He felt as he did years ago when first climbing aboard a plane after he wanted to get past the fear. Hunter walked right into the small cockpit and plopped down in the pilot's chair. He ran his hand along the gears and buttons, recalling how much he'd once loved being in this seat. "I want this back," he said out loud. "I'm going to get this back. One day I'll be sitting in the pilot's seat again. I know what I need to do to get it back."
He would have to call Vince and Joe, then the four of them would sit down and figure out how and where to find Sylvia. Somehow, the mistrust needed to be shoved aside to find their common enemy. Both Vince and Joe did some things in their past, but then again, so did Hunter. That could be dealt with.
All he knew was he wanted that sense of freedom again. No more being weighed down by the things he couldn't control.
He remembered bringing Becca here when she first came to Virginia with him. It had been her first time on a plane since the crash, and together they helped each other cope. The fear in her eyes had been evident, but sitting together, talking and singing her song in the storm helped. Hunter glanced over at the empty seat beside him, picturing her there gawking at the gears. She'd also been in that seat when Isaac tried to land this plane before he lost consciousness. His brave Becca had to take over.
"I'm going to fly again," Hunter vowed. He pulled his phone out to call Becca, eager to hear her voice and tell her where he was right now.
"Hey!" she answered eagerly, but there was a distinct tone in her voice Hunter didn't understand. "Are you on your way home?"
"I will be. I made a little stop first."
"Where at?"
"I'm sitting on my plane."
Silence.
"Bec? You there?"
"I'm here. You caught me off guard. How are you doing with it?"
"A lot of memories have hit me, but I know one thing. I want to fly again. I think I'm going to still sell this plane, but I want to get back to being a pilot. I miss it, even though I worry about the disassociating thing. How would you feel? If I go back to flying, I won't always be home. I know we're trying to find our sense of normal living, and this would send that off kilter a bit."
"If this is what you want, then you better go for it," Becca insisted. "I'll have work, and the gallery, and I promised I'd help Cherie with Henry and the baby. I can keep busy if you're gone a little more, or even a lot more. We'll make it work."
"Are you sure? I don't want to leave you all the time. I know it'll take a while for me to be able to get back to this full time, but when I climbed aboard, I had this strong urge and desire to resume flying again. I haven't felt like this since the night I almost lost control months ago." He leaned back in the seat, picturing a view from thousands of feet in the air. "When I can take my first spin, I want you up here with me. Will you?"
"Absolutely," Becca promised. "Good for you to get your life back. I know you struggled with this for months. I'm proud of you."
"I'm proud of you, too. I'm going to get off here now and come home to you."
Chapter Twenty-Four
Thursday evening, Jed called and asked if there was a good time to come by. He wanted Hunter, Becca, and Jesse to be there, which meant he had results. Becca twisted her ring around her finger as her stomach flip flopped. They'd been waiting all week for this, and now that the time had come, she wasn't sure what to think.
"I'm going to call Jesse and see how early he can get here from work," Hunter said from behind Becca. He had one hand resting on her shoulder, but moved when he reached for his phone.
Jesse continued to stay with them, which helped Becca get to know him more. Now that his secrets were out in the open, he'd been more willing to talk instead of the reserved way he was at first. Hunter and Jesse were getting along, even though Becca knew they still had a long way to go, especially with trusting.
These results would help that somewhat.
Hunter made the call. Becca, unable to sit still, shot up from her seat and headed up the stairs to the balcony. A deep chill greeted her, but the fresh air eased her nerves a little. She stared out in the large yard as branches swayed in the brisk, chilly breeze. Patches of snow still remained on the ground.
Minutes later, Hunter joined her. He slid his arm around her waist. "We're an hour away from knowing," he whispered. "How do you feel?"
"You sound like Dr. Ryan, or my doctor." She laughed nervously. "I don't know how I feel. I'm scared, excited, nervous, anxious, angry. Everything. I could be the daughter of a murderer. Me! Maybe I wouldn't take that as hard if I wasn't afraid of what I could become. I took a life-"
"Bec, stop," Hunter said firmly, placing his hands on her shoulders. "You didn't take a life just because. That's the big thing to remember. Nathan came at you with the intent to hurt or kill. You did what you had to. You'll never be like Curt Laughlin, whether you are his daughter or not. Never, do you hear me? Think about Rusty or Debbie Lange. Were they anything like their parents?"
"No," Becca admitted, knowing where Hunter was going with this. She leaned against him as he tightened his arms around her. Hunter's steady heartbeat calmed her. She closed her eyes and thought about the last few months. They were a short time frame away from the biggest question she had, outside of wondering Sylvia's whereabouts. "Speaking of the Langes, if this turns out to be true, if I'm Ariana Laughlin, I need to go to Vermont and clear Rusty and Anne's name. If the Langes were trying to keep their name from being dragged in the mud because they thought I was stolen and your family helped, then they should know what really happened. Maybe we can be free of them."
Hunter sighed. "You're probably right, but the last thing I want is to see them."
"I don't either, but it'll be for the last time. We can cut ties, and they won't care anyway. We should at least do this for our families."
"Fair enough. It'll be on the list." Hunter pressed a kiss to her temple. "We also need to get Vince and Joe here. We have to find Sylvia. It has to be her behind these texts. She's the last piece of the puzzle. Do you still talk to Amelia?"
"Not as much. I'm not sure what her goal was other than to reach out to me, but we emailed back and forth for a few weeks, then it died down. Maybe it really was just to apologize for her daughter and send a few things of Rusty's. I'd hoped for more, but it didn't pan out."
Hunter shivered. "Let's go back in and wait for Jesse and Jed," he suggested. "Just remember, whatever we find out doesn't change who you are. It alters your history and where you came from, but who you are as a person comes from your heart."
Becca sniffled, taking in a deep breath. "I know you're right, but it doesn't stop my mind from racing."
"Which is why you're talking to someone about it. I think it's natural for you to go through all these feelings. As long as you let them out and don't hold them in, you're going to do just fine. You'll move ahead." Hunter took a step back and held out a hand. "I'm always going to be here. To me, you'll always be the woman who holds my heart."
"I guess this is better than our first thought about the connection," Becca replied quietly as the two headed inside.
"That my parents helped steal you for Anne? Yeah. I'm sure as hell glad that wasn't the case. Either way we look at it, the whole thing is difficult to wrap my mind around, but at least it wasn't a malicious act. I'll be more inclined to believe Jesse if the tests show you're related."
They stopped at the foot of the stairs. "Hunter, if they're my family, I want to move them here. Not specifically in this house, but I want to be able to give them a place to stay. I overheard Jesse the other day on the phone with the home ou ... his mother lives in, and apparently their father calls when he gets phone privileges. He was so upset over it that he said he wished someone would kill him and be done with it." Her chest burned with anger and pain thinking about it. How could a man be so cruel?
"We'll do whatever it takes," Hunter promised. They both turned at the sound of a car door slamming. "I bet that's Jesse. Or Jed, but he'd be early." Hunter ma
de it to the door first and pulled it open.
"I told work there was an emergency. They aren't too happy with me, but I got by." Jesse entered the house. "He's not here yet?"
"No." Hunter's phone rang. "Hold on, it's Eva. Gotta take this." He answered and walked into the dining room.
Jesse closed the door and faced Becca. "I'm so sure of this, but I can't help but doubt and wonder, too. If you're proven to be my sister, we'll go see Mom as soon as possible. I still shiver every time I look at you, at how much you look like her."
Hunter walked back into the room just as the doorbell rang.
"Everything okay?" Becca asked.
He had his hand on the doorknob. "Yeah. Just another follow up appointment for Sienna's ear infections. Eva wanted me to know when it was."
The moment arrived. Answers. What would those results bring? Jed entered the house and nodded a hello at everyone. His expression gave nothing away. Did he already know these results, or were they still sealed?
Hunter gestured for everyone to sit in the living room. He moved to Becca's side, taking her hand in his. They huddled together on the couch as Jed took the seat across from them. Jesse sat on the other side of Becca.
"I just got the results today. They're still sealed tight, so you'll know nothing was changed." Jed pulled out an envelope from his bag and set it on the table.
Becca stared at it, wishing she had X-ray vision to know what they said right now.
"Do you want me to open it, or one of you?" Jed stared at Becca, then to Jesse, and then Hunter.
"Bec?" Hunter asked softly. "Do you want to do the honors?"
"I-I'd like that," she stuttered. Blood roared in her ears. Her pulse quickened. With shaky fingers, Becca reached for the envelope. She used her thumb and ran it under the seal, moving as quick as she could. Pulling out the papers, Becca raised them in front of her face and frowned.
"What?" Jesse asked, sounding agitated and nervous from beside her.
"I don't understand what all this means," Becca admitted, confused.
"Allow me?" Jed held out his hand. "I've read these before. I can tell you what you want to know."
"Please." She quickly handed them over. Hunter inched closer to Becca. He took her hand to hold. Jesse reached for her other one. She wasn't sure which one of them squeezed harder, or if it was her doing the squeezing.
"Becca, Everett is your brother, and Elizabeth Laughlin is your biological mother." Jed set the papers down on the table.
She stared ahead, taking in the words.
Her family. She'd finally learned the truth. "These are accurate?" she asked, afraid to get too excited yet.
"Very," Jed affirmed.
Becca burst into tears. "This is real. I can't believe this is real!" Hunter drew her close as she slid her arms around him, burying her face in his chest. His hands were in her hair.
"We know now baby, we know," he whispered. "Right there next to you is your brother. See, the worst is over," Hunter soothed, gently running his fist along her back in a comforting way.
Becca wiped her tears away, then kissed Hunter's cheek. She turned to Jesse next. His eyes were full of tears as well. She rarely saw a grown man cry, but he had reason to.
"My little sister. After almost twenty nine years, you're here." He opened his arms and Becca hugged him. "I never thought this day would happen."
"Congratulations. I didn't know how long this would take to find your family, but who would have thought they'd find you?" Jed actually smiled. "I don't always get to give good news in my line of work. I'm glad in this case that I do. I do have a few more things to say."
Jesse let go of Becca, and she faced Jed. Her heart wouldn't stop racing!
"In the case of Nathan, he has no living family, other than an estranged mother. No wife, and no kids. His mother hasn't spoken to him in a few years. I don't know how he ended up finding you and Joe, but whatever the case was, he's definitely connected to the pilot on your plane. My guess is it truly was a case of seeking revenge for the Langes' suit. No matter that the pilot was on suspension and had been drinking, there had been some problems with the plane itself. It had some mechanical issues and shouldn't have been in the air that night. Your grand- The Langes and Joe's firm went every which way they could when making that suit."
"Still, I feel horrible about it all." Becca held a hand to her stomach, afraid she was going to be ill. Hunter grasped her hand again.
"I also found the flight plan. Rusty and Anne Lange were vacationing in Nova Scotia. That's how Sylvia found them. When Rusty was married to her mother, they'd gone to Nova Scotia a few times. He had property there, but it was sold right after the accident by Rusty's parents."
Why did Rusty get so careless to go to Nova Scotia? Did he think Sylvia would never come there looking? Odd.
"There's still no clue as to where we lived after they claimed me as their own?" Not that it mattered, but she did want to know.
"Nothing I've come across. I've got one last piece of information. This is about Stuart Ellis."
So Hunter did ask Jed to look into it. Becca's hand flew to cover her mouth, unsure she wanted to hear it.
"His body was found two years after the dates given to me by Hunter about your incident. It's still an unsolved case to this day. They found him in Maine."
"I wonder if Vince knows this," Becca whispered. She still didn't know for sure if he actually killed the man. Obviously he, along with the Langes, kept that hidden. No one was supposed to know what happened, which was why they covered it up and tried to make Becca forget by making her seem crazy. Maine? That one threw her for a loop.
It all added up.
"This was all why they wanted me to marry Vince. This, along with what Rusty and Anne did, they didn't want to come out in the open. It's why they didn't want Hunter anywhere near me." She processed the news.
"Thank you, Jed. Thank you for everything," Hunter said to him a few minutes later as he left.
Becca's rubber feeling legs kept her in a sitting position as her headache exploded. So much information thrown at her, and she had to let it soak in a little at a time.
*****
That weekend, Becca, Hunter, and Jesse flew to Maryland. She sat in the seat between her fiancé and her brother. Today, she would meet her mother. When the two had returned from seeing her last weekend, both Jesse and Hunter had been extremely shaken up. What would this reunion bring?
"You doing okay?" Hunter asked quietly as he covered her hand with his.
"As much as I can be. I'm trying not to think about the last time I went to Maryland." She wasn't about to let that stop her from meeting her mother. It felt weird saying that when to Becca, Anne Lange had always been Mom. She brought with her a few photos of Anne, Rusty, and Ellie, along with the family photo always kept on her nightstand. Would she show it to Elizabeth Laughlin? Maybe, maybe not, but it wasn't a bad idea to bring them with, in case the woman wanted to know how her life had been. Jesse and Becca spent late nights talking about their family. He told her the good things he remembered. Her big brother definitely had a lot on his plate, taking care of a baby when he should have been doing things a normal nine year old would do.
"It'll be much better this time around," Hunter swore. Becca stared into the eyes of the man she adored. He gently touched the side of her face, keeping his hand there as he leaned close. "The only thing we need to do now is put the past behind us. After twenty years and a lot of hell, I think we're finally going to come out ahead."
"I hope so." She wondered about Sylvia, Vince, and Joe. Becca also debated on the best time to face the elder Langes and say what she needed to. She still hadn't confronted Vince about her aunt Debbie and needed to make her peace with what he did there.
"By the way, I talked to Beverly and Todd about changing our wedding location, and they'll help take care of it. The two of them understand why we felt the change was needed. After that, we can decide if we want to return to the island."
Becca wiped a tear away. She couldn't help herself. Right now she was so emotional, but it was all part of the process, she figured. Hunter kissed the spot where the tear fell, leaving behind a tingly sensation. Then she faced her brother. "Would you be willing to move to Virginia permanently?" she blurted. Thinking about the way their father continued to taunt them from prison, she wondered how easy it would be to find a new home for Jesse and Elizabeth. "If we helped you find a place to stay, both you and Elizabeth? Maybe the calls will stop, too."
"I'd love to, but let's see how today goes first."
Dread filled her as she wondered about the possibilities. Jesse must have picked up on her feeling.
"I just don't want to overwhelm her. She has a blended reality of history and present, and we have to tread carefully. Seeing you and getting her to understand what happened isn't going to be an easy process. I know she wants this, because she's been begging for months. I didn't think it would ever happen. Thirty years is a long time to try and find our family."
On the outside, Becca remained calm. On the inside, especially by the time they reached Elizabeth Laughlin's place of residence, she thought she'd be sick multiple times. From beside her, Hunter held her hand and continued to be her silent source of comfort. Just his presence alone helped keep her mind and heart in tact. For years, she mourned the loss of a family who loved her. She fought against grandparents who had always been cold, even if they did provide the things she needed, at least in most cases. Hunter had always been the one to be her voice of reason. Worry, fear, and uncertainty mixed together like a bad drink and swirled around in her body, threatening to come up at any time. Becca coughed and swallowed the lump lodged in her throat.
Jesse climbed out of the rental car first. Becca hesitated as she stared at the house. A simple ranch style home with a lovely yard. A small porch under gables with an entrance to the house. Hunter stood beside her and nudged her gently. "Tell me what's going on in your mind right now," he pleaded, taking her hands in his.
A Forever Masterpiece (The Masterpiece Trilogy Book 3) Page 24