Home > The Lies She Told (Carly Moore #5)(6)

The Lies She Told (Carly Moore #5)(6)
Author: Denise Grover Swank

“I’m wondering if you might be right,” I added.

There was no gloating, just a grim nod.

“But I got to thinking that I could talk to someone who would know. Someone who might even be able to tell me about my biological father.”

“You mean your uncle?” I’d told him my theory, that my father’s brother was the one who’d donated half of my DNA.

“I don’t know that Uncle Will’s my father. It’s just an assumption because I heard my parents arguing about him days before my mother’s car accident. Since I don’t have access to any kind of test results I’ll have to resort to anecdotal evidence.”

His eyes widened slightly. “Who do you plan to talk to?”

“My mother had a best friend, Tiffany. I remember she came to visit us several times, and she always brought me gifts. One of them was a T-shirt from Auburn, their alma mater. She obviously had history with Mom. She came to her funeral.”

“You want to contact her?”

“I figure it couldn’t hurt,” I said. “I doubt my father would be watching her. Even if she doesn’t know anything about my biological father, she can at least give me more information about my parents’ marriage. It probably won’t help us go after my father, but it might help me understand things and put things in perspective.”

He gave me a soft smile and squeezed my arm. “I think it’s a great idea. Do you want me to look for her?”

“You mean officially?”

“Unofficially.”

Pursing my lips, I considered it. “No,” I finally said. “Let me do some sleuthing first. I don’t even remember her last name.” A grin spread across my face. “But I’m a master with Google.”

He kissed me, then studied my face. “You tell me what you need, Care. Whatever that is.”

His new nickname for me warmed my heart. He’d started calling me that after Jerry’s death, telling me it bridged my two names. He knew and loved me as Carly, but he also wanted to honor the woman I’d been.

“You’re already giving it to me,” I whispered.

He nodded, then said reluctantly, “As much as I hate to say this, I need to get goin’.”

I stood first and pulled him to his feet, then wrapped my arms around his back and soaked him in. I couldn’t imagine going through this without him. I’d grown so much stronger over the last ten months, but even though I could have done this on my own, that didn’t mean I had to.

I glanced up at him. “Thanks for coming to tell me.”

“Of course. Like I said, I didn’t want to do it over the phone, but I still feel bad that I didn’t realize what was goin’ on sooner.”

“Finding out five days ago versus today wouldn’t have changed anything,” I said. “If anything, it gave me a week to mourn Jerry before worrying about my own problems again.” And a week to dwell on the guilt of knowing that whoever had killed him had done it to warn me off.

Even if my father was arrested in the thick of the Hardshaw bust, I wasn’t leaving yet. I was going to find out who was responsible for Jerry’s death—both the man who’d run him off the road and whoever had ordered Jerry’s death.

Marco shot me a worried glance. “Let me walk you back to the library. You should still have a half hour or so left on your computer time.”

We walked silently, hand in hand, until we reached the library door. Marco started to lean in to kiss me, but I jutted my head back to look into his eyes. “I have no idea what’s going to happen with my father, Marco, or what it will mean for me. But whatever I do, it will be with you, okay? I’m not losing you.”

I wasn’t surprised to see the relief in his eyes.

“Thanks.” He kissed me then, and watched me walk into the library.

The middle computer was still open, so I sat down and booted up my screen, grinning and rolling my eyes when Carnita gave me an unabashed look of delight.

The first thing I needed to do was check the secret email account my friends had set up for me before I left Arkansas. I lived in constant paranoia that my father would track me down, so we used a sort of code in our emails, saying just enough to convey your meaning but avoiding the use of any identifying details. From Rose’s last email at the beginning of May, I’d gathered that her baby had been born at the end of April. Given that we were trying to keep our identities hidden, photos were out of the question, but I was dying to see one.

I always used a VPN connection when I signed in to hide my location, but I felt self-conscious doing that here at the public library, which meant I didn’t have much opportunity to check my account. I usually only pulled it up when I used the computer in Max’s office. Nevertheless, I signed in now, selecting a server location in Northern California. Sure enough, there was an email from last week with the title “Hardshaw is Dead.”

Marco had told me that very thing, but this evidence that my Arkansas friends agreed made it feel more real. Then I clicked through and saw the salutation: Carly.

Rose was usually the person who reached out, and she always used a term of endearment, like Dearest or Precious. She wouldn’t have used my name if she didn’t think it was safe.

Carly,

Hardshaw is gone. A bunch of federal agencies pulled off a big sting here, and they busted a South American drug cartel and Hardshaw. There’s a whole lot more to the story, but it’s better suited to a phone call—or, better yet, come back to us! We miss you terribly. You need to meet Baby Hope, and Neely Kate and Jed just adopted a newborn baby they named Daisy. Your old room is waiting for you here, or Neely Kate has offered you one at her place. We don’t care where you stay, we just want you back. In any case, please let us know you’re okay.

Love,

Rose (and everyone else)

I stared at the screen, trying to decide if I wanted to go back to Henryetta. It had been a safe haven for me, a blessing, after I ran from my father. Still, I’d only been there for two months, and while I’d grown quite close to my friends, I’d spent half of my time hiding at Rose’s farm. I’d been in Drum three times as long and grown attached to my new friends, especially my landlord turned stand-in father, Hank. I planned to go see Rose and everyone else, but I wasn’t sure I’d want to up and move there. It wasn’t just me now. Whatever decision I made involved Marco. And Hank. We had a lot to work out.

Besides, my work wasn’t done here. I couldn’t leave Bart to be someone else’s problem. He’d threatened to have Hank arrested if I ever tried to leave town, and I was certain he or Emily had something to do with Jerry’s murder. Then there was my father. Even if his wings had been clipped, he was still dangerous, something that drove home the need to start investigating him.

I stared at the screen, debating how to respond, and then typed,

Rose,

I miss you all too, and I’m thrilled to hear the happy news about Daisy! She’s one lucky baby to have Neely Kate and Jed as parents.

I’m not sure when I’ll make it back to Henryetta. So much has happened since I left you last October, but I found a man I love with everything in me. He knows about my past and wants to help me. We’re still trying to figure out what to do and where to go next.

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