Page 3 of Chasing Your Ghost

Riley’s jaw tightened. “She left us, Dad. That’s not a mistake. It’s a fuck-up of monumental and unforgivable proportions.”

“She was young when it happened,” her father reminded her, his defense of Edith only making her angrier.

“So were you, but you stayed,” she retorted.

“Yes, but I was also the one who waited until she’d given birth to tell her about the abilities I would pass on to you. I was the one who didn’t see the signs that she was suffering until it was too late.” He’d always defended Edith, but he’d never blamed himself for not telling Edith about his gift earlier and for not picking up on her postpartum depression—at least not in front of Riley. “And as soon as she’d gotten some help, she came back begging to be a part of your life in whatever way I’d let her.”

Her nose and eyes burned with the threat of tears, but she held them back, blinking to keep moisture from building in her eyes. “Yes, and her moving to Virginia and making a new family for herself really helped with that,” she snapped before she shrugged off her backpack and took out the letter she was there to deliver. “Don’t try to defend her. She doesn’t deserve your sympathy.”

Regretting her sharp tone almost immediately, Riley sighed. Her dad wasn’t the one who had hurt her, and he wasn’t the one who deserved to be subjected to her anger. “I wonder if Olivia is here,” she said quietly, her anger fizzling out in the wake of her curiosity. “Do you know how old she is now?” she asked, zipping the backpack closed and sliding it onto her shoulder.

“Sixteen, I think.”

Riley held in her scoff. Her half-sister’s age was a reminder of how quickly her mother had moved on and created her perfect new family—the one she hadn’t abandoned. Riley had nothing against Olivia, a girl she’d only met once when Edith had brought her younger daughter along with her to New York for one of their weekend visits.

There had been a point before Riley had known the truth about why her parents were separated, a time before the incident with the priest, when Riley had loved her mother’s visits and had even been looking forward to visiting Edith in Virginia. Her introduction to Olivia had occurred during that time.

Maybe if Riley’s parents hadn’t sat her down to explain why Edith lived in Virginia instead of with them and why it had taken her father so long to agree to Riley staying with her mom in Virginia for a few weeks, Riley and Olivia would have had the chance to become more than acquaintances. Maybe if Edith hadn’t taken Riley to see that priest, things would be so very different.

But as it stood, Riley knew next to nothing about the teenager who shared her DNA. All because Edith had been so terrified of the gift Riley’s dad had passed down to her. All because Edith was scared of her own daughter.

“You could stick around and see her, you know,” her dad pointed out gently.

Riley found herself considering it before she shook her head. “I’m leaving as soon as I give Edith the letter.”

She could almost feel her dad’s disappointment thickening the already-stifling air as they spent the rest of their wait in silence. His feelings on how Riley clung to her anger toward her mother had always been clear, but the weight of his sadness and displeasure was almost unbearable now that they stood in front of Edith’s house.

When the door suddenly opened again, Riley straightened, her eyes cool and unblinking as she stared at the woman who’d given her half of her DNA. If there were any justice in the world, the woman who’d abandoned her three-month-old baby would have looked a mess. Her deadbeat mother was supposed to be a disheveled disaster of a person, her exterior reflecting the ugly interior she had to have possessed to leave her boyfriend and baby to fend for themselves. But the woman who stood in front of Riley was as far from that image as humanly possible.

Her perfectly straight hair looked like it had been styled by a professional, her blonde bangs falling flawlessly down to the tops of her eyebrows. Her white blouse and gray trousers didn’t have a single wrinkle. Worst of all, the woman was wearing a pair of heels on the weekend. Riley was certain only psychopaths wore heels when they were at home.

The woman’s make-up was pristine, expertly done, and hiding any flaws her face might have held. Not even the tears tracking down her cheeks had managed to mar her mascara.

Like the husband who stood beside her, Edith Warner had blue eyes, but where his were the clear blue of a tranquil sea, hers were the frigid color of ice. The pair of light blue eyes scanned Riley’s face, probably searching for similarities that would be hard to find, with Riley thankfully having inherited her father’s hazel eyes and his straight and slightly upturned nose.

The one feature that would have made their shared genetics obvious was hidden beneath lavender dye, and Riley found herself glad that her hair hadn’t been its natural pale blonde since she’d graduated high school a month earlier. Edith didn’t seem so fond of Riley’s choice, however, her lips pulling down as her eyes raked over the long, wavy strands.

The frown was only there for a second, though, gone before Riley could blink and replaced with a hesitant smile.

“Riley,” Edith choked out. Her throat bobbed with a swallow, drawing attention to the small silver crucifix hanging around her neck. “You’re really here.”

The woman’s arms lifted, and she started forward to pull her daughter into what was sure to be a bone-crushingly tight hug, but Riley lifted the letter between them. The envelope worked as effectively as a wall in stopping Edith in her tracks.

“This is for you,” Riley explained tersely. “It’s from my dad.”

The woman frowned at the letter before taking it. “So your father knows you’re here?”

The answer was a resounding yes, but Riley shook her head. “My dad died two weeks ago.”

Edith blinked at her daughter while her husband flinched. “What?” she breathed out.

Riley breathed past the tightness in her chest, determined to get through this without breaking down. “He was stabbed when he tried to help a woman who was being mugged.”

Riley loved her father for helping the woman when so many others would have stood by, but it was also hard not to hate that he’d stepped in. His being a Good Samaritan had ended with him being killed.

Edith’s eyes looked impossibly large as she stared at her daughter. “I’m so sorry,” she said, sounding like she truly meant it. “Why don’t you come in?”

“That’s okay. I just came here to give you the letter.”

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