Page 78 of Holding Ground

One Ansel ignores, based on the shit-eating grin and the wink he gives his brother before he heads out the door.

“Sorry about him.” Elliott draws me into his arms.

“How did he know?”

He cringes. “Your lips are a little swollen, and some of your mascara is smudged under your eyes. And your hair is a little…” He makes a motion with his hands, indicating I have thoroughly messed-up hair.

My cheeks burn with embarrassment, and I rest my forehead on his chest. “Oh my god. I am so mortified.”

“Don’t worry too much about it. Ansel will only bring it up every single time he sees you from here to eternity.”

My groan turns into a yelp as Elliott hauls me up over his shoulder and makes a beeline for his bedroom, where he more than pays me back for the blow job in his truck.

CHAPTER

THIRTY-ONE

Emelia

Another week, another Zoom call I’m nervous for.

As I click on the link to enter the Zoom room, I have no idea what to expect. Will Liz be happy to hear from me? Did she have any idea that I even existed prior to my reaching out? Is there more family that I don’t know about?

Whatever the answers to these questions are, I know it will be okay. I have my parents behind me, and nothing will change that.

When my screen changes and brings me into the meeting, Liz is already there.

The first thing I notice is that we have the same nose and eye color. Beyond that, we don’t look the same. While my hair is straight, hers has a natural curl and is a darker brown than mine. Her lips are thinner than mine, and her skin tone is a little more olive than mine.

Still, I think if a stranger saw us side by side, they’d assume there was some kind of blood relation between us.

“Hey,” she says. I can sense the apprehension in her voice.

“Hey, I’m Emelia.”

She gives me a small smile. “Liz.”

An awkward silence descends between us. I shift uncomfortably. “God, this is awkward.”

Acknowledging it seems to lighten the mood, because her shoulders relax and she chuckles. “I’m glad you said it.”

“What could be more awkward than a stranger popping up out of nowhere to tell you she’s your long-lost relative, right?” I reach for the glass of water beside my computer.

I’m in the kitchen since Elliott and Baylor are out running errands together, and I have the house to myself.

“I’m glad you reached out.”

Her words set me at ease, and I decide to get right into it. “It wasn’t something I’d planned to do, honestly.” Then I launch into telling her the basics of how I got to this point because of a question from my doctor. “Can I ask…did you know I existed at all? Did you know Tanya had a daughter?”

A small frown crosses her lips. “I gather you don’t know anything about our family history.”

I straighten slightly at her tone, shaking my head. “I know exactly zero about our history.”

“It’s not a fairy tale by any means, but I’m happy to fill you in if you want. At least based on what I was told by my mom.”

I’m nodding before she’s even finished speaking.

“Well, the way my mom would tell it, she and Tanya never really got along. My mom was three years older than Tanya.”