She glanced at Casey and saw that he was watching her with an almost smug expression. Had he read her a little too well again? Was he privately taki
ng credit for putting a smile on her face after catching her at a low point that morning?
She supposed she couldn’t blame him, since it was entirely true.
“How about a walk along the river?” he asked, motioning toward the walkway that meandered alongside the gurgling Little Pigeon River.
Lined with benches and gazebos, the walkway was festooned with twinkling holiday lights overhead and was already being enjoyed by several couples. There couldn’t be a more romantic setting for an after-dark stroll with a handsome man, and Natalie saw no reason at all to decline. “I’d like that.”
It seemed only natural when Casey reached out to take her hand as they passed under an archway of lights on the bridge that led from the aquarium to the river walk. She laced her fingers comfortably with his, her souvenir bag dangling from her other hand as they walked so close together their shoulders touched. It was surprisingly easy to ignore the other people, the noises of the busy main street not far away, the problems that waited for her back at the cabin. Temptingly easy to concentrate entirely on the clear, cool night, the soothing sounds of rushing water, the pleasure of being so close to Casey.
“So, the aquarium was fun,” Casey murmured in the companionable silence that had fallen between them.
“It was,” she agreed quietly. “It’s been a long time since I visited an aquarium.”
“Sounds like it’s been a long time since you’ve done a lot of things,” he said a bit too casually.
“Maybe I’ve worked a little too hard the past few years,” she admitted. “You know how it is.”
“I know exactly how it is.”
He seemed to wait for her to say something more, and she wondered if he was hoping she would tell more about herself. It was tempting. Casey really was a very good listener. But something held her back. Partially because she didn’t want to ruin a nice evening with her depressing tale, and—even more significantly—because she didn’t want him to know what had been said about her. She didn’t want to watch his face when he mentally questioned whether there was any truth to the accusations.
“We really got a lot done today,” Casey said after another brief pause. “A lot more than I expected when I thought it would be just me doing the work.”
“I actually enjoyed it. It was such a nice day, and it feels good to do something to help Kyle and Uncle Mack. They were so generous to let me use the cabin.”
“They were,” Casey agreed. “But it’s not as if they could rent it while it’s being worked on.”
“I know. But still…”
“I suspect your aunt and uncle would have let you use the cabin even if it was in top shape for rent,” he said, glancing down at her with a smile. The twinkling lights reflected in his eyes, mesmerizing her. “They’re obviously crazy about you.”
She cleared her throat and tried to speak coherently. “I love them, too.”
“I can tell. It’s good to have family to turn to when you need them.”
She wasn’t sure if he was delicately fishing for information, but she didn’t offer any, except to say, “It’s nice that your father and his brothers and sisters stayed so close, unlike my dad and his other siblings.”
“Actually, my dad and his twin were separated from their brothers and sisters for most of their childhood. There were seven of them altogether, and they were split up into the foster care system when their parents died. The oldest, my uncle Jared, was eleven. The youngest, Lindsey, was just a baby. My dad and his twin, Ryan, were seven. They didn’t see each other again for twenty-four years.”
Intrigued, Natalie paused to gaze up at his face in the pale light. “I hadn’t heard about that. Molly hasn’t mentioned it. Your family always sounds so close when the two of you talk about them.”
He nodded. “They were reunited more than twenty-five years ago, and they’ve been pretty much inseparable ever since. All of them except Aunt Lindsey live around Dallas. She was adopted as an infant by a family in Arkansas and she’s stayed close to them, but she comes to Texas often for Walker family gatherings.”
Natalie was fascinated by the tale. She knew of other biological families that had been reunited after years of separation, but she’d never known any of them personally, not even once removed. “Were any of the others adopted?”
“Michelle was. She’s the next youngest, just a toddler when her parents died. She was taken in by a very wealthy couple in Dallas. She was raised knowing she was adopted, but unaware that she had siblings. She found out after her adoptive mother died. She hired a private investigator, Tony D’Alessandro, to find her brothers and sisters. A few months later, she married the P.I. My uncle Tony, father of four of my cousins.”
A P.I. It might have been a good time to mention that she, herself, was utilizing the services of a private investigator, but she pushed that fleeting thought to the back of her mind, focusing instead on Casey’s story. “What about the other siblings? None of them were adopted?”
“No. Jared and Layla, the two oldest, were raised in foster homes until they were old enough to be out on their own. My dad and Ryan were placed together in a series of unsuccessful temporary homes, but they were…well, difficult, I guess you could say. They were angry about being separated from their family, naturally rebellious—”
“Imagine that,” she murmured, thinking Casey must have inherited a bit of his father’s temperament. After all, he had been one of the Walker family’s “terrible trio.”
He chuckled. “Yeah, I’ve been told I’m a bit like them. As are Aaron and Andrew. Anyway, my dad and his brother took off in their teens and bummed around on their own for years until they got wind that the sibs were looking for them. They came back to the fold on their own, before Tony and his team could locate them. They’ve been in Dallas since.”
Doing some rapid math in her head, Natalie said, “You said there were seven siblings. You’ve only mentioned the fate of six. Did they never find the other one?”