Star Struck by Carole Rummage

Author:Carole Rummage [Rummage, Carole]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Bridgewood Publishing, an imprint of Cedar Fort, Inc.
Published: 2023-10-11T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Eighteen

Cade strode into Harper’s grandmother’s room and picked up the phone which she’d tossed on the bed earlier. “Harper, didn’t you hear me calling you? Your phone is ringing. Looks like it’s Amy.”

When she didn’t turn around, he went over to look at her more closely.

“Harper!” he exclaimed. “What did you find? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

When she still didn’t move, he turned off her phone and set it down. Adjusting the screen of the computer, he read the e-mail from over her shoulder. He saw that it was from her grandmother to the P.I. He read it twice more, unsure what it was that had put Harper into shock.

Then it hit him . . . Nell’s great-granddaughter, the one she was asking about, must be Harper’s child. The one that supposedly died on 9/11. He didn’t want to guess and be wrong. He hurried out of the room and went to the kitchen, got a glass of water, and brought it back. Sitting down on the bed close to the desk, he handed it to her. “Here, drink this.”

She took several sips and then took a deep breath. A little color returned to her face.

“Harper,” he said quietly. “Tell me.”

Harper turned to face him and said weakly. “It could be nothing . . . or it could be everything. Who else could she be talking about though? What other child could she possibly be looking for?” She took a deep breath. “My husband and my daughter were in the North Tower on 9/11 when it was hit. They never found their . . . bodies. Mom and Gram came to be with me as soon as they could get there. We did what every other family who was missing a loved one did. We posted pictures everywhere, and we didn’t give up for weeks. Months, even. But there was never any sign that either of them survived. Molly was only seven months old—she couldn’t have gotten out without Connor.”

“Did you ever consider that someone else carried her out if Connor . . . couldn’t?” he asked.

She nodded. “Yes. That’s why we went to every hospital, every fire station, every police precinct. And not just once. Twice. Even three times to some. Her picture was posted in every precinct. Every fire station.”

Cade pondered for a moment, then said gently, “What are the chances that she not only survived, but that she ended up here in the same town as your grandmother?”

“Small,” she said in a whisper. “Almost impossible.”

But he could hear the thread of hope in her voice. “There must have been some reason that Nell thought this girl was your daughter. Did she have any distinguishing features? Something that would set her apart?”

Harper nodded slowly, “Connor had one green eye and one blue eye. Molly’s eyes were like his, but much less pronounced. You had to look really closely to see it.”

“Maybe there’s a girl in Simmons Ridge with eyes like those,” Cade said. “Maybe at

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