Page 94 of Crazy for You
Colton closed his hand over mine as we trailed behind Grady. With each step, my heartbeat ramped up. If I hadn’t been tethered to Colton, I would have turned around and ran.
A light, airy laugh trickled out of the kitchen before I heard Mr. Dyson say, “I miss him.”
Grady ambled in, not saying a word, and beelined to the fridge.
Three rounded black pendant lights shone over the island, highlighting specks of gold in the marble top.
Mr. Dyson set his wine glass down and regarded Colton and me. “Skyler. Colton.” Mr. Dyson’s deep voice penetrated through the shock that had me rooted to the floor. “Come in.”
Colton nudged me, but I didn’t move. I was fixated on Ashley as if she was the most fascinating person I’d ever seen. I was trying to find the resemblance in the woman who had given birth to me. She had a small nose and maybe similar hair color, but I found her prettier in person than in her photo. Her light-brown hair was thick and wavy, spilling down around her shoulders. Her skin appeared to be smooth, with the right amount of blush to accentuate her high cheekbones.
Colton let go of me, jolting me out of my haze.
“This is Ashley,” Mr. Dyson said.
I swallowed a pail of sand.
Her brown eyes locked on mine with an unspoken plea that said, “Forgive me.”
I’d had no idea how I would react when I met her, but for some reason a slow, simmering anger deep in the recesses of my psyche took root.
Silence seemed to drop from the high ceiling and splatter down around us. My brain was processing, and with Ashley studying me, I suddenly had no desire to ask my myriad questions about why she’d given me up.
I couldn’t get past the expensive dress she was wearing or the diamond-studded earrings that beamed like a beacon in the night. My gaze lowered to her hands to see if she was married, but I didn’t see a ring. She gave me the impression she’d done quite well for herself—a nice cushy life, one where she didn’t have any kids to support, and one where she’d given up her child for a better future.
That simmering anger bubbled to the surface, and I ground my back teeth.
“Hey,” Colton whispered.
I broke free from Ashley’s scrutiny. I needed air and a moment to gather my thoughts. I spun on my heel, hurried through the house, and went out to the front porch. The warm salt air hit me like a slap in the face, just what I needed to clear the fog from my head. Inhaling, I ran around the house and onto the narrow, lighted path that led to the beach. The Atlantic was calm beneath the full moon, a stark contrast to the turbulence in my stomach.
I stopped before my feet hit the sand and took in a humongous breath.
“Skyler.” Ashley’s soft voice only served to fray my emotions even more. “Can we talk?”
I expelled all the air in my lungs. I wanted to tell her no, but my tongue was stuck to the roof of my mouth.
She stood beside me. “I’ve thought about this moment for many years.” Her voice was barely audible over the music of the waves.
Funny, I hadn’t. Not that I was complaining or blaming Dad for not telling me. He’d done what he thought was best.Maybe she did too.
“Is Mr. Dyson my father?”That came out of nowhere.They did look chummy when I’d walked in, and if they’d known each other since high school, it was quite possible Mr. Dyson could be my bio dad. If that were true, I wasn’t sure how I would feel about that, and Grady might wig out.
She tensed, hunching her shoulders as a light wind ruffled her hair. “Your father was Mr. Dyson’s best friend in high school.”
I jerked my head her way. “Was?”
She frowned. “He died in a motorcycle accident in his senior year.”
I dropped my chin to my chest, staving off the need to cry for a man I didn’t know.Why do people keep dying in my life?I knew no one could answer that, but for fuck’s sake.
“Skyler is such a pretty name,” she muttered, reaching out to touch my hair.
I jumped back, my eyebrows creasing in the middle.
She held up her small hands. “I’m sorry.”
“My bio dad dies, and what? You decide to give me up?” My tone was harsher than I intended.
