Paige slipped from the car, composing herself, and beelined through the front doors of the school. She cringed at how easy it was—too easy—to get into the school. Shouldn’t they have a double set of locked doors or security or something? She supposed the time of day was a large factor and the children weren’t still primary school aged. Still, if she could just walk in, so could Thorne. The fear of him slipping into the school to get Lucy sent a cold chill along her spine. She shook away a shiver as she promised herself she would tell Mara as soon as they were at the ski show. She had no choice but to just blurt it all out. Once Mara got over the shock that she might have unintentionally led Thorne to Lucy, she’d probably be angry, furious even, when she realized Paige had been masquerading as a stranger all this time. But she had to do it.
“Paige!” a joyful voice called. Paige scanned the swarm of children hustling past her to line up for their buses. And there, not twenty feet away, was that perfect little face, beaming.
“I’m sorry I looked in your wallet,” Lucy said, stopping just short of her. Paige shook her head in surprise. So much had happened in the last twenty-four hours, she had forgotten all about it.
“You’re forgiven,” she said, reaching for her. Lucy hesitantly slipped her arms around Paige’s waist. “I’ll always forgive you. Okay?” Lucy nodded. “Do you want to see your costume?”
“Did you finish it?”
“Yep. I have to fit it on you, but it should be all set.”
“Where’s Charlie?”
“Working at the shop. Your mom is outside.”
“I don’t want to see her.”
“Why?”
“I yelled at her last night. I made her cry and...”
“Things are going to be better now, kiddo. I promise you that.” Lucy searched her face for understanding, but all Paige could do to clarify was sling an arm around her shoulders and give her a squeeze. “Come on. Your mom is excited to see you.”
They followed the stream of students outside as a school bell rang and more students poured out of classrooms. Mara honked the horn. She’d parked at the end of a row. Paige and Lucy hurried around vehicles and people to the car when Paige noticed something odd out of the corner of her eye. That hair. That wild flurry of messy brown hair. She turned, doing a double take. The children rushing past her made her frantically work to readjust her eyes against the afternoon sun. Was he here?
“Are you coming?” Lucy asked before sliding into the back seat. Paige fumbled for the car door handle, glancing back behind her again. Her heart thudded in her ears. He was there, somewhere in the crowd, watching them with those ink-black eyes. She knew it.
By the time she flopped into the front seat, pulling the door shut with a frantic slam, Mara was revving the engine.
“Everything okay? You look like you’re escaping from prison and on the lam.”
“What? Of course not.”
“You might have to soon enough,” Mara continued as she pulled out of the parking lot. “My brother wants to see you immediately. Goodness was he ever short with me. He wants us back at the shop right away. Did you forget to kiss him goodbye or something?” Mara smirked as Lucy burst into giggles, but Paige slunk down into her seat. She had a feeling she already knew the reason and worried the lid on her past would be blown off for everyone to see before she had explained herself.
* * *
CHARLIE HAD PACED the same aisle of the sports shop, grateful for no customers and no one around to distract him. He’d had something on his mind he needed to work out and any distraction, no matter how little, would be a rude intrusion.
He kept replaying the instant he looked upon Paige’s face and saw something familiar there. He had been so shocked he hadn’t been able to form the words or questions that now grated on his mind: Who are you really? Are you here for Lucy? Are you her birth mother?
After at least ten minutes on his own, Charlie dug for his cell phone and dialed the only person he truly trusted.
“What’s up, buddy?” Tully’s deep, familiar voice somehow managed to calm his nerves with only those three words.
“I think she’s lying to me, man.”
There was a long pause on the other end of the line. He waited for Tully to follow up with questions, wanting to clarify what he meant. Instead, his silence sent Charlie rambling.
“This morning there was something so oddly familiar about her face. She blinked up at me with those pepper-green eyes and it struck me for the first time. She’s not here to write. She’s not here for work. She’s here for her daughter. She’s here for Lucy.” Again, all that met him on the other end of the line was more silence. Charlie ran a hand through his hair and slammed his hand on the counter. “Damn it, Tully. Are you still there?”
“I’m running her name now. I wanted to do it this morning. I regret not trusting my gut.”
“Which name?”
“Both.”
“No.” Charlie didn’t want to resort to that. He didn’t want to build a case against Paige and have her defend herself against it. He knew she’d had a troubled past and still had issues in her life to sort out. He wanted to know the truth, but he wanted it to come from her.
“Charlie,” Tully began. “I know you’re smitten but—”
“No,” he said again. “I want to talk to her first and give her a chance to sort this all out.”
“When?”
“Now.”
Tully sighed heavily into the phone. “There’s nothing wrong with checking, Charlie.”
“If that was true, you would have already done it.” Charlie finally managed a smile. “Though I suspect you have a finger hovering over the submit button right now.”
“If she’s Lucy’s birth mother, come to take her away, isn’t it better to know sooner than later?”
Charlie leaned back against the counter. Tully was right, so what had him hesitating?
“I’m in love with her, man.”
Tully paused on the other end of the phone. “I know. But how much can you really love a person without knowing them?”
Charlie considered this. Did he really know Paige? When they talked, when he looked in her eyes, he thought he did. He thought he knew her heart, but now...
By the time Mara’s car had pulled up in front of the sports shop, Charlie knew he needed a direct answer from Paige, as much as the fear of the truth made him cringe. He had met them on the sidewalk, not wanting to wait another second longer.
“Hi, Uncle Charlie,” Lucy sang, slipping past him into the shop. “Are you coming to the ski show with us?”
“Not until later, kiddo. I have to keep this place open for your mom.”
“What’s so pressing?” Mara said, patting Charlie lovingly on the cheek.
“Nothing, sis.”
“It didn’t sound like nothing on the phone.”
“Don’t worry about it.”
Mara opened her mouth to protest, but then caught the seriousness of Charlie’s stare. She nodded and pushed into the shop, calling out a hello to Peter.
Paige hung back near the car, teetering on the curb edge as he stared at her. With her hands slung in her shorts pockets and her head tipped to the side, she looked guilty as all get out. He just hoped it wasn’t for the reason he suspected.
“Hi, Charlie.”
“Paige,” he said. “If that’s your real name.”
“I told you it wasn’t.” He scoffed. Paige eased closer to him as he stayed within the shadow of the door awning. Her hair glistened like gold in the sunshine, but her squinting made it difficult for him to discern any sincerity in her eyes. “I need to talk to you.”
“Go ahead,” he said. His body stiffened as he braced for a confession. He was waiting for the truth and for it to all be over between them. The thought made him ache deeply from heart to gut.
She slowly slipped her hands into his and stepped into the shadows with him. Only then could he see her eyes were glistening with tears.
“I want to be completely honest with you, Charlie. I want to tell you everything, but I can’t right now. I must do one thing first. Please believe me when I say it’s the right thing to do.”
He shook his head. After the year he had had, it was difficult to trust anyone again. And now, as he suspected Paige had been lying to him and his family, he was supposed to trust this?
“That’s a lot to ask, don’t you think?”
“I wouldn’t ask it unless I had to.” She slipped her hands from his and tenderly grazed them up the front of his chest, caressing the nape of his neck. Her body was drawn close to his, pressing against him like she had when she’d kissed him on the dock. His wits demanded he pull away and get some answers. He needed to know the truth. But his senses, drowning in her scent and the softness of her hands running through his hair, failed him. “I love you, Charlie,” she said, breathing the words onto his lips before she drew him into a kiss he couldn’t surface from. He embraced her fully and let himself dissolve into the complete rapture that was purely her. He loved this woman too. He had let himself get carried away with the kindness of her words and the joyfulness of her laugh. He’d fallen in love, and now, he didn’t know if she was kissing him because she loved him or because she was saying goodbye.
Paige held him tightly as she grazed her lips to his ear and whispered gently. “I never thought I would love anyone until I met you, Charlie. You’ve changed my entire world, and I promise to tell you everything. I promise. But not yet.”
“Why?” he said, his whisper more of a demand.
“Because I can’t.”
“You’re going to break my heart—” he began, but before he could finish, she kissed him again and harder this time. He could feel her hot tears on his face. He wasn’t sure she was going to let him up for air as she seemed to need to convey something in her kiss that she couldn’t manage with words. So he let her.
“Whoa. Sorry to interrupt,” Mara chortled, pushing out of the front doors and heading around the back of the building. “Lucy and I are heading over now, Paige, if you want to join.”
Paige pressed her forehead to Charlie’s before peppering a last kiss on his lips.
“I’ll join you,” she called, her voice a forced, cheerful reply. She wiped the tears from under her eyes and slipped on sunglasses before turning toward Mara and Lucy.
He knew he was in trouble. He knew he couldn’t think clearly when Paige was near him. And as he watched the three women he loved most in the world head off toward the beach, he knew something earth-shattering was coming that he wouldn’t be able to escape.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
THE WATER DANCERS’ SKI SHOW drew a crowd bigger than what Paige first imagined Roseley could hold. As hundreds of people congregated on the beach and the water skiers in their sparkling sequined costumes darted to take their positions, the announcer on a loudspeaker welcomed the crowd.
“I’m starving,” Lucy said, pointing to the concession stand. Paige was too anxious to eat, even as the warm aroma of roasting hot dogs wafted through the late afternoon air. She needed to say goodbye to Lucy. She needed to tell Mara the truth about who she was. And most importantly, she needed to warn her about Thorne. Her stomach clenched, making her bring a self-conscious hand to her side to try to soothe the pain away.
“Tonight is more of a dress rehearsal before the season begins,” Mara explained, waving to passing friends. “You should see this place in a half hour.”
“Paige is here!” a voice called, making them all turn. CeCe and Dolores hurried up alongside Paige, CeCe squeezing Paige’s bicep. “Come to the sandwich shop tomorrow. My book club is getting together, and I want you to meet everyone. Dolores will be there, won’t you?”
“She’s still supposed to stop by the tea shop, CeCe.”
“Thanks for the invitation,” Paige said. “I’ll try.” She wanted so much to shake these lovely women off so she could focus on talking to Mara, she didn’t even care that she lied.
“I saw Paige and her beau at the fabric store yesterday,” Dolores said, ripping apart a piece of hot pretzel and offering it.
“It was for my storybook costume,” Lucy said, accepting the pretzel and popping it into her mouth. “I drew a picture of a dress I need for Storybook Characters Day, and Paige sewed one overnight.”
“Ha!” CeCe scoffed. “Youth can get away with whipping up a dress at a moment’s notice and getting it to fit. When you reach my age—”
“Oh, CeCe, leave it alone. I’ve listened to you complain about your age for the last twenty-seven years,” Dolores said.
“If you want me to stop, buy me a lemonade,” CeCe said. “I’m melting in this heat.”
Dolores grinned. “Come on, old woman. I’ll even spring for nachos.”
CeCe laughed as they labored to walk away in the sand. “Enjoy the show, Paige. Best entertainment in town!”
“Does everyone come out for this show?” Paige said, eyeing the swelling crowd.
Lucy nodded. “All my friends come.”
“Every Wednesday?”
“Yep! All summer!”
Paige could see the appeal. Along the long stretch of gently sloping beach, families had spread blankets and umbrellas, coolers and lawn chairs.
“Do you see any of your friends?” Paige asked, searching the faces of the growing crowd. Was Thorne here? Would he have followed them from the school, looking for a chance to confront her or snatch Lucy?
“There’s Mary Alice!” Lucy said, pointing. “Can I go, Mom?”
“Don’t you want to eat first?” Paige quickly suggested. She wanted a few more minutes of Lucy before she told Mara the truth. She feared those minutes together would be their last.
“Later. Please, Mom?”
“Here’s a few dollars,” Mara said, handing her a wad of cash. “Grab a few hot dogs for you and your friends and meet us over by the flagpole.”
Lucy barely squeaked out a thank-you before scampering down the beach to a gaggle of girls her age.
“Don’t you want to keep an eye on her?” Paige suggested, her pulse racing at the thought of Lucy disappearing into the crowd.
“I have to work so hard not to hover around her,” Mara said. “But heaven knows my mother never knew what I was up to at that age. Charlie and I had free rein of this place our entire childhood. She’d kiss us in the morning, and we wouldn’t come home until dark, smelling like lake water, sweat and dirt. My father used to say we smelled like good old-fashioned sunshine.” Mara laughed. “I love those memories. Anyway, I know most people on this lake. She’ll be fine.”
“But you don’t know everyone,” Paige warned, following Mara to an open patch of sand by the flagpole. “A stranger could snatch her and disappear before you had time to blink.”
“Hey! Don’t get me thinking about that,” Mara said. “I’m already prone to worry.”
Paige continued to scan the crowd, darting her eyes to locate Lucy every few seconds. She was happily chattering with a gang of preteen girls.
“It feels good to relax for a moment,” Mara said, flopping down on the sand. She closed her eyes and tipped her face up to the sun. “And I wouldn’t mind getting a little color on my cheeks.”
Paige slowly sank to the sand, the pit in her stomach dropping deeper by the second. Maybe she should have told Charlie first. Maybe he would have helped her tell Mara about Thorne. What had she been thinking doing this by herself? She’d always had her aunt and uncle to help her through the hard times. Was she already steeling herself against any help, knowing they wouldn’t be around forever?
Mara peeked open an eye to discover Paige still watching Lucy.
“You’re making me feel grossly negligent, Paige,” she la
ughed. “She’s fine over there. No one’s going to hurt her with everyone watching.”
The announcer’s voice crackled over the loudspeaker. He was happy to say that the show would be starting shortly, just as soon as the skiers took their places. He mumbled on about buying tickets to the 50/50 raffle and pointed out how the concession stand was now proud to serve Perk’s Pizza. Paige wrung her hands. As soon as the announcer powered off his microphone again, she blurted her best attempt to explain.
“What if someone did want to hurt her, Mara? What if her father was here for her? You said she was put up for adoption to escape him, right? Isn’t it better to be safe than sorry?”
Mara released a sigh, her closed eyes still turned to the sun.
“Don’t make me think about that. It would be more likely her birth mother was here, especially after what’s happened this week with Dr. Hathaway.”
“Mara—” Paige began, her voice a cold mix of urgency and panic.
“Yeah?”
A little child sprinted past, kicking sand on them. Paige didn’t flinch.
“Mara, there’s something you need to know about Lucy’s birth mother...”
“Huh?” Mara shielded her eyes and turned to Paige. Paige clasped her hands desperately to her chest, her lip quivering beyond her control.
“Lucy...our Lucy... I need to tell you, Mara... Oh, I’m so sorry it’s taken me this long...”
Darkness shrouded Mara’s eyes, her face contorting from confusion to sickening realization.
“Ladies and gentlemen,” the announcer began. “You know it isn’t summer until the first Water Dancers’ show kicks off the season. With four new Water Dancers joining the crew this year, you’re in for a real treat tonight. Keep your eyes on the youngest and newest members of our team—seven-year-old Brayden, and his nine-year-old big brother Bentley. They are going to take their very first loop for you. Please put your hands together for the Hanover brothers!”
The crowd erupted in a supportive cheer as two little boys gripped the rope handles and braced to slide off the floating dock and onto the water. Paige didn’t look to see if they managed to stay on their skis. She couldn’t tell by the cheering crowd if they had succeeded or not. All she was focused on was Mara’s face, etched in horror as she straightened and hustled to her feet.
Where the Heart May Lead: A Clean Romance (Harlequin LP Heartwarming) Page 18