Free The Best Goodbye by Abbi Glines Page A

daughter. She had stepped out of the car and was looking at me with an apologetic frown.
    “OK, yeah.” I turned back to Captain but he wasn’t looking at me. His focus was on Franny. “I need to take her inside to use the restroom. Is that OK?” I asked.
    He didn’t reply. Instead, he stood there frozen. I wasn’t even sure he was breathing. Not one muscle of his body moved. His focus was locked on Franny.
    She shuffled her feet and watched us. The small smile on her lips as she met my gaze hit me hard. Oh, God. I hadn’t thought about that.
    “Please,” she added, waiting for me to answer.
    My heart was slamming against my chest, as I felt a mixture of anxiety and fear prickle my skin. This wasn’t how it was supposed to happen. Not in front of Franny. Not now.
    “I promise I’m not making this up just to see the inside,” Franny added, as she started walking toward me. “I mean, I want to see it, but I really need to go.”
    Her blond curls, so like my own natural hair, bounced as she walked, and her smile looked almost identical to my own. Her blue eyes danced with mischief, and all I could do was hope he didn’t see it, too.
    Turning back to him, I could see even through the sunglasses he was wearing that he was following her every move. This wasn’t the way a man reacted to seeing a nine-year-old girl he didn’t know. He saw me—his Addy—in her.
    Franny’s hand wrapped around mine and squeezed. She smiled up at the silent man watching her. “Hi. I’m Franny. Do you work with Mom like Brad does?” she asked innocently.
    There was a flinch at the mention of Brad, and his gaze finally moved from Franny to me. I felt exposed. I needed to cover up or hide. He was seeing too much, and I wasn’t sure if he’d even put it together. Did I want him to?
    “Who are you?” He finally spoke, his voice gravelly.
    “I’m Ann Frances, but everyone calls me Franny. Who are you?”
    The innocence in her answer made my eyes sting and my stomach tighten. This was not how it was supposed to come out. Not like this.
    I squeezed Franny’s hand. “Go through those doors right there, and turn right. You’ll see the restroom sign on your left.”
    She nodded, before hurrying inside to see exactly what she wanted to see.
    Once she was gone, I turned back to look at Captain.
    “Who are you , Rose?” he asked.
    Who did he think I was? If he saw the similarities between Franny and the girl I once was, then couldn’t he see beyond my hair color, glasses, and mature body to see me, too? “Not sure what you mean,” I replied carefully.
    Captain took a deep breath and looked past me toward the building. “Is that your daughter?”
    “Yes.”
    He moved his gaze back to mine. “Then who are you?”
    I wasn’t giving him that. “You have all my info on file,” I reminded him.
    He pulled off his sunglasses, and his eyes narrowed slightly as he studied me. I tried not to hold my breath, but I couldn’t help it. There was a part of me that wanted him to see me. But the part of me that knew he wasn’t my River anymore wanted to remain hidden. Not just for Franny’s sake but also for my own.
    River had wanted to protect me, but this man . . . I wasn’t sure how I’d survive him. He could break me in a way I wouldn’t recover from.
    “Take off the glasses.” Captain’s words sounded like an order, although his voice was just above a whisper.
    I stared up at him. This time, I was frozen. Did he see me now? Was that it? If I took off the glasses, it was over. He’d know, and then what? Would I just gamble on him accepting Franny? Accepting that I’d been hiding my identity all these years?
    “This place is so cool!” Franny’s excited voice called out.
    I couldn’t have been more relieved to see her. Turning from his intense gaze, I headed toward my daughter, hoping the smile I’d pasted on my face was enough for her to get into the car without any questions. “We’re going to be late for the dentist.