She was in much better spirits when she pulled into the driveway but then slammed on the brakes when she saw Amy sitting on the front steps with a suitcase next to her.
ChapterThirteen
Nikki couldn’t get out of the car fast enough, and she was halfway to Amy when she remembered the cat.
She hurried back for the animal before she returned to her niece once more. She expected a phone call—not a trip, and certainly not a suitcase.
“Amy? What’s wrong?”
“You said I could come,” she said in a shaky voice.
“Yeah, sure. I meant that. Come on in,” Nikki said as she looked around, half expecting to see the reason Amy was there with a suitcase.
She got up, and Nikki picked up the suitcase and followed her to the front door.
“Here, have a seat,” Nikki said and pointed at the living room once they were inside.
“I’m going to give Tabby some milk or something. I just found her this morning. I think Tabby is a pretty name for her.”
“It seems you’re pretty good at finding lost things,” Amy muttered.
Nikki had been in investigative journalism for too long to miss all the signals Amy threw her way. She was in trouble—there was no reason for her to have run off if she wasn’t, and it concerned Nikki. Her suitcase presently nestled at her feet was enough of an indication that she was running from something. Instantly, Nikki’s mind returned to the man at the restaurant, and she hurried back to her niece as quickly as she could.
“I didn’t want to believe you,” Amy said softly when Nikki returned and sat on the sofa across from her.
Nikki didn’t interrupt her. She watched her as she toyed with her fingers and stared at the floor—almost the same way Trish had appeared before she had given her up so many years ago. The scene was almost unreal for Nikki, so she waited and allowed Amy to take the lead on what happened next.
“What you told me didn’t make sense,” she eventually said and raised her head, although she avoided Nikki’s gaze. “About being adopted, but somehow it made sense.” She stared at the wall and spoke like she was reciting the scene of a play. “So many times, I thought that there was no way I came fromthem,”she said as her lips contorted, like just the thought of her parents left a bitter aftertaste. “Still, I didn’t think I was adopted.” It was then that she looked Nikki in the eyes. “Why didn’t she want me?”
Nikki’s heart broke as she saw Amy’s glassy eyes. “It wasn’t that,” she replied softly. “She wanted you very much.Iwanted you!”
“So why did she give me away? To live with monsters?” Amy asked and quickly brushed away a tear.
Nikki’s maternal instincts kicked into gear, and she walked over to sit next to Amy. “Honey, you have no idea how much she wanted you, but she didn’t have a choice.”
Amy got up and walked toward the window. “Everyone has a choice. How can you give away your kid?”
Nikki knew she had to go back to the beginning for Amy to understand. “Back then, Trish had gotten pregnant by a boy who wanted nothing to do with her afterward, and my parents…” Nikki said as she recalled the bitter yet vivid memories. “They didn’t want their reputation damaged by a young daughter who had gotten pregnant and would be a single mother. She was only nineteen, and our father forced her to leave Seattle for Arlington, have the baby, give it up for adoption, and then return like nothing had happened. It was right before I found out I wouldn’t be able to have children,” she said and watched as Amy studied her face for the truth. “I begged them to let me have you instead because I was already married. They refused. They wouldn’t let us keep you, but make no mistake—you were wanted. By us both.”
“You could have done more. You knew where I was being kept. Why couldn’t you have just come for me there?” Amy asked.
“You have no idea how many times over the years I’ve beat myself up with that same question. My parents didn’t have to know. No one had to. But it didn’t feel right going behind Trish’s back with something like that, so I did nothing. And it wasn’t easy, Amy. You have to believe me.”
“You all just gave me up and then lived happily ever after. Meanwhile, I was stuck with a drunk who kept hitting my mother,” Amy said as her brows dipped in anger.
“Far from it,” Nikki said and smoothed her hair back. She stared at the ceiling, her hands tucked under her legs while she continued to sit, as she recalled the moment that shattered the family. “We were never the same after that. I went back to Arlington, and I never returned, not until I heard that our parents had died in an accident in Mexico. That was ten years ago and was the first time I’d even seen Trish since that day.”
Amy grew quiet as she listened to Nikki.
“I never forgave Trish for not letting me have you, and I was so bitter toward her. For years,” Nikki said in disbelief. “We lived an hour away from each other, and I didn’t reach out to her. Not once.” She sank onto the chair as grief enveloped her. “The next thing I knew, she was in an accident, and the doctors had to induce a coma to keep her alive. I may never see my sister again, but she wanted this. Finding you. For us to reconnect.”
“I’m kind of tired,” Amy said abruptly. “Can I…is it okay to stay here? I don’t think I want to face my parents again.”
“Sure,” Nikki said as she flew up. “There’s a spare room upstairs at the end of the hall. Make yourself at home and stay for as long as you’d like. I’ll check on you in a minute.”
“Okay. Thanks,” Amy replied gingerly. She walked off and glanced back at Nikki when she reached the stairs. Nikki could tell her story hadn’t landed on deaf ears—there was a hint of pity in Amy’s eyes.
Retelling the story had only served to awaken the fear and hurt inside Nikki, and after Amy was upstairs, she walked to the kitchen as fresh tears ran down her face. Tabby rubbed against her leg, and she was glad she had that source of comfort.
