by Kylie Walker
He turned to look at her with a smile, but when he saw her face he said, “Chloe, what is it?”
She shivered again and said, “Probably just my paranoia...”
He put down the plate that he was holding and went over to her. Taking her hands into his he said, “You’re shaking, and you’re pale. What happened up there?”
“Nothing,” she said, shaking her head. She tried to smile but she knew that it had to look as false as it felt.
“Nothing happened, but I had this really creepy feeling that someone was watching me.”
Derek suddenly looked as alert as she did. “Did you see anyone?”
“No,” she said, shaking her head. “I looked around, there was no one there. Like I said, I’m probably being paranoid.”
Derek looked into her eyes and said, “What does Max tell you about your instincts?”
“To trust them, always,” she said.
“He’s right.”
“I know.” She knew she was right. He had been out there somewhere...watching.
“Do you want me to go up and take a look around?” Derek asked her. He was already stepping towards the door.
“No! No, stay with me. Let’s just eat in here,” she said.
“Are you sure?”
“Yes. If it’s him...he won’t try anything as long as you’re here. He’s a coward. He’ll sit out there in the dark and watch, but he won’t show himself until he thinks he’s facing the weaker person.”
Derek rubbed his side and said, “I think he’s way off base on that one,” he said.
She smiled. “He sure is.”
******
They sat down and ate together; enjoying the meal Derek had made for them and another glass of wine. After dinner he tried to feed her cheesecake for dessert, but she passed.
“Dinner was amazing. You’ll have to give me the recipe for the fish.”
He smiled. “Thank you. Dinner company was amazing. I got the recipe from Samantha. She loves to cook and she’s really good at it.”
Chloe felt a wave of regret pass through her at the mention of Samantha’s name. She wondered again what it would have been like to grow up as the Whitemore’s daughter. She wondered how much of a different person she would have been.
“Did Sarah like to cook?”
Derek got that far away look in his eyes that he got sometimes when they talked about Sarah. He recovered quickly and smiled as he said, “She liked to, but she was terrible at it.”
“Seriously? You didn’t tell her that did you?”
He laughed, “No. I didn’t have to though, she knew it. I would be choking down a piece of steak that tasted like the leather off the bottom of my boots and she would refuse to eat it and tell me to do the same.”
Smiling, Chloe asked him, “So why did you eat it?” she knew the answer, but she genuinely loved the way his eyes looked when he talked about Sarah.
“To keep from hurting her feelings,” he said.
“She was very lucky to have you,” Chloe told him.
Derek reached over and took her hand and said, “Does it make you uncomfortable for us to talk about her?”
She felt a pang of appreciation for him. “No. I think if she had been just some other woman it would, but because it feels like she was a part of me I’m not bothered by it. I’m curious about her though... very much so.”
He squeezed her hand. “She was like you in so many ways, and much different in others. She grew up as an only child so she had a very vivid imagination. She loved to make up stories, and they were so good that I thought she should become a writer. She said she only liked making them up to tell to her parents, or me. I wish now that I would have at least recorded some of them, or written them down myself. It would be nice to have them now.”
“What did she tell stories about?”
He smiled again, “Everything. She had this incredibly vivid imagination and when she told you a story whether it was about a pirate on a ship or a fairy in the woods...you felt like you were right there.”
“Samantha and Trevor probably read to her a lot when she was little too, I imagine. In my classes we learned that children who are read to at a young age often develop a really healthy imagination later in life.”
“Yes, I imagine they did. Sarah never had anything to say about them that wasn’t positive.”
“Did Sarah want kids?”
A look of sadness washed over his face and she said, “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t be asking you these things.”
“It’s okay, really. Yes, it makes me sad to talk about her, but it also makes me happy. I know that’s a complete contradiction but the only way to keep any part of her alive is to remember it. It’s something that Samantha and Trevor and I have learned to do. Talking about her with you is new...but, I want to do it. I wish you could have known her.”
“Me too,” Chloe said, this time squeezing his hand.
“She did want kids. She was amazing with them. I have a friend in New York and Sarah and I spent a lot of time with their family. They have three. She loved those kids and they loved her. She had a quiet way about her, but she had your adventurous spirit.”
Chloe laughed. “Me? Adventurous?”
“Yes. It’s one of the first things I noticed about you.”
“Other than running away from my crazy boyfriend I haven’t had a single adventure in my life.”
“You will Chloe,” he told her in a soft voice. “You’re going to have an amazing, adventurous life.”
Derek’s phone began to ring before either of them went any further. Derek looked at the face and said, “It’s Trevor.” He pushed accept and said, “Hey there, Trevor! How are you?”
Derek hit the speaker button and Chloe heard him say, “I’m good, really good. How are you? How is Chloe?”
Chloe was touched that he would ask about her.
“I’m doing well. I’ll let Chloe tell you how she’s doing.”
“I’m well too, Trevor, thank you,” Chloe said.
“Great! I’m so glad you’re both there. I have news.”
Chloe held her breath as he continued to speak.
“Samantha and I were wondering if you two might be available to come out and spend the weekend with us. We have the results and Samantha and I won’t open the envelope until you’re here, Chloe.”
Chloe wasn’t sure how she felt about it. Her stomach was full of butterflies and her heart, surprisingly to her, was full of hope. After several seconds, she looked at Derek and he nodded and with his hand, indicated to her that it was her decision. “That sounds great Trevor, thank you.”
“Thank you, Chloe.” Trevor sounded so happy that the tears returned to her eyes. This time she let them come.
Chapter 5
That night while Chloe got ready for bed, Derek went up top and looked around; just making sure that all looked well. He didn’t see anyone or anything out of the ordinary, but he really did trust Chloe’s instincts. After he made sure that everything was secure he made a phone call to his Dad. It was late, but he was sure his father would still be up. Kevin rarely went to bed before midnight. He was a workaholic and he was very dedicated to his clients when he took a case.
Kevin answered on the first ring, “Hello son, is everything alright?”
“Yeah Dad. Things are good. Sorry to call so late.”
“Ahh, you know I was up...working. What’s going on?”
“I didn’t want you to worry and also I wanted to let you know that you can give the security guys the weekend off. Chloe and I are going to stay in New York with the Whitemore’s for the weekend.”
“Oh, okay. Well, I hope you and Chloe have a great weekend, son.”
“Thanks Dad, I hope yours is the same. There’s more.”
His dad chuckled and said, “I thought there might be.”
“You know that Sarah had a twin...”
“Yes, of course. The baby died at birth, right?”
“That’s the story
. The thing is that after I met Chloe I couldn’t shake the feeling that there was more to her looking exactly like Sarah than coincidence. Chloe had a hard time coming around to it at first, but she agrees. I’ve done a lot of investigating on my own and I’ve found out there was some baby dealing going on twenty-four years ago. The doctor who delivered them was never formally charged, but he was let go and there seems to be a lot of circumstantial evidence anyways. Chloe and I shared all of this with Trevor and Samantha. Of course they have big hopes. They were practically ready to accept her with open arms at that point, but Chloe wanted to take a DNA test, so she did.”
“Wow...this is incredible news. So what did the DNA test show?”
“We will find that out this weekend,” Derek told him.
“My god,” he said. “Well my thoughts will be with all of you. I know you have strong feelings for Chloe, but I get your need to protect her even more now. Just let me know if the two of you or the Whitemore’s need anything.”
“I will Dad and thank you so much for all you’ve done for us.”
“Anything you need, son.”
Derek hung up after saying goodnight to his father and went downstairs. He found Chloe already curled up in the bed. She had her eyes closed so before he slipped in next to her he made sure to announce himself.
“Hey babe, it’s me.” He saw her lips curl and without opening her eyes she said,
“Were you afraid that I was going to kick your ass again?”
“Hell yes,” he said with a laugh as he slid in next to her.
She was on her side so he snuggled in close and pulled her back up against him. He kissed the side of her face and they lay there like that in each other’s arms. Derek wondered if she was worried about the DNA test or if she was looking forward to finally knowing for sure. He wanted to ask her, but at the same time, he didn’t want to upset her.
He was just drifting off when she said in a quiet voice, “Will it change the way you feel about me if it turns out that I’m not Sarah’s twin sister?”
Derek pushed himself up off the bed and used the arm around her to roll her towards him. Looking down at her beautiful face he said, “Not even a little bit.”
He put his hand on her face and looked into her pretty brown eyes and realized he saw doubt there. He was suddenly angry with himself for not making sure that she was convinced that he was not with her because she looked like Sarah.
“Chloe, the feelings I have for you are completely separate from those I had and still have for Sarah. I know that’s hard to understand and probably even hard to believe since I sought you out because of your resemblance. At first it was curiosity and then it was infatuation...and then I got to know you. Do you know that you are one of the strongest women I have ever known?”
“You’re just saying that because I kicked your ass,” she said with a giggle.
“Well of course that’s part of it,” he said with a laugh. Turning back serious he said, “You have survived every bad thing that has ever happened to you, but you’ve done so much more than that as well. You’ve held onto your own belief system and your own values. You held onto your hopes and dreams for the future. You’ve taken care of yourself and at the same time you’ve done everything you could possibly do to better yourself. Of course I find you beautiful, I’d have to be blind or a complete idiot not to...but that is such an incredibly small part of why I’m crazy about you. I’m drawn to you not because of your startling resemblance to my late wife, but because you have the most amazing spirit that I’ve ever been privileged to have a glimpse of. I’m in awe of you, Chloe...literally.”
Without saying a word, Chloe brought her lips up to his. The electricity between them was so hot that sparks practically flew from their skin. Derek just watched her. Everything with her was intense. She says she’s not adventurous, but she’s wrong he thought. Being with her is like sucking every second that we can get out of life whether we’re enjoying each other’s bodies or traipsing hand in hand around the zoo. She took a man who was somewhat broken for the loss of his wife and the guilt from that and she restored the life that had bled out of him. Not because she looked like Sarah but because she was Chloe. His hand slid up from her waist, over her ribs, and stopped just beside her breast. She moaned and arched my back in an attempt to get him closer, but his hand stayed put.
Derek felt her soft hand slide up and her fingers gently touched along the edges of his ribs. He moaned against her mouth and she said, “Oh no! Did I hurt you?”
“No, that was a different kind of moan,” he said. Derek covered her mouth again with his and let his hands begin to travel her sumptuous body. Once again, she had brought him to the edge of her restraint.
*******
Jesse waited until Derek went back inside and he saw the lights go off on the yacht before he left the marina. He had a bad taste in his mouth. He was going to buy a bottle of Jim Beam on his way back to the flea bag motel he was staying in and see if he could quell it. He knew that Derek Stark was in there right now fucking that pathetic bitch. He was so tempted to just light the fucking boat on fire and let them both burn. But that would be too easy.
He wanted that slut to know she was going to die before it happened. He wanted her to suffer. He wanted to savor her last breath as he took it away from her and watch her eyes as the realization set in. Stark was not relevant to him. If he got his way, he would kill him. His life was inconsequential as far as Jesse was concerned. Kelly, on the other hand...her life was his and the cunt would know that as she drew her last breath. He had watched her tonight, standing on the deck with a glass of wine in her hand, looking like the cunt that she was in one of Stark’s shirts. It was like she was flaunting it. It had been so hard for him not to take her tonight. He didn’t want to be hasty though. He needed to plan this carefully. He wasn’t going to get caught. They would never find the bitch’s body and once she was gone he would finish off the other one too, that Chantelle bitch that should have just died the first time. Next time he would take his knife and slit her throat so deep that there would be no question about whether or not she was still breathing. Then there would be nothing to charge him with and he could go on with his life. The world would be a better place without tramps like that in it. He just had to be patient. He had to do it right.
Jesse stopped at a liquor store. He was driving a piece of shit Nova that he’d bought off of some farm worker with the money his mother sent him. It was non-descript and that was what he was looking for. He went inside and bought his bottle. On the way back to his car he caught sight of a whore standing on the corner. She was dressed in a barely-there mini-skirt and six inch heels. The faux fur coat she wore was matted and looked like it had come from road kill. But what struck Jesse about her was the dirty blonde hair and the way she twirled it around her finger. Kelly used to do that. She’d been doing it that first day at the campus coffee shop when he’d met her.
He stopped at the car and put the bottle away and started across the parking lot. Acute and used to looking over her shoulder, the whore turned around and looked at him when he was about three feet away. She had big, dark brown eyes. She was practically emaciated...probably from drugs or just life on the streets. She wasn’t curvy and muscular the way that bitch on the deck had been tonight. He liked his women thin and petite. Kelly knew that. Her new body was another slap in his face. It was another thing he would make her sorry about as he made her pay for ruining his life. The whore looked him over, sizing him up and licking her lips when she finished.
“Hi baby. Are you looking to party?”
He was so tempted. His balls were aching and turning blue it had been so long since he’d gotten any. But he had to be careful. If he got arrested for soliciting...he’d be screwed. If he killed the bitch...he’d have to spend all that time and energy getting rid of her. There was too much to lose. He would have to wait until his job was finished. He turned back around and left the whore to call after him. He got into the Nova and head
ed back to his motel, leaving temptation in the rear view mirror for now.
Chapter 6
Chloe was packed and ready to leave for New York by seven a.m. She had coffee with Lexi before she headed out to attend some function or other in preparations for her sister’s wedding. She would also be spending the weekend with her family. She found Lexi to be so supportive since she told her about everything that’s been going on. She was so grateful to have such good people in her life.
Roxi checked on her routinely as well and Chloe knew that if she went to either of them for anything, they would be there for her. Having so many people in her corner was new to her. For so long, she only had Chantelle and herself. She only prayed that none of the rest of them would have to pay the same kind of price for their kindness as poor Chantelle had.
She went into her room and took out her journal. Sitting down on the edge of the bed, she began to write.
July 21
Well, today is the day. Derek will be here in an hour or so and we will be heading up to see the Whitemore’s and find out if I am their daughter. I'm happy to be going with Derek and having the time with the Whitemore’s no matter what the DNA test tells us. They are good people, and there is no one that I’d rather spend the weekend with than Derek. It’s a good day. But it’s an anxious one as well. I try and tell myself that the anxiety is unwarranted. If it turns out that I’m not their child...I’m still the same person I was before, right? If it turns out that I am...well, that will be an entirely new experience for me. I’ve never had parents that I looked forward to spending time with, or that looked forward to spending time with me. I fear a lot of things. I fear that it will be more pressure than I am willing or able to handle. I’m not used to having the obligations of family. Will I measure up? Will I even want to? I also fear disappointing them. What if they want to compare me with the daughter they knew...the one they raised?