Finding Our Forever (Silver Springs #1)(53)

“That’s not realistic,” Brad said. “This is all leading somewhere, Cora.”

And there it was—what scared them all, even her.

She took her father’s hand. “Can you tell me why my birth mother gave me up, Dad?”

“No. They provided us with no information, Cora. We’ve told you that before. We were just glad to get you.”

“And we didn’t mind not knowing,” her mother added. “We were excited to be your parents—your only parents. Having that blank canvas meant...it meant we didn’t have to consider the fact that you weren’t actually born to us.”

“But the fact that I didn’t come out of your womb doesn’t matter, right? You’ve told me before. Only love matters.”

“That’s true,” Lilly admitted. “You’d think that would be enough, that you wouldn’t have to go searching for someone who could...who would possibly ruin our lives.”

“Aiyana can’t ruin our lives if we don’t give her that kind of power,” Cora insisted. “The woman I’ve come to know would never want to hurt us, anyway. She’d step out of the picture before she became a problem.”

“That’s how you see her now, but you never know what she may be like once she feels entitled.”

Cora rubbed her tired and burning eyes. “I’m sorry. I wish I could’ve been satisfied with not knowing. Maybe for some people, it’s easy not to look back, to only move forward. But it hasn’t been like that for me. I went to a lot of time, effort and expense to find Aiyana, and I wouldn’t have done all of that if I hadn’t felt compelled, from when I was just a little girl, to find out who my biological parents were—and why they gave me away.”

Brad shook his head. “You hardly ever said anything!”

“Because I knew it would go like this!” she said.

“We would’ve tried to understand,” he argued.

“Then try to understand now, Dad. Please? Wherever this is going, does it have to be somewhere bad? Can’t I satisfy my curiosity, fill in the gaps that most people don’t even think about so that I can feel satisfied? At peace? Can you trust my love enough to let me navigate my way through this?”

“Do we have any choice?” her mother asked.

“I guess not, since I’ve already done it,” she said with a sigh. “But I’m an adult now. I feel like I should have the right to these answers. You know where you came from. Why can’t I?”

They didn’t answer.

“Still, I’d like your blessing, because I do love you and care about how you feel.” She stared at them both imploringly. “Please?” she said again.

“You’re my daughter. I don’t want to share you!” her mother burst out. “Especially with some...some saint I can’t compete with!”

Brad took Lilly in his arms and Cora stood so that she could hover over her mother and rub her back. “But that’s just it, Mom. You won’t have to compete. No one can threaten your place in my heart. Ever.”

“You’re down there with her, aren’t you?” Her mother’s words were muffled—they’d gone into her father’s shoulder—but Cora could understand them in spite of that.

“Only for the year.” She sought her father’s gaze and, when their eyes met, she could tell she’d managed to convince him, even if she hadn’t been able to completely assuage her mother’s fears.

“I want you to be happy,” he said. “We both do.”

“Then don’t be mad at me for this.”

“I don’t want Aiyana in our lives!” her mother insisted.

“Mom, you’d really like her—”

“That only makes it worse!”

“Give your mother some time to come to terms with this,” her father said softly, indicating that Cora should back down.

“Okay.” She checked the time on her phone. “It’s nearly two. I have to head back.”

Letting go of Brad, Lilly whipped around to face her. “You’re leaving? Now? But you can’t drive for two hours. You haven’t had any sleep!”

Cora wished Matt would’ve at least waited until the following weekend to sabotage her relationship with her parents. That slight adjustment in timing would’ve made it so much easier for her to recover. “I have a job, Mom. I have to teach.”

Her mother grabbed her and pulled her into a tight embrace. “Don’t go. I’m afraid you’ll fall asleep at the wheel and crash.”

“After such an emotional conversation, I’m pretty amped up. I’ll be fine.” Perhaps it would be hard to get through the day tomorrow, but she figured, with enough caffeine, she’d manage...

Her mother cupped her face. “So you really like Aiyana’s son? You told me he was intimidating.”

“I didn’t know him very well when I said that.”

“And now?”

She smiled. “I like him. I like him a lot.” Too much...

The promise of a possible romance seemed to check some of her mother’s more negative feelings. She’d been after Cora for some time to settle down and get married so they could have grandchildren, since it didn’t seem as if Ashton was in any hurry to provide them. “Will I get to meet him?”