Page 62 of Atonement

Finally. “Can we get in the car now?”

“Absolutely.”

We took opposite positions from normal, him in the passenger and me in the driver. I hadn’t trusted him with anything in several weeks, and I wasn’t about to start after finding out he’d been keeping the secret of our shared parentage for so long. I turned on the engine and cranked the heat, bouncing impatiently as we waited for the car to warm up.

“How old are you?”

“Almost twenty six.”

I cursed quietly. Surely I knew how old he was when I hired him. He had been born less than a year after Eva was kidnapped. But there were plenty of people born that year; why should I think he was related to me?

“Look, you don’t have to apologize to me.”

“Good, because I wasn’t going to.”

I gritted my teeth. I was about done with him interrupting me. “But you should make amends with Maddie and Eva.”

“I don’t see why I should bother. Do you think Eva even tried to find me after she escaped? I doubt it. She and Madeline are both strangers to me.”

“That doesn’t mean they’re not family.”

“You of all people should know that just because someone is family doesn’t mean you owe them anything.”

“They never hurt you. You could see how clearly it hurt Eva to have you taken from her. She thought youdied, Joshua.”

He didn’t say anything, but didn’t rebut me either.

“She lived in hiding for twenty-two years. Maddie never met her grandparents. Joseph walked out on his family without a word in order to keep her safe. Even if she thought you were alive, she couldn’t have risked exposing you or herself to Conrad. She kept you safe the best way she knew how. I’m sorry that wasn’t good enough for you.” I took a deep breath. “I destroyed her, Joshua. I stole her daughter and then rubbed it in her face. But she knew me. She raised me during some of my most formative years. She was able to trust in me even when I hurt her. But you? She doesn’t know you at all. And everything you’ve done has been to hurt her. Even if that wasn’t your intention. Knowing the reason behind why you did what you did, I sympathize with you at least a little. Like you said, I’m certainly guilty of plenty in this clusterfuck. But I’m trying to be better. And I think it would be a good idea if you did too.”

He sank in his chair and folded his arms across the chest, glaring at me out of the corner of his eye. “You don’t need to dress me down over it.”

Thank God he took that well. I’d been ready for him to walk home rather than ride with me. Eva would have been heartbroken. “Well, that’s what big brothers are for.” I reached over and rubbed the hair on top of his head. He sneered as he yanked away from me, then knocked his skull on the window.

“Ow,” he muttered.

“That’s what you get!” I backed out of the narrow parking place, startling a Canada goose who had chosen to take a nap in the middle of the lot. It honked angrily as it scuttled out of the way. “Are you hungry? I’m fucking starving.”

“Yeah, I could use some coffee at least.”

“Okay. Let’s stop at a Waffle House. French toast is Anita’s favorite food, and I want to think of her while I shovel six pieces down my throat.”

Maddie

I leaped from my chair the moment I saw Meyer’s car pull on to the property, but forced myself to walk rather than run toward the garage. I’d missed him far too much while he was gone. Maybe he’d appreciated the time away, though. That notion flew from my brain as he stepped inside and looked down the hallway for me as he kicked off his shoes, then jogged to close the distance between us before he took off his coat. He wrapped me in his arms so tight it chased away my worry.

“How did it go?”

“I got her to agree to ten million, and to keep Shawn’s name out of this.”

I sighed in relief. “I knew you could do it.”

“I thought I’d have to offer her fifteen, but you were right. She believed me when I said I’d take away her lawyer.”

It was a dirty move, but I didn’t mind making her sweat a little in order to get her to agree to whatever Meyer and Joshua wanted.

“And what are you guys going to do with what’s left?”

“Just take what you want and give me the rest,” Joshua mumbled as he brushed past us. He’d grown a bit of stubble over the past few days. The stress was finally getting to him. I sighed as he rounded the corner and headed up the stairs, not sparing either of us a second glance.

---