“That’s good. I’m not sure how long I’m going to be with ATF. As you know, I’ve had a few run-ins with a street gang. We’ve moved several times, but they seem to keep finding us. I can’t reach out to the agency for help because they believe I’ve broken the law. So Darla and I try to lay low.”
“The threats are over. Ivy took out the gang; Ghost met with your boss, and I provided them proof you were innocent.”
“How did even know where to get the proof? How can you prove innocence without an actual crime being committed? I didn’t launder money.”
“I know. I inadvertently created the problem.”
“How?”
“I knew someone was looking for me. As you said, I’m wanted by a lot of people, so I needed you off my back. It wasn’t anything difficult to do. I shifted some money here, created some video footage there, and sent it to your section chief. It was easy.”
Rosemary sat there dumbfounded. She’d been running for her life because she’d tried to find Danielle. And it was Danielle who initiated the need for her to run.
“Wow. I’m not even sure what to say about that.”
“Rosemary, I’ve learned to survive. I had to. You might have thought the homes I was in were safe, but I can assure you, they weren’t. I protect what is mine, whether it’s people I care about or my identity. You were jeopardizing my safety and needed to be redirected. It was just business on my end. I had no way of knowing you were my mother… er, stepmother.”
“I guess that’s true. So I can call my chief and I won’t be arrested?”
“You shouldn’t be, but according to Ghost, your supervisor has it out for you. It’s your call, but he has everything to exonerate you. I can have Ghost give you the same information, so you can fight it if you need to.”
Logistically, she was the one who’d have to give it to Ghost in order to hand it off to Rosemary. She could bypass Ghost, but she wasn’t ready to make friends with Rosemary.
“That would be very kind of you.”
“Anyway, your problems are clear. You can leave and go back to Galveston or Clear Lake or move to Colorado for that matter.”
“I don’t know what we’re going to do. I might decide to stay here in the Austin area. Would that bother you?”
“Why should it? We aren’t related. We barely know each other. We wouldn’t have recognized each other if we’d been in the same room. You don’t owe me anything.”
“True. All of that is true, but I’d like to know you. I’d like for you to know Darla, and she’s dying to meet you. I had her stay in her room because I wasn’t sure how this was going to go, but if you’re up to meeting her…”
“I’m not sure. I thought she was my sister. Shoot, I thought you were my mother. Apparently, everything I assumed to be true isn’t, and I’m not sure how to deal with it all. How do I hate you, and yet have no reason to?”
“You have valid reasons.”
“No, not really. You didn’t abandon me. You did your job and moved on to your next assignment. You carved a life out for yourself, married, and had a baby. None of those should impact my life.”
“And yet they do,” Rosemary finished.
Byte lifted her eyes, trying to keep the tears from falling. She wasn’t going to cry. She was going to say her piece, throw out some hateful barbs, and walk away with her head up high. But now, she sat there, across from the woman she’d condemned her whole life, trying to not cry and show any weakness.
“Mom?” the voice from the front door called out.
“Darla? What’s wrong?”
“I want to give my sister a hug. Can I?”
Byte stood, not able to handle any more revelations.
“I’m sorry,” Rosemary said.
Byte nodded and turned to walk off the porch and saw the girl behind the glass door. Instant reminders of Chloe hit her. She had to grab ahold of the pillar to keep herself from falling. Darla didn’t look like Chloe, not exactly. But the petite size and the blond hair caused her brain to merge her memories with the child in front of her.
“I like your hair,” Darla said, still behind the glass storm door.
“Thank you.”