“No, you don’t.”
“Ok,” she says, shaking her head. “I’m confused.”
“Henley,” Noah murmurs. “What’s going on? What do you know?”
I glance up at him, taking in his concerned, stormy green eyes before looking down at my hands, not wanting to see the reaction on his face when the words finally come out. I take a deep breath and slowly let it out before plucking up the courage to spill the beans. “Her name is Gina Rivers.”
Tully rears back, staring at me like I’m some kind of stranger. “Excuse me?” she demands. I nod, letting her know that she heard me correctly. “You couldn’t possibly mean…?”
I cringe. “Yeah, well…maybe,” the rambling begins and I find it impossible to stop. “To be honest, I don’t really know. Like I said, I haven’t googled her and, I mean, there could be heaps of women around here with the same last name. I could be wrong.”
I look back at Noah, desperately wishing he would say something. I watch in silence as his brows dip down. “Are you trying to tell me that you think that you and Rivers share a biological mother and that he could be your…what? Brother?”
I shrug my shoulders, hating how awful this feels right now. “Half-brother, maybe,” I tell him, trying to mask another cringe.
“Fuck, Henley,” he yells, shooting up from the couch and running his hand over his head as he begins to pace. He shakes his head from side to side in complete disbelief. “And you’re only just telling us now?”
I shoot to my feet, not appreciating my boyfriend judging me for holding onto this. “Are you serious?” I demand. “I haven’t even had a chance to wrap my head around this. There’s no need to be such a prick about it. You’re damn lucky I’m even saying something now. Hell, I could be wrong. The woman might not have any relation to our Rivers. It could all be some weird coincidence.”
“That’s bullshit and you know it,” Noah snaps back at me. “How many middle-aged women in this area could possibly have the same last name? That’s too coincidental and you know it.”
“Wait,” Tully says. “Did you find this out before or after Rivers took off?”
“Before. Why?” I question wondering why it matters.
Tully shoots to her feet, shooting that heavy glare at me once again. “Did you tell him about this? Is that why he’s gone? You freaked him out, demanding answers?”
“No,” I say. “I haven’t seen him since the hospital and you know that.”
A heavy sigh pulls from her and it’s almost as though, despite the anger bubbling out of her, that she had wished Rivers left because of me. Him leaving for reasons other than the ones in his letter means she’d be able to relieve the blame she’s put on herself and replace it with a slither of hope. But watching her now, that hope begins fading away leaving the same crushed spirit that I’ve been seeing all week.
Tully drops back down onto the coffee table and Noah walks into me, taking my waist and pressing his lips to my forehead. “Sorry,” he mumbles. “I probably shouldn’t have lost my cool like that. I’m sure this hasn’t been easy for you. It’s just, I can’t understand why you wouldn’t tell me straight away.”
I shrug my shoulders. “I’m not really sure, to tell the truth,” I say. “I guess I thought if I talked about it, you guys would start digging to find out if it’s true and if it could give us some answers about Rivers, and I wasn’t prepared to face it. I mean, what if she’s a nasty bitch and I don’t like what we find?”
“What if she’s a lovely woman and has all the answers you’re looking for?” Tully shoots back.
“Doubt it,” I grumble. “Remember this is the woman who had a one night stand and showed up on my father’s doorstep nine months later with a baby he had no idea about. She abandoned me. I highly doubt she could say anything to make up for all that.”
Noah holds me a little tighter. “What would it hurt?” he questions. “If you find out she’s a dirty slob, then you thank your lucky stars that you dodged a bullet. If not, you make an effort to get to know her and hope you can someday understand her side of the story.”
I pout out my bottom lip, hating that the big guy standing in front of me is right. “Fine,” I grumble.
“So,” Tully says slowly as she reaches for her phone. “Can I google her?”
I roll my eyes. “Well, apparently, it couldn’t hurt.”
Noah scoffs as a proud grin spreads across his face, clearly pleased that he was able to make me see reason.
I try my best to ignore his smugness as I watch Tully on her phone. “You said her name was Gina, right?”