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I squealed and darted out of the way when he dove for me. Something from my peripheral vision caught my attention and I spun, hands up, ready for anything. There was a woman watching us on the fringes of the track.
Saint jogged up to me. "Now you're distracted." And then he saw what I was looking at, and the oddest thing happened. He squeezed my shoulder. "Go on, she's been watching for a while."
I frowned at him. "What?"
"Gabe made an arrangement. That's why we're here. The rest of us are just here for backup in case Igno has someone watching."
I wanted to run right over. I wanted to throw myself in her arms and hug her tight, but I couldn't make myself move. "I don't think I can."
Saint's hand massaged the base of my neck, and I had no choice but to relax as his heat seeped into my muscles. "Look, this is all you’ve ever wanted. And Gabe had to pull some strings to make this happen. It’s his way of saying he was sorry for putting you in danger."
"This is really happening. She's here?”
"Yeah, she is. If you want to talk to her, all youhave to do is walk over."
I glanced up, and Saffron gave me a soft smile. "If she didn't want to talk to you, you would never even have seen her."
I frowned at that, wondering how often she'd been watching me, how many times she could have reached out or spoken to me. And then the fear that had rooted me gave way to compulsion, as I charged forward, wishing that I looked different, that I was stronger or more confident, or at least had makeup on, for the love of Christ.
As I approached, I noticed that she looked exactly how I remembered her. The years hadn't done anything to her in the sense of time. Her smile was tremulous. Like she was unsure if she should come up and hug me. I stood awkwardly the same way, three feet away, unsure of what to do with my body, my arms.
"You've grown into a beautiful young woman, Kaya."
Just hearing her voice, I started to shake. The worry and the fear and the loneliness taking over my body all at once, raging through me, making me long for the days gone by.
She rushed forward and wrapped her arms around me. "Oh, there, there, my sweet love. There's no need to cry. I'm here now."
She was here, alive. And suddenly it didn't matter why she'd been gone all these years.
I wasn't sure how long she held me like that or how long the tears fell because I was in my mother's arms again.
She led me to a bench and we sat. As I wiped my tears with the backs of my hands, I said, "I'm sorry. I just… I didn't expect to see you again."
Her gaze searched my face. "I'm sorry about that, Kaya. I'm really, really sorry. There's so much I wanted to tell you over the years."
"Where have you been?"
"Never far away. Not from you."
"You let me believe I was alone."
"I'm sorry for that, but I couldn't risk your father finding you. Finding out I've been hiding you. I was terrified for your safety. I couldn't come to you."
"You climbed in that car with Connor Lohman, and you didn't even text me or let me know you were okay. You just vanished, Mum."
She was crying now too. "I know. I know. And I regretted that decision every day. But any contact with you would have put you in graver danger. Lohman betrayed me that day, and coming back to you or contacting you would have been risky. I know you must have thought I abandoned you. Or worse, that I died."
"I'm not sure what's worse."
"Baby, if I could have seen you, I would have. As it was, I worked hard to make sure you were never alone."
"Never alone? Mum, I was in foster care. Because I had been abandoned. You were gone."
"Baby, that first place… I couldn't leave you with them. So I sent the social worker to you."
"You sent her?"
"Yes."
