Brooke didn’t want to get too far ahead of herself. “Maybe we’d better just wait and see what fate has in store for me in my third crack at life before making plans to take Oprah’s place.”
“Good idea,” Rachel agreed with a laugh. Her thoughts turned back to the process that had brought Brooke to the future. She wondered if the tradeoff of saving Brooke and uprooting her meant they were somehow forever indebted to the Sisters of Time. The idea scared Rachel, especially if it meant they would come back expecting to collect. But it was a price she was willing to pay to have her sister alive again and safe from harm. For now, she had the power of the clockwatch and had no intention of using it to go elsewhere anytime soon.
All Rachel wanted was to be a normal teenager again, though unsure if that would ever be possible, and help Brooke make the transition to this time without feeling like an outsider.
Then, of course, there was spending more quality time with Duncan, who had shown Rachel through all this what a special guy he truly was.
* * *
The man walked through the crowd gathered for the fireworks, bored out of his mind. It still beat working. And going through the motions, pretending to be happy at home with his wife and kid. If he could do things over, he would never have gotten her pregnant, ruining his life.
But that wasn’t possible. There was no turning back the clock in the real world.
He sucked the strawberry ice cream off the cone before tossing it into a trash can. His dark eyes scanned the throngs of people waiting for the fireworks to begin, landing haphazardly on three teenagers sitting on a bench eating and talking.
He honed in on the attractive, brown-haired girl in the middle. He had seen her before. But where?
Upon closer inspection, he realized the girl beside her also looked familiar.
The man’s thick brows lifted as it came to him. Or at least he thought so. No, this can’t be. It was totally impossible. His eyes and instincts told him otherwise.
It was Brooke Crane, who had been rescued from the mentally challenged neighbor before he could get to her. But that was what—ten years ago? Yet Brooke looked like she hadn’t aged a day.
And neither did the one beside her. He was sure she had participated in the mall heroics so many years ago, priding himself on never forgetting a face.
Make that two faces.
But unless he was losing his mind, something wasn’t quite right about this picture.
Girls didn’t stay sixteen forever. Not like these two seemed to be, especially when he had aged a full decade since that day.
Yet that appeared to be the case somehow. He seriously doubted they were both simply look-alikes in a different generation.
His eyes were not playing tricks on him. And his mind was just as sharp now as ten years ago when he’d fully intended to give Brooke Crane something she would never forget—a slow and painful death.
Only she’d mysteriously vanished from town as if wiped off the map. He’d assumed her frightened parents had sent Brooke to stay with relatives to be on the safe side. He had cursed his bad luck and found someone to take Brooke’s place to release his anger.
Now she had come back, as if to taunt him. He couldn’t explain it and wouldn’t even begin to try. Brooke Crane had made a very big mistake in returning from wherever she’d been hiding. This time he would finish the job he’d intended to do a decade ago had it not been for rotten timing. The mere thought made his pulse quicken.
The man walked past the three teens coolly, never looking in their direction. Now was not the time to tip his hand or do anything foolish.
At least not to Brooke. Too many people around. Too much activity going on.
Away from wandering eyes, he would have to find a substitute to kill. A mental image of Brooke’s pretty face formed in his head and he smiled devilishly.
Enjoy your prolonged life while you can. You won’t have it long...
And maybe I’ll get rid of the other pretty girl, too...
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
The following day, Brooke stood with Rachel at their mother’s gravesite. They had put some fresh flowers in front of the headstone. It freaked Brooke out to know she had been dead for nearly eight years—though alive just days ago in the strange corridors of time.
“I’m so sorry, Mom,” Brooke said as she wiped away tears. “Wish I’d been around to help you through a difficult time.”
She thought about the disagreements they’d had lately and regretted acting like a typical teenager when she didn’t get her way. If only she’d known what would happen to both of them, things would’ve been much different.
Rachel empathized with what Brooke was feeling in remembering their mother’s painful battle with cancer. She’d felt relief when she passed away, knowing her mom would not suffer anymore and would be in a better place—right alongside Brooke.
Now in an odd twist of fate, Brooke had come back to life while being absent twice during their mother’s ordeal. Part of Rachel wished Brooke had been there with her to experience it all. She could have used her big sister’s support in dealing with something no six- to eight-year old should have to. But she definitely didn’t hold it against Brooke. She understood that none of what happened to Brooke was her fault. Mom knew that, too. And their dad used to before his memory of Brooke was erased.
“Do you think mom’s somehow with us right now?” Brooke asked.
“I know she is,” Rachel asserted. The spirit world was just as real as the human one. And there were parallel times to consider after what she had experienced. Their mother would always be alive in some manner. “And mom’s happy knowing we’re together.”
Brooke smiled through tears. “So am I.”
Rachel’s eyes watered. “I love you, Brooke. I’m so glad you’re here, no matter the circumstances.”
Brooke hugged her. “I miss the six-year-old Rachel and hate that I never got to see you grow up. But it’s still nice to see you here now. Even though you’ve caught up to me, you’ll always be my kid sister. And don’t you forget it!”
“I won’t.” Rachel laughed. “If I ever do, feel free to put me in my place.”
Brooke chuckled. “I’ll try to remember that.” She gazed into Rachel’s eyes. “No matter what, I just want to be there for you...and dad, if he’ll let me someday.” She refused to give up on her father, in spite of the odds that seemed to be totally stacked against her.
Rachel was of the same mind. “We’ve come this far. No need to stop short of the ultimate goal of being a real family again.”
She hoped there was a way to make it happen. The quirks of time should not trump family bonds and the power of love.
* * *
Brooke studied the familiar landscape as they drove to pick up her grandmother. It had changed little over the past decade. There was plenty of farmland, countryside, and trees. She’d always regarded it as an escape from suburbia whenever they visited Nana.
Only this time things were different. Brooke was coming along as a friend of Rachel’s and not a granddaughter. Though disappointed, she could not control the way things had turned out in her new life. Brooke would just try her best to make it work and see if things fell into place over time.
Rachel looked at her sister. She hated that their grandmother wouldn’t recognize Brooke. But at least there was someone else connected to Brooke’s past that she would get to see. Rachel hoped it didn’t make the time travel to 2011 even more difficult for Brooke.
* * *
“Let me look at you, child.” Lola Crane held Rachel at arms’ length, and wrapped her arms around her. “Still growing and looking just like your mother—and maybe a tiny bit like Edwin.”
Rachel managed to pull away, not wanting Brooke to feel left out.
“Nana, this is Brooke—” Rachel began.
“Brooke, is that really you?” Lola put wrinkled hands to her face.
Brooke lifted a brow, feeling all eyes on her. “Who do you think I a
m?” She didn’t want to get her hopes up that Nana recognized her as her granddaughter.
“I don’t think, I know who you are, honey,” she declared. “You’re my beautiful granddaughter. I thought I’d never see you again—”
“Nana,” cried Brooke, not believing her ears.
Lola opened her arms and Brooke flew into them. “You’re just as I remembered you.”
Rachel was overjoyed, too, if not confused. How can Nana recognize Brooke when dad doesn’t?
She recalled Duncan’s words about time.
“Even when it’s disrupted, some things change, others remain the same. Recollections come and go, depending on the person and situation.”
Somehow their grandmother’s memories of Brooke had remained intact, in spite of the reshaping of time and Brooke leapfrogging ten years into the future.
Virginia regarded Edwin with dismay. “Well, say something.”
He took a deep breath. “Mom, stop it! She is not your granddaughter.”
Lola glared at her son. “You think I wouldn’t recognize my own granddaughter when she’s staring me in the face?”
Edwin put a hand on Rachel’s shoulder. “This is your only granddaughter, Mom. You’re just confused.”
“You’re the one who’s confused,” she insisted through pursed lips. “Not knowing your own flesh and blood. Shame on you. Brooke, don’t you pay your daddy any mind. I know who you are—even if I can’t explain why you haven’t changed a lick in all these years. Thank God you’re still alive...and well—”
“I am, Nana,” Brooke said. “Thanks to Rachel...and mom.”
Brooke was still not sure what to make of this unexpected twist. She certainly wasn’t complaining, though. But how would this square with her dad and stepmom drawing a complete blank when it came to who she was?
“I’ve heard just about enough of this!” Virginia snapped. “You listen to me, young lady, we don’t need you adding fuel to the fire by supporting this nonsense!”
“But you don’t understand!” Brooke shot back, defending herself and Nana while the opportunity presented itself to right her history and present.
“All I need to understand is that whoever you are, you’re not part of this family,” Virginia insisted. “And going along with Rachel’s grandmother won’t change that.”
Brooke glanced at Rachel through watery eyes and ran off, feeling frustrated and hopelessly lost.
Rachel, disappointed as well, had to prevent this from getting out of hand. But how could she, without making things worse? Even if Nana saw Brooke for who she really was, her dad and stepmom knew nothing of the sort. And unless Rachel came up with a plausible explanation, they would kick Brooke out of her own house for sure. And then what—put Nana in a nursing home?
Rachel shrugged. “It’s not a big deal. Nana reminded Brooke of her late grandmother, whom she loved dearly, that’s all. When Nana seemed to recognize Brooke, she just went with it naturally—to appease Nana.”
Lola eyed Rachel skeptically. “What in tarnation are you talking about, girl? You trying to say I’m as good as dead?”
“Yes, what are you saying?” Edwin peered at his daughter.
Rachel sighed. “Only that this whole thing is all just a big misunderstanding. Of course I’m Nana’s only grandchild as everyone knows. Isn’t that right, Nana?”
Please, please say yes.
Rachel was counting on the fact that her grandmother, still sharper than people gave her credit for, could read between the lines. They had to try to placate her dad and stepmother, even if it meant denying Brooke’s role as a member of the family for the time being.
Lola met Rachel’s eyes for a long moment. “Yes, child, you’re my only granddaughter.”
Edwin scratched his pate. “So what was that all talk about Brooke being your granddaughter too?”
She gave him a straight face. “Nothing more than the ramblings of a lonely old woman remembering my sister Brooke—and trying to get back those days we shared so long ago by putting it on this poor child with the same name. Bless her heart for humoring me and, for just a moment, making me wish I really had another granddaughter in addition to Rachel.”
Way to go, Nana. Rachel beamed, relieved that Nana understood they needed to keep Brooke’s true identity their own little secret. At least for now.
Edwin sucked in a deep breath, seemingly satisfied, and glanced at Virginia. “I’ll get your bags, Mom, and we’ll hit the road.”
Rachel smiled at Nana. “We’ll have fun together, Nana.” More now that she had given Brooke someone else to identify with.
* * *
Rachel found Brooke in the family room where they used to play board games.
Brooke was sitting on the couch pouting, flipping through a magazine. “I suppose dad and Virginia are about to toss me to the curb? Or declare me a nut case?”
Rachel sat beside her. “No, they’re not—yet.”
“Are they ready to ship Nana to a home for seniors suffering from dementia?”
Rachel smiled softly. “Not quite. Don’t ask me how Nana knows who you are, even if dad and Virginia remain clueless. Guess it’s just another complexity of time and crossing the barriers. Obviously it has a different effect on people, past and present. After all, Duncan remembered I had a sister.”
“That’s true.” Brooke batted her lashes. “Pretty weird.”
“Yeah, it is,” Rachel acknowledged.
Brooke closed the magazine. “What’s going to happen now?”
“Nana and I managed to smooth the waters with dad and Virginia and bought us some time to try and make things right for everyone.”
“Do you really think that will happen?” Brooke asked skeptically.
Rachel pondered the question. Honestly, she wasn’t sure what to think. For all she knew Brooke’s survival was miracle enough and did not give them the right to expect all the pieces to fit perfectly into place. Or maybe it was just the first phase of a journey that offered no guarantees, but plenty of surprises along the way.
“All we can do is hope that if Octavia and Angelina are out there, they will make it happen,” Rachel responded. “Or at least connect the dots better between past and present.”
Brooke accepted that, just wanting to fit in as much as possible without being made to feel like an orphan. She was happy Nana was able to see through the tricks of time to welcome her back from the dead without freaking out about it.
Maybe sooner or later dad will get on the bandwagon and they could be the family mom wanted for her daughters in the future.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
With Edwin and Virginia vacationing in Cancun and their grandmother on hand, Rachel was more freely able to enjoy Brooke as her sister without pretending she was someone else.
Nana told stories about when their parents first met and fell in love, and how happy they were when Brooke, then Rachel, came into the world. Rachel’s sadness in losing her mom and Brooke once upon a time did not diminish memories of growing up, bolstered by Nana’s vivid reminiscences and Brooke’s.
The girls spent the day at the Sunset Mall browsing and buying clothes. Brooke was taken aback at the new stores and expansion of the mall. She could hardly believe this was the same place where she used to hang out. She had a lot of catching up to do, beginning with the latest fashions and accessories.
Brooke wandered around a department store while Rachel went to the restroom. Brooke took the escalator down to the second floor and turned to the right when a little girl nearly ran into her.
“Excuse me,” the girl said and smiled innocently.
Brooke guessed that the girl with a pretty brown sugar complexion, thick black pigtails, and big sable eyes was about five or six years old.
“It’s okay.” She smiled back at her. “No harm done.”
“Haley, what are you doing?” a woman asked.
The girl giggled. “Talking to my new friend.”
The woman bristled. “What did I
tell you about speaking to strangers?”
Brooke recognized the voice first. Then, staring at the woman’s face—it had matured and was a little fuller, but unmistakable—she couldn’t believe her eyes.
“Natalie...?” Brooke’s mouth hung open.
“Yes, I’m Natalie.” The woman regarded Brooke beneath thin arched brows. “’Do I know you?”
Without thinking, Brooke blurted out, “I’m Brooke Crane. We were best friends in high school...ten years ago—”
Natalie rolled her eyes. “I don’t think so. You would’ve been around the same age as my Haley then. Too young to have been my friend, I’m afraid.”
Brooke got that, but couldn’t turn away from the fact that she had actually met someone from her past. Surely Natalie could see that too? Maybe it was supposed to work out this way so Brooke could bridge the gap across time.
She had to see if somewhere inside of Natalie their longtime friendship might click, even if hard to explain the age discrepancy.
“Take a good look at me, Natalie,” she pleaded. “We used to hang out here at the mall. I babysat your brothers, Luke and Jimmy—”
Natalie gave Brooke an unreadable look. “I’m not sure how you know about Jimmy and Luke, but you have me mixed up with someone else. I’ve never had a friend named Brooke. Sorry.”
“Me, too.” Brooke fought back tears. In spite of wanting to continue reaching out to her, she gave up fighting what seemed to be a losing battle. It was obvious their friendship was stuck in time—another casualty of leaving the life she had behind.
“Hope you find your friend,” Natalie said as she took her daughter’s hand. “Come on, Haley. Let’s go find your father.”
“Bye, Brooke.” Haley waved at her.
“Bye.” Brooke gave a little wave and turned away before she lost it. She hated that Natalie couldn’t remember the close bond they once shared. But there was nothing she could do about it.
And, anyway, what kind of friendship could she and Natalie have now that they were ten years apart?
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