Free Heart Echoes by Sally John Page B

really.”
    â€œBut he didn’t want me.”
    â€œHe wasn’t ready.”
    â€œSame thing. You don’t have to protect my feelings anymore, Mom. I’m almost sixteen. I get it. Big whoop.” The shaky voice undermined the brave words. “Most kids at school come from broken homes. At least they’ve met both parents, though. About the only thing I know is I have my dad’s green eyes.”
    Well, there was no denying that. Teal’s eyes were light gray. “Mm-hmm.”
    â€œMy ears are different from yours too.” Biology class last year had provided this new tidbit. She pulled on a lobe. “See? Attached. I must have his.”
    â€œMaybe.”
    â€œWas he handsome?”
    Teal fiddled with the steering wheel, wishing to drive off and leave the conversation squished under the tires. “I’ve told you before.”
    â€œTell me again. Tell me more besides he was good-looking and you met him on a beach in Oregon. What else?”
    â€œHoney, there is nothing else.”
    â€œWhat beach? Did he go to the same college you did?” Her voice rose and she flounced on the seat. “Where did you go on dates? What color was his hair? Did he play an instrument? Did he like the trumpet?”
    â€œMaiya, calm down.”
    â€œMom!” Her eyes widened. “You could have been killed in that earthquake!”
    Huh? “But I wasn’t.”
    â€œBut what if you were? I wouldn’t even know my dad’s name! I would never ever know his name. I could never meet him.”
    Teal shook her head. “It’s best that you don’t.”
    â€œMaybe he’s looking for me! Maybe he’s looking for you. Maybe he still loves you.”
    Teal breathed in and out, in and out, steeling herself. She would not feed this romantic fantasy. “All right, Maiya. I’ll tell you some things I haven’t wanted to say because I don’t want his character to affect how you see yourself. Does that make sense?”
    She nodded.
    â€œHe did not love me, hon. And I didn’t love him. We truly did not care about each other.”
    â€œBut you made love.”
    â€œWe had sex. Call it lust or craving any attention that resembled love. Call it plain old dysfunctional behavior. I’m afraid there was no love involved.”
    The hurt on Maiya’s face tempted her to soften the facts.
    But she couldn’t. “I did not want him in our lives. He was bad news. Shoplifting, burglary, other so-called minor offenses. Soon after you were born, they finally locked him up for disorderly conduct.”
    Maiya flinched as if she’d been slapped.
    â€œHoney, there is no romance in the story. He’s not a prince or part of a famous family.” She reached out and smoothed Maiya’s hair. “But hey, who needs a prince when we have River, huh?”
    Tears seeped from Maiya’s eyes. “It’s not the same. Oh, Mommy, it’s not the same.”
    Teal pulled her daughter to herself and hugged as tightly as she could over the console.
    And she admitted silently to herself that no, it was not the same, not even with River Adams for a stepdad.

Chapter 16

    River found Teal on the back patio, aiming the hose at an enormous potted geranium that she had babied for years. He paused in the doorway and feasted his eyes on his wife in shorts and sleeveless top. She was one good-looking woman with feminine curves and, in unguarded moments like this, a vulnerability that made him think she needed him.
    Teal moved the hose to a tomato plant and noticed him standing there. “Did you talk to him?”
    River smiled and went over to her. “Hello to you, too.”
    â€œSorry.” She turned off the sprayer and met his kiss. “Hi.”
    â€œRough day with the caged tiger?”
    â€œI want to go on record as saying that grounding a teenager is ludicrous.” She shook her head. “I had to get out of