Chapter 10
CHAPTER
TEN
Emelia
It’s late, but I can’t sleep. If I were still in Boston, there would be lots of options, lots of places to go until the pull of sleep hits. But since I’m in Echo Lake, some wine, a blanket, and stargazing are as good as it’s going to get.
When I’m done pouring the wine into my glass, I put the bottle back in the small fridge, grab a blanket off the corner of the small loveseat, and head outside.
The grass is cool under my bare feet as I make my way toward the dock where two loungers and two Adirondack chairs sit at opposite ends, facing the lake.
They look as good a place as any to wallow.
I’ve been all up in my head since yesterday. First, the phone call from my doctor, then the realization that I’d missed something important in the development proposal. And, of course, it was Elliott who shone a spotlight on my oversight, in front of the whole town at that.
My steps are quiet as I reach the end of the dock.
“Holy hell!” I yelp, finding Elliott on the chair I was about to sit in.
Elliott lies there in a long-sleeved Henley and jeans, barefoot, with a bottle of beer resting on his abdomen. His gaze flicks my way, but he doesn’t move his head to look me in the eye.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t know you were out here. I’ll leave.” I shift to turn around, ready to scurry off like a rabbit.
“Sit.”
I bristle at the sound of a command in his tone. “It’s fine.”
“Emelia, have a seat.” He gestures to the lounger to his left. There’s a hint of annoyance, and I want to just tell him off.
Rather than arguing, I walk over to the lounger and sink into the chair.
Neither of us says a word. The soft sound of the water lapping at the shore surrounds us.
It takes a few minutes, but eventually I relax. The wine helps in that regard. Closing my eyes, I attempt to let the stress of the day slide away.
The call from the doctor was certainly a surprise, but I’m not that worried.
Maybe it’s because I feel fine, certainly less fatigued since I arrived in Echo Lake.
Perhaps I should be more worried about the test results, but what’s bothering me most is the question about my maternal health history.
Though it would be nice to have that information, that’s not why it’s on my mind.
I want to know more about my biological mom. About where I come from. About this half of me that I’ve never had any connection to. That, at times, even though I’ve never admitted it to anyone, has left me feeling adrift and like I don’t fully belong anywhere.
Elliott’s deep voice pulls me from my thoughts.
“Thanks for doing Baylor’s hair the other morning.” His voice is reluctant, as though the words cost him something.
“You’re welcome.”
“I’ll make sure Baylor is not knocking on your door every morning looking for more of the same.”
I shrug. “I don’t mind.”
“She shouldn’t be harassing the guests. She knows that.”
I look over as he takes a pull from his beer. There’s enough of a moon tonight that I track the way his Adam’s apple bobs when he swallows. I’m quick to look away because the sight of it stirs something in me I don’t want to feel toward this man.
“Whatever you prefer.”
I really don’t mind helping Baylor with her hair.
Though I don’t know the details, I’m pretty sure at this point that Baylor doesn’t have a mother in her life.
Though my situation was different—when I was sent to live with my dad, he had Molly, which meant I had a new mom—my heart goes out to the little girl.
We’re both quiet again, so I take a sip of my wine, enjoying the sensation of the sharp edges of my thoughts becoming a little duller.
I finally met Elliott’s uncle, who rented me the bunkie, in town this week.
I don’t really know the dynamic between them, but I gather that Roy must be a kind of father figure to Elliott for one reason or another.
He was a nice man—warm, conversational, not quick to judge.
It makes me question how the two of them can possibly be related.
“I used to think it didn’t matter that much that Baylor doesn’t have a mother in her life, but her starting school seems to have put a spotlight on the gaps that were hiding in the shadows. My inability to do her hair being just one of them.”
He offers no explanation as to why Baylor’s mother isn’t around, and I don’t ask. It’s none of my business.
“I told her most guys can’t do hair because of their big hands, so your reputation as number one dad is still intact.”
His low chuckle echoes across the lake, and I turn my head in his direction. He’s already looking at me. I can’t make out his deep-blue eyes in the darkness, but the intensity of his gaze tells me he’s thinking about something really hard right now.
“I wasn’t trying to get one over on you with my question about the verbiage in your proposal last night.”
Is this a guilt confession? From the Elliott Mercer?
“Okay.”
“I mean it.”
“Okay.”
He blows out a breath and takes another pull from his beer.
“Look at it from my perspective. You roll into town with all these great promises of how this development is going to boost our community. Do you think other small towns like ours haven’t heard the same before, only to be completely taken over by developers who decide it’s the next up-and-coming hot spot?
Either for people who want to escape the city on the weekends or to build a new sleeper community?
Inevitably, what ends up happening is the original residents get mostly pushed out, and it becomes a cookie-cutter version of every other small town that’s been bulldozed. ”
“Like I said at the meeting, my firm has no interest in doing anything like that.” I bring my knees up to my chest, securing the blanket tighter.
“Development firms generally have an interest in making money.”
I put up my hand. “Look, I understand why you’re wary, but just know that I would never stand up in front of an entire town and lie to them. You have my word.”
His eyes remain on me for a beat until I fidget with my wineglass. “Is your word worth something?”
Somehow, I hold back my irritation. “It’s worth everything.”
Elliott nods reluctantly. “Guess we’ll see.”
“Guess so.”
I pull the blanket off my lap and stand, having had enough. He says nothing as I make my way back down the dock. When I reach the bottom, I turn around. “Elliott, send Baylor anytime to get her hair done. I really don’t mind.”
He leans over the side of the lounger to look at me, presses his lips together, and nods.
That’s as good as I’m going to get out of him, so I turn and make my way back to the bunkie.
Once I’m inside, I sit on the bed with my laptop and pull up a search engine, then start typing.
Tanya Eaton.
I stare at my biological mother’s name, cursor flashing beside the last letter like a warning. If you do this, there is no turning back.
Guilt pulls me under like quicksand. My dad and Molly are everything to me, and I don’t want them to think I’m ungrateful for the unconditional love they’ve given me my entire life. My chest grows tight, and I can’t breathe. I backspace until her name is no longer on the screen and shut my laptop.
I’ve gone my entire life without knowing anything about her. I was raised by two parents who loved me and would do anything for me, with a huge extended family who never made me feel as if I was only half theirs.
What kind of daughter does it make me for wanting to know more about her?