Makay dug in a drawer and found the correct notepad. She flipped to the fourth page and wrote down what she’d put into the bags. Above that were a dozen more entries just like it, and more filled the previous pages.
“Thanks, dear.” Sally shuffled the few steps across the linoleum to the carpet.
“Do you need help? I can take them upstairs for you.”
“No, no. You rest. I’m as healthy as a bear.”
Makay and Nate exchanged a look and he collapsed again in laughter, this time on his mattress on the floor. Sally didn’t notice except to mutter, “Happy child, isn’t he?”
Makay shut the door behind the old woman before joining Nate on his mattress. They lay next to each other, stomachs down, facing the balcony. “It makes her fart,” Nate said, bursting into giggles. “Just like Snoop.” Makay laughed with him. They laughed until Makay felt weak and dizzy again.
“Why do you even write it down?” Nate said. “She’s never going to pay. And how come you keep giving her stuff anyway?”
Makay sobered. “Because she needs it.” She leaned her cheek close to his. “She’s old and she has no one and no income except whatever she gets from social security. Helping her is our reward. She does tell people that we have stuff to sell, and that helps some.”
“Not much,” he muttered. “Too bad we can’t give her that chili.”
Makay snorted and they were off again, giggling and rolling around. When they finally calmed down, Makay gave him a kiss, let an unhappy Snoop back in from the balcony, and went to take a desperately needed shower. Not having a bathtub was one of the things Makay hated the most about this tiny apartment. She’d discovered hot baths at Lily’s House, and she’d longed for them ever since. For over a year when they’d first moved here, before he learned to take a shower, Nate had bathed in a large plastic washtub she’d found at the dump.
A few minutes later, she was feeling a lot cleaner but far more tired. She dressed in a fresh pair of jeans, a T-shirt, and a red sweatshirt. The clean sweatshirt didn’t have a zippered pocket, so she put her gun into a small holster that clipped inside the back of her jeans and pulled the sweatshirt down over it.
With a longing glance at her bed, she went to find Nate. “I need to do a few errands,” she said. “I’ll make a snack first to take with us. Can you bring some of your books?”
“Are we going to the library?”
“Not today.”
“What about my DS?”
For his last birthday she’d scrimped to buy him the handheld video game console—the only thing he’d asked for—but it had come with only one game that was too hard for him. He’d taken it all in good stride, assuring her it was okay, but she’d cried after he’d gone to sleep because she hadn’t been able to afford another game that he could enjoy.
“You can bring it if you want,” she said, “but you remember how much you hate that game, right?”
“I think I’m growing into it.”
“Maybe so.” She hugged him.
“What about Snoop?”
“He can’t come this time. We might have to go inside, and I don’t dare leave him alone for very long.”
“Yeah, he might chew on the seats.”
“Exactly.”
While he went to gather his books, she turned toward the kitchen, thinking that today might be a nice time to break out the box of Nate’s favorite granola bars that she’d been saving. She would slice oranges, too, since Nate loved them and they still had plenty left from the tree they’d picked at Janice’s daughter’s house. Meanwhile, she’d call Lenny and see if she could determine where he might be at the moment. She put in her earpiece, dialed, and slipped the phone into her sweatshirt pocket before opening her cupboard.
He answered on the first ring. “Hey, baby, this better be a call to say you’ve changed your mind.”
“Not until I get some answers.” She pulled four granola bars from the box and set them on the counter.
He sighed. “You can’t ruin this for me. It’s worth too much. And there’s another job I need you for, but that won’t begin to make up for this one if I lose out.”
“What? Another job? I said no more. You promised.”
“That was only if you did
this
job. But you’re giving me so much hassle that it’s two now. After that, you’re off the hook.”
So he was still pretending he’d let her go. She took two oranges from the fridge and began slicing them. “One job—and that’s only if you give me the truth. I mean it. Tell me now, or I’m walking. I don’t care about any stupid file you have on me.” She made her voice hard, hoping he wouldn’t see through the lie.
Lenny was silent for a long time and all she could hear was her own breathing. “Okay, he said finally. “You’re right. The adopted baby in the file is you. I knew once you got looking at the dates, you’d figure it out. I even
wanted
you to figure it out—why do you think I gave you the real information? I could have given you any similar dates, couldn’t I? I should have just told you, but I didn’t know how after we’ve been looking for her all these years. And now there’s just so much money involved, I sort of hoped you’d talk to the woman before you went all emotional on me so you can understand what a bitch she is.”
Makay closed her eyes, struggling for breath. Why did she feel that someone had kicked her in the gut? “You mean you want to make sure I’d do the scam.”
“Well, of course. Stop it with the emotions already. In the end it’s only a job.”
“No, it’s not.”
“She deserves it, Makay. Just like all the others. This will give you closure. And you can say all day that you don’t care about the file I have on you, but I know you too well to believe that. You
will
do both of these jobs.”
She still couldn’t find air and the words came out a scarce whisper. “These people you blackmail, that’s how you find them. They’re your clients’ birth parents. Every one of them.”
“Well, duh. Look, I’ll come over. We’ll talk about this. I know what I’m doing. This will free you.”
“Don’t you dare come here!” She hung up and leaned on the counter, placing her cheek against the cool surface, panting and trying not to cry. Her hand still clutched the knife. She should have realized this was coming. She’d seen the signs yesterday in the way he avoided her eyes. Maybe part of her had known. Maybe that was the real reason for her collapse.
“Makay?”
She opened her eyes to see Nate staring at up her, his brown eyes troubled. “Are you okay?”
“I’m just feeling a little tired,” she managed. “It’s nothing to worry about, but we’re not going to run errands after all. I need to lie down.”
“Does this mean we can’t have dinner with Harrison?” His lips clenched as if afraid of what she would say. “I mean that’s okay if you’re sick.” The dejection in his voice told her it wasn’t okay, but that he loved her enough to
want
to be okay with whatever she decided.
“I’m not sick. I just need a nap. An hour or two maybe.” She straightened and put the knife away. “I’ve made you some snacks, so why don’t you eat them while you watch a video. I’ll be in the bedroom if you need me.”
“Okay.” He nodded, smiling at the plate she filled for him. “Thanks!”
So trusting,
she thought as he carried it into the living room. She walked slowly through the short hallway and into the bedroom, collapsing on the mattress. She held the pillow against her face and sobbed.
After all these years, she’d found her biological mother. It had been her dream for as long as she could remember. Maybe if she hadn’t lost her adoptive mother, the dream wouldn’t have been important. Maybe if her father hadn’t become a drunk or if Fern had been at all nurturing. But what happened had happened, and the dream of finding a connection with someone else to fill that void had become a part of her. Now she wished she’d never begun the search. In all the scenarios she’d dreamed of since her adoptive mother’s death, it had never crossed her mind that her birth mother would rather pay blackmail than acknowledge her.
Makay sobbed harder because that wasn’t really true. Ever since she’d started doing these jobs for Nate, in the back of her mind she’d wondered about where her birth mother was and if she’d be welcomed in her life.
Worse, never once had any targets changed their mind about accepting their supposed birth child after they’d seen her.
Chapter Eleven
H
arrison pulled into his parking spot, pondering his next move. Makayla Greyson was an enigma. One moment her eyes were begging him to kiss her and the next those same luminous eyes showed determination to drive him away.
Of course, he could be imagining it all.
He ran up the stairs, taking them two at a time. Whatever she felt for him, he was more alive than he had been in years. Yet there was so much he didn’t know about her. Like what work she did for that rat-faced man, and why she didn’t want him to pick her up to take her to his family dinner.
Maybe she’s not going to show.
But he didn’t believe that.
He shook his head as he sat on his leather couch. “I have it bad. Really bad.”
As he looked around, the apartment, even in its bareness, seemed almost plush and overly luxurious compared to Makay’s tiny apartment. Despite the distastefulness of her place, the fact that she’d been able to climb up from the dark background both she and Lily had hinted at and raise a boy as well-adjusted as Nate was nothing short of miraculous in his view. Where would he be now if his mother had kept his baby sister and then later died? Would he have had enough quality of character to take care of her? He shook his head at the ridiculousness of his thoughts. He’d only been three when his mother placed the baby for adoption.
He stretched out his legs and reached for his phone. He had plenty of time to get ready, but he needed to talk to his mother and tell her he was bringing Makay. He’d never brought anyone home for Sunday dinner before, and if she acted weird about it, he’d call up Makay and arrange to meet her and Nate somewhere else.
“Hello?”
“Hi, Mom. It’s me.”
“Oh, Harrison. Eli and I were just talking about you. We’re driving home from church. We hoped you’d show up this morning.”
“Sorry. I was helping a sick friend.”
“That’s good.” His mother’s voice grew faint as he heard her say to Eli, “He was helping a sick friend.” Eli rumbled something Harrison couldn’t understand, and then his mother was back on the phone. “Are you coming for dinner tonight?”
“I’d like to, but I want to bring a friend. Someone I want you to meet.”
“Oh.” His mother’s tone changed, but he couldn’t tell if it was positive or negative. “Is this a male someone or a female someone?”
“It’s a woman. Someone I met.”
“Is it the girl Tianna told me about?”
His sister and her big mouth. Then again, maybe that meant this wasn’t such a surprise for his mother. She’d had enough surprises this week with the blackmail notes. “Yeah. Her name is Makayla.”
“So you really like her.” Again he heard his mother’s voice draw away from the phone as she whispered to Eli, “He’s found a girl.” That seemed to indicate she was excited about the idea. “We’d love to meet her,” she said, her voice coming back to full volume. “Although it seems kind of fast, doesn’t it?”
“Yeah.” No use denying it. “But I still want you to meet her.”
“Looking forward to it. Does she eat meat?”
Harrison thought back to the ham he’d put in the omelet. “Yes. She likes everything.”
Except syrup.
But that was between them.
“Wonderful. We’re having chicken Alfredo with fettuccini.”
“Uh,” now came the hard part, “there’s something else. Makayla has a little brother, and he’ll be coming, too. He’s six.”
“A brother?”
He could hear the disapproval in her voice and imagined her brow arching. People in his mother’s circle didn’t bring children to a dinner party unless the hostess extended an invitation. “She has custody of him. From what I’ve seen, she doesn’t leave him with others easily. If she becomes a part of my life, that little boy will, too.”
There was a brief intake of air and a pause before his mother said, “Well, of course the poor child can come. What happened to his parents? And how old did you say he was?”
He could tell she was already picturing Nate as a mini-Harrison. He found he didn’t mind at all. His mom adored Rhonda’s baby, Caulin, but at one year, the baby didn’t much like either of his grandparents. Caulin was clingy with Rhonda, and she only left him with her husband’s sister because they spent a lot of time together.
“So, Mom, about that other issue,” Harrison said when she had finished her questions. “Have you received any more notes? I haven’t here yet.”
“No.” Her voice became tense.
“Hopefully, that means it’s over. But I haven’t driven the Beetle back to the gym since Friday.” One of his fears was that if the blackmailer knew enough about his mother to leave the note in the first place, he or she had to know where she lived—perhaps where they all lived. Uneasiness settled in his gut. The sooner he put this to rest, the better. “I’ll drive it there tomorrow during my lunch.”
“Oh, sweetheart,” his mother said brightly. “Let’s talk about this another time, okay? Your father and I are just pulling into the drive. I need to get lunch out of the way so I can start on dinner.”
Obviously, she didn’t want to risk Eli overhearing anything. It was just as well there had been no news because dreading it was bad enough. “Okay. I need to shower anyway.” And take a nap. He sighed, wishing he could have stayed with Makay.
The afternoon passed far too slowly for Harrison, even after showering, eating, and drifting off into a restless sleep with dreams of Makay that made him hot enough to jump into the shower again. He even shaved, laughing at himself in the mirror for the first time in months.
At last it was time to drive to his parents. The moment of truth—would Makay be there?
Outside his apartment building, the stray cat meowed at him hopefully from the greenery beneath the closest of the decorative palms that surrounded the apartment complex. “Sorry, buddy, no tuna today.” He remembered the numerous cans and other items in Makay’s cupboards and her explanation for them. The collection was so varied—denture cream?—that there was probably some truth to her claim of buying groceries for the people in her building, but that didn’t really explain why she had several dozen of some items and why they were still at her house. He wondered if she had a hoarding issue because of her difficult childhood.