Page 119 of The Lost Book of First Loves

“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.”

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