Page 57 of Quiet Beautiful Things

Ellie: Not to seek out a relationship, but I had to see for myself what kind of manwould abandon his child. He laughed at me. Said derogatory things about me. Everything my mother warned me about was true. He’d have no reason to use Sierra to get to me. I want to meet her, Blake. I have to.

I stiffen. Her father abused her mother. Who knows if he’s abusing Sierra. What if she’s reaching out to Ellie for help and getting involved would put Ellie in harm’s way? I have a bad feeling about this. But who am I to tell her what she should or shouldn’t do? I can tell by the look on her face she’s going to meet Sierra whether I agree or not.

“I’ll go with you,” I sign.

Her face scrunches as if what I said was ridiculous. She shakes her head.

“Ellie,” I say forcefully and with a determined expression. “I’m going with you. Just in case. I’ll keep my distance, but I have to make sure you’re safe.”

Ellie: This isn’t your problem, Blake. You have enough to deal with.

Me: Not my problem? I care about you, El. Humor me. Text Sierra back and set up a meeting outside of Calloway Creek. I’ll get a sitter. I promise not to butt in if everything goes okay.

Ellie: Fine. I suppose it might be nice to have some moral support. Besides, I may need an interpreter.

I laugh. Both of us know I have mountains to climb before that could happen.

Ellie: What did she sound like?

Me: Nervous. Like you are now. Now go ahead and text her back. But after this, the next time I get a sitter will be because I’m taking you dancing.

She cracks a smile. Then she swallows, a look of determination crossing her face as she types, erases, types, erases, types some more, then finally sends off the text. She sets her phone down and lets out a huge sigh.

“It’s going to be okay,” I sign, hoping the words are true.

I sink down to lay next to her, draw her close, and wrap my arms around her. I hold her tightly. Smell her hair. Revel in the feeling of her body against mine. I take in every second, because I know in a few minutes, I’ll have to leave.

Chapter Twenty

20

Ellie

After finding out about Sierra, I confronted my mother. She admitted she knew Grant had a woman on the side. She said that once during an argument, he even mentioned a kid, but that it was a very emotional time with her and my dad, Kyle, the divorce, and Grant rejecting me—which she’s still grateful for to this day. She had no idea if he was being truthful about having another child, or just spiteful. And that over time, she just forgot. She said it was unfair of her and apologized, asking me to forgive her.

I did. Because she’s been the most amazing mom. And well, she was trying to protect me.

But now, I can only smile. I have a big sister.

Sierra and I sit and drink our third cup of coffee. She’s fabulous. She grew up in Chicago but left home right after high school graduation to live in a van in Colorado with a friend. There, she learned to ski, and worked her way from hostess to lift operator to ski instructor in three years. Now, she follows the snow, traveling to the southern hemisphere during our summer to be an instructor in places like New Zealand and Chile. As it’s late April and the season just ended in Colorado, she’s taking a little time off before heading south.

I catch Blake watching us from his table in the corner. After joining us for the first few minutes, and presumably deciding Sierra wasn’t a threat, he excused himself to let us get to know one another and has been working away on his laptop.

That was two hours ago.

Sierra’s eyes brim with tears. “I still can’t believe it.”

I’m delighted her lips are not difficult to read. Maybe because we have the same mouth and when I was learning speechreading, I’d practice for hours a day watching myself in the mirror.

It goes beyond just the mouth. Her hair is the exact same shade as mine, albeit a bit wavier. We’re the same height. And her face, though more suntanned than mine, is stunningly familiar.

She looks down at her phone and frowns. “Can you excuse me for a minute?”

I nod, and she gets up from the table and walks outside, phone to her ear.

Blake takes the opportunity to text me.

Blake: I did a double take when meeting her. I knew at first glance that you were sisters. In fact, the resemblance is so close, in the right light, you might be able to pass for twins.

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