Chapter 9
Another woman with a little girl waited in the hallway to use the bathroom, preventing Shylo from sneaking around and peering into the rooms behind the closed doors.
Shane had to have an office in the house, even though another building was where the Triple-R's staff handled the business end of the ranch.
Seth had pointed it out among the other structures.
From what she'd seen during her walk through the kitchen, the dining room was to her left, while beyond it an open den led to another hallway she assumed ended at the nanny's quarters.
Off the foyer sat a formal living room, with a staircase leading to the second floor.
The rooms were enormous—the entire apartment she'd grown up in could probably fit inside the den alone.
While she waited, her gaze drifted over the framed photographs lining both walls.
The people in them spanned multiple generations—some captured in black and white, others in the faded tones of past decades, and the most recent ones bursting with vibrant colors.
In several photos, a woman other than Paige stood between Shane and Tucker, sometimes with a much younger Arianna.
She had to be their first wife, and Shylo was a little surprised Paige kept the photos of her up.
She thought about how Seth said his stepmother threw out all the pictures of her husband’s first wife, and her respect for Paige climbed another notch.
It took a strong woman not to be intimidated by one who loved her man before her—or men in their situation.
Someone exited the bathroom, and the woman and child entered, but Shylo was absorbed in studying the photographs to notice who passed by.
Her gaze fell on a picture of a couple who appeared to be in their late forties, standing with a younger version of Shane, probably in his early twenties.
She recognized her father from the PI’s file and assumed the woman was his wife, Helen.
Stepping closer, she inspected the photo.
It was taken outside near a corral, with horses in the background.
The trio looked happy, and she felt a kick to her gut again.
Why didn’t her father want to be a part of her life? She wasn’t ashamed to admit to herself that she would’ve treasured rare visits, phone calls, birthday cards, or anything that acknowledged her existence to him other than a bank account she didn’t know about until it dried up.
Glancing down the hallway and toward the staircase, she realized she was alone. After a moment’s hesitation, she stepped toward one of the closed doors farther down and on the opposite side of the bathroom, reaching for the knob.
“Oh, hi, Shylo.”
She spun around to face Mya, hoping she didn’t look like a deer caught in headlights. “Uh. Hi. I was... um... looking for the bathroom.”
Holding a teary-eyed Ashley on her hip, the older woman smiled and pointed to her right. “It’s this door, but I think someone’s in there. If it’s an emergency, you can use the one at the top of the stairs. I cleaned Arianna’s bathroom this morning, just in case.”
On the verge of declining, she realized it gave her another opportunity to snoop. Maybe his office was upstairs. “Oh, thank you. I'd appreciate that.”
Mya stepped back, giving her room to pass, and pointed to the bottom of the staircase by the front door.
“Thanks again.” She hurried past the housekeeper.
“No problem. I just need to find Ashley’s stuffed elephant. She won’t go down for a nap without Elliot. If you see him up there, please holler.”
“I will.”
Upstairs, the doors to all the rooms were open, and it didn’t take long for her to discover that four of them were bedrooms and another was the hall bath. Two of the bedrooms were obviously Arianna’s and Ashley’s. The remaining bedrooms appeared to be guest suites. All were neat and clean.
In one unoccupied room, a stuffed gray elephant sat on the end of the bed.
Lifting it, she smiled as the clean baby scent reached her.
She adored children and hoped to have some of her own one day—but only if she could provide a safe, comfortable home without having to juggle two or three jobs to make ends meet.
She wanted to give them the kind of life she never had—a home in a good neighborhood, a big backyard to play in, and maybe even a pet or two.
Descending halfway down the staircase, she peered around the railing. “Mya? I think I found Elliot.”
The woman bustled into the foyer from the living room. “Oh, thank goodness.”
Ashley’s watery eyes lit up when she spotted the toy Shylo held out. “Ewwiot!” She snatched the elephant and snuggled it close.
“What do you say to Shylo for finding Elliot for you?”
“Tank you, Eyelo.”
Shylo laughed at her shortened name. “You’re welcome, Ashley.” Her gaze shifted to Mya. “I still have to use the bathroom.”
“Go on back up.” Mya followed her up the stairs and carried the toddler into her bedroom while Shylo stepped into the bathroom.
It was almost the size of her motel room, with a soaking tub, separate shower, double vanity, linen closet, and, behind another door, a stacked washer and dryer.
It wouldn’t be surprising if an additional laundry area was on the first floor, since the primary bedroom was down there somewhere, most likely behind one of the closed doors she’d seen.
After using the toilet and washing her hands, she went back out into the hallway.
More family photographs lined the upstairs hallway, and her jealousy bubbled up again at all the cheerful faces.
She tried to imagine herself in some photos at different stages of Shane’s life.
It was doubtful his mother would’ve been happy about the product of her husband’s affair, but would Shane have welcomed her?
Been the responsible and caring big brother she wished Troy had been when she was younger? Unfortunately, she’d never know.
Mya came out of Ashley’s room and closed the door behind her. “She’s down for the count. Thanks again for finding Elliot.”
She pointed to the open guest room door. “I just peeked inside and saw it on the bed.”
“Probably left him there while bugging her grandpa for pony rides—the real kind, not the ones on his back.”
They descended the stairs together. “It’s so cool they get to grow up with horses,” Shylo said. “I only had the plastic ones on springs at our local park.”
“Well, even though I grew up not far from here, I’ve never been on a horse and don’t plan to get on one in this lifetime. I’m afraid of heights, and that includes sitting on the back of one of those beasts.”
Seth was in the kitchen when they wandered in. “I started to think you got lost in here.”
Shylo shook her head. “Nope. First, there was a line for the bathroom, then I got distracted by all the pictures on the walls, and finally, I helped find Elliot for Ashley.” At least none of that was a lie.
“Ah. The elusive elephant that always seems to go missing right before nap time. Shane bought her an identical one as a backup, but she knows the difference and calls that one ‘bad Ewwiot.’”
“She’s a smart cookie,” Mya said with a laugh on her way out the back door. “Lord help them when she gets older.” She pointed towards the tent. “And speaking of cookies, you two go grab some desserts before they’re gone.”
As Shylo followed Seth into the late-afternoon sun, the warmth on her skin did nothing to ease the weight in her chest. The house, the photographs, the smiling faces—they represented a history tied to her by blood, a legacy that existed whether or not she acknowledged it.
But only time would tell if there was a place for her within it—or if she'd always remain an outsider looking in.