Chapter 17
Elena Giovanni sat out on her porch, wrapped in a blanket. Everest shared a box of donuts with the woman and handed her a steaming cup of coffee in the morning sunlight.
“You’re sure that’s her and that I’m her daughter?”
Clara had flown in early that morning.
Scarlet handed her a picture and the article from her aunt’s binder, along with the book of the dog-eared pages and words underlined in crayon.
Clara covered her trembling lips as she flipped through the pages. She nodded to herself. “I remember this. I remember doing this and being so scared because I couldn’t tell anyone. I thought I couldn’t. My father was so mean. He killed my uncle, and I thought I had no one. They both called my mother El, not Elena. That’s why I didn’t recognize the name.”
“Do you remember what happened?” Scarlet asked.
“A man that looked like my father came and took me away. I thought he was my father for a long time because I rarely saw my birth father. I think he was my uncle. Anyway, he tried to give me a new name. The moment we got to New York, he died from a drug overdose, I hear. He had no money, no wallet, no fingerprints in the system. I ended up in foster care. Life was chaos, and I found stability in computer technologies. But I refused to change my name. And I’m glad I didn’t. How did you find me?”
Scarlet lifted her phone. “Elena talked about how smart you were with math and science in school. It took a while, but when I saw a picture in the historical albums online for the city, I had a feeling there might be someone else who could’ve taken you. I searched every variation of your possible last name. There are tons of databases online these days. It was just a matter of time before I found something.”
“Why not give up on me?”
Scarlet toyed with the keys of her rental car. “My aunt didn’t give up on anyone. She found every soul she searched for except yours. So I figured it had to be because she didn’t have access to something she needed. Social media and online search engines were not her forte, but they are mine.”
Clara wiped her eyes with a tissue and drew in a deep breath.
“Are you ready?”
“As I’ll ever be.”
Scarlet climbed out and walked around the car to get the door for Clara, who was turning fifty-one in a month. Her mother was seventy-eight and had recently received a prognosis of less than a year from her doctor.
Elena smiled at them both, the same blank stare she’d had when Scarlet and Everest had visited her just days before. As Clara hiked up the steps, Elena’s expression shifted to one of shock. She leaned forward and reached for Clara.
“Do you remember me?” Clara asked. “It was a long time ago, I know.”
Elena’s eyes filled with tears. “Clara Mae? Is that really you?”
Clara drew a picture out of her pocket and held it up beside the one Scarlet had given her. They had the same background, same little house behind them with the iconic pillars framing the front porch that overlooked the ocean. “Looks like us, don’t you think?”
After a moment of studying the pictures, Elena reached, shaking her arms around Clara. “Oh, my beautiful girl, how you’ve grown!”
Clara laughed lightly through her sniffles. “You, uh, have two grandchildren. I wasn’t sure how this was going to go, but I’m sure they’d love to meet you. Chaz, too.”
Everest excused himself and motioned Scarlet to take a walk with him. They left the mother and daughter to talk as they strolled to the small park on the corner and found a bench.
“This is nice what you did for them,” he said, resting an arm behind her shoulders on the bench. “I guess you’ve got your aunt’s nose for sniffing out answers.”
Scarlet groaned, then chuckled. “Dog jokes now?”
Everest pointed to the pup peeking out of the bigger box in the front seat of her car. Athos’s front paws just barely reached the top edge, but Scarlet knew she’d soon need a car that she felt safe letting him roam around in.
“He is trouble,” she said with a smile. “Myrtle said she’d take him.”
Everest’s mood crashed. “So you’re leaving?”
She rested her head on his shoulder. “Tomorrow.”
“Are you ever coming back?”
“Definitely.”
“Any idea when?”
She didn’t know what to say. She hadn’t told him she’d decided to return to run the shop because she wanted a little more time to gather her wits and ready the place. “Depends on a lot of things.”
Everest turned to her. “Please don’t go. Stay. I want you to stay.”
She smiled at him, knowing then she was making the right choice.
Then, without warning, Everest leaned forward and kissed her. Scarlet’s heart beat faster the longer his lips stayed locked with hers. His warm hand braced her cheek, and the arm around her back drew her closer.
When he finally broke the kiss, a nervous laugh slipped through her lips. “I didn’t know you felt that way about me.”
“You’ve changed since we met,” he said. “You claimed you hated books. Now they’re lying open all over the place in the back room. You just wanted to sell the place, and yet you’re finishing your aunt’s work, bringing Clara and Elena together after decades.”
Everest’s brows knitted. “You’re already leaving a positive influence on this town. And I’ve seen you smile more in recent days than you did that first night you rolled into town. Just—don’t forget about us. Please.”
“I won’t.” Scarlet nestled herself against his warm body, hiding from the cool ocean breeze. “I could never forget you.”