Breakwater Bay (22 page)

“You were right, Daddy. This
was
the perfect place to grow up.”

Only they weren’t allowed to grow up here; they were ten and eight when they were snatched away. And he’d let that happen.

“It still is,” she prodded.

Alden sighed. “Honey, it’s falling down. I didn’t keep it up.” There was no reason to once they had gone. He just hadn’t cared. Now he saw how selfish he’d been. If he didn’t care about the place, he should at least have kept it up for the next generation. Just like his father had, after his mother had left.

“We can fix it up together.”

Alden pulled her close. “You’re a great kid, you know that.”

“I’m not a kid.”

“No, you’re a great young woman.”

She gave him a little push. “You are such a dad.”

W
hy don’t you stay at my place tonight?” Peter said as they drove over the bridge into Newport. “You can stay in bed all day and I’ll pamper the daylights out of you, among other things.” He gave her a villainous eyebrow waggle that made her laugh.

“As appealing as it sounds, I really need to get home. I have work tomorrow.”

“You’re kidding, right? You only have one usable hand and I’m leaving in three days.”

“I know, I’m sorry. But Doug is expecting me. There’s plenty of stuff to do with one hand.”

That got her a laugh, but he immediately sobered. “Doug would understand.”

Meri began to get annoyed. “I’m sure he would. But it’s my job. And I won’t let him down. The project depends on everyone involved.
You’re
leaving in a few days, but I’m not. I need to keep on track and keep my job.”

He sighed and drummed his fingers on the steering wheel. “Want me to stay at your place?”

Meri turned to look at him. “I would love that. But like always, I’ll be up and out before nine.”

Peter groaned. He reached for her hand, then realized it was the bandaged one and went back to drumming his fingers on the steering wheel.

It was Sunday night and those residents who had left for the weekend were back. It was almost ten minutes before he squeezed the car into a minuscule parking place several blocks from her apartment.

Meri was beginning to wish she had just sent him home, because he’d turned from entertaining to sulky by the time they walked up the stairs to her door. They were barely inside when he dropped her bag, turned, and took her in his arms, walking her backward all the way to the bedroom.

And for the first time that she could remember, Meri didn’t feel that rush of desire that made them rip off clothes and fall laughing into bed. What she felt was a sense of closure that somehow they wouldn’t make it past this summer, even if Peter did come back for good.

She pushed the thought out of her mind. She’d been doing way too much thinking in the last week. Too much trying to sort out her life and her future. She was just too tired to worry anymore. So she gave into the moment, enjoying what she had, and trying not to think about what she was about to lose.

I
t wasn’t until the next morning standing on the sidewalk that Meri remembered that her car was still at the site where she’d left it. “Do you mind dropping me off?”

“No, but we’ll have to hurry.”

Great, he was pissed. He’d tried to talk her into staying home again that morning, but she’d held firm. She knew that Doug wouldn’t begrudge her another day off, and quite frankly she didn’t know how much she could really do with her injury.

But on the drive home the night before, she had been attacked by an overwhelming desire to see her ceiling. To discover just what lay beneath that detached medallion.

And now that morning was here and they were out of the apartment, she could hardly contain her curiosity. She didn’t mention it. The last thing she needed was for Peter to think she was more excited about a ceiling than about staying with him. But it was what it was.

He was leaving to pursue his career and she was happy for him, if not exactly ecstatic about being left solo. But she had her work, too, and though it might not take the world by storm, it was important to her and to history.

She would just have to wait and see which one weathered the test of time better, her ceiling or her boyfriend.

Peter dropped Meri off at the door. “See you tonight?”

“Sure thing.”

“I’ll call you.”

She’d better get used to it. Calls would be the only thing she’d be getting from Peter in the months to come. As she watched him drive away, an empty, sick feeling settled in her stomach.
Aftermath of the drugs,
she told herself and went inside.

Coffee was made; Doug’s desk was gone. A flicker of panic shot to her gut before she remembered that Carlyn was moving him to another room.

Meri poured herself a mug of coffee and would have taken a donut from the box on the kitchen table if she had the use of both hands. Between food, the beach, and Peter, her bandage was looking the worse for wear. The doctor had said she could change the bandage.

Maybe she could enlist Carlyn and the project first aid kit. She walked down the hall to the tiny office Carlyn called the executive suite and stuck her head in the door. “You busy?”

Carlyn looked up from her computer screen. “Just counting the minutes until this computer crashes again.”

“Uh-oh.”

“I called IT, but they can’t get over until this afternoon. So I called Joe Krosky. He’s on his way.”

“Joe fixes computers?”

“Joe does everything. It’s amazing. He’s working toward a Ph.D. in molecular biology while tracing wall paper patterns in an old house, and tinkering with my hard drive . . .”

Meri burst out laughing, almost upsetting her coffee. Carlyn joined her. “Hell, he’s probably good at that, too. I wonder if he can sing?”

Now they were both laughing. It was good to be back. Any qualms about not going to California vanished. This was where she belonged.

“So what did you need me for?” Carlyn asked, wiping her eyes.

“Hold an extra flashlight so I can get a look at my ceiling? They haven’t covered it or anything, have they?”

“Nope, waiting for you to tell them what to do.”

“Good. Then I need help putting on a new bandage.” She held up her hand and turned it for Carlyn to see.

“Ewww. Looks like you’ve been coal mining with that paw.”

“I know. It’s pretty disgusting, plus there’s way too much bandage.”

“Don’t even think about using that hand for another week.”

“I’m not.” Well, not exactly. She’d be careful. “But I do want to see my ceiling.”

“You certainly do.” Carlyn rolled her chair back and came around her desk. “But you won’t need a flashlight. Doug set up floodlights. You’re going to be amazed.”

They sped walked to the foyer.

“Do not look up.”

Meri looked at her feet while lights popped on around her. Carlyn took her shoulders and turned her slightly, much like Meri had done with Alden the day he’d come to bring her mother’s diary.

Excitement and gratefulness for her friends and work filled her.

“Now.” Carlyn let go and Meri looked up at the ceiling.

Spotlighted by the floor lights, the ceiling practically gleamed with unfaded blue, aquamarine, green, and gold. The medallion had been installed over the original decoration and had protected it for a hundred years.

Meri knew when she looked more closely she would see hairline cracks and maybe some bubbling, but from where she stood it looked pretty incredible.

“Did someone check the condition of the foundation plaster?”

“Doug called in Tommy O’Connell. He’s coming today or tomorrow, whenever he can squeeze us in. Until then Doug has closed off the rooms above it. He doesn’t want to take a chance of some heavy-footed intern dislodging the section. So you did good, kid.”

“Wow, just wow.” Meri shoved her mug toward Carlyn. “Take this.”

“Why?”

“I have to take a closer look.”

“Oh no. Doug said you’re not to climb until you have both hands back in working condition.”

“Doug doesn’t have to know.”

Carlyn gave her a look.

“I know, you’re right. I wouldn’t do that to Doug.” She blew out a breath and took her mug back. “Come see what you can do with this hand. Then put me to work.”

C
arlyn fetched the first aid kit and began cutting off the old gauze. “Are you sure it’s all right for me to do this?”

“You were there. The doctor said it could be taken off after a few days.”

“And replaced with another one. But are you sure you wouldn’t rather go to him?”

“I’m sure.” Meri began peeling away the layers, a little worried at what she would find. “I’d rather be stripping a ceiling,” she said and carefully lifted off the last layer. There were three strips of clear tape running across the stitched skin. All in all, the cut looked innocuous. She knew that could be misleading, but she wiggled her thumb and other fingers. “It works.”

Carlyn let out a sigh. “I knew it would.”

“Boy, I’m pretty lucky.”

“You are. Between nerves and arteries.” Carlyn shuddered. “But I’m wrapping this up and you’re putting it back in that nasty old sling, because we’re not taking any chances. And don’t you dare try to use your hand.”

“Yes, ma’am.” She watched Carlyn rebandage her hand. “It’s awfully quiet in here. Where is everybody?”

“Coming in late because Doug had to bring in an inspector to make sure there are no current leaks. No reason to restore if it’s just going to get ruined again. So relax. I’ll get coffee and you tell me what the heck’s going on in your life.”

It was almost a relief. Meri knew she couldn’t keep what she’d learned from her best friend. Besides, she needed advice. She pulled her backpack onto the table, opened it with one hand, and rummaged inside for an envelope that she had filled that morning while Peter was shaving.

She placed it on the table.

“What’s that?” Carlyn asked as she put a mug in front of Meri.

“Sit down over here by me and I’ll show you.” Meri glanced over her shoulder to make sure they were alone; it was totally a reflex action.

“Oh boy,” Carlyn said and sat down.

“Before I show you, there are a couple of things you should know. But I’m serious about this; you can never tell. So let me know if you can do that before I go any further.”

Carlyn frowned. One eyebrow slowly lifted as it always did when she was questioning someone’s seriousness. “Pinky swear?”

“Cross your heart and hope to die swear.”

“Shit.” Carlyn got up long enough to shut the door, then pulled her chair closer. “Cross my heart.”

“My mother . . .” She told Carlyn about Alden finding a teenager on the breakwater, about her delivering a baby and running away, about her being killed and how her mother had kept Meri as her own.

Carlyn listened to the whole story in silence. “Did you ever find out who she was?”

Meri nodded, bit her lip. “I have a name and a photo, but I’m not sure I even want to go down that road.”

“Of course you do.” Carlyn reached for the envelope. “May I?”

Meri hesitated. It was too late to go back, and she did need advice . . . and support. “Okay.”

Carlyn opened the envelope and slid the contents onto the table. She picked up the photo of Riley and the boy at the beach. “That’s your mother?”

Meri nodded.

“And your father?”

“I have no idea.”

Carlyn reached for the school ID. “Riley Rochfort. Rochfort? Are you kidding me?”

“There are a lot of Rochforts.”

“There are, but I don’t know one who isn’t loaded.” Her eyes widened. “Hell, any one of them could fund this whole project without missing it.”

“Carlyn!”

“I didn’t mean you should use them, not exactly.”

“I don’t even know which ones they are, and it doesn’t matter. I would never ask them for anything. They were horrible people. My mother and Gran had a moment of stricken conscience and went to them, told them about Riley. They didn’t want to hear anything about their daughter or her baby. They said Riley had died on a trip to Europe and accused Mom and Gran of trying to run a scam.

“Though I suppose there could be two Riley Rochforts.”

“Unlikely,” Carlyn said.

“And there are Rochforts all over the country and probably in Europe.”

“You just said your mother and grandmother went to see them.”

“I know, they did. But do I really want to know?”

“Of course you do. There’s a way to find out. Well, actually, there are several ways to find out, but they’re not nearly as dramatic.”

Meri couldn’t help but laugh. That’s one of the many reasons Carlyn was her best friend. She was true blue. And she came through in a pinch. “Actually, I’m more interested in finding out who my father was. There is no information at all in the diary.”

“Riley left a diary?”

“No, Laura, my life mother, did.”

Carlyn smiled. “I like that, life mother.”

“Anyway, I guess they didn’t attempt to locate the father. I haven’t read it all, but I did skim through it and it all appears to be stuff about me growing up, until my dad, Dan—” She stopped, frowned. “From now on my mother and father are Laura and Dan.”

Carlyn placed her hand over Meri’s. “They always have been.”

“I know. Alden said the same thing. I’ve been confusing myself the last few days. I think what I really want is some kind of closure. I don’t care about the Rochforts. But I would just like to know . . .”

“About your father—your birth father.”

“Yeah. I think. I mean, if that’s him, he was just a clueless teenager. Did Riley tell him? Did he freak? Did he love her?”

“And if you find him, what?”

“I don’t know, I guess it depends.”

“He probably has his own life now, maybe married with kids, maybe moved away.”

“I know, I’m just . . . curious.”

“Then let’s find out who this guy is and go from there.”

“Where do we start?”

“Local high school yearbooks. Most of them will be online.”

A
n hour later they had put a name to the face. They were both huddled over the laptop in Carlyn’s office. Doug had stuck his head in twice only to be shooed away by Carlyn.