The Neighbor by Lorhainne Eckhart

Author:Lorhainne Eckhart [Eckhart, Lorhainne]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781989698075
Publisher: Lorhainne Eckhart, Inc.

Chapter Fifteen

Iris O’Connell was a tiny woman, maybe five feet, with the same blue eyes as her son. Actually, every one of the O’Connells seemed to have the same vibrant blue eyes.

She was in Ryan’s mother’s home, sitting in a chair in the living room after meeting Luke, who had long dark hair, a ripped body, and eyes that gave everything when he looked at her. Iris was sitting on the sofa beside Jenny in capris and a white tank. Her dark hair was short, and her face gave away nothing of what she was thinking. She was polite. Jenny felt out of place.

“As I said, Alison is my daughter,” Ryan said, “and she’s missing. Jenny and I were together once. I didn’t know about Alison. They just moved here from Atlanta. Marcus and I found in her journal that she knows her father is an O’Connell, but she believes it’s Luke. There’s nothing else you need to know right now.”

There was something odd about having everything summed up in a paragraph. No one said anything, as the front door opened just then, and a woman called out, “Hey! Didn’t know everyone was showing up here today. What’s the occasion? Why didn’t anyone…?” She was short, with red hair and the same brilliant blue eyes, wearing a black pantsuit. As she stepped into the living room, she stopped talking, likely at the sight of the shock that Jenny knew was on all their faces.

Luke didn’t pull his gaze from Ryan. “I’m not understanding,” he said. “You’re saying you have a kid with your neighbor, the girl who was causing trouble next door, and now she’s missing because she’s gone searching for her father, who is actually you, but she thinks it’s me?” He gestured between her and Ryan.

The redheaded woman glanced at her in shock, then at Ryan. “You have a kid?” she said. She had to be a sister. Her voice was dramatic, high pitched. How many sisters had Ryan said there were?

“Okay, manners, here,” Iris said. “Karen, this is Jenny. Yes, apparently I have a grandchild, and we’re just trying to sort out the situation. It’s kind of a mess. Everyone is understandably upset, but we need to focus. This is about finding Alison.”

Karen closed her mouth and dragged her gaze over to Jenny, who didn’t have any idea what she was thinking. Sitting here with this family, she could feel herself shrinking under the spotlight shining down on her. Uncomfortable was an understatement.

“Okay, I guess it’s nice to meet you, Jenny,” Karen said, then gave her attention back to her brothers, who towered over her. “I have a ton of questions here, like…you didn’t know? How old is she? And what the hell happened?”

“Karen, I’m sure everyone has a ton of questions,” Ryan said, “but right now, all that matters is finding Alison. Whatever questions you have will have to wait. But yes, she’s my kid, actually a teenager. Luke, you’re saying no kid has come around

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