She sat quietly as he leafed through the album again. Finally, he looked up. “A few weeks ago, my parents told me about her. They said that they let a woman live with them for a few months. She was pregnant and…” He shook his head. “After I was born, she asked if they wanted to adopt me. So they did, and they hid it from me. Until now.”

“I see.” Claire’s heart sank. He looked so sad. “Parents make mistakes sometimes.”

He nodded, but said nothing.

Claire was fighting with two warring factions. On the one hand, she wanted to give Marty the time and space to absorb this news. On the other hand, she wanted to know everything about him and his life up to this moment.

She took a sip of tea and smiled.

He shut his eyes and shook his head. “You know, I couldn’t understand why my mom would’ve abandoned me, and then turned around and had three other kids, but now it makes sense.”

Oh, her heart. It felt like a knife went clean through. “That’s not the case, not at all. My girls – I adopted them after Holly died.”

She wanted to add, “I would’ve adopted you, too,” but the words failed her.

Marty nodded. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you.” He stood. “I just wanted to know about...I don’t know. I thought it would mean something. I thought it would explain something.”

Claire stood, too. She didn’t want him to leave. Not yet. “I know I’m not who you were looking for.” She stopped, trying to form her thoughts. “But we’re still…family.”

He paused, a flash of surprise crossing his face before breaking into a smile. Claire smiled back.

A moment later, a knock boomed through the front door.

Chapter Nine

That was oddly loud, as if the door was hollow. This cabin wasn’t as solid as it looked.

There was no way she hadn’t heard it, though, and there was no response. Chip stood there, guilt simmering in his chest, as he considered the fact that he may have run Claire off the island for good.

No one had seen her at the hotel for the rest of the day, and her car was still missing from the parking lot. He’d allowed his ego to take over, and he’d acted like an absolute jerk.

The door opened by a crack and Claire peeked out. “Oh, hi,” she said.

She hadn’t run off! “Hey!”

Claire stepped out of the doorway and looked behind him. “Is everything okay?”

“Yes, everything’s great, nothing wrong at the hotel.” He paused. Chip hadn’t planned out exactly what he wanted to say, and now found himself feeling awkward and unbalanced. He cleared his throat. “I just came by to tell you that I’m really sorry for the way I behaved today.”