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“Family is family,” Brendan says.
“True, but I was thinking specifically of my father when I drew these cards, so that’s what I must concentrate on to make sense of them as a whole.”
“All right. So what are you getting as a whole, then?”
“I don’t know. I feel that my parents’ marriage was strong. It is strong. I don’t think that’s the issue at all. What I feel more than anything is that they’ve excluded Gina and me from something. Whatever it is, it has to do with our family and our fortune and my father’s mother. But still… I can’t feel the woman. And if this card is referring to my father’s mother, I should be able to feel her.”
“Think about your father’s mother,” Brendan says. “Don’t think of her as Daphne Steel. Think of her as an extension of you and of your father. Maybe you’ll feel her then.”
I regard Brendan, his raw masculinity, my sea warrior. He has more intuition than he gives himself credit for. Then I suppress a chuckle. He gives himself a lot of credit for intuition. He would say it’s what bartenders do.
I close my eyes, concentrate on the cards, and I concentrate on my father and his mother.
I feel maternal instinct. I feel my maternity very strongly, but I have to ease past that, into my paternity, and look for maternity from there.
My father’s love surrounds me, envelops me. He would do anything for Gina and me. He’s a loving father, a kind father, a father who will protect us at all costs, and…
He has a mother who feels the same way about him.
I jerk my eyes open.
Chapter Sixteen
Brendan
Ava’s eyes are wide, and there’s a look of almost—is it terror?—on her face.
I squeeze her forearm. “Baby?”
“I felt her. I felt my grandmother. My father’s mother.”
“Good.”
“I felt like… My God, Brendan. It was like a dark cloud. Maternal love, yes, but a dark cloud.”
“I’m trying to understand, Ava.”
Her lips tremble slightly, and her cheeks lose some of their rosiness. “I’m not sure I can explain it any better.”
“It’s okay. It’s okay. Just don’t let it consume you.”
She nods. “I won’t. I learned my lesson earlier. No more panic for me. But I’m glad I made myself aware of that, because if I hadn’t, I’d be panicking now.”
“Why?”
“Because… This woman. This woman I’m feeling. I have no idea who she is, but there’s one thing I’m sure of.”
“What’s that?”
“She’s not dead, Brendan. She’s very much alive.”
“Daphne Steel?”
“Yes. My father’s mother is alive.”
“All right.” He rises. “We need to talk to your father.”
“I can’t do that. He just got home from the hospital. The man just had a panic attack at his anniversary party. I don’t want to add to his stress.”
“Where else can we get answers?” I ask.
She shakes her head. “I don’t know. Maybe Aunt Melanie.”
“But didn’t Melanie and Marjorie both say that you needed to talk to your parents?”
“They did. But… My God, Brendan. I truly don’t know what to do. I just don’t.”
She rises then, grabs the journal from the bureau where she keeps her cards, brings it back to the table, and jots down some notes.
“All the cards I’ve drawn since I got that message,” she says. “The first message about Darth Morgen. Grandmother. My father’s mother. That’s who it refers to.”
“So Daphne Steel is alive.”
“So it would seem.” She shakes her head. “That was my initial thought. But I don’t feel her, Brendan.”
“But you just said—”
“No, I said I felt my father’s mother. But I didn’t feel Daphne Steel.”
“That doesn’t make any sense.”
“I know. It makes no sense at all. But maybe it does. Maybe there’s something I don’t know. My God, is it possible I’m not a Steel?”
“No, that’s not possible. Bradford Steel was your grandfather.”
“Yes. That’s true. He was. I feel that very strongly.”
“But you don’t feel Daphne.”
“No. I never have, but I never gave it much importance. I figured, as you said, that I never met her, and some ancestral ties are stronger than others.”
Ava’s beliefs astound me. I can’t say that I agree with all of them, but I respect how powerful they are to her.
“I love you, baby, but I have to get over to the bar.”
She nods. “I understand, Brendan. Will I see you tonight?”
“I’m afraid I’ll be tending bar until late.”
“I could come help you again.”
“Are you sure you want to do that when you have to open the bakery early tomorrow morning? We’re back on a regular schedule.”
“Maybe not until the wee hours of the morning, but I can help for a few hours after dinner.”
“And what are you going to do in the meantime?”
“I’ll drive to the ranch. I don’t want to bother my father and mother about this, but I’ll visit them. See how Dad is doing. If he seems strong enough—mentally alert enough—I’ll ask some questions. Some hard questions.”
