“Thank goodness for old friends who are geniuses. But I think you would have found them if it weren’t for the fact that after the twenty-fifth anniversary, they had given up. It’s almost too hard to think how they had given up and moved out of the country, stopped watching the news and going through all the missing person’s reports. That even when my sister and brother saw my pleas that I was looking for my parents, that I didn’t know who they were, and I wanted to find them desperately, that even then, they refused to look into it. They weren’t willing to even hope, and it didn’t help that they have such a common name or that when Cole did find them and reached out to them that they refused to look into it. My poor parents thought he was just a charlatan, trying to take their money like all the others.”
“Understandable. They’d searched for so long, what are the chances right when they stopped searching someone would come to them?”
“Thank God that he reached out to Hannah and Zach and that they were willing to do a DNA test. I understood them doing it without telling their parents. They’d tried so long to find me, and they wanted to make sure I was the real deal.”
“They did the right thing.”
“Yes, they did, and the fact that they love our parents that much is a testament to how good they are. Hannah told me that no matter what, they never felt like they were living in my shadow. I just can’t believe I have this whole family out there that I never knew about and that I lost so much time with them because I was too stupid to look sooner. I hope they can forgive me.”
“There is nothing to forgive you for. They know you can’t change the past. You can only move forward, and they have their beautiful twenty-nine-year-old daughter back.”
“When did you get so prophetic?” She sniffed and leaned back, looking into his eyes.
“About the same day I fell for you.”
“I can’t believe I thought I was thirty.”
“Look at it this way. There are women all over the world who’d love to get to legitimately do twenty-nine over.”
“It’s so weird, though, to be two years younger than I thought.”
“You can always just go with the age you thought you were.”
“Are you kidding? It’s almost like a fresh start, and this time I get to do it with you by my side. Think they’ll be excited about the baby? I mean, I don’t want to spring it on them right away, but I want them to be the first people we tell, and I can’t hide it much longer.”
“I think they’re going to be thrilled to be grandparents. It’s like getting two for the price of one.”
“Three for the price of one. You’re part of the deal.”
He leaned forward and kissed her tenderly.
“You better believe it. I think it’s time. You have people waiting for you.” He motioned with his head behind her, but she didn’t turn around.
“Do you think they’re upset I don’t want them to call me Ashley? I mean, I don’t remember being Ashley Smith.” Which made her sad.
“I don’t think they’re going to care one bit what they call you. What I think is that they’re going to be so grateful to have you back that you could tell them to call you Cleopatra and they would happily oblige. They love you and just want you back, you’ve talked to them on the phone several times.” He was right. She had talked to them several times, trying to get used to the idea of having parents who really loved her. They had insisted on allowing it to sink in before they rushed her. As her mother had told her, we can be a bit overwhelming. “You know all this. Now get that cute tush out of my car, woman.” She wrinkled her nose at him. He laughed and then got out of the car, walking around to open the door for her.
Rubbing her belly, she spoke to the baby in her tummy. “Well, it’s time to meet your family. They’re going to love you as much as your daddy and I do. You will know what love is because you’re so loved by us all.” Grabbing Ethan’s hand, she climbed out of the car and stood next to him, shaking like a leaf, her knees so wobbly she didn’t know if they would support her weight, but he was there holding her up, his hand continuing to tether her to the world and to him as he linked their fingers. Always her beacon of light. She took a step forward, and he shut the car door. The sound startled her just a bit, because her gaze was fixed in front of her. Quinn didn’t have everything figured out. All she knew was her past was behind her, her present was beside her, and her future was in front of her. With that thought, she took that first step toward her parents and the siblings who looked so much like her—a step toward the family who had never stopped looking for her.
Afterword
Statistics used in this book were obtained from the Cook County Report—provided by Sergeant Wilson and www.unluckythirteen.org.
If you or someone you know need help there are resources available. The following information was obtained from www.humantraffickinghotline.org:
If you believe you have information about a potential trafficking situation:
Call the National Human Trafficking Hotline toll-free hotline at 1-888-373-7888: Anti-Trafficking Hotline Advocates are available 24/7 to take reports of potential human trafficking. All reports are confidential and you may remain anonymous. Interpreters are available.
To report missing children or child pornography, submit a report to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) at 1-800-THE-LOST (843-5678) or through their Cybertipline.
Breaking Shadows (Darkness Falls Book 2) Page 32
