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Tara nodded before she took a sip of water.
“Tara’s mom worked in that massage parlor in Gabletown.”
“That wasn’t a massage parlor, right?” Mason asked softly and if she wasn’t mistaken with pity in his voice.
Tara still eyed the table in front of her. She hated how now everybody knew what her mother had to do in order for them to survive. Tara had been grateful that her mother had sacrificed so much, and she would rather not have people think badly about her.
“No,” Owen said.
Tara took another sip from her water.
“After her father had threatened her, Tara tried to contact her mother, but she didn’t answer the phone. She went over to Gabletown and found that place burned down. Tara overheard a police officer say that they had found a woman tied to a chair with her head…eh, okay, you probably can figure it out.”
Tara glanced up from the table, meeting Owen’s sad gaze. She took a deep breath and she picked up from where he left.
“It had been all over the news since people didn’t know who she was. I saw the pictures of her clothes and jewelry. It was my mother.”
“Did you come forward and told the police?” Caitlin asked.
Tara shook her head at her new friend. She understood that Caitlin would ask since she’d been a cop herself.
“I didn’t want to stay too long in one place since my father had made it clear that he wanted us both dead. I didn’t want him to hurt the people I loved so I left town and I ran as far away as fifty dollars could take me.”
“You did it because you wanted to protect us?” Lauren asked but it sounded like she was stating a fact.
“Yeah…”
Lauren got up from her seat and walked around the table, going down on her knees beside Tara’s chair. “Come here, sweetheart.”
Tara leaned in and hugged Lauren tight. “I’m so sorry… For everything.”
“I know, sweetheart.”
“And I know I should have contacted Owen when I found out five months later that I was pregnant.”
“You didn’t know?” Lauren asked as she pulled her head slightly back from their hug.
“No. After I ran, the first few months I thought I wasn’t menstruating because how stressed I was. I had looked it up online.”
“Oh, dear. And you were pregnant with our Frankie all along. You know you should have called Owen, right?”
“I know. I wasn’t thinking straight. I just lost my mom because my father murdered her. He’d threatened to do the same to me and I was out of my mind with fear. Bring in the hormones from my pregnancy and I was an utter mess for months. I made a mistake. I know. I should have called Owen. After Frankie was born it got even harder to pick up the phone. I felt ashamed.”
“I don’t condone what you did, Tara. But at least now we understand. I’m sorry for everything you’ve been through. I hope that you understand where I was coming from,” Lily said.
“I understand. I’m not mad at you for being mad at me.”
Chloe placed a hand on top of Tara’s shoulder. “I know we all love you, Tara. Even my sister,” Chloe said as she threw Lily a look.
“We all need to give it some time, but I know we’ll eventually get there. I know I love you and I absolutely freakin’ adore Frankie. You two are a part of us. And since you’re a part of our family, there’s no way that we can’t get over the past. We’ll work on things because that’s what families do.”
“I love you, Chlo.”
Chloe hugged Tara, stealing her from her mother’s arms.
“What’s going on?” Frankie asked as she entered the kitchen.
“Nothing!” Eight voices said at once.
