“It’s okay,” he tried to reassure me, urging me forward. “I’m right here.”
He’d said that earlier too, but he hadn’t been anywhere when his sisters had tried to confront me and then his cousin Chance had let me know I didn’t belong. Where was he when I needed him?
From the looks of it, he’d been outside with these two women.
Had they told him to send me packing?
Was that what we needed to talk about?
Was he about to let me down gently while his mom watched?
Max kept walking forward, taking me with him. I wanted to drag my feet, but what was the use? If he wanted to get rid of me, then I just wanted to get it over and done with.
He stopped several feet from where the others were standing before turning and signing, “I have something to tell you. It came as a huge surprise to me too, and that was why everything got crazy inside.” He paused and inhaled deeply before blowing it out in a rush. “This is my aunt Kelli. She’s married to my uncle Colt, Mom’s brother.”
I glanced over at the brunette, and she gave a small, almost shy wave. Her face was pale, her eyes glittering with a mixture of emotions I didn’t understand, but she didn’t seem angry like she had earlier. Tentatively, I waved back.
“Okay, first things first,” Max continued once my gaze was back on him. “Did you know that your mom was adopted?”
I frowned at the weird subject change. “Yes. It wasn’t something she kept from me. Her parents were unable to have children of their own, so they adopted her. But they died when I was a baby.” I didn’t even remember my grandparents, but from the pictures I’d seen of them before the passing of my own parents, it was easy to tell that they had loved my mom.
“When you went to live with your aunt and uncle, your social worker was concerned for you. She spent the last eight years researching your mom’s family in hopes of finding someone else she could possibly place you with so you wouldn’t have to live with Garcia.” Max pointed to Kelli. “And she found Kelli. Your mom’s biological father was also hers.”
The news struck me dead center, like getting hit with a wrecking ball, knocking the oxygen from my lungs. I stumbled back a few steps, but Max was there to catch and steady me.
“What…?” I signed, then stopped, unsure what to even say.
“She’s your mom’s sister. Half sister,” he amended. “But still your aunt. The social worker contacted her, but by that time, you had already run away.”
“Mom has been looking everywhere for you, Delaney.”
River’s words from only minutes before replayed in my head, and understanding finally clicked in my brain. Her mom wasn’t looking for me because she worked for Uncle Tony, but because she was my aunt.
The fear that I’d felt began to ease a little, and I glanced at Kelli again. As if taking that as permission, she stepped up beside Max, but he took a step closer to me, putting more distance between me and…my aunt.
I had another aunt besides Aunt June.
That realization was kind of bizarre to me. It was weird to find another family member.
But then again, it had been just as much so when I’d met Aunt June the first time after the death of my parents.
“You…didn’t know my mom at all?” I signed.
Not understanding what I’d just said, Kelli looked up at Max to translate.
“She wants to know if you knew her mom,” he said while signing the words so I knew what was being said.
“No,” I could read her answer, but Max still translated for her. “I didn’t even know she existed until a few months ago when the social worker called to tell me about you.”
“Oh.” I didn’t know why I was disappointed. With her having only just found out about me, there was little chance she would have known my mom, but it would have been nice to have someone to talk about her with. Someone who had memories from her childhood and could tell me about the woman I missed with my whole heart.
“I wish I had known her,” Kelli spoke after a small pause. “I grew up as an only child. I had a half brother, but he was…” Her mouth twisted in distaste. “Let’s just say he wasn’t worth knowing. But I would have liked to have had a sister growing up. Maybe…you could tell me about her?”
I immediately started nodding, my heart lifting with happiness. I wouldn’t get to know someone else’s memories of Mom, but I would get to share my own. And they were great memories. I’d had to live off them for the past eight years, and they had kept me going when I was at my loneliest.
“Delaney,” Max signed my name, pulling my gaze to him. Having him call me that and not “treasure” made me flinch. He knew what I wanted him to call me, so why was he using my given name instead? Was he embarrassed to call me his treasure when he was in front of other people—in front of his mom?
“Kelli wants you to come live with her.”
As he formed each word with his hands, his face remained emotionless, and I suddenly felt cold. Wrapping my arms around myself, I stood there looking up at him, waiting for him to tell me what he wanted.
The Max I knew and loved wasn’t standing in front of me. This guy was a stranger to me, with his cold, blank eyes and impassive facial expression. I couldn’t read him, and that hurt more than when I thought he’d abandoned me earlier.
My Max seemed to have disappeared, making me wonder if he was real or just a figment of my imagination. Maybe I’d misunderstood what was between us.
He didn’t speak, didn’t even move a finger to sign a single word. That was when I knew what he wanted and what I had to do.
“No,” I told him, and he seemed to jerk in reaction.
His nostrils flared, the first sign of any emotion from him since he’d said my name. He reached for me, but I backed away, focusing on Kelli. “I’m sorry. I can’t.” I signed the words, unable to speak for the lump that was choking me. “I want to get to know you, but I think it would be better if we do that slowly. I don’t think I’m ready to trust anyone else right now.”
Kelli looked at me in confusion, and I realized Max hadn’t translated for me. Looking up at him, I found him frowning at me, his metallic-blue eyes glittering with an emotion I wasn’t ready to decipher. All I knew was that I didn’t want to see disappointment in his gaze.
He didn’t have to worry. Just because I’d turned down Kelli’s offer to move in with her didn’t mean he would have to continue to deal with me.
I understood. He wanted me to go with Kelli. I knew his mom was probably the one who’d made him realize I was no good for him. Not that I could blame her. Max deserved so much better than me.
It was okay, though.
I would be okay.
And I would make this easy for him.
17
Max
“No.”
The relief I felt at that one word nearly brought me to my knees. I knew Delaney wouldn’t let me down, but I’d felt a sliver of doubt that had made me hold my breath while I waited for her reaction to finding out Kelli was able and willing to give her all the things she needed.
But when I reached for my treasure, she stepped back, the hurt shining like twin spotlights from her brown eyes.