I gasped, and the colour drained from my face. “We agreed never to speak of that.”
Rick rested his cardigan-covered elbows on the wooden grain and placed his smiling face in his hands. “It’s my trump card for whenever you say something like that. You’re the only one I’ve done that with.”
My face twisted at the memory—and so did my stomach. A fumbling, alcohol-soaked night of almost-sex. Rick had wanted to “see what the fuss about lady parts was all about”—his words, not mine. I’d been reeling after losing a big contract, and it had seemed like a good idea at the time.
I cleared my throat as Breeze glided into the room in a white cotton shorts-and-tank combo, Taco tucked under one arm.
“Yes?” she asked, rubbing her eyes. Crap. I hoped we hadn’t woken her. Rick could be seriously inconsiderate.
“Riley has something to tell you,” he said, still not moving from his elbow-leaning spot.
Breeze’s sleepy eyes landed on mine and widened. “Oh my God, what happened?”
I really needed to start checking my appearance before walking into rooms.
I threw my head back. “I solved my mystery,” I groaned to the ceiling. No way was I crying in front of anyone else today.
“And?” Her voice was warm with concern.
“And I’m adopted. My real mum’s dead, along with my fake mum. Some undiagnosed turbo-cancer—go figure. My dad—I mean, fucking Colin—lied about it for years. I could’ve shagged my brother. Or cousin. Or second uncle twice removed. And my grandparents left me the children’s home. Oh, and mic drop—I actually met said grandparents when they scammed their way into working at my primary school, just to see me from a distance. What a load of crap.”
Okay. I was going to cry. Turns out I had no dignity left to care. I pulled tears from my cheeks with my fingers and dipped my chin to see Rick and Breeze exchanging furrowed glances.
“I’m so sorry,” Breeze said as she pulled her lips back. “And sorry to ask you to explain. I’m confused.”
She was confused? I was confused. I was already on rocky ground in my relationship with myself. What the hell did I have now?
“I’m an orphan. No family. One of my biological grandparents was hospitalised long-term in New Zealand, where they lived, and the other one was caring for them. They had an estranged relationship with my birth mum—hadn’t seen her for years, or ever met me. Something about my birth father being a total dropkick and unsuitable match—go figure. Not that he stuck around; he’s not even listed on my birth certificate.
“They couldn’t travel back to England at the time, so they agreed to hand me over to the state. I was adopted by Colin, who then lied to me my whole life. Oh, and my estranged grandparents? They bought Bellamy Home when it came up forsale—knowing they’d leave it to me in their will and trigger this whole mess.”
“But why?” Breeze whispered, kindly looking past my tear-blotched face.
I shrugged. “Apparently, over the years, stories started coming out about what was happening up there. They believed it. Wanted to give me a chance to get closure—however I saw fit. Or at least that’s what they said in the letter.”
Breeze nodded slowly, chewing her lip. “They never considered doing all this while they were still alive? So you could ask questions?”
I wiped my nose on the back of my hand, and Taco wriggled out of Breeze’s arms to get to me.
“They reached out to Colin once they were back in Glades Bay. It was an open adoption. But by then it was too late. I’d already forgotten my old family.” Or buried them deep in some mental vault—I wasn’t sure. Maybe that was what my brain vault was originally created for. “They didn’t want to upset my life, so they stayed back. It’s not like we knew each other before I ended up where I did. They’d hoped to leave me the house and for it never to be questioned. Which makes zero sense to me.”
Taco was leaning her two front paws against my shins, and I bent down to scoop her up.
“They clearly didn’t know you,” Breeze answered as she began pacing the room.
“Why are we not talking about the other thing?” Rick interrupted. Breeze and I both turned to look at him.
“You already know everything, you’ve seen the letters,” I snapped.
“No… the sex with your brother thing. You’re going to have to explain that.”
Breeze’s eyes circled again, and she nodded.
I sighed, pulling a wooden bar stool out from under the butcher’s block. Taco stretched her neck up to lick the snot and dried tears from my hands and arms.
“Oh, that.”
I filled them in on my brief detour to JJ’s Motors.
