Page 87 of Winter's End

Huh. Okay. Twilight Zone vibes.

I remained contemplative as we deposited the dress back into her black Lexus and walked down the cobblestone street to the up-scale coffee shop at the end.

She ordered us croissants and lattes while I grabbed us a cozy booth tucked away in the corner. The entire space was dressed in varying shades of teal, silvers, and crisp white; it felt like a magical adultFrozen-themed haven.

We sipped our lattes in a relatively comfortable silence, listening to the dull roar of a filled restaurant, jazzy pop in the background and the clinking of dishware as people enjoyed their meals.

This day was too contrived, too out-of-the-ordinary. Mom wanted something from me, but I wasn’t sure what.

I licked the last of the milk foam from the rim of the pretty handcrafted mug and decided I was going to find out.

“Care to tell me what all of this isreallyabout, Mom?” I flattened my lips into a thin line and stared her down.

They’d lied to me about not having a history in Cascade Falls, they’d withheld information about Carson coming after me, they’d been in an open-marriage foryearswithout my knowledge and Dad’s entire childhood had been a bedtime story as fictional asThe Three Billy Goats Gruff.

What else could she possibly want to talk about today?

It took four minutes for her shell to crack.

Finally peering back at me, her lips creased into a grimace.

“Since the wedding, I’ve had lots of time for reflection. The FBI took my daughter. My innocent daughter, who Iknowdid nothing to warrant it. Your reason for being taken was a weak one, honey. Your father believed it because it was convenient, but I didn’t.”

She closed her eyes and drew in a deep breath, as if the coffee-scented oxygen around us would give her strength. Maybe it could. Logan’s exercises had done wonders for me.

My heartbeat picked up as she found her calm. Did Mom know anything? Anything useful? While Mom breathed, I held every molecule of air in my lungs as I waited for her to continue.

When she finally opened them, a determined glint shone there.

“Your father and I have known you’ve been working at Bourbon & Blues for years. Georgio mentioned it when you first started working there at a cocktail party. I had waited for you to come home and tell me about your new singing career, but you never did. I thought maybe you were hiding it for a reason, so I never pushed.”

Huh. News to me. But it was nothing particularly revealing.

“We raised a smart girl. I knew you wouldn’t be oblivious to Georgio’s other businesses for long.”

Mom fiddled with her napkin. It was a eulogy of sorts—the truth recounted in a final summary before our day of reckoning. What a depressing thought.

“Your father had committed to Georgio long before I met him. When we knew we were serious about each other, he admitted he would have to move back to Cascade Falls with Emmett as a part of a previously negotiated business arrangement. I loved him and with my career, I could work from anywhere, so I agreed.”

Her throat bobbed, and she crushed the last piece of her croissant between her fingers. “My history wasn’t a lie. My parents died when I was a teenager, and I had no relatives either. It was something your father and I shared. A new town was a welcomed change.”

“What he never told me was what that business arrangement actually was. But over time, I came to suspect. Darren did not want you near any of the money from WAQ. That was my first clue. And then bits and pieces of his actual business came to light. And, once I was fully aware of the situation, I agreed; I didn’t want his tainted decisions affecting you, either.

“When you received the settlement from the Baker fiasco, we breathed a sigh of relief. It was your money, and you wouldn’t need to rely on the dirty cash for school or for your first apartment. We were shocked when you wouldn’t touch a penny of it.”

So, their rationale to leave me to my own devices was to … protect me? That was a twist I hadn’t been expecting. And a really warped way to justify it.

“But I had no idea that you knew anything at all about that side of our lives. Until the wedding.”

“How?” The simple word tore at the deepening wound inside me.

“Because, Winter, the FBI approached me to turn on Darren, just like I know they approached you.”

The icy claws of realization dug into me as I froze in place. Mom knew everything. She knew everything and yet she was here, in front of me, saying these things casually, as if our world couldn’t burn down in front of us to brittle ashes at any moment.

“Why didn’t you?” I whispered, not daring to ask any louder, despite the noisy din of the surrounding restaurant.

Mom’s eyes held a deep sorrow, but her gaze never left mine. Instead of responding, she asked her own question.

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