Chapter 2
I stepped between Sarah and the man before I even thought about it.
The locket was still in my fist, cold and solid against my palm.
Sarah pressed herself against the counter behind me, her breath coming in short, sharp gasps.
“Who are you?” I said.
My voice was lower than I’d ever heard it.
The man stopped a few feet away, his jaw tight.
He was in his late fifties, expensive suit, expensive watch, but his eyes were mean—small, hard, no warmth at all.
“I’m Richard Carter,” he said.
He nodded at Sarah over my shoulder.
“Her stepfather. Legal guardian of her son, Ethan. That locket is part of my late wife’s estate. She had no right to take it.”
“Your wife lied to her for 22 years,” I said.
I didn’t move.
I could feel Sarah’s hand fisting the back of my work shirt, her knuckles digging into my spine.
“Lila told her I was dead. Did you know that?”
Richard’s face twisted.
“That’s none of your business,” he snapped.
“Sarah, get over here now. We’re leaving. And you’re gonna give me that locket before I call the police and report you for theft.”
Sarah flinched.
Her hand tightened on my shirt so hard I thought the fabric might tear.
“No,” she said.
Her voice was shaky, but firm.
I almost smiled.
That was my girl.
“You stole Mom’s insurance money. You let Ethan’s insurance lapse to pay your gambling debts. I’m not letting you take the only thing that can save him.”
Richard’s face went redder.
He took a step forward, his hand raised like he was going to push past me.
I shifted my weight, ready to block him.
I’d boxed in college.
I might be 44, but I could still take a man who spent all his time sitting behind a desk.
“You ungrateful little brat,” he spat.
“I took you in when your loser dad died. I fed you, I clothed you—”
“Her dad isn’t dead,” I said.
I pulled the birth certificate out of the envelope on the counter, held it up where he could see it.
“I’m her dad. And you’re not taking her or that locket anywhere. Get out of my shop before I call the police myself.”
Richard stared at the birth certificate.
For a second, he looked shocked.
Then his face settled into something ugly, something cold.
“You think this changes anything?” he said.
He laughed, a sharp, bitter sound.
“I have legal guardianship of Ethan. If Sarah doesn’t come with me right now, I’ll have the hospital pull him from the transplant list. You’ll never see either of them again.”
Sarah made a small, terrified sound behind me.
I reached back, found her hand, squeezed it hard.
“Get out,” I said again.
My voice was ice.
“We’ll be in touch with our lawyer. If you so much as drive past this shop, if you call Sarah one more time, if you even say Ethan’s name out loud, I’ll bury you. Do you understand me?”
Richard stared at me for a long, tense second.
The rain beat against the window.
The clock above the door ticked past 5:15.
“This isn’t over,” he said.
He backed toward the door, his eyes never leaving mine.
“You’ll regret this. Both of you.”
The bell jingled as he left.
I waited until I saw his car peel out of the parking lot, tires screeching on the wet asphalt, before I turned to Sarah.
She was crying now, silent tears running down her face, her whole body shaking.
I pulled her into a hug before I could think twice.
She stiffened for half a second, then melted against me, sobbing into my work shirt, her hands fisting the fabric like she was scared I’d disappear.
“I’m sorry,” she kept saying, over and over.
“I’m so sorry. I didn’t know. Mom never told me. I thought you were dead.”
I held her tight, my chin resting on the top of her head.
She smelled like rain and lavender, just like Lila.
“It’s okay,” I said.
My own throat was tight.
“You’re here now. That’s all that matters.”
When her sobs slowed, I led her to the small couch in the back of the shop, made her a cup of hot tea from the kettle I kept there.
She sat curled into the corner, the mug wrapped in both hands, and told me everything.
Lila had changed their names the day she left, scared I’d come after them after our fight.
She’d met Richard two years later, married him because she thought he’d keep them safe.
He’d been nice at first.
Then the drinking started.
Then the gambling.
Then the hitting.
He’d made Lila quit her job, controlled every dollar she made, told her she was worthless, that no one else would ever want her.
He’d made her tell Sarah I was dead, threatened to hurt the baby if she ever told the truth.
Lila had hidden the locket in the lining of her old winter coat, told Sarah about it only when she was dying of lung cancer last year.
“Make sure he never finds it,” she’d whispered, the night before she died.
“If anything goes wrong, if Richard ever hurts you or Ethan, find the man who made this. He’ll keep you safe.”
Sarah had found out about Ethan’s leukemia three months ago.
Richard had promised to pay for the treatment, then let the insurance lapse to pay off a $50,000 gambling debt.
She’d stolen the locket from his safe the night before, driven three hours to Dallas, remembered Lila saying the locket had been made in a small shop in the city.
She’d found my listing online an hour before she walked in.
“I didn’t know it was you,” she said.
She looked up at me, her eyes red and puffy.
“I just knew I had to sell it. Ethan’s only four. I can’t lose him.”
I reached across the couch, wiped a tear off her cheek with my thumb.
“You’re not going to lose him,” I said.
I meant it.
I’d spent 22 years looking for my family.
May you like
I wasn’t going to let anyone take them from me now.
“Pack a bag. We’re going to my house. You and Ethan are staying with me until this is over. I’m calling my lawyer first thing in the morning.”
