Read Finding Eva (Highland Creek Series) for Free Online Page A

sadness about the fact that her mother died, only anger that she had been lied to for years.
    A sad smile crossed Susan’s face, sympathy shining in her eyes. “It’s your loss too.”
    Eva waved her off. “Not really. I don’t feel it as acutely as you do. For me, she’s been gone for a long time.”
    “You may not have had your mother for years, but you just got a new loss, regardless of how it happened. Don’t diminish your feelings, no matter what they may be.” Unexpected tears pricked her eyes, and she impulsively hugged Susan.
    “Oh, honey.” She rubbed her back as the tears flowed softly. “You have just been through it lately.”
    Eva pulled back, wiping her eyes. “Thank you. I don’t really know where that came from, but thank you for everything and the casserole. I was looking for something to eat, and it will be nice to have a home cooked meal.”
    “You’re welcome. And one more thing that I was debating on when to give you. Your mother gave me this letter a couple of months ago and told me I would know when it was time. I didn’t read it…” she reached into her purse and pulled out a white business size envelope “…but your mother said it explained a lot for you. I know her reasons…” she read the question in Eva’s eyes “…and I think you should read it and make your decisions about everything.”
    “Thank you,” she said, sincerely grateful for everything.
    “You’re welcome. I am going to go now, but I just wanted to say hey, feed you, and give you that. If you need anything at all, let me know.” She hugged her one last time before making her way back down the front hallway and out the door.
    Eva walked back into the kitchen and stared at the envelope, unable to open it. All throughout the day she searched for answers, and now that she had it she was too chicken to do anything about it. So she sat down and ate the homemade casserole in silence in her mother’s kitchen as the light outside grew dim before heading up to bed alone.

T he bad thing about summer vacation is that eventually you run out of things to do—not that Eva was complaining—but when you were trying to do anything but sort through your mother’s house then it left too much time with nothing to do. She had been to the salon and got a mani-pedi, cut her hair, and spent a couple of days catching up on summer reading by the pool. She spent three days doing nothing, her original time frame to be out blown to hell, but she was still trying to leave as quickly as possible. Only problem: she couldn’t leave until she went through the stuff, and going through the stuff was the last thing she wanted to do.
    I can do this! Eva gave herself a mini pep talk before she went back into her mother’s bedroom. Although the clothes were fun, she wanted to get into the nitty-gritty of what her mother was like. The bedside table gave the first clue when she found an old letter that had clearly been folded and refolded several times over, the slight yellowing showing its age. She put her hand to her mouth to halt the gasp when she noticed her father’s handwriting and the date at the top, February 16, 1987.
     
    Elizabeth,
    I got the divorce papers today, and I wanted to drop you a quick line to thank you for signing them without delay. I want you to know, as I have told you before, you will always hold a piece of my heart as the mother of my child. Eva is doing amazing; she is growing so much every day. We went to her kindergarten assessment today and she aced it, just like I knew she would. She is currently in love with her Cabbage Patch dolls and Barbies, but she has enough of me to still play in the dirt and dig up worms for fishing. She is gorgeous, as you can see in the pictures I put in here with this letter. She says her prayers for you every night, and she loves your picture. I know I told you, despite your complaints, that I would let you know what was going on with Eva. Part of that includes telling you that I