Page 41 of Question Everything

“I think Kyle was worried about your reaction as well as what your parents might say.” She glanced over at Colleen who was busying herself at the sink, then continued, “but it’s not like he took advantage of me. I was…I am, a willing participant in our relationship.”

“My brother is not the ‘taking advantage of a woman’ type,” Sibby replied. “As a matter of fact, the one and only time he had his own heart broken was when his fiancé walked out on him, and we needed to pick him up off the floor.”

“Sibby!” Colleen said sharply.

“Oh…well, that’s a piece of his life he hasn’t told me about,” Mia admitted.

“Then I’ll say no more. It’s not my story to tell.” Sibby squared her shoulders as if to shake off the tense bit of conversation. With a smile she said, “For now, help me bring some of this downstairs to the second freezer. We’ve run out of room here.”

“Oh. About that. I’ve sort of filled it.”

“Filled it? With what? Was there a sale on something at the market that you couldn’t leave behind?”

“Not exactly. I’ve been baking. It seems that I still don’t recall who I am, but I do remember how to bake. I hope that’s okay.”

“If you made anything with chocolate in it, it’s more than okay. Let’s go see what goodies you’ve stored away.”

Mia lifted the baby out of her seat and followed Sibby down the steep basement steps, feeling relieved about one thing – neither of these women seemed at all upset at the thought ofKyle being involved with a mysterious woman who could not remember her own past. She liked both now even more than before.

As they movedthe last of the cars into the oversized garage, Kyle asked his brothers and his dad to join him for a quick walk on the beach. Geoff was already down at the shoreline with the boys, the baby in a carrier strapped to his chest, running them around to relieve the excess energy they’d accumulated on the ride from Boston. Once they were gathered, Kyle began the conversation he’d reviewed in his head. He had to tell them what he knew about Mia. He had no real choice. He needed their help.

“I’ll make this quick,” he began. The sun was struggling to peek through the clouds, and it was both windy and cold on the beach. “I know the truth about Mia’s identity. I just haven’t told her yet.”

“Why not, brother? She deserves to have the truth, especially if you have it.” Conor said.

“It’s complicated. I found Sarah’s identity first. And the child’s name isn’t really Sarah, by the way. It’s Daisy.”

“Sarah’s identity? What do you mean?” his father asked.

“I found an Interpol bulletin about a missing child. It seems that she was abducted from London by her ‘maternal parent,’ which is what they called Mia. Except that they used her real name – Maeve Byrne.”

“Interpol?” Tim asked, his eyes widening. “Kyle, man, you’ve got to call this in.”

“Not so fast, Tim. I have an odd feeling about this. I’ve gotten to know Mia and I think that she must have had a good reason for taking her daughter out of Europe. I keep hoping that she’ll remember on her own. Her memory has started to come back. It’s strange, but she can recall how to bake a whole lot ofdifferent things. We think that maybe she was a baker in her former life.”

“Great, Kyle. Maybe she’s the King’s crumpet maker. You still have an obligation as a law enforcement officer to notify the proper authorities.”

Kyle felt the wind whip around them. It was freezing cold, which intensified his feeling of dread. “Listen. I didn’t have to tell you all what I know. I think that Mia is very close to having her memory return. Let’s give it the weekend and reconvene. There’s no reason to ruin the holiday.”

“No reason to ruin the holiday? Brother, do you hear yourself? You’re almost clear of one investigation that almost cost you your job. Do you really need more trouble?” Tim asked.

Kyle pulled himself up to his full height and said, “Full disclosure. I’m in love with her.”

Kyle watched the faces of the men he held closest to his heart fall.

“What did I tell you about getting involved with the single mother, Kyle?” Conor asked. “You’ve dug yourself quite a hole, haven’t you?”

“Conor!” their father replied. “Hold your tongue!”

The assembled group all turned to hear what their oldest member had to say. “No one of us is qualified to judge what Kyle’s done here. He says he loves this woman, then respect it. The heart wants what the heart wants, plain and simple.” Then he turned to Kyle and put a gloved hand on his shoulder. “Listen to me son. I know I can’t tell you what to do, but you know what’s right. We’re all in it with you, whatever you need. But you get this weekend, and this weekend only. Come Monday morning, if nothing’s changed, we’ll have a very different kind of discussion.”

Kyle nodded his head. He knew his father was right. As the group made their way up the dune toward the house, he turnedback to them and said, “And just so you know, Mia’s sleeping in my room with me. Please, let’s just leave it there. No additional comments are necessary.”

They silently walked back to the house, and Kyle felt like there was a giant clock ticking over his head. Monday would be here soon enough. He just prayed that was all the time Mia needed to remember everything.

CHAPTER 23

It had been a long and draining day and it wasn’t over yet. Mia watched as Sibby sat at the kitchen counter with a glass of merlot and a legal pad and pen; Mia’s own glass sat at her elbow. Sibby was making yet another list of things to be done before Thursday’s big meal. Dinner had been loud and raucous, but now the house was quiet, the dishwasher was humming and the sky outside the picture window was full of stars. Sibby’s parents and all the children were already sleeping, Kyle and his brothers were in the living room drinking Conor’s pumpkin home brew, deep in some sort of hushed discussion.

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