Page 25 of A Package Deal

Maybe he’s here to support Rosemarie?Since Stella’s passing, the two of them were almost inseparable. Nelie ignored the grapevine’s rumor that they were sweet on each other. If her dad was happy, she didn’t care. Gus’s happiness was all she’d ever wanted.

“Oh, wow! Full house,” Nelie said, sitting next to her dad.

“And me!” Nelie’s head whipped toward the sound. A laptop sat on the nearby counter and Emily’s face filled the screen. She looked tired and worried, just like Jackson did.

“Coffee?” Mrs. Hart held the pot above a cup and Nelie smiled and nodded. “Help yourself to some cookies, too.” She was full, but she couldn’t saynoto Mrs. Hart’s oatmeal, peanut butter, chocolate chip cookies, her and Gus’s favorite. Besides, she’d left her cookie with Chet. Nelie handed one to Gus, but he shook his head. “No cookie and no coffee? Are you ill?” she teased.

“I’m fine, Nelie-girl. Don’t worry about me.” He patted her hand, and she gave him the side-eye.Why is he acting weird?The table was quiet as Nelie broke her cookie into smaller pieces, waiting for someone to say something. The three older people stared and nodded their heads toward each other as if sayingyou go first. Pris and Jackson looked as confused as Nelie felt. Jackson took a hearty bite of his cookie. Gus fiddled with his empty coffee mug.

“Umm, how’s Nate?” Nelie asked Jackson, breaking the silence. He looked like a desperate man with no solutions.

“Okay, for now, but we haven’t found a match,” he said.

“Do you need to use the Galley? I’ll do anything I can to help.”

“Would you?” Emily asked.

“Of course,” Nelie said, turning toward the laptop behind her.

“It’s a long shot, but—”

“We don’t need the Galley, not yet,” Mrs. Hart said, interrupting Emily.

“I don’t want to wait. I know it’s a long shot, but we need to check the community,” Jackson said. “Can we do Saturday?” He looked at Nelie hopefully. Nelie wished he’d chosen a slow day, like Tuesday, but she couldn’t say no.

“Sure, whenever. Just let me—”

“Anneliese, you need to be tested,” Suzanne blurted, startling Nelie. Annaliese was her legal name, but no one used it, not even Stella or Gus when they’d reprimanded her. Gus squeezed her hand, and she heard him expel a shaky breath.What the frigid air is going on?Everyone looked at Suzanne. Jackson set down his cup, cocking his brow and looking at Pris as if asking,Is mom losing it? Pris looked confused.

“What?” Nelie asked, hoping whatever came out of Suzanne’s mouth made sense this time.

“Annel”—Suzanne closed her eyes and took a deep breath—“Nelie, you are Nathan’s biological aunt, and you need to be tested,” she said slowly and calmly, as if she’d chosen her words carefully. Nelie gave her a small smile.Oh, the poor woman.

“I’m sorry, Mrs. Wyatt, but you’re confused. My parents were from Grand Forks. My mother was Stella’s great-niece.”

“No, Nelie, dear. Your mother is from here,” Mrs. Hart said, grabbing Nelie’s other hand. “Suzanne is your birth mother.”No, no, no, no, no.

“No. My parents died when I was a baby. My great-aunt and uncle, Stella and Gus, took me in. You know that.” Nelie yanked her hand from Mrs. Hart’s, upsetting the older woman.How can they say this?Gus kept a firm grip on her other hand, with his thumb rubbing back and forth.

Suzanne cleared her throat, and Nelie looked at her. She looked pale as she fidgeted with the diamond encrusted ring on her finger, staring vacantly at the plate of cookies. “I got pregnant the year I studied in London. Your father was from Norway. We were young. He had obligations, and I wanted to come home. Gus and Stella adopted you. And I watched you grow up from a distance.” Her words were void of any emotion. Just facts. Mrs. Hart patted Suzanne’s hand, as if everything would be okay now that she’d told her story.

Nelie’s body shook, and it felt like she was floating near the ceiling, watching all this craziness unfold below her. It wasn’t her sitting at the oak table, but someone who looked like her. Nelie’s life wasn’t imploding, but her doppelganger’s life was.

Pris wrapped a blanket around her, mumbling something about shock. Nelie clutched it tight against her.

“No, no”—Nelie shook her head violently—“that’s wrong. Dad, tell them they’re wrong,” Nelie croaked, looking at him. Gus’s water-filled eyes stared back at her.

“I wish I could, sunshine.” He hung his head, sounding as if he’d lost everything.

“You lied? All of you lied?” She forced the question through her tight throat and glared at everyone.

Pris held up her hands. “This is news to me.”

“And me,” Jackson said, glaring at his mom. Emily murmured an agreement.

“But not to the rest of you! My whole life has been a lie!” Nelie screeched.

“No, it hasn’t, Nelie. let us explain,” Mrs. Hart—Grandma?—said, as if she was talking to someone standing on a ledge ready to jump. Nelie knew she wouldn’t have a reasonable explanation for that they’d done.

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