Finding Our Forever (Silver Springs #1)(48)

“I have.”

“And?”

He set his phone aside. “Seems pointless to go to all that trouble.”

“If hearing from her upsets you...might be worth it.”

“I don’t believe a new number would really get rid of her, not for any length of time. She knows where I work, could do the same thing she did before.”

She drank a sip of her orange juice. “Which was...”

“She called the office, got hold of Betty May, gave a false name and claimed to be interested in making a large donation to the school. She even went so far as to claim that Aiyana Turner recommended she speak to me. After hearing Aiyana’s name, Betty was so eager to make sure this ‘donor’ got through, she suggested Jo call my cell.”

“Yikes.”

“Exactly.” He still hadn’t had the heart to tell Betty she’d screwed up. He didn’t want anyone to know that his past had come back to haunt him. He’d thought he could handle it, was determined to bear that burden alone so Aiyana wouldn’t have to feel any added empathy or concern. She dealt with enough of that type of thing as it was.

“Has she ever come by—tried to see you in person?” Cora asked.

“Not yet. The last time she asked for money, she wanted me to use an app to transfer it. I doubt she has transportation.”

“Where does she live?”

“I haven’t even asked. I’m guessing LA, but it could be anywhere. Maybe she’s out of state. I’m not sure what her situation is, to be honest. But chances are it’s not good. It was never good when I was a child. I have no reason to believe that’s changed, since it’s obvious she hasn’t.”

He had to have raised more questions than he’d answered with the information he’d conveyed so far, but Cora simply said, “I see,” and went back to eating.

“It can be so confusing,” he admitted, watching her.

Her chewing slowed, and she swallowed. “What part?”

“All of it, but—” he pointed to his phone “—most especially what to do about her now.”

“Parent/child relationships—even bad ones, especially bad ones—can be complicated,” she said.

His food was getting cold, so he shoveled in a bite of his bacon-and-egg omelet. “Are you speaking from experience?”

“To a point.”

“Care to elaborate?” he asked, waiting before taking another bite.

“Not really. I haven’t experienced anything like what you have, which is why I hesitate to offer any advice. I don’t appreciate it when people tell me what I should do or how I should feel about certain things when they’ve never been in the same situation.”

He respected her for not being too heavy-handed with her opinions and remarks. That was what made it possible for him to talk to her even though he had so much trouble talking to most other people. He didn’t have to worry that she wouldn’t back off if he indicated he’d had enough. “I can appreciate that.”

Cora put some jelly on her toast. “Does Aiyana know your birth mother’s been trying to get in touch?”

“No. And I’d rather she not find out.”

“Because...”

“Why upset her? There’s nothing she can do about it, anyway.”

“Do you ever hear from your father?”

“My biological father died in a motorcycle accident shortly after I was born, but he wasn’t together with my mother, anyway. He probably wouldn’t have been a big part of my life.” Although... Eli had always wondered if it would’ve made a difference, had his father lived. “The man who married Jo and was there while I was growing up is in prison for sexually abusing his daughter.”

She put down her toast without even taking a bite. “He had a daughter? Did she live with you?”

“No. Stayed with her mother, only came to visit once, maybe twice a year. But if she hadn’t said something about me to the next-door neighbor—and that neighbor hadn’t called the authorities—I might never have escaped my...situation.”

“Seems more likely she would’ve told her mother about you. That didn’t happen?”

“She was quite a bit younger than I was. Who can say how much she really understood or conveyed about what was going on at my house? The way I heard it, she said something about her father having a boy for a dog—as if it wasn’t a big deal—which shows you right there that her understanding was limited. Anyway, Jenny’s mother never did anything, even if she did know. I’m guessing she ignored what she could, felt the less she had to do with Tim and his life, the better.”

“I bet she’d like to kill him now.”

He turned his water cup around, making circles in the condensation. “That makes two of us.”

“I don’t blame you. Are you still in contact with Jenny?”

“She’s married, lives in Virginia, so I don’t see her often, but we’ve had lunch once or twice.”

“And Tim?”

“Nothing from him, thank God. I wish my mother would follow suit and leave me the hell alone. I have a new life, am an entirely different person. I don’t want anything to do with her.”

She waited for the waitress, who’d come around with a pitcher, to fill her glass and leave. “So...what are you going to do?”