Don't Say a Word - Barbara Freethy [119]
His protectiveness touched her. She liked that he cared enough to worry about her. "What do you suggest we do?"
"Get a hotel room, call the airport, book a flight for DC first thing in the morning."
She turned sideways in her seat, amazed that she could still feel surprised after everything she'd learned. "You really think we should hop on a plane to Washington DC with nothing more than a name and a ballet company?"
"It's a good start. We'll have better luck tracking your sister there than here."
"If she's still in DC. Your father said the information was at least ten years old."
"But she was there, and she probably had friends in the ballet company. Someone might know where she is now," he pointed out.
"It's so spontaneous. I'm not the kind of person who jumps on planes every other day. It will be expensive, won't it, this close to departure?"
"I have lots of Frequent Flyer miles. It won't cost us a dime. I think of air travel like car travel. Going to DC is like going to St. Helena, except the trip is a few hours longer."
"So speaks the world traveler," she said with a smile.
"Is that a yes or a no?"
"It's a yes. I want to find my sister. I still can't believe I have a sister." Her smile dimmed. "Oh, no," she muttered.
"What now?" he asked warily.
"Liz. She won't like this at all. How will I tell her I have a twin sister who shares my blood, especially now that I know she doesn't? She won't understand. She was worried that she would lose me to my biological father. How on earth am I going to make her understand it doesn't change things?"
"It does change things. How could it not?"
"I love Liz. She'll always be my sister."
"But she won't be your only sister. That will take some adjustment, especially since Elaine or Elena looks just like you."
"Liz will definitely feel like the odd girl out," she agreed.
"Don't tell her yet. It will be easier to present the whole picture when it makes sense. If you give her this much, it will only be confusing and disturbing."
"Which describes my feelings exactly."
He ran his finger down the side of her face. "It's been a rough day for you. And here I thought it would be all about me and seeing my dad again, listening to his lies."
"Yeah, well, I didn't want you to have all the fun," she said lightly, trying to stay on the surface of her emotions. She was afraid if she didn't, she would have a complete meltdown, and it wasn't the time for that. "How was it, seeing your dad again?"
He shrugged. "I don't know."
"I think you do."
"If I do, I don't want to talk about it."
"Are you going to wait to tell your mother about your dad?"
"Yes," he said, without a hint of doubt in his voice. "I want to know everything first."
"We're getting closer," Julia said. "We finally know who my parents are-and that Sarah isn't my mother." She let out a sigh of weariness. "I don't want to talk about this right now, either. I have a headache."
"You need a break, time to let everything sink in."
"I feel like there's a thick curtain in my brain and I can't see past it. How could I have forgotten my twin sister for even a moment? Shouldn't there have been a connection between us? Shouldn't I have felt as if a part of me was missing?"
Alex's eyes filled with compassion. "Don't be so hard on yourself. You were three years old. You were a baby. Your whole life changed in an instant. I'm sure you missed your sister when you were first separated. But you had to bury that pain to survive. Then your life was filled with other people."
"That's true. My mother-Sarah-did manage to get pregnant, despite what everyone else told us. I was there for that part. I wonder if she regretted taking me then. After all, she had her own child. She could have given me away and still had her own family." Julia thought about all that had transpired, how many lives had been touched by her mother's one reckless decision. And up until today, she'd never thought of her mother as reckless.