Finally Satisfied (8 page)

“She’s right,” Mitch said. “You have a real
gift.”

“Thank you.”

Her mother picked up her gift from the floor
and held it in her lap until the last gift had been opened. “I
wonder what this might be?” she said with a grin. She ripped the
paper off and held the picture out in front of her. “Oh, it’s my
beautiful girls, all grown up.” She choked up and passed the
picture to Cara. “Thank you, sweetheart. You’re all so beautiful.
I’ll treasure this picture forever.”

“I technically didn’t take that picture.
Mitch did.”

“Mitch? Really?” Angel’s mother turned to
look at him. “I didn’t know you were a photographer.”

Mitch laughed. “I’m not, believe me. Angel
set everything up. All I did was push the button.”

“Well, you did that very well.”

Her mom was right. Mitch seemed to do a lot
of things well.

***

Gray and Sam were absorbed in the football
game, her mother had retreated to her room for a nap, and Cara and
Reggie were involved in a heated game of spades. Normally, Angel
would be back at work at her computer by now, but Mitch showed no
real interest in the game and she didn’t want to be rude and walk
out on him.

Then he took her hand, put a finger to his
lips, and led her through the kitchen, out the back door, and
around the front to his car. When she looked up at him, he said, “I
told you I had another gift in the car. This one is for your eyes
only, unless you decide to share it with the others. I’ll leave
that up to you.”

He opened the door for her, closed it behind
her, then hurried around to the other side. Once inside, he pulled
a small photo album from the center console. “I hope I’m doing the
right thing here. But you’ve worked so hard with Vanessa to get
your life back on track, that I’m hoping this doesn’t cause a set
back.”

What on earth was he talking about? “Mitch,
referring me to Vanessa was probably the most important thing
anyone has ever done for me. She’s more than a psychologist. She’s
a life coach, as well. Whatever this is, if it causes a problem for
me, she and I will handle it. I have to learn to take the good and
the bad.”

Brave words, but now she was nervous. Not
pre-panic attack nervous, but a bit leery of what he was about to
share. And the suspense was killing her.

“Just show me what it is, okay?”

He took a deep breath. “I’ve been looking for
him--Ryan--for more than five years. I’ve posted on some adoption
sites with no luck. But I wanted to find him for you, so I hired a
private detective. He found him.”

Angel covered her mouth with one shaking hand
to keep from crying out. “You found him? Where is he? Can I see
him? Does he want to meet me?”

“Hang on. Let me tell you what I know. I
don’t know exactly where he is. The PI is a friend of mine, but he
won’t tell me because Ryan is still under age. But I have pictures,
and I have a pretty good background story on him. Here’s what I do
know. He has two brothers and a sister, all adopted. He plays
football, baseball, and soccer. He’s also an honor student who
wants to go to Harvard.”

Angel blinked back tears. “Is he happy?
Healthy? Does he need anything?”

“His family is very comfortable, but not
rich. He goes to a private school and seems very well adjusted and
happy. There are no known medical problems.”

“How did you get all this information?” It
kind of scared her that he was able to find out so much about her
son, even though she was thrilled to know he was okay.

“The PI posed as a college scout and had a
long talk with his school counselor, his coaches, and a few
teachers. He also talked to neighbors and spent a long time
watching the family.” He handed her the album. “He took some
pictures. He wanted me to make sure you knew that he doesn’t live
in Austin, but he is still in Texas. He doesn’t want us to approach
him until he turns eighteen. That was something the counselor
mentioned, that Ryan had talked about it but he doesn’t want to
hurt his adoptive parents by searching for you now.”

Angel took the book with trembling hands and
opened the cover. Looking back at her was a carbon copy of Eric at
that age. All little boy smile and sparkling eyes, straight white
teeth in a tanned face. His jawline was more like hers, more angled
and stronger than Eric’s. He was sturdy and muscular, like he
worked out with weights. But there was an intelligence in his eyes
that gave him an inner strength as well.

She flipped through the pages to see pictures
of him at football practice, on a family outing, going into a
church, all dressed up for Sunday services. Pictures with his
brothers, tossing a football in the street. One with his sister,
who looked about ten years old. His hand sat firmly on her
shoulder, protective as well as affectionate.

The last picture showed him standing by a car
with a pretty brunette by his side. They were both dressed up, like
for a dance or fancy party. The girl was smiling up at Ryan with
adoring eyes. Much as Angel had looked at Eric.

Oh god, she hoped his father had talked to
him about sex, about the importance of protection. Something her
own mother had been too embarrassed to do. Something she would have
done if she could.

“He’s fine, Angel. He’s had a good life. He
has a family who loves him, he’s popular at school, he gets good
grades, and he has plans for his future. He’ll get in touch when
the time is right, I’m sure. But for now, these pictures have to be
enough.”

She used the hem of her sweater to mop at her
wet face. Mitch handed her a tissue from a box in the console. “It
is. It’s so much more than I could have hoped for.”

He released a pent-up breath. “I’m glad. I
was so worried about doing this. I should have called Vanessa and
asked her…”

“No. I’m okay. This makes me so much more
than okay.” She leaned over and kissed his cheek. “You’re a good
man, Mitch Turner. You almost make me wish I’d said yes all those
years ago.”

He took her hand in his and kissed her palm,
then curled her fingers into a fist. “Hold on to that thought.”

CHAPTER SIX

Angel’s breath caught as they started up the
mountain. The scenery was beautiful, beyond anything she could have
imagined. Television and movies didn’t do snow-covered mountains
justice. For someone used to the sunny skies and mostly warm days
of Austin, this was like another world.

Houses dotted the landscape on the lower
levels of the mountain, but as they moved farther up, the pristine
white snow was broken only by trees and the occasional animal
track. She spent most of the drive with the passenger window open,
snapping pictures as they drove by.

“Angel, close that window! We’re freezing
back here!”

“Just a minute, mom. I want to catch the sun
in the trees.”

“You can take pictures when we reach the
lodge. Now close the window.”

Angel was beginning to regret agreeing to
share a room with her mother. As the wedding week had approached,
she’d gotten more nervous and snappy. Her dress didn’t look right.
Her haircut was too short. She hadn’t lost the weight she’d wanted
to. “Chill, Mom.” But she rolled up the window and tucked her
camera back into its padded case.

Mitch smiled at her from the driver’s seat.
“I’ll drive you back down the mountain if you want more pictures
later. But I think you’ll find plenty to photograph at the
lodge.”

“I know. I just wanted to document the trip.
I have enough pictures of this part, I think.”

“Are you excited about this week? You’re
going to be very busy.”

She nodded. “Excited. Nervous. Scared,
actually.”

He glanced at her face, then turned his
attention back to the road. “Scared? Of what?”

She twisted her hands in her lap. “I don’t
know how I’ll react to seeing Eric,” she said quietly so her mother
wouldn’t overhear.

His eyebrows drew together. “Why would you
see Eric? He won’t be here.”

Angel turned in her seat to look at him. “He
won’t? But…but I thought, since his kids were in the wedding…”

“Where did you get that idea? Eric’s kids
aren’t in the wedding.”

“Then who are the ring bearer and flower
girl? I thought…”

Mitch shook his head. “You’ve worried about
that all this time? I wondered why you bolted out of the restaurant
that day. Erin’s kids are in the wedding, not Eric’s. His kids are
too old.”

Angel sagged against the seat. Erin’s kids,
not Eric’s. Erin had only been twelve years old when everything
happened, too young to really even know what was going on. Angel
held no hard feelings against her at all. The dread she’d had for
the week ahead dissolved into relief. She hadn’t let herself think
about actually having fun, but now it didn’t seem like such an
unlikely prospect after all.

She smiled happily to herself and turned her
attention to the scenery flashing past her window.

***

Two hours later, Angel had changed into her
brand new ski suit, repacked her camera and lenses into a backpack,
and headed outside to catch the sunset. The others were still
settling into their rooms and making plans for the week. It was the
perfect time for her to do what she loved best.

She snapped shots of the outside of the
lodge, children playing in the snow, cars snaking their way up the
mountain. She walked around to the back of the lodge and spotted
the lake in the distance. In a few minutes the setting sun would be
at the horizon. If she hurried, she could catch the reflection in
the water.

She set off down the cleared path, humming to
herself as she walked. Now that she didn’t have to worry about
running into Eric, she was relaxed and completely at ease. Nerves
would probably set in again when the wedding day got closer, but
for now she would enjoy every minute she could.

As she neared the lake, the sky turned a
brilliant pink as the sun began to sink below the horizon. She
hurried to the water’s edge and quickly set up her tripod, snapped
her camera onto the top, and lined up her shot. The lake was
covered with a thick layer of ice which provided an interesting
foreground, with cracks zigzagging across the surface. She took her
first shot, changed the exposure and took another. She shifted the
camera angle a few degrees, then a few more.

Once she was satisfied, the sun had
disappeared below the horizon and she looked around for something
else to shoot. The lights came on at the lodge, bathing everything
around it in a golden glow. She hefted the tripod onto her shoulder
and headed back to take a picture from the front. As she rounded
the corner, she ran into Mitch, nearly knocking both of them
down.

“Oh, I’m sorry. Are you okay?”

“Yeah. I was just coming out to make sure you
made it back okay.”

“How did you know where I was?

He tucked a wayward strand of hair back under
her cap. “I’ve been watching you.”

“Really?” She ducked her head, suddenly shy.
“Why?”

“I was on the balcony, looking at the lake,
and I saw you taking pictures. You looked so at peace out there,
like you were totally in your element.”

“I was.” She let him take the heavy tripod
from her without protest. “If I could figure out how to make a
living at it, I’d do nothing but nature photography. Nature doesn’t
criticize.”

“I’ve seen your work. I can’t imagine anyone
criticizing it.” He tucked his hand under her arm so she wouldn’t
fall if she hit a patch of ice and carried the tripod in the
other.

“Oh, you’d be surprised. I get moms sometimes
who schedule their kids’ appointments because it’s a certain
birthday, or half birthday or something. But they can’t afford the
pictures. They just want the proofs. But instead of telling me they
can’t afford to buy prints, they start nitpicking every shot. Then
they storm out. They got what they wanted--the proofs--and they
don’t mind ripping me apart in the process. But that’s depressing,
and the last thing I want to be up here is depressed. So, are there
any plans for tonight?”

“Everyone’s getting together in the lobby in
a few minutes.” Mitch waited while she took several shots of the
lodge entrance, then helped her carry her gear inside. Then he
waited while she put it away. When she’d finished, they went down
to the lobby where the others waited around the fireplace. He
stopped in front of a beautiful twenty-something who had to be
Erin. Two children, about five and seven years old, were working on
a puzzle on the large coffee table.

“Erin,” Mitch said, “This is Angel.”

Angel held her breath. Would Erin blow her
carefully guarded secret wide open by mentioning Eric?

But Erin smiled and said, “It’s very nice to
meet you. Mitch told me you’re a professional photographer and will
be taking pictures at the wedding. I’m so excited. I hope you get
lots of pictures of these two monkeys. I’ll pay whatever you ask to
get some good prints. They always goof off at the studio.”

“I’m sure we can get some good candids for
you. And hopefully they’ll let me get a few formal shots as well.”
Angel prayed that she could. Though the kids were behaving right
now, she could tell by the mischievous glint in the younger one’s
eyes that he could be a handful.

They chatted a few more minutes with no
mention of Eric or Angel’s relationship to him, and then Erin
gathered the two kids and took them upstairs.

Mitch must have picked up on Angel’s tension,
because he leaned close and whispered, “I talked to her before we
left home. She knows that no one else knows about you and Eric. She
won’t say anything.”

“Thank you.” Angel squeezed his hand. “I
really appreciate that.”

Somehow Mitch seemed to anticipate the
potential problems and took steps to diffuse them. She’d never met
anyone quite like him. The more she was around him, the more she
realized he was nothing like his brother. When she looked at him,
he didn’t really even look like Eric, after all.