“I found him, Tosh,” I blurted.
“Beckett?”
“I found him. I found Riley!”
There was shuffling, and then a slightly more alert, “What?”
“I can’t do this over the phone, I’ll be there in fifteen!”
***
My brother-in-law glared at me, with no small amount of annoyance, when he opened the door ten minutes later. “Do you have any fucking idea what time it is?”
Tosh was coming around the corner in a cotton bathrobe and slippers, her dark hair thrown up in a messy bun. I ignored Ben and led my sister by the hand to their office. It took a minute for their computer to warm up, but once it did I pulled up the contact page on Riley’s website for her to see.
Tosh gasped as soon as I stepped aside.
“It’s him, isn’t it?” For some reason, I needed her confirmation. Otherwise this could all just be something my tired, whiskey-hazed brain conjured up to get me through another lonely night. “You see it, don’t you? It’s Riley!”
Tosh sat in the chair and reached out to trace her fingers along Riley’s jaw. “How is this possible?”
The words poured from me in a rush as I began pacing the room. “There was a vendor at the market that Jake and I went to, I saw a ship. I didn’t know the artist was him because he wasn’t there, but the saleswoman told me about the online gallery so I…”
Tosh reached for my hand. “Slow down, Beck.”
My balloon of joy I’d only just found threatened to deflate the moment I stared into my sister’s eyes. I knew what she was going to say before she even opened her mouth, so I cut her off.
“Don’t.”
“Beck-“
“Don’t! Don’t do this, Tosh! Don’t spout the ‘it was too long ago’ bullshit. This is RILEY!”
“Keep your voice down!” Ben hissed.
“I’ve waited ten fucking years to see him again. I am not ignoring this now!”
“Exactly! Ten years, Beck! Who knows if you’ll connect the way you used to. You could just be setting yourself up for heartache all over again. Have you even searched his name, this…” she glanced back at the screen, “Preston Miller on social media? What if he’s married and has a family? What then?”
I tore my hand free from her hold and took a step back. “So, what? We can be friends, just like we were!”
She gave me a look that told me exactly how little she believed me. But, did she really think I hadn’t considered these things over the years? Or that I didn’thopefor him to be happy? As much as I wanted Riley back in my life—in my arms—I wouldn’t have wanted him to spend his life alone either. The only thing I’veeverwanted was for Riley to feel the joy he deserved.
“We don’t know his story Beckett, or why he left! What if he’s dangerous now and his new name is a cover-up?”
“Do you really think he’d own a business that is knownaround the worldif he was some kind of criminal?” I scoffed. “Riley couldn’t even kill a mouse when it got into our room. He wouldn’t hurt anyone. I’m going to see him. I have to!”
“Why are you doing this? Why can’t you just let him go?” For the first time since I’d arrived, I heard the thick emotion in her voice. She was close to tears, but I somehow knew they weren’t tears of joy that I’d found my old friend. There was tension there, and anger, for reasons I didn’t understand.
“Because it’sRiley,”I said simply.
“What if he leaves you again?”
I flinched. “That again? Come on, Tosh! Do you really think Riley left me in the first place?” I countered. “I don’t think whatever happened was his fault. Riley wouldn’t do that!”
“You can’t know that!”
“Neither can you!” I roared.
