Page 114 of Secrets Hidden In The Glass

“Nate, that’s us. That’s me and my biological mother.”

They officially had confirmation of the year—a match to the picture Callie had found at the library. He nodded, taking her hand and giving her fingers a supportive squeeze. “We’re off to a great start.”

“Let’s keep going.”

He hesitated, seeing the hope in her eyes, hating that he couldn’t promise her he would be able to find her anything more than a quick glimpse on the shitty VHS tape of the woman who’d abandoned her.

“Please, Nate.”

He pressed Play, poised to stop the footage again, waiting as the marching band passed. The floats came next—one of them with Gwen waving and wearing a dress with her gold sash. Then the sheriff’s vehicles, the fire trucks, and Thomas and Leah Sanderson waving from the back of a spiffy black convertible. But it was impossible to see any of the spectators across the street. Eventually the parade ended, and the man behind the video camera went back to capturing candid footage of people enjoying the celebration. Twenty minutes passed before Nate perked up while the cameraman focused on a juggling act in the middle of Main Street. “There, in the left corner of the screen.” He didn’t bother documenting the time. He could do that later. Instead he watched the woman in the red dress keep a tight hold on her daughter’s hand as they made their way through the crowds to the ice cream stand.

Little Callie skip-walked and occasionally hopped, still holding her balloon in her opposite hand.

The woman in red picked Callie up, saying something to her as she held Callie close.

Little Callie responded and gave her mother a fierce neck-hug.

The beautiful blond smiled and kissed Callie’s cheek before they gave their order to the person wearing a ball cap at the window.

Nate narrowed his eyes when the lines came back, and he blinked his surprise. “Holy shit, the server at the window is Kay.” He glanced Callie’s way as Callie nodded with her trembling hand pressed to her lips. He paused the video.

Her gaze whipped to his. “What are you doing?”

“Giving you a second.”

“I don’t need one. Please press Play.”

He did, continuing to watch, and nearly dropped the remote when he saw himself as an eight-year-old boy, running toward the ice cream stand with Brad by his side. He bumped into the woman in red, saying something as he ran off again.

The woman in red smiled and took the cone Kay handed her, licking the ice cream before handing it to her daughter.

Little Callie sampled her treat as the woman in red slid Callie’s hair back from her cheek. Then they were gone from the shot when the cameraman tightened his focus on the clown’s five-ball juggling act.

Nate scrutinized the screen, waiting for the footage to pan out again—to catch sight of the blond and her daughter—but ten minutes later, the Carter Island Fourth of July video cut off and fuzzy gray snow took its place on the TV. “Looks like that’s it.” He stood and ejected the tape, immediately putting it back into its protective case, afraid that the old machine would somehow pick that moment in time to malfunction and destroy the only lead he had.

Callie stared at the floor in the heavy silence.

He wanted to kneel down in front of her—to pull her close and hold on to her—but she wasn’t ready for that. “Are you okay?”

“For most of my life I’ve wondered what I did to make them go away.”

He sighed. “Callie—”

“Why did she bother holding my hand and buying me ice cream if she was just going to leave me alone at a diner a few hours later?” She looked up, meeting his gaze as a tear slipped down her cheek. “Why did she do that, Nate?”

He walked to her now, settling on his knees in front of her. “I don’t know, but there had to be a reason.”

“I have to find her. I need to know why.”

He took her hands and pressed them to his chest, where his heart ached for her.

“I need to know who I am,” she whispered on a shuddering breath.

“You’re you.” He cradled her cheeks in his palms, needing for her to believe him. “No matter what, you’re you—the woman I’m absolutely crazy for.”

She gripped his wrists, closing her eyes as she rested her forehead against his. “Help me find her, Nate. Please help me find her.”

He had no intention of stopping until he did. “First thing tomorrow, I’ll start asking around.”

She nodded.

He caught sight of the picture frame on the desk and thought of Molly and Gwen—the worry he’d seen in Molly’s eyes and heard in Gwen’s voice on the phone. “We’re going to have to tell my sisters something. We can’t keep them in the dark.”

She nodded again. “I know they’re worried. We’ll tell them tomorrow.”

“They’re going to want to help as much as I do.”

She sniffled, exhaling another trembling breath. “I don’t know what I would do without you—without any of you.”

As far as he was concerned, she never had to find out. “Let me take you home so we can lie in bed and pretend we’re going to fall asleep.”

She sent him a small smile and kissed him before she wrapped her arms around him. “Let’s go in one more minute.”

He held her tight, needing to fix this for her. “Okay.”