“Nothing fazed her. She was the most progressive mother in the district.”
“But it’s all a sham, isn’t it? For all her talk about the importance of honest and open communication, she hasn’t been honest with me. Why did Karen and Peter lie to me?”
“To us! I don’t know, but there must be a reason. Whatever it is, they’re still Mom and Dad.”
Alice flinched. “They’re your mom and dad. I have no idea who my parents are. I can’t even start to wrap my head around it. Are you sure neither one of them can be my biological parent?”
“The blood group says it’s impossible and their reaction confirmed it. Tomorrow, we’ll demand answers. They can’t not tell us.”
Alice wanted to learn the truth as much as she feared it. “They can. I mean, they’ve lied this long.”
“If they do, we’ll test your DNA and start searching for answers that way.” Libby squeezed her hand. “But I doubt it will come to that. Now the secret’s out, there’s no reason not to tell the whole story. I get the feeling Dad’s relieved we know.”
Alice’s heart ached. For all the times she clashed with Karen, Peter was always in her corner. Even though he wasn’t artistic, he wasn’t quite as organized as Karen. He liked to take his time and mull on things, unlike Libby and Karen, who specialized in making fast decisions. For as long as Alice could remember, she’d treasured the understanding she was more like him.
“Maybe all of this explains why I’m so different from you and Karen.”
“Look in the mirror. You’re not very different.”
“You know what I mean. I’m the disorganized Hunter. The vague and messy one. The one everyone worries about.”
“Only because we love you.”
Alice pulled her hand out of Libby’s, not ready to have that conversation. “I just want to sleep.” And forget.
“Do you need some help? I can give you a sleeping pill.”
Alice thought about how easily she’d fallen asleep with Harry and Brutus pressing comfortingly against her. “I’ll borrow Monty for company.”
In the end, she’d tossed and turned, listening to a large chunk of an audio book, but never able to fully silence the question loop. Who were her parents? Why had Karen and Peter never told her she was adopted? Was she adopted? Who the hell was she?
By 6:00 a.m., she’d given up on sleep. She got up to the sweet caroling call of the magpies, borrowed Libby’s running gear and went for a jog. Not a natural athlete, she welcomed the assault on her body as she struggled to get breath into her lungs and oxygen into her cells, leaving her mind blessedly quiet. Alice wanted to keep running and never stop.
When she returned to Burrunan, the household was stirring. Her nieces, who’d been asleep when she’d arrived the night before, threw themselves at her in the way only children can, their joy innocent and unfettered. They begged her to make pancakes. She rolled around on the floor with them first, letting them sit on her, and then she made them breakfast, thankful for their distracting chatter. It kept the worry at bay that today’s explanation from her parents might be worse than yesterday’s shocking news.
As Libby slung her work satchel on her shoulder and walked to the door, she announced, “Dan’s here.”
Alice’s pancake caught in the back of her throat. “What?”
“‘Dan the man’ is walking down the side of the house. He’ll be here in three, two, one. Morning, Dan. Hello, goodbye. I’m late for clinic.”
“Oh, ah, hi, bye, Libby.” After Libby rushed past him, Dan stepped inside holding a cardboard coffee tray full of drinks.
Alice blinked. “You brought me coffee?”
“Skinny latte extra hot, right?”
Dan knew her coffee order? “Thank you. Um, shouldn’t you be at school?”
“I had to see you first.” Dan wrapped his arms around her, hugging her so tight it was hard to breathe. “You know how to worry a bloke, Twin Two.”
Alice flinched and immediately felt bad. It wasn’t Dan’s fault his nickname for her no longer fitted. “Sorry.”
“Don’t be sorry. I’m sorry I wasn’t there for you. I saw the missed call, but I assumed it was a pocket dial, because Tuesday night’s game night and, well, you know, we usually only text. It wasn’t until Nick showed up, worried as all get out and you’d turned off your phone that I panicked. Libby said there’s some stuff going down with your parents …” He uncharacteristically ran his hand through his hair, messing the style he would have spent time perfecting. “The thing is, I broke a rule of engagement. I told Karen to back off and let you live your life your way. I’m sorry if that’s made things difficult for you.”
“You’re very sweet and, yes, Mom did go ballistic, but you’re not the problem.”
“Are you sure you’re okay? Libby was terrified you might hurt yourself.”
A whoosh of indignant heat hit her. When was her family ever going to accept she was no longer a confused, angry and frustrated fourteen-year-old? “I might have just been told I can’t have children and that my parents are not my parents, but I’m not going to hurt myself!”
Dan stared at her, momentarily speechless. “Shit, Alice. That’s a lifetime of crap in a few days.”
“You know me. When I do something, I’m all in.” But her voice wobbled.
“No one can fault you on your commitment.” Dan hugged her again, but this time when he let her go, he gently cupped her cheeks and then he was kissing her.
It was a vastly different kiss from the hello and goodbye pecks he’d been casually dropping on her cheek for months, but it was absolutely nothing like the erotic kisses he pressed all over her body during sex. This kiss was soft, non-urgent—a lot like tender affection.
“Do you want to
