo turned up the volume to hear missing girls had been located.

Cleo sighed with relief. There wasn’t a serial killer out there. She could almost hear Hannah saying, ‘See, Mum. I told you so.’ She’d repeatedly told Cleo there was nothing to worry about, that it was safe to walk the streets of Bellbird Bay at night. But it didn’t mean Cleo would stop worrying about her. Worry was part and parcel of being a mother.

Thinking of Hannah reminded Cleo of what she’d told Kerri-Ann. She’d promised to let Hannah know Kerri-Ann was in Bellbird Bay and wanted to meet her. Cleo could imagine Hannah’s fury, but there was no doubt the girlwasStan’s daughter and… But at this point, Cleo reached an impasse. It would be different if Stan was alive. How she wished he was, that they could talk this over together, decide what to do. Instead, she was left to deal with it on her own.

Her phone rang.

Will.

Cleo breathed a sigh of relief. She needed to talk with someone, and Will was a good listener. It surprised her how quickly she’d come to rely on his judgement.

‘Will!’ Cleo tried to sound normal, but her voice shook.

‘Cleo, what’s wrong?’

Source: www.allfreenovel.com
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