Finding Eva (Highland Creek Series) Read Free Page A

saying he would talk about it later.
    “Now let’s make the most of tonight.” She accepted his arm when he offered it, smiling at him when his face split into a grin. It was hard to stay mad at her dad very long, even knowing what she did about her biological mother. They walked arm and arm into the house as the chatter from the kitchen spilled into the living room, reminding Eva of all the things she enjoyed about her parents’ home.
    “… Dad go?”
    “He’s out front with your sister.”
    “Eva!” All of a sudden a brown-haired rocket shot from the kitchen as she ran into Eva’s arms. Katie was just as you would expect a newly graduated sorority girl to be: bubbly, excited, and ready to take on the world.
    Eva hugged Katie tightly and inhaled her familiar scent. “I haven’t seen you in forever.”
    “I’ve missed you,” both said simultaneously and pulled back with a laugh. She stared at Katie, brown hair falling to her elbows in her typical summer outfit of a tank top and shorts.
    “You first.” Her sister smiled, green eyes shining. “Tell me everything! What will you do with school out?”
    They walked toward the rest of the family, her father having already gone ahead. “Well, I decided to go settle this mess with the house tomorrow.”
    “What house mess?” she asked as they reached the entrance to the kitchen, and Eva didn’t miss the wary expression on her stepmother’s face as she realized what she had just said.
    “Oh, I guess you two don’t know,” she said as she hugged Brad and her stepmother, “but I recently inherited a house from my late mother.”
    “The one that died years ago? Isn’t it a long time to just be finding out about this?” Brad pushed his shaggy brown hair from his face.
    She reached for a glass to fill it with water, kicking herself for starting this conversation before dinner. “Normally it would be, but I found out that my mother has only been dead about a month.”
    He scrunched his face in confusion when he realized what she said. “Huh?”
    She drank the water, staring out the window, before she turned to answer him. “My mother, the one who I thought was dead, was very much alive and living about two hours away up until about a month ago when she really did die. I don’t know what she died from, or why she wanted me to believe she was dead. All I know is that she left me a house and some money.”
    The twins turned their heads simultaneously toward their parents and started in on them.
    Katie looked on in disbelief. Never wanting to think anything bad of someone, she tried to give her parents an out when she asked, “Did you know?” Her parents looked at each other with wide eyes, her father rubbing the back of his neck before they turned back to the twins.
    “Could she have faked her own death?” Brad asked before they answered Katie’s question.
    Eva drowned out the sounds as she looked around her parents’ kitchen, the place that always used to provide her comfort. From the apple wallpaper to the white cabinets with apple-red trim, she always loved sitting in the kitchen with her family. She tuned back in for the last part of the conversation.
    “…none of your business. You need to ask your sister if she would like to share with you,” her father stated firmly, his tone suggesting that he was not going to discuss it anymore.
    “I don’t,” Eva piped in and hoped to ward off the argument, but judging by the indignant huff her sister gave, that wasn’t going to happen. “Until I have talked to mom and dad and seen what is going on, I don’t want to get into it with you. You are one of my best friends, so I would never try to keep this from you, but understand this is something I need to do on my own.” She kissed her sister on the cheek to smooth the scowl on her face.
    “I love you and told you all I know. My intention was not to disrupt our celebration dinner, but I wanted to give you a heads-up about where I was heading. Nothing