Page 66 of Buried Secrets

Despite herself, Kaitlin moved closer. The faded photo showed a newborn’s face, eyes closed, wrapped in a hospital blanket.

“I tried to memorize everything about you,” Marissa continued. “The way you smelled, the little sounds you made. The way your hand wrapped around my finger.” She set the photo down with shaking hands. “When they came to take you, I thought I would die. Physically die from the pain of it.”

“But you let them.”

“What choice did I have?” Marissa turned to face her fully. “I couldn’t even feed myself, let alone a baby. The ten thousand dollars—yes, I took it. Because it meant I could build something, make a life where I could have other children someday. Children I could keep.”

“Like Ryan.”

“When I had Ryan, it nearly destroyed me all over again.” Marissa’s voice was thick. “Because every day of his life I thought of you. Wondered if you were happy, if your parents loved you, if you ever thought about me.”

“Every day,” Kaitlin admitted, the words scraping her throat. “I thought about you every day, too.”

They stood facing each other, two women separated by three decades of pain and silence. The rain drummed against the windows in the laden quiet.

“Do they love you? Were they good to you?” Marissa asked finally. “Your parents?”

Kaitlin’s eyes filled with fresh tears. “Yes. They were wonderful. They died nearly two years ago in a car accident.”

“I’m so sorry,” Marrissa reached one hand out to Kaitlin, who stepped back from the attempt.

Marissa frowned and sat on the sofa while a moment stretched between them. “Then I guess I did one thing right.”

Kaitlin found herself finally sitting in the chair across from her. “Why didn’t you look for me? After you were married, established?”

“I signed legal documents saying I had no right to contact you. Ever.” Marissa met her gaze. “And even if I could have, what right did I have to disrupt your life? To confuse a child with parents who loved her?”

“I’ve had a hole inside me my entire life. This emptiness. My parents never hid the fact that I was adopted, telling me I was a gift to them. But it didn’t erase the fact that I wasn’t wanted by my real mother.”

“I’m so sorry.” Marissa leaned forward. “When I saw you that day, when you came to interview me, I couldn’t breathe. My daughter, sitting across from me, and I couldn’t say a word. Couldn’t reach out and touch you.”

“Why didn’t you say something?”

“Because you were with the sheriff. Because I didn’t know why you were really here. Because I was terrified you’d reject me.” Marissa’s voice dropped to a whisper. “Because I’m a coward.”

The word hung between them. Kaitlin studied this woman who’d given her life and then given her away. The anger was still there, might always be there, but underneath it was something else. Understanding, perhaps. Or at least the beginning of it.

“Tell me about my father,” she said finally.

Marissa’s expression shifted. “He was… charming. Dark hair, nice smile. Said all the right things to a lonely girl who’d just lost her sister.”

“My aunt. The one they found buried.”

“Diane.” Fresh tears spilled down Marissa’s cheeks. “I came here looking for her and lost you instead. The island took both of you from me.”

“I’m here now.”

The simple statement broke something in Marissa. She pressed her hands to her mouth, muffling a sob. “I never thought… I dreamed about it but never believed…”

Kaitlin found herself moving without conscious thought, sitting beside her mother on the worn sofa. Not touching, not yet, but close enough to feel her warmth.

“I don’t know how to do this,” Kaitlin admitted.

“I don’t know how either,” Marissa replied.

They sat in silence for a long moment, the storm outside beginning to ease. Finally, Marissa spoke again.

“Ryan will want to meet you.”