“This made her real to me,” Maxie said huskily.
Her mother, Mary, hadn’t been able to draw a box.The tightness in Maxie’s throat dropped into her chest, and she leaned into Zac.He settled his arm over the back of her chair.
It was only a few days ago that she’d learned she was adopted, and she hadn’t spent much time thinking about her birth parents.They’d just been shadowy figures in a story that was only starting to unfold.One look at that sketch, though, and they’d come to life.Another mom and another dad.Real people with emotions, pressures and dreams.
Roxie’s chair rocked on its front legs when she leaned over the table, trying to get a better look.“Do you think she drew that?Was she an artist?”
Cam returned to the table and set down the drinks.His head tilted when he saw the sketch that had everyone’s attention.“It doesn’t look commissioned.”
“Our mom did it,” Lexie said throatily.She caught his hand, and the emotion that passed between them was thick and heavy.
“She loved you,” Lexie said, eyes blinking fast.
“She loved us.”Maxie snuggled more tightly against Zac.That was the question she’d held deepest within her heart, but with that sketch she had her answer.“I want to learn the truth.I want to know why we didn’t grow up together as a family.”
“They kept us until we were two,” Roxie defended.“They went through all the sleepless nights, the diapers, teething and learning to walk.Something must have happened.”
Maxie stared at the sketch, even though it was upside down.They’d been kept together long enough that she’d formed bonds that had carried with her even after they’d been separated.
“Maybe it was just her.”Lexie pulled her hand away from the picture frame, but curled her fingers as if she didn’t really want to.“Maybe the three of us were too much for a single mother.”
Zac nodded at Cam.“Have you checked into this?”
Cam sat down again and wrapped his arm around Lexie’s shoulders.“I’ve got a PI poking around, but he’s not making much headway.The records are sealed.”
“Is this the guy you used to find Maxie?”
“Same one.”
“He’s good.”
“But he’s been too slow,” Roxie said with disappointment.“I want to know where we get our hair color, our eyes and our smiles.”
“Are they even still out there?”Lexie sent a regretful look across the table.“Or did our parents have an accident too?”
Maxie caught Zac’s leg under the table.Oh God, she hadn’t even thought about that.She couldn’t take a loss like that again.
“Are they still together?Do they think about us at all?”Roxie muttered.“Does our mom still smell like lilacs?”
“I can add my resources to the mix,” Zac offered.
“Between all of us, we should be able to shake something loose,” Cam agreed.
Roxie’s expression became determined.“So, are we all in?Are we all agreed that this is our next step?”
“It has to be.”Lexie stopped fighting herself and reached for the sketch.
Maxie didn’t even hesitate.She laid her hand over her sister’s, and Roxie piled hers on top.Cam and Zac joined in.This was her family now.There might be more to add or there might not.The truth may not be something any of them wanted to hear, but they had to have closure.They had bit and pieces.The Underhills, Mrs.Shimwell, and the adoption papers had provided different sides of the story, but they needed to end the mystery.
“Let’s go find our parents.”
