Lib Novel Page 56
“At first, I didn’t know who she was. There was something so oddly familiar about her. I didn’t know what it was, but her eyes…” he shook his head.
“She has your eyes,” Jaime said.
He nodded. “But I didn’t make that connection—not at first. Of course, being knocked unconscious might have something to do with it. Damn near felt like I had my brains scrambled.”
“Your dad had green eyes?” Randy asked.
“Yeah, I guess. I don’t remember him at all, but it is one thing we have in common.”
“But other things must have happened,” Jaime said, filling the teakettle with water.
“Yeah. She has issues.”
“I noticed,” Jaime said.
“She’s pretty smart, but her social skill set is in need of some work. She was even worse when we first met. It comes from being mainly homeschooled by her parents. She has off-the-chart IQ, but she has issues with people. So, they decided to enroll her in a correspondence school. Her mother was apparently brilliant too. Dad worked all over Southeast Asia, and it made it easier for them to travel.”
“What did your dad do?” Jaime asked.
“Something with electronics. A lot of the patents are for things to do with computers. Most of it I don’t understand, even after Emma explained it to me.”
“I’m still trying to wrap my mind around surviving something like the Tsunami,” Randy said.
Sean nodded. “Yes, and that situation just made things worse. Trusting is not something she is good at.”
“Color me surprised,” Jaime murmured, and Sean smiled.
“Yeah, the first time I met her, she hit me with a two-by-four, handcuffed me, then interrogated me when I finally came to.”
“Still, I can’t imagine what it must have been like for her after the disaster,” Randy said.
Of course he wouldn’t, because he had a good relationship with his family. “They were her whole world.”
“Then she lost them in the Tsunami,” Jaime said with a shiver.
“Yes. I don’t know how she did it, but she picked up and went on.”
“And she really had no idea she was rich?” Randy asked.
“No. None. Remember, she was only fifteen at the time. I’m sure my father thought he had plenty of time to talk to her. After they died, Thailand was a mess. Remember how long it took to get aid? I don’t even want to think about what she went through.”
There was a beat of silence and then the kettle blew.
“Anyone want any tea?”
Both Randy and he declined, to which they were labeled as unappreciative Americans. They shared a look as she doctored her drink and sat down next to Randy at the kitchen bar.
“So, you aren’t mad at your father?”
He shrugged. “I was in the beginning, but that’s a waste. I could be pissed at him forever, but it doesn’t let me face him down and ask why. Also, when I got to know Emma, it really didn’t matter.”
“Yeah, about that? What did you say to her?” Randy asked.
“I reminded her that we would get our vengeance on Letov.”
“That’s important to her?” Jaime asked.
“Yeah. For Emma, being kidnapped was…well for people who don’t have some of her issues it would have been horrible. For her, she almost had a meltdown. When she has them, they are not pretty, and she gets embarrassed. She really wants us to make Letov cry. And she wants video of it.”