Contrasting Lives

by Leah Dempster

Emily slumped down into the armchair and thought for a moment. Her head shot up and she stared at her sister suspiciously. “Wait. How do you know about my crackpot friends? And who says they're crackpots?”

  Charlotte laughed dryly, rushing across to the wardrobe to start pulling clothes out and flinging them into the suitcase. “Trust me; I've had a number of phone conversation with Mandy Meccelli, and Sally Montague. Very nice – but utterly crazy.”

  Emily's heart soared. “You spoke to Mandy? And Sally?”

  “Yeah, I did. And I have to tell you, it sounds like you keep interesting company. It's not much wonder Mummy and Daddy were so keen to pull you back into line.” Charlotte shook her head in amusement. “I used to think telling them my secret was too much, but honestly, being gay isn't that big of a deal compared with what you've gotten up to, Em.”

  “Seriously? You are a lesbian?”

  Charlotte nodded. “When I found out what was going on, I decided to come and bust you out. We rebellious Coulter girls need to stick together.”

  Emily got to her feet, desperate to hear more and she placed a hand on Charlotte's arm, stopping her from the frantic packing she'd been doing. “Wait. I need to know what's going on.”

  Charlotte glanced up and took a deep breath. “Some guy named Matt Pendleton has been doing some investigative work. He had exhausted every possible avenue trying to get past our family's crazy tight security, trying to contact you directly. So he decided to work through the system indirectly. He and his friend, Paul Meccelli tried to get in touch with me, but as you know, I work for one of Daddy darling's law firms, so they're efforts were hampered because obviously, our parents didn't want any one of your known associates to get in touch with you. So Matt and Paul resorted to a back door approach. They contacted some guy named Benito Trevisano, told him the problem. In turn, this Trevisano guy contacts some fellow he knows in San Francisco, who might be able to get some information about how to contact me or Anne. The guy in San Francisco contacted one of his contacts in New York, and that contact in New York was able to get a message to me. I was a bit suspicious, naturally, because I didn't know any of these damn people, but I flew to Seattle to meet with some of them and try and figure out what the hell was going on. Which is when I met this guy, Matt Pendleton, who tells me he's in love with you, has been for months, and he can't tell you he loves you, because you've disappeared off the face of the planet. By the way, he's a nice-looking guy, Em. You could do worse. Especially with guys. Definitely not my scene.”

  Emily slumped down on the edge of the bed. “Matt loves me?”

  Charlotte resumed packing. “So he tells me.”

  Emily's head was racing along, at a million miles an hour. “Mom told me nobody had gotten in touch while I was in hospital. That none of my friends contacted me.”

  Charlotte rolled her eyes. “And you believed her?”

  “I thought… when they found out who I was…”

  “Trust me; I've met some of these people. They were desperately worried and besides themselves because they couldn't get in touch with you. Seems that you fit in with their particular weirdness just nicely.”

  Emily blushed furiously. “What did they tell you?”

  “Enough for me to understand why our parents are so freaked out and want to keep you imprisoned in the tallest tower of the castle for the rest of your life.” She stopped her frantic movements for a moment and grinned. “Em, you're a little freak, but you're my little freak and I love you. You don't deserve what Mom and Dad are doing to you, and you deserve to be with people who love you.” She sighed heavily. “Besides, I'm a bit of a freak myself, according to our family's standards. I have sex with women. Why should I judge someone who likes a bit of slap and tickle with her relationships?” Charlotte slammed down the lid of the suitcase and clicked the locks. “Let's get out of here. Father is still at work, and Mother is enjoying a cocktail-soaked afternoon with some of her friends. Now's the perfect time to get you out of here. I'll take you home to New York with me, and you can decide what you want to do from there.”

  Emily didn't hesitate for a moment. With a broad smile, she slipped on some sandals and headed towards the door, her heart and soul lighter than they had been in months.

  * * *

  Chapter Twenty Five

  “You're being stubborn and ridiculous, Emily Coulter. Now get your butt back here to Seattle, where you belong!”

  “I'm not sure I belong there, Sally. I don't know where I belong, but I know I can't come back to Seattle yet.” While Emily missed her friends, and had gotten back into contact with most of them – for the moment, she intended to remain in New York and make some decisions on what to do with the rest of her life. She'd had to pull out of college, after missing the end of year exams, and now, living with Charlotte, Emily was thinking long and hard about what to do next.

  Although Matt had done so much to help her, Emily hadn't spoken to him since Charlotte had spirited her away from San Francisco. She had written him a polite letter, thanking him for everything he'd done, not only in saving her from William Collado, but also in making sure she knew the truth of what Grace and Emerson Coulter had done to make her conform to their wishes. But Emily wasn't certain she could attempt to make things right with Matt again. She loved him, and dozens of times a day, she'd find herself daydreaming about him. And according to Charlotte, he loved her. But he'd never said the words to her, and Emily was still convinced he was better off without her in his life. She came with far too much emotional baggage, and surely, seeing Emily would bring back some terrible memories for his children. Emily couldn't remember much about being held by William, but she could distinctly remember the look of terror on Matt's children's faces when they'd seen what he'd done to her.

  “But what about the hospital fundraiser! You love the hospital fundraiser,” Sally coaxed, drawing Emily back to the here and now. “The kids will be devastated, if you don't turn up.”

  “They'll get over it,” Emily countered tiredly. She didn't have the strength to battle against Sally for long, the older woman knew exactly which buttons to press to manipulate Emily's emotions, and in this case, the hospital fundraiser was a good one to pull out. For the past two years, Emily had joined the other members of the Salacious staff, to help at the fun fair held in Braxton Park. The city of Seattle provided the venue, and many of Seattle's business leaders joined together to create a day of fun for the people of Seattle, which in turn raised funds for the children's hospital. It was one of the hospital's biggest fundraisers of the year, and some Salacious staff members manned stalls, while others dressed up as clowns and entertained the children who were well enough to leave hospital for the day. Emily had loved entertaining the kids while dressed as a clown, and Sally knew if anything would persuade Emily to return to Seattle, this would be it.

  “Now you just know you'll hate missing out,” Sally persisted. “And Bud is going to be there. He misses you something fierce, Emily. We all do.”

  “I can't,” Emily groaned.

  “Please? You can fly in on Friday night, stay at Salacious with me, and fly out again on Sunday night. Promise.”

  Emily shook her head, even though she was the only person in the apartment and Sally couldn't see her. Charlotte was out on a date, with a young woman she worked with and had been seeing for a couple of weeks. Emily liked her sister's friend; Beth was fun loving and intelligent, and a perfect foil to Charlotte's serious outlook on life. Even better, she didn't give a damn about Charlotte or Emily's background, and her own family, unlike Emerson Coulter, was openly acceptant of the fact she was a lesbian.

  Emily's relationship with Charlotte had improved in leaps and bounds since Charlotte came back into her life and rescued her, and while Emily's relationship with her other sister remained somewhat strained, and her relationship with her parents was now non-existent, it was a start. “Sally, I really don't—”

  “I won't take no for an answer, and if necessary, I'll fly across to
New York and collect you myself.”

  Emily grinned, despite her anxieties. “Sally, one kidnapping a year is more than sufficient.”

  “I mean it, Emily, if you do not come here; I'm coming to get you.”

  Emily sighed. “Fine. I'll come for the weekend. I'll organize a flight and text you the details.”

  “I love it when you see reason.”

  “What reason? You just bullied me into doing what you want me to do.”

  “I prefer to think of it as gentle manipulation. I love you, Emily. Can't wait to see you.”

  Emily smiled softly. “I love you, too.”

  ≈≈◊◊≈◊◊≈≈

  Sally disconnected the call and immediately punched out a number she had memorized in the past three months.

  “Matt… She's coming for the fundraiser. You'd better come up with some brilliant plan to convince her to stay, because I've only managed to get her here for the weekend. It's up to you now, to do the rest.”

  Disconnecting the call, Sally smiled to herself and settled back in her desk chair. While she'd harbored doubts about Matt Pendleton in the past, his dedication to getting Emily back into his life had been something to behold. It was clear to everyone that Matt was in love with Emily and wouldn't rest until he'd convinced her of that fact. The trickiest part had been getting Emily to come back to Seattle. Now Sally had to hope that Matt had a plan that would convince Emily to stay. She was counting on him to come through.

  ≈≈◊◊≈◊◊≈≈

  “Daddy, I want to go on the Ferris wheel. Can I go on the Ferris wheel first?” Millie announced.

  Brandon was peering out the window excitedly. “Dad, Marcus says they've got mini golf, can we play mini golf?”

  “Daddy, I think we should buy the tickets and then you divide them evenly among us so we all get to do exactly the same things. It won't be fair if we don't have the same amount of tickets,” Harper demanded.

  “How about you guys give Dad a break for five minutes and let him park the car?”

  Matt glanced across at his oldest daughter and grinned. She'd grown up a lot in the past few months, and despite everything that had happened, his relationship with her had grown and improved. It was something Matt was grateful for, every single day.

  He pulled into the designated parking area and turned off the ignition, turning around to face the younger kids in the back seat. “Okay, here's the deal. We're visiting the fair as a family, that means everyone gets to choose something to do and we all do it together.”

  “Plus we have to find Emily,” Millie piped up.

  Matt grinned, despite his nerves. “Yeah, Millie. We have to find Emily.”

  “And convince her to stay,” Courtney added with a little smile.

  Matt reached over and squeezed her shoulder. “I hope so, Courtney. I really do.”

  The kids scrambled out of the car and Matt took a moment to take a deep breath. Today would be the culmination of weeks of planning, and with any luck, tomorrow morning he would wake up to the joy of knowing Emily would be in his life on a permanent basis. It seemed like in the past few weeks, he'd done nothing but plan for this day. When Emily had left with her mother, Matt had been devastated, but he had never given up. Sally, Mandy, Paul, and Bud – hell, nearly everyone he knew had given him advice and tried to think of ways for him to get Emily back.

  He'd been suspicious of Grace Coulter intentions and as the weeks went on, and he got stonewalled with every single attempt to contact Emily, he'd begun thinking outside the square, trying to break down the walls the Coulters had erected around Emily. He'd hoped when Charlotte finally came on board and agreed to help, Emily would soon return to Seattle and his arms, but his dreams had been thwarted yet again. He'd received an extremely polite, mostly impersonal letter from Emily, telling him how grateful she was to him for everything, but she wouldn't be returning to Seattle. He knew she harbored a great deal of guilt about what had happened, and thought she wasn't good enough for him, but he was hopeful that he could bring her around to his way of thinking. If she could just see how much he loved her… if she could accept the truth of how badly he wanted her in his life. In his life, and his children's.

  It seemed that finally, two years after Caroline's death, Matt's own life was back on track. Courtney still visited with the psychologist, but she was far more settled and happy. The cutting had receded; as had Courtney's rebellious behavior and she had begun to laugh and smile far more often than she had at any time since Caroline died. She'd met a boy at school she was interested in, and Matt was still trying to come to terms with her first attempts at dating. He still wasn't certain how he felt about it, but he was trying to understand. Gina had been a huge help, along with Sally Montague, who had taken Courtney under her wing. Courtney loved Sally, and in turn, the older woman had proven herself dedicated to Courtney's health and well-being. Of course, Courtney had absolutely no idea about Sally's background – which was exactly as Matt hoped it would remain. Paul, Mandy and Sally all insisted that people could be devoted parents, loving partners and have children while indulging in the BDSM lifestyle – without it having any effect on their family life. Matt was hoping they were right.

  The weather was warm and sunny, not a cloud in the sky as Matt and the kids made their way into the fair. Crowds had turned out in force for the day, the people of Seattle keen to help a good cause and the hospital fundraiser was always well attended. Matt paid their entrance fees, watched as the kids all got their wristbands, and then they entered the fairgrounds.

  It was a cacophony of sounds, aromas and colors as they made their way along the thoroughfare leading toward the rides. Here at the front of the fair, market stalls had been set up and Matt saw any number of people he knew and smiled and waved. The Seattle PD had a stall, and Matt waved to Paul, who was handing out stickers to the passing kids.

  “Have you seen her yet?” Paul asked when Matt and the kids reached his side.

  Matt shook his head. “She's here?” he asked eagerly.

  “Yep. You can't miss her. Striped pants, a bright yellow shirt and the biggest feet I've ever seen. How she doesn't fall over every five minutes, I don't know. She's spray-painted her hair bright pink, and she's wearing those ridiculously huge plastic glasses.”

  Matt laughed. “Sounds like she won't be too hard to find.”

  Paul indicated a pathway leading down to the left, which was filled with arcade amusements. “She wandered off down that way. Bud's with her.”

  Matt nodded and glanced down at his kids. “Okay, shall we go and find Emily first?”

  Millie nodded eagerly and grabbed Matt's hand, tugging him along behind her. “And then we're going on the Ferris wheel, right?”

  Matt grinned, filled with good humor, despite the butterflies churning around in his gut. “Yeah, Millie. Emily, then the Ferris wheel.”

  ≈≈◊◊≈◊◊≈≈

  “It's great having you back here,” Bud announced as he and Emily strolled along the path. Bud was blowing up a long, skinny balloon with a pump as they walked, while Emily was handing out candy to the children they passed, and bouncing around in her ridiculous shoes. She'd worn them at the past two fun fairs, and when they'd been preparing the costumes for this year's fair, Bud had snagged them to save for Emily in case Sally convinced her to come. And he was so thrilled she had. She was quieter than she'd been, but her smile was still that same, magnificent Emily smile he'd missed so much. She'd lost a little weight, seemed a little paler, but she was still Emily and he still thought of her as a little sister and wanted to protect her from the world.

  “It's nice to be back, but I'm not staying, Bud.” Emily smiled and danced a little way ahead of him, lifting her huge shoes dramatically into the air as if they were enormous flippers. Bud grinned and pulled his phone out of his pocket when he heard it buzz. He read the message on the screen and glanced up at Emily. She was crouching down beside a little girl, pulling faces and letting the kid squeeze her huge, r
ed nose.

  When she straightened up, Bud reached her side and glanced down at her. “So tell me why won't you stay, again?”

  Emily loped away from him, lifting her legs in an exaggerated fashion while she handed candy out to the kids who were massing around her legs. It was obvious she wasn't going to answer the question and Bud shook his head and sighed. He could only hope this plan Matt had cooked up was going to work. He discretely scanned the crowds, saw who he was looking for, and inclined his head in recognition.

  He watched as the Pendleton kids approached Emily, and studied Emily's reaction carefully, hoping she wouldn't see them until they were close enough to speak to her. He wouldn't put it past Emily to turn and run, she was still flighty, even months after the kidnapping, her anxiety levels still ran high and he'd noticed she was constantly looking over her shoulder. Collado had been jailed for twenty five to life – not only charged with Emily's kidnapping, but it had been revealed that he'd been involved with a slavery racket, kidnapping and sending young American women overseas to perverted bastards who whored them out and abused them. When Bud had first heard about it, he'd wished Matt had beaten Collado to death – the prick deserved that, and so much more. But he'd had to satisfy himself with knowing Collado wouldn't likely be walking the streets again until he was a very old man. And when he did – Bud would be waiting for him.

  ≈≈◊◊≈◊◊≈≈

  Emily was enjoying herself. She was glad Sally had convinced her to come, even though she had few happy memories of her time in Seattle – being with the people from Salacious was one of them. She'd flown in late yesterday afternoon, and met with Mandy and Paul for dinner, which had been wonderful. Paul and Mandy had been so thrilled to see her, and they'd spent hours talking and catching up. Emily grinned as she recalled Mandy breaking the news that she and Paul were expecting their first baby. She'd been so thrilled for them, happy about their news, even as her heart had twisted a little, knowing she would likely never have a child of her own. She'd accepted that she would probably never have a relationship with a man again, she had too much past to overcome, and no man could be expected to accept her now. Her back and thighs were a mess of scarring, a record of what she'd endured and she could still barely bring herself to speak about what had happened, let alone accept the thought of some man seeing her like this.