Mistaken Identities

by Lockwood, Tressie

  Her body bucked under him as her orgasm took her by surprise, and she cried out his name urgently. He slipped his fingers inside her pussy once more while he filled her ass, and she was sent over the edge once again. This time he followed suit and she felt his come fill her ass. She fell against the bed completely drained and her body humming from the experience. He collapsed against her back before he rolled over and took her with him and they ended up lying naked with legs entwined on the bed.

  “I think I saw Shangri-La and experienced nirvana,” he gasped. “What am I going to do with you when I’m old?”

  She kissed him and laughed huskily. “We’ll perfect the spooning position and still make fireworks. So you’re planning on a growing old together scenario?”

  “Hell, yes, I am. Try to get rid of me.” His eyes were such a vivid blue when he looked at her she swore she saw them sparkle. “Regardless of what happens, I could never let you go, Stasia. I’ve spent my whole life wanting you. This love I have inside me that burns for you will span from one life to the next. It’s timeless.”

  “Why do you have to say such damn awesome things to make me feel like jelly on the inside and make my heart beat faster?” she grumbled.

  “That’s love, baby, better get used to it,” Bryce replied. “Let’s go shower and grab some shuteye.”

  “You may have to carry me,” Stasia said. “I think my legs are still too weak.”

  “I can, but if you wrap your legs around my waist I can’t promise that I won’t take you again,” he warned.

  “Lucky me,” she drawled.

  He carried her to the bathroom and Stasia had no problem with the acts that followed under the hot spray. He left her gasping, begging, pleading for more until they both came with a harsh cry and her hands gripping his hair. In bed, while he slept, she watched his face. She could almost tell what he was dreaming by the emotions that played over his face. The frown and the distressed murmurs were for Kim. But when he smiled and gave a soft laugh she grinned and wondered if it was for her. When he whispered her name, Stasia lay next to him and laid her hand against his back.

  She listened to him breathe and could feel all the love she had for him even though she couldn’t say the words just quite yet. But she did—she’d loved him since she was sixteen years old and no other man could compare. He couldn’t let her go, but she couldn’t let him go either, and she wasn’t planning on ever sleeping without him again.

  Chapter Six

  Another ten days of searching went by. They continued to lose hope, but trying desperately to build each other up and keep the faith that Kim would be found. They had taken to walking around the city every night looking in shelters, showing Kim’s picture to people, going to homeless camps and asking if anyone had seen her. While doing this, Bryce became very aware of the homeless plight. It wasn’t usually obvious until you got out of Charlotte. That is when you saw the shelters made of cardboard boxes, torn tents, and old comforters that were found in trash bins and whatever else haphazardly put together in hopes that it would keep them warm and dry.

  So while they searched for Kim they decided to take along meals to hand out. One night it was hot cups of soup, another night it was sandwiches and potato salad or macaroni salad in Styrofoam containers. Something simple but filling.

  They were met with wary looks and distrust at why food was being given out freely. Bryce could understand that. In their eyes the world had given up on them. They were just regular people—veterans, even businessmen—who had gotten down on their luck. While he and Stasia walked through the underground community handing out food and showing Kim’s picture, no one recognized or had seen his sister.

  Nearly six weeks had gone by and it seemed like that was it, there was nothing else they could do, when Bryce got the phone call he’d been praying for.

  Very early that morning, the phone rang and Bryce sleepily answered. Kim was on the other end of the line and it made him sit straight up in bed.

  “Kim! Oh, my God, Kim!” he practically yelled.

  Stasia woke with a start next to him. “What? Is that her? Really, is it her?”

  He nodded. “It’s her!”

  “Who are you talking to?” Kim asked and he focused on her voice. His sister sounded okay and a sense of relief washed over him.

  “It’s Stasia. She came home to help find you,” Bryce explained.

  Kim gave a happy, tinkling laugh. “And she is in your bed. I can’t say I’m surprised.”

  “Where are you, Kim?” Bryce asked urgently. “Are you hurt? Are you back on drugs?”

  “No to both questions,” Kim answered. “I could feel myself slipping and I couldn’t stand the thought of going back through the withdrawals and the pain again, so I booked a flight to Florida to a rehab center. It was six weeks before I was allowed to contact anyone. They are helping me with my addiction and my past. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you, but this time I had to save myself, big brother.”

  Bryce cleared his throat. “So you’re okay?”

  “I’m not one hundred percent, but I feel like I’ve really made strides,” Kim answered softly. “I’d like you to come see me. I can have visitors now. Bring Stasia and Cole. I need to explain to him why I left like I did.”

  “We’ll be on the first flight out,” Bryce said. “Give me the address and we’ll see you soon.”

  Stasia handed him a pen and paper from the bedside table drawer and he scribbled the information down quickly. He looked over and saw Stasia had picked up her own cell phone and was calling the airline trying to get three tickets for the same day. After he was finished speaking with Kim, he pulled Stasia into his arms without hesitation and kissed her repeatedly with happiness. Stasia just held him and laughed at his antics. He couldn’t even be mad at Kim for taking her life into her own hands and seeking help when she knew she was falling. All he knew was the past six weeks of hell dissipated when he heard her voice. There they were ready to grieve, and were handed a miracle.

  “You’d better call Cole and tell him she’s safe. I got three tickets on United for us to get to Orlando this afternoon,” Stasia said and cupped his cheek. “I told you she was okay. Kimberly McDowell is a smart girl despite all she’s been through.”

  “I’d have lost it if you weren’t here,” Bryce said huskily. “Well, her taking off on her own did one thing—it got me off my ass to go to you and get you cleared and into my life. So all in all, we’ve been lucky.”

  “I guess so,” Stasia said.

  He frowned. He wanted to hear her say she loved him but she ebbed and flowed like waves. One minute she was so receptive and the next guarded. Hadn’t he proved yet that he could be trusted, that he truly loved her? Bryce sighed and picked up his cell phone to call Cole. He heard the relief in his friend’s voice when he was given the news. Bryce pushed his own feelings aside for now. It was time to focus on Kim and her well being. He should just be happy that Stasia didn’t bolt. She was trying and he’d have to be patient. This whole situation taught him that things do not work out on his time frame; they work out in their own time.

  Later that morning, there was a flurry of activity to get him and Cole covered at the sheriff’s department and then to get to the airport for their flight on time. They had to run to the gate because Wednesday seemed to be a peak travel day and the TSA security line at Charlotte Douglas Airport was very slow.

  As they stood in line, he saw that Stasia was tense like she expected to be arrested at any minute. Living on the run has taken its toll. If he voiced it, she’d probably have told him off so instead he took her hand as they made their way through the line. When they finally boarded the plane he saw her relax and let go with a sigh as she settled in for the two and a half hour flight.

  They got into Orlando at three in the afternoon with a couple of delays. They rented an SUV at the airport and checked in at a hotel close to the rehabilitation center where Kim was staying. Bryce called her to let her know they were there and to ask if t
hey could visit that same day. It was against procedure, but due to the circumstances the director gave permission for them to come. After a quick freshen up, they were back in the rental car and heading towards Beach Meditation Rehabilitation Center.

  A range of emotions traveled through him as they waited in the lounge for her. Outside, the sun warmed the golden beach and the ocean was a crystal blue. The air was warm and everything was serene. The rehabilitation center was nice and he could see her healing here and learning to live with her past. But, still, his stomach clenched with nervousness. He wanted her to be strong and needed her to see that she could surpass the evil their father put her through. He didn’t want to see her become a shell of a woman. He feared that she’d become a shell who lived in a fantasy world—kind of like their mother.

  But when she came out to see them it was like seeing a three-sixty to the woman who had lived in Caldwell County. At home, her eyes were guarded, sad and afraid. Now he saw a light in them that he hadn’t seen since she was a girl in pigtails. Her hair was almost a golden halo around her head and the smile on her face was wide and bright. Her skin was tanned and it looked like she gained weight. The drugs had taken a toll on her body and she was always a little too thin while she was home. Now her face looked full and he could see something new inside her.

  “Stasia!” Kim held out her arms and ran forward and Stasia met her half way. He watched them embrace and rock back and forth. It turned something in him, remembering how everyone used to look down on Stasia when she was young. He’d learned the hard way that she was the one who was his sister’s rock. Maybe she wouldn’t have turned to the drugs if Stasia had always been there. There were so many maybes about the past that it was time they look towards the future.

  Kim pulled Stasia’s hair lightly. “No more braids. I liked those.”

  Stasia gave a laugh and sniffed. “They didn’t suit my bad ass persona when I was on the run.”

  “I worried about you every day. Where did you end up?” Kim asked.

  “Your brother found me in Tombstone, Arizona tending bar,” Stasia said. “Practically dragged my ass back here to find you. He got Dani to confess finally.”

  Kim made a disgusted sound. “How did we ever think she was cool?”

  “We were young and stupid,” Stasia said and hugged her again. “I’m so freaking glad you’re okay. Don’t scare us like that again. Now go hug your brother. He was scared shitless he’d lost you.”

  Kim smiled through her tears and called her brother over. Bryce didn’t need a second invitation. She was the last of his family and she was okay. He grabbed her up in a big hug and twirled her around. He could hear her crying against his shoulder and he hugged her tighter.

  When he finally put her down, she reached up to cup his cheek. “How are you doing, brother of mine?”

  “So much better now that I can see you, sister of mine,” he answered with a big grin. “But, hell, you scared the shit out of me.”

  “I’m so sorry, but I had to do this,” Kim answered. “How is Mom?”

  He frowned. “She’s Mom. She’s never going to change.”

  “Which means she’s still visiting him in prison,” Kim surmised.

  “I don’t want you to think about that—”

  Kim cut him off. “But I have to, Bryce, pretending that it doesn’t exist didn’t help me, it hampered me.” Kim stepped back and spoke. “Our father raped me, he made me scared to live, scared to breathe, scared to sleep and scared to even be awake. He took my childhood and destroyed my life for too long. I’m not going to give him the satisfaction of taking it all from me. I was raped, molested, mentally and physically abused, but I’m still me in here where it counts.” She pressed a fist against her chest. “Saying the words still makes me panic a little but he can’t take my healing from me. I’m learning to live with it and I will survive it.”

  “You go, girl.” Stasia said the words and was openly crying while Kim spoke and all Bryce could do was pull his sister into an embrace.

  “Go you,” he said, echoing Stasia’s words as pride filled him. Damn right, she’d survive it. She already beat the evil old bastard at his game.

  He let Kim go and she faced Cole. “Not going to say hello?”

  “Didn’t know if you wanted me to,” Cole answered. Bryce had never heard his friend sound so muted.

  Kim stepped closer to Cole. “I didn’t run away from you, Cole. I ran towards help.”

  “Why couldn’t you come to me to tell me? You left my house without a word,” Cole said. “I was terrified. I thought it was something I did.”

  “How about we sit out on the deck and I’ll explain why I left. The sun isn’t so bad out there this time of day,” Kim said gently. “You go on. I’ll grab us some bottled waters.”

  They walked towards the doors but Bryce couldn’t help but look back.

  “She looks good, better than she has in a long time,” Bryce said.

  “She found her foundation and she’s rebuilding. She healing,” Stasia said. “It’s a good thing.”

  “She’s amazing,” Cole said quietly.

  “That’s because you love her,” Stasia teased. “You big softie.”

  “Shut it,” he growled and Bryce saw his best friend turn pink.

  Could it be that they were forming a bond or, dare he say it, a friendship? Bryce didn’t voice the words because he knew that Stasia would probably kill him with a dark look and Cole would deck him. They all wanted to be so tough, but each of them, including him, needed the other. They were connected now, but he’d let them realize that on their own.

  They found a table with four chairs close to the deck. Bryce turned his face towards the warm, light wind and closed his eyes as it blew across his face. He inhaled the salty, fresh air and it felt as if the last of the darkness and turmoil within him began to fade, carried away on the breeze. Kim came out a few minutes later and sat down with them. She passed out the cold bottles of water and took a sip of hers before she began speaking.

  Her first words were directed at Cole. “I love you, you know I do, but every time you looked at me I could see the fear in your eyes to touch me or that I’d use drugs again. Every time I even thought about the drugs I felt like I failed you somehow. My molestation put up a big wall between us even while we shared a bed. You touched me with kid gloves, but I’m a woman. For me to be a good wife to you and a good mother some day, I needed to get past my own fears. I needed to heal.”

  Cole swallowed thickly and covered her hand with his own. “Well, then, I need to work through some things with you as well. If you’re healing, I need to go through the process with you.”

  Kimberly smiled. “And you will, when I get home. I’ll have references to a good couples therapist when I am free to leave here.”

  “When do you get to leave?” Stasia asked.

  “In another few months. The doctors think I’m ready now, but I know I need the extra time. The good thing is that they let you make the decisions on your care, but they give you firm nudges out of the nest too. The combination works.”

  “At least I know you aren’t afraid of me. That really tore me up. I thought I did something to scare you,” Cole said huskily.

  She leaned forward and pressed a soft kiss on his lips. “No more kid gloves. If we love each other, you can’t be scared all the time. I won’t break. I’m done with that.”

  Her next words were to Bryce. “You have so much anger towards him and for the longest time I kept thinking you blamed me for the choices you made in my defense.”

  “I never did. I wouldn’t,” Bryce said fiercely. “He needed to pay.”

  “I know he did, but you’re his son and that day when you caught him, I swear you’d have killed him if Mom hadn’t started screaming,” Kim said.

  “I hate him, for all of it. I can’t say otherwise,” Bryce said.

  She nodded. “You’re allowed to, but I’m going to let it go and you have to eventually as well. We need to p
ut this demon back in the ground and be brother and sister. Not brother and sister with a father who raped his daughter. It’s a dark shadow in our lives and we need to bury it.”

  The anger that he felt any time he spoke about his father burned in his chest until it ached. He focused on Stasia who was sitting beside him and his hand that lay in her lap. She took hold of his hand, running her thumb over the skin of his knuckles.

  “I’ll try, Kim,” Bryce answered.

  “I need more than that. I need for you to go with me to see him when I get home,” Kim said. “I’m going up to the prison to stare that monster in the face and let him know I will never give him a second thought again. What he did won’t define me.”

  “Does your doctor know about this?” Bryce asked.

  “They recommended it when I’m ready, and I’m ready now. I won’t let him be a faceless nightmare anymore. I will face my rapist and see him for the man he is—my father,” she answered. “He shattered your life too, so will you face him with me? Will you sit with me when I speak to Mom and let her know how it affected me when she knew it was going on and did nothing?”

  “Of course I will,” Bryce said automatically, “but it’s going to be hard as hell, Kim.”

  “If it were easy it wouldn’t be called recovery,” she teased. “I should also let you know that I won’t be living in Caldwell anymore. I’m buying Piper’s Glen and running that bed and breakfast. I will make a life for myself.” Kim took Cole’s hand. “I want to make a family there.”

  He kissed her hand. “You bet your sweet life on it.”

  He watched his sister beam a smile at Cole. She was getting better, she was doing it and he was proud of her.

  “Stasia, have you been giving my brother trouble?” Kim teased.

  “No more than necessary. I went to see Mom and my sister. We kind of have a truce going on too,” Stasia replied.

  Kim clapped her hands. “I’m so happy to hear that. Are you going to stay around?”