“For a long time. It was a huge mistake from the beginning and it lasted less than six months. She cheated practically from the moment the vows were said.”
Sarah made a disgusted noise. “What an idiot, I mean, have you seen you? I do have one question. Why tell me now?”
Isaac sighed. “Because she just got in touch. I just met with her – in public – and I’m still none the wiser why she got in touch now except she knows about you. Maybe she just wanted to make trouble.”
“You know what, Iss? I’m getting real tired of ex-spouses.” But there was humor in her voice and Isaac, relief flooding through him, laughed.
“Me too. The sooner we are married the better, I think. Show the world it’s you and me forever.”
“You had me at forever. We’ll talk about it tomorrow when you get back.”
“You’ll be at the coffee house?”
“All day.”
“I love you. Stay safe, beautiful…and kick your ex’s ass.”
Sarah laughed. “I will. Enjoy San Francisco, I’ll miss you.”
When she opened the door, Dan was smiling. He held out a bottle of champagne. “A peace offering. For my visit to the hospital. I didn’t mean to upset you, truly.”
Sarah took it warily. “Thank you.” She glanced at the clock. Eleven-thirty p.m. She’d been asleep on the couch when she heard Dan’s car pull up. For a second she thought about ignoring his knock but he’d knocked on the window, waved at her. Asshole. He’d waited until they’d given up for the day. She’d sent Finn home. Stupid, stupid.
Dan smiled at her.
“May I come in?”
She narrowed her eyes. “Dan…it’s almost midnight”
He put a hand on her arm. “Sarah, please. Let me come and apologize properly.” Wanting to deal with this situation won out over irritation so she stepped aside to let him in and followed him into the kitchen. She shoved the table against the back door, still not trusting it to hold after she’d broken in the day Buddy had died. The boxes she’d packed were already safely in her truck; all she wanted was to get this over and done with leave this place forever.
Dan immediately pulled the table away from the door, into the exact position it had been when he’d lived there, his smile almost a rictus. He sat down and looked at her expectantly.
“Awkward, this table being like that. What happened?” He smirked.
Sarah felt her stomach twist with irritation.
“I lost my key. I had to break in. Look, Dan, I’m tired, let’s get this over with.”
He held his hands up. “Of course, I’m sorry.”
She studied him, his easy manner seeming to jar with the self-satisfaction in his eyes. “Dan, we are over. You must know that. We were over the minute you left.”
“Do you want to know why I left?”
She sighed. “Do I want to know? You tell me. Was it something I did?”
Dan smiled. “Sarah, please sit down with me. Just want to clear the air between us.” She sat down reluctantly. “Sarah, I left because….well, you obviously found the letter from my family’s lawyer. I left because of that. My real name is Ray Petersen. I was estranged from my family for many years because of the abuse they subjected me to when I was a child. As soon as I could I left, changed my name, made a new life for myself. Met the most beautiful girl.” He smiled, his face soft. “Married her, made a good life here in this wonderful place.”
Sarah listened in silence, trying to read his eyes. For some reason, she believed him. “Why did you leave?” Her voice cracked and she felt all the old feelings of sadness flood through her. “Why did you change so much, become so controlling?”
He looked at her with a steady gaze. “Because I panicked. They’d found me. I thought if I could get you to understand – “
“ – and you thought that I wouldn’t? With my past?” She was incredulous. Dan put his hand over hers.
“It was because of your past – I didn’t think that you’d want to be a part of another horrific situation. I thought you’d leave me. And I was jealous of your relationship with Finn Jewell.”
She threw up her hands. “Jesus, Finn and I are friends. We have always been just friends.”
“Always?”
She hesitated and he leaped on it. “See? It was the reason I had an affair with Finn’s wife. God, that’s so messed up but I was angry, jealous.”
She was angry now. “So you leaving me was my fault?”
“God, no, no, that’s not what I meant. God, I’m not explaining myself very well. What it came down to was I was terrified you’d leave me. When it became apparent my family wouldn’t leave me alone then I reasoned – and it seems madness now – I’d rather you grieved for me than hated me.”
Dan’s eyes were sad now and Sarah felt a sad shift in her, a sympathy. “Dan…Ray…whatever your name is, it’s all in the past now. I’ve moved on, you need to as well. Although preferably not with Caroline Jewell.” She gave him a small grin and he smiled back.
“Sarah do me a favor – for you, I’m always Dan. Ray is part of my past I’d rather forget.”
Sarah studied him. “Fine, Dan. But you must realize we can’t go back. Even if I weren’t with Isaac, you would still be about to have a child with the woman I hate.”
He grimaced but smoothed out his expression when she frowned at him. “I know, it’s not the kid’s fault.”
“You made your bed.”
“Yep.”
They sat in silence for long moments then Sarah took a deep breath in. “Look, Dan, I have to know – and these questions might seem, I don’t know, outrageous or unbelievable but things seem too coincidental, events that have happened leading up to you coming back so I need to know the truth.”
Dan nodded, his eyes serious. “I understand. Just ask me, anything, darl- Sarah,” he amended and earned a grateful smile.
She hesitated. “Did you have anything to do with George’s murder? Buddy? Lindsey Chung? Was it you who attacked me here? Molly?”
“No. God, no. I was very fond of George, I’m so terribly sorry about what happened to him. Buddy was a friend, if you could call Buddy someone who would have had a friend. And Lindsey, God, Sarah, she was so young. It’s heart-breaking. And no, Sarah, I could never hurt you – not physically”
He met her eyes and she could see nothing in them to contradict what he was saying. “I understand why you would suspect me. Because of the way I behaved,” he started slowly, “because of the way I left…I think you have built me up into this…monster. I swear to you, Sarah, I may be a world class fuck up but I’m not a killer.”
Sarah thought about his words for a long time, staring out at the darkness outside the window.
“Sarah?”
She turned back to him. “Do you want this house? I don’t want it, it’s all yours if you want it. It would be a good place to raise a kid.” She hated the idea of Caroline Jewell living here but now she just wanted to move on.
Dan looked surprised. “No, I couldn’t.”
“Yes, yes, you could. In fact –,” she got up and grabbed her purse, pulling out a large manila envelope. “I’ve got the deeds already written up. Sign them and the house is yours.”
Dan took the envelope from her, skimmed through the contents. A small smile played on his lips as he reached the notes at the end. “On condition I never contact you again?”
She nodded. “Closure. Finally.”
Dan shoved the papers back into the envelope. “I’ll think about it.”
She sighed inwardly but then gave him a smile. Anything to keep things civil. “Of course.”
She walked him to the door.
He looked around the darkened hallway. “You staying here, tonight?” She shook her head.
“No, I’m going to Molly’s.”
“Can I give you a ride?” At that moment, he so reminded her of the Dan she first met, that her heart ached.
“No, thanks, I have the truck.”
&
nbsp; She watched him drive away; acknowledging the whole meeting had left her feeling confused. Dan was right, she had built him up to be a monster but he was the only person in her life who she felt was capable of doing such horrific things. She closed her eyes and leaned against the doorframe. Thank god that was over. She was dog-tired now, not realizing how stuff and achy her body felt from the release of anxiousness. She grabbed her purse and keys and locked the house behind her.
She got in her truck and drove away from the house she and Dan had shared without ever glancing backward.
“Doesn’t it seem all a little too coincidental, a little too easy?” It was three days later and Sarah was lying naked on top of Isaac, their bodies damp from sweat, glowing from making love. Isaac, his question hanging in the air, raised his eyebrows at her. “Well?”
She half-smiled. “You’re asking me to give you a reasoned, considered answer when you’ve just fucked my brains out? Give me a minute.”
He grinned. “I love your potty mouth.”
She wiggled her body. “Especially when it’s wrapped around your massive cock.”
“Especially then,” he agreed.
Sarah sighed happily, rested her chin on his chest, and looked up at him. “Are you talking about our delightful ex-spouses?”
“I am.”
“Forget them. Nothing can touch us now.”
He smoothed the hair over her ear. “So, how soon can we get married?”
Sarah smiled down at him, brushed her lips gently against his. “Whenever you want.”
Isaac’s face lit up. “Then, Miss Bailey, I say we do it soon.
“When were you thinking?”
Isaac tightened his arms around her. “What are you doing this Friday?”
She gaped at him. “You’re serious?”
“Yup.”
Sarah started to laugh. “Then I say hell yes, Mr. Quinn, yes…”
The day was cool, late September.
Sarah put her arms around Isaac, as he prepared to leave for the day.
“Okay, baby. Just be careful. Call me when you can.”
He nodded and kissed her. “I love you.”
She smiled, worry in her eyes. “I love you too baby.”
She watched as he pulled away, went back into the house and made some tea. As the kettle boiled she kept wandering out of the back door to breathe in the cool air. As the water reached boiling point, the kettle whistled, and she turned to go back into the house.
And the pain hit.
Her back arched to counteract the searing pain in her left kidney. She gasped and staggered back into the kitchen. She couldn’t breathe. There was confusion, bewilderment. She tried to drag oxygen into her lungs but nothing would come. She put her hand on her back where the stinging pain had been. It was wet. Blood. She didn’t understand but now her legs had lost all their strength. She sank to the floor and felt around where the blood had been, her fingers searching. A small hole in her back was gushing blood. A bullet hole. She’d been shot. Disbelief. Fear. She lay on the floor of the kitchen trying to breathe, feeling the blood spread out beneath her.
“Isaac…” Her voice was a whisper. Her head whirled. She closed her eyes and when she opened them her world was one of unimaginable horror. Dan stood above her, a gun with a silencer in his hand.
“Hello, Sarah.” He smiled and aimed the gun down at her
Tears rolling down her face, Sarah shook her head, her hands raised to protect herself. Useless. “No, please, please…”
Daniel Bailey sighed, victorious, and pulled the trigger.
Sarah woke, screaming, clawing the air. Isaac leaped out of bed, shocked awake only to realize she was reaching out to him, her face apologetic.
“Sorry, god, sorry, it was just a nightmare…” She was trying to catch her breath as he went to her, wrapped his arms around her. Sweat was sticking her hair to her hot forehead and he brushed it away.
“It’s okay, sweetheart.”
She leaned against him. God the dream had been so visceral, so real. She could almost still feel the pain of the bullet smashing into her…Jesus. Was she really that fragile? Even now?
She felt Isaac’s lips against her temple. “Do you want to tell me about it?”
“It was so stupid I would feel dumb saying it out loud. Forget it.” She lay back on the bed and tried to smile at him. “I’d rather be distracted.” He ran a finger between the valley of her breasts, down her belly, circling her navel and between her legs.
“Your wish is my command,” he murmured. He stroked her until she came, then covered her body with his, tugging her legs around his hips and thrusting his cock into her.
“Is this enough distraction for you?” he murmured, his lips against her throat and, breathless, she nodded.
“God, yes….yes….”
Sarah Bailey became Sarah Quinn in a fifteen-minute ceremony at Seattle’s City Hall. At her request, they’d kept it low key and only Saul and Maika, Molly, Mike, and Finn were present as they said their vows. It was formal, quick but when it was over, and the way Isaac kissed his new wife was anything but.
They held the tiny reception back at the coffee house – Molly and Nancy had gone to town and covered the whole place in tiny white twinkle lights. Sarah could barely recognize the place. A few friends from the island completed the party.
Sarah tried to help Molly and Nancy out but kept getting shooed away from the food preparations. Eventually, she gave up. Her new sister-in-law, Maika, grinned at her, as she escaped from the kitchen. She held her hand out.
“Come sit with me. We never get to talk, just us. Our husbands,” – she grinned and nodded over to where Isaac and Saul were laughing and talking, “are busy being boys, so we can catch up.”
Sarah suddenly felt shy. Maika was very tall, very elegant but, she soon discovered, had a wicked sense of humor and an inherent warmth which made Sarah feel less like the clumsy kid she felt she was.
“Isaac told me that he’d told you the tale of us,” Maika said, “so selfishly, I wanted to say thank you. Thank you for making him happy – I’ve always felt guilty about what happened but, as you know yourself now - when the right person comes along…”
“I get it, believe me. I never knew this was what love is.”
“You were married before, yes?”
Sarah nodded. “And I don’t want to give the impression that it was a bad marriage – at least not at first but my ex-husband is a stranger to me now.”
Maika nodded, her eyes sympathetic. “Isaac told us the whole story. What do you think has been going on?”
Sarah shook her head. “I honestly don’t know. I was half-convinced it was Dan. That his already huge ego had gotten out of all control. That he was capable but now I just don’t know.”
She rubbed her face, suddenly weary and Maika put a hand on her arm. “Sorry, I’m being far too inquisitive, and it’s not the right time.”
“No, it’s okay. But let’s change the subject anyway.” Sarah smiled at her, noticing for the first time, how much they resembled each other – dark-haired, dusky skin, dark brown eyes. The Quinn brothers had a type, she grinned to herself.
“So, what are you going to do now? Isaac tells me you’re leaving this coffee house.”
Sarah nodded. “Going back to school, I think.”
“Didn’t you go to college?”
“I did, but I did an MBA. I’m talking about doing something I’m passionate about. Before I was a coffeehouse owner, I wanted to be an architect. I even got a ways to putting together a portfolio, took evening classes but I ended up doing this instead.”
Maika looked both surprised and impressed. “Wow. Well, I say go for it, before the kids come along. It’s hard having it all, no matter what they say.”
Sarah swallowed and said nothing. She dreaded having to tell all the expectant relatives that they would not be having children of their own and to be honest, it had been bugging her a lot lately. All she could think of was
a boy with Isaac’s curls, maybe her brown eyes, dimples in his cheeks. It made her heart thud with sadness.
She looked over at him, so handsome, so tall and broad, his finely angled face soften by his laughter. She could see the joy on his face and was floored, amazed that it was she, normal old Sarah Bailey, who made his eyes light up like that.
From the trailer to the penthouse, she thought. The press had gotten hold of her story but she was surprised that it hadn’t upset her. The story was already out there and it made no difference to her life as it was now. Some of the less friendly press had speculated about how such a woman had snagged Isaac Quinn but she just brushed it off. The people she cared about knew the whole truth of her story.
Even Dan had stayed away from her. He’d texted and called a couple of times, told her that he would buy her out of the house. She’d rather he’d had left the area but it was better than nothing. Their détente seemed to be genuine and, she reasoned, she would soon be in the city full time. She doubted she would see him much even if he stayed.
But the mystery of the murders, of the attacks on both Sarah and Molly, remained and everyone was uneasy. It was better to know the enemy than for he or she to be hidden. Subtly, they had all become more vigilant, less trusting of strangers.
But not today. Today was about love and family and joy. Isaac – her husband, she grinned to herself – came over and claimed her for their first dance. Never let me go, sang Florence and the Machine and as they danced, Sarah was never more sure that she was exactly where she was supposed to be.
He watched them through the side window of the coffee house’s kitchen, the rage twisting in his gut. God, she looked radiant, glowing, every cliché of how a bride should look on her wedding day. Sarah, his Sarah, was now Sarah Quinn. She would not bear her new name long. He would make her pay for this betrayal.
Later, Isaac went to find Sarah, finally locating her outside catching some evening air. He stood back for a moment, drinking her in. Her hair, which had been pulled up into a bun at the nape of her neck for the wedding, was escaping, long dark tendrils tumbling down her back. The simple white dress she had worn skimmed over her body, hugging her curves. Her face, eyes closed, was turned up to the night sky. Isaac smiled.
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