Nathan stared at the road ahead for several minutes before answering, “Just got some stuff on my mind. What about you? How’s everything at the Wild Cow?”
“Things are going great actually. I can’t believe I’m feeling more and more like it’s my home now. Honestly, I never thought I’d say that after moving from Georgia. I kept thinking I should go back, that I didn’t belong here. It was like two people were at war inside of me.”
“Man, I know what that’s like,” Nathan said quietly, in a low whisper as if just to himself.
Carli saw the worry etched on his face and sensed he was troubled about something. She liked him and wanted to help. But she wasn’t sure if he would be willing to tell her anything. Men rarely shared what was going on emotionally in their head. She decided to ask anyway.
“What’s going on, Nate? Spill. You can tell me anything.”
“It’s nothin’. What about you? You said you had something you needed my help with.”
“Oh, yeah. I wanted to ask you about a family from this area. If you knew of them.” Before she could say anything more, Nathan parked right at the front door of the B & R Beanery and Buns. The place looked empty. Business was slow on a weekday morning.
A young woman Carli had never seen before took their order. They settled in a corner. Carli loved the quiet and took a deep breath of the aroma from the roasting coffee berries. The minimal decorations, natural wood tables, and comfy sofas and easy chairs made for a relaxing atmosphere. She pulled out some papers from her tote and spread them all over the table.
Nathan’s eyes opened wide. “Wow.”
She couldn’t suppress her excitement or giggle at his reaction. “As you can see, I’ve been sorting through stuff at my grandparents' house and I actually found my birth certificate in an old trunk. Apparently, my mother, Michelle, rebelled against her parents, liked to party, and got into drugs.”
“Your grandparents, Jean and Ward, never told you who your real father was? Seems your foreman and wife, Buck and Lola, would have known your mom at a young age. Did they know about you?”
"I'm not sure." Carli stared blankly at the table. "I haven't talked to Buck or Lola about it yet."
“This is a lot to take in.” Nathan let out a big sigh.
Carli started to explain. "The birth certificate I had from my foster parents didn't have a birth father listed and I was afraid to ask. You don’t know how many times I wondered and thought about it, and as the years passed it didn’t seem that important. The one I found at my grandparents’ house has his name penciled in."
Just then the barista interrupted with their orders.
“Nathan Olsen. Aren’t you a sight for sore eyes? How’ve you been?”
She set the coffees down and flipped her hair back over one shoulder. Carli watched the pretty blonde girl in tight jeans and Tee-shirt with the shop’s logo lay a manicured hand on Nathan’s shoulder as she flashed him a high-watt smile.
“Uh, just fine. How ’bout you?” Nathan's eyes were fixed on his beverage.
“Oh, c’mon now. You’re not blanking out on my name, are you? It’s Christy. High school? Cheerleader? Remember? I was a freshman when you were the senior quarterback.”
“Uh, uh, sure. I remember you. It’s been a long time.” The words came from his lips, but Carli noticed there was no recognition in his eyes as he barely looked in Christy’s direction.
“Surely you haven’t forgotten that homecoming party behind the bleachers, have you?” She winked.
Carli watched them. Please don’t ask her what she’s been up to. Definitely rude, but Carli wasn’t in the mood to hear a long-winded life story.
“Where’s Belinda?” Carli asked to save Nathan from a jam. She had become fast friends with the co-owner of the coffee shop, Belinda, the “B” in B & R. This place had soon become one of her sanctuaries where she could relax and unwind, plus Belinda was a good listener. Carli had become her official taste-tester and willingly tried every new coffee concoction Belinda could invent.
Christy glanced at Carli with a slight frown, as if suddenly realizing there was another customer in the shop besides Nathan. “She’s staying home with a sick kid. I’m helping her out this week.” She answered Carli’s question, but kept her gaze on Nathan. “Normally you can find me at the Chamber office. I’m in charge of community events.”
Nathan gave her a half-smile before turning his attention back to his coffee. He cleared his throat and looked at Carli. “You were saying?”
She grinned at the blush on his cheeks. She’d definitely have to ask him about that party behind the bleachers some other time, but right now she had more important things on her mind.
“I know my birth father’s name.” Carli had never said that out loud to anyone. It felt strange and made her heart beat faster. To actually have a name and now, to be sharing it with someone. She completely forgot about her latte, instead stared into Nathan’s eyes.
“That’s big.”
“No kidding. I don’t know if he’s still alive or maybe dead. I don’t know if I want to meet him. Maybe he hates me or maybe he doesn’t even know anything about me. Do I want to meet him? Does he look like me? Is he nice or a creep? So, I’m thinking of looking into one of those heritage websites. Who knows? Maybe send my DNA in and look for a match. What do you think, Nate? Would you do it?”
“Whoa, now. I need to process.”
“This is what swirls around in my brain all the time since I found the certificate.” Actually she had wondered about her family history for most of her life, but never told anyone. This was the first time she was ever this close to knowing the
