Completely pink-cheeked at this point, Jacinta waves Melinda’s enthusiasm away. “Anyway, that’s my news, so come on, share.”
“Oh, nothing much… just the fact that we’re going to sell here and move to the West Coast.” Jacinta is silent for a moment before she starts to squeal with excitement, and then there’s two of them looking like high school cheerleaders. I roll my eyes but can’t help smiling, too. I mean, itisexciting.
“Oh my god, that is awesome! Dad is going to be so happy. Oh, and just wait until you meet his girlfriends.”
Melinda stops suddenly. “Did you say girlfriends… plural?” She gives me a look that could fry me. “Why am I only just hearing about this now?”
“Because there’s just been so much going on. Does it really surprise you that I forgot something? Emma, Dad’s first girlfriend, rescued me when I fell.” Jacinta coughs, and I correct myself. “Was pushed into the empty pool on the count’s property. Anyway, there must be something in the water over there because everybody’s getting lots of love. Molly is Emma’s partner, and Dad’s apparently a silver fox. It turns out they aren't opposed to sharing either.”
She grumbles, “Damn it. I wish Chuck was interested in sharing.” Jacinta and I burst into laughter, and I stand up, stretching my arms over my head. “I don't know about you guys, but I could do with a little nap. I’m going to head back to my apartment until the guys get home.”
“Ahh, no, you’re not.” Melinda stands to block me from leaving. “Before they left, I promised Thomas that we wouldn't let you go anywhere on your own, so if you want to nap, you can use Max’s room. Let’s not be that silly girl in a horror movie that doesn't listen to anyone and gets herself killed.”
Sighing, I agree. She has a point. As I give them both a kiss on the cheek, I hear Melinda ask Jacinta if she’d like a glass of wine, and while I contemplate turning around, the need for a nap is stronger, so I keep going. Climbing into Max’s bed, the smell of her room brings me comfort, but I find that I’ve gotten used to sleeping next to someone now, so the bed feels awfully empty. I close my eyes, hoping the guys don't take too long with their investigations.
ChapterFive
Harlow
The next few days are a flurry of activity for basically everyone but me. Oliver and Holden take a trip to New York to check out the new Neighpalm Ink setup and touch base with Jonah. Declan has been holed up with Chuck in his office, making video calls to Dad so they can do virtual walkthroughs of properties close to the Summers’ estate. Jacinta and Jace have been helping Melinda pack things to prepare for the move, and Thomas and Kai have been trying to find out more about my mother’s sister.
You could have knocked me over with a feather when Thomas told me all about meeting Bear and the information he gave him. I had no clue about having an aunt, but when I sat down and really thought about it, some of her drunken, high rants actually started to make sense. She would ramble and scream about a traitorous bitch, and I always thought it was one of the whores she used to compete with for clients, but now I’m not so sure. I never did understand what a “coworker” could have done to make her that angry, but it makes a lot more sense if this was about her sister. Nothing can bring you as high or low as family can—that I know with firsthand experience.
Now I’m just left to wonder about what the hell my aunt did to piss my mom off that badly, but I guess we’ll never know unless we find the damn woman. Honestly, I’m not that optimistic. Somehow, tracking her down is proving more difficult than we had thought, even with the Summers’ and the Bostons’ combined resources and wallets. No birth certificate can be found for a Diane Stubbs, born anywhere in the U.S. the year my mother was supposedly born, so Thomas’ current theory is that wasn't my mom’s real name. Unfortunately, that leaves us at a dead end because without at least a name, tracking her becomes a little tricky. But he and Kai still head out every day to ask questions in local bars, homeless shelters, and drug dens. I don’t know if I admire or am worried about their dedication to figuring this out. I really don’t know whether this is a dead end, and I just don’t know what it might do to them if they don’t find her.
Jaxon and I have spent the time packing up my apartment and helping Josh organize the stables for the cross-country trip. All of Dad’s horses will need to be moved, plus the remainder of Chuck’s, as well as Jenny and DS. Peter never turned back up, and Chuck has decided not to bother with hiring anyone new until they’re in California.
Seriously lost in our little safe space at home, I can act like everything is normal, focusing on how excited I am to have Chuck and Melinda close by once more. I’d love to stay in that giddy place, pretending that I get to be the girl with her family, her boyfriends, and her animals all in one safe and happy bubble, but I know it will burst very soon when reality rears its ugly head.
“Who is this?” Jaxon asks, waving a photo at me. He’s reached the bottom of one of my drawers, and when my eyes meet the photo, sadness overcomes me.
It’s a picture of my mom, carefree and vibrant. I think it’s from the same summer that I was conceived. Melinda had always told me that Mom never had a visible drug problem up until then. Sure, she was tight-lipped about her past, so Melinda didn't know much, but my mom was always health-conscious, drinking very seldomly and exercising daily. That was why Melinda was so stunned when everything changed.
“That’s my mom,” I tell him, taking the photo from his hand and running my finger across the seam in the paper. I couldn’t tell him how many times I unfolded that picture and stared at it, wishing with everything in me that I’d someday get that version of my mom back. I wanted so badly to have that person who would smile and laugh with me, make sure I ate healthy meals, and would maybe just sit next to me, quietly enjoying our time together.
Jaxon frowns, looking a little confused. “Wow, that’s really weird. I could swear she looks like one of my mom’s old friends, but I guess I was only four or five when she dumped us with Brad, so I must be remembering wrong.” Shrugging, I toss the photo into the open box at his feet.
“I guess if your mom was as much of a junkie as mine, she probably had junkie friends, too. They all seem to get the same sort of washed-up, rode-hard, and hung-up-wet kind of look, or that’s what my experience has been. What she would have been doing on the West Coast, I have no idea, so it’s probably just some weird coincidence. I’m sure she just looks like another strung-out person your mom knew.”
Despite his agreement, he’s still frowning, so I distract him with a promise to let him bend me over the exam table downstairs if we finish up soon. Suffice it to say the packing is done in a whirlwind, and I'm glad that I haven't been asked to examine any local animals while I've been home because I’m never going to be able to look at my little clinic the same.
Chuck and Melinda did not, in fact, wait until we had left to tell Mr. and Mrs. Boston they were selling and moving. Let me tell you that the sight of nine fully grown adults running for my apartment was enough to have us all giggling by the time we all made it into hiding. We deserted Chuck and Melinda like the house was on fire and only returned once the coast was clear. Chuck and Melinda were drinking heavily, and there was no sign of Mr. and Mrs. Boston in sight. None of us were brave enough to ask how it went because it was obvious it had not gone well. I simply gave them both a big hug and ordered pizzas for dinner.
Yesterday, the news about Ninja Starfish broke, and our relationship seems to have become old gossip, thankfully, so we’re heading home. Today the for-sale sign goes up on the property, and I promised Oliver I would take him into town to visit my tattoo artist before we fly back to California tomorrow. So, this morning, we use one of the hired cars to head into Hartford to see Tasha at Saint Ink. I’m pretty sure that Oliver wants to invite her to work for him in New York, but Tasha’s boyfriend is the owner of the place, so the likelihood that she will want to leave is slim.
Thomas insists on driving us, so I’m sitting in the back when the phone rings.
“Hey, neighbor!” Max sounds more upbeat for the first time in a while, and her contagious joy makes me smile. “I can’t believe Mom and Dad decided to leave Connecticut. I’m pretty sure you’re the reason why, but I’m not complaining.”
“Hey, yourself. I believe being neighbors is what your dad and my dad have planned. I think they've finally settled on a place about ten minutes from Dad’s. I’m pretty sure the property actually backs onto Dad’s, so they may have thrown a little incentive at the neighbor to encourage him to sell to Chuck, or that’s how Declan made it sound.”
We chat the rest of the drive into town, catching up on everything, including Luke being responsible for most of the stalking.
“That doesn’t really surprise me. He always watched with creepy eyes. Remember, I used to tell you that.” Yep, can’t say I’m surprised by her reaction either. Like any other sibling, Max never could resist the chance to throw something in my face, especially when it means she was right.
“Yes, but I thought that was just you being an elitist snob,” I fire back, and she grunts her reluctant agreement.
We move away from the topic when she asks about the press, and I’m happy to inform her that the press have lost interest in us—for now. Luckily, she’s got some exciting news that takes some of the focus off of us; she has a speaking role in the latest film she’s working on. She plays a tavern wench who gets ravished by one of the male leads, which of course leaves me with a million questions, but when I try to dig a bit more, she clams up, citing her NDA as the reason, and I can’t very well argue with that even though I’m a bit tired of the secrecy. We’ve always told each other everything in the past, and I’ve never judged her, not once, even when she did things that were totally opposed to what she really wanted to do. Could she be jealous of the Summers being in my life? Being the biggest recent life change, that should be the likeliest culprit, but it didn't seem that way when we dropped off the horses. In fact, the distant crap didn't really start untilafterthat night. I wonder if it has anything to do with whoever was in her room.
