Keely lifted a shoulder, pointed at the pie, gave a thumbs-up.
Shasta’s mouth opened. “Oh my gosh—you’re Bliss!”
Keely sighed, held up her hand. “Please,” she whispered.
Shasta cut her voice low. “Sorry. But—what are you doinghere?”
Theverylast thing Keely needed was for someone to tweet it out, or post her image on Insta, or grab a side photo for TikTok. “I’m visiting a friend.”
Shasta’s eyes widened. “You have a friend in Copper Mountain?”
Aw. She should have known she’d talked to the one person who probably knew everyone in town. “It’s a surprise. Don’t tell anyone.” She swallowed, her voice still at a whisper. “You’ll find out soon enough, probably.”
True, maybe. Who knew what bio mom would do once she found out?
Except—she glanced over at Vic, the way the woman filled beers, filled orders, and occasionally hollered at locals—who knew?
In fact, part of Keely’s ninety-minute dilemma had been sorting out the veracity of her father’s story.
Vic Dalton. Former cop who gave away her daughter and disappeared into the Alaskan frontier. It had taken a private investigator and a couple thousand dollars to track the woman down.
“Is that why you’re whispering?” Shasta asked.
Not even a little, but Keely nodded. Why not? She didn’t need any other rumors to start.
Bliss is losing her voice.Yeah, that would sell tickets.
She even put a finger to her lips.
Shasta grinned. “I got you.” She winked and walked away.
Keely took another bite of pie. She should have started with this. The sugar hit her veins, adding a surge of hopeful what-ifs.
What if she simply got up and walked over to the bar and introduced herself to the big, tough-looking female barkeep with the blond hair and the take-no-prisoners demeanor?Hello. My name isKeely Williams,and I believe you’re my mother.
She took a sip of her Coke, watching as the woman now talked with one of the locals, a good-looking man, late thirties, who stood next to a smaller woman in braids. She handed them a take-out bag, and they left.
And then, just like that, Vic’s gaze landed on Keely.
Not justlanded.Held. And the force of it caught her up, stole her breath, pinned her into place. Vic had blue eyes, not hazel-blue like hers—but for the first time, maybe, she saw her nose on someone else’s face. Sothat’swhere she got that little bump.
Keely looked away, her heart filling her throat, slamming against her chest.
Oh boy.
Nope. Not a chance she could do this. Because really, why again had she traveled a few thousand miles to meet a stranger?
She pushed the half-eaten pie away and reached for her phone.
It buzzed in her hands, and she thumbed open the text.
I got another call from Bryce today. He needs an answer.
Yeah, well, get in line. Life was full of questions, of people needing answers.
Today was not that day.
She put her phone into her satchel propped on the booth seat beside her, pulled out a twenty, and dropped it on the table.
