“They seem like such a close-knit family.”
“He deserves to know he has a child.”
“What if he already knows? I mean, how couldn’t he? If he and my mom, you know. And she turned up with a pregnant belly a few months later.”
“If he’s denied you all these years, then he’s not the man everyone thinks he is.”
“I still can’t believe she had an affair with a married man. It was so unlike her.”
“People make mistakes, even good people. Besides, that was a long time ago. I’m sure she grew a lot as a person over the years. She probably deeply regretted her actions—but she never would’ve wished it away since the affair gave her you.”
“Maybe I should just try to forget all this. I don’t want to cause trouble. That woman might be devastated.”
“You didn’t do this—he and your mom did. And even if Jeff knows, it’s obvious his kids don’t. They deserve to know they have a sister, and you deserve to know your family.”
Emerson meant the world to her, but their parents’ deaths had left a huge void in her life. She was lonely in a way she’d never experienced before. She glanced at Jeff. “He has half my DNA. How can I not be curious about where I came from? And I can’t bear to have family out there and not do anything about it. I have to get to know them. I can’t help it.”
“Have you talked to Gavin at all?”
“Briefly when he came out to check on the footers yesterday.”When she’d gawked at him. She closed her eyes at the memory. “He caught me staring at his lips.”
Brianna sputtered her cold brew. “Why the heck were you staring at his lips?”
She touched her upper lip. “He has that defined Cupid’s bow, like me.”
Brianna just shook her head. “Girl.”
“I know. But I think it went okay other than that.”
“Other than your brother thinking you were ogling him?”
“Well, when you put it like that.”
“So how long are you gonna carry on before you tell the guy?”
“I think I should confront Jeff first. He should have the chance to tell his family.” Charlotte glanced over as the couple hugged their son goodbye and left the coffee shop. Cooper settled at a vacant table with his coffee and a newspaper. “There should be some kind of guide for this.”
“How to Introduce Yourself to the Birth Family You Never Knew You Had? Maybe you can write it when this is all said and done.”
“If I live through it. My nerves are shot.” Between losing her mother, the ranch’s uncertain future, and this unexpected discovery, she was up to her ears in stress.
“You’re strong. You can do this.” Brianna squeezed her hand. “You know, Avery is an amiable person. She’s Granny’s primary physician. Maybe you should try to get to know her a bit.” Brianna’s grandma was in the advanced stages of multiple sclerosis.
“And how do you suggest I do that?”
“I don’t know. Go see her at the clinic.”
“For what?”
Brianna lifted a shoulder. “Fake something.”
“I can’t afford a real doctor’s appointment, much less a fake one.”
“Just do it. What could it hurt?”
Charlotte thought a minute. “Well, I am overdue for a tetanus shot.”
“There you go. Plus, you’d be killing two birds with one stone.”
