Page 100 of We Thought We Were Invincible
My throat closed up, preventing me from breaking the tense silence. He looked at me curiously. I thought I saw a hint of recognition on his face, but that was probably just wishful thinking. He didn't even know I existed.
There was a younger man with him, who was looking around in confusion. He pushed his long dark hair behind his ears and fixed beautiful emerald eyes on me.
“Hello there.” His Australian accent snapped me out of my stupor, and I turned my gaze to him. “I don't know what is going on, but this is awkward. So, since boss-man here has forgotten his manners, allow me to introduce myself.” He held out his hand, and I placed mine in it, jumping when he kissed it. “The name is Dylan. I'm one of Mr.Hendrick's technical advisers.” He looked toward his boss. “Okay, I'm a surf double, but working my way into the production side of things.”
I took my hand back. “My name is California McCoy and my mother was Emma Bay.” I hadn't meant to just blurt it out, but couldn't keep it in any longer.
Dylan's mouth hung open in shock. “Rack off. Emma Bay. Wasn't she the one who…” One look at the man beside him shut him up.
My dad - for lack of a better name - looked lost, but the woman put a hand on my shoulder.
“Let the child speak,” she said, a gleam in her eye. “You were about to tell us that you're my granddaughter, I believe.”
She took my arm, leading me into the house with the two men following. Explanation escaped me.
“How?” I asked.
“I knew your mother was pregnant when she left.”
That confession finally got my father's attention. He turned hard eyes on his mother who held up her hands in surrender.
“I couldn't have your father finding out,” she explained. “It was better for the child this way and for that sweet sweet Emma.”
At her name, my father sank into the couch, burying his face in his hands. I watched the man who'd fathered me. His mouth opened and then shut again.
The house seemed even bigger on the inside. High ceilings enlarged the rooms. A glass staircase stood on the other end near a fireplace covered in marble.
I turned when I realized the woman was speaking. “I'm your grandmother Laura,” she said. “My son seems to have forgotten how to use the English language, but finding out about a daughter will do that to you.”
“And a son,” I said quietly, looking down at my hands. “I have a twin brother.”
She smiled. “I have wanted grandchildren for a very long time. You know, I used to imagine meeting you. I was very fond of your mother.”
“Your mother.” My father finally looked up, his eyes red. “Did she send you?”
Tears came to my eyes, unwelcome, and I shook my head. “Mom died six years ago. Our Aunt Kat has been taking care of us.”
His shoulders dropped, and the look that crossed his face nearly broke me in two. I couldn't take it any longer. The breath wheezed from my lungs as the tension squeezed all life from the room.
“I'm sorry,” I whispered. “This was a mistake.”
Tears streamed down my face as I bolted toward the door. I didn't know what I'd been searching for, but it wasn't this. I didn't want to bring the anguish of my mother's death onto anyone else. That was my burden. It belonged to me and my brother, not this man I didn't know.
I was out the door before Dylan caught up with me. “You can't just go.”
I wiped an arm across my face. “What do you want from me?”
“You obviously came here for a reason.” He grasped my arm, refusing to let me go. “Your… dad,” he paused, “is a good man. He's in shock right now. You have to cut him some slack.”
“I know.” I hid my face in my hands. “I just…” A sob escaped me, and Dylan wrapped an arm around my shoulders.
“Come back inside.”
I had no more fight left in me as he led me back up the steps to where Laura was standing. She took me in her arms. “It's okay, sweetheart. You're with family. You can cry.”
The dam broke and everything I'd felt about my father over the years poured out in a torrent of tears. He hadn't abandoned us. He hadn't left Mom. Even now, I saw it in his tear-stained face—he'd loved her. He still did.
I fingered the locket resting against my chest; the one Kat gave me for my birthday. Before I left, Kat told me that mom always planned on me finding out the truth when I was old enough. She knew I'd come. She wanted me to.
