Best Shot by Michelle Irwin

Author:Michelle Irwin [Irwin, Michelle]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Michelle Irwin

Our lunch went far smoother than I had imagined it might when I’d first heard Mom’s voice.

After everyone had eaten enough, Brock and Parker ran to get a ball and play a little one-on-one. Brock also grabbed Nikki and Georgia some of the training skipping ropes and let them play with them.

I sat back and surveyed the scene with a serene smile on my face.

“How on earth did you come up with names for that many kids?” Mom asked Alyssa.

Declan and Alyssa both laughed. “It wasn’t easy,” Alyssa said. “Emmanuel and Phoebe, they were my twins, were easy enough. I had some inspiration for them.”

As she said the words, a shadow fell over Declan’s expression. Was that just because Phoebe had passed away?

“Brock was Declan’s idea—he’s named after a racing legend back home.”

Some more pieces of Brock’s past came together in my mind. He had mentioned how his father had wanted him to follow the family footsteps. Being named after a legend in that industry must have been hard to cope with when he held no interest in that career.

“Beth and Parker were decided with a lot of discussion and negotiating with a baby-name book in hand. Nikki was our second choice when we had Beth, so it was only natural to use that name. By then we were pretty much tapped out on baby names and didn’t expect any more children either. Georgia was—” Alyssa frowned and her gaze found the ground. “Well, the family was going through a difficult time when I fell pregnant with her and a wonderful man stepped in to help out. He was from Georgia, and it just made sense to honor him in some way.”

Declan wrapped his hand around Alyssa’s and they both seemed to get lost in their thoughts.

For a moment, I tried to connect the dots but the moment I did, I had to stop myself from gasping. “When Phoebe was missing,” I said aloud without thinking.

Declan’s jaw flexed.

Alyssa nodded sadly. “Yeah.”

Mom and Dad exchanged a confused glance before looking at me for more.

My stomach sank as I tried to elaborate without putting my foot in it and making everyone uncomfortable. “You remember a few years ago there was the Australian woman who went missing. It was all over the news.”

“Oh, I remember,” Renee said. “My mother was so worried because I was the same age as the girl who went missing. She made sure I spent more time at youth group than ever. Of course, that worked out for the best anyway.” She offered Dad a small smile, no doubt remembering their meeting and falling in love during those church outings. “I heard when they found that poor girl she was—”

“I think that’s enough socializing for one day,” Declan snapped before standing and pacing toward the two boys on the basketball court.

It was clear where Brock got his stubborn refusal to acknowledge his pain from.

“You’ll have to forgive my husband,” Alyssa said. “He still has trouble coming to terms with what happened to Phoebe while she was here and what’s happened since.

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