She was so pathetic.
But the delay gave her time to make plans. “I have an idea,” she said as she placed the food in front of Harrison. “You say your mother is ready to pay this person, but what if they come back again and again?”
“My thoughts exactly.” He touched his sandwich with a finger but didn’t pick it up.
“So, what if you could find information on who is doing it? Maybe get evidence?”
He looked thoughtful. “Well, whoever it is, they are being careful. I left a note on my mother’s car last night and watched for someone to pick it up well past midnight, but the note was still on the Beetle when I left for work this morning. I don’t know if they spotted me and didn’t come or if they didn’t plan on coming last night at all.”
“What did your note say?”
“That we would give them the money but needed time to get it. I also said I wanted to meet face-to-face, and I asked why they were doing this to my mother. I’m still not convinced it’s my half sister who’s behind it. Though I could be absolutely wrong.” He sighed. “The note I found yesterday seemed really angry. I can imagine she’d feel that way if . . . well, if maybe her life is hard.”
Makay ignored the last part of his words because they pierced something inside her. Instead, she focused on the first part. “That was smart stalling them. If you’d said you had the money already, they’d probably arrange a meeting right away so they could get it.” She thought hard. Lenny wouldn’t wait long to send another note. He was too greedy. Again, she wondered at the incongruity of her chance meeting with Harrison. She felt sure it wasn’t because she’d met Harrison that his mother had become a target, because obviously Lenny had this well planned, but the coincidence still bugged her.
“I was thinking of beginning with my mother’s past,” Harrison said. “You know, track down anyone who might have known about the baby and who might need money now. Maybe they recently discovered she’s well off. Or that my stepfather is.”
It was a logical place to start if Makay hadn’t already figured out that most of Lenny’s targets were found because an adopted child asked him to find his or her birth parents. If Harrison’s search went anywhere, it might lead straight to Makay. Except Lenny had been searching many years for her mother without result, so how had he stumbled across her now? There was something she wasn’t seeing—and that was the hope she clung to now. She had to believe that Harrison’s case and hers were unrelated to each other, even if Lenny was behind both.
“Okay,” she said. “We’ll start there. Do you have any leads at all?”
He shook his head. “Nothing much. I talked to my mother, but she wasn’t excited about the idea—she’s convinced it really is her child who wants the money. She refused to discuss the matter because she says even if it is someone else, she still has to pay whoever is behind it so Eli doesn’t find out. But going through our photo albums last night, I learned where we lived back then and the name of some of her friends and neighbors. Using my own age as a base point—the baby was born between my second and third birthdays—I have the approximate year of the baby’s birth. I think I’ll start on the Internet. I should be able to at least find some of my mother’s old friends so I can question them.” He hesitated. “Is it stupid to think that I could just talk to her if it is my sister? I mean, just because my mother doesn’t believe she can be a part of our family doesn’t mean it’s right to exclude her. Yes, she’s supposed to have another family, but obviously something isn’t right—if it is her, that is.” His expression became pained. “I love my mother, but I feel so . . . bad about all this.”
His words touched Makay’s heart, thawing a tiny bit of the ice that had formed there. Maybe he wasn’t what she’d wanted—or at least in the way she’d hoped—but he was special. That was clear. Growing up, she could have used a brother just like him.
I don’t want a brother.
What she wanted was to throw herself into his arms and make wild, passionate love. To marry him and go on a honeymoon to some exotic place where they didn’t have to wear clothing. To beat him at a thousand games of pool. To wake up every morning for the rest of her life with him by her side.
Squelching her imagination, she said, “If you write some of it down for me, I can start looking into it after I pick up Nate. He and I spend a lot of time at the library.” She’d use some of those investigating skills Lenny had taught her in the beginning when she thought she might want to help him connect birth parents with their children. Back when she believed in him.
Harrison nodded. “That’d be great. I’m working until six thirty at least. I got there late today.” He peered down at his phone. “I’d better be getting back there now. Would you bring me a box for the sandwich?” He flashed a grin that twisted her heart. “I’ll eat on the way back. Truth is, I only came to see you, and I think your supervisor over there is becoming a little annoyed.”
Makay glanced at Peg over her shoulder. “Okay. I’ll get you a box.”
“Write your email address on it so I can send you the info about my Mom. Call me if you find anything.”
Makay hurried away for the box, her eyes going to where Lenny had been seated. He was gone and a busboy was cleaning up the table. “The man did turn out to be a good tipper,” Peg said, jerking her head toward the empty table, “but I don’t like his type. What’s with that other guy? He bugging you, too?”
“No. He just had a lot of questions. But apparently he ran out of time. He wants a box.”
Peg snorted in disgust. “Probably wants to get out of tipping you.”
A tip was the least of Makay’s concerns. Still, she wasn’t surprised that after she got him the box, Harrison left her a ten dollar tip, her largest of the entire afternoon.
<><><>
Harrison pulled open the door to the restaurant, feeling better than he had since last night. Just seeing Makay made him feel hopeful everything would end up okay. She had seemed more reserved than yesterday, but he chalked that up to the fact that he’d visited her at work. He should know better than to show up here, especially when she was so new on the job, even if she was the only person right now that he could confide in. The fact that she’d offered to help him start researching his mother’s past was an added bonus.
The bruises on her left wrist were less noticeable today, and she didn’t seem to favor it as she had yesterday. He’d seen those kinds of marks before on his ex-girlfriend after she’d had fights with her brother, who was a controlling idiot. They were fingermarks, he was sure, so that meant Makay hadn’t been exactly upfront about what had happened.
Had she lied about anything else? The idea made him ill. The last thing he needed was a relationship with another lying woman. Yet he really didn’t believe she was a liar, not when he looked into her eyes. Her eyes didn’t lie. Not about her feelings for him anyway. Whatever happened with Makay, he wasn’t going to blow this chance to win her heart, no matter what it took. He thought of Nate and smiled. Even if I have to play unfair by going through Nate. Makay would sacrifice anything for her brother, and that gave Harrison a slight edge that didn’t even make him feel guilty because he really liked the kid.
Harrison paused before starting his engine. On the other side of the lot, he could see that short, rat-faced guy again, pacing next to a red sports car that was way too good for the man. One hand smashed his cell phone against his ear as he walked, while his opposite arm waved expressively.
Where have I seen him before? After watching him for several long seconds, Harrison finally shook his head and pulled out of his parking stall. He hated leaving the man anywhere near Makay, though she hadn’t seemed afraid of him today, but he didn’t have a choice with his job hanging over him.
Rat Face chose that minute to jump into his own car and roar out of the parking lot. Harrison had the odd urge to follow him. Unfortunately, he was too new on the job to ditch work for the rest of the afternoon.
Something is up with that guy. Tonight
he’d ask Makay more about him. She knew more than she was saying. That made Harrison feel uncomfortable because there was a lot he didn’t know about Makay.
Shaking his head, he stepped on the gas. The sooner he got back to work, the sooner he could leave to see Makay.
Chapter Fourteen
Makay was a few minutes late to pick up Nate, and as usual when that happened, her mind filled with worry. But he was outside the school waiting, and he greeted her with his customary bear hug. “I missed you so much!”
“Not as much as I missed you.” She held him tightly for a moment. “Sorry I’m late.”
“Work?”
“Yep.”
He nodded as he reached for the door. “Was it fun?”
She thought of Lenny and Harrison. “Not really.”
“You didn’t get to eat pancakes?”
She laughed. “Nope. I was too busy.” She pulled a handful of bills from her backpack to show him. “But I had my own tables so I got some tips today. Let’s go shopping.”
“Cool!” He waited until she was driving to ask, “Can we see Harrison today?” He’d asked that same question when he’d woken up that morning.
“I don’t know.” If Harrison’s mother was determined not to meet her birth child maybe letting Nate get closer to Harrison was a bad idea. Or maybe it was a good idea. Nate needed a man in his life, and if Harrison was related—stop. She wouldn’t go there. She’d research first and uncover the truth.
Or was she fooling herself? “I just don’t know,” she repeated.
“Well, I hope so. He makes good food.”
She laughed. “Well, look who’s hungry.”
“Yep. Let’s hurry to the store. Can I have chocolate again?”
They stopped at Winco and Albertsons, using a handful of coupons at each store. Though sometimes she had to shop early on Monday morning for the best deals, she’d only missed out on cake mixes today, and she already had a nice inventory of those. The rest of the items were still in stock—beans, cranberry sauce, fruit bites, and bags of chocolate candy. The old people loved the bagged chocolate.
In the parking lot of Albertsons, Makay looked around, almost expecting to see Harrison. “Let’s go play pool,” Nate said, his mind obviously going in a similar direction. “Harrison’s mom said we could go any time.”
“I know she said that, but we can’t exactly show up without an invitation. Maybe we can play pool later at the bowling alley. First we have to go to the library. I have some work I have to do. You can do your homework there.”
He sighed. “Ugh. I have to do spelling.”
“I hear you, buddy.” It’d take him all of five minutes, but she’d learned it was best to commiserate.
They snacked on chips and fruit bites on the way to the library. Once there, Makay zipped through her assignments, finishing enough to be able to justify going onto the Internet. She went to her email, looked at the information Harrison had given her, and started to work. In the next hour, she tracked down the owner of Sherry’s old apartment building as well as the phone number of Sherry’s mother’s best friend, who was apparently still alive. She called immediately to see if it was possible to visit and was told to come any time. Every other avenue was a dead end, which made Makay feel like a fraud, especially when she knew exactly who had the information she needed.
Sighing, she exited the browser on the library computer and slapped her laptop shut where she’d been taking notes. It was time she went home, fed Nate, and figured out what to do tonight about meeting Lenny. “Ready?” She asked Nate.
“Yep.” He glanced at the computer. “What were you doing anyway? You looked like you were having fun.”
Fun. Makay thought about it. It had been fun—and a lot more intriguing than her accounting classes, that was for sure. “I was researching. And you’re right, it was fun.”
“Well, you shouldn’t talk on the phone in here,” he said, sounding too grownup. “The librarian was looking at you funny.”
She’d been as quiet as possible during the two phone calls she’d made, but he was right. The only reason the librarian hadn’t kicked them out was probably because this section of the library was almost empty. “I will remember that,” she told Nate solemnly.
Nate laughed, becoming a little boy again. “Can I check all these out?” He pointed to a tall stack of picture books that must have taken him several trips to collect.
“Sure, but you need to remind me to bring back all the others at home before we have a late fee.”
“Deal.”
They were nearly out to the car, both loaded down with his picture books when her phone rang. Makay juggled her load in an effort to see who it was. Brette Silvan? Pushing away her disappointment that it wasn’t Harrison, she wondered what Lily and Tessa’s friend wanted. Though it had only been a few days, it almost seemed weeks ago since she and Brette had met at the Q Lounge.
“Hello?” Makay said into the phone.
“Hi, Makay. You sound a little breathless. Is this a good time?”
Makay set the books on the hood of her car. “Sure. What’s up?”
“Okay, Tessa told me she mentioned to you that I was looking for a housemate, and after Friday night, I wondered, well, if you thought it might work. I’m getting tired of camping out here at Lily’s, but I’m not ready to . . .” She sighed. “Anyway, my mother’s house is kind of small, but it’s got three bedrooms. I plan on moving into her bedroom once I get it cleaned out, though right now you and Nate would have to share a room until I finish. I don’t mind if you have your dog in the room or in the kitchen when you’re home, and there’s a porch out back with a covered section where he could stay during the day.” She paused and when Makay didn’t speak, she rushed on. “You could pay exactly what you’re paying for rent now, and we’d have a free trial first—say, the rest of this month. That way either of us could still back out. You wouldn’t even have to move all your things.”
“Why us?” The words tumbled from Makay’s lips before she thought better of it.
Brette laughed. “Well, I could pull a Lily and say that I want to help you, and that Tessa told me where you’re living isn’t all that nice, but the truth is at my old apartment I had a series of rotten roommates who think sneaking their boyfriends in every night and letting them eat all my food is okay. And then the all-night parties . . . ugh, I just don’t want any of that here at my mother’s house. I want a housemate with a purpose, someone who’s grown up.” She hesitated before adding, “It doesn’t hurt that Lily told me all the things you did to help her renovate the house. Can you believe I’ve never painted anything? And I don’t even know where the breaker box is or what to do if I found it. Lily says you’re good at all that, which is great because I’m here now, and I can’t get the kitchen lights to turn on.”
Guess there were some advantages to living in a house where your father was mostly passed out on the couch all day. Then again, maybe Brette was playing it up so Makay wouldn’t guess that what she was really offering was charity.
“Well, what do you say?” Brette asked.
Makay’s thoughts raced. Right now the most appealing thing about moving from her urine-drenched apartment building was that Lenny wouldn’t know where she’d gone. Yes, the building itself was a mess and her apartment a hole in that mess, and she’d be more than relieved to get away, but that meant nothing compared with keeping Nate safe and with her. That was more important than her pride and her suspicion that this house offer of Brette’s was a little bit of a handout. Of course moving might drastically limit her income, without the old people around to buy her groceries, but maybe her tips at work could make up the difference. She could still keep her inventory of food at the apartment for the rest of the month and see how it went. Maybe she could even have one of the old people store and sell goods for her until she found other means of earning additional income. It was worth considering. Janice from the first floor might be a good candidate.
; It meant a leap of faith, not only trusting Brette, but trusting herself to be able to support Nate in a better environment. Maybe there would be children nearby he could play with, children with mothers who loved them, mothers who didn’t spend time searching for their next hit or constantly dump the kids on a neighbor so they could be with their boyfriends. Maybe she could build Nate a sandbox.
“I’d like to try it.” Her voice came out a bit rough from the emotion tumbling about in her heart. “Thank you.”
“No, thank you. I’m really looking forward to it. At the club Friday, we hit it off so well, and I think Nate is the best kid I’ve ever met. I’ll text you the address of the house. It’s in Phoenix, the west side. When do you think you’ll be able to come by to see the house?”
“I could drive by in a half hour or so to help you with the electricity. I have an errand to run out that way. I was going to do it later, but I can do it now.”
“Oh, that would be fabulous!”
Makay hung up, thinking about her so-called “errand.” Harrison might not be happy to hear she’d visited one of the people from his mother’s past without him, but she wasn’t about to start waiting on anyone. She needed to know the truth.
You already know the truth, a nasty little voice said in her head. Pain filled her as she remembered Harrison’s touch and the way he’d kissed her.
“Makay?”
She looked down at Nate, who stared up at her, a puzzled expression on his face.
“Aren’t you going to open the car? These books are heavy.”
She squatted down in front of him, taking his load. “Hey, you know how sometimes we talk about moving to a place where Snoop can have a yard to play in? And maybe some nice kids living nearby?”
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