Page 106 of Find Me in California

“Stay for dinner. Dad’s grilling steaks.”

“I am?” Chris chokes. He looks at Lea. “I guess I am. We have enough in the freezer.”

“Just don’t sit next to Kit,” Nico says. “He hasn’t showered for three days.”

Kit blushes. “Not true.” He punches his brother in the arm.

“Boys.” Chris orders them to behave.

Julia watches their interaction, and her chest aches. This is her family, one that she wasn’t a part of. She’s angry and hurt and confused, and she has every right to walk out the front door and never speak with them again. Her mother—no, her parents—would be devastated, andshe feels a sickening sense of satisfaction that she could hurt them as much as she’s been hurting. Exactly what she came here to do.

Then she remembers what they said to her and realizes they have been hurting. Perhaps as long as she has been. They could have moved away. They could have made it difficult for her to find them. But they’ve been here all along, and they’re all over the internet, easy to track down. As if they’ve been wanting her to find them. Just waiting for her to come around. She recalls how envious she’d been when Matt’s grandfather and his aunt embraced him. She felt it shouldn’t have been that easy for him. But here is her family, welcoming her into their fold as if they’ve been holding their breaths until she was ready. Until she no longer wanted to go through life alone.

This isn’t at all how she expected this meeting to go.

The decision is hers. She could walk out that door. Or ...

Her family looks at her expectantly.

She nods, smiling shakily when the tears make her brothers look fuzzy. “I’ll stay.”

Two Months Later

CHAPTER 49

MATT

Matt stands in his garage, ready to embark on a task he’s put off long enough. He went to Florida and made peace with his parents and himself. He joined Dave in France just in time to photograph Ford’s cars in the final six hours of Le Mans, and when he returned, he found a therapist as he promised himself he would do. He’s been keeping in touch with his family—still getting used to that. And he’s been talking with Julia. But he’s been avoiding the boxes in his garage.

His therapist advised him the longer he put it off, the more difficult the task; that sorting his grandmother’s boxes was part of his journey to reconcile their past relationship. One step more on his journey to move forward.

This week’s homework: one box. That’s all he has to do.

With his Porsche parked in the driveway, he drags the nearest box to the center of the garage and slices open the top. Again, the scent of her trips him up. Musty and powdery, but her. He also recognizes a lingering odor that reminds him of Rosemont.

He dives into the box, quickly sorting shoes and clothes. More items for him to donate.

That was easy,he thinks when he finishes.

He grabs another box and does the same. Then a third box. Slowly, a pile of clothes builds. He slices open a fourth box expecting much of the same, but it’s filled with paperwork. The contents of her desk, Matt presumes.

He takes a breath and starts sorting. It doesn’t take him long to come across a small hatbox filled with letters, each addressed to Elizabeth Holloway from Magnolia Blu. All unopened.

Matt frowns. How did Julia miss these?

She packed Elizabeth’s room, but she might have done so quickly and failed to look inside the letter box.

He flips through the envelopes, debating whether to open them. The time he spent in the motel with her seems more like the acid trip it was with every passing day. But Julia told him about the letter Elizabeth had written her and how she wished for a letter from her grandmother.

Matt is holding a stack of them. They aren’t addressed to Julia, but they’ll give her something.

He and Julia have been texting back and forth, and they exchange calls almost daily. He wants to give her time to get to know her family, and he couldn’t be happier for her. He’s trying to be patient about seeing her. But these letters warrant an in-person delivery. He’s also due a visit with his grandfather. Mostly, though, he misses Julia. He’s been wanting to be with her since he left Florida.

Matt pulls out his phone and books a flight for tomorrow.

The Next Day

CHAPTER 50

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