True to Me

by Kay Bratt

  “I never received any text messages,” Quinn said, turning defensive, even though her mind still reeled from the news that Ethan had put the moves on her best friend. Why she should be shocked, she didn’t know.

  “Well, I sent them.”

  Quinn knew then. Ethan had read the messages and deleted them. He was always picking up her phone, going through it. But God forbid she ever touch his. She should’ve suspected it before. She thought it was Maggie’s outgoing personality he didn’t like—but the fact is that it was her rejection that had turned him against her best friend. And she’d considered over the years that he might be too controlling, but she’d always pushed that thought away, because he really was a great catch, and she was lucky to have snagged him. She wasn’t ready to even consider they wouldn’t have a future.

  “Let’s not talk about him anymore,” Quinn said. “Not for now. I want to focus on you. And tomorrow. I’m so nervous. But I can’t believe you’re here.”

  “Well, if not for me being stubborn, I’d be sitting on a balcony right now, not right here on the sand beside you. I can’t believe you made me a reservation,” Maggie said. “You know me better than that.”

  “Well, the cottage is so small. I didn’t want you to feel closed in.” She’d called the Maui location of her hotel brand and used her employee discount to reserve a room. Just in case.

  But Maggie wasn’t going for it.

  “Actually, small is better. I like to know every corner of where I am. Less space to check out before I go to bed,” Maggie said. “And of course I want to stay with you. It’ll be like old times.”

  That it would. When they were younger, most of their overnights had been at Quinn’s house, since she didn’t have brothers to irritate Maggie. And their homes had always been small. Or cozy, as they liked to consider it.

  But Maggie was referring to her stalker: the man who had made her last few years a nightmare. All from an online dating site, and one real date gone awry.

  “It really sucks that you’ve had to go through that alone. I should’ve been there.”

  In the receding light she could see Maggie shrug.

  “That’s water under the bridge, Quinn. I would’ve liked to have had you to talk to, but to be honest, it wouldn’t have been safe for me to be around you much. I have had to be so careful. If I visited someone more than once, I was afraid he might latch on to them too.”

  “You had to be so terrified.”

  “I was for a long time. And I was angry when I found out he’d been brought up on stalking charges before. Unfortunately, his two previous victims just wanted it over with, and they backed down easy. One of the trials was dismissed, and the other one got settled out of court. That just spurred him on to go after someone else. Just happened to be that I stepped into his radar.”

  “You’re such a strong woman, it’s hard for me to imagine someone like that targeting you,” Quinn said.

  “That’s a good point. A lot of women have trouble with obsessive men because they are too kind and trusting. Or they’re vulnerable, and the stalker picks up on that and uses it to his own benefit. As usual, I don’t fit into a stereotype, but somehow I became his next target.”

  “I’m so sorry,” Quinn said.

  “Me too. I’m just glad that finally he’s serving time.”

  “Are you anxious about when he gets out?” Quinn asked, worried for Maggie.

  “Well, they’re supposed to let me know, but I’ve set up Google alerts on his name just in case. And once a month I call the correctional center to be sure he’s still listed. I still take a lot of precautions, but I know I’m safe now. And I have a dog that’ll eat his face if he shows up.”

  “I just can’t imagine someone like you getting tangled up with a crazy person,” Quinn said.

  Maggie took a long sip of her wine, then leaned back on one arm. “It happens more often than you’d think. He was a charmer at first—made himself look like a real catch. We talked for a few weeks before even going out. He sent me flowers twice.”

  “Before even meeting him?” Quinn asked.

  Maggie nodded. “He saw online where I worked and sent them there. But when we did meet, he started telling me how he was all alone in the world. He’d cut ties with all his family, claiming they were the ones with issues. I asked him about close friends, and he claimed he didn’t really have anyone to speak of, that he was a loner. He was really good-looking, but he talked himself up so much that immediately my college psychology class notes started swirling in my head. Narcissistic. Self-righteous. He gave me all the wrong feelings.”

  “He sounds like a real douchebag,” Quinn said.

  “You think? So after that night I tried to gently disassociate. He thought our date went beautifully. Didn’t notice a thing and claimed it was love at first sight for him, that I was an answer to his dreams. I was like, whoa there, cool your jets, buddy.”

  Quinn laughed softly. She could just imagine Maggie’s feisty side coming out.

  Maggie waved her hand in the air in a dismissive way. “Talk about some alarm bells. I was nice, but I told him I’d decided I wasn’t ready to get into another relationship so quickly after breaking up with Charlie’s dad.”

  “He didn’t take it well?”

  “At first he said he understood, but then he sent me more than three hundred text messages over the next two days. When I didn’t reply, he started coming to my job and leaving notes on my car along with a red rose. He kept sending gifts. Candy. Concert tickets. Once he even showed up at a restaurant I was having dinner at and invited himself to sit down. Thankfully it was with Trina from work and not a guy, which would’ve most likely set him off. Then one day in the grocery store, I turned, and he was there, silently watching me. It sent a chill up my spine. I got firm with him then and told him if he didn’t leave me alone, I’d call the police. That’s when he went off the deep end. From then on, he was leaving a black rose on my car. No notes anymore.”

  She paused and inhaled deeply. “Then he was in my house, Quinn.”

  “Oh my God. Were you there?”

  “No. It was after days of rain, and Charlie was going stir-crazy indoors. So we went for a ride and were gone probably just over half an hour. When I got home, at first everything was fine. I gave Charlie a bath, put on his pajamas, and then carried him into my room so he could be close while I showered. I went to lay him on the bed, and there was a black rose.”

  “Maggie . . . ,” Quinn said.

  “Yeah, I know. You’d be proud of me. I stayed calm for Charlie’s sake. I armed myself with my Taser and my phone, then barricaded us in the bathroom and called the police. They were there in ten minutes and couldn’t find anyone.”

  “That’s terrifying.”

  Maggie nodded. “You better believe it. I quit my job, traded my car, and took off. Oh, and I got my dog.”

  “What about Colby? He didn’t try to step in?”

  “Colby doesn’t know what happened. He thinks I’ve gone crazy, leaving my job and moving from place to place. Or he thinks I’m doing it to make it harder for him to visit. I swore my mother to secrecy, because I thought he might use it against me and try to take Charlie.”

  “Why? Does he want custody of Charlie?”

  “Not right now. He’s too busy hunting, fishing, and sowing his oats like all the other country boys out there. But you never know when he’ll meet some girl who thinks our son is just the cutest and would be better off with his dad full-time. Colby knows I’m a good mother, but women can make men do crazy things.”

  “So now what?” Quinn asked. “Your stalker is out of your life, so you can settle down again, right?”

  “I don’t know yet. I’ve got a lot to figure out. All I know is I’m tired of living in fear.” Maggie used her finger to trace circles in the sand. “I’m not ready to go back to my old job and put myself out there so publicly yet, though.”

  “What about returning to animal medicine?” Quinn said. She rem
embered when Maggie had left her job as a vet tech to pursue more money in the public relations field. With her fiery personality, Maggie had shot up through the ranks quickly until she was one of the top-paid PR reps in her field.

  Maggie shrugged. “I do miss working with animals. I just have to figure out if that’s going to pay me enough to take care of Charlie. It’s like I’m starting completely over with nothing from my past except for my son and my dog.”

  “And me,” Quinn said. “I’m not going anywhere this time.”

  Even though she said the words, she wondered how much chaos it was going to add to her and Ethan’s already crumbling relationship—that is, if she decided to work things out with him.

  “And you,” Maggie said. “But it’s all a mess. I’ve been hopping around from one short-term rental to another. Charlie needs stability.”

  The photos of her son on her phone were just out-of-this-world adorable. He had his mom’s freckles, though his hair was blond and didn’t have the reddish tint. He was all kinds of cute, and Quinn couldn’t wait to meet him.

  “I think I’ve protected him from knowing most of what was going on, but he’s getting old enough now that he needs friends. This year he should start some sort of preschool. And he doesn’t understand why we had to leave the house we loved,” Maggie continued. “I had hung train tracks around his room, and he loved to watch the little caboose go around as he went to sleep. I haven’t been able to do that anywhere else. We’ve moved too much.”

  “That’s so sad.”

  “Yeah, it was. But once I knew he’d been in there, it felt tainted. As though he’d marked it with his scent that no amount of bleach could clean away. But that’s only a tiny bit of the aftermath. I also had to change careers, because mine depended on social media and put me in the public too much. Now that I don’t have to worry about him breathing down my neck, I can finally work on setting up a new life and making new memories for Charlie.”

  “Where do you plan on living now?” she asked Maggie.

  Maggie sighed. “I really don’t know. I’m hoping my impromptu holiday from Charlie in this peaceful place can help me figure that out. And it really depends on where I can get work. I can’t keep supporting my son on waitress tips. It’s time to move forward and break up with the past.”

  Quinn couldn’t imagine how hard it was for Maggie to go from making an executive-level salary to waiting tables. She had a new respect for her friend, who was definitely someone who would do what it took to survive.

  Maggie stood. “On that note, we should probably get back. Decide what you’ll wear.”

  Quinn joined her and brushed off her hands. “Are you sure you’ll be okay sleeping with me? It’s not too late to go to the hotel.”

  “Oh, shut up. When haven’t I been okay sleeping with you? What, have you become a massive snoring machine now? Do you fart in your sleep? Do you sleep naked now? Or is there something else you need to tell me?”

  Quinn laughed. She’d forgotten how much she loved Maggie’s sense of humor and her ability to turn every sad moment around. “Fine, but I don’t care if you are company—I call the shower first. I remember how you don’t clean your hair out of the drain.”

  Maggie was bent over picking up the blanket and wiggled her butt at Quinn before standing and facing her. “Yeah, well, you’d better cut it short, sister. We all know how you like your bathroom time to make sure you look perfect before even going to bed. How long does your nightly regimen take these days? An hour?”

  They knew each other so well. It was a priceless gift. One they’d almost lost. Quinn felt a rush of emotion and reached over and took Maggie’s hand. “Thank you for coming, Maggie. We’ll get through this, and then, I promise, I’ll be there for you too.”

  Maggie squeezed her fingers and held on, a silent pact that this time, they wouldn’t let anything come between being there for each other.

  Chapter Eighteen

  Quinn was up before dawn. It had taken Maggie a long time to fall asleep. Before getting into bed, she’d insisted on checking every inch of the cottage, then went back to the door and windows at least three times to make sure the locks were engaged. Though she claimed she felt comfortable there, she acted like someone was waiting just outside to get them. Quinn was really patient with her, considering all Maggie had been through. It made sense that she was paranoid—or maybe it was just proactive—but getting to sleep so late made her feel hungover.

  Ethan had sent more texts. He said he’d booked a flight over.

  Quinn broke her commitment not to respond and sent him back a message telling him not to come, that she wouldn’t see him. Then she turned her phone off.

  She pulled some leggings on, not even caring that they didn’t match her long sleep shirt, and made herself a cup of coffee. She slipped quietly out the door so she wouldn’t wake Maggie. She settled herself on the lanai, grateful she’d left her yoga mat outside so she could do some stretches and meditation when she finished her coffee.

  Before she could get to it, Liam showed up. She forgot he was supposed to be there bright and early to start sanding the floors. If Quinn had seen him coming, she would’ve snuck back in, but for a big man he was as light-footed as a deer.

  “Good morning,” she said as he crossed the courtyard to her lanai. She wanted to cover her naked face and smooth her hair, but he was watching.

  He raised his eyebrows. “For some.”

  “Grouchy today?” Quinn asked, noticing an uncharacteristic frown. She’d also never seen him look so disheveled.

  “Tired. I take it you haven’t talked to Maria.” He leaned on the porch rail and sighed.

  “No, what’s wrong?”

  “Good news and bad news. Which one do you want first?”

  “Please tell me something good. I need it,” Quinn said.

  “After hearing nothing back from her job interview, Maria took a chance. She made up some of her famous shortbread cookies and took them to the bakery. The owner went nuts over them and wants to stock them. She’s going to let Maria work from home so she can still be here for the kids and Kupuna.”

  “That’s fantastic! What a genius move!” Quinn was so happy for Maria.

  “Yeah, her generation always connects those cookies with their childhood, but not many can make them just like the old recipe. I predict that Maria will be swamped with orders within a few weeks. She has to let that bakery have the cookies exclusively for six months, and then she can start selling them to other bakeries and hotels if she wishes.”

  “I’m thrilled. Maria needed this so bad. Not just for the money, but for her self-confidence,” Quinn said. “I’m scared to ask, but what’s the bad news?”

  “Pali. He missed a winning pass at the game last night when he tripped and somersaulted. He got to his feet, and I saw him look up at someone in the stands then stomp off the field. We couldn’t find him anywhere after the game. I went to all his friends’ houses and every beach he likes to hang out at. He won’t answer his phone and turned off the cell phone locator. We had to give up when it hit three in the morning. Maria was beside herself when I finally left.”

  “Oh no,” Quinn said. “Are you sure he didn’t maybe slip in?”

  “Nope. I just checked. I’m about to call the hospitals. Make sure he wasn’t involved in some accident or something.”

  “Did you see what caught his eye in the stands?”

  Liam nodded. “Yep. But don’t tell Maria. She’s got enough on her plate right now worrying about Pali.”

  “What was it?”

  He leaned toward her and whispered, “His dad was there. I spotted him just before he turned and disappeared. I guess they were both scared off after they saw each other.”

  “I don’t understand. I thought Pali was upset at his dad’s sudden absence?” Quinn said. “At least now we know the man is alive. Wouldn’t Pali be glad he came to the game? Relieved he finally showed up?”

  “Normally, yes. But the love betwee
n a father and son is a complicated thing. Pali screwed up last night, and for Jaime to choose that moment to be there and witness it . . . well, that hurt Pali’s pride. And it probably brought all his anger to the top. He’s a good kid. But he’s confused. The kind of mental turmoil he’s been through will make you do stupid things.”

  “Maybe you need to check the police station first then.” Quinn drained the rest of her coffee. “Is there anything I can do?”

  “No. You’ve got your big meeting today, right?”

  “I sure do.” She got a queasy feeling in her stomach.

  “Are you nervous?” he asked, sitting down on the step. “Want to talk about it? It might help.”

  She hesitated.

  “You don’t have to,” he said. “But I’m here if you need me.” He looked wounded.

  “It’s not that I don’t want to talk about it. I just don’t know what to even feel. I guess I’m nervous. Excited. But scared too.”

  “What about it scares you?” he asked.

  “If this person is really related to me, then my whole life changes today. I want to know where I come from, but now that there could be something concrete, I don’t know if I’m ready. Change has never been easy for me. To tell the truth, someone has always stepped up and done the hard stuff for me.”

  “You’re braver than you think, Quinn. I mean, you up and bought a house an ocean away from everything and everyone you know. You came here, and you took control and made a plan. And one with compassion, I might add. Give yourself some credit. You can do this, and if this person is someone you don’t want to claim, then walk away with your head held high, but at least you will know something one way or another.”

  “You’re right,” she said. God, he was so right.

  “I would offer to come with you, but I heard you have a sassy redhead holed up in there,” he said, nodding toward the cottage.

  Quinn laughed. “Yes, and I want you to meet her. Maggie is my best friend but also the closest thing to a sister I’ve ever had. She’s a take-no-lip kind of girl, and I think she’s just what I need beside me. I have a feeling every question I’ve planned to ask will disappear from my train of thought, and Maggie will be able to step right in and take over.”