Page 87 of Tear Me Apart

Technically, legally, if she is his, what are his rights? What are theirs? And what kind of asshole is he for even thinking about all of this?

Forcing away the sudden spurt of anxiety, he guides Kat to the edge of the driveway. She happily sniffs around the rocks. There is still snowpack here from a recent storm, fresh and untouched down the hill except for a series of black dots near the scrub oak, breaks in the snow he assumes are from deer walking through. He is glad it is still too cold for snakes. Kat loves anything that moves, but snakes are a personal favorite, and he knows the poisonous ones rule these large hills.

Kat does her business, then glues herself to his side, looking up at the house as if she, too, feels like she is about to walk into a den of vipers.

A door opens, and Juliet comes out onto the front deck. He smells roasting meat,hamburgers, and she shouts, “What’s taking so long? Come on in. Jasper knew we had to skip dinner. He threw a few burgers on the grill. Are you hungry?”

“I am,” he calls, and with a deep breath, heads up the stairs to the front door.

47

Jasper Wright looks every inch the weekend lawyer, from his pressed chinos to his white button-down polo to the floppy mass of sandy hair on his head. He shakes Zack’s hand with restrained warmth, gracious of him, considering, and invites him to have a seat at the table.

“Beer? Wine? And how do you like your burger?”

“Beer’s fine, thanks. Well done on the meat, please.”

“Huh, that’s how Mindy likes it,” Juliet says. “We’ve been playing a strange game this evening, Jasper, matching up some of the things Zack likes to what Mindy does, too.”

“Yeah? That’s cool.” He plunks two bottles of Heineken on the table, sits in a chair opposite Zack. Takes a pull from his beer. “This is weird for me, man, and I know it is for you, too. I’ve thought Mindy’s biological dad was dead all these years, and Lauren never disabused me of the notion. I guess we’re going to have to muddle through this together, okay?”

He clinks Zack’s bottle with his own and goes to flip the burgers. Juliet beams at Jasper’s back, then at Zack, tips her bottle his direction.See?her looks says.One big happy hamburger-grilling monster-alpine-house-living beer-drinking family.

Everyone is treating him like the crazy neighbor down the street, solicitous and kind to the point of stifling. He can’t help but wonder,Don’t these people ever lose their tempers? Do they walk around oozing kindness from their pores to everyone they meet, strangers and friends alike? Are they really this genuine?

He doesn’t trust them, he realizes with a start. He’s gone along on this far-fetched trip on the basis of a couple of photographs and some coincidences, hoping he’s found his lost daughter, hoping there will be answers to the questions that haunt him. They could be anyone. This could be a massive setup. Have his long-honed instincts failed him completely? This is too much for one day. Too much.

A wave of panic passes through him, and he feels suddenly odd, light-headed and achy.

“You okay?” Juliet asks. “You must be tired. I know I am.”

For a moment, he thinks he might be ill.Have they drugged me? Was there something in the beer?

“Bathroom?”

“Oh, sure. Down the hall and to the right. First door.”

He shuts the door and runs some cold water, splashes it on his face. It makes him feel better, but he still feels ill, like something is wrong. His stomach twists. Has he caught the stomach flu from the hospital? Would it show itself so quickly? Zack isn’t the get sick type; he has a strong constitution bolstered by healthy living and exercise. He can’t remember the last time he’s come down with something worse than a winter cold.

He can hear their voices from the kitchen, muffled, speaking low. He cracks open the door.

“—typical Lauren, right?” Juliet’s voice is clearer than Jasper’s.

“She’s the world’s softest touch.” This is said with sadness and something else, a hint of love, maybe, or confusion.

“You’re being a champ about all of this.”

“What choice do I have? I just want Mindy well, J. I’ll deal with the emotions and the hurt of Lauren’s lies later. It’s just...”

“What?”

“I don’t know. This feels wrong. It’s all happening so fast. It almost feels like Lauren led us right to Armstrong. Do you think she meant for me to find his name? If I hadn’t, do you think she would have told us at all?”

“I think if Mindy got much worse, yes, she would have. I hope, at least. I can’t imagine her letting Mindy decline further without doing something. Besides, I ran the blood work and found the cold case. It was going to happen regardless.”

“But why didn’t she tell us the truth the moment we knew Mindy needed a transplant? She had to know none of us would be a match, and we’d need to go outside.”

“I asked her the same thing. She said she didn’t realize how it all worked, that the science was confusing. She thought her blood would be enough.”