Thank god. She’d been trying to track Bev down for months! Grateful for the distraction, Charlotte dialed the number and waited. She doubted Bev would pick up. No one answered their phone for an unknown number anymore, but after two rings, she heard a voice straight out of her childhood memories.
“Hello?”
“Hi, Bev Sinclair?”
“Yes. Who’s this?” Bev asked.
“This is Charlotte Danton. I’m ... I’m Terri’s daughter.”
There was a sharp intake of breath. “Oh my goodness. Charlotte. What a surprise! How did you get my number?”
“Elena Campos tracked it down for me,” Charlotte stammered, suddenly realizing she didn’t know Elena’s married name. “I hope you don’t mind.”
“Of course not,” Bev exclaimed. “I’m glad to hear from you. I think of Terri often, but I ...” She faltered. “Oh goodness, is there news?”
“No, but that’s why I wanted to talk to you. I’d like to ask you about my mom. I’m trying to find out what happened to her, and I’m talking to everyone I can who knew her. Do you think we could meet? Would you be willing to talk to me about her? I’ll drive up to Burlington. I don’t mind.”
“I’d love to sit down with you and talk, but my husband’s immunocompromised, and it’s been a tough cold and flu season, so we’re limiting visitors. How do you feel about saving yourself a drive and we can chat on Zoom?”
“Zoom would be great,” Charlotte agreed. “When would work for you?”
“Well, like I said, my husband’s had a rough go of it recently. He’s recovering from pneumonia, so I’ve got my hands full right now. Can I call you in a week or so to set something up?”
Charlotte felt tears pricking at her eyes all over again because she wanted answersnow, but obviously Bev’s husband’s health came first. Charlotte was just an emotional mess today. “Of course, and I really hope your husband is on the mend.”
“I do, too, honey. Thank you.”
“I’ll talk to you soon, Bev, and thanks again. I really appreciate this.”
“Nonsense, it’s my pleasure. If there’s anything I can do to help track Terri down, I’m happy to do it, but try not to get your hopes up. I told the police everything I knew thirty years ago, so I doubt I have any new information for you.”
“I understand,” Charlotte said.
A tear broke free as she ended the call. What would she do if Bev turned out to be another dead end? Because Charlotte had alreadytracked down and talked to everyone at the university who’d known her mom. She was out of leads.
Bev might be her last hope.
Marin arrived at the lawyer’s office for her house closing five minutes early and with her heart in her throat. As her Realtor, Charlotte would be here while Marin signed all the paperwork and received the keys to her new house, but this wasn’t how Marin had imagined seeing her for the first time since their kiss. They hadn’t spoken since those awkward texts last Sunday, nearly a full week ago.
They wouldn’t exactly be able to hash things out here at the lawyer’s office, but Marin hoped she could convince Charlotte to stop by the house afterward, because they desperately needed to talk. She’d wondered at first if Charlotte was attracted to her, too, if maybe she wasn’t straight after all, but after six days of avoidance, Marin was forced to admit it seemed unlikely that Charlotte wanted to pursue anything with her romantically.
So Marin would try to repair their friendship. Whatever it took. She needed Charlotte in her life. Marin had made peace with the knowledge that they couldn’t be more than friends a long time ago. Of course, it would be harder now that she knew what it felt like to kiss Charlotte ...
Her stomach tingled. She couldn’t eventhinkabout that kiss without getting hot, but she would move past it. She had to. As Marin got out of her car, she spotted a familiar SUV parked farther down the street. Charlotte was already here.
Marin gulped, wiping her clammy palms against her jeans. Then she straightened her jacket and walked calmly up to the door, or at least she was reasonably sure shelookedcalm. Internally, she was in chaos, but this was the benefit of so many years of masking. She was a master at hiding her feelings. She entered the lawyer’s office andgreeted the receptionist, who guided Marin to a small conference room in back.
Charlotte stood at the window with her back to the door. She turned, and their eyes met. Marin gave her a friendly smile and a little wave.
See? Everything’s fine. We can still be friends.
That was what she attempted to tell Charlotte with her eyes. Charlotte’s smile, in return, looked stilted. Brittle. And that cut like a knife to Marin’s sternum, all the way to her heart.
“Hi,” Charlotte said after a slightly awkward pause. “Excited?”
Marin exhaled as she nodded. “Thrilled. I can’t wait to walk into my house in a little while.”
“I bet. Word of warning: The paperwork is alot.”
