AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I'd seen what I'd seen. I pulled out my phone. I had no messages or voicemails.Why hadn't my father called me back? Was it because he was here in San Francisco? Did he know about Mom being shot?
The detective's words rang through my head.Maybe your mother had a reason to leave you and your father.
There was no way my father had hurt my mother. They'd always been so loving toward each other. It didn't feel right.
But did I even know what was right anymore?
I walked back to my car and got inside. I needed to go to the house, to see my sister, to talk to the one person in my life I could trust completely.
But as I drove away from the school, I couldn't stop wondering about my dad, and I couldn't think of one good reason why my dad would be in San Francisco, at the place where his allegedly dead wife now worked.
CHAPTERSEVEN
Dani drovedown the street thirty seconds after I parked the car in front of Laura's house. I waved her into the driveway. She parked next to the truck and got out. We ran into each other's arms, hugging for several long minutes, the way we had a million times in the past. We'd always drawn upon each other for strength and for hope. I needed both right now.
Finally, we broke apart. "Are you okay?" Dani asked, her gaze searching my face for a truth that might not be in my words.
I'd never been able to lie to her. "No. Not even close." I blinked back tears. "I'm so glad you're here."
"I should have been here from the beginning. You should have told me, Brynn. I should have been your first call."
"Well, you're here now. I only called Dad before you, and I didn't even tell him."
"You told Jeff. He came by the house right after I talked to you this morning. He said he was worried about you, and he wasn't supposed to say anything, but he couldn't keep such a big secret from me."
Anger ran through me. "He had no right to tell you. I told him not to. He and I are done."
"Don't be ridiculous. The man was worried."
"He made me a promise, and he broke it. I am not going to have one more person in my life who can't keep a promise."
Dani's gaze went from irritated to concerned. "We're not talking about Jeff anymore."
"She had another life, Dani. Our mother has people who love her and who she presumably loves back, and none of them have ever heard about us. When she left, she erased us from her life. She walked away, and she never gave us a second thought." An odd shadow passed through Dani's eyes. I frowned. "What?"
"Nothing," Dani said quickly. "Let's go inside. I want to see her house."
There was something she wasn't telling me, but I didn't want to talk to her in the driveway. "All right. Follow me."
"Who lives there?" she asked, pointing to the door leading to the downstairs unit.
"Kade Beckham. He's an artist. Mom discovered his work a few years ago and helped him get a show at a local gallery. While he's in town, she's letting him stay in that unit."
"You seem to know a lot about him."
"We met yesterday." I unlocked the front door and opened it. "He thought I was breaking in, and I thought the same. But then I heard his story." My voice faded as I realized Dani wasn't listening to me. She was too busy looking around, searching for traces of our mother, the way I'd done when I first arrived. "There aren't any photographs or anything," I said. "But the shampoo in her shower smells like her."
"God," Dani breathed, giving me an annoyed look. "Why would you tell me that?"
"Because you want to know if it's really her. You won't be able to tell from this house. But when you see her, you'll know."
Dani wandered down the hall, and I followed, watching her pick up the violin. "She still plays, I guess."
"Yes. She also teaches music at a high school for the arts. Everyone loves her, especially the kids. She inspires them to follow their passions and to be great. I guess that desire to inspire children didn't extend to us."
Dani put the violin down on the coffee table. "I don't think she completely forgot about us, Brynn."
Her words surprised me. "Why would you say that? She faked her death, Dani. Maybe that hasn't sunk in yet. You haven't had as much time to process the situation as I have. But she hasn't had amnesia for twenty years. She wasn't lost. She chose to live another life. She has IDs in the name of Laura Hawthorne. She has a credit card, a bank account, and this house," I said, waving my hand in the air. "She has a job and belongs to a book club. She has a man she's apparently dating named Mark Harrison. I met him at the school."
