Lilac Lane (Chesapeake Shores #14)(80)

“When we changed our name,” Deanna concluded. “You should probably know that she and Ash never actually married. I just found out that was a lie, too. She’d never divorced you. Ash knew, but somehow they got our last name legally changed to his. It seems most of my life was based on lies.”

“One thing wasn’t a lie,” Kiera said gently, trying to ease the pain she could hear in the girl’s voice. “You had people in your life who loved you unconditionally, even the father you hadn’t seen since you were a baby.”

Deanna’s expression brightened. “I need to focus on that, don’t I? And let the lies go. I think that’s what Ash wanted me to do, too.”

“He sounds like a good man,” Bryan said. “I’m glad you had him in your life.”

“Even though he was never legally my stepfather, I thought he was, and he was the best possible kind of stepfather. I think he’d like you. You’ve handled me turning up like this with real kindness, even when I was ranting at you.”

Bryan smiled. “You’re entitled to a good rant or two.”

“So are you,” she said. “I’m just starting to see that. You lost so much more than I did, didn’t you? A wife and a baby you loved, while I had a whole family.”

“But now you’re back in my life,” Bryan said. “I hope you’ll come back to visit so we can get to know each other. I really want that second chance for us.” When she was about to speak, he held up his hand. “Just think about it. I’m not going to push, at least not as long as you’ll tell me how to find you if you stay away too long.”

She smiled at that and reached for his cell phone. “There,” she said after a couple of minutes of concentration. “All of my information is in your contacts list.”

Kiera watched as relief spread across Bryan’s face.

“Now, why don’t I fix dinner at my place for all of us?” he suggested. “It’s late, so I’ll make something light.”

Deanna shook her head. “It’s been an emotional day and it is late. I need to get an early start back to Baltimore in the morning.” She lifted a hesitant gaze to his. “Next time? I tasted your food at the pub, but I’d love to have you cook just for me.”

Though there was disappointment in his expression, he nodded. “Next time,” he agreed. “You’ll come next door to say goodbye in the morning?”

“Absolutely. Now, though, I’m going to bed. It’s been a long day.”

“Good night, Deanna. Sleep well,” Kiera said.

“Good night, Dee,” Bryan said, his voice choked.

When his daughter left the room, he reached for Kiera’s hand. She saw the sheen of tears in his eyes.

“I honestly never thought this day would come,” he said.

“And now it has, and with the promise of more,” Kiera told him.

“You think she’ll keep her promise, that she’ll come back?”

“I think she would never have said it if she didn’t mean it,” Kiera assured him. “Whatever else happened in the past, I think your wife raised a fine young woman. I think you should both be proud of how well she handled today. It couldn’t have been easy for her, coming here all on her own to confront you with the only truth she knew.”

Bryan smiled. “She held her ground, didn’t she?”

“But she also opened her heart, when facts were presented.”

“It’s only the beginning,” he said. “There’s so much more I want to know about her. If she has this summer internship at Johns Hopkins, she must be incredibly smart. I want to know about her other interests, too, if there are young men in her life, what her favorite foods are, all of it. I missed so much, Kiera.”

“And now you’ll have the time to discover every bit of it,” Kiera promised. Something told her that Deanna was not one to go back on her promises.

*

Bryan was on his deck at dawn, coffee made, a batch of chocolate chip muffins fresh from the oven on a plate beside him. He wasn’t taking any chances on Deanna leaving town without a goodbye.

He heard a car door open and close quietly in the driveway and held his breath until she came into view.

“How’d you sleep?” he asked.

“Soundly,” she said. “You?”

He laughed. “Not a wink. Too much to think about.”

“I know. My mind was whirling, too, but I managed to shut it off. Meditation helps.”

“I’ll have to try that. Would you like some coffee?”

“Of course,” she said. “Is there enough to put some in my travel mug for the drive?”

“There’s plenty.”

She poured the coffee, then peeked under the foil that covered the plate beside it. She turned her surprised gaze on him. “Chocolate chip muffins are my favorite. How on earth did you know?”

“I took a chance that they might be. I used to make them on Sunday mornings,” he said. “They were your mom’s favorite, too. She fed you bits of them when you were just starting to eat solid food. Of course, you couldn’t resist smushing the warm chocolate all over your face.”

She laughed. “I’m not so messy anymore, and I never waste chocolate.”