Page 29 of Close Match
“Not after the first night, no. When I say she did not know about computers, I mean none. I’d leave her to give a talk on encryption, and her face would be blank. And I’m not talking complex theories here, Monty. The name I used on the profile, Rhett?” He jerks his head toward Mom’s laptop. “That’s what I was called back home before school. I was already going by Everett by the time I made it through my first week at Tech. She never challenged it. If she ever tried to find me to tell me she was pregnant, she never would have been able to. Rhett Parrish existed…but didn’t.”
“I understand. You were starting to become high profile, Ev. It’s not a crime.”
“No, but I wonder if my daughter’s going to feel the same way when I tell her that,” he says bleakly. Pulling my mother around so she’s standing in front of him, he focuses on her. “Char, this was years before I ever met you. I never knew.”
“Sweetheart, I know.” Leaning forward, she whispers something in his ear that causes his body to sag in relief. “What you did before you met me has nothing to do with how much you love me now.”
Except it does, I think grimly. Because we’re about to invite this unknown woman into our lives to try to save Ev’s.
* * *
“I thinkyou should let me look her up,” I argue. I’m pacing back and forth in front of Ev’s desk in his library. Mom’s gone off to bed so she can make us her infamous mixed berry galette to celebrate something we didn’t have before.
Hope.
I still don’t know if what we have is hope. I still feel like we’re working on a Hail Mary pass. Acid pitches the alcohol I’ve been drinking around in my stomach. I rub a hand against it to calm myself down. I’m going to need a half a dozen antacids before bed at this rate.
Ev’s sitting behind his computer shaking his head. “No way, Monty. What I learn about my daughter is going to come from her. Do you understand me?” His green eyes narrow in fierce determination. “You don’t want to appreciate how disappointed I will be to learn otherwise.”
Shit. “Fine,” I grit out even though it goes against everything inside me to protect the people I love. Storming over to the decanter of brandy, I pour myself a healthy splash. Turning to Ev, I hold up the decanter. He shakes his head. I keep forgetting the meds he’s on don’t encourage drinking. Instead, I pour him a glass of soda water. Grabbing both tumblers, I approach his desk. “But the very minute you give me the okay, I’m calling in every favor I have to look this woman up. We can know everything about her in a matter of hours.”
“Son.” I feel a chill race down my spine at the endearment because I’m not Ev’s son. Not really. Not anymore. He has a biological daughter who might be able to do what I can’t.
Save him.
“Yeah, Ev?”
“I do need your help with two things.”
Taking a swallow, I nod without hesitation. “You don’t have to ask.”
He takes a small sip of his own. “Even though Char is handling this better than anything I could have predicted, if it gets to the point where we meet Lynn…”
“I’ll keep an eye out on Mom,” I promise. He lets out a sigh of relief. “What’s the other?”
“Would you help me write this letter back to Lynn? I’ve been thinking about it all night, and I have no idea what to say.”
“Ev, I don’t think it’s insane to ask her for a picture of her mother,” I caution. “Maybe you wouldn’t recognize a current one, but surely she has an older one that you would. It’s not a ridiculous ask.” I tick off my list of concerns. “She doesn’t have a profile picture. She doesn’t list any family surnames. She’s not connected to anyone else on the platform.”
Brushing his lips across his glass, he contemplates what I’m saying. “So you’re concerned it could be a scam. Someone who happens to know me and is exploiting…”
“Let’s just say I’d want the picture as a gesture of good faith.” I leave it at that.
“Then I’m going to need your help writing back,” he says grimly.
Standing, I walk around behind the desk. “Let’s write this offline, and you can just copy it in,” I suggest.
Pulling up his word processing program, I begin to dictate.Dear Lynn…
Eighteen
Evangeline
…To say I, too, was shaken by our connection is an understatement. The genetic output, compounded with what you have shared, do lead me to believe I am your biological father. I immediately told my wife and my stepson about you. We appreciate your courtesy while we process the news.
I own a farm in the Northern Virginia area where I’m semi-retired. If you’ve never been to the area, it’s beautiful countryside—rolling green hills in summer and the mountains are covered with the most spectacular foliage in the fall.
You mentioned you are in the communications field in New York City. That sounds like an interesting profession. I was there recently for my wife’s and my twenty-fifth wedding anniversary. It’s was an exciting city to visit. Very energetic. If your mother is the woman I’m thinking of, I’m both happy and impressed over your success. In part, because the woman I remember as Elle couldn’t tell one end of a computer from the other. The only technology I knew she could work adeptly was a microphone. That is if I remember her.
