“What do you know about your mother’s family?”
Dane shrugged. “Honestly, when I was young I was too self-absorbed to listen or think to ask questions. When she got sick, all I could think about was making her better. Later I tried to ask my father, but he refused to talk about it. I always thought he was just a jerk who didn’t like her family. But since I’ve had so much trouble finding answers, I get the feeling there were things they didn’t want me to know.”
“What kind of things?”
Dane sighed. “I have no idea. Maybe I’m just getting paranoid.”
“Or they’re really out to get you.”
Dane laughed. “What do you have to do to get people to talk to you around here? You’d think I was asking for the key to the safe or their firstborn child.”
Emma felt sorry for Dane. She could tell this was important to her. “Well, you are an outsider, and it doesn’t help that you look like a cop.”
Dane frowned. “Who’s the one being paranoid?”
Emma leaned forward and placed her hand on Dane’s. “I know it’s frustrating, but this region has a long history of mistrust of the authorities. For generations this county survived on bootlegging moonshine. People learned to only trust family. The wrong name was often all it took to start a family feud that lasted generations. Even today I bet half of the police department wouldn’t turn over information about a family member to the Feds. People here feel like their business is their business.”
Dane pulled her hand away abruptly and threw her leg over the bench to face Emma. “I have to get past that. I just want to know something about my mother. I feel like I never knew her at all.”
Dane was intense. Emma could feel the emotions vibrate through her skin like tremors of an earthquake.
“I might be able to help you.”
“Really?”
Emma pressed her hand against Dane’s thigh. “I can talk to some of my family. Maybe someone knew your mother, or at least some of your relatives. They may be willing to talk to you if I do the asking.”
Dane grabbed Emma’s face between her hands and kissed her abruptly. “Yes. Please. That would be wonderful.”
Emma blinked, shocked by the kiss. Although the kiss was brief, she could still feel the tingle where Dane’s lips had met hers. Butterflies fluttered in her stomach.
“Thank you,” Dane continued, her voice full of hope. “That’s the best news I’ve had since I arrived here.”
Emma raised her hand palm out. “Slow down. I haven’t done anything yet, and I can’t make any promises.”
Dane nodded. “Yeah, I get it. But thank you. It means a lot to me that you would try.”
Emma picked up a menu, pretending to be interested in the food. Dane was glowing with excitement, and all Emma could think about was the warmth of Dane’s lips.
The change of focus seemed to calm Dane down, and she turned back around in her seat next to Emma. “What would you like to eat?”
Emma bit her tongue as images of tasting Dane’s lips flooded her mind. “The peel-and-eat shrimp are really good. I think I’ll have that.”
Dane smiled. “I like a woman who knows how to use her hands.”
Emma felt the heat flame beneath her cheeks. “Does everything have to be a come-on with you?”
Dane laughed. “And a dirty mind doesn’t hurt either. You may be the woman of my dreams.”
Emma smacked Dane on the thigh. “In your dreams is more like it.” Emma picked up her drink and sipped the cold liquor, hoping the alcohol could settle her nerves. She was certain her dreams were going to be hotter than usual tonight as well. Dane was flirting, and for whatever reason she was allowing herself to be tempted, even if Dane was only kidding around.
Dane broke the silence that had settled between them. “So why isn’t there a woman of your dreams around?”
Emma almost choked on her drink. “Excuse me?”
Dane shrugged. “Don’t you get lonely?”
“Of course. But if you haven’t noticed, I’m a little busy.”
“Too busy for—”
“Yes,” Emma interrupted. “You’ve seen what my life is like. No one is interested in putting up with that all the time.”
Dane heard the hurt in Emma’s voice. “Is that why your girlfriend left?”
Emma pierced Dane with a deadly stare. “What did you say?”
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to upset you.” Dane shook her head and put her hands up. “I’m sorry, Curtis said you had a girlfriend for a while, and that she went away.” Dane knew she was walking on thin ice, but she had to break through that ice if Emma was going to open up.
“Curtis needs to learn to keep his mouth shut,” Emma said through gritted teeth.
“He worries about you.”
Emma sighed and her shoulders relaxed a little.
Dane placed her hand over Emma’s. “It must be hard to do all of this alone.”
“Erin wasn’t ready to leave the city. This wasn’t her dream. It wasn’t her life. She shouldn’t have to give up her dreams for me.”
Dane watched Emma. “What about your dreams?”
“That’s all they were, dreams. Reality showed me that family and loyalty were more important to me. Can’t you understand that?”
Dane shook her head. “I can’t say I’ve ever felt that way about my family.”
Emma frowned. “What about you?”
“What do you mean?” Dane pretended not to know what Emma meant. Emma was turning the tables on her.
“Why are you alone? Is there someone out there missing you right now?”
“No.”
“I hear you yell out sometimes in your sleep. Who is it that keeps you up at night?”
Dane ground her teeth. She’d started this conversation. Turnabout was fair play, but Michelle was someone she wasn’t ready to share.
“It wasn’t like that. Something bad happened. I lost my best friend. I made a mistake and I can never take it back. She’s the one who paid for it.”
“What happened?”
Dane shook her head. “I think we need a new topic.”
“You started it.”
Dane attempted a smile. “Agreed. But I need to keep a little of my mysterious charm. I wouldn’t want you learning all of my secrets and deciding I’m boring.”
“I doubt I would ever find you boring.”
Dane grinned. “So you do like me.”
Emma scoffed. “That’s not what I meant.”
Dane laughed. “It’s okay. You can play hard to get if you like. I enjoy a good chase.”
Emma rolled her eyes. “That’s funny. I had you pegged for a runner.”
Dane let her smile slip. “What does that mean?”
Emma leaned closer. She was so close Dane wanted to lean in and taste her lips. “Whether you know it or not, you’re running from something.”
Dane opened her mouth to protest but Emma stopped her.
“I know you’re looking for answers about your mother, but you’re running from something, or someone. Something lit the fire that brought you here—otherwise you would have come looking for your family a long time ago.”
Dane thought about what Emma said. Of course, she was right. Michelle’s death had ripped her off her foundation. She had been exposed for the shallow, self-centered ass she had been.
“You’re right. I thought I had life all figured out. I never needed anyone. I chased the job, and money was my mistress, although I had plenty of those along the way too. I thought I had everything anyone could ever want. I had a nice apartment in New York City, fast cars, adventure, women—you name it, it was mine. I was a jerk to everyone, especially those who cared about me.” Dane clenched her teeth, fighting the memory.
Emma sat frozen in her seat waiting for Dane to finish the story. Her heart broke for the anguish she heard in Dane’s voice.
Dane continued. “That stupid thinking cost me my best friend, my job, everything. I knew I had
to change. I had to find answers because I have to believe there’s more to me than selfishness and greed. So yes, I guess I am running. I’m running from myself.”
Emma reached for Dane, closing her fingers over Dane’s hand. “Who we are isn’t found in our DNA, Dane. It’s in our choices. If you want to be different, all you have to do is choose another way.”
Dane nodded. “Maybe. Or maybe that’s just an act. I need to know I’m grounded in something real.”
Emma squeezed Dane’s hand. “What if you don’t like what you find?”
“I don’t know. I hadn’t considered that. I guess I can’t afford to think that.”
Emma smiled. “For the record, I hope you find what you’re looking for. I think you have more good in you than you know.”
Dane stared at her fingers laced through Emma’s. “I hope you’re right.”
Chapter Four
Dane stared at her computer. She had made a breakthrough. She had managed to find a lot more information about her mother’s family online than she was able to dig up in the local records. She had discovered a genealogy site that listed most of her family origins. She learned her great-great-grandfather had been in the logging business and settled in the area when the forests here had been rich with virgin timber. He had met and married her great-great-grandmother, who was a schoolteacher. Together they had eight children, although four had died as infants, and two had not lived to be adults. They had a son, Tobias, and a daughter, Ruth. Ruth had been her great-grandmother. Ruth had six children, including her grandmother Ida. Ida had one child who died at birth, another had died in a house fire at age five, and one uncle had died in his early teens in a car accident.
Dane studied the list of names she had compiled in her search. She still had one aunt and one uncle to find. She hoped they still lived in the area. A few more searches and she learned that her aunt Ester Wilson and her uncle Thomas Stewart appeared to be local. She peered at the name and address scrawled on the piece of paper. Why hadn’t her mother talked about them? Why had her mother walked away from her family? Did her father have anything to do with it? Dane sighed. Her mother’s whole life was a mystery to her. She didn’t know her own family. She picked up her phone and considered calling her father to ask him, but the thought of his condescending tone set her teeth on edge. He had never answered her questions before. Why would things be any different now?
Dane checked her watch. It was still early. If she was going to get answers, she wanted them firsthand, not the twisted version her father might give her. She grabbed her keys. Her heart raced with excitement. With a little luck she was about to meet her uncle for the first time. It was the closest she had felt to her mother since her death. She had so many questions. What was her mother like as a child? Where had they grown up? Why did she leave? Why hadn’t they kept in touch? Maybe she was finally going to get some answers.
Dane slowed the Jeep as she neared the address listed for her uncle. The house was small and was in dire need of repair. The paint was chipped and faded. The grass looked as if it hadn’t been cut in a year, and a dead tree had fallen, taking out the corner of the front porch roof. It didn’t look like anyone had lived here for a while.
Dane’s hopes were crushed. She had been sure this was the lead she needed. She pulled into the drive. The closer she got to the place, the worse it looked. She stepped out to look around. Beer cans littered the front porch. Someone had nailed a board over the door, and a handwritten sign hung from a nail on the porch railing: Keep out or get shot.
Dane took a step back. Emma had warned her about going to places on her own. The last thing she wanted was to be on the receiving end of someone’s shotgun. She would have to try again. She snapped a few photos of the house. As she pulled out of the drive, she noticed a woman walking up to a mailbox just down the road. She pulled to a stop just across the street from the woman.
“Excuse me,” Dane called to get the woman’s attention.
The woman peered at Dane over reading glasses. A gold chain dangled from each arm of the glasses as she scrutinized Dane.
“I don’t mean to bother you, but can you tell me anything about the man who lives in the house just across the way?” Dane pointed in the direction of the derelict house. “I’m trying to find Thomas Stewart or Ester Wilson.”
The woman frowned. “Well, Ester’s dead, honey. Left the house to that no-good brother of hers. But you won’t find Thomas around here for at least another six years or so. He went to prison a few years back. He got into some kind of argument with his girlfriend and another man. He shot the guy and almost beat the girl to death before the police could get here.” The woman pulled off her glasses, letting them hang from the chain around her neck. “What do you want with Thomas, anyhow?”
Dane shrugged. “I just wanted to ask him a few questions. We are talking about Thomas Stewart, right? Do you know if he has any family around?”
The woman peered at her and hesitated before asking, “Are you with the police?”
Dane shook her head. “No, ma’am. It’s nothing like that.”
The woman bit her lip, as if she was trying to decide something. “Well, yeah, his last name was Stewart, and I think there was a boy if I remember, but I’m not sure if he belonged to Thomas or his girlfriend. I haven’t seen anyone around here since he got sent off.”
Dane hadn’t seen anything in the records about Thomas having any children. “Do you remember the boy’s name?”
The woman shook her head. “Can’t recall. He was just a young fella, last I saw him. He wasn’t around here much.”
Dane smiled. “Well, thank you for your help.” She knew she’d gotten all the information the old woman was willing to share.
“Uh-huh.” The woman smiled and waved as Dane pulled away.
This wasn’t anything like what she had expected. Her uncle didn’t sound like the kind of guy she really wanted to get to know, but he still had the answers about her mother she needed. For now, it was back to the drawing board.
* * *
Emma glanced through the kitchen window to see Dane running up the drive. Her dark hair was wet with sweat and her T-shirt clung to her body like a second layer of skin. Dane’s body was a mixture of strength and beauty. Emma wiped a bead of sweat from her brow, suddenly aware of the rising heat in the room. Dane was up earlier than usual. Emma licked her lips, remembering the dreams that had kept her stirred up most of the night. She might be able to keep Dane at a distance during the day, but she wasn’t able to keep her out of her dreams at night.
She had heard Dane cry out in her sleep a couple of times that night after staying late drinking at the bar. Dane had been drinking even more than usual. Emma wanted to go to her. She wanted to comfort her. But this was a battle only Dane could settle. And Emma couldn’t afford to get involved.
She jumped as the screen door slammed against its frame and Dane’s steps thundered up the stairs. A few minutes later Emma heard the shower running. Time seemed to stand still as she waited for Dane to come down for her coffee. Emma dried her hands on a dish towel as Dane entered the kitchen.
“Good morning,” Emma said casually, trying to hide the concern in her voice.
Dane didn’t look at her. “Good morning.”
“I just made a fresh pot of coffee. Would you like breakfast?”
Dane pulled a mug from the cupboard and poured her coffee. “No, thanks, this will do.”
Emma was disappointed. Dane didn’t seem in the mood to talk, and she wasn’t sure how she should approach the subject. She wasn’t much for tiptoeing around things, but she was nervous about this.
“You seem upset about something. Is everything all right?”
Dane slumped into her chair. She ran her hand through her damp hair. “Just frustrated. I thought I had a really good lead on my uncle, but it didn’t pan out. If I want answers from him, I’ll have to arrange a visit at Pikeville Prison.” She looked up at Emma. “Do you know anything about Thom
as Stewart? You might have heard a story of him shooting a man and almost beating a woman to death sometime back.”
Emma took a seat at the table across from Dane. “Most people around here have heard about that, but I thought the guy’s name was Tom Sikes. He was always a troublemaker, but a few years ago he almost killed a couple of people and got sent off to prison.”
Dane nodded. “Yeah, sounds like the same guy.”
Emma studied Dane over the rim of her cup, her breath sending wisps of steam billowing from the hot coffee. “Are you sure your uncle and Sikes are the same guy?”
“I have no idea. Maybe along the way he started using a different name.”
Emma’s eyes widened. “Could be.”
“It’s okay. I know it isn’t good news. So far it doesn’t look like my answers are going to be good ones. Maybe there’s a good reason my mother left here and never looked back.”
Emma swallowed her judgment and replaced it with sympathy. “I’m sorry. Tom is just one person in your family. I’m sure there’s more to this story. There should be something in the old newspaper articles about it.”
“Yeah. The woman I talked to mentioned a boy, but she wasn’t sure if he belonged to Tom or the girlfriend. Do you know if Tom had any kids?”
“I don’t know.” Emma took Dane’s hand. “I’m sorry this isn’t what you wanted to hear. Maybe this is why your mother didn’t talk about her family. Maybe she was trying to have a better life.”
“Maybe.”
“Are you sure you want to know more?”
“Yeah. I need to know the truth.”
Emma nodded her understanding. Dane’s need to find her family had become an obsession over the past few days. She was worried about Dane. She wasn’t sleeping, she barely ate, and her drinking was getting heavier. “Are you coming to the bar tonight?”
“Sure. Why?”
Emma shrugged. “I think it will be a busy night. I could use some help.”
Dane raised an eyebrow.
“Don’t get the big head just because I asked you for help,” Emma growled.
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