Chapter 34
CHAPTER 34
KIKI EMMERSON
I leave the restroom and walk down the street toward the tables where Skyler is. Except, when I get past the large building I see Skyler standing with Levi at a food truck. Tobias is at the table with Noah. Their backs are to me, and they don’t see me, but I can hear them talking.
“Someone called the station today,” Noah says. “They were looking for a woman matching Kiki’s description.”
I freeze. This can’t be good. I slowly back up to hide behind the building. I peek around the corner, straining to hear them.
“To make a long story short, I found out Kiki’s got a record.”
My heart stops. Noah knows about my prison time. Sweat breaks out on my forehead, and I can’t breathe.
“What kind of record?” Tobias’s words rise in pitch.
“She spent a year in prison.”
Tobias leans back in his chair and groans. “I thought she might be hiding something like that. What did she do time for?”
“Felony evading. But I don’t think it was her fault. I read the police reports. She had a terrible attorney. She never should have done time.”
Tears blur my vision. Noah’s trying to defend me. That makes me choke up.
Tobias huffs. “Why didn’t she just tell me?”
“Well, that’s not all.”
“There’s more?”
I hold my breath. Noah found out everything. He’s going to tell Tobias. Fear snakes through me as I watch, helpless to stop him.
Noah leans closer. “Her last name isn’t Anderson. It’s Emmerson. She’s Skyler’s birth mother.”
“What?!” Tobias jumps up, his white plastic chair toppling backward. He spits out a curse and my heart shatters. He hates me. Just as I knew he would.
Tears stream down my face as I turn and head in the other direction. I don’t want to see the hurt my betrayal has caused Tobias. I don’t deserve his love. I never did.
TOBIAS BARRETT
My heart pounds as I stare at Noah, shock and anger coursing through me. “Are you serious?”
Noah stands and grabs my arm. “Listen, I think there’s some extenuating circumstances here. Don’t overreact.”
“Don’t overreact? She’s Skyler’s birth mother. Are you certain of this?”
“Yes.”
“Is she here to take her?” My heart pounds as my gaze swings to where Levi and Skyler are in line for the cotton candy. Levi’s holding her hand, and she grins up at him. She’s safe. But what did I do? I let an ex-con into my home. I put my child in danger. How could I have done that?
Noah gives me a flat look. “She hasn’t taken her. She’s had many opportunities. I don’t think she’s here to do that. I think she just wanted to see her daughter.”
My thoughts race too fast for me to land on one. “Who called the station looking for her?”
“A relative.” Noah presses the folder into my hand. “Read through this. All of it. Please.”
I can barely breathe. The street spins around me. Skyler’s birth mother? I can’t wrap my brain around that. Kiki lied to me, and not some tiny white lies, either. She came to Willow Shade Island under false pretenses.
“You look like you’re going to faint. Why don’t you sit down a minute?” He sets my chair upright and gently guides me down.
Anger sweeps through me. I look to where the bathrooms are, clenching the folder so tight it bends. “Why isn’t she coming back?”
“I don’t know. Let me go find her. I think you two need to talk things out.” Noah takes off around the back of the building where the bathrooms are.
I stare after him, my jaw tight. I don’t even know who Kiki is anymore. I thought I was in love with her and that she had feelings for me. Was that all a lie, too?
My head throbs as I think about all the things I shared with her. How I trusted her. How could she betray me like that?
Noah comes back from the restroom area. “I can’t find her.”
I grind my teeth. “Where is she?”
Noah sighs. “I think she might have heard us talking. I’m guessing she’s upset.”
Fury surges through me and I stand. “I want you to find her and press charges. I want a restraining order. I don’t want her anywhere near my daughter!”
Noah scrubs a hand over his face. “Did you read those documents?”
I toss the folder onto the table. “No.”
Noah narrows his eyes at me. “She was eighteen when she got pregnant. Her parents kicked her out. She had nowhere to go, so she left town with her scummy boyfriend. He robbed a convenience store, and when the police tried to pull them over, he put a gun to her head. She gave birth in prison and gave up her baby for adoption. So, before you go pressing charges and slapping restraining orders on her, maybe take a minute to think about what you would have done in that situation.”
I stare at him, stunned. I’m so shocked I don’t even know what to say. Her boyfriend put a gun to her head? This was Skyler’s father?
Noah picks up the folder and shoves it at me. “Read it. And for heaven’s sake, don’t go off all half-cocked on the girl.”
I grab his arm. “Do you have feelings for her?”
He shakes his head. “No. I just know you. I know how you hate being lied to, and how stubborn you can be. And I know you’re in love with her.”
I can’t argue with that. But I’m too upset to think clearly. If I see Kiki right now, I’ll yell at her, and that doesn’t feel like the right thing to do. I take a step back and let go of Noah’s arm. “I need to think about things.”
“All right. Go. I’ll look for Kiki. If she overheard us, she’s probably scared you’re going to…well, do all the things you just yelled at me you wanted to do.”
I cringe. Noah’s right. I need to go cool down before I see her again or I might say something I totally regret. “I’ll go watch the parade with Skyler. When you find Kiki, text me.”
I walk away from Noah before he has a chance to reply. I’m still struggling with my anger at her lies, but a part of me feels awful for it. She went through a lot of pain.
As I walk to the street where the parade will take place, I remember her tattoo. It makes sense now. The crying phoenix for the daughter she gave up. The relative she said she was looking for. She told me her goal in life was to be a mother and that was ripped from her when she went to prison.
I take in a deep breath and let it out slowly. All her interactions with Skyler come to mind, and I see them in a new light. I see a woman, desperate to find her daughter, finally getting to hold her, and care for her. Emotion surges in me as I think about how upset she was as we watched the ships race. It wasn’t because I pressed her for details last night. It was because she was getting ready to leave the island.
I had the feeling she was going to leave, and now I’m sure. She’s leaving for good. I pull out my phone and text Noah.
I think Kiki’s trying to leave the island.
He texts me right back.
I’ll head toward the shuttle and ask around. Do you have a picture of her?
I scroll through my phone and send him the photo of her standing next to me in the basement of the church. The one where she’s holding Skyler, and it looks like we’re a family. My throat grows tight, and I have a hard time breathing.
I join Levi and Skyler standing on the street corner, waiting for the parade to start. The clouds have thickened, and it really looks like it’s going to rain now.
Skyler looks up at me. “Where’s Kiki?”
Guilt floods through me. “Noah’s trying to find her.”
Skyler’s eyebrows pull together. “Is she lost?”
My heart breaks as I stare at my daughter and realize she’s asking for her mother. “Yes,” I say without thinking.
Skyler bursts into tears and I pick her up to console her. Levi shakes his head at me. “You screwed up that bad, huh?” he whispers. “Did she leave?”
“I hope not,” I answer, and I realize I mean it. I want to talk to Kiki and straighten things out. I’m still upset and trying to cool my anger, but I don’t want her to leave. We need to talk through all of this.