Almost as quickly as it had started, Shane pulled away from her kiss.
Lauren smiled and leaned forward for another. She hadn’t had a first kiss like this for a very long time, possibly forever. And now that she’d started kissing Shane, she never wanted to stop.
He leaned back as she leaned forward, causing her to giggle. It was always a challenge with him, even when they were supposed to be in perfect sync. Shane struggled back to his feet, and she joined him.
“Don’t look at me like that,” he said, wrapping her in a hug.
“Like what?” As he wrapped his arms back around her, Lauren smiled so hard it hurt her cheeks.
“Like you could love me,” he whispered.
“Maybe I can,” she confessed, knowing that she was already most of the way there.
She tried to look up to gauge his reaction when she said that, but he pressed his lips to her forehead, his scratchy beard tickling her eyelids.
“Go call your mother. That’s what’s most important now.” His face brooked no argument, and besides, he was right. As much as Lauren wanted to lose herself and all her problems inside of Shane’s kisses, she’d come all this way to learn the truth—a truth that was now only a single phone call away.
“Will you stay with me?” she asked. “I can’t do this, not alone.”
“Sure.” He pulled back yet again and went to settle himself in his recliner.
“Here goes nothing,” Lauren said with a deep breath as she punched in the cell phone number from the bottom of the letter and waited for it to ring on the other end.
“Hello?” a woman answered with a strong, clear voice.
Lauren hadn’t thought about how she would start this call, and now she felt herself faltering. No words seemed right. The situation itself didn’t seem right.
“Look, if this is a prank call, I’ll—“
She looked over at Shane, who nodded his encouragement, then said, “It’s me, Lauren.”
“Lauren. Oh, Lauren!” The bell-like voice quavered now. “I thought you didn’t want to see me. I thought I would… Never matter, you’re calling now and I’m so, so grateful.”
“I moved after Daddy died and I only just got the package tonight,” she explained. “I had no idea you… He told me you’d died.”
“Yes, that was the arrangement. I’m sorry about your father.” Her mother sighed on the other end of the line, and Lauren wanted to reach through the phone to hug the woman who was a stranger but also wasn’t.
She had so much to say, so much to ask. Only one word rose to her lips. “Why?”
Another sigh. “That’s a long story with mistakes made on both ends. It’s better that I explain in person. Where are you? When can I see you?”
Lauren shook her head as she tried to take this all in. She didn’t want to wait. She’d already waited for more than twenty years. “I’m not in New York anymore. I found this box, and… Actually, that’s a long story, too. I’m in Alaska, outside of a small town called Puffin Ridge.”
“Alaska? What are you doing up here?”
“What do you mean here?”
“Alaska, of course.” And for the first time in memory, Lauren heard her mother’s laugh. It sounded exactly the same as her own. How many other parts of Lauren had she unknowingly inherited from this woman?
“Alaska’s where I was born and raised and am now back for more.”
“Oh, I had no idea.”
“There’s a lot you don’t know yet, but I’d really like to be able to tell you. It’s late tonight, but I’m just outside of Wasilla, a couple hours away. Can I come see you tomorrow?”
“I’ll meet you partway,” Lauren said. “Name a place and a time in the city, and I’ll be there.” Odd how it felt like she was arranging a business meeting and that the business in question was her life. They made plans for breakfast the next day and said goodbye.
When Lauren looked to Shane, he smiled.
“I can’t believe I’m going to meet my mom tomorrow.” She stood again. All the strength had returned to her limbs and now, she felt almost invincible.
Shane looked far less happy than she felt, so she fumbled for an explanation.
“I’m sorry about the dogs. I just didn’t want to wait a single second longer than I had to.”
He bowed his head toward her. “It’s okay. I understand.”
“Shane? Will you come with me?”
“If that’s what you want, then I’ll come. Now go get some rest. Big day tomorrow.”
“What about you?”
“I’ll be in bed soon myself. Just want to catch up on some reading first.”
She waited for him to stand and embrace her, but he remained seated.
“Good night,” she said, sweeping in to offer him a kiss on the cheek. “See you in the morning.”
Lauren had a hard time sleeping that night. Her thoughts shifted from Shane to her mother to her father and back. As excited as she was to learn her mother was alive and to meet her the next day, one or both of her parents had done something seriously wrong to keep this from her all these years. What circumstances could possibly lead to such a lie?
She didn’t want to be angry at her father, but she couldn’t help it. He’d lied to her her entire life, deprived her of a mother.
And was her mother any better? She just accepted the arrangement when she should have fought harder for her little girl, fought harder for Lauren.
Then there was Shane. He’d acted strange after their kiss, but what a kiss it had been! He wouldn’t have been able to kiss her like that unless he felt every bit as much for her as she did for him. Still, he’d warned her not to love him. Did that mean he already loved her? And had he insisted she call her mother because it was best for her or as a way of changing the topic?
Questions, questions—as always, Lauren’s life was full of them. She finally fell asleep in the early morning hours with all these questions temporarily falling to the back of her mind.
When she awoke, she felt exhausted but cautiously optimistic about how the day might go. Besides, Shane would be there with her, which meant at the very least she would have a friend to help her get through whatever happened with her mother.
She quickly fed the dogs, then came in to take a shower and get ready. Normally, Shane was up with her in the mornings as they now worked together to care for the team. Today, however, he’d slept in late.
Had he hurt himself more than he’d let on when he knelt to the floor beside her? Or had her tossing and turning last night kept him up, too?
Although she was almost ready to leave, she still hadn’t seen Shane. Growing impatient, she padded through the hall to his bedroom door. As she rose her hand to knock, she saw that he’d left a note for her.
I’m sorry.
I had other things to take care of.
Will see you tonight.
Good luck!
What could possibly be more important than this? Lauren wondered. He was building walls between them again. Maybe he hadn’t meant to kiss her at all. But it was also possible that he did have something important to take care of. Maybe it was killing him not to be there for her today.
She decided to believe the latter, because the alternative was too painful—and she needed all her strength to get through this day, especially now that she’d be on her own.