Page 73 of If You Fight

I wanted to ask Michael, but having a stranger explain her circumstances seemed wrong. But I needed to know who the owner of this house was, even though in my gut I had a sneaking suspicion of the name that would come out of his mouth.

“Who owns this property?” I asked and held my breath as I waited for his answer.

“The owner is Robert Erickson. I can get you his information if you’d like to talk to him, but I don’t think he’s looking for potential tenants for the house.”

My heart sank as I heard my father’s name. He had known where my mother was all this time, and he’d lied over and over every time I asked about her. Even worse, he’d hidden her out here and made my mother live in a carriage house while he left the main house empty, like she wasn’t worthy of living in a home as nice as ours.

I hung my head as these thoughts got tangled up in my emotions and tears welled in my eyes. Maybe she had wanted to see me like I’d wanted to see her all these years.

“Are you okay? Is something wrong?” Michael asked.

Willing the tears away, I looked at him and smiled as I turned off the car. “Maybe I’ll take a look around, if that’s okay.”

He opened my door for me and spread his arms. “The place is yours to explore. If you have any questions about the gardens, please ask because I’m your man on that front. Anything else, I might have to bluff the answer, but I’ll do my best.”

“Thank you. Can I assume the gardens are Italian with sharp angles and the shrubbery formed into geometric shapes?” I asked as I began to walk around the main house.

“How did you know?” he said, calling after me.

Disappointed I’d been able to so correctly describe my father’s taste, I forced a smile. “I had a feeling.”

Left alone, I walked what felt like the entire twenty-five acres until I reached a tiny light grey cottage. My heart contracted as I judged the entire house to be little bigger than a garden shed. Why was she exiled here and to such a tiny home after living in our house? Her home now would practically fit in our entryway.

A mix of anger and apprehension swirled inside me as I walked toward the front door of the cottage. Flanked by pink rose bushes just beginning to bloom, its pale yellow color welcomed me. I wanted to believe that it opened to a warm home comfortable for her.

I knocked as my heart slammed against my chest and a lump filled my throat. My hands shook from fear that everything my father had ever said about my mother was true. Even if only some of it was, she might not have ever wanted to see me again.

The door opened and there she stood looking out at me like she was seeing a ghost. Her dark eyes so similar to mine grew wide, and her mouth opened like she wanted to say something to me, but no words came out.

She was as beautiful as I remembered her being. Dark brown hair fell in loose waves barely grazing her shoulders. Her tan skin looked warm and touchable, and I had to control my urge to reach out and brush my fingertips over her high cheekbones.

“Serena?” she asked quietly, her tone full of disbelief.

“It’s me, Mom. It’s Serena.”

She buried her face in her hands, and I heard her sob, “I’ve dreamed of what this would be like for so long, but now that you’re here, it’s even better than I imagined.”

I instinctively wrapped my arms around her and hugged her to me. “It’s really you. I can’t believe it. After all this time, I found you.”

Lifting her head, she wiped the tears from under her eyes and smiled. “How? How did you find out where I was? Your father told me he’d never let you know.”

“I hired a private detective to find you because he wouldn’t tell me where you were. He said you disappeared.”

She nodded her head sadly. “Yes, I assumed that’s what he told you girls.” Looking around me, she asked, “What about Janelle? Is she here with you too?”

“No, it’s just me. Janelle doesn’t know I found you. Nobody does. Well, except Ryder.”

My mother closed the front door and smiled. “I can tell by the way your eyes lit up when you said his name that he’s someone you care about. Your eyes always told the whole story, even when you were a little girl.”

My hands cupped my baby bump. “He means the world to me.”

Her gaze focused on where my hands sat, and her eyes grew wide again. “Oh, my God! Are you pregnant?”

“Yes, but nobody knows. I haven’t told Daddy or Janelle. You see, Ryder and I aren’t married and he works for Daddy, so…”

The myriad of reasons why Ryder and I hadn’t been able to marry yet filled my head, but they were too difficult to explain. He loved me and I loved him, and that’s all that mattered.

My mother gently placed her hand over mine and closed her eyes. “You don’t have to explain your father to me. I know all about him and what he can do to someone if he decides they went against his wishes. Just tell me he’s not like the other men who work for your father and that’s all I’ll need to know.”

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