A Masterpiece Unraveled (The Masterpiece Trilogy Book 2)

by Nikki Lynn Barrett

  Blurb

  As love blossoms, twenty year old secrets threaten it all...

  Becca and Hunter have always tried to make sense of a tragedy, but they never fully asked why. Why were they on the same plane? Where were they going or coming from? Recent events force them to find out everything they can about the plane crash and the events that led them there.

  Becca's always been strong. She's always found a safety net in Hunter, the man who saved her as a child and always stuck by her, giving her reason to go on when no one else gave her a chance. Now she fights to keep her strength going, but her fears begin to get the better of her. The facade she tries to hold up threatens to crack.

  Hunter is learning to fight his demons and put them to rest, but he can't help but worry about Becca and the future they've just begun to build. She's become the withdrawn person he'd been for the past few years and he doesn't know how to help, unless he finds the answers they both are desperate to know.

  They've always battled every storm together, but a new storm could sweep in and blow the foundation right out from under them...

  The second installment of the Masterpiece trilogy is full of twists, turns, and secrets that come unburied...

  WARNING: This story is not a standalone. This is the second in a trilogy that follow the same characters. A Masterpiece Of Our Love should be read first.

  A Masterpiece Unraveled

  by

  Nikki Lynn Barrett

  Copyright October 2014, Nikki Lynn Barrett, First Version.

  Acknowledgements

  Where to begin! Oh my!

  Thank you to my husband for your continued support. It's not easy living with someone who has fictional characters running around in her head all the time, and you somehow manage!

  My mom and dad for giving me the love of books.

  To Kris - for helping me pick an awesome title!

  To my CLS sisters - joining your group was one of the best decisions I made this year! Though we're all scattered about, I feel like we've become a family. We've had highs, lows, successes and fails but we've created such a bond that I love!

  Nikki's Book Stormers - Okay, so I still don't always know what I'm doing when it comes to street teams, but y'all rock! Thank you so much for all your help and support. It means the world!

  Crystal and Melinda - I love you ladies. The love of books brought you in my world and I'm ever so thankful. When do we start planning for Vegas again? ;)

  To the amazing bloggers and readers who have as much love for Hunter and Becca as I do- THANK YOU! This wouldn't be possible without you!

  Dedication

  This is for you badgers who've waited and waited for this story (Even though it wasn't that long of a wait, but hey, I'm a series reader too. I get it. Any time you have to wait is too long.) Put your pitch forks and all the other stuff away. Hunter and Becca part 2 is yours for the taking!

  Praise For Books By Nikki Lynn Barrett

  A Masterpiece Of Our Love

  The author does an amazing job that you just have to know what next. If you want to read about two amazing people who stole my heart be sure to pick this up. A warning is in need though. you will want the next book now as I do. I can't wait for the next one. - Racing To Read

  This book was very well written. I love it when authors actually tie up the loose ends with the story, but yet continue the plot. Ms. Barrett was able to keep doing that so well. The plot turned just as I thought the book was coming to an end. I never saw that coming. - Kristy's Reviews and Random Thoughts

  I was intrigued by this book because it seemed to suggest something more than a simple love story. I was not disappointed when I read it. - Fiona's Book Reviews

  A Masterpiece of Our Love is one part mystery and one part romance, with strong characters I couldn't help but love and a wonderfully unique foundation for the story. It's everything I normally read romance novels for, but it has an entirely different twist that makes it so much more. - FicCentral

  Baby Stetson

  What a fun and beautiful read! Just what I expect from Nikki! - RomanceBookworm Reviews

  This was a very well written book with great characters and a great story. It had a very good balance of romance, suspense and action. It is a page turner, with a good plot that keeps you guessing about all the characters true stories and their motives. - The TBR Pile

  The Melody In My Head

  I really love these characters and this town. It was a pleasure seeing the characters I got to know in the first book and where they were at in their life now. - Racing To Read

  I can compare Mrs. Barrett to some of my favorite authors that I grew up reading. I wish I could give it more then 5 stars! - Kristy's Reviews and Random Thoughts

  The Key To My Heart

  This is the ultimate love story. Nikki Lynn Barrett gives us characters to love in all of her books. - Kathyisareader.com

  As a reader who enjoys a good series I have to say I have eagerly been waiting for the next book in the Love and Music series by Nikki Lynn Barrett. In every book we see not only friends, family but a love through music that is impossible to not love. - Melena's Reviews

  Chapter One

  Becca would most likely lose her cool if one more person asked her how she was handling everything. She wanted to scream "Leave me alone!" at the top of her lungs, but her lack of a voice put a stop to that. The last few weeks were a roller coaster of one crappy thing after another, and if one more thing went wrong, well it wouldn't be pretty. Everyone knew she wasn't one to lose it, but lately, she even scared herself.

  The email she stared at blurred as angry tears clouded her vision. She blinked them away, wishing what she'd just read wasn't true. She'd had a feeling, but seeing it was the concrete proof she didn't want.

  Budget cuts. Yeah right.

  Then at the end, they had the gall to ask "How are you doing?"

  She knew the real reason she wouldn't be going back to teaching next month. Oh, where to start? How about the paranoia? How about the fact that she couldn't verbally communicate and she had no idea when her voice would work again?

  With a frustrated grunt, Becca pushed away from the computer desk, knocking over a glass of water in the process. The water sloshed all over her, making her jump back even more from the chill. She watched in horror as the glass crashed to the ground, shattering into tiny pieces. They reminded her of ice crystals glistening in the sun. Not thinking, Becca tried to push it all together with her hands. She crouched on the ground, frantically trying to … heck, she had no idea what she was trying to do. Pain shot up her hand as a piece of glass embedded itself in her skin. Bright red blood seeped out from around the glass. An alarming image from Isaac's gunshot wound on the plane weeks ago flooded her memory.

  Brilliant. Not only did she make a mess, she had another thought about that stupid night which changed everything.

  Becca jumped to her feet, checking to make sure she had no glass in her legs since she wore shorts.

  "Becca! What happened? I heard something break!" Hunter rushed in the room. He took her hand to study it. "Oh, sweetheart. Why were you cleaning glass with your bare hands?" He led her to the bathroom. "Let me see if there's glass anywhere else." She stood still as Hunter checked her over. Dang it, she felt like an idiot right now! Heat rushed to her cheeks.

  The skin around the embedded glass was tender and red. Becca hissed as Hunter carefully pulled the piece out, then cleaned up the cut before placing a small bandage over it. Then he cupped her face. His dark green eyes were full of worry. He let her go after a few minutes so she could respond. />
  "I wasn't thinking. I wanted to fix the mess. I got the email I feared I would and I reacted badly." Becca winced every time she bent her hand. Picking up the glass was the stupidest idea. Great. She hurt her one form of communication. She'd lost it completely.

  "What email?" Hunter gently touched her cheek.

  "From the school. They claim budget cuts. I don't buy it." The tears started again. She totally wasn't explaining this in the best way.

  His face crumpled. "You don't have a job to go back to."

  Good, he got what she was trying to say right away. Becca shook her head, the reality of the situation really sinking in now. Her knees trembled.

  "I'm so sorry, angel." He surrounded her with his arms. Reluctantly, Becca wrapped hers around him, trying her best to hold in the anger and frustration.

  What now? Find another school? That wouldn't work at the moment. She couldn't freaking talk! For that matter, what kind of job could she get with no verbal communication? And where? Here, or Vermont? Without that job, she really had nothing to go back to live there for. She'd miss her friends, especially Rissi and her students, but she had more opportunity in Virginia. Plus, Hunter was here.

  "What do you want to do now?"

  Becca pulled away from his hug to use her hands. "I don't know."

  Hunter's eyes darkened. He seemed lost in thought. "Let me take care of that glass for you, and then why don't we talk about this?"

  At a loss for any other suggestions, she simply nodded. Hunter planted a kiss on her forehead before exiting the bathroom.

  She stared out the tiny window that overlooked the back yard. The sun was high in the sky. A perfect day to be out there doing fun summer things. Except this wasn't a normal summer. Far from it. If you'd asked her a few months ago what she thought the summer season would bring, she never thought she'd be in the midst of a mystery, looking over her shoulder every waking minute for a person who had an agenda. If she actually ventured out of the house in the past few weeks, Becca was sure she'd hear the whispers from people wondering how she was. Or they'd bring up the night she freaked out on a woman in the bathroom of a huge event.

  Ugh.

  Stop this, stop this right now! The angry voices in her head began screaming at her. Why did the recent events have to play in her mind over and over again? She had to get these thoughts out of her mind. Why couldn't those thoughts stop working instead of her voice? If only there was a way to trade...

  A few minutes later, she heard the sound of the broom sweeping the glass away. She really should have gone out there and cleaned it herself. Avoiding her reflection in the mirror, Becca darted out of the bathroom. Hunter already had the mess cleaned up. His gaze swept over her.

  "It's going to get better, angel."

  At one time, his words would come as comforting. Right now, she had her doubts. Things weren't better. They hadn't been for a few weeks. Becca struggled with being positive lately.

  Hunter stood before her and caressed her cheeks with his thumbs. "I know you find it hard to believe, but we have to hold on to something, right?"

  He could still read her mind without her saying a darn thing.

  "I need answers." Her hand still hurt. Ugh. Stupid, stupid move!

  Hunter's brows furrowed. "I know you do. We all need answers."

  They all needed Carrie to be found. Then maybe Becca wouldn't see her in every crowd. She wouldn't be so paranoid that leaving the house completely petrified her. She needed to know how a third survivor could have been unknown to the two of them. How did she never get part of the settlement? How had it never come up in the news? Why did she not end up on the island with the two of them? If they could remember everyone on that plane, why not her? And most of all, what did Carrie mean when she said she'd learned of the real Becca? That one haunted her the most.

  The journal she'd been given offered her no explanations, other than the woman was really insane. Would she have turned out that way if Hunter had found Carrie instead of her?

  In silence, Hunter led her to the window seat in the art room. He sat down and held her hands. Beautiful, tortured eyes stared up at her. He opened his mouth to speak, but at first nothing come out.

  "You have nothing holding you back in Vermont other than your apartment and your friends. What about moving here permanently? We can look for a school for you to teach at down here, or anything you want to do."

  She pulled her hands from his. "I have to have a voice to teach!" Tears pooled in her eyes again.

  Hunter sighed. "I know that. I'm just throwing out suggestions."

  She shouldn't have snapped. Hunter really was trying to help, and she didn't need to get so frustrated. None of this was easy on him, either. "I'm sorry."

  "I'm sorry, too. Now we're both at a crossroads with our careers."

  He hadn't gone back to flying and his nightmares hadn't stopped. Hunter had gone to his doctor's appointment for his psychiatric referral, but then he stopped talking about it. She couldn't keep count of the times she'd woken up to Hunter thrashing about or yelling from whatever nightmares tormented him. They were always about the crash. She'd wake him up if he wasn't already and after he cleaned himself up from all the sweat, he'd climb back in bed with her and tell her what happened. The way he described them, it was like he was right there all over again. Sometimes he had new memories, or what he believed to be, but with nightmares and twenty years of not knowing, who knows what was real or not? Either way, they were horrible.

  "You can at least go back to your job once you get the help you need." She shouldn't have thrown that in his face. Not at all. Becca exhaled sharply and clenched her fists.

  "Maybe I don't want to go back. Not now, and maybe not ever," Hunter snapped as he jumped to his feet. He narrowed his eyes as he took a step back from her. The two stared at each other, the silence so loud it was deafening. This was torture. The intensity of the rift between them scared her. "Every time I look at a plane, I see what happened to you. I remember the way I felt trying to tell you how to land. I think I've had enough of them for a while. Yeah, I can get help for the plaguing nightmares, but I don't think going back to being a pilot is going to work. I've been thinking about selling mine. I can't keep it after what happened."

  "Sure you can." She hated the idea he'd give up his plane because of her. Her fists clenched again. She almost couldn't control it. The clenching became a nervous habit the past few weeks.

  "No, I really can't. It's time. I need to let it go." Hunter raked a hand through his hair and stifled a sigh. He finally noticed her balled fists. "Hey, don't do that." He gently slipped his fingers through hers. "You're going to hurt yourself even more. Come here and let me hold you," he pleaded. He moved to sit again.

  Becca shifted to get comfortable in Hunter's arms. He slid them around her, then rested his head against her shoulder. "You know I'll support whatever you choose."

  When it came down to it, Becca wanted to be here with Hunter. They'd been through so much in their history of knowing each other, even if this time around really tested them. To her, it felt like things changed. The last thing she wanted was to give up. There really was nothing holding her back. A few weeks ago, before Carrie, they'd both wondered how to handle their relationship through the next year. As much as it sucked, the opportunity had opened. It would be stupid not to do what they both wanted in the first place, and that was to stay here with Hunter. It was a chance to start over and get away from her grandparents and Vince.

  The decision made, she moved out of his arms to face him. Becca ignored the sting in her hand as she gave him her answer. "I want to stay here with you, permanently."

  A look of relief washed over his face as he hugged her. "I'm so glad to hear that, angel."

  She heard the unspoken words. He didn't have to say it, but Becca knew. He'd worried she would give up and want to get away. Not that she could blame him for worrying, because she had pulled away. She'd kept to herself more often than not.

  "I
have to leave soon. We have an appointment for Sienna about her speech therapy. Do you want to come with?" Hope filled his tone.

  "You go. Give her my love. I don't want to get in the way." Much as she wanted to see Sienna, the idea of leaving the house didn't sound good. Sienna already struggled with the concept of Becca not being able to talk. She was so young and just didn't understand. Beverly and Todd were learning sign language to understand Becca so that Hunter didn't have to interpret all the time. She'd dealt with this ever since waking up after the crash not being able to speak. Somehow, the older she got and the longer her voice didn't work, the more it affected her. She couldn't even list another person she knew that had a voice which stopped working at random times.

  Hunter stared at her, his eyes filling with a tinge of sadness. "Bec, listen to me. You're never in the way. Get that idea out of your head. You being here with me makes you part of a family. Got it?" His tone was firm but loving.

  She nodded. Ugh, she needed to get past this, now. "Still, you go. I'll work on her mural some more. I hope to have it done before she comes this weekend."