Page 23 of Eye of Her Storm

“You mean parental kidnapping?”

“Yeah.”

“Maybe. It seems to fit. She dragged us all over the country, and we had to keep leaving places at the drop of hat. Now, with Dad showing up, it’s kind of hard to think otherwise.”

Before River could voice more of her thoughts, they pulled into the final stretch of driveway leading up to the Laurel Ridge’s ranch house. Seth and Tai’s place, Cauld’s Well, was situated nearby, closer in the proximity than other Daly ranches to each other. It had something to do with blood relationships or the such; River still wasn’t up on all the ins and outs. Still, the swift arrival to her sister’s home surprised her. She must have been deeper in thought than she’d realized. The other ranch might be close, but the term was relative. It was still quite a jog, even by car.

Her older sister stepped out onto the porch as they pulled up. She immediately started down the steps.

“You made good time,” Paisley observed as they got out of the vehicle.

“Yeah, I was speeding a little,” Moon admitted.

“Today, I’m not even going to yell at you for that.”

“Wouldn’t matter anyway.” Moon laughed. River joined in, knowing her sister would always be a speed demon. It was something they had in common.

Paisley took River’s shoulders in her strong grip and stared into her eyes, her head tilting slightly as if to look inside her sibling. “How are you feeling?”

River shrugged then glanced toward the front door. “Are you sure it’s him?”

“I’m sure. He looks like I remember, and he’s got pictures—a ton of pictures, years’ worth of legal documentation about his rights to us and the paper trail showing his search for us.” Paisley shifted her gaze between the twins. “He never gave up.”

Moon, the more skeptical of them, wrinkled her forehead, and River almost knew what she’d say before the words emerged. “I don’t know,” Moon said. “In this day and age, he couldn’t find us? That seems impossible.”

“He found us,” Paisley argued. “Never in time. Mom moved us around constantly. I know she frequently worked under the table, and more often than not, we weren’t even properly registered in school. I mean, we all had to take GED tests to get into college because our records were so jacked.”

It was all true.

River headed toward the steps, confident her sisters would follow. Maybe, it was her throbbing head or the painkillers muddling her thoughts, but she’d had enough speculating about what had happened. She just wanted to see this man claiming to be their father and hear what had occurred from his own lips.

The man in question had just entered the front hallway when she stormed inside. Shocked, she froze as instant memories bombarded her, memories of a much younger man, who was undoubtedly the person before her.

He stared at her. His eyes widened in what looked to be awed disbelief. “River,” he murmured.

“Yes,” she whispered. “How did you know?”

“You look a lot like you did when you were a little girl. And, of course, I’ve had age progressions done. But you and Moon don’t look so much alike that I can’t tell my twins apart.” He looked over her shoulder, and his eyes widened again. “Moon,” he said.

“Yup, that’s me.”

He glanced over at Paisley. “You said Sunflower is on her way?”

“She prefers to just be called Sun now. And yeah, she had to let her boss know she was leaving then she was headed over. The Flying D ranch is about an hour away so she should be here in about fifteen minutes.”

He glanced over at River and Moon then took a few hesitant steps forward. “I want to hug you,” he admitted. “But I don’t want to freak you out. I know I’m a stranger to you.”

“Oh screw that,” Moon exclaimed and rushed into his embrace. Laughing at her sister, River followed suit. She closed her eyes as her father’s arms close around her, and his familiar yet almost unfamiliar scent enveloped her in a comfort she’d long forgotten.

“My girls,” he whispered, his voice choked. “I love you.”

Tears pricked River’s eyes as she hugged him tighter. Words failed her. Her chest was tight with unexpected emotion. Her father had suddenly appeared from the dead nearly too late for her to get to know him. She’d make the most of these next months. Oh God! She’d have to tell him. How horrible for him to finally find his children only to have one plucked away.

“Oh my girls!”

River stepped back from her father and looked over to see a woman standing in the doorway to Paisley’s living room. The blonde woman, who appeared about ten years younger than Leo, had her hands pressed over her mouth as she gazed at them with tear-filled eyes. Recognition niggled at River. Somehow, she felt as if she must know this woman. But who was she?

The way Leo went to the woman and put his arm around her, River suspected this must be his wife. But if this was his wife, how did River know her? Hadn’t her parents been married when they’d been together? Before her mother had taken off with the children?

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