His Lost and Found Family

by Sarah M. Anderson

  “You did?” That didn’t mesh with the way he remembered his parents issuing that final ultimatum that he stop running around with Skye and start acting like a real Holt—more like Keaton.

  “Oh, honey, I know things ended badly—” his father made a harrumphing noise “—but we’re just so glad you’re okay and Skye is getting better. Is there anything we can do to help?”

  Jake actually pulled the phone away from his ear and stared at it. Maybe these weren’t his parents. Maybe they’d been replaced by space aliens or something.

  Keaton and Lark had said that Gloria and David Holt had changed. But never in his wildest dreams had Jake figured they would have changed this much. “You’re not mad at me? At Skye?”

  There was a pause on the other end of the line. Jake realized he was holding his breath. “What good’s it going to do?” his mother finally said. “It would just drive you and Skye away again—and this time you’ll take Grace with you.”

  “She’s a sweetie,” his father added, sounding thoughtful.

  “Now,” his mother went on in a businesslike tone, “you tell us what you need.”

  He didn’t know what else to say at this point. I’m not sorry I left? I’m not happy about being back? Yeah, that didn’t seem like the way to go.

  “Well, groceries, I guess. Skye’s still pretty weak. I’m afraid to leave her alone, but there’s not much to eat in this house.”

  “Of course. I was going to run errands this afternoon anyway. I’ll pick up some of your favorite things and, oh! I’ll bring a dish,” Gloria said, which made Jake smile. That, at least, hadn’t changed. “Jake,” she added, and he heard her voice waver. Was she crying? “Honey, we’re glad you’re back.”

  “We sure are,” David said. He didn’t sound happy, but then, Jake’s dad wasn’t the most expressive of guys.

  The fact that he was even admitting out loud that he was happy Jake was here was...well, it was something. What, Jake wasn’t sure, but it was something.

  “Yeah, okay,” Jake said. He gave them the address and added, “See you soon.” He hung up.

  He stared at his phone, feeling a weird time/space disconnect. He almost dialed the Taylor number, but then he remembered the look on Lark’s face when he’d asked if her parents had been by to see the baby.

  One set of parents at a time. And right now, his parents were the safest bet. Jake could deal with the Taylors later. Plus, if his parents were in the house, Skye couldn’t try to seduce him again. So that counted for...something.

  He sighed. No matter how he dressed it up, he was not looking forward to this. “Babe?” he said, going back into the living room.

  “Hmm?” She blinked at him sleepily. “Were you on the phone?”

  “Yeah. I called my parents.” Or, at the very least, he’d called people who sounded like his parents.

  Her eyes opened wider. “And?”

  He didn’t want to upset her, so he stuck to the facts. “They’re going to pick up some groceries so I won’t have to leave you alone.”

  “They...are?” She looked confused, which Jake supposed wasn’t weird—he was still pretty confused by the whole conversation himself.

  “Yeah. Mom’s bringing a dish. They seemed excited to see us.” He made sure to emphasize the “us” so that Skye would know she was included in that.

  “But I—I look terrible!” Her brow wrinkled. “Oh, man—I’m still wearing the same clothes as yesterday.”

  He grinned. Of all the things to worry about, that was really pretty low on the list. “You look fine. And remember how I said Megan was going to pick up a few things for you?”

  She sat back in the chair and he could tell she was thinking—hard. “Oh. Okay. I remember that.”

  “Good, babe. You just rest, okay? I’m going to go take a quick shower.” He wasn’t exactly vain, but yeah—first time he saw his parents in four years? He wanted to be dressed a little better than his workout gear.

  She sank back into the chair and let her eyes drift closed again. “Maybe tomorrow we can shower together.”

  He froze. What was he supposed to say to that? He’d barely kept it together when she’d been in the tub and he’d been fully dressed. How was he going to keep his hands off of her if they were both wet and naked?

  Six

  Skye was working up the energy to kiss Jake again. She’d been sitting on the couch for a while, watching game shows and dozing, and she was pretty sure she’d recovered from the stretching enough that she could get to her feet and walk over to where Jake was sitting at the table, working on his computer.

  She didn’t like that. Something in her mind wanted to complain about the amount of time he worked—but that also felt foolish. After all, he’d only logged a couple of hours last night. And he’d only been sitting over there for about thirty minutes this morning, after he’d showered and shaved and come back downstairs looking more handsome in a pair of jeans and a light blue button-up shirt than she remembered.

  So it wasn’t as if he was ignoring her or anything. He had to work—she was only starting to think about what the hospital bills were going to look like and she had no idea where she was with any of her clients. She could only hope they’d found other graphic designers to finish their projects.

  But that kiss earlier...wow. That was the kind of kiss a woman dreamed about. For a blindingly clear moment, she hadn’t felt weak or tired or confused. She’d been the woman she’d been before the accident—claimed by a single kiss from Jake Holt.

  She needed more. One was not enough. It never had been.

  She managed to get the footrest down on the recliner and her bottom scooted to the edge of the seat when the doorbell rang again. She shot the door a dirty look. Who were all these people and why were they constantly foiling her plans to seduce her husband?

  “I’ve got it,” he said as he shot her a wry smile. “Don’t get up.”

  It’d taken too much effort to get the footrest down. She wasn’t going to put it back up. Instead, she sat, listening.

  “Oh, hi—that’s great. Come on in.” Jake led a curvaceous, beautiful redhead into the room.

  Jealousy gripped Skye, which was ridiculous because she didn’t even know who this woman was. But she was beautiful and Skye couldn’t help but envy her curves. Skye looked down at her small breasts and not-there hips that were hidden under baggy, unisex clothes, and remembered her own half-and-half haircut. Ugh. No wonder Jake wasn’t interested.

  “Skye, this is Megan Maguire—she’s engaged to Whit Daltry, the man we’re renting the house from.”

  She was not in the mood for visitors. She just wasn’t. “Hi.”

  “It’s so good to meet you, Skye,” Megan gushed. “We’re all just so glad you’re awake! You were quite the story.”

  Jake cleared his throat and shot what looked like a meaningful gaze at Megan. But then he looked back at Skye. “Megan stopped by this morning—remember? I told you that she was going to pick up some new clothes for you.”

  “Jake said you were a small—I hope that’s right,” Megan said with a wide grin.

  Skye cringed. Her mother had always picked out clothes for her—dressing Skye as though she were a mini-Vera Taylor in frilly dresses and white pants that wrinkled and stained if Skye looked at them wrong.

  In Houston, Skye had favored simple clothes—blue jeans and yoga pants, with light cotton tops. She’d had a couple of sexy dresses for when she and Jake were able to afford a night out.

  Megan held up a big shopping bag. Yes, Skye did remember Jake saying something about Megan bringing clothes for...oh! Because his parents were coming over and if she remembered anything, it was that she was always trying to win over Gloria and David Holt—or, at the very least, Gloria.

  Things had changed and she had a second chan
ce to make a first impression. Skye forced herself to smile. God only knew what was in that bag, but it couldn’t be worse than what she had on now. “Yeah, I’m a small.” She eyed Megan’s figure and wondered what kind of clothes this woman had picked out—certainly not the sort of thing that would fit Skye’s flat chest.

  She shouldn’t be jealous. She knew this was an overreaction. Jake had always reassured her that he loved her body just the way it was.

  Megan looked her over. “I grabbed a few other necessities. Would you like me to brush your hair out?”

  Skye touched the side of her head. “Would you? It’s still kind of hard to lift my arms at this point.”

  “Sure can.” Megan beamed.

  “There’s a bathroom down here,” Jake said, looking relieved. “I’ve got some work to do. Megan, thanks so much,” he added.

  He helped Skye to her feet and then led her to the bathroom. Done in creams and reds, it was lovely, much like the rest of the house. “I’ll leave you ladies to it,” he said as he escaped.

  “All right,” Megan said gleefully before turning to Skye. “First order of business—we’ve got to get you out of those hideous clothes. No offense.”

  “None taken. Thanks for doing this for me. I don’t even know you.”

  “I manage the Royal Safe Haven animal shelter,” Megan explained as she unpacked the bag she’d been carrying. It contained a brush, hair bands, deodorant and a small makeup palette with a pink lipstick, a nearly matching pink blush and three shades of eye shadow. “I thought you might want to feel pretty after being in a hospital for so long,” she explained.

  Skye gaped at the goodies. Never had pink lipstick looked so good. “How did you know?”

  “You’ve been in that bed for a long time and I’ve got eyes,” Megan told her as she laid out three pairs of yoga pants—black, gray and navy—and some really cute tops. “That Jake Holt is a fine specimen. I just figured that any woman would want to look her best for him.” She held up a six-pack of bikini briefs. “Will these work?”

  Skye nodded. They were the right size and in bright patterns. Sure, cotton underwear wasn’t silk and lace, but she could envision how parading around in nothing but a tiny pair of panties would be sure to get Jake’s attention. “Perfect.”

  “Which top do you want right now?”

  “That one,” Skye said, pointing to the one that was a robin’s-egg blue with a white trim.

  “I thought so.”

  Megan helped Skye get her T-shirt off and the new top over her head without commenting on Skye’s underwhelming assets. Then she got the brush. “Any spot I should avoid?”

  Skye showed her where the hair was shorter. “It’s still a little sore,” she explained.

  “Very punk,” Megan said approvingly. “Although if you wanted to experiment, a pixie cut would look fabulous on you.”

  “I’ve never had it short,” Skye said as Megan brushed her hair. “I don’t even know what that would look like.”

  “No worries, then. How about a low ponytail pulled to the side?”

  “You’re good at this,” Skye told her as Megan began to create order out of the chaos that was her head.

  “Dog grooming,” Megan laughed as she twisted in the hair band. “Okay, let me see your face.”

  In short order, Skye had shadow on her lids, a little blush on her cheeks and a touch of color on her lips. “He always was a fine specimen,” Skye said as Megan applied the finishing touches. She didn’t know why she was opening up to this woman, but she felt as if she needed to explain. “We’ve been together since I was six and he was seven.”

  Megan whistled. “That long?”

  “He’s always been the one,” Skye told her. “Always.”

  “Then you’ll look your best for him.” Megan helped Skye stand.

  Skye looked at her reflection. The side ponytail managed to hide the shorter hair. The makeup was subtle, but the color on her cheeks and the shade of the shirt made her eyes pop. “Wow, I look normal.”

  “Is that good?”

  Skye snorted. “Compared to where I was? This is fabulous.” Sure, she wasn’t dressed for a hot night out on the town, but just to be wearing a top that fit her was such a vast improvement. “You think Jake will like it?”

  “I think he’ll have a hard time keeping his hands off of you,” Megan said with a wink.

  “Mission accomplished!” Skye replied. She pivoted. She still had on the baggy pants, but the top was fitted with darts at the waist. She looked like a woman again. “It’s wonderful. I can’t thank you enough, Megan.”

  “Don’t mention it,” Megan said. “We all had to pull together after that storm. You have Jake give me a call if you need something else.”

  “I will.” Skye hugged Megan. This—this was something she’d wanted. She and Jake had been on their own for so long, with no one else who’d come to their aid when they needed it. Skye had wanted to return to Royal because she’d missed the community—even something as simple as a neighbor who was good at dog grooming. “Come visit again,” she told Megan. “And when I’m stronger, we’ll have to go out for coffee or something.”

  Megan gave her a sly smile. “Oh, I have a feeling I’ll be seeing you again before too much longer. I’ll leave you to that fine specimen of yours.”

  After Megan left the bathroom, Skye managed to get the baggy pants off and, leaning heavily on the counter, put a cute pair of pink and white panties and the new gray yoga pants on. It was only when she was pulling everything up that she noticed her stomach—and the long red scar that cut across the lower part.

  That’s right, she thought, tracing the scar with her fingertips. I had a baby. Grace.

  Longing filled her. She’d wanted a child so badly, but they’d been waiting until their finances were a little more stable.

  And somehow...she’d had Grace. She didn’t remember even being pregnant. She hated that. She should remember being pregnant. But it just wasn’t there.

  She found herself staring at her hand. She didn’t have her ring on—she didn’t have her earrings in, either. Maybe Lark had them? If they hadn’t been lost in the wreck? She couldn’t remember.

  Suddenly, she wanted that ring and those earrings back. Jake had gotten them for her...had that been last year? Yes, that seemed about right. He’d gotten her very expensive diamonds because—because—damn it. Because he could afford them, he’d said. To make up for the small wedding ring. Was that right?

  Skye wanted to thump the side of her own head to try and jar some of the memories loose from the holes they were all stuck in.

  She wouldn’t have lost the earrings in the tornado, would she? She studied her earlobes. The diamonds had had screw backs, she remembered. It’d taken her almost ten minutes to get them in properly when Jake had given them to her on...on their anniversary. Yes, that felt right. And she’d just left them in. It was too hard to take out every night. She’d gotten used to them being there, as if they were a part of her. Just like the ring was.

  The screws wouldn’t have come unscrewed, would they? Those were serious earrings. And her lobes hadn’t been torn through, she saw. So the earrings were...where?

  She wanted them back. Jake had bought them for her.

  She would not panic. She just had to remember to ask her sister if the hospital had given her the ring and earrings. Those were things Jake had given her. She hoped she hadn’t lost them.

  After a final check of her reflection, she decided she’d ask Jake to take her to see her daughter soon.

  But the first order of business was to show Jake the new and improved her.

  * * *

  Jake tried to focus on his work. He had several emails from his contacts in Bahrain that required his full attention. The system he’d helped install had experienced a few hicc
ups since his departure and he really, really didn’t want to have to fly back over to the Middle East at this point.

  Ah, good. The North American job he’d bid on wanted to schedule a video interview to discuss what Texas Sky Technologies could do for their project and they were flexible on the start date. If Jake wanted to take two weeks of the vacation time at the beginning of the contract, he could.

  That was good. He’d sent back some times he hoped he’d be available for the interview and then considered the best way to go about making sure he was.

  Maybe if the visit with his parents went well, they could come by again. Or Jake could take Skye to Lark’s and let her play with the baby. There had to be a way to make it work.

  That was a lot of ifs and he knew it.

  He kept glancing back toward the small hall that led to the bathroom. How long had they been in there? Jake was afraid Megan would let something slip that would confuse Skye. And that would be bad.

  It wasn’t helping that his parents would be over soon. He was nervous. The last time he’d seen either of them was...that last night. Jake and Skye had been having a romantic dinner at Claire’s, the nicest restaurant in this town. It’d been the anniversary of their first time together. For a couple as inseparable as Jake and Skye had been, there really wasn’t a first-date anniversary or first-meeting anniversary. They’d always just been together. So they’d taken to celebrating their first time. Romantic dinner, candles, wine—the whole nine yards. Jake had been out of college for a year and Skye had just graduated. They’d been adults and had decided they could go public with their relationship.

  In retrospect, it wasn’t the smartest thing they’d ever done. The blowup had been epic. He and Skye had left the next night and he, at least, had never looked back.

  That was all in the past now, he reminded himself. And he couldn’t change the past.

  “She’ll be out in a minute,” Megan said, sailing into the room. “I got her all fixed up.” She handed Jake the receipt for the clothes.

  “That’s great.” But even as he said it, he realized that might not be a good thing. He was already having enough trouble keeping his hands off of Skye in those hideous clothes. How hard would it be to steer clear of her when she looked good?