The Unknown Daughter. Anna DeStefano
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over that crotchety old lawyer,” Tony replied with unabashed innocence.
“You’ve been useful enough for one night.” Eric jerked his head in the direction of the squad room. “Don’t you have some call reports to file?”
“Right.” Tony smiled, raising that eyebrow again. “It was nice to run into you, Carrinne. Enjoy your visit to Oakwood, and try to stay out of trouble.”
He’d disappeared around the corner before Eric spoke. “So, it’s Carrinne now?”
“That’s my name.” She ignored the urge to sink back into the uncomfortable chair. Lord, she was tired. “I don’t have much use for Southern formality these days.”
“I guess in a place like New York, manners might make you an easy target.”
“I’ve learned to take care of myself—” She stopped short. “How did you know I live in New York?”
“We ran the plates on your rental car. The leasing company faxed a copy of your agreement. It says you’re a corporate accountant. Must have been hard to get away from a high-pressure job like that.”
“I’ve set aside a few days of vacation.” Tiny hairs stood on end up and down her arms. A man in Eric’s position could get his hands on whatever information he wanted. “If the charges are dropped, I’d like to go.”
Eric’s respect for how far Carrinne had come grew as he watched her swallow her fear and stare him down. He liked this gutsy new version of the girl he’d known.
“You know—” he intentionally closed the distance between them “—you’d be rid of me a lot quicker if you just came right out and owned up to the truth, whatever it is. What are you doing back in Oakwood?”
She held her ground, her features a blank canvas of New York confidence. “I told you why I’m back.”
“You want to find your father.”
“Yes.”
“After all these years.” He snapped his fingers. “Just like that.”
“Yes.” Her eyes narrowed. “It’s important to me.”
“Why would you care? You’ve clearly managed to build a good life for yourself.” He studied her outfit with the same thoroughness he’d seen Tony enjoy. Her jeans were no doubt from some high-end New York boutique. And he’d felt the softness of silk when his hands had brushed her top as he’d revived her at the Wilmington place. “Digging up old wounds after all this time, I’d think that would be the last thing you’d want. I know there’s nothing short of a bullet that would get me to hunt down my lousy excuse for a mother.”
And just that easily, a part of the past he never thought of anymore slipped into the present.
The topic of his mother had been off-limits for him from the moment she’d abandoned his family a year after Tony was born. Off-limits, that was, until he’d met Carrinne, and she’d seen straight through the rebellious hatred that had ruled his life back then.
He’d told himself he didn’t need family or friends. That he wanted nothing more to do with anyone saying that they loved him. Love meant pain and loss, and he was determined to live without it. By the time Carrinne came into the picture, he’d done a good enough job of being a hard-ass that most everyone in Oakwood, except his father, had written him off. But Carrinne’s sweetness had wormed through his anger, straight to the pain he was fighting to forget. She hadn’t been afraid of the darkness driving him to hurt himself and everyone who cared about him.
An orphan raised by a cold-hearted old man, she’d survived her own version of rejection and emotional abandonment. And she’d been determined that Eric would, too. She hadn’t left him alone until he’d opened up about his mother and shared what he’d never discussed before or since, not even with his brother. He’d begun to trust that the future could be different than the past, that not everyone who loved him was going to leave him.
Then his dad had died, abandoning Eric all over again. And the shaky belief in love that Carrinne had helped him build hadn’t stood a chance. Eighteen, alone, and saddled with the responsibility of raising Tony, the last thing he’d been able to handle was Carrinne’s unshakable hope that tomorrow would be better. He’d needed to be angry until he’d burned out the rage and no longer felt any of the pain.
So he’d pushed her away. And when she’d left, she’d taken her sweetness and his last taste of love with her.
Eric blinked back to the present. Carrinne’s puzzled expression shimmered into focus. He made himself step away.
Carrinne’s eyes, pools of green that still haunted his dreams, softened with the very empathy he’d run from. “It’s easier for me not to hate my father the way you do your mom. I never knew him.”
“Lucky you.” His lips wouldn’t smile, so he gave up trying. “But I still don’t buy it.”
“What?”
“The break-in. I backed you up with Lurch.” He caught her smirk at his use of the nickname they’d shared for Brimsley. “But his suspicions were dead on. Maybe if you’d called first and the old man had refused to cooperate, it might make more sense.”
She crossed her arms. “Are you having a good time?”
“Trying to get you to come clean?”
“Playing detective because there’s nothing better to do in this backwater town than butt in where you don’t belong.”
“I want to help.”
“I stopped needing anyone’s help forever ago.”
“Well, unless you’re itching to end up in jail, I suggest you find a more legal means of going after whatever you’re really looking for.”
“Thanks for the advice, but I figured that one out on my own.”
Eric bit back his next retort and ran a hand through his hair. This wasn’t getting them anywhere. “You can go. But don’t do anything I can’t get you out of, Carrinne. I’d hate to have you arrested, but I’ll do what I have to do.”
“Haven’t you always?” Her eyes were suddenly moist. She pushed past him to leave.
Stricken by the hint of weakness beneath all that grit, he grabbed her arm. “Wait. I’m just trying to be a friend.”
“Let me go.” She yanked away, her hand rubbing where he’d touched her. “You’re not my friend, and I don’t want your help. I don’t want anything from you.”
“If this is about how I ended things when we were teenagers—”
“This is about me being dead on my feet and needing some sleep,” she said calmly. Sparks still smoldered in her eyes. “You were very helpful with Brimsley. Thank you. And I’ll sort things out with Oliver in the morning. I can handle the rest on my own.”
Eric scrubbed his hand across his face. The idea that she might still carry scars from their breakup made him feel like the class-A jerk he’d been to her. He had no idea if he could help her with whatever she was up to, but he was sure as hell going to try. She was in trouble, and it would take a lot more than a handful of uncomfortable memories to turn him away. He had to make sure she was okay.
Besides, she’d pegged his life right on the nose. It wasn’t like he had much else but paperwork and small-town bureaucracy pressing for his attention these days.
“I’ll have Tony meet you out front,” he finally said. “He’ll drive you back to your car.”
“Thanks.” She turned with a sigh and headed toward the front of the building.
Tomorrow, he promised himself as he went to search for Tony. Tomorrow was soon enough to help the last person in Oakwood who wanted his help.
“WHAT