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“You didn’t tell her the truth?” Abe says.

“There’s plenty of time for that. We’re just getting to know each other right now,” I say. “You see, I told you everything will work out.”

“We’ll see,” Harold says. “You’re still running out of time and starting a relationship off with a lie. That’s never good. But as long as you’re protected with a prenup, I suppose it doesn’t matter what happens. We’ve gone long enough with only eleven around this table. It’ll be good to get back up to our full ranks.” He leans forward and buzzes Caitlin. “Run a background and alias check for a miss…”

“Carina Calderon,” I say.

I push back my chair and stand, done with the conversation. It angers me that I have to go through this every month. It’s just like my father to continue to control me even after his death.

As I’m walking out, I see Caitlin at her desk.

“Have you started the background search yet?” I ask.

“Yes, sir, I have, but they usually take a couple of weeks to get all the information.”

“Any chance you have her address?” I ask.

“As a matter of fact, I do.”

She quickly jots down an address on a Post-It note and hands it to me.

“Thank you.”

It’s been too long since I saw Carina. It’s time for me to surprise her.

CHAPTER 14

Carina

The week flew by. Alex kept calling to ask me if I had a decision about moving in, but I still didn’t know what to do. I decided to keep pushing off the decision until I had no other choice.

Moving in with Alex feels like giving up as if I’m admitting that I can’t support myself. And I know that right now, I can’t, but I have to keep believing that things will get better.

Between visiting my grandmother at the hospital and checking my phone to see why Ryan hasn’t called me, I’ve been calling restaurants to see if they need any help. Magically, no one is hiring.

Grandma sips the baked potato soup I brought her from John’s. She has her makeup on, and one of her housecoats from home is buttoned up to her chin. On her head is her favorite turban because it looks like the one Shirley MacLaine wore in Postcards from the Edge. I think about the complicated relationship between the mother and daughter in that movie and sigh, letting out a long hiss.

“What is it, sweetheart? You’ve been doing that a lot lately. Do you have a leak?”

“Of course not, Grandma. I just have a lot on my mind.”

“Then get some of it off your mind by sharing it with me.”

I sigh again, and she tilts her head towards me with a raised eyebrow.

“Okay, okay,” I say. “So first of all, Odessa said a woman has been coming to the restaurant asking about me, saying she’s my mom.”

“Oh,” she says, looking down.

“So it’s true? She’s alive?”

“Yes, she is. You were little when you decided that your parents died in that car accident. It seemed to help you, so I didn’t correct you.”

I shake my head. “Have you been in touch with her? Is that how she knows where I worked?”

“Yes, she called recently. She somehow heard I had a heart attack, and she tracked me down. Carina, you have to believe me that I wanted to tell you the truth. I even tried to recently after she reached out, but I couldn’t.”

“Why not?”

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