Page 8 of Kisses Sweeter than Wine

Carter sat at the kitchen table with his laptop and cup of coffee. He brought the mug to his lips and sipped. He’d never questioned whether or not he’d done the right thing when it came to Daisy and her mother. Richard would have continued to beat them down until nothing was left, especially regarding Heather. Carter had known for some time what Richard had been doing to his wife and it utterly terrified him that it might have spilled over to Daisy.

His worst fears had materialized the day Merlot had come to him after his girlfriend showed up with a black eye.

What had horrified Carter was that it had been going on for years and Daisy never told a soul.

Not even Merlot.

The poor girl had suffered in silence, all in the name of protecting her mother.

“You’re up early.” Weezer strolled into the room, freshly showered and ready for the day.

He glanced at his watch. “So are you.”

“You tossed and turned all night, which kept me up. Then I smelled that.” She pointed to his morning beverage before pouring herself a tall one. She sat across the table and stared out the window as the dark sky gave way to the morning light. “I take it you’ve been doing a little research.”

“You could say that,” he said.

“What have you been able to find out so far?”

“Too much and it was too easy.” Carter closed his computer and sighed. “I knew where to look, so perhaps that’s why I found her so fast. But it’s possible Talbot is Daisy.”

“That’s crazy. Why would she come back here?”

“She gave us her reason and that’s because of her boss.”

“Georgette’s niece?”

Carter nodded.

Weezer tapped her fingers over his laptop. “Tell me what you know about Talbot.”

He ran a hand over his face. “I still have much digging to do and need to check the facts. But here’s what I know. Talbot landed in Chicago months after Daisy’s supposed death. The story is she moved from California after Talbot’s father died in a house fire.” Carter arched a brow.

“Jesus, that’s a little close to reality. How did you find that out?”

“I called in a favor from someone I went to law school with who practices in Chicago.”

Weezer narrowed her eyes. “You reached out to Larry Miller? You know how I feel about that man.”

“I agree his ways are slightly unconventional, but he had the connections I needed to get Daisy and her mom underground. While he has no idea what happened to them once I put them on that bus, he does understand how it all works.”

“That means you’ve already had a conversation or two with Larry.”

“I called him last night and I got an email from him this morning.”

It was rare that Carter kept anything from Weezer these days. He loved her with every fiber of his being and if he left out this whopper of a possibility, not only would Weezer kick him out of the house, but she’d never remarry him, and that was something he wanted more than anything.

“And what did you find out?” Weezer tilted her head and gave him that look that said if he dared to leave one piece of information out, she’d serve his head for Thanksgiving dinner.

“Larry went digging into Talbot’s past, but he couldn’t find any record of a house fire that claimed her father. We thought maybe Grant could have been a married name, so we looked for a marriage license with Talbot, but found nothing. We decided to change gears and go at it from a different angle.”

“Honey, I love you, but can you move this along?”

“Sorry, babe,” Carter said. “We decided to go looking for Talbot’s mom. Unfortunately, she died from cancer a few years after Talbot moved to Chicago.”

“That’s rough, to be alone in the world.”

“It sure is.” Carter sighed. What he was about to say next could go very badly. “But Talbot’s not alone.”

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