Chapter 40
Juniper
“I don’t think it’s here. We’ve gone through every single box twice. I’m sorry, June.”
She sighed, looking from Beck to the box of documents she had finished going through. They had been at it for three hours
and had combed through every single remaining box in the storage room of the cabin.
In none of those boxes had they found anything resembling a lost manuscript.
“Where could it be?” she asked, knowing he couldn’t know the answer to that any more than she did.
“I hate to bring this up again, but I keep thinking maybe he burned it. If he hated the final version so much that it was
never published, I can easily see him doing that.”
She was beginning to suspect he might be right.
“What a terrible waste that would be,” she said. “As if Da Vinci decided to torch one of his few masterpieces.”
“Like many creators, I think, Carson could be his own worst critic.”
The man was certainly complicated. Arrogant one moment, filled with self-doubt the next. She knew that from reading his journals.
“Thank you for helping me look.”
“If I think of anywhere else he might have stored it, I’ll let you know.”
She nodded and returned the lid to the box.
“How are you doing with everything?” Beck asked as they carried the boxes back to the closet where they had been stored.
“I’m thinking I might go back to Seattle this week.”
It was a decision she had made in the middle of another sleepless night. This interval at The Painted Sky had been a reprieve
from her real life, but it was time she returned to some measure of normalcy.
She also knew if she stayed in Bridger Peak much longer, she was in grave danger of falling for Beckett Hunter.
“What’s the rush?” he asked in surprise. “I thought you were planning to stay for another few weeks.”
“For some reason, I was more comfortable staying in the cabin before I knew there was any possibility I might be Carson’s...
Carson’s daughter. I know it doesn’t make sense, but now I feel like I don’t belong here.”
“You do,” he assured her. “You completely do. And as a retired attorney, I feel I should advise you to seek legal counsel.
You legitimately might have some claim on his estate.”
She stared, horrified. “I don’t want any part of his estate! I don’t need it and I don’t want it.”
She didn’t want to point out that thanks to her substantial stock in Move Inc, she could probably buy and sell Carson’s entire
estate several times over.
“I had no relationship with the man. If I am his daughter, it’s by blood only. I am willing to put into writing that I don’t
want a penny of his. You can be my witness.”
“Duly noted,” he said, a warm light in his eyes that made her feel slightly lightheaded.
He almost looked as if he wanted to kiss her again. He even leaned forward slightly, but a knock on the front door made both
of them freeze.
She was relieved at the interruption, she told herself as she went to answer the door. She couldn’t let him kiss her again,
as much as she might long for it.
When she found Alison standing on the porch, all of June’s conflicting emotions rushed back.
Was this woman her sister? She found the idea of a connection between them both overwhelming and tantalizing.
Ali wore a tentative smile. “Hi. I brought those DNA tests.”
“Come in.”
She did and spied Beck standing in the kitchen. “Oh! Hey, Beck. I’ve got your tent back at the house. Thanks so much for the
loan. I didn’t realize you were here or I would have brought it over with me.”
“You can drop it off whenever. I walked over here, so if you had brought it, I would have to carry it home through the woods.
How was your wilderness adventure?”
Something almost haunted flashed across Ali’s expression, but she seemed to quickly cover it.
“We had a great time. It’s always so pretty up there. I forget every time.”
“That’s funny. Yesterday we went to Grand Teton National Park and I said almost exactly the same thing.”
“You went into the park?” she said with interest. “Was it completely packed with tourists? I love Yellowstone and the Tetons,
but I try to only visit in the shoulder seasons.”
“It was pretty busy, but I had a table to deliver in Jackson. June was kind enough to come with me.”
“Was she?” Ali’s gaze shifted between the two of them in a speculative way that left June uncomfortable.
“I’ve always wanted to see it,” she said. “I have to say, it did not disappoint.”
“Oh, good.”
“Did you see any bears on your trip?” June asked. “I kept an eye out while we were in the national park yesterday, but we
didn’t see any.”
“They can be scarce and hard to find this time of year. We saw one bear and some cubs, but they were pretty far away from
the trail. We did see a bunch of elk and a couple of really big moose. Xander managed to get some good footage of them.”
“Is he making a video of your trip?” Beck asked.
“Yes. But don’t worry. He’ll keep our exact location under wraps. He’s only going to say it’s a mountain lake somewhere in
Wyoming. We can’t have the area being overrun with content creators, right?”
She held out a bag. “Here are those DNA tests. I thought you might feel more confident about them if you mail them away yourself.”
“I trust you,” she said.
She felt awkward spitting into a tube, but at least Alison looked just as awkward with her own test.
“As an impartial observer, I can drop them in the mail tomorrow,” Beckett offered, after they had each sealed their respective
envelopes.
“Thanks, Beck,” Ali said, handing them over to him.
“The other reason I’m here,” she went on, “is that Grandma invited you to have dinner with us again tonight. She feels like
a poor host and worries she’s been neglecting you since you arrived.”
“She hasn’t at all,” June assured her. “She’s been nothing but kind.”
“I haven’t told her anything about the DNA connection yet, in case you were wondering. I thought you should know first. Now
I wonder if you want to wait to tell her until we get these results back.”
June glanced at Beck for advice, but he only shrugged.
“What if we find out the initial results were wrong? I would hate to put your grandmother through all that drama for nothing.”
“I know they’re not wrong. But okay. We can wait. If keeping everything a secret from her would make dinner too awkward, I
can tell Grandma you had other plans.”
Grandma. Was it possible Loretta was hers? June had never known any of her grandparents.
A sudden fierce yearning seemed to blossom out of nowhere. She already liked Loretta and would love having her for a grandmother.
She cleared sudden emotion out of her throat. “I’m sure it won’t be too awkward. I would be happy to come to dinner. Thank
you for the invitation.”
Alison brightened. “Great. And you know you’re always invited to dinner at our place, Beck. She would love to have you, too.
The more, the merrier, Grandma always says.”
He looked undecided until June sent him a pleading look. Everything felt easier when Beck was there, offering his quiet strength
and support.
“Dinner would be good. Thanks. What time?”
“An hour or so, maybe? It’s ready whenever. She’s making marinated shrimp and vegetable skewers over brown rice. She only
has to throw the skewers on the grill whenever we get there.”
“Sounds delicious,” Beck said. “I need to finish helping June clean up our mess first. I don’t want to leave her to put all
these back on her own.”
Alison looked at the remaining boxes stacked in the living area. “You’ve been looking for the lost manuscript again. Any luck?”
June refused to give up, despite their disappointing search. “Not yet.”
Alison stayed long enough to join them in carrying the boxes back to the storeroom, then headed for the ranch house to help
her grandmother with dinner preparations.
“I’ll take Hank home and clean up a little,” Beck said. “I can pick you up in an hour, if you’d like.”
From her perspective, he didn’t need to clean up at all. He was devastating enough.
Her stupid, stupid heart.
“I think I would like to walk. Thank you, though.”
He nodded and headed for the door. Before leaving, he turned around one last time. “I really am sorry we didn’t find the manuscript,
Junie. I know it would have meant a lot to you.”
He left before she could answer—but not before she felt a pang at the nickname only her mother had ever called her.
After taking a quick shower and changing into a nicer outfit than the one she had worn to sort through dusty boxes, she quickly
threw together a fruit salad from some of the items she had on hand and then headed through the aspen and pine toward the
ranch house.
Alison opened the door only seconds after June rang the doorbell. “You didn’t have to bring anything!” she said when she saw
the bowl in June’s hands.
“It’s only a fruit salad. Not much.”
“Well, thank you. That was sweet of you. Come in. Beckett’s not with you?”
“Um, no. He took his dog home and said he would be here soon.”
“He’s such a sweetheart, isn’t he?”
“Yes. He’s been very kind to me.”
Alison studied her. “Do you know what happened to his wife?” she asked after a pause, as if she had been debating whether
to say anything.
“Yes. We talked about it.”
Alison looked surprised. “Did he? He must really like you. He doesn’t tell many people. I don’t think there are very many
people in town who even know.”
She was both unsettled and flattered that he had discussed his wife with her. She remembered that heated kiss and could feel
herself flush.
“Shall I take this into the kitchen?” she asked, eager to change the subject.
“Sure,” Ali said and led the way down the hall.
They found Loretta at the stove, wearing an apron over jeans and a tidy yellow blouse. To June’s astonishment, the older woman
dried her hands and wrapped her in a hug.
“Juniper, my dear. You are looking wonderful, may I say? You have more color in your cheeks. I love to see it.”
Loretta’s kindness touched her deeply, especially when the other woman had no idea they might be connected. She was being kind simply because it was her nature.
“Thank you.” She smiled and handed her the fruit salad.
“That’s so nice, but you really didn’t need to bring anything.”
Loretta opened the refrigerator and set the bowl inside.
“I’m actually making some dessert crepes now. I cut up some strawberries for them, but now people can add your fruit to them,
too. Delicious!”
“Yum,” June said.
“I’ve been trying to think of heart-friendly things for you. I’ve got a Mediterranean feta cheese salad I found in a heart-healthy
recipe book and I’ve got shrimp and summer squash marinating in olive oil with a tiny bit of low-sodium soy sauce and honey.”
June wanted to hug the woman again for being so conscious of her new dietary concerns. “Oh, that’s so kind of you. Thank you
for thinking of me.”
“Of course. It’s really nothing. We should all be eating healthier.”
“I always thought my diet was fairly healthy, but in my case, it wouldn’t have made a difference. My heart condition is apparently
congenital, not related to lifestyle at all. I just didn’t know about it until my cardiac event.”
“What is it that you have again? I’m not sure Alison ever told me what it’s called.”
“CPVT, which stands for a mouthful of a name, catecholaminergic polymorphic ventricular tachycardia. Basically, it’s an abnormal
heart rhythm. It’s a genetic condition. Very rare.”
Loretta looked up from pouring more crepe batter into a small frying pan with an arrested expression. “That is so odd. You’re
the second person I know with that condition. I have a great-niece who was diagnosed with it when she was a young girl.”
“Who’s that?” Ali asked as she snagged a green olive out of a bowl on the counter.
“My brother’s granddaughter. Jennie. She lives in Montana. Do you remember when we drove up for her wedding while you were
in high school?”
“Oh, yeah. That was a fun barn wedding. Lots of burlap and jute decorations and line dancing.”
“She’s a darling girl. She recently had her second baby.”
“Did she?” June stared. “I wasn’t aware someone with CVPT could bear children.”
“Doctors watched her very closely through the pregnancies, but she did fine.” Loretta shook her head. “How funny that I know
two people with the same rare genetic condition. I wonder if we’re related somehow.”
She said the words with a smile as she took out the crepe after less than a minute and poured more batter in the pan.
Alison exchanged a look with June, a question in her expression that June interpreted easily. She wanted to say something
about the DNA results to her grandmother, but she wanted June’s permission first.
June didn’t know what was the right decision. In light of Alison’s unshakable conviction, her own doubts about her paternity
were beginning to fade.
After a pause, she made a go-ahead gesture and shrugged slightly.
Ali waited until her grandmother had taken the next crepe out of the frying pan before she stepped forward and put a hand
on her grandmother’s arm.
“Grandma. I need to tell you something. June and I had talked about waiting until we knew for sure, but I don’t feel right
about keeping it from you. If we don’t tell you, you’ll be the only one at dinner who doesn’t know. That hardly seems fair.”
“Tell me what?” Loretta turned off the stove with a wary expression.
Alison looked at June again, then grasped her grandmother’s hands in both of hers.
“Do you remember when I took that DNA test after Dad died?”
Loretta’s brow furrowed with confusion. “Oh! I had forgotten all about that. Did you find out anything interesting?”
“You could say that.” Alison cleared her throat. “I found out I was closely related to another person who had taken a test
through the same site. Someone with whom I share a substantial number of DNA markers.”
“Is that right?”
“According to the results, this person is a close relative like a sibling.”
“Half sibling,” June murmured.
Loretta frowned at Alison. “What are you talking about? You’re an only child.”
Alison hesitated while June fought the urge to slip out of the kitchen and rush back to the safety of the cabin.
“Apparently, I’m not. The shared DNA is on Dad’s side. Your side. I did some investigating and found the match was living
in Seattle.”
Loretta clearly wasn’t slow to infer the truth from her granddaughter’s words. She gazed at Alison and then at June.
“You?” Her voice wobbled with shock.
“We still don’t know for sure,” June said quickly. “We both took a repeat DNA test today and it’s being sent to a lab for
confirmation.”
“Juniper needs confirmation. I don’t,” Ali said. “Her mom obviously knew Dad as she had a copy of Purgatory River that was personally signed to her. We know that much, but there’s a lot more we don’t know. We probably never will, since
they’re both gone. But I am a hundred percent convinced June is my half sister.”
She squeezed her grandmother’s hands. “That also makes her your granddaughter.”
Loretta stared at them both, myriad emotions crossing her expression, then she suddenly burst into tears. She reached for June, hugging her tightly.
“We still don’t know for sure,” she said feebly.
Loretta leaned away from her, expression intense as she studied her. “Oh, my dear. It must be true. You have my son’s eyes.
I don’t know why I didn’t see it before.”
She hugged her again, a small sob of happiness bursting out of her as the doorbell rang.
While Ali ran to let in Beck, Loretta peppered her with questions that June had no idea how to answer. She was saved by the
two others entering the kitchen.
Beck froze in the doorway, obviously picking up on the waves of emotion roiling through the room.
“I’m interrupting.”
“Not at all. I just found out I have another granddaughter!”
Loretta sounded giddy and stunned and emotional at the same time. She hugged June again and then, for good measure, she hugged
Beck.
“Did you know about this, young man?” she asked through her tears.
He looked distinctly uncomfortable. “Yes. Ali confided in me after she found out about the test results and started looking
for June.”
“I wish you had told me. But isn’t it wonderful news?”
He slanted a sideways look at June. “It’s wonderful if it turns out to be true. I understand why Juniper wants to be certain
before she becomes any more embroiled in all of our lives.”
Oh, it was far, far too late for that.
She thought of her deep relief when he had walked in and how she had wanted to fling herself into his arms, to hold on tight
as she felt like her world was spiraling around her.
She was entangled in all of their lives, whether she liked it or not.