Chapter 11 Chance #2
She looked the same as ever. Hair pulled back, subtle earth tones, eyes bright and unreadable. She wore a fitted jacket over field clothes, and her boots still had traces of damp along the treads. She scanned the bakery in a heartbeat, not nervous exactly, just alert.
Her gaze landed on me, and her whole body tensed.
"Hey," I said gently. "Come on back."
She nodded, lips pressed tightly closed, and let me lead her into the office. Up close, I could see the strain around her mouth. Even with the exhaustion in her eyes, she was beautiful in a way that hit too deep, the kind that made my chest feel unsteady.
I shut the door. No one else would come in, but I needed a barrier between us and the whole damn world.
She stayed standing, hands in her jacket pockets, and waited.
I didn't waste time. "I know who the twins are. The second I saw them, I knew. You don't have to explain."
She went pale. "How?"
I dropped into the chair, rooting around the top drawer. My hand hit the envelope of pictures I'd printed yesterday. I slid the picture across the desk, face up.
"My mother," I said. "She confessed to paying you off after I spotted you three at the parade. I told her about the girls, and she finally told me everything."
Tash stared at the photo. Her eyes went glassy behind her lashes.
There was Mom, age around sixteen, hair wild down her back, a stubborn set to her jaw. The resemblance was uncanny. It shone through even though the shot was faded and almost sepia.
"Wow," she breathed.
Tash touched the edge of the photo with shaking fingers. She dug her phone out and snapped a picture, then clutched the phone to her chest.
I gripped the desk, fighting off a surge of heat under my skin. "You know what pisses me off?" I said, teeth clenched. "I missed sixteen years of their lives, not to mention the nearly year you were pregnant. Every damn day. Because nobody told me, I don't even know both of their names."
She shut her eyes and let out a trembling breath. "Fiona and Meredith. I tried to find you. I swear. I told your mother because I couldn't find you anywhere. I didn't know where you went to college, what you were studying, if you even stayed in Tennessee."
I blinked. "You truly didn't know? All this time?"
She shook her head. "Nobody knew. I asked around, tried to get your last name from people at the party.
Finally tracked down someone who remembered your last name, but by then, your mom said you'd moved away for school.
I asked her to give me your number. She said you didn't need the stress.
She said you couldn't have kids, that you were infertile, that I shouldn't upset you with something impossible. "
Her hands fisted around her phone. The tears weren't falling yet, but her eyes glittered.
"She gave me a check," Tash whispered, "told me I'd be better off. I didn't touch the money for a year. I only use it now to pay the income taxes on it. The rest is in a portfolio, saved for the girls. For college or emergencies. I kept every cent. I wanted to bring them to you instead."
I pressed my knuckles to my lips, furious and helpless all at once.
"What else could you have done?" I asked, desperate to rewind time somehow. "How'd you even keep looking?"
She set the phone down and braced both palms on the desk.
"I came back, even though I'd signed that stupid paper of your mother's.
I came to Laurel Gap after the twins were born.
Drove straight to your old house, where I'd talked to your mother.
It was boarded up. No sign of anyone. No mail, no neighbors who remembered anything.
I tried the internet. Years of it. Social media, alumni sites, even the white pages. Nothing. It's like you never existed."
Caden howled at the reminder. I didn't blame her. After hunters killed my father and uncle, my family became obsessed about erasing ourselves. Mom switched houses every few years, always under shell companies, always paying in cash. Even utilities got run through dummy names.
I tried to explain. "It's not you, it's us. We move around. We keep a low profile."
She gave me a sharp look. "Why?"
The truth wanted out so bad I tasted copper.
Not safe. Hunters. People who would slaughter us just for breathing.
But I couldn't drop that bomb on Tash, not with her already brittle at the edges. Not with the dragon in her kid so close to waking.
Our kid.
I shrugged, low and bitter. "Old family paranoia. My mom… after Dad was killed, she became intense about privacy. She always said if someone wanted to find us, it'd only bring trouble. Is Fiona the redhead, or Meredith?"
"She goes by Fifi, and she has auburn hair, yes. Meredith likes to be called Mere."
I scrubbed a hand over my face, feeling every year I'd missed.
"I'm sorry. I'm not mad at you, I swear. I just can't stop thinking about all the time we’ve lost. And while I'm furious with Mom for not telling me, it really was a one in a million chance. People in my family have fertility issues."
She fidgeted with her phone, gaze darting away. "It's not your fault, but it's not mine either."
I swallowed hard. "I need to meet them. Please."
Her chin jerked up. "It's their call, Chance. They're old enough to decide. You can't make this simple by muscling through."
God, I wanted to. Every cell in me screamed for it.
Tell her about our spark.
I tried to say it gently. "About Fiona. If anything strange happens, if she says things you don't expect, don't… don't ignore it."
Tash's eyes flared. "She's struggling with some mental health stuff. That's why we moved here. You think it'll get worse? Is it a problem in your family?"
I couldn't answer. Not fully. Not without risking everything.
"It can be. If you need help, I'm always here. No matter what."
Her shoulders shook. She wiped her eyes, furious at herself for letting it show. "I'll talk to them. But you have to go slow. Mere is protective. Fifi is complicated."
I stood up, rounding the desk so we were even. I didn't reach for her. I didn't want to crowd her, not now. But I wanted her to see that this was real for me, and not just some obligation. "I don't know how to make it right, but I want to try."
Her lips twisted, a sad little smile that broke my heart all over again. "That would mean a lot. I'll let you know if they want to meet."
She turned to leave, but then she stopped, hand on the doorknob, body rigid. I took one step toward her before I could stop myself, drawn to her like gravity had suddenly picked sides. "Did you ever… think about me?"
The words were so quiet I nearly missed them. The question struck deeper than she knew, because the truth was I'd never forgotten the way she'd looked at me that night, like I was something she wanted just as badly.
"All the time. Not a week went by, and I searched, too, but I only knew your first name."
She gave one last nod, as if that settled things.
Then she was gone, footsteps retreating down the hallway to the side door, out into the mountain sun.
I shut the office door, dizzy and gutted. Caden raged and mourned in equal measure.
Sixteen years. Seventeen from the moment I’d accidentally impregnated Tash, but the twins were sixteen.
I couldn't get back even a single day.
But now, I'd do almost anything to have them going forward.