Stormy Passion

by Brenda Jernigan

  Entering the ugly brown building, Brenna immediately recognized her sister; back to the door, shoulders slumped, staring out the window. Brenna took a deep breath of relief. At least her sister was safe--maybe stupid for running away, but safe. Brenna shut her eyes and mumbled her thanks. She moved up behind Lisa and asked, “What do you think you're doing, young lady?”

  Lisa jumped and swung around. “I--I'm going to see Taylor.” She burst into tears. “It's all my fault he's gone. I'm sorry, Brenna. I know you're miserable, and it's all because of me.”

  “No, sweetheart.” Brenna leaned on her crutches. Her shoulders ached with the burden she'd carried around all these years. “None of this is your fault. Come on, I'll explain in the car.”

  Since Brenna couldn't maneuver around the chairs easily, Geraldine rushed around to Lisa's side. “Youngin, don't ya go scaring us again. Here, let me help ya with your stuff.”

  Once they were settled in the jeep and on their way back home, Brenna turned so she could speak to her sniffing sister. She looked down at her lap and Brenna could see the confusion that surrounded Lisa.

  “The next time you feel you have a problem, I would appreciate it if you spoke to me first,” Brenna gently reprimanded. “Do you realize someone could have grabbed you? There are a lot of unsavory characters in the world. Who knows what could have happened. And I'd never get to see you again.”

  “I--I'm sorry,” Lisa cried. “But I was just trying to help.”

  “I know you were.” Brenna cleared her throat and handed her sister a Kleenex. “I assume you heard the conversations I had with Geraldine this morning?”

  Lisa bobbed her head.

  “You're not to blame for any of this. Our parents didn't have any money, and I knew you needed surgery, so I did a stupid thing. At the time, I was desperate. People in River Run had begun to treat me differently--kind of like I had a disease or something.

  “I began to feel like we were from the wrong side of the tracks.” Brenna could shut her eyes and still see the people who had once been her friends and neighbors whispering behind their hands. If she knew nothing else for sure, Brenna knew she couldn't stand to go through that again.

  “Taylor and I never really talked about your treatment. I kind of withdrew from life. You see, my life had suddenly changed like yours. But I had to talk to the police and answer question after question, and then there were the funeral arrangements. I wasn't prepared for anything. The worse thing was the reporters--they were everywhere trying to get all the grizzly details of what happened. I couldn't move for someone shoving a microphone in my face. Then the doctor told me I had to make a decision about your treatment, and I just felt you were my responsibility. I couldn't lay all our problems on Taylor. It wouldn't have been fair.

  “Do you understand?”

  Lisa stopped crying and listened with luminous eyes. She blinked violently to quell the flow of tears.

  “Mrs. Rothschild pointed out that I would ruin Taylor's life. And I knew she was right. He had a bright future, and I was like a big black blotch on his character. I felt River Run was closing in around us. We had to do something.

  “So I had to make a difficult choice ... to make a new start without Taylor. But we couldn't do it without money. However getting the money didn't come without strings. I had to sign a document stating that I would never tell Taylor anything about the agreement or try to see him. I couldn't even tell him goodbye.”

  “But that's not fair.” Lisa leaned up in her seat.

  Brenna sighed, closing her eyes. “Sometimes life isn't fair, sweetheart.” She thought about Carol, and envied her. Carol would get everything Brenna had ever wanted. But she didn't blame Carol, how could she? Carol didn't know anything about Brenna's relationship with Taylor. Carol was so nice that Brenna liked her even if she didn't want to.

  “Well, I can tell him.” Lisa broke into her thoughts. “I didn't agree to anything,” she said stubbornly as she slid back in a huff and crossed her arms. “He'll understand.”

  “You can't do that.”

  “Why? I didn't sign any agreement.” Lisa pointed out.

  “Because Taylor's mother is vicious, and she can make our lives real miserable.” Brenna paused. She couldn't tell Lisa the other reason she'd kept her mouth shut all these years. Some things were better off buried. “If you remember, Taylor loves someone else now. He is engaged to Carol.”

  “But he loves you.” Lisa persisted, unyielding in her belief. “And he's spent all this time with us.”

  “I had hoped he'd stay. But he'd never be happy running a bed and breakfast. Banking is in his blood. And then there is another problem, which is probably why he went home.”

  “What?”

  “Carol is pregnant.”

  “Ya, kidding.” Geraldine popped into the conversation. “Taylor didn't know, did he?”

  “No. His mother said Carol wanted to surprise him.”

  “Wait,” Geraldine said with a frown. “Ya heard that from his ma--not Carol?”

  “Un huh.”

  “Then she could be lying,” Geraldine suggested.

  “Yeah, Brenna. Maybe he still loves us.”

  “I don't know, sweetheart.” Could Vivian Rothschild have lied once again? Brenna sighed. What a slim hope. But why did Taylor leave in such a hurry if it wasn't for Carol?

  Brenna shook her head and looked out the window, not seeing anything in the pitch black darkness. Then she added, “But I do know that if Taylor comes back, it has to be of his own free will.”

  Chapter Thirteen

  How could Taylor have left without so much as a goodbye? Brenna had asked herself the same question so many times, and she didn't like any of her answers she'd come up with. She had assumed they'd made some real progress in their relationship.

  She had thought he loved her ...

  She had thought he cared ...

  So much for what she thought.

  Brenna picked up the coffee mug from the side table and sipped the hot liquid as she recalled some of the things Taylor had said to her. He'd said he needed time to sort out his feelings. Did that mean he stilled cared? He'd been so attentive to her since the accident and vaguely in her memory she remembered tears in his eyes when he found her injured on the slopes.

  Had it all been a game? Had he used her and tossed her aside when he felt his obligations were through? And then it dawned on Brenna ... she'd done the same thing to him a few years ago. She had left town without talking to Taylor. Had he experienced the same gut sick feeling she'd had all week? Her chest tightened. What a sleazy thing to do to someone you love. But she had at least written him a note.

  She realized she'd start crying again if she didn't get her anger up. She couldn't help it if Taylor had never received her letter.

  Yet, he hadn't bothered to leave her anything. His precious Carol called, and he had flown to her side. Wait a minute, Brenna stopped herself. Carol was a great person. And she was going to have a baby. She didn't deserve any of the blame. It was Taylor. This must have been his way of getting even with her for doing the same thing to him.

  She stared out the window, watching the water drip from a huge icicle that clung stubbornly to the eaves of the house. Somehow she couldn't believe Taylor was that vengeful. The past few weeks had been wonderful, and he'd seemed to be happy and content here. Maybe he would call once he thought of her.

  That thought made her feel a little better until she thought of his mother. What devious tricks would Vivian Rothschild have up her sleeve this time? She would move heaven and earth to keep Taylor from seeing her. She'd probably even arranged for Carol to get pregnant.

  With a sinking feeling, Brenna put down her cup. Life moved on, and she couldn't sit here any longer especially on a hopeless cause.

  Taylor thumped his pen on the desk, lost in a timeless void, a place he seemed to escape to when reality bothered him. A place he seemed to visit more and more often these days.

  Had it been a week
and a half since he'd buried his mother? The blur of time seemed strange. He could vaguely remember bits and pieces: the doctor pronouncing her dead, picking out a cold gray casket, and finally tossing a handful of dirt in a grave. He was alone ... left behind without a family.

  Over the years, he had attended other funerals with little thought of the loss the survivors felt. Now he knew all too well the uncertainty and helpless feelings of those left behind. Everything around him seemed unreal.

  However, the mountain of papers he'd had to sign, the filing of the will, and sending out the death certificates to insurance companies reminded him quickly everything was very real.

  Taylor leaned back in his chair and groaned. Life went on. So here he sat, doing nothing and thinking of Brenna. He should be working. Damn, he'd like to see her. Tenderness drifted through him, and warmed that cold place in his chest. He was disgusted with himself for not calling her. But everything had happened so quickly that two days led into three, and then it had been a week, and still he hadn't called.

  Now he had time to think about her. And today he had made some definite decisions.

  Tonight, he would see Carol and tell her how he felt about Brenna. Taylor hadn't been fair to either woman, and he hoped Carol would understand and not think he was a complete bastard.

  Brenna probably wasn't too happy with him either since he'd run out on her. Odd ... he'd done to Brenna what she'd done to him. God, he hoped she didn't hate him as much as he'd hated her then.

  At least he had a better excuse than she had. Hadn't he? Brenna had left him suddenly after a death. Could she have been as muddled and confused as he felt now? Taylor lowered his chair and rubbed his chin. Brenna had lost two parents. Ironic as it may seem, he saw things in a much different light.

  Staring at the pen still in his hand, he wondered how Brenna's image stayed on his mind. He had answered some of the questions that had plagued him. She'd been in shock after the funeral. Still it didn't explain why she hadn't contacted him in the last three years. He clenched his jaw. That remained a big problem. You don't shove someone you love out of your life... unless you don't love them.

  A sharp knock on the door drew Taylor's gaze from his ink pen. The door opened, and his secretary stuck her head around the corner. “Peter Marshall is here to see you.”

  “Show him in,” Taylor instructed. Good. Now he would be able to focus on work, and take his mind off all those unanswered questions, and all the emptiness he felt inside.

  Tonight he would have dinner with Carol and try to straighten out that part of his life, and then he'd concentrate on Brenna. He'd lost something of real value a long time ago, and he didn't intend to let it happen again.

  Taylor glanced at his half-empty plate. Oddly enough he didn't remember eating the half that was gone, and usually with a T-bone steak he would have savored every bite.

  But tonight was different.

  His life was different.

  He shifted his gaze at the vacant place across from him. Carol had excused herself to go to the ladies room. He had felt like a cad the entire night as he tried to make small talk with her. First, he'd feed her, then tell her he didn't love her anymore. Taylor flinched at the idea, knowing it made him sound cold and unfeeling. He really liked Carol, and he didn't want to hurt her. The problem was he didn't love her.

  Over the past few days, he had examined his love life and found he'd lied to himself and Carol. He hadn't really loved her; he'd merely been substituting Carol when he'd thought there was no hope of ever finding Brenna.

  And then fate had stepped in.

  Hadn't Carol told him that fate had sent them to the Sleepy Hollow Inn? He'd laughed at the time. Now he wasn't so sure she hadn't been correct. Had some mysterious force pushed him to that little town, Hollow Ridge, so he could find what he'd lost so long ago?

  “My, you're doing some serious thinking,” Carol said as she slid into the seat across from him.

  Taylor jerked. He stared at her in astonishment. It took him a minute to regain his composure, but when he had, he said, “I guess I was.”

  Carol sat down, but she didn't say anything else. Instead she stared at him. The silence grew more uncomfortable with each passing second. The clinking of silverware from the other tables rang in his ears, and his eyes burned. Finally, he had to swallow the lump in his throat. Carol was much too nice a person, and she didn't deserve this. No, she didn't deserve a cad like himself.

  Taylor cleared his voice, “I think we need to talk.”

  Carol tilted her head to the side. “About what?”

  Damn, she wasn't making this any easier for him. “About us.”

  “I think it’s about time. I've something I need to tell you, too, but you go ahead.”

  Taylor wondered what she had to say to him, but decided to plunge ahead. “I like you a lot, Carol.” He paused, cursing himself and placing a finger in his collar to loosen the rope--necktie around his throat. “I think we've made a mistake. Perhaps I was a little too hasty in my proposal of marriage.”

  “Are you saying you'd like to call everything off?” She asked the question very calmly. There was no emotion on her face as she sat with her hands folded properly on the table.

  Hadn't she heard him?

  “I'm sorry if I hurt you,” he paused then went on, “But yes, that's what I'm trying to say; though, not very well.”

  “Good,” Carol said simply, and then she did something that surprised him. She started laughing.

  Taylor stared at her, dumbfounded. This wasn't the response he'd expected. She was laughing. Not crying. Of course, he didn't want her upset, but she could at least look a little sad. “Apparently, you're not upset?”

  “Of course not--not that I want to deflate your male ego. Actually, I'm relieved,” Carol admitted as a soft blush covered her face.

  “Well, if you're so happy about it, why didn't you say something before now?” he asked, a little disgruntled by her laughter.

  “I haven't exactly been able to see you.” She pointed out as she picked up a glass of tea and took a sip as if her mouth had gone dry. She placed the glass back on the table. “If you remember correctly: first you were in Hollow Ridge and then you were involved with a funeral. I didn’t want to seem heartless.” She smiled.

  “I see,” he said thoughtfully before looking back at her dancing eyes. Damn, she was too happy. “Let me get this straight--you were going to dump me tonight if I didn't dump you first.”

  “You got it.” She reached over and placed her hand on his. “Let me tell you ... we both just about had the scare of our lives. When I came home, I thought I was pregnant--”

  “What!”

  “Let me finish, Taylor. So I made an appointment with the doctor. I didn't trust any of those home testing kits. I was really scared. And that's when I took a long hard look at us.” She smiled in a significant kind of way. “I know about Brenna.”

  “What about Brenna?” Taylor asked interrupting her again.

  Carol patted his hand then leaned back. “I'll get to that in a minute. Anyway, the test came back negative, thank God! I was relieved, and I knew right then we had to break this thing off before one of us got stuck in something we didn't want.”

  The irony of all his worry suddenly hit him, and he burst out laughing. After all the fretting he'd done ... the lady was happy to be rid of him. Carol joined his laughter, too. They drew a few stares from the other tables, but ignored them. “Let me ask you something,” Taylor said when he'd calmed down. “When did you know?”

  “When you asked me to marry you, I wondered why I had said yes when I knew deep down I liked you a lot, but I wasn't really in love with you. I guess I was just flattered to be getting such a hunk. And then I met, Steve, the ski instructor who I found myself liking more than I should.”

  Taylor raised a brow figuring Carol was trying to boost his ego.

  “Then you started acting strange, and I figured you had doubts, too. But the pieces to the puz
zle didn't fit until I spent the night with Brenna in the hospital.” Carol folded her arms on the table and leaned toward Taylor.

  “You see, Brenna talks in her sleep, and she told me some very interesting things.” Carol chuckled meaningfully and with a knowing smile said, “Like the two of you were supposed to be married. A fact, I might add, you neglected to tell me.”

  Now it was Taylor's turn to blush, but he wasn't about to comment just now. “Go on.”

  “Brenna never said what exactly broke you apart, but she did mumble something about loving you till the end of time. That's a pretty strong statement, and it was so sweet that I cried. Imagine seeing the man you're in love with engaged to another woman. I've been there before. I know how it feels. She had to have some spirit not to fall apart when we showed up on her doorsteps.

  “I think you love her, too,” Carol told him. “Now that I think about it, that's probably the reason you were so hateful to Brenna when we first arrived at Sleepy Hollow.”

  Taylor removed the napkin from his lap and laid it on the table. “What makes you say that?”

  Carol looked at him and smiled. “Like my Grandmother used to say, there's a thin line between love and hate.”

  Brenna had worked like a mad woman pushing herself to stay busy and not allowing herself to think.

  Thinking hurt too much.

  By the end of the second week, she'd given up hope Taylor would call. Evidently he'd gotten scared and run. And that fact made her angry. She should have known better than to ever start a relationship with him again. She opened her checkbook and started paying bills. Under one particular pile, she found her expired subscription for her hometown paper. She picked up the envelope by the corner and, holding it over the trash can, she let it drop into the container. “Good riddance!” She was glad it had expired. There would be no reminders of her old life. No reminders of Taylor. She would move on no matter how painful. And she would survive.