began, “I got some strange and upsetting news yesterday.”
Mira stood up. “Why don’t I get you some coffee and a muffin and you can tell me all about it.”
My heart was beating so hard in my throat that I was certain it looked like an enormous Adam’s apple. And my stomach was beginning to churn. I hoped I wouldn’t have a repeat performance of last night’s unpleasantness.
Mira had arranged a full pot of coffee, a jug of milk, a few muffins, and two cups on a tray. “Why don’t you come into the sunroom?” She beckoned, sitting down in a wicker armchair while I took the rocker across from her.
As she poured the coffee, adding milk to mine, I leaped directly into the fray. “Madlyn Crane left everything she owned to me.”
Mira choked on the sip of coffee she had just taken. “But I thought you said you didn’t know her.”
“I didn’t,” I said evenly. “But she knew me.” Mira was clearly not understanding, so I went on. “I just found out I’m her daughter.”
Mira stared at me, confusion all over her face, weighing her disbelief against my uncanny resemblance to my mother.
“Madlyn had another daughter?” she said. “I never knew that. I don’t think anyone here knew that.”
Another
daughter. Mira, apparently, was not the brightest bulb. What did she think, Madlyn had two daughters, both named Hallie?
“I don’t know anything about
another
daughter,” I said slowly. “Mira, my name is Hallie James. But islanders would know me as Halcyon Crane.” My former real name echoed like an incantation inside of my head: Halcyon Crane. Me.
Her face was crimson. “But Halcyon was killed thirty years ago.”
“And yet here I am. Believe me when I tell you I’m just as surprised as you are.”
“But”—she was searching for words—”the accident. Halcyon survived?” Mira’s mind was obviously spinning. “How? I was at her funeral.”
I shook my head. “There was no accident. Apparently the whole thing was deliberate. I grew up in Bellingham, Washington, a small town north of Seattle. I lived there all these years with my dad. I grew up thinking my mother was dead, never knowing she was actually very much alive here on the island.”
“Bellingham.” I could see Mira’s mind was racing. She was getting it. “You’re Halcyon. Madlyn and Noah’s daughter.”
Noah. The sound hit me like a thunderbolt. It had never occurred to me that Thomas James wasn’t my father’s real name, but of course it wasn’t. I nodded. “That’s right.” And then I told her about the morning Madlyn’s letter arrived in my mailbox and turned my entire world upside down. “I didn’t believe it myself for a while,” I said to her. “But she sent photos. Apparently it’s all true.”
Silence.
“She didn’t say anything to me,” Mira mused finally, sipping her coffee. “Nothing at all. I wonder how in the world she found you. It’s not like she was looking for an abducted child all these years. Everyone thought you were dead.”
“A friend of hers who lives in Seattle saw a picture of me and my father in a local newspaper,” I explained. “The resemblancewas striking enough for her to mention it to Madlyn.”
Mira nodded, taking it all in.
“What eats at me most is the timing,” I admitted. “I grieved for my mother all my life, and she was right here all the time. She finds me and,
bang
, she’s gone. We were so close to finally seeing each other again, and now I’ll never know her.”
Mira reached over and took my hand. “I could see the resemblance the moment you walked in the door, of course. I thought you were a relative, a cousin maybe . . .” She shook her head. “He escaped. We all thought he was dead. The Suttons—what you must’ve endured all those years at the hands of that monster. I’m so sorry, Hallie.”
I was tempted to play the wounded child card. It was convenient, her feeling sorry for me, but I couldn’t betray my dad for the sake of
Mira stood up. “Why don’t I get you some coffee and a muffin and you can tell me all about it.”
My heart was beating so hard in my throat that I was certain it looked like an enormous Adam’s apple. And my stomach was beginning to churn. I hoped I wouldn’t have a repeat performance of last night’s unpleasantness.
Mira had arranged a full pot of coffee, a jug of milk, a few muffins, and two cups on a tray. “Why don’t you come into the sunroom?” She beckoned, sitting down in a wicker armchair while I took the rocker across from her.
As she poured the coffee, adding milk to mine, I leaped directly into the fray. “Madlyn Crane left everything she owned to me.”
Mira choked on the sip of coffee she had just taken. “But I thought you said you didn’t know her.”
“I didn’t,” I said evenly. “But she knew me.” Mira was clearly not understanding, so I went on. “I just found out I’m her daughter.”
Mira stared at me, confusion all over her face, weighing her disbelief against my uncanny resemblance to my mother.
“Madlyn had another daughter?” she said. “I never knew that. I don’t think anyone here knew that.”
Another
daughter. Mira, apparently, was not the brightest bulb. What did she think, Madlyn had two daughters, both named Hallie?
“I don’t know anything about
another
daughter,” I said slowly. “Mira, my name is Hallie James. But islanders would know me as Halcyon Crane.” My former real name echoed like an incantation inside of my head: Halcyon Crane. Me.
Her face was crimson. “But Halcyon was killed thirty years ago.”
“And yet here I am. Believe me when I tell you I’m just as surprised as you are.”
“But”—she was searching for words—”the accident. Halcyon survived?” Mira’s mind was obviously spinning. “How? I was at her funeral.”
I shook my head. “There was no accident. Apparently the whole thing was deliberate. I grew up in Bellingham, Washington, a small town north of Seattle. I lived there all these years with my dad. I grew up thinking my mother was dead, never knowing she was actually very much alive here on the island.”
“Bellingham.” I could see Mira’s mind was racing. She was getting it. “You’re Halcyon. Madlyn and Noah’s daughter.”
Noah. The sound hit me like a thunderbolt. It had never occurred to me that Thomas James wasn’t my father’s real name, but of course it wasn’t. I nodded. “That’s right.” And then I told her about the morning Madlyn’s letter arrived in my mailbox and turned my entire world upside down. “I didn’t believe it myself for a while,” I said to her. “But she sent photos. Apparently it’s all true.”
Silence.
“She didn’t say anything to me,” Mira mused finally, sipping her coffee. “Nothing at all. I wonder how in the world she found you. It’s not like she was looking for an abducted child all these years. Everyone thought you were dead.”
“A friend of hers who lives in Seattle saw a picture of me and my father in a local newspaper,” I explained. “The resemblancewas striking enough for her to mention it to Madlyn.”
Mira nodded, taking it all in.
“What eats at me most is the timing,” I admitted. “I grieved for my mother all my life, and she was right here all the time. She finds me and,
bang
, she’s gone. We were so close to finally seeing each other again, and now I’ll never know her.”
Mira reached over and took my hand. “I could see the resemblance the moment you walked in the door, of course. I thought you were a relative, a cousin maybe . . .” She shook her head. “He escaped. We all thought he was dead. The Suttons—what you must’ve endured all those years at the hands of that monster. I’m so sorry, Hallie.”
I was tempted to play the wounded child card. It was convenient, her feeling sorry for me, but I couldn’t betray my dad for the sake of
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