Dear Mystery Guy (Magnolia Sisters Book 1)

by Brenda Barrett

  We studied a lot. My father was a stickler for that kind of thing. I was a nerd in high school. The girls thought I had pretty eyes but they thought I was one step away from being Steve Urkel, so they gave me a wide berth.

  By the way, I have no idea why my eyes are gray. I guess somewhere way down in one side of the family tree was some gray-eyed ancestor. I think your eyes are gorgeous--and quite unusual and much better looking than mine.

  Anyway, in university I outgrew the awkward lanky stage and I acquired quite a bit of female attention. In my first year at school, I met a fellow freshman named Tessa Benedict. You may have heard of her; she's Patricia's niece.

  We hit it off right away. I loved her deeply and she loved me but she had a heart defect and thought that she could die at any time. The doctors had been saying that since she was a little girl, so we thought it was just sourpuss doctors trying to scare us.

  We got married after we both got into med school. We were happy for a year and then she died. Suddenly, without warning, in her sleep.

  For a long time I didn't grieve properly. I used school as an outlet to keep busy. After med school, I did my residency and then I sort of had a breakdown. No, not mental ward crazy, just really depressed and closed off.

  I got a dog, Keko, and surprisingly, I started getting better. Last year in August Keko died and I started feeling lonely again. I started going to a supermarket that was close to my home. It was also the time I met Josephine. It was also a time when a mystery girl started writing to me about her life.

  Casey couldn't wait to read the rest of the entries. She was startled when her cousin Hattie pushed her head through the door.

  "Didn't your father tell you I was stopping by? We have to go and see UB40." Hattie spoke really fast and Casey could barely keep up with what she was saying.

  "Huh?" Casey frowned.

  "UB40…the group. They'll be playing in the park. They are a UK group but they sing reggae, like Kingston Town and Cherio Baby."

  "Oh." It suddenly dawned on Casey what Hattie was going on about.

  "Come on," Hattie said, "I have never been to Jamaica but when I hear them I feel as if I am there. You'll like it." She turned from Casey and shouted, "Uncle! You wanna come with us? It's your kind of speed. Mellow."

  Her father replied somewhere in the distance and Casey reluctantly put down the journal. She had been so absorbed in Luca's words. She wondered why he had done it. Why was he baring himself to her. Was it just tit for tat? She had done it so he was doing it, or did he have some deeper reason?

  "Rain check, Hattie," she called to her cousin. "I am reading something very interesting."

  "Okay," Hattie said, disappointed. "Dinner with my friends tomorrow, and I won't be taking no for an answer."

  Casey nodded. "Sure. Fine."

  She went back to the journal.

  Dear Casey,

  It was an interminable couple of weeks trying to act like the professional doctor around you. I am torn between wanting you to no longer be my patient and knowing that when you are no longer my patient, you'll leave. I can't ask you to stay. I know that your driving desire was to find out who you really are, and now that you have I can't stand in your way.

  It would be selfish to ask you to stay. You were like a caged bird that was chained within the prison of silence and burdened by your memory loss, but now that you have gotten back your voice and your memory, it is only fair that you be allowed to fly and spread your wings to live the life you should have lived, the one you were meant to live.

  Maybe this was all we should have of each other at this point in time. Maybe the reason we brushed each other's lives was fulfilled. I console myself with that, but somehow it doesn't feel like much of a consolation because you are firmly lodged in my heart.

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Three days later Casey was still reading Luca's journal. He certainly had a lot of things to say. Sometimes he had her laughing out loud describing the people in his life, his thoughts and feelings. He had recreated for her what she had done in her journal. She was on the very last entry.

  Dear Casey

  There it is. Me. We each have a piece of each other now. We are equals. We have been in each other's heads. I am going to kiss you before I give you this book. I hope it haunts you day and night and that you think about me while you are in London.

  While you are away, we can still write each other or we can talk. It's totally up to you. Maybe by the time you read this journal you will have already forgotten who I am anyway. In any case I wish you all the happiness in this world.

  Casey closed the book. He had left his telephone number and his email address at the end of the book.

  "What's the matter, honey? You look pensive." Her father was shrugging on a coat. He was heading out to his office.

  "Dad," Casey cleared her throat. "Would it hurt you terribly if I moved back to Jamaica?"

  Her father swung around and looked at her and then he sighed. "It would hurt."

  Casey lowered her eyes and tapped her fingers on the journal.

  "Would you come to visit?" Her father shrugged back out of his coat and sat beside her.

  "Yes. Sure." Casey nodded. "Definitely. Every six months or so, and you can come to visit too."

  Her father hugged her. "Yes, I would come to visit." He sighed. "You'll have to check in every other day too. Just to let your old man know you are okay."

  "Yes, Dad." Casey sniffled.

  "You have an inheritance from your mom. I've had it in trust all these years." Her father cleared his throat. His voice was husky. "You won't be going back to Jamaica empty-handed, plus I should have told you, but I bought that apartment your friend Caitlin lives in now. It's yours."

  "She's my sister." Casey looked at her father reprovingly.

  "Yes, your sister." He nodded. "If this guy hurts you..."

  "He won’t," Casey said.

  "Well if he does," her father raised her chin, "he has to answer to me."

  Casey grinned. "Thanks Dad."

  He hugged her to him again.

  "How'd you know that I was going back because of him?" Casey asked when her father got up.

  "I know." Her father winked at her. "You haven't been very happy since you left Jamaica, and I expected this. I know how powerful the pull of love can be. I am happy that you spent at least six weeks here getting to know us again, seeing how much we love you."

  Two weeks later...

  Casey walked out of the airport building into a weak sunshine. It was evening. Her flight had been long and anxiety-filled. She wondered if she was doing the right thing.

  She looked around for Hazel, who had volunteered to pick her up from the airport in Montego Bay.

  She was surprised when she saw Luca instead. She hadn't told him she was coming in the two weeks since they had started talking over the phone. She had been very cautious about giving away any details about her returning to Jamaica. She wanted it to be a surprise. She'd show up at his office and see his reaction to her, but now it seemed as if she was the one to be surprised.

  "Hey." He was leaning on his car. He was dressed casually in jeans and a green t-shirt which emphasized his muscular arms.

  She stopped, her luggage almost slipping from her hands. "Hey."

  "Let me help you with that." He transferred her luggage to his car with ease and then he cupped her face and grinned down at her.

  "Casey Givens. Welcome back. I missed you."

  Casey grinned. "How did you know I was coming?"

  "Hazel told me."

  She looked up at him helplessly. "Am I stupid for coming back?"

  "Come on." Luca opened the passenger door for her and then got around to his side.

  He turned to her and gazed at her seriously. "Am I stupid, Casey, for loving you?"

  Casey grinned. "No, because I love you too."

  "Enough to marry me?" Luca held his breath. He was not taking anything for granted.

  Casey grinned. "En
ough to marry you."

  Luca reached over to kiss her and then he whispered, "Will you still write to me? I like to know what is going on in your head. I find it strangely stimulating."

  Casey grinned. "Likewise. We can write each other."

  "Well," Luca pressed his lips to hers and then stared at her, "now we go on our very first date. According to my car's GPS navigation unit it will take thirty-seven minutes to reach Falmouth from where we are."

  "Huh?" Casey looked at Luca. "Why would we need to go to Falmouth?"

  "We are going to the Luminous Lagoon." Luca started the car. "Our first date. Remember in your journal, you said you want us to go to the Luminous Lagoon for our first date."

  "But..." Casey blinked, "yes I did, didn't I?"

  "What I don't know is how you would want our wedding. You never fantasized that far into the future."

  Casey laughed. "I will write it down somewhere and give it to you but I want it small and intimate, with just our families and friends. Is that okay?"

  "Fine. Just fine." Luca grinned.

  "And I want a dog and maybe a cat..."

  Luca laughed out loud. "A woman after my own heart."

  The End

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  Keep reading for an excerpt from

  Bad Girl Blues

  Brigid's Story

  "Brigid, if you want to continue working for the business you will have to step up your game. Old men and business dinners are okay but..."

  Sonia was standing in a patch of light in the living room, which rendered her long pink negligee almost transparent. She was heavily made up, though it was just nine in the morning. She paused dramatically to see if Brigid was listening to her.

  "But what?" Brigid asked impatiently, she was trying to finish up the report for her very last project. She stapled two of the papers together and tried to tune in to Sonia's endless crusade to get her more involved in her Escort Service business.

  "But... no need to sound so impatient. I have a gig for you. It is huge."

  "Uh, huh," Brigid replied absentmindedly. So far she had gone on four dates with middle-aged businessmen; three of them had been above board. One had offered her an obscene amount of money to go back to his hotel with him.

  Since that night she had been feeling a twinge of shame and a dirty feeling that would not be quashed even though she was trying to convince herself that what she was doing was not all that bad. It wasn't as if she was prostituting herself sexually. Sonia's Professional Escort Services was a little bit like a dating service but still...

  "No thanks Sonia." She gave her a warning look. "Please. Just stop hounding me about gigs and dates and rich men. I want to be a doctor, that’s it. I am not interested in your lifestyle."

  "My lifestyle, huh?" Sonia glided toward the settee in her best lady of the manor impersonation and sat across from Brigid. "It is my lifestyle that paid for the last two years of your university."

  "Good for you," Brigid snarled, "you did something that most parents find to be common place."

  Sonia relaxed in the chair and gave Brigid one of her sly looks. "I wouldn't be so snarky if you didn’t need to pay off the rest of your school fee for the semester in order to graduate, and you need my help to pay for med school."

  "Threatening me now, mother dearest?" Brigid got up and flicked back her long hair, which were in thick rope like twists.

  Sonia looked at Brigid reluctant admiration in her eyes. Sometimes she looked on her daughter and wondered if she was really the one who gave birth to her. They were opposites in every way. In looks, in temperament, in their outlook on life. Brigid was beautiful, far better looking than her even on her good days and with loads of make up on.

  Brigid had a perfect symmetrical face as if she had dug deep into the genetic gene pool and came up with her ancestor’s best features. She had smooth dark nut brown skin which had an alabaster like quality to it and deep expressive chocolate brown eyes which could flash with temper or melt with laughter. She had a lithe but curvy body that would look good in a shapeless trash bag.

  Brigid was wasting her time thinking about med school. She could make millions with just her face, Sonia thought. If she had a tenth of the looks or body that Brigid had she would be using it to the best of her ability to make loads of money.

  "This gig," she started hesitantly. She didn't want to push, she knew enough about Brigid to handle her with care.

  "No." Brigid picked up her backpack.

  "You didn't even let me finish," Sonia continued. "If you don't do it I am not going to pay for the last semester."

  "You wouldn't be so devious. You promised me!" Brigid looked at Sonia with such intense disappointment that Sonia cringed involuntarily.

  "You made me go out on four dates. This is a totally new proposition, you are coming with."

  Sonia felt a twinge of guilt. She had given her word and she had already written up the check. A deal was a deal.

  "Okay." Sonia held up her hands. "You are right."

  Brigid looked at her suspiciously. "I am waiting for the other shoe to drop."

  "Well," Sonia said inclining her head and looking at Brigid through squinted eyes, "after this you have four years of med school right?"

  "Right." Brigid nodded. She hated when Sonia looked at her like that. She was about to con her. She could feel it.

  "And you don't have a scholarship for med school, right?"

  "Get to the point, Sonia," Brigid said impatiently. She was going to be late for summer school registration.

  The point is you have at least four more years of your life tied up in med school and then three years of residency, that's seven years of your life. You won't be free until you are twenty-eight. In that time you could make a boatload of money."

  "I want to do medicine." Brigid shrugged. "That's it. I have always wanted to be a doctor. Maybe because I spent a good part of my young life being monitored at the hospital.

  "All of that is in the past," Sonia said, disgruntled. She hated to be reminded of her past sins.

  "Is it?" Brigid raised her eyebrows. "You took heavy drugs while you were pregnant with me. I am lucky to be alive now."

  "Water under the bridge." Sonia brushed her off. "If you do this job that I have lined up. I will give you the check for the first year of med school, no questions asked."

  Brigid frowned.

  "Don't say no. It is summer," Sonia said in her most convincing voice. "Think of it as a summer job. My client, Mr. Thomas Kellier, wants an... er... hostess for eight weeks."

  OTHER BOOKS BY BRENDA BARRETT

  Magnolia Sisters

  Dear Mystery Guy (Book 1)- Della Gold details her life in a journal dedicated to a mystery guy. But when fascination turns into obsession she finds herself wanting to learn even more about him but in her pursuit of the mystery guy she begins to learn more about herself...

  Love Triangle Series

  Love Triangle: Three Sides To The Story- George, the husband, Marie, the wife and Karen-the mistress. They all get to tell their side of the story.

  Love Triangle: After The End--Torn between two lovers. Colleen married her high school sweetheart, Isaiah, hoping that they would live happily ever after but life intruded and Isaiah disappeared at sea. She found work with the rich and handsome, Enrique Lopez, as a housekeeper and realized that she couldn't keep him at arms length...

  Love Triangle: On The Rebound--For Better or Worse, Brandon vowed to stay with Ashley, but when worse got too much he moved out and met Nadine. For the first time in years he felt happy, but then Ashley remembered her wedding vows...

  New Song Series

  Going Solo (New Song Series-Book 1)- Carson Bell, had a lovely voice, a heart of gold, and was no slouch in the looks department. So why did Alice abandon him and their daughter? What did she want after ten years of silence?

  D
uet on Fire (New Song Series- Book 2)- Ian and Ruby had problems trying to conceive a child. If that wasn't enough, her ex-lover the current pastor of their church wants her back...

  Tangled Chords (New Song Series- Book 3)- Xavier Bell, the poor, ugly duckling has made it rich and his looks have been incredibly improved too. Farrah Knight, hotel heiress had cruelly rejected him in the past but now she needed help. Could Xavier forgive and forget?

  Broken Harmony(New Song Series-Book 4)- Aaron Lee, wanted the top job in his family company but he had a moral clause to consider just when Alka, his married ex-girlfriend walks back into his life.

  A Past Refrain (New Song Series-Book 5)- Jayce had issues with forgetting Haley Greenwald even though he had a new woman in his life. Will he ever be able to shake his love for Haley?

  Perfect Melody (New Song Series- Book 6)- Logan Moore had the perfect wife, Melody but his secretary Sabrina was hell bent on breaking up the family. Sabrina wanted Logan whatever the cost and she had a secret about Melody, that could shatter Melody's image to everyone.

  The Bancroft Family Series

  Homely Girl (The Bancrofts- Book 0) - April and Taj were opposites in so many ways. He was the cute, athletic boy that everybody wanted to be friends with. She was the overweight, shy, and withdrawn girl. Do April and Taj have a love that can last a lifetime? Or will time and separate paths rip them apart?

  Saving Face (The Bancrofts- Book 1) - Mount Faith University drama begins with a dead president and several suspects including the president in waiting Ryan Bancroft.

  Tattered Tiara (The Bancrofts- Book 2) - Micah Bancroft is targeted by femme fatale Deidra Durkheim. There are also several rape cases to be solved.