Jane craned her neck. “No wonder my mom moved here. What a darling town.” She consulted her phone. “I think our turn is up ahead.”
The GPS confirmed it, and he swung the car around the corner onto a narrow street lined with shingle and clapboard cottages in pastels of blue, yellow, and white that stairstepped the hillside.
“You have reached your destination,” the GPS intoned.
Reid parked in front of the address. They fell silent and surveyed the pale-yellow clapboard cottage. Colorful flowers lined the stone walk, and a bright-red door beckoned them to approach. It looked safe and friendly, but what awaited was anything but what it seemed.
Jane inhaled and opened her door. “Let’s beard the lioness in her den.”
He followed her to the door and stood back as she pressed the doorbell. It rang from inside the house, but no one came. Jane tried again with the same result, and her shoulders slumped.
He pressed her arm. “Maybe she’s at work.”
“Or maybe she knows it’s me and isn’t answering.”
“How would she know?”
“Dad might have called to warn her.”
He started to reply, then closed his mouth. While he would like to think Charles wouldn’t sabotage her like that, the man had already proven he liked to keep secrets. Who knew what kind of machinations he might try to orchestrate behind the scenes?
A young woman from the next house stepped out of her blue door and glanced their way. “You looking for Kim or Jason? He’s away on a trip and not due back until tomorrow morning, but I think Kim is down by the water.” She gestured to the back of the house. “That way.”
“Thanks.” Reid felt the tremor in Jane’s hand as they went that way.
Showtime.
Eleven
Jane’s heart felt like it would bounce out of her chest. The late-afternoon sunshine warmed her arms, but fear was a cold blanket enveloping her with its chill. This was a moment she’d dreamed of and longed for, but now that it was here, it took all of her strength not to turn and run. She might have done just that except for the steadying touch of Reid’s fingers on her elbow.
They rounded the side of the house, and her breath seized at the scene of incredibly blue water rolling to a beach of boulders and sparkling sea glass. Movement in a gazebo caught her attention, and she stared transfixed at the woman who stepped into a patch of sunlight. Her mother. The scent of patchouli floated in Jane’s memory, though all she smelled now was the scent of the sea, teeming with life.
When she’d last seen Kim Hardy fifteen years ago, she’d been thin, almost gaunt. She looked . . . different . . . almost too good to be true. She exuded good health and happiness. Her mother’s unsophisticated blonde hair had been replaced with a hairdresser’s attention to detail, with lowlights and an expert cut that just brushed her jawline. Her curves had filled out, and she was beautiful in stylish capris and a sleeveless top. A smile stretched across her face as she threw a ball for the eager German shepherd dancing around her feet.
Jane must have made an involuntary movement because her mother’s smile faded, and she shaded her eyes with her hand to look their direction.
Reid took Jane’s hand. “Steady.”
Jane inhaled and let it out in a slow exhale. “Thank you.” She released his hand and took a step forward. “Kim Hardy?”
Her mother took a step back. “Kim Wilkinson. You must have the wrong address.” Her voice trembled, and she cleared her throat.
Jane had interrogated enough people to recognize the note of panic in her mother’s voice.
Her father had been telling the truth.
Jane stepped out of the house’s shadow and lifted her face to the sunlight. She’d been a girl, only fifteen, but surely a mother would recognize her own daughter. She couldn’t have changed that much.
Her mother stood staring at her, and Jane registered the moment recognition dawned on her face. Her lips parted, and her hazel eyes widened. Jane clenched her fists and held her breath as she waited.
A small gasp escaped her mother’s lips. “Jane.” It wasn’t a question but a statement of fact.
Jane wanted to run, but she forced herself to step closer. Reid’s presence by her side gave her courage. “Hello, Mom. You’ve hidden well for a lot of years.”
Her mother shot a glance toward the house, and she clenched her hands in front of her. “What are you doing here?”
That was it? No welcoming smile, just fear? Jane’s eyes burned, but she swallowed down her dismay and forced her face muscles not to reveal how much she was hurting inside. What good would it do? Her mother obviously didn’t care.
Her mother wet her lips. “Well?” Her challenging tone was a contrast to the wobble in her voice. “You shouldn’t have come. I told Charles never to tell you where I was. My girls will be home soon. I want you gone by then.”
My girls. No mention of missing her. No fierce hug that told her never to go away again. Jane inhaled past the stab of pain to her heart. Even faced with her past, her mother wanted her out of the way before anyone knew she’d come.
“Dad didn’t tell me. I discovered your whereabouts without his help.” She forced a carefree tone. “Believe me, Dad made sure I knew you didn’t want to see me. What did I ever do that made you cut me off so completely? What went on at Mount Sinai that made you separate yourself from your family? I’m here for answers. You took something from Liberty’s Children, and Gabriel wants it back.”
Her mother’s gaze darted to the left and right, and she took a step back. “You’ve talked to Gabriel? He knows where I am?” Her voice rose.
“He doesn’t know where you are, but he showed up in Pelican Harbor looking for you. He’s threatened me and my family if you don’t give back what you stole. I realize that our well-being means nothing to you, but Will is everything to me, and I’m not leaving here without whatever it was you took. So if you want your past to remain secret, you’d better start talking.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Then why are you twisting your hands together? Why do you seem so terrified? Are you afraid I’ll tell your so-called husband you’re not really married? He doesn’t know you’re still married to Dad, does he? How would it look for the world to know he’s married to a bigamist?”
Her mother held out a pleading hand. “Look, you need to get out of here. Please. I can’t talk to you now.” Tears tracked down her cheeks.
Jane didn’t want to have any sympathy for her, but she couldn’t stop the traitorous stab of pity. “You have to give me some answers, Mom. I can’t leave town without them.”
“The girls will need dinner, and I’ll get them settled doing homework. Are you staying at the hotel?” When Jane nodded, she rushed on. “What’s your room number? I’ll meet you there at eight.”
“I don’t have it yet, but I can text it to you. If you don’t show up, I’ll come back here. I won’t be put off.”
“Fine, fine. Please, just get out of here before the girls get home.”
Jane gave a jerky nod and turned back toward the house.