“Maybe I’ll stay for just a month,” she mused. By then she’d know if she was pregnant. She planned to buy a test as soon as she could get to a store.
Lorelei came down the stairs.
“Lucy all set for the night?” Serenity asked.
“Yeah.”
Reagan scooted over so that Lorelei could join them on the couch. There were other chairs in the room, but Serenity shared her lap blanket with the two of them, and they sat side by side, staring out at the stars, which shone far more brightly away from city lights than any Reagan had ever seen. She loved New York, but she was going to enjoy being here for a while longer. “When are you telling Mark that you’re not coming home on Friday?” she asked Lorelei.
“Maybe tomorrow,” Lorelei said.
“He hasn’t tried to call you tonight?” Serenity asked.
“He’s tried. Many times.”
Reagan couldn’t remember ever seeing her step out of the room or talk on her phone. “You didn’t pick up?”
Lorelei combed her fingers through her hair but never shifted her gaze from the large windows that showcased such a spectacular chunk of sky. “We were having too much fun.”
Because of Finn. Reagan hid a smile. Lorelei liked him, all right. Reagan didn’t expect that to go anywhere. But she couldn’t help taking a little joy in the fact that being ignored must’ve come as a terrible shock to Mark.
12
serenity
EVERYONE ELSE IN the cabin was asleep as Serenity tried to compose a text to her mother. Despite Charlotte’s concerns about Serenity “closeting herself away” and not getting right back into the dating scene, she doubted her mother would mind if she spent the entire summer at the cabin. Her parents had made it clear the cabin was hers to use as often as she wanted. And if that didn’t make her feel free enough—if she wanted even more of her mother’s support—all she had to do was mention Finn and his brothers staying next door. Charlotte had such a soft heart—she would sympathize with what had happened to Davis and be all for Serenity staying to befriend him.
Of course, she’d also hope that something romantic might spring up between Serenity and one of the Hatch brothers. Her mother wouldn’t be able to relax until Serenity found another mate.
But secretly meeting her new half sisters already smacked of deceit. Would entertaining Reagan and Lorelei at the cabin all summer be going too far?
Serenity preferred to tell the truth and get her mother’s blessing. They’d always been honest with each other, which was why she still couldn’t believe that Charlotte had hidden such a big secret for so long.
Mom, I need to talk to you about something. It’s a touchy subject, one that might upset you, which is why I haven’t said anything so far. To be honest, I’m sort of confused and upset myself. I couldn’t believe it when...
Puffing out her cheeks, she deleted all of that before blowing her breath out and starting over.
Mom, you know that a lot of people are getting their DNA tested these days, right? Well, they’re finding family members they never knew existed. The police are even using ancestry sites to locate suspects about whom they’ve been storing biological evidence. You heard about The Golden State killer and how they finally captured him. Anyway, I decided to get my profile done, to see how it all works so I could depict it accurately in my writing and...
She stopped, read it over and deleted it again. That wasn’t what she wanted to say. What she really wanted to say, from her heart, was simply, Mom, why didn’t you tell me?
She typed that but knew she couldn’t send it, either. If she could’ve gone to her mother, she would’ve done it already. She couldn’t have Charlotte working to cover up what she was hoping to find—which Charlotte might do, if having Serenity learn the truth really scared her.
And what if Charlotte freaked out and didn’t want her to have anything to do with Lorelei and Reagan? They had just decided to prolong their trip, possibly for the whole summer. She couldn’t suddenly kick them out after encouraging them to stay.
She went to delete that text—and her heart jumped into her throat. Instead of selecting all the content to delete it, her thumb accidentally hit the Send button.
Shit!
She covered her mouth for several minutes as she stared at her phone, eyes wide, to see if her mother was going to respond. She’d still been a little tipsy, which was why her errant thumb hit the wrong spot in the first place, but she was feeling completely sober now.
No response.
She hadn’t awakened her mother, but that text would be there, waiting for Charlotte in the morning. There was no way to un-send it.
Damn it! What have I done?
She climbed out of bed and began to pace in her room. What was she going to say when her mother called to ask about it?
She couldn’t think of an appropriate response. She couldn’t tell her mother the truth, not yet.
Her pulse raced as she struggled to come up with some way to neutralize what she’d just done.
Another text?
Forget that...
Never mind...
That was intended for someone else...
None of those things would be believable. She’d obviously known who she was texting. She’d started the text with, “Mom.”
She was still pacing, trying to come up with something that would appease her mother when she heard crying.
Stopping, she held her breath so she could listen more carefully.
Sure enough, someone was awake.
Taking her phone with her, just in case Charlotte called, she left the room to find Lucy in the hall, frightened and disoriented in the unfamiliar, dark house. “I don’t know where my mom is,” she said in a distressed whimper.
The wine had probably put Lorelei into a deeper sleep than usual. There was no need to disturb her. After sending that text, Serenity was afraid she’d be up for the rest of the night, anyway.
“Her room is right here next to yours.” Serenity walked her to the door to show her just how close. “This one,” she said, pointing. “But she’s very tired and sleeping. Would it be okay if I lie down with you and we read a few books until you’re ready to go back to sleep?”
Lucy seemed skeptical as she wiped her cheeks. “I have to go potty.”
Serenity glanced at her phone. Still no response from Charlotte. “Okay. I can take you. Come on.”
She led her new niece to the bathroom and helped her pull up her panties and straighten her pajamas when she was finished. “Feel better?”