She was still in a daze when they pulled up in front of the Allises’ home more than an hour later. Carol—her mother—no, Carol felt better than calling her mother…she had stopped by a pharmacy on the way home to fill the prescription, which she clutched in one hand while coming around to North’s side to help her out with the other. The hand on her arm was probably meant to be comforting, but it felt restrictive and almost as tight as a handcuffed as Carol led her to the house.

They were on the porch before she realized there was someone standing in the shadows cast by the big pillars of the sunporch. She gasped and took a step back, suddenly on edge. Conversely, the panic seemed to snap her world back into focus, and she could think again.

“Who’s there?” Carol sounded annoyed.

“It’s me, Dr. Elias Scott. I met North last night, and I’m the one who cared for her father.” As he spoke, he stepped out of the shadow, and he wore an affable grin, but there was a hint of tension in his shoulders.

“Why in the world would you come here?” snapped Carol. “We don’t want anything to do with that man, or anything he touched. He stole my daughter from me for twenty-one years.”

Eli ignored her mother. “So you are their daughter?” His question was focused solely on North.

She licked her lips and nodded. “Yeah, I guess so. We got the DNA back today.”

He arched a brow. “That’s pretty fast. In fact, it’s almost unheard of. Even a rush case for the police takes about a week, I think.”

“Are you questioning the veracity of our test results?” Carol took a step toward him. “We saw a highly respected geneticist, who is also a family friend. He pulled strings to get us an immediate answer.”

The doctor held up his hands. “I wasn’t trying to offend you. I was simply surprised the speed it occurred, since I hadn’t heard of such a thing.”

“You are an emergency doctor, not a geneticist. One could hardly expect you to keep up with the latest advances.”

North frowned at Carol before looking at the doctor. “Thank you for stopping by, Eli. Did you need something?”

He shook his head. “I simply wanted to check on you. Are you hanging in there?”

“She’s fine, and she has all the support she needs.” Carol put an arm around her and urged her toward the front door. “You won’t need to visit again to check on her. She isn’t your patient, Dr. Scott.”

North shot him a helpless look, but allowed Carol to lead her to the door. She was still somewhat in shock, but thinking much clearer than she had earlier. She was able to empathize with Carol’s position, though flinched at the other woman’s rudeness. She had to resent the fact that Eli had tried to save Sam. That had to be why she was so standoffish.

“Of course. Feel free to call me if you’d like to talk about anything though, North.”

“I’m sure that won’t be necessary,” said Carol in a cold voice as she half-pushed North into the kitchen. North gave him a smile the collapsed immediately when Carol glared at her, and the door slammed shut a moment later. It blocked her sight of Dr. Scott, but she could hear his feet moving across the porch a few seconds later.

Carol seemed to take a moment to compose herself, and when she spoke again, she sounded more in control. “Well, let’s get you medicated and resting.”

North shook her head. “I don’t think I need a sedative. I’m much calmer than I was.”

Carol frowned, and her displeasure was obvious. “Nonsense. Pytor said to give you a pill now and one later, and that’s what we must do. You need all the time you can to recover and process everything. Now come along.”

North couldn’t explain why she didn’t protest, except maybe she felt the need to treat the other woman gently. When she reminded herself that Carol and Jim were probably still reeling from the news just as much as she was, it was easier to be more compassionate and understanding. This was a shock for them that had surely turned their lives upside down as well, and they were handling it as gracefully as possible.

They’d been nothing but welcoming, though at times irritating and overbearing, but they had her best interests at heart. She allowed the older woman to take her up the stairs and even slid on a pair of new pajamas from the drawer in the bathroom. When she emerged from the bathroom, Carol held out a white pill and a glass of water. North took both, slipping the pill between her cheek and tongue as she swallowed some of the water.

Carol looked satisfied. “There, that’s much better. Why don’t you lie down and rest for a while, and I’ll be back with your other pill and some dinner later on?”

“Thanks.” It was all she could manage to say without sounding like she was mumbling and give away the fact that she was holding the sedative in her mouth without swallowing. She didn’t want to hurt Carol’s feelings, or make her think she didn’t care about the other woman’s attempts to nurture her, so the easiest thing to do was discard the pill as soon as she was alone.

That opportunity came a moment later, after Carol let herself out of the room and closed it behind her. North immediately returned to the bathroom, engaging the lock behind her when she recalled how casually Carol had let herself into the bedroom before. She tossed the pill into the toilet and flushed before quickly brushing her teeth with the toothbrush and toothpaste she’d used last night.

Then she returned to her room and slid into the bed. Her intention was simply to try to think through everything and try to decide what to do next. She was puzzling through Sam’s motivations for taking her from the Allises when her lids felt heavy. It couldn’t be the sedative, so it must be more of the exhaustion from the last twenty-four hours catching up with her. To her surprise, she managed to fall asleep.