“Adam may not be happy to hear the news. Right about now, I imagine he wishes I didn’t exist—that way his grandmother’s house would belong to him instead of me.”
Donna waved her hand as if her statement had no merit. “You don’t know Adam. My sons are all special, but Adam is singular.” Her head cocked to the side. “Did Erin tell you about the boys?”
“Yeah, she told me everything, even how Adam and Daniel turned out so different from one another. In fact, she’s the one who mentioned that Caroline Scott was Adam’s grandmother. That’s when I figured out we were... related.”
She almost said family, but Donna hadn’t heard her whole wretched history. When all the skeletons came out of the closet, the Walkers might decide to distance themselves. Ash had been rejected before, and she knew how to guard her heart. She wouldn’t get her hopes up, just to be dashed to the ground and trampled.
Donna chuckled. “You know, when we moved back here with the boys, Adam and Daniel were only seven years old, but you could already see the contrast between them. Daniel was always goofing off and Adam hardly ever cracked a smile. But that boy is fiercely loyal to his family.”
“I still feel awkward about having the house. It seems like it should’ve gone to Adam.”
“My mom remembered all the boys in her will. It’s like I told you, she wanted to use the house to reunite the family.”
“Only because she thought my mother was still alive.”
“No, she hoped your mother was still alive. I happen to know the will stipulated the property would go to her children if she was no longer living.”
Ash nodded. “That’s what the attorney told me. Still, I may let Adam choose the house colors. I don’t really care any more, and it seems important to him.”
“I’ll tell you something most people don’t know about Adam.” Donna leaned close, glancing toward the doorway to ensure their conversation was private. “When Adam was about ten years old, he told me one day he was going to live in that house and make it into a orphanage. Of course, he was just a kid, and he didn’t know we don’t really have orphanages here in the states like they do in Romania.”
“Does he still want to do that, since he’s grown up?”
“Maybe not an orphanage. But I think he would’ve already adopted a bunch of kids if he could’ve done it without being married. When Darla broke off the engagement, it really threw a wrench in his plans.” Donna patted Ash’s hand. “I just wanted you to know why he is the way he is. I think between his love for my mom and his lost hopes and dreams he’s just ultra sensitive. Don’t worry about Adam. He’ll come around... especially when he finds out you’re family.”
Ash’s eyes stung with tears, and she blinked fast to dry them. Adam was amazing! Unlike her, he wanted the house for selfless reasons. As much as Ash had a heart for kids, she’d never given thought to using her inheritance to help children. Her only goal had been to fulfill her dream of owning a restaurant. She didn’t deserve the house?
?Adam did. Would he be glad to learn she was his cousin, or would he feel even more resentful that she’d been chosen to inherit the house?
“Aunt Donna... Can I call you that?”
Her smile split her face. “I’d love that!”
“Aunt Donna, I’m worried what Adam will do when he finds out I knew I was his cousin and didn’t tell him.”
“Do you want to keep it between us a while longer? He doesn’t have to know right now.”
“No, he needs to know. But actually... could you do me a favor?”
As she edged closer and took Ash’s hands between hers, Donna’s mouth turned up in a sweet smile that crinkled the corners of her blue eyes. For a moment, she looked so much like Ash’s mother that a lump formed in her throat.
“I’ll be happy to do any favor for my niece,” Donna said.
“Would you mind telling the family... about who I really am?”
“I’d be honored to tell everyone. Should I make an announcement at dinner?”
“Sure. But if you don’t mind, I won’t stay. I’m feeling a little...” Gutless? Spineless? Lily-livered? Cowardly?
“Overwhelmed?” Donna suggested.
“Yes. Overwhelmed.”
ASH WAS HEADING TOWARD her car when Adam’s truck came barreling down the driveway, sliding to a stop and sending gravel flying, evoking vivid memories from her past. Her heart pounded and the sky seemed to fold together, smothering her. Eyes to the ground, she picked up her pace and made it to the car, but he was tapping on her window before she got the engine started. Facing the inevitable, she rolled the window down.
“Are you leaving, already?”
He leaned over, resting his arms on the windowsill. She kept her gaze straight ahead... anything to avoid those dark piercing eyes.