Her Name Was Annie by Beth Rinyu (the little red hen read aloud txt) 📕

youthful appearance. The petite, young blonde standing beside him had a smile on her face and I couldn’t help but wonder how much pain was hidden behind that smile.

“So the Cavlan family mystery deepens.” I sighed, just thinking about the poor girl. If it was true, she was only Kara’s age at the time it happened, and he was old enough to be her grandfather. It made me sick to my stomach to think about it. Even sicker to think he’d more than likely get away with it just because of who he was.

“It sure does. Right now, they’re trying to blow holes in her story to make it go away.”

“But this doesn’t explain anything about his brother and why he did what he did.” I put my phone down on the counter and reached for the broom, when I noticed a few crumbs on my floor and couldn’t take it anymore. Maybe all those years of growing up with my mother did have an effect on me after all.

“No, it doesn’t, but it gives me something more to think about.” Jack’s voice echoed through the speaker on my phone.

“Well, good luck trying to figure that one out. By the way, were they able to enhance the video anymore?”

“I don’t know, I’m still waiting to hear back from the agent who was working on that. I actually had to make an unplanned trip to Florida. My father had a heart attack.”

I put down the broom and took a seat at the kitchen table. Jack’s mother and father were like a second set of parents to me. Despite everything that had happened between their son and me, I always remained close with them, making sure they were a permanent fixture in Kara’s life. Taking my phone off speaker mode and holding it up to my ear, I asked, “Is he okay?”

“Yeah, he’s coming home from the hospital tomorrow, so I’m just gonna hang out here for a few more days to make sure he gets settled in, and also make sure my mom can handle taking care of him.”

“Please give him and your mother my love. Let her know if she needs anything, to call me.”

“I will,” he replied solemnly.

“Does Kara know?” I asked.

“No, I didn’t say anything. I know she’s got enough on her plate with her exams coming up. I want her to be able to focus on that right now.”

I nodded as if he could see me through the phone. Between this and the bombshell I needed to drop on her about her other grandparents, it was going to be a whirlwind for her, one that she could learn about after she was home.

“Did you talk to your father?” Jack asked.

I was amazed with everything going on in his life that he even remembered the drama that surrounded mine or that he even cared enough to ask. “I did,” I replied, swallowing the painful lump in my throat that would form just thinking about it. “And…what I gathered from that letter was right. I was adopted.” It had been the first time I’d said those three words out loud since learning about it. I wasn’t sure if it made me feel better or worse getting them out.

“Wow!” Jack whispered into the phone. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah. I guess as okay as one can be after learning something like that. It was a shock, that’s for sure, but I think what hurts the most is that they kept it a secret for so long. My father claims he wanted to tell me, and it was my mother who didn’t want me knowing, so he went along with it. The thing is, I couldn’t have asked for better parents. Did I do something to make them feel like I didn’t appreciate all they did for me? To make them feel as if I would love them less with knowing the truth?” My voice cracked with the emotion building up inside of me.

I couldn’t believe I was pouring my heart and soul out to a man I had vowed to never speak to again, some years ago. Of course I knew the never speaking to him again wouldn’t be possible, being we had a daughter between us—maybe more like very limited conversation. I had held up my promise until the man in the ocean showed up in my life. Now I was finding myself almost looking forward to my talks with Jack. Maybe I was finally over everything that happened between us, something I had tried desperately to do for years.

“I’m sure they knew how much you loved them, Steph. You were the best daughter they could’ve ever asked for.”

“Thanks.” I managed a smile, really needing to hear that from someone other than my father who knew me just as well as he did. “Well, I’ll let you get going. I have to try and find a Christmas tree online and hopefully have it delivered before Kara gets home next week.”

“Why don’t you just get a real one? Kara always wanted one growing up, remember? And you would always say—”

“They made too much of a mess with the needles,” I finished.

Thinking back now, that was so much like my mother. She’d never allow us to have a real tree for the same reason. I wanted to break free from the mold of perfection that made her feel the need to harbor secrets that didn’t need to be kept. I wanted my daughter to know it was okay not to be perfect. It may have been twenty-one years later, but she was going to get that real tree with the shedding needles she always wanted, and I wasn’t going to stress over the mess.

“You know what, you’re absolutely right, I think she finally deserves a real tree.” I tried to put out of my mind that it would require me to go and chop it down on my own, then lug it home. I’d manage somehow and have the tree ready and waiting