Igrab my phone out of my pocket and dial Morgan’s number. On the second ring, she picks up. “Daddio! I told you not to worry! I got this!” she exclaims cheerfully.
“I know, sweetie. I’m sure you do. I have something to ask you, though.”
“Shoot,” she sighs.
“When Colton first arrived at camp, what was that look you gave him all about?”
At first, I thought they were instantly crushing on one another, but now that I’ve just found out what Miranda looked like, I think I know otherwise. Sherecognizedhim.
“He looked familiar. I couldn’t really place him,” she replies vaguely. “Why?”
“Were you ever able to figure out why he looked familiar?”
“Umm, Dad? Why are you asking me this? Do youreallywant to know?”
“It’s from that picture you have of you and your mother, isn’t it?”
Her silence on the other end tells me everything.
When I took Morgan in, she came with few belongings. One of them was a picture of her and Ryann, standing in the front yard of that green house we passed on the way here. There were two other people in that picture. One of those people was Miranda Waters, and the other was a small boy about Morgan’s age.
“You think it’s a sign too, don’t you?” Morgan asks, finally breaking the silence on the other end. “Like Mom sent them to us?” She sniffs.
“Oh, baby,” I coo. “I do, Ireallydo…”
“Do you know how many times I watchedThe Parent Trapwhen I was with her there?”
I let out a bubbly half-chuckle. “It was your mother’s favorite movie…”
Morgan emits an equally wet-sounding giggle. “I think she ‘parent trapped’ you and Evan. You meeting Colt’s dad seems way too coincidental to not be something bigger. That’s why I’ve been busting my booty all summer to make sure she got her wish. Do you know how hard it was to have to break it to Uncle Kai that I didn’t think you and he should try dating again?”
“Wait, so you know about him and me? And you seriously had to have that talk with him?”
“Dad, you’ve been looking out for me since the day I met you. It was time I returned the favor. You don’t ever stick up for yourself. And yes, it was painfully obvious you two weren’tjust friends,” she mocks. “How dumb do you think I am? I was there the night you broke up, for crying out loud. I always felt so guilty my presence split you two up.”
“Shoot, Morgan, no. Don’t feel guilty,neverfeel guilty about that. Okay, sweetie? He and I were all wrong for one another. I know that now. I’m so sorry you felt that way all this time.”
“Ain’t no thang,” she teases, giggling. “You’re happy now, and that’s all that matters. Mom’s happy too; I’m sure of it. Anyway, I need to get back out there. Gran looks like she’s got about ten kids hanging off her right now, someone’s gotta reign ‘em in and keep this ship from running aground.”
“I’ve asked it before, and I’ll ask it again. Where would I be without you?”
“Up dung creek without a paddle!”
“I love you, Morgan.”
“Love you too, Dad.”
When I hang up, I spin to find Evan talking to Miranda’s headstone. I crouch down beside him, rubbing his back as he kisses the tips of his fingers and touches them to the granite. “I can’t thank you enough. I love you,” he whispers to her image, his soft voice cracking with emotion.
When he looks back at me, his eyes are wet with unshed tears. I sit back and pull him onto my lap, his arms wrapping around me, his face burying in the crook of my neck. Everything that’s gone on both yesterday and today, even over this entire summer, I think it’s all catching up to him, finally. He soaks my shirt with his tears, his body heaving with silent shuddering.
I stroke my fingers through his hair, shh-ing softly. “It’s okay, baby. Get it all out,” I coo. While he cries, I attempt to soothe him with the uplifting revelation I just made on the phone with Morgan.
“Miranda knew Ryann and Morgan? From the home she worked at?” he asks me, stunned. He sits up and wipes the wetness from his face.
“Apparently so,” I tell him. “The house looked familiar from the one and only photograph Morgan had in her possession when she was sent to me. Colton and Miranda were in the picture as well.”
“She never told me who, but I knew a few years back, she really bonded with one of the residents there. She wouldn’t ever divulge too much information, but I know she mentioned that the resident had a daughter that was just a few months younger than Colt. She was always looking out for that mom and daughter duo. She’d make room for her at the house, no matter how many times they left and came back.
