“This is my friend Ryan Walker. Sorry we didn’t call first.”
“That’s okay. I guess I should’ve called you. I’m so sorry about your mother.”
“Thank you,” Bailey said, lowering her eyes. “Does your father live here with you?”
“Um, well…he did.”
“Did?” Bailey asked.
“Yes, he…uh…he left to attend your mother’s funeral and never returned.” Anna’s smile turned into a frown.
“What?” Bailey said, her hand jumping to her chest. “He never returned home? I don’t understand. Have you heard from him?”
“Yeah, he’s called.” She shrugged and said, “He’s decided to tour the country, whatever that means. He’s been kicking around, you know.” She brushed a hand at them. “A little restless since he retired a few months ago. I guess he’s found something to keep him busy. He bought a motor coach in California, and he’s been living in it since, driving around.” Her eyes lowered, and she said, “He’s sent me a couple of postcards, mostly from California and Nevada.”
“Wow. I’m a little surprised,” Bailey said. “He never mentioned anything when he was in South Lake Tahoe. I thought he was returning home.”
“It was a big surprise for me, too.” Anna placed her hand on her forehead. “Oh, God. I hope you didn’t come all this way to see him.”
“Well, yes…”
“Oh. I’m sorry, but I wish you would have called first to save yourself the trip,” Anna said. She gestured to the hall beyond the foyer. “Can I make you two some lunch?”
“We wouldn’t want to intrude,” Ryan said, taking a step toward the door.
“No, please. It’s just sandwiches, but there’s plenty. I’d love to catch up.”
Bailey said, “I’d love to talk for a while, too.”
“Then stay. Lunch is the least I can do.”
“I’ve actually tried calling a few times,” Bailey said, following Anna to the kitchen. “But I just get his voicemail.” Bailey pulled out her phone and showed Anna the number she’d been calling. “Is this the correct number?”
Anna glanced over at Bailey’s phone and nodded. “Yes, that’s the landline to his private office here at home. Of course, he hasn’t been here, so that’s a dead end. Nobody else would answer that phone.”
“I thought he might have been avoiding my calls on purpose. I wasn’t even sure he would see me if he knew why we were coming.”
“Bailey, of course he would. Why wouldn’t he?” She pointed toward a line of barstools on the opposite side of a long kitchen island then opened the refrigerator.
“I don’t know.” Bailey and Ryan both slid onto barstools across from where Anna was placing the bread and condiments for sandwiches. “I’m researching my birth.”
Anna scrunched up her eyebrows. “Your birth? I don’t understand.”
“You didn’t know I was adopted?”
“Oh, no.” Her eyes grew wide. “Oh, wow, I had no idea.”
“Your father’s been writing letters to my mother about it. I wanted to talk to him to see if he knew more.”
Anna removed lunchmeat and cheese from the fridge. “I knew he wrote to her. He was worried about her failing health. You know, your dad, Ernie, was his favorite brother. He really looked up to him. Dad took his death hard. He wanted to keep in touch with your mom in case she ever needed anything.”
“Well, I need something now, and I hope he’s willing to help me.”
She set the food down and gave Bailey a grave look. “Bailey, honestly, I have no way of reaching him. He doesn’t carry a cell phone, and he won’t give me an itinerary, so I’m forced to wait for him to contact me.” She cleared her throat. “Might be a while before you get what you need from him.”
Bailey felt like crying now.
“Anna, do you know if your dad kept the letters from Helen?” Ryan asked.
“I don’t know.” She shook her head. “I’m sorry, but I don’t feel comfortable looking through his things. It’s not fair to invade his privacy when he’s not here.”
Ryan waved off her apology. “No, of course not. We wouldn’t ask you to do anything that makes you uncomfortable.”
After lunch, they left Anna’s house with no more information than they had before they’d arrived. “I can’t believe it, Ryan.”
“How convenient that he decided to ‘tour America’ after your mother’s funeral.”
“I don’t know what to think now.” She threw her hands out. “He acted so normal when we had dinner.”
“That’s probably because he quickly realized that you didn’t know anything about whatever he’s hiding.” Ryan opened her car door, shutting it after she slid into the passenger seat.
When he was belted into the driver’s seat and starting the car, she said, “Apparently, my mom decided to keep the secret.”
“Well, that depends on what the secret actually is. She didn’t bother destroying the news clippings and scrapbooks. She obviously wanted you to find them.”
“Maybe one doesn’t have anything to do with the other.”
Ryan shrugged. “Maybe, but it’s clear the secret they’re keeping has something to do with you and your family.”
She glanced at him before typing the next address into the maps app on her phone. “Next stop, Aunt Lucy’s?”
“Do you think there’s any chance she has any information about this?”
Bailey hit the start button and said, “I have no idea, but I won’t get my hopes up.”
“Would you rather wait until tomorrow to talk to her? You looked wiped.”
She chuckled. “Gee, thanks. You look great, too.”
He gave her a crooked smile that made her heart skip a beat. “You know what I mean.”
“Ryan, I hope you know how much I appreciate what you’re doing.”
“I know,” he said. “Don’t worry. I’ll need a favor one day.”
She grinned affectionately at him. “I think we should get Lucy over with.”
“Works for me.”
When they arrived, Bailey looked at the house and felt a sense of dread. Lucy was her mother’s twin sister. She wasn’t sure how she would feel seeing her, nor did she know how similar they were. Bailey had only met Lucy a handful of times, and it was years ago.
When Ryan pulled the keys
