Mick returned with Aidan’s file and handed it to his brother. “Read it here, though. I probably shouldn’t let it wander all over town.”
“Of course.” Thomas hesitated, as if he weren’t sure he wanted to know whatever might be in the file that could confirm this uneasiness he felt around Aidan. Finally, visibly drawing in a deep breath, he opened the folder and glanced at the top page, then moved on to the next and then the next.
Mick saw the exact moment when something registered. Shock settled on his brother’s face and his color drained away.
“Thomas, what the hell is it? What did you find?”
“The boy’s mother,” Thomas said, sounding thoroughly shaken.
“What about her?”
“I knew her, Mick. I knew her really well.”
14
Mick stared at Thomas incredulously. “Are you sure about that? What’s it say her name is?”
“Anna Mitchell,” Thomas said without so much as a glance at the résumé.
“It’s a common enough name,” Mick said, waving off his brother’s concern. “You’re probably imagining things.”
“I’m not,” Thomas insisted with surprising certainty. “All along I’ve thought there was something familiar about Aidan, but I couldn’t pin it down. It’s Anna. He has her eyes, her coloring. I’m sure of it.”
Mick remained unconvinced. “If you and Aidan’s mom were friends, don’t you think he would have mentioned the connection when he first got to town?”
“Maybe he doesn’t know,” Thomas suggested. “Or maybe he does and that’s why he reacts so oddly around me. I have no idea what his mother might have mentioned about that time in her life. Do parents tell their kids about old college love affairs?”
“You’ve always had a great relationship with your exes,” Mick reminded him. “Was it different with Anna?”
“I didn’t think so,” Thomas said, his expression troubled. “We were young, just kids really. I had so many things I wanted to accomplish, and she knew that. She had a long list of ambitious goals for herself, so she understood. We parted as friends, at least that’s what I remember.”
“Did you stay in touch?”
“No, she moved back to New York right after we broke up. She told me she’d decided to finish college there, that she missed her family and missed New York, that she thought her future was there. I never heard from her again.”
“You never thought about contacting her?”
“It crossed my mind, but I convinced myself it was best left in the past. You know how I was back then, single-minded about my goals. Anna meant the world to me, but she was a distraction.”
“How serious was it? Before the breakup, I mean.”
Thomas lifted a brow. “You asking for details, Mick?”
Mick frowned at him. “Of course not. I’m just trying to follow what you’re saying. Had you talked about marriage, anything like that?”
“No, never,” Thomas said. A faraway look crossed his face. “She was amazing, Mick. She was smart and as dedicated to environmental causes as I was. That idealism was something we had in common.”
Mick recalled Thomas’s first two wives. Anyone could have told him they were all wrong for him. Neither understood his passion for his career. Connie, though, she got it. Maybe this Anna woman had, too.
“It sounds as if she might have been the perfect woman for you,” Mick said.
“In retrospect, she may have been,” Thomas said wearily. “I do know that I loved her, or at least thought I did. But, like I said, we were too young to be so serious. She knew that, too. In fact, she’s the one who called it off.”
His expression turned nostalgic. “I thought about her for years. I’d be in the middle of some thankless fight with the politicians, half-ready to give up, and I’d hear Anna in my head telling me not to dare do that.”
“So, on some level you’ve always regretted losing her?” Mick concluded.
“I knew breaking up was the right decision at the time, but, sure, I had regrets. I thought it was more about my ego than anything else, though. I mean, really, what did I know about love at twenty?”
“You didn’t know that much when you hit forty,” Mick taunted. “Not till Connie came along. You know,” he added thoughtfully, “everything you said about Anna could describe Connie, too. She’s as passionate about this environmental stuff as you are, and she’s smart as a whip.”
Thomas gave him a startled look. “You know, you’re right. I never once made the comparison before, probably because Anna was so far in my past it never occurred to me. Connie and Anna would have had a lot in common. The other trait they shared was an admirable strength. I think that drew me to each of them.”
Mick sat back, trying to absorb his brother’s news. “You going to confront Aidan about this?”
Thomas nodded slowly. “Confrontation’s the wrong way of looking at it, but I do think I have to at least mention it, ask if I’m right. If he’s been harboring some sort of misplaced ill will toward me, we need to get that out in the open, especially if we’re going to work together.”
“And how will Connie feel about your dredging up your romantic past?”
“It has nothing to do with her,” Thomas said.
Mick gave him a disbelieving look. “Even I know better than that.”
“Come on, Mick. It’s ancient history,” Thomas replied. “Connie knows I was married twice, and she didn’t freak out about that. She’ll handle an old college relationship just fine. It’s no threat to her. Besides, the form says Anna is deceased. She can’t cause any trouble for us.”
Mick regarded him worriedly. “You may be minimizing the impact of this news. Just look at how it’s shaken you up knowing that Aidan’s mom was a woman you used to know.”
“Connie will be fine,” Thomas insisted. “I’ll speak to her before I ever have a word with Aidan. Like I said, though, it’s been years, Mick. It’s over and done with. I’ll make that clear. I’ll tell her I just need to tie up these loose ends, so
