he’d left, how many nights had she spent weeping over that bone-melting smile that had gotten her in trouble with him in the first place. And now it was making a mockery of her defenses. Darn him.
It just wasn’t fair. She wasn’t a naive eighteen-year-old anymore and she didn’t give a fig about making him feel better... “All right, go ahead.” She dragged her gaze away to look at the wall clock. Mostly, so she wouldn’t be dazzled by that stupid smile. “You have five minutes.”
“Thank you,” he said, his voice lowered. “I mean it.”
“Four minutes and fifty-six seconds.”
His deep, raspy chuckle was almost as bad as the smile. “First, I want you to know it wasn’t my decision to leave. I didn’t have a choice.”
That tactic wouldn’t work on her. Ginny believed everyone had choices. Sometimes they weren’t popular or easy, and the consequences could be life changing. She doubted anyone understood that concept better than she did.
“My dad used to work for the DEA,” Parker said, then paused to take a quick sip of his coffee.
“Wait. Not when you all lived here. He was an insurance investigator, right? Or was it a claims adjuster?”
“Neither. He’d been working undercover for a while by the time we moved to Temptation Bay. Meg probably told you the same story we were fed.”
“I wondered why he was gone so much,” Ginny said, mostly to herself. “Meg hated it.”
“We both did. Mom too. According to what she told me later, it wasn’t a problem at first. The assignments were low-level drug busts that kept him away for a week or two at the most. Then, as he became more involved tracking down an East Coast heroine distribution ring out of Florida, his boss kept sending him deeper into the organization. Usually for months at a time. At one point he was gone almost a year.”
Ginny’s eyes widened. “How was that possible? Didn’t you question where he was?”
“Of course, but my mom covered for him. Once she said he was away for job training. Another time he was supposed to have gone to Texas to investigate a case of fraud.” Parker shrugged. “We were young when it started and got used to the absences.”
“Not Meg,” Ginny said half to herself, her gaze straying toward the window. “It bothered her a lot.” Ginny thought back to the week before her friend had disappeared, when she’d begun her downward spiral. “Was that why your parents were getting a divorce?”
Parker looked taken aback. “There hadn’t been any talk of divorce. My mom would’ve mentioned it. Personally, I wouldn’t have blamed her if she had left him,” he said. “Why do you ask?”
This time it was Ginny who was caught off guard. Mr. Nolan hadn’t just been Meg’s idol, he’d been Parker’s, as well. “About a week before Meg went missing she overheard your parents arguing. She told me your dad was having an affair and leaving for good.”
Parker’s brow furrowed. “I remember you telling me she’d heard them talking. It was the day before he left for Colombia. But I don’t think you mentioned anything about an affair.”
Holding her breath, Ginny shrugged. Unfortunately, she couldn’t remember what she’d told him and what she’d hidden at the time. “I can’t recall specifics.”
“No reason you should.” He let out a weary sigh. “Too bad he didn’t leave for good. It would’ve been better all the way around.”
Ginny hid behind her cup of coffee as pieces of the puzzle started falling into place. Studying the lines of tension bracketing Parker’s mouth, the hardness in his expression, she was still curious about his animosity toward his dad. Everything had happened so long ago but Parker looked as if he’d just awoken from the nightmare. “The night you and your mom disappeared...?”
Parker’s features eased. “The agency was afraid Dad’s cover had been blown, and that Meg’s disappearance had something to do with it.”
“You mean, they thought she’d been kidnapped?”
“Or worse. It was a while before we found out she’d just run away.”
Ginny knew there was a lot more to that story, but clearly Meg had elected not to share it with her family so neither would she. However, she still had questions. But did she dare ask? Getting him on his way was her top priority. Leaving the past in the past was her safest move. She didn’t need to slip up and say something that would raise questions she wasn’t prepared to answer. Ever.
“Ginny...” He leaned across the table and brushed his fingers over the back of her hand. “I didn’t want to leave like that. Without saying goodbye, or at least explaining what was going on. It happened so quickly, and my mom...she was a mess, and at that point I was all she had.”
Nodding, Ginny managed a smile. “You could’ve called me later...when things weren’t so crazy.” She shrugged a shoulder. “Just to tell me you were okay.”
“You’re absolutely right.”
“It doesn’t matter now. I don’t know why I said that.” Good grief. Couldn’t she listen to her own counsel? She moved her hand back and brushed the hair away from her face.
“Ginny, please...”
She stood rather abruptly. “I guess you’ll be taking off soon.” She didn’t offer him any more coffee and put her cup in the sink. “Oh, I should’ve asked...how’s your mom?”
“Happily remarried. Living in Idaho.” Parker got to his feet and must’ve noticed Ginny’s startled reaction. “The old man’s been dead for fourteen years.”
“Oh, I’m sorry.” Ginny’s breath caught at the detached look on Parker’s face. A wave of sadness washed over her. The Nolans had once been a close family, despite Mr. Nolan’s frequent absences, and the senseless tragedy of the situation broke her heart.
“Hey, you okay?” In seconds Parker was at her side.
“Yes, I’m fine. It’s just—I can’t begin to imagine all the pain you and your mom went through. And for nothing. So much could’ve been avoided if only Meg had said something.” He was standing close, his rugged good looks and musky scent emphasizing how different he was from the earnest, clean-cut young man she’d fallen for all those years ago.
“Sure, Meg lit the match by taking off like she did, but there was more to it.” Bitterness tinged Parker’s voice. “Turns out Dad, the big hero, wasn’t the man we all thought he was.”
Ginny didn’t know what that meant but she wasn’t about to ask him now. Her stomach churned when she realized she’d played a part in all the devastation. In her misguided loyalty to Meg, she hadn’t been entirely forthcoming with Parker and the police about what she’d known at the time. It wasn’t much, and probably wouldn’t have mattered in the long run, but still... “Did Meg’s disappearance have anything to do with you dropping out of Princeton?”
Something about the set of Parker’s shoulders, the flicker of disappointment and defeat in his eyes before the mask slipped back into place, made her want to hold him close, offer him comfort. The impulse was beyond insane. That hadn’t turned out so well the last time. Knowing she could’ve made things worse by her silence had her stomach clenching.
“Nothing went the way I planned after all that happened. But it’s worked out fine. Now I have different expectations and a lot fewer disappointments.”
The trace of rancor in his tone made her feel even worse. If only she’d said something. Anything. Light-headed suddenly, Ginny swayed a little and used the counter for support.
Parker put his arms around her. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing. I think the coffee might not be agreeing with me.” She didn’t resist. It felt good being held