Page 117 of The Version You Hide

I don’t need further convincing. Cliff Haven is the only place I want to be right now.

With my girl and my dog.

Blowing out a breath, I stand and follow my sister to the lift. When she pushes the button for the executive parking level, my forehead creases in a frown. “What are you doing? My car is out on the street.”

“Yeah. Fuck that,” she aims a devious smile in my direction. “We’re taking the Ferrari.”

I tilt my head to the side in contemplation. “Fair enough.”

Chapter 36

MACKENZIE

I’ve been standing outside the studio for the last five minutes, contemplating how I’m going to do what I should have done days ago. I wish I’d had the courage to approach Grace earlier, but I needed that time to process. Now, as I gaze through the windows to the woman inside, I feel guilty for making her wait this long to resolve things with me.

She hasn’t seen me yet. She’s too busy shuffling chairs and equipment around, reorganising the space for the exhibition tomorrow night. She doesn’t look up until she hears the tiny bell ring above the door as I step into the room.

“Mackenzie.” There’s an uncertainty in her stare and I hate that we both feel as though we have to tread lightly around each other.

“Hi,” I say timidly.

“I was hoping you would come back.” There’s a hint of a smile on her lips as she takes a hesitant step closer.

“I’m sorry it took me so long.” I shuffle uncomfortably on the spot, the artwork in my hands suddenly heavier.

“What have you got there?” She gestures to the metre wide canvas that sat blank in my room for weeks, now finally finished.

Chewing on my bottom lip, I flip it around in my hands, revealing the project that’s taken most of my waking hours to complete.

Her smile widens then she cups her hands over her mouth, nodding in approval. “I see you took Betty’s advice.”

“Yeah. I guess I did.” I huff out a nervous laugh. “It was a bit of an effort getting it here on the bus.”

“I bet.” Her eyes are glassy as she takes in the brush work, the colours I spent painstaking hours to get just right. “It’s wonderful, Mackenzie. Will you put it in the exhibition?”

I nod, placing it up against the nearest wall. “I’d love that.”

An uncomfortable silence settles over the room, both of us standing face to face wondering which one of us will be the first to address the situation that hangs in the air between us. I open my mouth to say something, but Grace beats me to it.

“I’m sorry,” she blurts. “For not being there for you throughout your life. If I’d have known about you, you would never have spent a single moment feeling alone.”

“I know.” Her apology has my eyes stinging with tears. “And I don’t blame you for any of this. My mother was right.”

She tilts her head to the side, a veil of sorrow falling over her features. “She was?”

I nod. “Any kid would be lucky to have you as their grandmother.”

Her eyes are misty as she takes another step toward me. “I wish I knew,” she weeps. “I would have held you through all the bad times.”

I close the gap between us, throwing my arms around her neck as tears begin to stream freely from my eyes. I can’t hold them back now, no matter how hard I try. I feel safe in her embrace as I melt into her warmth, her fingers gently stroking my hair.

“I’m glad you finally found me,” I whisper.

“Me too,” she replies.

I’m not sure how much time passes as we stand like this, but it’s long enough for the awkward air around us to dissolve.

My heart swells with hope. That a day will come where I will know all of the things about Grace that I would have already known had we been acquainted from the time of my birth. I have hope for a future where we’ll have a normal relationship, but for now, this is enough. This is more than I could have ever asked for.

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