Page 22 of Fortune's Control
“And your mother?”
“Judy Wilcott. She worked part-time at the local school. Did you notice all the citrus trees planted around the house? Those were her doing. She even spent her summers outside.”
“You must have a lot of lovely memories.”
“More than I can count. What about you?”
“My parents?” I didn’t want to answer. There were plenty of positive memories, but more than I could count?
Shane noticed. His voice softened, losing its typical rough edge. “You aren’t obligated to answer Lilah.”
I could insert a horrible joke about married couples not keeping secrets from each other. We’ve avoided that subject since the first night. An annulment lay in our future, so there was no point in building something. No reason for him to trust me, and no reason for me to share my problems. They were my struggles, not his, and I already owed him too much. “It’s the reason I’m here now. In the cemetery, I mean, not the town. The town, too. I mean both.” I huffed a breath and tried again. “You know what I mean. I don’t know my father.He could appear right in front of us.” I indicated the nearby space. “I wouldn’t know him from any other stranger. My mom said he’s some man, and that’s all she knows. I’m not sure she cares. Yes, that sounds horrible, I know.”
“That’s not the word I’d use. Unfair to you, perhaps, but not horrible.”
“My mother’s name is Sarah Jane Mayberry. What’s a polite way of explaining?” Was there one that didn’t make her sound awful or me ungrateful? “She was young when I was born, and didn’t enjoy every part of motherhood. Money was tight when I was little, and we struggled.”
Shane took my hand with both of his own, surprising me. They were warm and calloused. One finger stroked the back of my hand, encouraging me. I saw tanned skin and powerful hands that led to muscled arms and a broad chest. I’d been attracted to him from the moment we met, and one touch from him told me that initial feeling hadn’t faded. If Shane were to kiss me, I’d let him. I’d put my hands under his shirt so they could roam and explore.
I swallowed back further explanations.
“The two of you aren’t close,” he guessed, and my revelry ended with the fantasy banished before it could form.
“No, we’re not. It’s one reason I came to Fortune’s Creek. I have a grandmother here, or I did. It’s why I went to the library. Lainey offered to pull old newspapers for me to look through. She may be in one of them.”
“Your maternal grandmother?” Shane read my expression and didn’t bother asking the obvious question. Why wouldn’t I ask my mother for that information? “She refused to tell you,” he guessed.
“I came here rather than beg for answers,” I said, blinking back any tears that might form.
His grip on me tightened. “There’s no one with that nameon a headstone in this cemetery. If your grandmother lives here, we’ll find her.”
“We? Shane, that’s unnecessary. You’ve done enough. More than enough.” Despite my protests, his offer thrilled me, even as I worried about taking advantage of him.
“It’s already settled, so there’s no point in arguing.”
“Are you always this decisive?”
He didn’t hesitate. “To a fault.” I believed him. “Her last name differs from yours, which may be a problem. Fortune’s Creek is a small town with only so many suspects.”
“You make her sound like a criminal.”
He chuckled. “Unidentified target.”
“That doesn’t help.”
“The missing grandma.”
“Better.” I grinned, enjoying the sudden upbeat in my mood.
“We go down a list and check them off.”
“How do we do that? I don’t want to ask strangers about their teenage daughter who ran away. I’m new here, and that approach won’t win me any friends.”
“Lainey offered to help you?”
“Yes.”
“Then you have at least two.”
