Meant to Be Mine (A Porter Family Novel Book #2) by Becky Wade Page B

with it, she must have undone it.
    He picked it up and sat for a good while. Gradually, a smile overtook his mouth. Celia hadn’t intended to—and would probably be mad if she knew—but she’d just given him an opportunity to do her a small favor.
    She’d given him a chance to return her bracelet.
    And to see her one last time.

Chapter Five
    T he River Run Apartments didn’t look like much.
    Ty sat in his truck the morning after his lunch with Celia, eying the place. The whole complex was made up of connected one-story units. Gray siding and blue doors. The property didn’t look run-down or dirty, just boring. Its best feature was its nearness to the river, which cut through the land a hundred or so yards behind the complex. Green space and trees surrounded River Run’s other three sides. To get here, he’d turned off what passed for a main street in Corvallis, then taken a long driveway to the visitors’ parking lot.
    Celia’s woodie car was nowhere in sight, so he figured she was away. He’d decided to wait for her return.
    He leaned back in the driver’s seat and extended his arm against the door, letting his wrist drop out the open window. His fingertips tapped against the truck’s exterior. It had rained earlier, and now everything was damp and cool, with just enough sunlight to turn the puddles shiny. He’d seen lots of cars, birds, dog walkers, and bike riders this Sunday morning—
    Wait. Was that Celia? He leaned forward, squinting. The woman walking toward him on the sidewalk was wearing a loose pink sweater over a white tank top and jeans, something Celia wouldwear. Brown curls. The right build. He’d expected her to drive onto the property, but here she came on foot. Strange. Where was her car? And why did she have a child with her?
    Celia was holding hands with a little girl. They had on matching pairs of purple rain boots with pink polka dots on them.
    Ty exited his truck and made his way in their direction. Was the kid a friend’s child? A niece? Maybe Celia’s “little sister” in one of those charity programs?
    When Ty was about ten steps away, Celia glanced in his direction. She immediately pulled the girl to a stop.
    “Good morning.” He crossed the remaining distance.
    “Good morning,” the girl answered. When Celia said nothing, the girl looked up at her with confusion.
    Celia stared at him, her face going completely white.
    “What’s the matter?” Ty asked. “You all right?”
    “I’m fine. I . . .” She leaned toward the girl. “I just realized that I left . . . my umbrella behind. Would you mind running back and getting it? I’ll be right behind you.”
    “The door’s locked.”
    “Here.” Celia pulled a ring of keys from her pocket and pressed them into the girl’s hand.
    The kid shook her head.
    “It’s okay.” Celia faced the girl in the direction of the apartments and gave her a gentle push.
    The kid turned back toward her. “You don’t let me unlock the door by myself.”
    “This time I will.”
    “I don’t want to go.” She stuffed the keys into Celia’s jeans and wrapped her arms around Celia’s thigh. She had on a pair of light blue glasses. Colors striped her long-sleeved dress and her pants.
    Celia’s attention remained on the child for a few long seconds, then slowly lifted to his face. She looked like someone who wanted to beat the daylights out of him but felt the need to pretend politeness in front of the kid. “I’m surprised to see you here, Ty. I thought we’d said good-bye yesterday.”
    “We did.” He pulled the bracelet from his pocket and extended it to her. “But you dropped this and left it behind. I wanted to return it to you.”
    The little girl’s eyebrows rose.
    Celia took the bracelet from him and snapped it onto her wrist. “Thank you.” She gave him the tightest smile he’d ever seen. “That was nice of you. Well. ’Bye.”
    The child tapped on Celia’s arm.
    Celia gave her a “not now” look.
    The girl