by Kylie Walker
For two days, Jesse followed him everywhere he went, hoping that he’d eventually lead him to Kelly. He had followed him all the way to Albany the first day. Derek had gone into a nice house and was gone for a few hours before emerging with swollen red eyes like he’d been crying. Wuss! Jesse was mildly curious what that was about. He ran the address through his people finder program and came back with the names of a couple that ran a real estate agency in New York: Trevor and Samantha Whitemore. He assumed it was business, since that was the business that Derek was in…but the tears made him curious.
He waited until Derek left the parking lot and then he pulled his dark gray Prius out into the traffic. There was no better car to become invisible in than a Prius. People barely gave it a glance as it went by. There was nothing sleek or imposing about it whatsoever and it was almost like driving an invisible cloak. He hated how uncomfortable it was, but he’d sacrifice his comfort…for now.
Jesse followed him from the Marina to an exit near the beach. The traffic was thick in the late morning and he wasn’t even concerned that Derek would realize he was being followed as he merged off the exit and onto a street that ran parallel to the ocean. He saw Stark’s fancy little car pull off the street into the driveway of a cozy looking little white condominium. It had a little white fence and flower boxes with colorful flowers in the windows. It was like something out of a “Beach Living” magazine. Derek parked and went inside as Jesse cruised by. He parked his Prius a few blocks up and walked back. He knew he would be too conspicuous on the street so he found a spot on the beach where he could use the binoculars without attracting so much as a glance. It was a beautiful day and the tourists were out in force.
Jesse skimmed the water with the binoculars and then the rocks and then he casually turned them towards the condo. There was a huge man sitting on the little deck out back with a pretty little blonde woman. They were having breakfast and laughing and talking. He wondered who they were. Kelly wasn’t the type to maintain close friendships. He let the binoculars skim the horizon once more so that it didn’t look like he was watching them as he casually strolled along the beach with his shoes in his hand.
Turning back once more and placing the binoculars to his face, he was almost knocked down by the initial shock. He’d been searching for her, but he hadn’t realized the impact that first sight of her face would have. Kelly was standing in the doorway on the deck, talking to the blonde haired girl. Her hair was different, she’d ruined the bright blonde by dying it dark brown. It made her look cheap, he thought. She had definitely done some work to her skinny body too. Where she used to be rail thin and almost straight up and down, she now had gorgeous curves. He wondered if she’d gotten the boob job after all. She’d changed a lot, but it was most definitely her…his father had done well.
As he looked closer, he could see that her eyes looked different too, but from where he was standing, he couldn’t tell why. That was alright. Now that he knew where she was, he’d be seeing them up close soon enough.
Jesse didn’t want to stop looking at her, but he knew it was dangerous to stand there too long. He forced himself to stroll in the other direction and watch a flock of seagulls for a few minutes before allowing himself to turn back and look at her again. Just a glance. His breathing grew shallow and he felt himself getting excited again.
He was definitely going to find a place where no one would interrupt them and he was going to take his time with her. He watched her lean down and hug her friend and lay a hand on the big man’s shoulder and smile as she talked to him. She was definitely different. Kelly used to hide behind that long blonde hair of hers and it was like pulling teeth to coax a smile out of her. God knows he took good care of her and gave her enough things to smile about. Some people were too dense to know what they had until they lost it. Jesse would have to remind her, if she didn’t already remember.
He felt the tickle of anticipation in his gut again as he thought about how sweet their reunion would be…and how much fun he was going to have before finally sinking that knife into her soft flesh and watching the life drain from her eyes. He tore himself away and walked quickly back to his car. By the time he got back near the condo, Kelly and Derek were getting into his car. Once more around the block and he caught up with them, headed back towards the Interstate. He hung back and let four or five cars get between them and then he jumped on and followed. He already couldn’t wait to see her again.
CHAPTER TWELVE
They’d been driving for about a half an hour when Derek looked over at her and said, “Are you okay?”
She was fidgeting with her seatbelt. She felt like it was choking her all of a sudden and she was finding it hard to expand her lungs. She’d actually woken up this morning anticipating this meeting. She had resigned herself to the fact that she needed to do this…but now that they were on their way, she was having images of herself diving out of the moving car to avoid it. She could actually see herself tuck and roll along the side of the Interstate.
“I’m not sure how I am,” she told him, honestly. “I’m suddenly regretting that I agreed to this.”
He reached over and took her hand in his. Not taking his eyes from the road, he brought it to his lips and then lay it back down on the seat. “You’re the strongest person I know,” he told her. “I believe you can handle this far better than I or anyone else I know could.”
She laughed slightly and said, “I wish I had your confidence in me.”
“I’ll try and channel it to you,” he said with a smile. Turning serious again he said, “They’re as nervous as you are.”
“I guess that’s something,” she said. “This is just all so surreal.” He nodded. There was nothing to say to that.
The three hour drive was mostly silent then. He left her alone with her thoughts and for that she was grateful. She tried to imagine what this meeting would be like. She’d seen photos of them, so it was easy to draw up an image of their faces.
The woman…her biological mother, she supposed, had her face. It was so strange to Chloe who never felt like she belonged anywhere to suddenly realize there was someone walking around looking like her and sharing her DNA. She thought about how strange it would have been if Sarah was still alive…to look into a face that offered a mirror perfect image of your own. She glanced sideways at Derek.
Sometimes she couldn’t help but wonder if he’d gone through any of this trouble for her if his wife had lived. He thought about how much he loved and respected the Whitemore’s and she came to the conclusion that he probably would have. He would have done it for them, and for Sarah. As it were in reality, he was doing it for her as well as them. She was nervous as hell, but she was grateful to him for caring so much and she was coming around to completely trusting him. She wasn’t at the point just yet of handing her life over to him completely. She had come to terms with the fact that she may never be able to put her life in someone else’s hands ever again. But that was alright because she was confident about one thing…she could handle herself and if she did die, it would be fighting up to her last breath.
She looked out across the beautiful green pasture in front of the house as they drove towards it and the bluffs that rolled out behind the house. It was beautiful and somehow the scene served to calm her insides a bit. She let the confidence she had about facing Jesse someday transfer to doing this today. Either that, or Derek had really channeled her some. When Derek drove the car into the circular drive in front of the house, Chloe was sure she was ready.
When he looked at her with concern with his blue eyes he said, “You ready?”
She nodded, without hesitation. He came around and opened her car door and clutched her hand tightly as they walked up to the house. His hand was trembling and she was almost smiling, thinking that he was the one who needed her support when the door was pulled open. The sight of the woman standing there stole Chloe’s breath and the heat from her skin.
She was wearing a simple but very nice sun d
ress and she looked like an aged version of Chloe, much more so than she had in the photograph. She had the same bone structure in her face, the high, symmetrical cheek bones and the heart-shaped chin. Her lips were full and her eyes were the same deep brown that hers were without the blue lenses. They were even shaped the same. The difference was they were touched at the corners by laugh lines that only served to add more character to an already beautiful and interesting face. She was in obvious good physical form for her age and her blonde hair shimmered with healthy luster. Chloe was torn between wanting to throw herself in the arms of the woman who had to be her mother and wanting to run as fast and as far as she could until she collapsed. She knew herself and had she been forced to choose, she would have chosen the latter.
“Hello,” the woman said, tears clouding her eyes. “I’m Samantha.”
“Samantha, this is Chloe,” Derek said.
The older woman put her hand out and Chloe hesitated for just a second before taking it. Samantha didn’t shake her hand once she took it. She squeezed it, as if trying to meld it into her own. Her pretty eyes hadn’t for a second left Chloe’s face even as she reluctantly let the younger woman take back her hand.
“Please, come in,” she said.
She stepped back and Chloe and Derek entered a foyer with a skylight that seemed to suck the sunlight in right out of the sky. The living room that lay out before them was at the same time elegant and comfortable and Chloe couldn’t help but wonder what it must have been like for Sarah to grow up here. The home she’d lived in had been nicely decorated and comfortable…but it had never had that home-like feel to it. It always seemed to Chloe like Marg and Tom and even Daphne were going through the motions on the outside, trying to convince others they were like them. In reality, Chloe knew from experience that you couldn’t stand on the outside and judge a family by how they seemed to live. Nonetheless, there was something about this woman and this home that made her certain that there had been no beatings and basements here.
“Where’s Trevor?” Derek asked, looking around.
One of the tears the woman had been holding back escaped and began its slow descent along her jawline. She wiped it away and said, “He’s out back. Will you take Chloe to meet him? I’m going to get us some tea.” Samantha was still looking at Chloe’s face and although it was slightly unnerving to her, it was oddly comforting at the same time.
“Of course,” Derek said.
He put his hand on the small of her back and Chloe could still feel Samantha watching them as he led her out through a set of beautiful French doors to a veranda decorated with wicker furniture with plush cushions and so many plants it was like being in the rain forest. A man sat at one end of the patio with a book in his hand. At the sound of the door, he looked up as if expecting his wife. When he saw Derek and Chloe, he dropped the book and seemed to not even notice as it hit the cement beneath his feet.
He stood up quickly and said, “I’m sorry. I didn’t realize you’d arrived.”
Derek smiled, looking like he was doing his best to ease the man’s nerves and he said, “Trevor, this is Chloe.”
Trevor came closer and Chloe could see that he, like his wife, seemed to take good care of himself. He was much taller than Chloe had imagined him. His hair was a mixture of brown and gray giving him a wise, distinguished look she thought and his eyes were large and much deeper brown than hers…like pools of dark chocolate.
He held out his hand and when Chloe reached out to take it, she was suddenly drawn into his arms and held so tightly that she could actually feel the beating of his heart against her chest. She was shocked and a little frightened, but as he held her there, she felt the deep wracking sobs begin to form in his chest and rise up into his throat and she found herself wanting to comfort him. She folded her own arms around him and let him pull her in tighter.
The tears she’d been holding back took on a mind of their own and as she cried against his firm torso she could feel her own body shake. She didn’t know how long they stood there like that…crying for the years they’d all missed and could never get back…before he at last released her and held her back so he could look at her face. He lifted his hand and with a gentle swipe of his finger he wiped a tear away. His eyes and his expressive face were a myriad of emotions. There was grief as well as relief and sadness as well as joy. He brought a hand up and she flinched slightly as he ran it down the side of her head, petting her hair. He felt the flinch and suddenly his face carried another emotion, regret.
“Oh I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to frighten you. I was overwhelmed…”
Chloe’s heart had been aching since she’d gotten her first real look at her mother, but it tugged harder at hearing him apologize for wanting to touch her. She could only imagine that he would want to make sure she was real. The ghost of his daughter was standing in front of him. The daughter that was so cruelly taken from them. Chloe was sure that when they looked at her, it wasn’t the baby they were seeing. It was Sarah. It would take her a bit to come to terms with that. But for now, she got the feeling that she was safe with these people and whatever came after today, she would be able to handle it.
“It’s okay,” she said at last. “This is a strange situation. I’m sure that none of us know how to act.”
“Please, come sit down.” Samantha’s voice came from behind them and when Chloe turned and saw the table had been set with tea and cups and what looked like homemade cookies, she didn’t have to see the fresh tears on Samantha’s cheeks to know that she’d witnessed the exchange between her and Trevor.
They all went over and Derek held out her chair for her as she took a seat at the table with her parents. She looked at the delicate teacups and the cookies and she tried to recall a time in her life when Marg had gone to this much trouble for her. She was sure the woman who called herself her mother had baked…she’d watched her more than once. But fresh, homemade cookies were not a memory that overshadowed all of the others burned into her psyche and once again she had to wonder what Sarah’s life here had been like.
The silence was awkward and at last Trevor broke it by saying, “I suppose none of us really know where to begin…”
“We’re so happy you came, Chloe. We could never begin to describe…” Samantha’s words became lost in her sobs and her husband put an arm around her and pulled her into his shoulder.
He looked at Chloe and said, “We’re just overwhelmed.” Chloe felt the hot tears burn her cheeks as they started to roll again and she said, “I understand. So am I. I didn’t know what to think at first when Derek told me about you. I guess I still don’t know what to think. I am willing to take a DNA test. I wouldn’t want to lead anyone to believe anything that may not be true…”
She was sitting on Trevor’s right side and he had his left arm around Samantha. Not wanting to assume she was ready for more contact, he held his arm out and let her move into it. She surprised herself at the need she felt for it. She was never one who longed to be touched or held…not since she was five and she realized that it would only end in pain. But something about this man made her want to fold into his arms and hide from the world. He was her daddy. He was the one who would always protect her. Tom Ward had been a vicious, evil stranger and somehow, instinctively she knew that this man would move heaven and earth to keep anyone from hurting her and for that moment, there was nothing in the world she feared.
When they passed that crying stage, Trevor asked Chloe to tell them about herself. She bypassed the horror story and instead said, “I started NYU right out of high school. I want to be a teacher one day.”
“Fabulous,” Samantha said. “Are you close to finishing?”
“I am, but I’ve taken some time off. I had to earn some money so that I could pay for my master’s class.” That wasn’t a complete lie, so she felt a little better about it.
Trevor and Samantha told her about their real estate business and Samantha gave her a tour of the house. It was five bedrooms and f
our baths and it had an office and a game room and Chloe just couldn’t get over how welcoming and unassuming the whole thing was.
Samantha completely broke down again when they got to Sarah’s room and it was Chloe who took the older woman into her arms and offered her comfort. When Samantha was able to breathe once more she said, “I’m so sorry. This is just so…”
“Please don’t apologize. You don’t have anything to be sorry for. I would like to ask you a favor though.”
“Anything,” Samantha said. It was a strange place for her to be in, but Chloe believed her. At that moment Samantha was like a fairy godmother, waiting to grant Chloe’s every wish. She found herself glad she wasn’t a scam artist. These poor people seemed so vulnerable that she wouldn’t doubt they’d be easy to take advantage of.
“Can I have a few moments here in Sarah’s room…alone?”
Samantha didn’t speak. She looked like she feared she would start crying again. Instead she offered a smile and a nod. Then she squeezed Chloe’s hand and closed the door as she left. Chloe turned and looked back across the room. It was probably just as Sarah left it before going off to college and meeting the love of her life. Chloe shuddered at that. How alike were the two sisters who had never met…that they’d fallen for the same man?
The room could have been on the cover of a magazine. The large bed was covered in a soft cream comforter and stacked high with comfortable looking pillows. The cream colored curtains were cotton eyelet fabric and tied back with wide bows. The two windows curved outward and were framed in dark oak and each contained a pale pink cushion on the seat tucked inside of it. The closet had double doors, and matched the oak trim around the windows. The dresser was heavy oak and looked like it might be antique although it was obviously well cared for. The mirror above it showed Chloe a reflection of the woman who should have grown up here.
Chloe walked over near the dresser and picked up one of the many perfume bottles there. She brought it to her nose and smelled it. It was a fresh, clean scent…the kind that Chloe herself like to wear. She opened the closet and choked up when she saw that one whole side was lined with stuffed animals and dolls, likely all of the important ones from her sister’s happy childhood. Chloe doubted that Marg kept anything of hers after she left home, not that there would have been much to keep.