“Sorry, doesn’t bring anyone to mind.”
She’s lying. Why is she lying? It suddenly occurs to me I’m not the only one dodging the paparazzi. “I’m not a journalist or here to harass her. I need to speak with her.”
She opens her mouth to argue, but the young man interrupts her. “Holy shit, you’re Axton.” He gapes at me for a moment before adding. “She’s probably in the cemetery just down the road. Make a right out of the parking lot. You can’t miss it.”
“Colton!” the lady exclaims.
“Mom, he’s Axton Todd. She was his son’s nanny when…everything happened.”
“And we promised to guard her privacy. I told you…”
Their arguing voices fade as I head back out the door. I’m not sure where I expected to find Naomi when I decided to seek her out. A hotel or a friend’s house, maybe. Not an old cemetery in the middle of small town nowhere.
The road is narrow with overgrown ditches and trees winding alongside it. There are a few spots where I have to slow down to keep the low hanging tree branches from scratching the SUV’s finish. When nature parts to reveal the cemetery, I’m a little surprised at how large it is. The grass is cut and fresh flowers rest against a few headstones.
In the back row, I spot her, sitting with her back to a fence, a book in her hand, as if hanging out in a cemetery was the most normal thing in the world. She glances up at the sound of the motor, then returns her focus to the book.
Pulling off to the side of the road, I take a deep breath. She’s right there. The woman who burst in and reminded me I could care, then ripped it away by showing me why I shouldn’t. The liar. The manipulator. The reason my son is miserable. Anger takes over. I want answers, and she’s damn well going to give them to me.
Another truck pulls in and parks a few rows over, and the same young man who told me where to find her gets out. Naomi looks up and gives him a wave, then goes back to her book after he returns it. Without a glance in my direction, he pulls a weed whacker out of the back of his truck and starts fiddling with it.
She never looks up as I get out and walk toward her. It isn’t until I’m standing right next to her that her head tilts up to see me.
“Axton!” Her eyes are a mile wide and they dart to the SUV. “Is Caden with you?” She leaps to her feet.
“Fuck no! Do you really think I’d bring him?”
“No, I…” Her hands twist together. “Of course not. I just…didn’t expect to see you.”
“I need the truth,” I snap. “All of it. You fucking owe me that much.”
“I didn’t have anything to do with Caden being taken. I don’t know those people. I swear.” Her words fall out in a rush.
“Then what the fuck were you up to? You wanted something. You manipulated us from the beginning. Was it money? You thought if you got in my bed that I’d marry you, make you rich? That’s it, isn’t it? Just a common fucking gold digger.”
It’s the most logical answer and one I can understand no matter how it may tear me in half. It’s common. One of the first things agents and managers will tell you once you become successful is to watch out for the money seekers. Hell, they have a whole speech about how to be careful not to put yourself in situations where someone can take advantage.
She winces and shakes her head. Her hands tremble as she pulls her phone out of her pocket, taps the screen a few times and hands it to me. It shows a bank app—more specifically, an account showing a total of just over four million dollars.
What the hell? It only adds more questions. Why take a nanny job with that kind of money? Why work as a teacher the year before? Did she manage to lie about that as well?
“I don’t need money,” she says, taking the phone back.
Frustration climbs over me. “Then what the fuck were you after?”
An audible swallow precedes her small voiced reply, “Family.”
“We’re not your family!”
Desperation fills her features as she looks up at me. “Caden is. He’s the only relative I have left.”
“Then why didn’t you step in to try to get custody? Or visitation rights? Or show up at the fucking door and tell me you’d like to see your nephew?”
“Because of the way everything happened. I don’t know. There wasn’t time. Fuck, it’s a long story. I’ll tell you everything. I want to tell you everything. I know you’re pissed and you should be, but please, give me a chance to explain everything before you decide you hate me.”
“I don’t hate you. I wouldn’t waste the effort. I don’t give a fuck about you. I want to know why you inserted yourself into Caden’s life. Why you lied the entire time.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Fuck your sorry!” Bird wings beat the air as a flock takes off at my scream. I’m losing it. I need to keep my temper in check if I’m going to get any answers.
The sky has turned a deep gray and a light sprinkle starts to fall. “Come on,” I snap, and stalk away without bothering to look back to see if she follows. We get to the SUV, and I unlock it, letting her inside. Either she isn’t afraid of me and my anger, or she’s willing to risk it because she doesn’t hesitate to get in.
“Now, you’re going to tell me exactly how you know Caden and the people who took him. Don’t leave one fucking thing out, do you understand?”
The windows start to fog as the rain becomes a steady curtain around the car. Her gaze falls to her hands clasped in her lap. “I’ll start from the beginning. Deidre was my sister—well, half-sister—but I only met her once. And only talked to her a few times. We have the same father.
“When I was little, Dad lived with us, with me and Mom, like any normal family, but there were times when he’d disappear for weeks. Then he’d return, usually with toys for me and gifts for Mom. They’d argue and Mom would cry, but then everything would go back to normal and he’d be home again. I didn’t understand then what it meant or why Mom would get so mad. I mean, he always came back.
“Until one day, he didn’t. I don’t know how long he was gone when she decided to go find him. I have a foggy memory of staying with a neighbor lady for a few days. I remember being afraid that Mom wouldn’t come back either. I thought maybe it was me he wanted away from and she did too. I wasn’t old enough to understand a child doesn’t drive away a parent.”
Her words send a spike through my chest, but she doesn’t notice my reaction. Her head is tilted away and she gazes out the window. I don’t think she’s in this car with me anymore, but back in the time she’s describing.
“Mom came back and told me to forget about him. That he had a new wife and another little girl. They were his family now. I was so angry. I hated that other little girl. For years I hated the thought of her and how she took my place.
“I was angry and heartbroken, but Mom was devastated. She was never the same after that. She wasn’t interested in anything, not even me, and I thought she blamed me. It was like I lost both parents. I never went without food or clothes or essentials, but I was starved just the same. For someone to care about me.”