Through the Door (The Thin Veil) - By Jodi McIsaac Page 0,32
but when he remained silent, she continued.
“I don’t want to hear any more talk about you taking responsibility for her. I’m her mother. No matter how important you think Eden is to you and your people, she’s”—Cedar’s voice broke and she paused to regain control—“she’s a thousand times more important to me. But I do want your help. I need your help, and you need mine too. I know her better than any of you. You don’t know her at all. So, with you knowing Nuala and me knowing Eden, maybe we can work together to find them.”
She paused again, but still no one spoke, so she took a deep breath and soldiered on. “When we find her, she’s staying with me, even if she is one of your people. But if you’ll actually tell me who you are and why Eden is so important to you, I might be open to letting her get to know you, if she wants. But if I can’t trust you, I’m not letting her get within a mile of you. And keeping me in the dark about what’s really going on is not doing a whole lot to gain my trust. So…what’s it going to be?”
She sat back down on the barstool and picked up her coffee cup, just for something to do with her hands. She stared at Rohan over the rim of her mug. She had said her piece, and the ball was in his court now. There was silence.
Finally, Nevan, whose presence Cedar hadn’t even noticed, spoke up. “Makes sense to me,” she said. Cedar felt a rush of gratitude toward her.
“Now wait just a minute,” came another, more hostile voice, and Cedar bristled inwardly. Murdoch was striding toward the middle of the room.
“Don’t go making any promises we can’t keep,” he growled at Rohan, ignoring Cedar completely. “That child’s rightful place is with us.”
Anya joined her husband’s side. “I agree,” she told Rohan. “Think about it, about what this could mean. She could be—”
Rohan cut her off before she could finish her sentence. “That’s enough,” he said. “I am aware of what the child means.”
Cedar stood up again. “See? This is exactly what I’m talking about! What does she mean? How am I supposed to trust you if you know something about my daughter but won’t tell me what it is?”
Rohan looked at her, and there was great sadness in his eyes. “Cedar,” he said, and paused, “I am truly sorry for what has happened to you. It’s…it’s a tragedy, there’s no other word for it. We will find Eden, but we can’t tell you everything we know. There is too much at risk. It’s best if you go home now. We’ll contact you when we find her.”
Cedar sat motionless as she processed his words and struggled to find her own to use as a weapon against them.
Riona looked at her husband. “Rohan, are you sure? None of this is her fault. I don’t think alienating her is going to help anyone.”
“She’ll just get in the way,” Murdoch argued. “Someone will have to keep an eye on her.”
“Yes, but it’s her daughter we’re looking for. What’s she supposed to do, just go home and do nothing? Would you?” Riona shot back.
“It might be safer for her that way,” said a voice from the other side of the room, and Cedar recognized Sam from that morning.
She listened to them argue, but it didn’t matter. They weren’t going to keep her from finding Eden, or from getting answers. She cleared her throat and stood, ready to tell them that if they wouldn’t help her, she would just do it on her own, when suddenly the back door to the kitchen swung open and all the oxygen in the room went out.
Everyone in the bar froze. Felix was the first one to speak. He addressed the ashen-faced young man with a headful of messy curls and unmistakable golden eyes standing in the doorway.
“Welcome home, Finn. Can I pour you a drink?”
CHAPTER EIGHT
Cedar stood perfectly still, unable to move. Since Eden’s disappearance, she had almost forgotten that she had been trying to find Finn, and now here he was, standing not ten feet away from her. She felt blood rush to her cheeks. Her body started to tremble, and for a few panicked moments she thought she had forgotten how to breathe. Then her lungs remembered and her heart started pounding, hard and fast, as if it were trying to escape the confines