Just One Year(72)

She’d also told me that according to the addresses listed, Ariadne had lived for a time here in the UK. That didn’t come as a surprise, since Teagan had always described her birth mother as a wanderer and world traveler. I remembered her telling me Ariadne had convinced Lorne to quit his job for a time and travel with her all those years ago.

I hadn’t thought much about the Ariadne-UK connection until one night I visited my uncle. Frederick is a cop, and I knew he had access to certain information beyond what a general Google search would provide. For shits and giggles, I’d given him the name Ariadne Mellencamp and asked what he might be able to find out about her time here in England.

A listing in Brighton had popped up. That was a little under three hours away from here. More notable was the information that came along with it: the names of other people at that residence. Were they connected to Teagan as well? I’d immediately regretted seeking that information because now I had to share it with Teagan.





CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE




* * *



TEAGAN




A week into my new gig at Caleb’s uncle’s flower shop, I felt like I was getting adjusted. It had taken me a while to figure out the difference between geraniums and carnations and other flowers, but once I’d set up a labeling system, I started to get the hang of it. Working under the tutelage of Caleb’s Aunt Noreen, I took my time making the various arrangements. It was a peaceful job, overall; not too rushed and perfect for someone still learning the ropes.

The shop was not too far from where we lived. My favorite part of the day was when Caleb would come by to accompany me home after his summer classes ended. I was definitely envious, but I’d decided to focus on other types of learning during this time. Caleb and the world around us had much to teach me, I knew.

The bell dinged as he entered the shop. Noreen had left me alone for the last half-hour of my shift.

“Hey, baby.” I ran from behind the counter to wrap my arms around Caleb’s neck. “How was your day?”

“Good.” His smile seemed forced and a little…off.

My heart pounded. “Is everything okay?”

“Yes. But there’s something I want to talk to you about. Mum is working late, so we can be alone for a bit. Let’s go home, alright?”

A rush of adrenaline hit me. “Is it something bad?”

“No. Please don’t worry. It’s just something I need to talk to you about.”

The walk home was strange, to say the least. Caleb looked down at the sidewalk the whole time, and I felt nauseous. Things had been going so well here. I should’ve known the other shoe would drop.

Once inside the apartment, Caleb took a seat on the couch and I planted myself next to him. His legs bopped up and down.

“What?” I urged, unable to take it anymore.

“I did a stupid thing.”

My nerves made my throat dry. “Okay…what?”

“My curiosity got the best of me, and I investigated something I had no right to.” After a long pause, he continued. “When you told me your birth mother had lived here at one time, I had my uncle who’s a cop look into it further. He found the address where she lived and some other information.”

I felt my eyes widen.

“I know—it was stupid of me. I never thought anything would come of it.”

I took a deep breath. “Come of it? What did you find?”

“A man called Stuart Erickson and a girl called Emma Erickson were listed at the same address as Ariadne. Of course, that naturally gave me the chills because Emma was my sister’s name. Stuart was listed as forty-four years old and Emma as ten.”

Shock consumed me as I said nothing.

“We don’t need to do anything with this information, Teagan. Searching her name was stupid. And now I’ve uncovered something that doesn’t have to mean anything—if you don’t want it to.”

What was I supposed to say? I took another breath. “I do agree it was unnecessary for you to look into her name.”

“Of course. I know. It was just a dumb curiosity. I never meant to hurt you. Please tell me you don’t hate me for it.”

Of course I couldn’t hate him for it. He’d impulsively searched her name and came up with unexpected information that wasn’t meant to be hurtful. But now that I knew about it, it wasn’t something I could erase, nor did I know how to handle it.

I exhaled. “I don’t hate you. I’m just a little perplexed…and unsure of what to do with this.”

“We don’t have to do anything with it.” He examined my face. “Or, if you want, I can grab Mum’s car when she gets home, and we can take a ride out there, scope it out. Brighton is only a few hours from here.”

Now my curiosity began to stir as well. Who were Stuart and Emma? Was Ariadne still living in England? Based on the number of addresses I’d found listed for her over the years, my gut said she was long gone. But I was just as impulsive as Caleb had been.

***

When we got to the address in Brighton and knocked on the door, no one was home. It was a small stone house and impossible to see inside because the shades were drawn.

“Doesn’t look like anyone’s here,” Caleb said. “Let’s just go. It wasn’t meant to be.” I could tell he felt guilty for dragging me into this.