Chapter 69
After pickingup the food Vivian had ordered, I headed to the bakery. I checked my phone while waiting for the host to retrieve the cake from the back room.
My eyebrows furrowed as I read Vivian’s text. Fear overcame me. What was Ghost doing at her practice? A thought occurred to me, and I didn’t like it. Vivian had wanted me to punch him in the mouth, luring him to her dental practice. But why? What kind of surprise did she have for him? What had taken place at her office today?
A part of me wished she had told me earlier, but there was probably no time if he turned up suddenly.
I called Vivian, but her phone went to voicemail. Something awful stirred in me. I got the cake and rushed to my car.
I called Kaylee, but she didn’t answer either. Had something happened to her? I logged into the security tracker app on both the phones I’d given them. It showed Vivian was in Providence at a party store. Relief settled in me. Maybe she was shopping and didn’t hear my call. I’d call her back.
Kaylee’s location surprised me. What was she doing at the cemetery? Wasn’t the cemetery closed at this hour? Was she in trouble?
Fear gripped me as I sped to the cemetery. It was closed. I found off-street parking and hopped over the fence. Using my phone to track Kaylee, I made my way through the cemetery. It had been a long time since I’d visited this place. My mom and dad weren’t buried together. Mom had wanted her ashes sprinkled out in the sea. As for my father, I didn’t visit him as much as I should have. We had nothing to talk about, and if I visited him, all the painful memories would surface.
I spotted Kaylee in the distance, near a lamppost. She was wearing her backpack. Had she come here after Whiz Kidz? My chest tightened as an odd sensation rushed through me. Why was she standing right in front of my father’s headstone? Confusion and surprise had me pausing in my steps.
Kaylee stared at the stone. She wiped her eyes with the back of her hand. Why was she crying?
A squirrel rushed by me, and she glanced in my direction. Shock splashed onto her face. Her mouth dropped open but then closed. I approached and looked at her. Sadness swam in her eyes.
“Are you okay?” I placed a hand on her shoulder. “What’s going on?”
She turned to look at me with light brown eyes. “I just wanted to see him.”
Something quivered in my gut. “Who is he to you?”
Kaylee nodded. “He’s my father.”
Shock stiffened my spine. “Roger Holt is your father? Are you sure?”
She nodded. “Mom told me about him when I was younger. He didn’t know about me. She said she ended things before I was born. I started looking into him.” She cried and threw her arms around me.
Unsure of what to do. I held her as she released the pressure. I had so many questions. Was Kaylee my half-sister? I didn’t remember Dad bringing a girlfriend home. But I was hardly home.
A memory sparked in me. I had seen my father with an Asian woman when I was at Pam’s Diner. Men who looked like Triad members retrieved her. Was she Kaylee’s mom? Had she also been part of The Triad?
After a moment, Kaylee sniffled and drew back, and embarrassment flushed her face. “Sorry.”
“It’s okay. How did you get here?”
“The bus.”
“Did you go to Whiz Kidz today?”
She shook her head. This wasn’t like the Kaylee I knew.
“Why do you look so sad, Kaylee? Tell me.” I brushed a hand down her hair.
“I don’t know,” she pouted, looking at her shoes.
“Yes, you do. You can tell me. Don’t you trust me?” I wiggled my pinky, reminding her of our pinky promise, which I hadn’t broken.
She sighed. “I didn’t realize how sad my life was until I spent time with Aimee and her family. She has parents who love her, who always loved her.” Tears brimmed in her eyes. “I don’t have a family.”
“Yes, you do. Vivian loves you.”
“But she’s just my guardian. How long will that last?”
Vivian should’ve had the surprise party sooner.
“Maybe I’ll be living with a new guardian next year,” she said, looking like the saddest kid I’d ever met.
“You’re not going anywhere. You’re staying with us. Understand me?” I choked, unsure of how to tell her she was my half-sister. I never imagined having a sibling. But it made sense now. There was a special bond early on between us.
I looked at my dad’s headstone, wondering how he’d feel if he knew he had a daughter.
“I heard you call, but I didn’t pick up. Sorry.”
“Want to talk about what’s bothering you? It’ll help.”
She nodded.
“Let’s talk in the car. It’s getting dark out here. Kinda spooky. If a bony hand creeps through the soil, you’re on your own, kid.” I clasped her hand.
Smiling, she followed me to the car.
Inside the car, Kaylee explained she felt sad because she didn’t get to know her parents as much as she’d have liked. Seeing Aimee’s joyful family questioned her sense of belonging—her identity. Kaylee didn’t even know her father.
I learned that her mom’s name was Angela Leung. Angela never informed my dad about the pregnancy. Her family was also involved in The Triad, but she had moved away from her family to start a new life, just like Vivian’s mom. They had been good friends, which was why Vivian didn’t hesitate to take Kaylee in.
“How long have you been researching about your father?”
“For a while now. But something broke me this week.” She shrugged. “I’m just moody, I guess.”
“What did you want to know about him?” I studied her.
I could see his high cheekbones on her now.
There was so much I could tell her. But I didn’t want to be the jerk to smear the image she had of him. Maybe when she grew up, I’d share my past with her. Perhaps then she’d understand things more.
What she needed right now was love, acceptance, and a place to belong. She belonged with me, just as Vivian belonged with me. One was my sister; the other was the woman I love. Warmth spread all over me. I had gone from a man living alone to having a family member and a woman I couldn’t live without.
“I don’t know,” she said. “I saw a few pictures of him online, but I’m not sure if it was him. Was he a good man? What was his favorite color? Did he have other kids?” She shrugged. “Things like that.”
I stared at her for a while, trying to figure out the best way to share the news with her. Maybe I was overthinking this.
“Wanna know something?”
“What?”
“Did you ever notice that my last name is also Holt?”
“I did, but a lot of people have the same last name. Besides, you’re a rich guy. I don’t think my dad was rich.”
I smiled at the brilliant girl, whose logic was clouded by unstable emotions.
She looked at me for a moment. “So . . . do you know him?”
Ah, the brilliant mind returns.
“He’s my father too.”