by Cate Beauman
Julie stepped out of her studio doorway with suitcases in hand and a bag slung over her shoulder, and he hurried downstairs, grabbing his luggage. With one last look around, he shut the door and locked up.
Julie paused next to her Prius, looking his way, her face drawn and her eyes tired despite the makeup. “Hi.”
“Hey.” He put his bag in the back of the truck.
She frowned. “I thought you had an eight o’clock flight.”
“I did.”
She raised her brow. “Another delay?”
“Nope.”
She popped her trunk. “You missed your plane.”
“It left a good ten, maybe fifteen minutes ago,” he confirmed, shoving his hands in his pockets as he rocked back on his heels, more nervous than he realized.
She set her first suitcase in. “You don’t seem too concerned.” Then the second.
“I had a change of plans. I’m actually heading to Boston.”
Her gaze whipped to his. “Boston?”
“Yeah. I thought I would come along—make sure you settle in all right.”
Her eyes softened as they filled with tears. “I can’t ask you to do that.”
“Mmm. I’m pretty sure you didn’t.”
She took a step toward him and stopped. “That’s very sweet, but what about Nana’s house?”
He glanced over his shoulder at the little white ranch. “It’s finished. There’s not much more I can do.”
She shook her head. “You need to get this place on the market. And what about California? Your job?”
“Sally’s in charge of the real estate end, so I’ll let her get to it, and I’m going to take care of some business for my boss while I’m out east.”
She pressed her fingers to her temple. “This is too much.”
So far, so good. She hadn’t flat-out said no...yet. “I see it as a win-win. I have a few meetings—several, actually—and you could use a friend. And we just happen to be on the same flight, so you’ll have plenty of time to decide if I’m invited to the Porters’ or if I should get a hotel room.”
She narrowed her eyes. “How do you know what flight I’m on?”
Ethan found that out with a little hacking. “I could tell you but then—” He shrugged. “I think you know the rest.”
She smiled.
He smiled back. “Wanna ride? I’m headed your way.”
Sniffling, she set her bag down and walked to him, wrapping her arms around his waist, holding on tight. “Thank you, Chase.”
He returned her embrace, closing his eyes and settling his chin on top of her head, more than a little relieved that she was going to let him be there for her. “You’re welcome.” He eased her away. “You don’t have to deal with this alone.”
She nodded, still sniffling. “Thank you.”
“Anytime.”
“Are you sure about this?”
As he stared into her pretty eyes, less weary than they were a few moments before, he’d never been more certain he was doing the right thing. “Absolutely.”
“Well, I guess we should go.”
“Let’s do this.” He took her suitcases from her car, settled them next to his in the truck, and they left, heading toward Spokane International Airport.
~~~~
Julie stared down at the blankets of snow covering the ground from thirty thousand feet as the plane moved closer to Boston. She glanced at her watch and settled her hand against her queasy stomach, realizing they had less than an hour until they landed.
Nibbling her lip, she looked at her watch again, wondering what in the world she’d been thinking when she agreed to this. Booking a flight to the Porters’ seemed like a good idea at the time, but now that she was almost there… She definitely needed answers and to prove to Neve and herself that she wasn’t Alyson Porter. There were other options, simpler alternatives. A buccal swab and DNA results would tell her what she needed to know, but for some reason, she needed to go. She needed to see for herself that the flashes of confusing imagery were something different, not from a home she didn’t remember in Newton, Massachusetts. She bobbed her leg up and down and sat back.
Chase stopped typing on his laptop and looked at her. “How are you holding up?”
“Fine.” She sighed and squirmed in her seat, struggling to get comfortable.
“Do you want my iPod? You could listen to music.”
“No, thanks.” She leaned to the left, looking out the window, and sat back just as quickly.
“Jules.” He grabbed the iPod from his laptop case and pressed the ear buds in her ears.
“I’m really not in the mood for music.”
He turned it on. “Listen anyway.”
The catchy beat of Maroon Five filled her ears but did little to settle her restlessness.
“Try to relax.”
She raised her eyebrow at him.
“I know. Easier said than done.”
“Pretty much.”
“Come here.” He gestured with his head as he lifted the armrest and tugged her against him, wrapping his arm around her shoulders. “Keep in mind: You’re in control of this visit. At any point, you can pull the plug, and we’ll go home.”
She stared into his eyes and allowed herself to relax, comforted by the simple fact that he was here. When she stepped outside with her luggage this morning, she hadn’t expected Chase to be there waiting for her. He was offering to take this journey with her, and she could only be grateful. “Do you think it would be too much trouble for the captain to turn the plane around?”
“I’m thinking he’s not going to agree to that.” He gave her a gentle squeeze.
“Why did I say I would stay with her? I think I must be crazy.”
“Or you’re looking for answers, which you’re more likely to find at the Porter residence than you will in a hotel.”
She feigned a snarky eye roll. “Why are you always so practical?”
“Don’t forget wise.” He wiggled his eyebrows. “Superior qualities can be a burden.” He puffed out his chest as he pulled her closer. “But they’re traits I feel comfortable carrying.”
She smiled. “I don’t ever remember you being so full of yourself.”
“Confident.” He winked playfully, adding a seductive tone. “I’m merely confident.”
She chuckled, resting her head on his shoulder as he grinned. She remembered him: this guy who knew how to make her forget her troubles.
“Give it forty-eight hours.”
Two days. She could handle anything for two days. She nodded.
“You should close your eyes. You look pretty tired.”
“I’d rather read all of the top-secret stuff your typing there.” She gestured to his computer.
He grinned. “I don’t know about top-secret. I’m answering an e-mail from a seventeen-year-old girl.”
She frowned. “Oh.”
“She’s a good kid.”
“What’s her name?”
“Jenny. She’s one of my co-workers’ daughters—or pretty much. She has a baby of her own—Faith. I got to know her when I was doing a job in Kentucky. Jenny likes to check in every now and then and send me pictures of Faith.” He clicked on one and a beautiful baby girl smiled back at them.
“Aw. She’s so pretty.”
“She’s a keeper. She’s got a soft spot for her Uncle Chase.”
She smiled at him, hearing the adoration in his voice. “That’s very sweet.”
He hit “send” on the couple of paragraphs he’d composed, then switched over to another screen with several paragraphs written in Arabic. “I need to look this over before we land.”
She stared at the squiggles and dots that were letters and words she didn’t understand. “Business.”
“Business,” he confirmed with a nod.
“Read away.” Chase’s heart beat in one ear as music played in her other, and her eyes drooped, thinking of him instead of the uncertainty that lay ahead.
; Chapter Nineteen
Julie squeezed her hands together as she and Chase drove through the upscale neighborhoods of Newton. With every street Chase turned down, the houses grew larger and more intimidating. Bakersfield had a few spots of prime real estate but nothing like this.
“Arriving at destination on right,” the GPS announced, and Julie clenched her fingers tighter.
Chase made the turn, stopping at the huge wrought-iron gate, and looked into the camera as he pressed the button for entrance.
“Chase.” Neve’s voice carried through the speaker. “Come on in.” The gate slid open.
“Thanks.” He drove through, waiting for the elegant security feature to close behind their rented Lexus, and accelerated forward.
Julie’s pulse pounded, in her throat, in her head, as the uncertainties of the last few days surged into a bout of outright panic. “Wait.” She gripped his arm, and he slammed on the brakes. “I uh,” she shuddered out a long breath, tucking loose strands of hair behind her ear. “I just… I don’t know.”
“We can turn around.”
She nibbled her bottom lip, staring into Chase’s eyes in the glow of the dashboard lights, struggling to get a grip. “We could.”
“Say the word and we’re gone.”
It was truly that simple. He would turn around and they would go to a hotel. But Chase had been right when he said the answers would be here—if there were any to be found at all. “No. I’m good. I’m good,” she repeated as much for herself as him and clasped her clammy hands in her lap once again.
He held her gaze for another second. “You’re sure?”
She was anything but sure, but she needed to get this over with. The anticipation was always worse than the real deal. “Mmhm,” she assured with a quick nod.
He eased forward, passing a tall row of evergreens, and the huge house came into view, lights blazing bright in every room. “Whoa,” she whispered, crossing her arms as she shivered. The three-story brick stunner exuded warmth and a timeless sophistication, yet she felt cold as she studied the white pillars—the same white pillars she was almost certain she’d seen in her dreams. Here they were, so big right before her eyes, but nothing else seemed familiar, and she relaxed a degree. If she were Alyson Porter, she would know this place. There would be some sort of recognition—a sense of coming home—but there wasn’t.
Chase pulled around to the front entrance and turned off the ignition, leaning closer for a look out her window. “Not bad if you’re into mansions.”
“It’s so big.”
“The Porters are big money.”
“We could fit a dozen Gram and Nana houses in this one.”
“Tip of the iceberg, Jules. Add a yacht, a few more houses and penthouses scattered around the world…”
The newspaper articles had mentioned the Porter fortune several times, but this was almost too much to take in. “It’s like a small castle. How can you possibly live in all that space?”
He shrugged. “It’s beyond me, but I’m sure a place like this, along with all the others, keeps their accountants happy.”
Already she didn’t like it, but she opened her door to the frigid temperatures and met Chase at the trunk.
He settled his bag on top of her rolling suitcases and took her hand in his. “Let’s go see what’s what.”
She nodded, gripping Chase’s hand tighter as they climbed the stairs.
Neve opened the door before they made it up the last step, beaming at them in the light pouring from the entryway. “You made it.” She stepped back, dressed in a black skirt, white blouse, and a pair of two-inch pumps. “Please come in.”
“Thank you.” Julie stepped inside before Chase, taking in the marble tiles, cathedral ceiling, and grand staircase.
“It’s nice to see you again.” Neve smiled at them both.
“Thanks for letting me tag along,” Chase shook Neve’s hand.
“I’m happy we can welcome you both. I imagine you’re hungry and tired.”
“Just tired,” Chase answered. “We grabbed a bite to eat at the airport.”
“I’ll show you to your rooms then.”
Julie followed behind Neve with Chase at her side, glancing around the old home, willing herself to remember something, and found relief when her mind remained blank. Her shoulders relaxed even further as they moved to the second story. Nothing here seemed familiar either. The subtle cinnamon smells in the hall and hints of Neve’s perfume did nothing to jog free the frightening flashes of confusing imagery that happened without warning.
“Ally.” Neve shook her head. “My apologies. Julie, this will be your room right here.” Neve walked her and Chase into a pretty room decorated in pastels with honey-colored furnishings and a king-size bed. “Chase, I put you next door…unless you’d rather share.”
“No,” they said at the same time.
“We’re just friends,” Julie clarified for Neve, glancing at Chase as he cleared his throat.
“Yes. Of course.” Neve smiled with a polite nod. “You both have your own bathrooms, so you’ll have plenty of privacy.”
“Thank you,” Julie replied yet again, unsure of what else to say to the stranger who graciously welcomed them into her home.
“Are you sure we can’t get either of you a snack?”
“I’m all set,” Julie assured, looking around the cozy space where French doors led to a balcony. On the adjacent wall, several windows offered a view of the front lawn.
“If you find yourselves hungry, you’re welcome to anything in the kitchen. Anything at all. It’s down the stairs at the end of the hall.”
Julie nodded.
“I imagine you two want to settle in. Tomorrow I’ll show you around, and we’ll all have a chance to get to know each other better.”
“Actually, I have to go to Portland for most of the day,” Chase said.
“Oh.” Disappointment clouded Neve’s eyes she quickly masked with another polite nod. “Julie, will you be joining Chase in Maine?”
Julie shoved her hands in her back pockets, scrutinizing the shape of Neve’s ears and her petite build, as reluctantly fascinated by their physical similarities now as she had been in Washington. “I was planning on staying here if that’s okay.”
“Yes.” Her smile returned. “We’ll certainly find some things to do—”
“Excuse me, Ms. Neve,” an older white-haired man dressed in khaki slacks, a white button-down, and navy blue tie interrupted from the hallway.
Neve turned. “Yes, Thomas.”
“Ms. Neve, Special Agent Tillis is on the phone for you. He says it’s quite important.”
“Agent Tillis?” Julie tensed at the mention of the man’s name.
“Yes, the lead investigator on Alyson’s case,” Neve confirmed. “I’ve been in close contact with him since my return from Washington. He’s hoping to meet with you soon.”
“Why?” Julie looked Thomas’s way and turned her back, disconcerted by his quick but intense glances in her direction.
“He would like to speak with you—get to know you as well.”
In other words, ask her a barrage of questions she couldn’t answer. She tried to bury the swift flash of anger she felt. Not even ten minutes through the door and she was being stared at and pestered. “He wants to know what I remember about the kidnapping.”
“Yes.”
She held Neve’s gaze, realizing that beneath the façade of gracious hostess was a shrewd woman only interested in getting her daughter back—not Julie Keller, if she indeed turned out to be the child who vanished at three, but Alyson, a little girl who ceased to exist years ago.
“I don’t remember anything,” she said, caring little that her words had bite to them.
“It’s very common for the subconscious to bury traumatic events. Perhaps something will come back to you during an interview. Agent Tillis’s questions could jog memories.”
A sharp sense of betrayal washed over her as she saw the whole
picture clearly. It didn’t matter that her world had been turned upside down. She was merely a means to an end—a potential piece in a puzzle, a source of answers for a decades-old mystery. “I haven’t buried any traumatic events. I’ve simply never been here before.”
“I think we should take things a day at a time,” Chase chimed in, stepping closer to Julie.
Neve nodded. “Perhaps that would be a good idea.” She directed her attention to Julie. “I’m sorry if I’ve upset you.”
Julie shook her head. “It’s no big deal.” Even though it was. She was in an enormous house, surrounded by people she didn’t like who dressed in formal attire at nine thirty at night. Didn’t they have jeans or pajamas—normal clothes?
“I’ll say goodnight then.”
“Good night.”
Neve left with Thomas at her side, but not before Thomas’s gaze wandered in Julie’s direction again.
“Unbelievable,” she muttered with a shake of her head.
Chase looked at her, his brow raised, as their footsteps faded.
“I’m fine,” she snapped before he could ask.
“Do you want me to stick around for a while?”
“No,” she sighed, rubbing at the painful tension in her forehead. “I’m grumpy, and you have phone calls to make.”
“Just one to my boss.”
“Go ahead and do what you need to do.” She needed a chance to steady herself out and find her bearings in this foreign place.
“You’re sure?”
“I am.” She sent Chase a small smile, thoroughly ashamed of her behavior toward him. He’d dropped everything, putting his life on hold to help her, and she was taking her frustrations out on him. “I’m sorry for snapping at you.”
“Don’t be.” He grabbed his bag and started toward the hallway. “You know where I am if you need anything.”
“Thanks. Oh, what time are you leaving tomorrow?”