Page 45 of Second Dance
“No, no, no,” I said, feeling like I might be sick. “This can’t be happening.”
Gillian tightened her grip on my arm. “Alex, what is it? Talk to me.”
“Bella’s gotten it into her head that she wants to find her real father. I was stupid enough to tell her where he was, and now,” I choked on my words, “she’s headed straight there.”
“Is he dangerous?” Waller asked.
Oh, now he was interested.
“Yes, he’s a criminal,” I said. “Her biological father. She’s never met him, but she knows where he lives. Cliffside Bay.”
Waller’s right eyebrow arched. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a card. “Anything comes of it, give me a call. But honestly, I see this all the time. She’ll be back before dinner.”
“Come on, let’s catch up with her,” Gillian said. “I’ll drive.”
I almost sank to my knees in relief. She was taking charge, and that’s exactly what I needed in the moment.
10
GILLIAN
I’d parked in the lot at the public beach. Soon enough, I had Alex in the passenger seat and I was headed toward the coastal highway that would take us north to Cliffside Bay. It was a smaller town than Willet Cove, but similar, and had always seemed very safe to me. That said, bad people lived everywhere. Somehow, it was easy to forget this universal truth. Unless you were the parent of a teenage girl. Then your imagination was always two steps ahead of your logical brain. At least mine was. Predators were everywhere.
I really hoped Bella’s biological father was not one of them.
Once we were out of town and headed up the coast, the world opened up around us. To our left, the Pacific stretched endlessly, waves battering jagged cliffs, the surface shifting between slate and silver beneath a veil of fog. At times, the road narrowed so much it felt like we were driving along the very edge of the earth. Then, just as suddenly, we dipped into pockets of shadow where redwoods pressed close, their towering trunks catching the mist. It was beautiful, haunting and mercilessly slow when every minute mattered. I had to force myself to drive with care. We did no one any good if we launched over the side of the mountain into the Pacific.
I glanced over at Alex. He was pale under his tan, his eyes like a trapped animal.
“Can you tell me what happened?” I asked.
“She wanted to find her real father,” Alex said. “And like an idiot, I found him for her. I wanted to show her who he really is, and I thought his mugshot in the police blotter would do the trick.”
“But instead she used that information to find him?”
“That’s right. The online information listed Cliffside Bay as his residence.” Alex buried his face in his hands. “This is such a nightmare.”
“I’m sorry.” I placed my fingers briefly on his jean-clad knee. “Was this all because of us?”
“Not all of it, but yeah, seeing me with you triggered something in her. All of a sudden, she’s questioning who she really belongs with. As if I haven’t proved to her how much I love her. I quit working to be here for her. I don’t know how she doesn’t see that.”
“She’s fourteen. And she lost her mother. She feels like she’s going to be replaced.”
“I just don’t understand. It doesn’t make any sense.”
“Again, she’s fourteen,” I said gently. “They don’t always make sense.”
“I’m so out of my depth here,” Alex said.
“How’s she getting there? Do you think she took a bus? Or an Uber?”
“There are no buses that I know of that run from Willet Cove to Cliffside Bay, so I’m guessing an Uber.”
Alex stared down at his phone. “She’s there already.”
“We’re forty minutes away,” I said. “She surely can’t find him that fast, can she?”
“I don’t know. Probably not. And what’s she going to do, just knock on his door?”
