She drew in a breath. “Not in front of her.”
Daniel’s jaw tightened. “You don’t get to decide how this goes.”
“No,” Nora said quietly. “I don’t.”
Lily stepped closer to Daniel’s side. “Who is she?”
That was the question. Not just the name. Not just the family tree. Who is she now. What had she come for. Why buy the house next door under a half-false name and wait until a dead car forced an introduction.
Daniel crouched so he could look Lily in the eye. “Sweetheart, why don’t you go inside and feed Murphy?”
Their orange tabby was asleep on the kitchen chair by this hour every day and did not need feeding for another two hours. Lily knew that. He saw the knowledge in her face.
But she also knew when her father needed a minute.
She pressed her lips together. “Okay.”
As she turned to go, Nora said, “Lily.”
The child stopped.
Nora’s voice shook just once. “You have your mother’s eyes.”
Lily looked startled, then looked at Daniel again.
He nodded once.
That seemed to be enough. She went through the side door into the house, shutting it behind her.
The garage felt colder after she left.
Daniel stood. “Start talking.”
Nora folded her hands in front of her like someone trying not to reach for armor she no longer wore. Up close, Daniel could see that she looked less polished than she had at first glance. The dress was elegant, yes. Her hair was done. Her posture was perfect. But there were shadows beneath her eyes, and the kind of tension at the corners of her mouth that belongs to people who have been holding themselves together for too long.
“I found out Emma died eight months after it happened,” she said.
Daniel blinked. “What?”
Nora’s gaze dropped to the concrete. “I know how that sounds.”
“It sounds impossible.”
“It wasn’t impossible in the life I was living.”
Daniel stared at her.
She lifted her head. “I was married to a man who controlled everything. My mail. My phone. Where I went. Who I spoke to. If I reached outside the image he wanted, he punished me for it in ways that are difficult to explain to people who haven’t lived inside that kind of marriage.”
Daniel’s anger didn’t disappear, but confusion cut through it. “Emma tried to find you.”
“I know.” Nora’s eyes shone. “I know now.”
Daniel crossed his arms. “And before now?”
“Before now, I thought she stopped trying.”