The Abduction

by Nichole Allen

  He wasn’t dressed like her usual patrons so she figured he wanted to give back to the community and nodded her head to Stu. She concentrated on handing out the soup. It had been her mother’s recipe and her mother’s venture but just as they’d managed to get the funding she had passed away. Scarlett would continue her mother’s work and give the homeless and poor people in her neighborhood some comfort. She had branched out since the initial venture, adding a clothing bank and a child care facility for single parents who had trouble finding affordable childcare while they worked.

  Evan looked as handsome as ever but the years had given him a polished edge that suited him. The sad look on his face wasn’t a new addition, though; she had seen that look when he’d packed to leave the apartment he’d shared with his parents for ten years. It bothered her that he still looked sad. Scarlett wondered what he’d been doing since he’d left. She also wondered why he’d never contacted her. She could understand his lack of recognition; she’d grown her hair, found some boobs and life had shown her a few hardships that she hadn’t thought possible.

  He had barely spoken to anyone since he arrived and she sure as hell wasn’t going to remind him of their friendship. She put all of her concentration into what she was doing and pushed him to the back of her mind. She didn’t need a blast from the past complicating her already complicated life. She definitely didn’t need his shiny blond hair bringing memories back of who she was back then.

  “Scarlett, I’m going to need to get off early tonight,” Stu said, jolting her out of her thoughts.

  “No worries, Stu,” she said. “I’ve got this.”

  “Actually, the new guy said he’d stay but I don’t know,” Stu said scratching his wavy hair. “We don’t know him.”

  “I do,” she replied quietly.

  “Oh right. That’s cool,” Stu said smiling once more. “I’m gonna take off then.”

  “Okay,” she said, waving him off.

  She didn’t know how much Evan had changed but she didn’t have him down as dangerous and she could handle herself. She’d taken plenty of self-defense courses over the years and she was developing a taste for hitting men when they tried to lay hands on her. Evan didn’t worry her. Even if he had changed, she knew him well enough to know he didn’t have an ounce of violence in him.

  Stu had shown him where everything went and he was busy stacking clean dried plates when she finally emptied the hall. He’d rolled his sleeves up and looked a damn sight better than he had when he walked in. There was a hint of peace across his features, features that looked familiar yet different in an alarming way. He was more attractive than anyone had the right to be under the fluorescent lights and she felt self-conscious in her soup-splashed jumper and bare face.

  “Is it always that busy?” Evan asked.

  “This was a quiet night,” she replied.

  “Wow, how often do you open?”

  “Every night,” she said yawning. “People are always hungry Evan.”

  “Do you work here every night?”

  “It’s volunteer work but I am the coordinator so I’m here at least four nights a week,” she said, switching the lights off.

  Evan followed her out and waited while she locked the main door. She often had to lock up on her own but it was her neighborhood and she rarely felt threatened. However, tonight Evan was giving her goosebumps and not because she was scared. She wanted to send him home and tell him not to come back but part of her wanted to know why he hadn’t come until now.

  “See you tomorrow at six thirty, if you really want to help,” she said before getting into her car.

  She drove away, forcing herself not to look in her mirrors to catch the last glimpse of him. It had hurt her when he left and it had hurt her for months after when she didn’t see him. It had hurt when she finally accepted that he wasn’t coming back, not even for a visit. Now, he was hurting her all over again by reappearing as if by magic and the thing that stung her most was the fact that he obviously didn’t recognize her.

  “What a shithead,” she grumbled.

  When she stepped into her little house just a few blocks away the warmth was welcoming. Scarlett dumped her coat and bag by the door and hurried to the room with the night light on. Her little girl was tucked up with her favorite teddy; she leaned down to kiss her forehead.

  “She went to sleep just fine,” Sylvia said, grabbing her coat from the hook.

  “You’re a star, as always,” Scarlett replied.

  “No honey, that’s all you. You make this neighborhood worth living in. You make it a place to be proud of,” Sylvia said before closing the door behind her.

  Sylvia wasn’t just Scarlett’s babysitter and neighbor, she was her biggest help and her strength. If Sylvia hadn’t been taking care of Darla, she would never have been able to take on the soup kitchen and a day job. Her life was busy but at least she knew she had the best care for her daughter. Scarlett ran a shallow bath and did her best not to fall asleep in it; she had to get up for work in the veterinarian’s office in a few hours.

  *****

  Evan was physically exhausted by the time he reached his penthouse. The unusual act of being on his feet for hours, combined with leaning over a large sink and making small talk with people who were very different to him, had completely worn him out. He showered and went to bed but sleep didn’t come. Instead, he lay with the evening's events washing over him. Scarlett’s face as she gave her time and energy to the hungry patrons, the familiar hall filled to the brim with people that had fallen on hard times, and Stu’s words ‘dream on.’

  It all brought back feelings that he’d locked up tight for years. His parents’ deaths and the move to his grandmother’s place and then her death. He had lost so much and no matter what anyone said about the passing of time making it easier, in actuality it did no such thing. He was still raw inside, and he still felt that gnawing desire for his loved ones like a hunger in his belly. Tears came and this time he let them take over, sobbing loudly into his pillow where no one could hear him. Of course, there was no one to hear him because he was alone.

  ****

  Evan’s head felt clear the next day but he canceled his busy schedule, opting for a day of indulgence instead. When he’d moved in with his grandmother, he’d taken her name, Mandelson, leaving his father’s name to die out with him. It hadn’t been his decision, but it had been fine at the time and he hadn’t felt bad. Now, his money was tied to his grandmother’s last name, but he wanted to use his father’s name, Collier, for something important, something that would honor him. He just didn’t know what, yet.

  “Hey, you want to take me to lunch?” Grace said and he could hear that she was already out somewhere spending money.

  “I’m busy today,” he replied, holding the phone away from his ear.

  “Your secretary told me you were free,” she said and he could hear the snotty tone she reserved for times when she wasn’t getting her way.

  “I’ll catch up with you in a few days, Grace,” he said and hung up before she could whine.

  Grace was beautiful and wore clothes that made her body look like a piece of art but she was tied to the world of fashion and he was bored with fashion. He was bored in general, except he hadn’t been bored when he’d served soup to the people in the church hall. He had been nervous at first and then something else but he couldn’t quite put words to it.

  Instead of having a leisurely lunch at one of the many fine restaurants in the city that knew him well he drove out to his grandmother’s little house. He still owned it and, for some reason, he hadn’t wanted to sell it. He had a cleaner in once a month along with a gardener to cut the grass but other than that it was pretty much as he’d left it when she died.

  When he pulled up outside, he wondered why he hadn’t had someone replace the fence which was falling apart. Then there was the peeling paintwork, which revealed that the wood beneath had not fared well in the elements. When he opened the door, he found the in
terior was clean, tidy and kind of cozy in a faded, almost shabby-chic way. His grandmother’s crocheted blanket was draped over the couch and the thin floral rug was faded but it gave the room a lived-in feel even though it hadn’t been lived in for over ten years.

  His bedroom was still the same. His bed was made and the covers were thin and washed out but his posters were still clinging to the walls with what looked like chewing gum but must have once been sticky tack. There were school and college textbooks lined up on a bookshelf, along with some keepsakes. A snow globe, a deck of cards, a magazine, and a photo album were all lined up. He couldn’t bring himself to touch any of it because it all felt so raw from the previous night of remembering.

  He left the car and walked to the end of the block where the row of shops were still clinging to some kind of existence. He bought a sandwich from the deli and ignored the stares from people who could tell he was out of his comfort zone. His Italian leather shoes stood out and his jacket looked like it was worth more than most residents’ vehicles. He couldn’t remember when he’d stopped caring what things cost but it had been a long time since he’d had a reminder that not everyone wanted their noses rubbed in his opulence.

  “Evan Collier, is that really you?” a throaty voice said.

  He turned to find an old man sitting on a step that he was about to walk past. The man was ancient or at least he looked that way. Evan had no idea who the man was, but he was now standing up to greet him. Evan allowed the man to take his hand and shook it with less pressure than normal just in case he broke the thin skin that covered the bony hand.

  “Good to see you again,” the man rasped. “I was thinking about your parents the other week. Your mother was an exceptional woman, God rest her soul.”

  “Thank you,” Evan replied, still racking his brain for information.

  “I gave up the laundry business a couple of years back, arthritis,” he continued.

  The pieces clicked together. The old man had been his mother’s boss at the launderette where she had worked for several years. He could remember sitting on a bench reading books while his mother took in laundry. It had been the most boring part of his childhood and it was no wonder he’d forgotten it but those precious moments he’d had beside his mother had all pretty much remained hidden. He’d forgotten so much.

  He excused himself and walked back to his grandmother’s house. He called his secretary and told her to get the maintenance company that his corporation used to take care of the house. He wanted the outside to look as immaculate as his grandmother had kept it but he had no clue what to do with the interior. It was the last of his childhood and he had a feeling that he still needed it.

  *****

  Scarlett had spent the whole day thinking about Evan Collier. She wondered what he was doing with his life and what had suddenly brought him back. The veterinary office hadn’t been busy which had given her mind time to wander. She had avoided men with blond hair since he had left all those years ago but she couldn’t help but want to run her hands through it.

  Her late husband had been her high school boyfriend but she would never use the word sweetheart. He’d been tall dark and handsome but had also had a fiery temper and plenty of muscle to back that up. He’d hit her twice before she broke his hand on her mother’s hand-me-down skillet pan. He had packed his bags and gone straight to his bit on the side.

  Scarlett had concealed her pregnancy for as long as she could and then taken out a restraining order but the fool picked a fight with the wrong man and ended up six feet under. Lucky for her, she was still his beneficiary, and it had given her and her daughter the start they needed.

  When Scarlett picked Darla up from school that afternoon she was already a bag of nerves. She didn’t know if Evan would turn up at the soup kitchen but if he did, she wanted to look her best. She rushed home, bribing her daughter with some TV time and then spent an hour going through her wardrobe. By the time she’d pulled on a pair of black leggings and a long, sparkly pink sweater she was feeling annoyed with herself.

  “You look pretty, Mommy,” Darla said.

  “Thank you, darling, eat all your pasta and we’ll have some of Granny’s chicken bake tomorrow,” she said, kissing the top of Darla’s head.

  “Yay!” Darla yelled.

  Scarlett had long since learned that if she wanted her daughter to eat something different, she had to call it Granny’s because Darla had idolized her Granny. It was a magical word that always brought out the positive in her little girl and made Scarlett wish her mother could have seen Darla grow up. She would have told Scarlett not to dress up for Evan but to be herself; it was good enough back then. Only, then he’d left.

  When Sylvia walked in she cocked her head to the side and gave Scarlett the eye. Scarlett stuck her tongue out at her friend before saying goodbye to Darla. Her life was definitely complicated enough without adding Evan Collier to the mix. She grabbed her coat and wished it was newer but she’d been so busy that even if she did have the money for a new coat she wouldn’t be able to find the time to shop for it.

  “Don’t forget your homework, baby,” she called out before leaving Sylvia and her raised eyebrows.

  “Scarlett, get your head out of the clouds, girl,” she whispered as she drove the few blocks to the church hall.

  She was relieved when she arrived to find the place empty. She unloaded the food from the back of her car and unlocked the building. She had everything she needed to make lasagna soup and it wasn’t the lightest load. Several large tins of tomatoes weighed her down and she felt frumpy even with her prettiest sweater on.

  Within minutes, there was a knock at the door and when she opened it Evan stood on the step smiling. He had dressed more appropriately in jeans and a sweater but he still looked immaculate and his smile was way too alarming. She opened the door and he walked past her leaving the scent of musky aftershave for her to breathe. She didn’t recognize the brand but it was heavenly and made her want to snuggle her nose into his neck. She sighed at her own stupidity; men were definitely her weakness…or at least Evan was.

  “How can I help?”

  “Can you slice onions and garlic?” she asked.

  “Sure,” he replied, but he didn’t look very sure so she handed him a large knife and a handful of garlic bulbs.

  “Start with the garlic; it won’t make you cry,” she said and watched as he fumbled with the knife and garlic. “Want me to show you how?”

  “I’m sorry, I’ve never done this before,” he said and the blush that crept up his neck and onto his cheeks was cute as hell.

  “Cook?”

  She looked at his perfectly manicured hands and wondered what in the world he did for work because his hands looked like they hadn’t seen an honest day’s work in his life. The boy she knew had been sensitive but he’d still climbed trees and jumped off the swing at full speed. The man she was looking at now was pristine and she didn’t like it. She wanted to ruffle his hair and pull his sweater, so it looked like he’d worn it before. She wanted him to be her old friend, familiar and warm. He wasn’t her Evan though, he was a new Evan.

  “Watch and learn,” she said and showed him how to squash, peel, and chop the garlic.

  “Wow, you make it look easy,” he replied.

  “It is easy, Evan. It’s food; everybody needs to eat and everybody should be able to cook,” she said shaking her head at him.

  “I want to learn,” he said, and she shivered with the intensity of his gaze.

  In that moment she wanted to tell him who she was, scream out her name but she was frightened that he wouldn’t remember. She could handle anyone else’s rejection but she wasn’t sure she could handle his. It was bad enough that he didn’t remember her but if she told him and he still didn’t then she would feel so much worse. She stepped away and he picked up the knife once more. He could chop the rest; she’d done her bit.

  Scarlett switched the radio on and let the music fill the awkward silence. She was afra
id that if she was left for much longer in the silence, he would hear her thoughts because they felt so loud in her head. It was bad enough that she could feel his presence even when she couldn’t see him. He unnerved her in so many ways. She was relieved when she heard Stu come in.

  *****

  The more time Evan spent in Scarlett’s company, the more he found himself drawn to her. She was beautiful and although he was used to beauty hers was different from the models he’d dated. There was something about her that felt like he was home: comfortable and safe but also exciting. She was exotic and powerful but in a tiny package. She didn’t seem to like him or at least she was trying to keep her distance but he didn’t want her to.

  “She doesn’t date so stop giving her the puppy dog eyes,” Stu whispered when they were cleaning up later that night.

  “Why doesn’t she date?”

  “I guess she finds it hard to trust people. Her husband cheated and beat on her,” Stu replied. “He’s dead now and it’s just her and her little girl.”

  “She has a child?” he asked, surprised.

  Evan had never dated anyone who had children. It had never come up in his social circles but the thought of dating a woman with a kid had scared him. Knowing she had a daughter had thrown him. His gaze slid down to her rounded hips which of course was when she turned around and gave him the eye. He blushed and turned away.

  “She’s been acting strange since you turned up, bro,” Stu said leaning in conspiratorially. “If you do start seeing her, treat her kindly. She works her ass off to take care of everyone; she’s a good woman.”

  “Strange, in what way?”

  “Nervous, closed off, preoccupied,” Stu replied.