Page 59 of Lovers at Seaside
“Well, don’t,” she snapped. “Whatever it is you think you’re putting together, don’t.”
“Baby.” He reached for her and she stepped back, her face a mask of hurt and anger. “I’m sorry, but the dates, the picture. Maybe I’m reading too much into it, but what if I’m not?”
“You definitely are,” she snapped. “My mom’s gone, Grayson. And I hope Sarah’s daughter isn’t.”
He reached for her again, and she let him hold her this time. “I’m sorry. I don’t mean to upset you, but what if the dots connect? What if your birth mother was Miriam Stein? A genetic reconstruction DNA test could give you the answer.”
“What? No. Absolutely not. My mother wasSherry Collins, not Miriam Stein. You’re grasping at straws. Do you know how big of an area thewestis? She could have been anywhere out there, not just in California. I just…I don’t want that for her. I don’t want that for me. What if I get my hopes up, and then it’s not her?”
He softened his tone. “But what if it is? It would mean you have a grandmother you could get to know. You’d have your family.”
“No.” She shook her head. “It would mean my mother ran away from parents who didn’t love her enough. It would mean she was killed because she was in the wrong place at the wrong time, all because her father was too self-centered to love her or incapable—”
She was shaking all over, and he realized just how big of a mistake he’d made.
“I’m sorry. Shh. It’s okay.” He couldn’t put her through this. He could bewayoff base, and she didn’t need another thing to worry about. But what if this was the link she’d always hoped for? How could he turn his back on that possibility?
Parker exhaled loudly. “I trust your judgment, Grayson, but I think you’re way off on this. I can’t even begin to give it serious consideration. I don’t want her daughter to be dead. I want her to be off somewhere living her life, angry or confused or whatever, butalive.”
Chapter Twenty-Three
PARKER SAT ON the stoop beside Grayson and rested her head on his shoulder. It had been twenty minutes since he’d mentioned the similarities between the picture of Miriam and her younger self and the coincidence of the dates of Miriam’s call and her mother’s death. Now it was all she could think about—and she didn’t want to think about it for another second.
“I’m sorry I pushed the issue about Miriam,” he said for the tenth time. “I probably saw something that wasn’t there.”
She wasn’t sure if he’d seen similarities that didn’t exist, or if she didn’t want to see whatever he claimed to—and she didn’t reallywantto know.
“I’m sorry I got so upset. It’s been a stressful afternoon, but you didn’t deserve that.” She leaned into him, and he put his arm around her, which settled some of her anxiety.
“I don’t know what’s taking Matt so long. He’s never late, and he’s not the kind of guy to blow us off without a phone call.”
She was thankful for the change in subject, but she knew he was still thinking about the picture, wondering if there was a connection and keeping those thoughts to himself. He loved her enough to suffer through his questions in silence, and she loved him even more for it.
“I’m sure he’ll be here when he can. Maybe he got hung up with a student or something. At least it’s nice out and we’re together. Thank you for being here. It means a lot to me.”
“Always, baby.” He pulled her onto his lap and kissed her.
She pushed away all the troubling thoughts and surrendered to the blissful feeling that always accompanied their kisses. A car door closed, startling Parker. She jumped from Grayson’s lap.
“Matt’s seen people kiss before.” Grayson rose to greet his brother.
Parker had seen pictures of Matt in Grayson’s house, but she barely recognized him in the disheveled man stepping around the car. His hair was going every which way, as if he’d been stuck in a crosswind. His button-down shirt was untucked, torn at the shoulder seam and across the chest. Smears of what looked like blood stained his arm and streaked his face.
Grayson embraced him. “Missed you,” he said, as if this were Matt’s everyday appearance, which was unfitting of a Princeton professor.
“You too. Sorry I’m late.” Matt flashed a crooked smile at Parker, which softened his chiseled features. “It’s nice to finally meet the woman who’s got my brother’s head in the clouds.” He embraced Parker.
“Nice to meet you, too.” She followed him to the door, stunned by their lack of conversation about Matt’s torn and bloody clothes. She mouthed,What happened?to Grayson. He lifted his shoulder in a casual shrug. This was a great distraction from her worries about Miriam, but now she had all sorts of new concerns racing through her mind.
“Come on in.” Matt tossed his keys on a table by the door and began unbuttoning the few remaining buttons on his shirt. He nodded to the living room. Cardboard boxes were stacked two and three high. The framed picture of Parker and Grayson kissing sat atop one of the boxes, and two couches sat at odd angles near the back wall.
“Did you just move in?” Parker asked.
“No.” Matt wrinkled his brow like she’d asked a ridiculous question. “Make yourselves at home.” He hiked his thumb over his shoulder toward the staircase. “I’m going to shower and change, and then we can head out to dinner.”
“Sounds good,” Grayson said to his brother’s back as Matt ascended the stairs. “Sweetheart,” he said to Parker. “I’m going to grab our stuff.”
She followed him out. “What do you think happened to him?”
