Her mother was right on one point. Her true family resided right here. Blood didn’t always mean family. It was all in her heart. These wonderful friends of hers had proven that time and time again.
The snow globe her mother had given her caught her attention. There it was, mocking her, laughing at her and her stupidity. Next to it sat the framed photo of Theresa Spatz that Alex had given her. How could her mother do this her, to all of them…to innocent people? How selfish and deceitful.
She picked up the snow globe and held its weight in her hand. It suddenly felt much heavier than it ever had before.
“Ryan.” She lifted her eyes to his. “Will you drive me to Sacramento later this week?”
He sat on the bed, staring up at her. “Yes, whatever you need.”
“I want to talk to Alex…apologize. After all, he was right. She did this.”
“Bailey—”
“No.” She bounced the snow globe in her hand, gripping it tightly on the last bounce. “Don’t defend her tonight…not now.”
Her eyes locked on the globe and the two sparrows inside huddled close together in the snow. Looking at it now, she knew the sparrows inside represented her. She was not one person and had never been one person. She was first little Marianne Spatz, who had been stolen from her family as an infant and who had spent her life missing…missing from what should have been her true home and her true family.
The second sparrow, that sparrow represented Bailey Morton, who had been raised to believe a lie. She’d lived a sideways life, with people who should have been strangers, but had formed a makeshift family.
Would she forever be balancing these two lives? A victim of the lies that were told? She inhaled heavily. Would she ever be one person again, accepted by everyone and loved for exactly who she was and not for who she was meant to be?
Something clenched in her chest. A scream escaped her gritted teeth as she threw the snow globe with all her might. When it hit the wall, it shattered, and glass flew everywhere. Water and white glitter sprayed out and flowed down the wall. Bailey’s chest clenched tighter, her breath coming in pants as she sobbed.
“Bailey…babe.” Ryan grabbed her before her knees gave out. He picked her up like a small child and held her against him. “Take a deep breath, baby. You’re scaring me.” He brushed the hair off her face and wiped away some of the tears.
When her body went limp from exhaustion, her sobbing finally subsided. She stopped focusing on anything but the warmth of Ryan’s chest against her face. He shifted and sat her down, then helped her get undressed. When she was down to her panties, he turned the bed down and helped her get it.
Within minutes, he was next to her, arms around her and pulling her closer. She sank into him and let the warmth put her to sleep.
* * *
Never in all the years he’d known Bailey had he seen her like this. It scared him and hurt him all the same. As much as he missed Helen, he’d happily kick her ass right now for doing this to Bailey. He understood her longing to be a parent, but he couldn’t excuse the selfishness of it all. And the secrets were all for naught. Bailey was left in a dangerous position anyway, only not because of what she knew, but because of what she didn’t know. If Patrick and Helen had been honest about the threat, he and Bailey could have taken action, could have been prepared for the danger that lurked. Instead, Bailey was left defenseless. An open target for William Dexter and his crony.
But Ryan also couldn’t ignore the fact that if Helen hadn’t done what she’d done all those years ago, he might not have Bailey in his life right now. He closed his eyes and inhaled her scent again. All the heartache he felt was nothing compared to what Bailey was going through. He needed to remember that and do what he could to make things easier on her, because, just like Helen, Bailey was what his heart wanted.
CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN
It had been several days since Bailey’s family had fled South Lake Tahoe, and she wasn’t sure what her next step should be. Stanley had texted her to apologize and to let her know they’d made it home safely, but she hadn’t heard anything else. Should she call them? Should she visit them? Or wait it out and make them come to her? She rested her head in her hands, wishing she had stayed in bed.
She lifted her mug, but the coffee inside had grown cold. She placed it back on the table and looked up at the little TV in the corner of the kitchen. She didn’t dare turn it on. The Rosa Trials had been shredding her all week. Was that what Nicole had wanted all along? To purposely hurt Bailey?
How had she not seen her sister’s disdain for her? Was Nicole that good of an actress, or had Bailey just accepted the relationship with Nicole blindly? She wasn’t sure which was true, but one thing was for sure—Bailey was heartbroken over losing her sister. Not just because she’d wished her whole life to have one, but because now that she did, that sister hated her. Bailey cared what people thought about her, and knowing Nicole, and possibly her entire family, believed her to be a homewrecker was too much to bear.
It was different before they’d met. It was easy for someone to judge her when they didn’t really know her, but they’d met her, seen her, and interacted with her. Could they not see she had integrity?
