Total pages in book: 77
Estimated words: 75770 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 379(@200wpm)___ 303(@250wpm)___ 253(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 75770 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 379(@200wpm)___ 303(@250wpm)___ 253(@300wpm)
“Your birthplace has nothing to do with who you are, Misty. You were adopted by the Holmes family. Though…how did that happen? Why would they adopt a baby from bum— Montana?”
“I’ve asked myself the same questions. My birth certificate didn’t name a father, so he could be anyone.” Misty’s gazes at the horizon. “I always felt like a part of me was missing, Emily. Even with all the wealth my family showered on me. There was always a void.”
I’m torn between irritation and sympathy. The audacity of her, complaining about a luxurious life that was given to her while I had to claw my way up from nothing. Yet, there’s an undeniable sadness in her eyes that I can’t ignore.
Perhaps all she wanted was their attention and love.
“I’m sorry, Misty,” I murmur. “Must have been hard for you.”
She shrugs, ironic laughter escaping her lips as she looks at me again. “My parents were big on things. You saw all my designer clothes.”
Yes, and I also saw how she treated them. Still, I think back to our conversation about her parents, about the designer gowns her mother would give her along with a typed note.
“They never told me,” she continues. “I found the adoption papers when I was nosing through my father’s office. I only know the name of my mother. Lisa Patterson.”
“Makes you wonder, though”—I bend down and pick up a small shell—“who your birth father might be.”
Misty shrugs again, this time her gaze distant and contemplative. “I’ve thought about it a lot, actually. Tried to imagine who he could be. I haven’t been able to get any answers from investigators. My guess is my father paid them all off not to talk to me.” She sighs. “But Emily, I need to find out more about my birth mother. I want to find her. She can tell me who my father is. She can tell me about my roots. I want to meet her. I want to meet my half-brother.”
The gravity in her tone tugs at something deep within me. Is it raw honesty? Or just an act? I mean, this is the woman who wanted me to sabotage the others in the cook-off.
“That’s a noble quest, Misty,” I say.
Her lips curve into a half smile. “You see, River is the key. All I could find out is that my birth mother had another child. A son, and he was the same age as River and the others. They must have known him.”
“Did River tell you that?”
She shakes her head. “River… I don’t know what I did that night, but he got so pissed off. We ended up in his suite, but…” She closes her eyes a moment and then opens them. “I said something…”
“What, Misty? What did you say?”
“I’m trying to remember. It was just last night, but it seems like an eternity has passed since then. I wanted to know if he knew my half-brother. I told him I had to be his match. Because he was the one. He was the keeper of secrets.”
I cock my head. “The keeper of secrets? Why would you think that?”
“I don’t know. It just came out. I figured that since he still lives there, he’d know everything about my birth mother and half-brother. I just thought…” She sighs. “I guess I didn’t think at all. But there’s more.”
“More secrets?”
“Yeah. Lots more. For one, Evangeline is pregnant.”
I huff. “That’s hardly a secret. She’s looked like a rag for the last couple days. I suppose everyone will know now, since the guys called medics.”
Misty gulps. “I… I have something on Evangeline. Something she doesn’t want anyone to know. And I… I…”
“What, Misty? You what?”
She gulps again. “I told her to get rid of Rachel.”
My jaw drops to the sand. Is it true, then? Misty was behind Rachel’s accident?
“Bugger, Misty.”
“But it wasn’t me,” she says. “I didn’t engineer that accident on the catamaran. I swear to God, Emily. You’ve got to believe me. I just wanted Rachel out because River seemed so taken with her that first night. I wanted June out as well.”
“Why June?”
“Because she was talking to River a lot the first night too.”
I draw in a breath. Okay. June is still here, and right now she’s eating Heather’s pussy, so she’s perfectly fine.
Misty’s jaw quivers, her eyes wide with pleading.
She wants me to believe her. Is desperate for me to believe her.
But is that because she’s telling the truth?
Or because she needs someone to believe her lies?
Could be either, and I haven’t a damned clue which.
“So you wanted them both out,” I say, my voice steady despite the whirlwind of thoughts in my head. “But you didn’t have anything to do with the accident?”
“I swear, Emily,” she says, her voice bursting with desperation. “I didn’t have anything to do with it. I’ve been as worried about Rachel as everyone else. And I also know everyone suspects me.”