“I’ll be over early in the morning, then,” Paul told her.
He could imagine how frustrated Nikki might feel. She had been thrust into a life that she didn’t understand and one that demanded so much from her. She was doing the best she could, but the whole plan to find Amy had started with him and Trish. He couldn’t let Amy just walk away without trying.
The following morning, he was there at the crack of dawn. He was relieved when Amy opened the door.
“Hi, good morning,” he said.
She rolled her eyes rudely. “If you’re here to see Nikki, she’s not here. She went to the inn or whatever,” she said and walked back inside the house.
“I’m not here to see Nikki,” Paul said and walked in after her. “I’m here to see you.” He looked around and saw her suitcase leaning against the wall. “Going somewhere?”
“You were with Nikki in Seattle, right?” she asked.
“Yeah,” he said and folded his arms, careful not to come too close to her for fear of intimidating her and spooking her even further. “Your mother—Trish—is a very dear friend of mine, and I know you’re a little confused, but just hear me out for a second.”
“Why? What are you going to say that’s different from what Nikki said?” She crossed her arms.
“That’s what I’m going to tell you,” he said and motioned to the front porch. “I’m not going to force you to stay. You can still leave if you want to, but just hear what I have to say.”
Amy sighed. “Fine.” Her shoulders sagged as she walked out onto the front porch. “Okay. What do you want to tell me?”
Paul joined her on the opposite end of the porch swing. “I’ve known your mother for a long time, and it wasn’t just a few times that she’s mentioned you.”
“Ugh,” Amy groaned. “Don’t tell me how much she loved and missed me but didn’t even try to find me.”
“But she did,” Paul pointed out. “She spoke about you many times and how much she hurt that she was forced to give you up. She hasn’t had any other children since, so you were it.”
“That was her choice,” Amy replied coldly.
“I know you’re upset, but you can’t blame her. She was young and confused, and she didn’t want to find you and disrupt your life, so she waited. About a year ago, it got unbearable for her, so she hired a private investigator to find you. She didn’t have the accident until after, so it wasn’t like she had any kind of ulterior motive in finding you.”
“Well, how did she make the will, then?”
Paul sighed. “That was just something she wanted to do. She and Nikki had drifted apart for years, and she wanted a way to bring the two of you closer, so she thought this might be it. It was only days before the accident that she asked Frank to adjust her will just in case anything happened to her. It was like she knew,” Paul said with a sigh.
Amy grew extremely quiet as they stared at the rolling waves crashing against the shore. “I’m sorry that she was in an accident.”
“Me too,” Paul replied, glancing at Amy as he offered her a quick but sorrowful smile. “I miss her. She was really something.”
“If she and Nikki weren’t close, why did she ask her to come and find me if anything happened to her?”
“Because despite everything that happened between them, she knew how much Nikki loved and wanted you. Their bond was broken over you, Amy. She knew Nikki would never deny her something so special. Or herself.”
Amy hung her head as she stared at the floorboards. “Maybe Nikki is just acting out of guilt, then.”
“She isn’t,” Paul told her. “She wouldn’t have placed her life on hold to do this out of guilt. I would know—I’ve known her a long time. And she’s torn up about the fact that you want to leave. She really wants you here with her.”
“I don’t know what to believe anymore,” Amy said sadly as her eyes got glossy. “My life has not been ideal, and I’ve struggled a lot. I just wish…” She swallowed hard.
Paul didn’t need her to finish the sentence to understand what she was saying. “I know,” he told her. “Believe me. I have a daughter who is barely older than you, and she lost her mother when she was only twelve years old. That was a pretty tough time for her and for me, and I made a lot of mistakes. But my point is, we all have something to deal with in one way or another. We can only do the best with what we have now, and what’s best for you is to give Nikki a chance. You won’t regret it.”
Amy looked over at Paul and raised her brows at him. “Okay, which one of them were you in love with?”
Paul laughed at her question, mainly because it took him by surprise. “To be honest, Nikki and I dated back in high school, but there’s nothing between her or Trish and me right now. I’m just trying to help out some friends of mine.”
“Doing your civic duty, huh?” Amy smiled.
“You could say that,” he said. “Did it work? Will you stay?”
