Julian glanced at his cell phone again. Still no calls from Fancy, Pretty, or Fox.
Not that he had expected them to jump on the messages he had left for them—but their silence spoke volumes.
He had screwed up his relationships with them, just like he had screwed up everything else.
Yes, he and Sheridan were getting closer, but maybe that was just because Sheridan had the most forgiving heart of anyone he had ever met.
Clearly, his children with Ivy did not.
Could he really blame them, though? For all intents and purposes, he was only a father to them on paper—someone they saw every now and then on Christmas, if they didn't have other plans first.
He hadn't bounced them on his knees when they were toddlers; he hadn't attended even one of their school shows. He couldn't name any of their friends—or even their significant others.
He had known real things about Ethan. He had had an actual relationship with him.
And yet he had thrown out Ethan like yesterday's trash the second Alistair had turned on him.
Could he really fix things moving forward like Sheridan had suggested? Could he really make a fresh start?
Sheridan picked up the phone and then put it down again. "I'm starting to have second thoughts about getting involved in Mike's search for his parents," Sheridan said, turning to look at Luis. "What if my hunch about him being Julian and Eve's son is completely off base?"
"But what if it's not?" Luis countered. "Either way—just asking Mike if he wants to come to the station to tell me his story could help me open up an official investigation. I might find some answers for him."
"But what if he does turn out to be Julian's son?" Sheridan frowned, her forehead creasing. "You know the backstory here."
Luis raised his brows. "You mean the fact that your father is a racist bastard who didn't think twice about getting rid of his own grandchild?"
"Yes, that's exactly what I mean." Sheridan sank down onto the couch. "Luis, what if we're opening a can of worms that would be better off left alone?"
"I understand why you're concerned." Luis sat down next to her and took one of her hands into his own. "But, Sheridan," he said, nudging up her chin, "don't forget—if it does turn out that Mike is Julian's long-lost son—he'll also get Eve out of that deal."
"Yes, I realize that," Sheridan said. "I just hate to think that our digging around in Mike's past might hurt him in any way."
"I know." Luis rubbed his hands over his face. "Maybe you're right. Maybe we should just drop the whole thing."
Sheridan looked at him. "Do you think we should?"
Luis settled deeper into the couch and folded his hands in front of his face. "Honestly, I don't know."
Sheridan's face creased with pain. "If you were Mike—and it turned out that you were the grandson my father tried to get rid of—would you want to know?"
Luis stayed silent for a few moments and then looked at her. "I wish I had a definitive answer for that. I mean, I'd probably have a hard time with it, but, when it came down to it—I think I'd want to know who I am."
Eve took a deep breath in as she crossed the floor of The Book Café. A few feet away, Whitney was chatting with Chad, Theresa, and Ethan, completely oblivious to her presence.
Should she do this? Should she risk Whitney rejecting her again?
Yes, that would tear her heart apart, but Whitney was her daughter.
She had no plan, no great idea to begin mending their relationship. All she knew was that she had to try—to try to get through to her.
Whitney looked up and locked eyes with her.
Eve's heart skipped a beat.
"What are you doing here, Mom?" Whitney asked.
Inhaling deeply, Eve fought back tears. "I just want to talk to you."
Whitney crossed her arms over her chest. "I've heard enough from you, Mom."
Theresa touched Whitney's wrist. "Whit, maybe you should give her a chance."
"Why?" Whitney ripped her arm away from Theresa. "So she can fill my head with lies again?"
"You have no idea what your mother went through," Theresa said. "You don't know anything about all of the horrible things Alistair did to her."
"I know all I need to know," Whitney insisted. "I know that despite what the Cranes did to her, she's still sleeping with Julian."
Eve's heart lodged in her throat. "Whitney, how could you say such a thing?"
"Oh, please—don't try to deny it." Whitney rolled her eyes and nodded toward the front of the café. "In fact, here's your lapdog right now."
Grabbing hold of a nearby chair, Eve inched herself around.
Smiling sadly, Julian nodded at her and then turned to Whitney. "Whitney, you're so very wrong."
Sheridan took a deep breath in as the phone rang—or at least as deep a breath as she could take. The anxiety tightening her airways certainly wasn't making it very easy.
"Hello?"
Sheridan's back straightened at the sound of Mike's voice. "Mike? This is Sheridan Lopez-Fitzgerald."
"Sheridan," Mike said. "It's good to hear from you."
"It's good to speak with you, too." Sheridan smiled, the grip around her airways loosening. "All the kids really enjoyed meeting you. They couldn't stop talking about your program after you left. You really inspired them."
"Yeah, well, you've got a great group of kids there," Mike said. "I really enjoyed meeting them, too. If there's anything else I can do to help you set up your mentoring program, please don't hesitate to ask."
"Thank you, Mike." Sheridan twisted her fingers through the phone cord. "But I'm actually calling because I thought that Luis and I might be able to help you. In addition to working at the youth center, Luis is also a police officer with the Harmony PD. I hope you don't mind, but I told him about your mother, and he thinks that he might be able to help you locate her."
"Really, Sheridan?" Mike's voice filled with skepticism. "I have to tell you—I've been searching for years and come up completely empty-handed. In fact, the foster care agency that first placed me seems to have vanished off the face of the earth."
Sheridan sucked in a breath. "What do you mean by that, Mike?"
"This may sound strange, but I've never been able to find any records or paper trails that lead back to it," Mike said. "For all intents and purposes, it's almost like it never existed."
