Chapter 10 Eve #2
Why wouldn’t there be a name? People didn’t just disappear from public record like that unless someone went to great lengths to erase them.
She wondered if she could access death records somehow. Public records. Archives.
“Eve?”
Eve jumped, her hand flying to her chest.
Mia stood in the doorway between their rooms, wrapped in a soft robe, her hair loose around her shoulders.
Eve smiled and closed the laptop. “Hi. Can’t sleep?”
“No.” Mia shook her head.
Eve scooted over on the bed, making room. “Come here.”
Mia climbed onto the bed and settled beside her, pulling her knees up to her chest. “I keep thinking about that dream I had last night.”
“Want to talk about it?” Eve asked. She’d meant to ask about it all day but hadn’t found the right moment.
Mia was quiet for a long moment, her gaze distant. “I was flying through the air. Like I’d been thrown or launched. And I was calling for my father.”
Eve’s chest tightened. “Could you see his face?”
“No,” Mia said softly. “I couldn’t see him at all. Just heard my own voice calling ‘Daddy’ over and over.”
“Do you remember anything else about him?” Eve asked carefully. “From when you were younger?”
Mia shook her head. “Nothing. It’s like he’s just... blank. A space where a person should be.”
“What about the man who came for you on the bike?” Eve asked. “In the dream?”
“I don’t know,” Mia said. “I can’t see his face either. Just the feeling of being scared and Tyson barking.”
“Tyson?”
Mia’s eyes widened slightly. “The dog. I had a Cane Corso named Tyson.” She looked at Eve with something like wonder.
“I’d completely forgotten about him until just now.
He was huge and protective, and I loved him so much.
” Her expression fell. “I was very upset when I had to leave him behind. He couldn’t come with us when we left.
” She frowned, her brow furrowing. Then her eyes widened. “Mom gave him to William.”
Eve’s pulse quickened. “So your mother knew William from St. Augustine?”
Mia nodded slowly. “I think so. Although I’m not sure. Mom never said.”
“Why didn’t you ever ask your mother about your father?” Eve asked gently.
“I did,” Mia said. “Numerous times. But she always just said that sometimes families separate.” She looked at Eve with questions in her eyes. “Did Mom ever talk to you about my father?”
“No,” Eve admitted. “I asked a few times over the years, but she always changed the subject.” She paused. “I wonder why she didn’t even keep pictures of him.”
“I don’t know,” Mia said. “I don’t know his name…
I can’t remember it.” Her eyes clouded. “I don’t even have his last name, and he’s not even on my birth certificate.
It’s like he just vanished into thin air or never existed at all.
” Her eyes widened with sudden alarm. “Do you think that’s why she doesn’t talk about him?
” The alarm grew. “Oh my word. What if Mom was never married and I’m a child that—”
“No way,” Eve cut her off firmly. “No. Your mother assured me that your father left you, and I think William has said that once or twice as well when I’ve asked him if he knew who your father was. He would just say...”
“Not someone Mary ever wanted to discuss,” Mia finished with her.
Eve looked at her with raised eyebrows. “Ah, so you asked William as well.”
“Guilty,” Mia admitted. “When we went to England that first time, I noticed my father’s name wasn’t on the birth certificate. When I got back, I asked William since he’s known us the longest.”
“And he gave you that answer,” Eve guessed.
Mia nodded.
Eve steered back to safer ground. “About your dream. You said it was just before your eighth birthday?”
“Yes,” Mia said. “And I’m sure it’s a memory and not a dream.
Although...” She frowned. “I’m not sure about the man from the trees.
I can remember the bike and Tyson...” She looked at Eve.
“I’m not sure about the man who popped out of the trees, though.
I think that might be some deep-rooted fear or insecurity I had because if it did happen, I’m sure I would’ve carried it with me. ”
Eve nodded, but her mind was racing.
What Mia said made sense. The bad part could be a dream. An insecurity about someone trying to take her away from her father. That would make sense given that her father did leave, and to her younger self, she probably thought he was taken from her. A mechanism to cope with him leaving.
Or someone had convinced her it didn’t happen. Just like someone had taken away her memories of her life in St. Augustine.
There was one person who could answer these questions.
But he was proving dodgy ever since she’d mentioned seeing his house.
“Eve...” Mia said softly. “Thank you for today and for looking after Lila. I’m a terrible parent. I can’t believe I spent the whole day with a stranger learning photography.”
“Oh no, I can assure you Lila thinks you’re the best mom ever,” Eve said warmly. “And so do I. We’re both so glad you met Nolan, and you take as much time as you need to learn photography.”
“Thank you,” Mia said, leaning over to kiss Eve’s cheek and give her a hug. “We’re so lucky to have you in our lives.”
“That works both ways, honey,” Eve assured her.
Mia stifled a yawn. “Mmm, now I’m getting sleepy. Thank you for listening.”
“Anytime, sweetheart,” Eve said, watching as Mia climbed off the bed and padded toward the adjoining door.
“Goodnight,” Mia said softly.
“Goodnight.”
When Mia had gone, Eve set her laptop aside and went to her purse. She pulled out a small notepad and pen, the kind she kept for jotting down patient notes, grocery lists, or anything else that needed remembering.
She opened to a fresh page and started writing.
Questions about William. About the nephew with no name. About the phone call and who he’d been reassuring. About Circle Pond and what she might find there.
About Mary and why she’d erased her ex-husband so completely from their lives.
About Mia’s dream and whether the man in the trees was real or imagined.
When she’d filled two pages with notes and questions, she flipped back to the first page and wrote at the top:
TO DO: Go to Circle Pond
She underlined it twice.
It might be a long shot, but it was a start.
If William wouldn’t help her, and she now knew he wouldn’t for whatever reason, Eve would do this on her own.
Excitement swooshed through her, surprising in its intensity. She did love mysteries, and now she was living one. An amateur sleuth.
She smiled as she set the notepad on the nightstand and slipped back into bed.
She reached over to switch off the bedside lamp, her eyes scanning the top of the to-do list one more time.
Go to Circle Pond.
Tomorrow. She’d start tomorrow.
Eve settled into the pillows and closed her eyes.
As she drifted off to sleep, a face appeared in her mind. Not William’s. Not Mia’s or Lila’s.
Dark hair threaded with silver. Eyes that shifted between hazel and green depending on the light. Strong hands that had caught her before she could fall.
David Lawson.
Eve’s last conscious thought before sleep claimed her was that tomorrow she’d investigate Circle Pond.
And maybe, just maybe, she’d run into David again.
The thought made her smile as darkness pulled her under.