Split Decisions: A Southern Romantic-Suspense Novel - Charlotte - Book Two

by Carmen DeSousa

  “I’ll be fine. Mom will guard me. I won’t be able to disappear anywhere.”

  Pat smiled and patted her arm, but Jordan didn’t seem to find her joke funny. Instead, he just shook his head as he kissed her and walked away.

  He turned back to look at her before he walked out the door, though. “I’ll be right back. I don’t plan to test your theory.”

  “So, young lady, do you care to explain how you ended up shot and lying practically dead in the emergency room, again? You nearly gave me a heart attack. I swear child—”

  “Mom,” Melissa said, laying her hand across Pat’s arm. “I think Jaynee has been through enough already today. I already explained to you. She came here for a book signing and one of her fans kidnapped her. You can hardly hold her responsible for a crazed lunatic.”

  Jaynee stared at Melissa. It was a good explanation and darn close to the truth. She wondered how much Melissa actually knew of her abduction and if she knew about Caycee.

  She knew Melissa would never utter a word about anything that Jordan disclosed to her now or ever without their permission. She was loyal to the core. Bobby, on the other hand, looked as confused as Pat did. He’d turned to Jaynee at the same time that Pat had drilled her for answers. Now he just gawked at his wife, his mouth practically falling open. Evidently, the story had changed slightly from the original. Oh well, she wouldn’t worry about it; Jordan would handle everything. She was too tired to think of a better explanation.

  She yawned without warning, confirming that fact. “I’m sorry, guys. I can’t seem to keep my eyes open.”

  Melissa turned to her husband. “Bobby, why don’t you take Mom to the hotel and get settled? I know she’s exhausted too, and that way Jaynee can rest. You can come back for me later, or if we can talk Jordan into leaving Jaynee’s side for a moment, he can drive me. Though, I doubt it.”

  “Okay, babe,” Bobby agreed. He lowered his head to Jaynee’s forehead and kissed her quickly. “You take care, little sister. No more scares, okay? I’m getting old, you know. I’ll be fifty in a few weeks, I guess since we’re not going to be able to celebrate your fortieth this weekend we’ll have to double up and have our birthdays together.”

  “Sounds like fun, Bobby. I’ll try to keep out of harm’s way. Though, I don’t think that will be a problem. Jordan probably won’t be letting me out of North Carolina without him guarding me anytime soon.”

  “Good,” Pat agreed.

  Melissa said her goodbyes to Bobby and her mom, then turned her fiery blue gaze on her.

  “Jaynee,” Melissa said, sighing. “What on earth are we gonna do with you? Who’s—”

  “Not you too, Sissy, you never give me a hard time.”

  “I’m just trying to understand. Who is Caycee Jayne? You have a twin sister who took your name? How come you never mentioned her? I never in my life saw a twin who looked so identical…even her voice and manners were the same. I watched some of her videos. It’s uncanny.”

  Jaynee’s eyes welled up without her control.

  Melissa rushed to comfort her, her hands fluttering to her face immediately. “I’m sorry, Jaynee. I didn’t mean to upset you. Jordan told me not to mention her to anyone, but I figured it would be okay to mention her to you. Where is she? Did the two of you have a fight?”

  What could she say? Would Melissa want to hear the truth? Would she believe it? Would anyone who hadn’t had first-hand knowledge believe?

  She shook her head, closing her eyes to hide the pain. She knew Caycee wasn’t really gone, but for some reason, it felt as though she’d lost her sister. “Something like that…I’d rather not discuss it now.”

  “It’s okay, sweetie. I understand. I’m sorry for whatever you’ve been through. It sounds like you endured an absolute nightmare.” Melissa wiped Jaynee’s bangs away from her eyes. “Your hair needs washed and you could use a trim too. Would you like me to do that for you?” Melissa’s eyes were soft as she peered at Jaynee with her caring baby blue eyes instead of the fire that had been in them only moments ago. Melissa, the woman who’d been her sister-in-law for eighteen years, her real sister.

  “That would be nice, Sissy. I’m sure I look horrid.”

  “Jaynee, you could never look horrid. You’re still as stunning as you’ve always been. I wish I could age as well as you have. Look at you…still not one gray hair.”

  “I found two last week. I plucked them out,” she admitted.

  Melissa separated her hair with her fingers, peering at her roots. “Don’t do that again,” she chided. “We can start with some subtle highlights, but it won’t do any good for you to start pulling out your hair. We all get old, Jaynee. Thank goodness, we have more than this life to look forward to.”

  As always, Melissa’s words comforted her. Her eyes drooped, and she thought she could fall asleep again. “You’ll stay until Jordan returns?”

  “Yes, honey. How else am I gonna fix this hair? It pains me to see your beautiful hair in such disarray.”

  Jaynee giggled. “I tried to keep it untangled. I knew you’d be upset.”

  “I’m not upset,” she burst out. “I’m horrified!” She continued to pull her fingers through her hair, calming her. “Now go to sleep, honey. You’ll wake up feeling much better.”

  Jaynee obeyed. Melissa would care about her hair of all things. She’d been doing her hair for years after Jaynee finally gave into her after several years of horrid haircuts. She had never wanted to impose. She knew her sister-in-law had worked in a salon prior to quitting and becoming a fulltime mom, but she figured she’d quit for a reason and hated to have her stand on her feet working on her. It’d made her self-conscious.

  Finally, after years and years of pleading, she’d given in, only after insisting that if Melissa did her hair, she would compensate her with lunch. She grossly underpaid. Melissa was the best stylist she’d ever had, even when she had to do her professional portraits for a book, she’d have Melissa do her hair first.

  “I owe you a lot of lunches, Sis,” she mumbled under her breath, already half asleep from the gentle drawing of Melissa’s fingers through her hair.

  “Shh, go to sleep.”

  “You’re just like Jordan.” But Jaynee wasn’t sure if she got the words out, as she felt herself melt into a drowsy state.

  ***

  Jordan poked his head around the corner of the waiting room and saw Corey and Rachael in deep discussion. It was difficult to imagine Rachael so intent with any man. She’d always been so selfish and childish while married to Ronny.

  Not that he could blame her for Ronny going off the deep end and trying to kill Jaynee for insurance money. But Ronny had always loved her, and she’d always seemed incapable of loving anyone back.

  Not now. She sat as still as a mouse locked in the eyes of a predator. She seemed to hang on every word Corey spoke. Jordan wondered what Corey was discussing with her; he hoped not Caycee, but somehow, he figured Corey wouldn’t want to breathe a word about Caycee to anyone.

  Jordan had asked Melissa not to mention Caycee to any of them. He wasn’t sure what the story would be when the time came, if it came time to explain, but he wanted to talk with Jaynee before discussing anything with the family or the kids.

  Rachael’s hand was in Corey’s, and he was gently rubbing his thumb across the back of her hand. He hadn’t been serious when he’d said, Do you want a room? Now he realized maybe he needed to set some ground rules.

  He knew Rachael dated, but he was always cautious to make sure men treated her with the utmost respect. She was forty-seven, but she was still his responsibility. They all were after his father had died; that was just the southern way.

  “Ahem,” Jordan cleared his throat as he approached the pair.

  “Oh, Jordan,” Rachael exclaimed. “Your friend is so sweet and smart. He was telling me about how he lived in California most of his life and then moved to New York for a change of scenery, but now he hates the cold and thought he might try
North Carolina. Wouldn’t that be great?”

  Jordan smiled at his sister. She sounded like a teenager. “Yeah, it would be great. Can I speak to you a moment, Corey?”

  “Uh, sure, will you excuse me for a moment, Rachael?”

  “Yeah, I’ll go check on Jaynee. Is she awake, Jordan?”

  “She was when I left. Mom, Sis, and Bobby are with her.”

  Rachael tossed a peek back at Corey as she left, and Jordan watched as Corey gazed after her. It was the strangest thing to watch the reaction in someone else. He knew how he’d felt about Jaynee after seeing her the first time, but it was hard to imagine anyone looking at his sister that way.

  Corey turned back to Jordan, and his demeanor instantly changed. A hint of sadness shadowed his features. “Do you think she’ll understand?” he asked.

  Jordan stared at him. “Rachael?”

  “No, Caycee. Do you think she’ll understand the instant attraction between Rachael and me?”

  “Corey…Caycee doesn’t exist. I swear to ya. Whatever happened is over. I was in there with Jaynee for a while; there are absolutely no signs of Caycee whatsoever. She knows who you are, but has absolutely no feelings for you. She is my wife through and through.”

  “After last night…I thought that maybe—”

  Jordan cut him off. “The question is: Do you have feelings for her?”

  Corey thought for a moment, and Jordan appreciated his honesty. The fact that he would search deep and not simply throw out the words he wanted to hear. “I will always feel protective of Caycee. I have watched over her for a long time. But I can honestly say no woman has ever captured my attention as quickly and as deeply as Rachael. It’s amazing, Jordan, the feelings that soared through me. It’s as if we were connected. Like a combined energy flowed through both of us. It feels as though I’ve known her my entire life.”

  “I know the feeling more than you could imagine. Now, you know I was only joking about getting a room, don’t you? I’ll not have my sister—”

  “Jordan, I know you don’t know me, but I would never think to just…I’m not that kind of man. I would, however, like to take you up on your offer. North Carolina sounds interesting. What exactly do you do for a living?”

  Jordan smiled. “Let’s walk, my friend. I need to check on my wife. Then we’ll talk.”

  Epilogue

  (Tyler)

  “I don’t understand,” Tyler said, staring at his mother. They’d just returned home from his father’s funeral, and now she was coming up with this story. “Dad…shot Caycee? He’d never shoot Caycee. He loved her.”

  His mother rolled her eyes, the way she always did with his father. Tyler jumped up from his chair and ran to the only sanctuary he had in this Godforsaken world—his room, his computer.

  A world where no one knew him, no one judged him.

  Why would his father hurt the woman he loved? It just didn’t make sense. It was his mother’s fault, of course. She had pushed him over the edge. His father had told him that he was leaving, that he couldn’t take being around her anymore.

  The page he’d been researching before he’d found out that his father had been killed was still up on his screen. He’d been trying to decide where he wanted to go to college when she’d come into his room to tell him. She hadn’t even had tears in her eyes.

  “It was his mother’s— no, Sheila’s fault,” Tyler seethed. She didn’t deserve the title of mother. He clicked his mouse, downloading the information to a file folder he’d created for his college research. Now he had even more reason to go to college. The sooner, the better, so he could get away from the woman who’d mentally abused his father.

  NYU, he decided. It wasn’t far enough away from Sheila, but since it was in New York, he wouldn’t have to accept a dime from her. With his grades, he was certain he could get scholarships.

  And then, as soon as he was old enough, he’d move out and create a new life. Away from her, as his father had planned.

  It is never the end…as there’s always one more story to tell.

  Jaynee and Jordan…along with Johanna…and a few other characters you’ve met in She Belongs to Me and Split Decisions, along with several of the characters in the other installments, will return in the seventh book in my Southern Romantic-Suspense Novels. If you haven’t read the Nantahala Books (also in the Southern Romantic-Suspense collection), flip the page for a brief peek.

  Sneak Peek

  (Georgia)

  “Walter,” his mother whispered as she opened his door. She hadn’t entered his bedroom in years. He cringed as he awaited more of her wrath. “I’m sorry,” she murmured, sitting down gracefully on the edge of his bed. “It wasn’t your fault. I’m sorry I hit you.”

  He puckered his lips and sniffed as he attempted to retain the tears. “It’s okay, Mom. It was my fault. Everything was my fault.”

  She sighed. She couldn’t deny the legitimacy of his words. “I love you, Walter, and I’m sorry for everything. Sorry I haven’t been a better mother, a better person. But I wanted to tell you good-night.”

  She kissed him on the forehead and then left without another word, pulling the door closed behind her. She never apologized. Why would she start now? Especially when she wasn’t responsible.

  Walter rolled over, drew his legs in tightly, and repositioned himself into a ball. He wished he could change the past, wished he’d never returned, wished they’d locked him away forever. It was his fault; everything was his fault. He wished he’d never been born. Only fifteen and he’d already ruined his life.

  Hours later his father crept into his bedroom, no doubt checking that he’d remained home as he’d instructed.

  How could his father have worked after everything that had happened? His way of retreating from reality, Walter imagined.

  His father had been a physician for years; he didn’t have to take after-hours emergency calls. He could have allowed one of his interns to take the midnight calls. He owned the practice for heaven’s sake!

  As he thought about his father, anger replaced his tears. “Typical,” he muttered in disgust, exhaling in the dark room. Maybe his father was the reason their family was so deplorable. No. He needed to stop blaming others and accept responsibility for his actions.

  “Priscilla!” His father’s peal of agony penetrated through his thoughts. “Priscilla, my God! No! Please don’t do this to me!”

  Walter bolted out of bed and sprinted down the hall toward his parents’ room. His heart pounded fiercely in his chest. His legs felt heavy and sluggish as if he were in a nightmare. “Dear God,” he prayed. “Please…”

  Rounding the corner of his parents’ doorway, he saw his father administering CPR on his mother.

  “Dad?” he choked out, his voice trembling. “Is Mom—” He couldn’t frame the word.

  “Call 911!” his father shrieked.

  Walter couldn’t move. His mother lay lifeless on their king-sized mattress, a bottle of whiskey on the nightstand alongside an empty bottle of pills.

  “Walter, call 911!” his father belted again.

  He did as instructed, but knew it wouldn’t make any difference. If his father couldn’t save her, nobody could.

  Thank you for reading this sneak peek. I hope you’ll look for Land of the Noonday Sun and my other stories.

  You can find all my books on my Amazon Author Page.

  Before You Go…

  Dear friend, I hope you enjoyed Split Decisions. Jordan and Jaynee make a few cameo appearances in other Southern Romantic-Suspense novels, and then will return in my seventh Southern Romantic Suspense novel, which will star their daughter, Johanna.

  All of the books in my Southern Romantic Suspense collection have slight connections, and then in book seven—there are five right now—all the connections will come full circle.

  All of the novels are stand-alone stories—NO CLIFFHANGERS—but a couple of them should be read before the follow up novels, so as not to run into spoilers. They
can be read in any order, just as long as you read Charlotte 1 before Charlotte 2 and Nantahala 1 before Nantahala 2.

  In order by release date:

  She Belongs to Me (Charlotte 1)

  Land of the Noonday Sun (Nantahala 1)

  Entangled Dreams (Florida)

  When Noonday Ends (Nantahala 2)

  Split Decisions (Charlotte 2)

  Although all of my stories have a common thread—romance, mystery, and suspense—some of my books have a supernatural edge. If you like your romantic suspense dipped in a little paranormal, please look for the Creatus Series and my Mystery Series with a Ghostly Edge.

  Creatus (They Exist)

  Creatus

  Creatus Rogue

  Creatus Eidolon

  And coming soon - Creatus Animus

  The Pit Stop (This Stop Might be Life of Death)

  The Depot (When Life and Death Cross Tracks)

  The Library (Where Life Checks Out)

  You can find all my books on my Amazon Author Page.

  Please…please…please…if you enjoyed Split Decisions, leave a review. It doesn’t have to be fancy, just a few words to let other readers know if they should download it too. It means so much to an author to hear what readers loved—even didn’t love—about a book. It’s how we grow and learn what you want to read next time…and in the case of a series, which characters you want to see more of in the next books or which ones we should knock off. :)

  Thank you again!

  Carmen

  Table of Contents

  A Note From The Author

  A Week Before Her Fortieth Birthday…

  Chapter One