Page 25 of The Cottage on Plum Island
“That’s your sister, Molly,” Andrew’s words had Liam and Jennifer’s eyes widening in disbelief. “She’s just turned fifteen.”
“Don’t you think she looks like you did at fifteen, Jen?” Betty tried to ease the tension, which had suddenly wound much tighter in the room.
“Aren’t you too old to have children?” Again, the angry, hurtful words spilled from Jennifer’s mouth before she could stop them.
“I was sixty when Molly was born,” Andrew admitted. “Georgia, my wife, is fifteen years younger than me.”
“Look at that,” Liam raised his brows and looked at Jennifer. “Seems it’s not too late for you if you still want to have kids.”
“Oh, heck no!” Jennifer gave him a disgusted look. “I don’t want to end up looking like my child’s grandparent.”
They both snorted and turned back to Andrew. The flash of pain did not escape Jennifer’s notice, and though she felt a pang of guiltfor her sharp barbs, she quickly pushed it away. She reminded herself of how he’d kissed her goodbye one morning and never returned and how Jennifer had waited for him to come home for months after. She refused to believe her father would abandon them and had waited for nearly a year, never giving up hope before she started to believe Liam that their father was never coming back.
Liam handed the photo back. “She looks like a lovely child. Again, congratulations on having a daughter the same age asmydaughter.”
Andrew ignored Liam’s dig at him and continued, “Molly is the reason I’m here.” His voice dropped and wobbled with emotion. “I’m not sure if you remember, but my mother was a doctor, and she gave me your medical records.”
“Whoa!” Jennifer stopped him. “You pulled our medical records?”
“No,” Andrew denied with a shake of his head. “She had your medical records from when you were babies.”
“Okay!” Liam said. “What’s this got to do with Mandy?”
“Molly!” Andrew corrected. “You and Jennifer are a good match to help her.”
Jennifer suddenly didn’t like where this conversation was going. “Like with a kidney or something?”
“No, not a kidney,” Andrew said. “Bone marrow. Molly has leukemia.”
CHAPTER 6
Harley felt awful as he listened to what was happening inside Betty’s room. He didn’t mean to eavesdrop, but he was stuck in that attic until one of the room’s occupants walked down the hallway. The entrance to the attic was close to Betty’s room, where he was sitting and waiting for someone to hand him his ladder, which had fallen on the floor.
Harley was surprised none of them had heard the loud bang it had made when he accidentally knocked it over. Betty wanted to turn it into an entertainment area, and Harley had climbed into it to measure it. He’d been in the attic for a few minutes when he realized that Jennifer and Liam were discussing a private family matter in Betty’s room.
One thing Harley had learned, besides Andrew Gains having deserted his kids over thirty years ago, was that the attic needed to be soundproofed if Betty wanted it as an entertainment room. Harley could hear their conversation as if he was in the room with them. As soon as Harley realized what was happening, he tried to scramble out of the attic but kicked the ladder over in haste.
Here he sat—stuck and unwittingly eavesdropping on the Gains family. Harley was sure this would come back to bite him as Jennifer would not be pleased to hear he was listening in on them, which was a pity because Harley and Jennifer had just started to get along. Or at least they hadn’t argued in the past fourteen hours. He couldn’t even message or phone anyone because his phone was in Betty’s living room.
A gap in the floorboards gave him a peek into the room where he saw the tall, distinguished-looking man he’d answered the door to. He was on the window side of Betty’s bed while Liam and Jennifer stood on the side nearest the door. Betty was the mediator between the two warring parties.
“No!” Liam’s voice traveled up to the attic. “Why should we help you?”
“Liam!” Betty stated, shocked by her nephew’s vehemence.
“He’s right, Aunt Betty,” Jennifer backed her older brother. “Why should we help him? He deserted his old family thirty-three years ago.”
“Exactly!” Liam picked up from his sister, his eyes narrowing at their father, Andrew. “Where were you when our mother, your wife, was dying?”
“We tried to reach you!” Jennifer’s voice filled with bitterness. “Mom needed you. She needed your help.”
“You left us to deal with it.” Liam’s voice grew hoarse with the memory of their loss. “Aunt Betty had us and her sister to look after. She struggled to make ends meet, pay for Mom’s medical bills, and keep us fed!”
“I was eight, and Liam was eleven,” Jennifer sneered at Andrew. “While all the other kids got to do sports after school and play with their friends, Liam and I came home each day to help Aunt Betty take care of Mom.”
“Do you know what that’s like for children of that age?” Liam’s voice wobbled with emotion. “Each day, we watched Mom slip a little further away from us.” He swallowed, and Harley saw Liam struggling to control his emotions. “Each day we tried to will the pieces of life we could see she was losing back into her.”
“The first thing I’d do when I got back from school each day was check the mailbox to see if there wasanynews fromyou!“ Jennifer pointed at him accusingly. “Even though you’d been gone for nearly two years, while my mind had given up on you, my heart was sure my dad, my hero, would ride in and save the day.”
