Page 23 of His Sunshine Baby

“Because if I did, you would come here to bother me with your annoying questions, kid.”

I growl. Old hag. Henry brings us two beers, and Daniel hands him a bill, but I really don’t care about that for now. I cross my arms, staring right at the old woman.

“You know what I want to know.”

“I already told you, I forgot.”

“I still don’t believe you.”

She swears again, pissed.

I don’t know why she lies every time about this, but I won’t let it go. I come closer to her on the table.

“Why won’t you tell me?” I ask.

“I already told you a lot, kid. Now stop asking.”

“No, it’s not enough. You said you found me and brought me here when I was about three, but you never tell me anything else. Why? I want to know where you found me, Reagan, so I can go there and look for my birth parents.”

“I said no, kid. You have parents here.”

“My parents had an accident a few months ago, Reagan. Right after the last time you left.”

She puts her beer down, looking shocked.

“What?”

“Car accident,” explains Daniel. “Elena’s mom didn’t make it. And…”

“My dad’s in a coma, Reagan.”

The old woman looks totally surprised, looking at me in disbelief.

“Holy Mother Moon Goddess ,” she whispers. “No one told me. I saw your uncle earlier, he didn’t tell me.”

“Well, he doesn’t talk about it at all,” says Daniel with a snort.

I stay silent, as Granny Reagan looks sincerely overwhelmed by the information. I’m not even surprised aboutmy uncle not saying anything. He avoids the topic half of the time and pretends he doesn’t hear when someone brings it up.

She sighs, scratches her head, and drinks more beer.

“Poor people. Those good kids. I can’t believe your uncle! That idiot will hear from me when I get back!”

“Granny Reagan, you can scold uncle all you want but first, answer me, please! You really don’t want to tell me anything about my birth parents?”

“You stubborn little punk! I’ll keep saying what I said: they are dead! And I found you in the North, that’s all I have to say!”

“You’ve been living in the wild for years now, don’t tell me you can’t remember where you found a three-year-old girl, Reagan, you have to know! What is it that you want to hide?” I yell, annoyed.

I’ve always known that this woman knows a lot more than what she’s willing to say. For some reason, I have to argue with her for hours before she ever tells me anything about whatever she knows about me from before she brought me to the pack. Why does she have to make my upbringing such a secret? I know there’s a lot more than what she has told me, I heard her talk to my parents! She said they had to hide me no matter what, and never tell me the truth. What truth?

“Why is there always so much foam in this?”

I can’t believe she’s complaining about her beer in the middle of this! I growl, but Daniel puts his hand on my shoulder, whispering to me to calm down.

“Granny Reagan, Elena’s almost twenty-two now. Whatever it is you’re hiding from her, isn’t it about time she knows? If her dad doesn’t survive, you would be the only one left who knows the secrets of her origin. What if you don’t come back next time?”

I have a hard time holding back my anger, but Daniel’s words might be more effective than mine. For a while, Reaganstays silent, looking at her beer with a strange expression. I exchange a glance with Daniel, hoping this time she will talk.

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