Finding Our Forever (Silver Springs #1)(52)

“It isn’t anything you’ve done,” Cora reiterated. “You’ve been wonderful parents, and I’m grateful for everything.”

He lifted his gaze to meet her eyes. “Then...why?”

She didn’t get a chance to answer before her mother broke in, “Does your brother know? Did he help you?”

“No,” she replied. “I only told Matt and Jill, because they were so present in my life during the past two years.”

“And we weren’t present?” she said.

Her father glanced at his wife as if he wanted to comfort her but was uncertain as to how to go about it.

“Of course you were,” Cora said. “That’s not what I meant. I would’ve told you, but every time I brought it up, you acted so...resistant to the idea—as if it would be a personal betrayal.”

“So you did it, anyway,” her mother said, fresh tears in her eyes.

“Not because it would hurt you! I never wanted to hurt you. I love you both. Why can’t you understand? I had to meet Aiyana. A part of me has always been insatiably curious about her.”

“What about your birth father?” Brad asked. “You’re not curious about him?”

“I am but... I don’t have any information on him. Unless Aiyana is willing to tell me the circumstances surrounding my conception, I have no hope of ever finding him.”

“Will she give you that information?” he asked.

“I don’t know yet. I haven’t told her who I am. No one knows down at New Horizons.” When she thought of Matt, she wanted to punch him. He had no business causing this wreckage. He’d only told Brad and Lilly to strike out at her, to hurt her for breaking up with him and having the audacity to find someone else.

“So when are you going to do that?” Brad asked. “And why haven’t you done so already?”

“Because... I felt I should tell you first, for one. But the timing hasn’t been right. There are moments when I think I’ll never tell. At least I’ve seen my biological mother. At least I know who she is and what she’s like.”

Her father scratched his head, making his hair stand up. “I understand the questions you’ve had must’ve been...difficult,” he said, making an attempt to be conciliatory.

“They were! I wasn’t even certain of my nationality, Dad! Such a simple thing most others take for granted. I hated being so in the dark. I have only a partial picture now, but at least it’s something.”

“It’s the deception I’m struggling with.” Lilly glowered at her beneath wet eyelashes, but Cora wasn’t convinced her “deception” was the root of it. Fear of losing Cora’s affection was the real problem, which was probably why Cora had found her birth mother in spite of Lilly’s resistance. She knew Lilly had nothing to fear. There wasn’t any way her adoptive mother could ever lose her affection.

“I lied because there was no way of knowing whether Aiyana would be anyone I’d be willing to associate with. If she wasn’t, I was going to leave things as they are now. I didn’t see any point in upsetting you if I ended up walking away.”

“But you’re not walking away. You adore her!” her mother said. “You talk about her like she’s Mother Teresa!”

“I admit the fact that she’s such a good person makes everything a bit more...complicated, but it doesn’t change how much you both mean to me. You will always be first, Mom. You were the one who stood by me when she walked away.”

Fresh tears confirmed that Cora’s comments had hit the real target.

“Mom, stop,” she said, getting up to hug her. “How could you question my love for you? We’ve always been close, haven’t we?”

“I thought so. I did my best by you, but I’m not the kind of person Aiyana has turned out to be. I’m no champion of orphans and abused boys.”

“What are you talking about? You’re always working on one fund-raiser or another,” she said. “You do a lot of good. Besides, that type of thing doesn’t matter. You’ve been everything I need. I have no complaints, so don’t let Matt tear us apart. That’s exactly what he intended when he called you. He’s angry that I’m not getting back with him, so he’s hurting me by hurting you.”

Lilly wiped her cheeks, smearing her mascara. “I know he wasn’t trying to do any of us any favors...”

“Have you thought about Aiyana and how she might feel about all of this?” her father asked.

“Of course!” Cora replied. “Why do you think I haven’t approached her? I’m not attempting to force myself into her life—or anyone else’s. I’m just trying to figure out who I am and where I came from.”

“But Matt said you went home with her son last night!” Lilly said.

“Her adopted son. As far as I can tell, I’m the only child she’s ever had.”

“So that makes it okay to date him?”

“It’s not ideal, but there’s nothing really wrong with it. It’s not like we’re truly related.”

Lilly accepted the tissue Brad got for her. “Then you’re not worried about how he will feel when he finds out you deceived him,”

“Like I said, I’m not even sure he has to find out.”