“Working. Vacation.”

“You said you’d explain it all when you returned. You have returned.”

“Obviously, I have had some stuff to deal with,” she said. “And if you know me for more than five minutes, you’ll realize I don’t handle loss well.”

“What did you lose?”

“My identity, the life I thought I knew,” she said.

He was quiet for a moment, but his jaw was tight and pulsing at the joint. “Does all this have to do with Elaine?”

“Oh yeah.”

“Want to talk about it?”

She rested her head against the seat. “Turns out she’s my birth mother.”

He shot a glance at her, his expression shocked and a little relieved. “What?”

“Yeah, it’s a shocker, isn’t it? Could have knocked me over with a feather.” Her stomach tumbled, and she nibbled on a cracker.

“Are you sure?”

“Oh yes. When I go AWOL, it’s usually for a good reason. I found a letter from my great-grandmother, Olivia Carter, to me in my father’s study.”

“Dr. McKenzie knew about Elaine?”

Laughter bubbled in her throat. “Oh, he sure did.”

“I’m not sure I follow.”

It still felt like she was telling someone else’s story. “Allen McKenzie is not only my adoptive father but my birth father.”

Colton did not speak as he processed the information.

“Dad had a one-night stand with Elaine. And here I am.”

“That explains why Elaine said you’d know what to do for Lofton,” Colton said.

“And for the record, Lofton is not taking the whole older-sister thing well. I guess getting knocked down a peg in birth order doesn’t sit well with the landed gentry.”

“I caught her throwing rocks at the greenhouse. I didn’t realize it was her until she took off in her car. I was right behind her and saw her hit the tree. I pulled her out of the wreck and called the cops.”

“Boy, you’ve had some night. We Carters are quite the handful.”

“Why go after the greenhouse?”

She watched as the small streets of Bluestone gave way to the ramp that fed onto the interstate. “I suppose because it’s the project that Elaine created to get to know me better.”

“Is that what she said?”

“Yes.” She pressed the cool ginger ale can to the side of her head. “She also wants to leave me Woodmont.”

“Why?”

Her head fell back against the headrest. “Elaine knows Lofton won’t hesitate to either sell it or chop it up into housing tracts.”

“That explains a lot with Lofton.” He released a breath, letting go of weeks’ worth of tension. “I called Ginger and told her that Lofton was at the hospital.”

“Good.”

“You don’t look well.”

She sipped her ginger ale. “I’ve been running myself kind of ragged. I’m coming down with the flu.”

“How did you find the letter from Olivia?” he said.

She eased back in the seat. “My dad had cleaned out his desk and left only the important papers. It was in an unmarked file. All I had to do was open the desk. But remember, I don’t deal with loss well, so I spent the spring avoiding Dad’s office.”

“Okay.”

She rolled her head toward him. “This hasn’t been about you. It’s all me and my crazy family.”

A half smile tipped the edge of his lips. “I can deal with crazy families.”

“Be careful what you say. There’s no telling who else is going to fall out of my family tree.”

He took the exit ramp into Charlottesville and followed the hospital signs to the medical center. He parked, and the two got out.

She downed the last of her ginger ale, staring at the hospital entrance. Now would be the time to get a blood test to confirm the drugstore pregnancy test that boasted a 98 percent accuracy rate was wrong. “There might be another shoe to drop.”

A fresh tension rippled through him, as if he was bracing himself for round two.

She paused on the curb near the emergency entrance. Wasting diseases aside, she had to be honest with herself and him. “Remember when I said the chances of me getting pregnant were really slim? Well, even long shots are possible. I just put up a pink plus sign on not one, not two, but three home pregnancy tests.”

He took her arm in his. “Say that again.”

“I’m five weeks knocked up. Before you freak out, I’ll remind you I’ve had three miscarriages.” She felt tension ripple through Colton, prompting her to continue babbling. “The last three times I was pregnant, I felt amazing. But this go-round, I feel like roadkill.”

“We were in the greenhouse five weeks ago.”

“Like I said, don’t freak out.” She closed her eyes, fighting back tears. The odds were against this kid making it into the world, and that realization bound and twisted around her heart like barbwire. “With my pregnancy track record, I won’t be able to go the distance.”

“That doesn’t mean you’re going to lose this one.”

“Seriously, don’t bond with this kid. Don’t.” Tears welled in her eyes. “She’ll leave, and she’ll break your heart.”

“She?”

“Or he.”

He took her hands in his, unfurling her fists. “Once we deal with Lofton, we’re finding Ginger. She’ll run a test.”

“It’s still so early, Colton. I’ll give it a few weeks and then track her down.”

“We’ll see her tonight. Do you have any signs you’re in distress?”

“No.”

“Then for now, it’s all hands on deck to help you keep it.”

She studied his face, searching for any sign that he was upset or angry. She did not see any traces. Hell, she thought she saw a glimmer of excitement in his eyes. “Don’t get excited, Colton.”

He shrugged. “Too late. I care about you and have spent most of the last few weeks wondering what I did wrong.”

“You didn’t do anything wrong.”

He released a breath. “And I’m not about to start. I’m sticking with you and the baby.”

 

Libby and Colton found Lofton on the fourth floor. The nurse directed them to her room. When Libby pushed past the curtain, she found Lofton lying in the hospital bed, clutching a plastic basin. Her face was pale and drawn.

“Lofton,” she said softly.

As Colton remained by the door, Libby moved toward the bed. Lofton looked up and studied her a long moment before she closed her eyes. There was a bruise on the side of her face and scrapes along her jawline, likely left by the deployed airbag. “You sound just like Mom.”

“Do I?”

“Yeah.”

“Elaine asked me to check in on you. She’ll be down in a few hours. Apparently, she’s in New York.”

She pressed fingertips to her brow. “Great.”

Libby pulled up a chair and sat down. “Like it or not, we’re stuck with each other. Can’t pick your family, right?”

Lofton raised the small basin to her lips. She heaved a couple of times, causing Libby to stand up and turn away.