by Maggie Thom
He wiped his hands on a rag tucked in his front pocket. He was enjoying figuring out the massive machine that was used for harvesting. The only thing he could compare it to, similar to something he’d worked on, would have been a combine.
He pushed himself out and stood up, walking through to the office. His eyes were immediately drawn towards the main building, less than a hundred feet away. It was a really classy building that was a mix of glass, wood and metal. They’d done a good job of making it look warm and inviting and at the top of the game. They were so successful that they really could have hired anyone. It still seemed really odd to him that he was working there. But they’d recruited him. In fact, they’d flown to Winnipeg to find him. The question was why? He still didn’t feel as if he knew that answer. His mind slid back to how he’d been hired.
~~~~
“Are you August Renner?”
He turned, not liking that someone had managed to catch him off guard. Normally, it never bothered him but the way the man said his name had him looking for the nearest exit. Hunching his shoulders, he sucked air between his teeth. Nothing annoyed people more than that awful sound. Something about the way they’d shown up left him feeling uneasy. They might not be people he wanted to have a conversation with.
“And you are?”
“I’m Graham and this is Tarin.”
He studied the two people, quite sure they were a couple. The silent communication between them was something only those connected could master. Taking the rag from his pocket, he wiped the grease off his hands in a slow, methodical manner.
“And you’re trying to find this guy, because?”
Tarin looked at her partner obviously trying to tell him something. Graham nodded imperceptibly, before turning back to him. “Look August, is there somewhere we can talk?”
He didn’t even bother to pretend, they knew it was him. How, he wasn’t sure.
“I get off at 5:00. So about 45 minutes. Meet me at Sal’s Pub down the street.” His answer didn’t sit well with either of them. They'd have to twiddle their thumbs. Or do whatever people did when dressed in stylish clothes, for a few hours. Although if he was to guess, the man looked like he would have preferred to be in jeans or grubbies. He did not appear too comfortable in the dress pants and shirt. Every now and then he had that body twitch when someone had underwear riding up their butt. The woman looked very comfortable in her sky blue, skirt suit and heels. The two though, looked very out of place in the dark, grease covered, tool cluttered, smelly garage.
“Sure. We’ll meet you later at Sal’s.”
August watched until they climbed into a beast of a vehicle, a huge Hummer, something that was a little out of place in this small country town in rural Manitoba.
Taking a sip of his lukewarm coffee that he’d been ignoring, he stared down the street at Sal’s Pub. He could just see the corner of the building. The two people waiting for him were still inside but how had they found him? He cocked his head as he started to think about that. He'd used his bank card and credit card. For someone to have that information, they’d have to have quite some security clearance. He stepped away from the window.
Who the hell wants to find me?
Leaving seemed to be the smartest thing to do but he realized that they’d tracked him down for some reason. His stomach churned as though he had drunk a pot of espresso coffee on an empty stomach. It wasn’t until he headed out the door that he decided that he wasn’t about to start running. It made him wince when it dawned on him that what he’d been doing the last few months had been just that. After losing his mom the year before, he’d needed something different, someplace where he didn’t have to think or be responsible or feel.
He walked across the road, glancing down the street as he took a chance that the one car an hour had already passed by. Entering the dingy bar with its fuzzy ceiling that looked like dryer lint, he waited until his eyes adjusted. The usual ten people who seemed to think this was their home were either perched on a barstool or at their own table. The one thing about drunks was they liked to think they owned something even if it was a bit of space in a sleazy pub. It wasn’t hard to spot the two strangers; they stood out like two swans in the desert. They watched him. It made August feel a little better to know that they weren't comfortable. But he had to give it to them, they’d stuck it out for an hour past when he said he’d meet them, even though he hadn’t shown.
Time to find out what made him so popular. He stood by their table sizing them up. The bar maid, Danna, brought him a beer, the brand he always drank, and set it down on the table. Nothing could have told him more succinctly, he’d been spending way too much time there.
Without sitting down, he asked, “So what brings you here?”
The couple looked at one another and then back at him before the woman answered, “Your mom sent us.”
The conversation hadn’t been anything like what he’d expected. After an hour of talking with them and coming to an agreement, the two strangers left.
As soon as they’d pulled away, he went back to the mechanic shop. He strode up the flight of stairs to the second floor. Without knocking, he walked into the boss’ office.
“Don’t tell me you’re leaving?”
August chuckled. “Jim. We’d agreed I’d be here to help out for a few weeks. It’s been over four months. Definitely time for me to go.”
“Yes, don’t let the grass grow under your feet. And don’t let the door hit you on the ass on the way out.”
“Hey. I saved your bacon, man. Remember that combine that Mr. Jones needed work on. I got it running in record time. He said he’d hire me and pay me a monthly salary to keep that old beast working.”
Jim laughed. August was glad; he hated the thought of leaving but it was time. He’d never planned on staying long at all. And this invite to be a mechanic for Caspian Winery had told him he needed to do it, if only to understand what his mom had planned for him.
~~~~
The sound of the main door slamming jolted him. He was pretty sure it was Perry, a third-year apprentice mechanic. It would be several minutes before Perry was ready to work. The first thing he always did was to make a pot of coffee, or black tar as August called it. He walked back into the shop, his mind still mulling over what he’d been thinking about. Their hiring had been very unconventional, especially on his mom’s say-so. Well, they hadn’t just hired him because she’d written and told them he needed a good job. They’d done their homework on him and interviewed him and called ten references. So it really hadn’t been easy to get the position. The reason they’d sought him out, though, still bothered him. Who looked up a guy because a dying mom told them they should hire him?
It had intrigued him enough to accept.
He hadn’t been searching for work, but it sure had made him curious. He’d found it difficult to decline the offer they’d made him—lead mechanic at Caspian Winery.
The company was not just a solid business but internationally known and respected. They’d had a few scandals over the last few years. A granddaughter kidnapped at birth was found 30 years later, and the year before, someone had tried to sabotage their business by swapping out the wine with vinegar. Despite that, they had a good reputation and were well liked.
What he didn’t get was why they had wanted him. They had, of course, known pretty much everything about him, including the mechanic business he’d owned for eight years and had sold for a hefty sum. The worst, though, was that they’d known his mom had died of cancer.
His mom had been his only parent for most of his life. She’d been such a strong woman and had been why he’d started his business in the first place. She’d even worked for free in the early days to help him get it off the ground. He’d never been so thrilled as the day he was able to hand her a paycheque for the work she’d been doing.
When she’d gotten sick, at first, the prognosis and her odds of beating cancer had been good. But then they’d discovered that she didn’t
have only breast cancer. Her body had been filled with the deadly disease. As soon as he’d known his time with her had been limited, he’d sold his business. His mom had been devastated that he’d do that; she’d never understood how well he’d been doing. The truth, however, is it had been the excuse he’d needed to get out. He hadn’t liked the pressure and the long hours. At least not anymore. Besides, he’d had a man who’d been bugging him to sell. The timing had been right.
“Damn, you like to come in early. I suppose you got in before those roosters at the farm next door started crowing.”
August chuckled at Perry’s head-shake and eye-roll.
“Actually, they start cock-a-doodling at 5:45 a.m. So, yes.”
Perry groaned. He drank half his mug of coffee before setting it on the counter and plopping his six-foot frame down on the other dolly. “So what are we up to today, boss?”
August’s cell phone rang. He pulled it out of his pocket, already knowing who was calling by the ring tone.
“August, good morning. Hey, Graham and I are going ATVing tonight, want to join us?”
“Sure. Sounds great.” After getting all the details, August hung up. He hadn’t known a soul when he’d moved out to Ontario but Guy and Graham had made him feel welcome. He was grateful they included him—to go for meals, help them clean out a few sheds at Caspian, go ATVing—but there seemed to be another side to it. He felt like they were testing him. Either it was the most in-depth probation anyone had ever been put through or they were testing him. But for what?
Chapter 4
Tijan hadn’t flown much and wasn’t looking forward to the experience. Sitting in her seat by the window, she thought about what she was doing.
She didn’t even know where the woman she was searching for lived—or her name. All she had to go on was the little bit that she'd found in the media. The incident that had photographed the woman she was sure was her sister had happened in a hotel in Toronto. A daughter of a wealthy family had been getting married, and there had been a shooting at the wedding. The media said that a deranged, mentally ill man had broken in and had tried to take hostages. He’d been killed by police but no one else had been harmed. The photo hadn’t had much but when Tijan had accidentally come across it on the Internet, it had stopped her cold. The hand that was visible in the corner of the picture had grabbed her attention. It was a fluke that it had been in the photo at all. But it had given Tijan hope and it had made her curious. She and her sister were born with almost identical birthmarks; both were C’s. Hers was backward facing on her foot and her sister’s, according to her mom, was forward facing on her hand. Tijan had flashes of memory of her mom teasing them about the similar marks, and how they’d make a circle if they were put together. For some reason that had stuck in Tijan's mind, but she wasn't sure if it was a true memory. Over the years, her mom would often stare at and touch her birthmark and tell her about the one her sister had on her hand.
Tijan had always known she’d had a twin sister but she’d been gone a long time. The loss still haunted her mom and kept her up some nights. All that Tijan had been told was that her twin had drowned in a creek, but the rest of the details had been sketchy.
She thought back to her conversation with her mom.
~~~~
“I was born in Ontario.”
Tijan pressed her fingers to her forehead. “You’ve never mentioned that before.”
Her mom looked at Cal who sat down beside her on the bench and took her hand. Tijan found herself standing, towering over them. It didn’t feel right so she sat on the floor.
“My parents disowned me. I wasn’t a very good daughter and definitely not up to their standards. Anyway, I haven’t been back there in a very long time. You caught me off guard.”
Tijan couldn’t look at her mom, but she wasn’t sure if it was because her mom had withheld information or because Tijan was withholding information now. There was so much more to that story but now wasn’t the time, though the time would have to come someday.
“I’ve lived here all my life, though, right?”
“Yes. Well, not here at the ranch but we didn’t live far away.”
“Is that how you two met?” Tijan had heard the story before but felt there was something her mom wasn’t telling her.
“Cal came into the diner where I was waitressing and that was the start of him courting me.”
Although they looked at one another with love, Tijan noted something was different. It was almost like her dad was trying to get her mom to say more.
“So, where were we living before this?”
~~~~
Tijan didn’t really know what to believe. When she’d seen that picture, though, she’d understood that odd, kind of broken-lost feeling she’d always had. She’d always felt like something, some piece of her had been missing. It wasn’t something she could have explained. It just was. Seeing that picture had made it clear that she was missing part of herself—her twin. And although this was a long shot, she had to determine if that person was connected to her in some way. Or maybe she was just going crazy. She didn’t know but she did know that she had to find out. Her mom had said she had no relatives. She’d been an only child, and her deceased dad had also been an only child. And that was all she knew about him. Her mom hadn’t liked to talk about the man except to say he’d been bad. Tijan didn’t even know his name. Her stepfather Cal had been such a wonderful father. She’d never felt the need to find out who her real one was or was even curious about him. Cal had treated her like his daughter. He'd taught her so much that she would never have hurt him by trying to learn about her real father.
Her sister though, was a different thing. After doing some research into the wedding, Tijan discovered Caspian Winery and Knight’s Associates. Both businesses were in or near Toronto. So that’s where she was going—Ontario. A province she’d never been to and a city she’d never wanted to go to. It had too many people, too many buildings and not enough wide-open spaces. It wasn’t a place she wanted to go but she didn’t have a choice. There was only one thing her mom had ever wanted and that was to be reunited with her other daughter—not that she’d ever told Tijan but she had heard her and Cal talking many times about the regrets she had.
It probably was a wild goose chase. Why Tijan felt this was right, she had no clue. She was never spontaneous or impulsive but something was driving her. One thing she knew was that her mom deserved total happiness, and for some reason, she felt this was a gift she needed to give her—if there was anything to it.
What if I’m an idiot and I’m chasing ghosts?
The thought that it might not lead anywhere almost had her changing her mind. Determination squared her shoulders and kept her focused on seeing it through. It hadn’t been her belief that this was just any relative but that it might be her sister. Her twin. Her mind had conjured up all kinds of possibilities of how that might happen, and that thread had kept her mind open but her doubt remained high. Now she wasn’t sure. It all seemed so farfetched and so far from her simple country life. It made her wonder if she didn’t need an adventure. Things had been routine for a very long time. Trent’s pushiness had been a factor in making her mind up to get away, to look for something new and different. And he’d been one of the best local catches. That made her shudder. Maybe it was her biological clock ticking, or a desire for what her mom and Cal had. She didn’t know. She hoped that this wasn’t going to be one of those few times she'd jumped and it didn’t end well. Like the time she’d tied up her horse, Tango, and then jumped from the hayloft hoping to land on Tango’s back, only her step-cousin had chosen that moment to come roaring in on his motorbike. The horse had reared and bolted. Tijan’s saving grace had been that when she’d leapt, she’d been able to grab the rope. She’d convinced Cal when she was younger to hang it so she could play Spiderman and thankfully, it had still been there. All she’d received had been a few strained muscles, severe rope burn on her hands, and a need to get back at her
step-cousin.
This new adventure felt like she’d taken that kind of leap. Whether there was anything for her to grab onto was up for question.
What if it isn’t her? What if it isn’t my sister?
As much as she tried to push that thought away, it was like a swarm of bees that kept buzzing around her head.
Chapter 5
The coughing wouldn’t stop. James reached for a glass of water and took several sips. He then grabbed a lozenge and popped it into his mouth.
His phone beeped. Mary, his receptionist, wanted to talk to him. He picked up.
“Carter and Associates are waiting for you in the boardroom.”
“I know that.”
“The meeting was to start fifteen minutes ago. If you want I can reschedule?”
“Tell them I’ll be there in a minute. And that I’m busy running a hotel chain.” He felt a bit guilty for yelling at Mary but she’d heard worse from him and she’d stayed.
“I told them you were busy due to a call with potential investors.”
Another coughing attack caught him off guard. He drank some more water. Finally, the hack-attack ceased but it left him feeling weak, beat up and run down. If he hadn’t thought his doctor would tell him he had to take time off, he might have gone and seen the man.
Being late was a show of poor management skills. It was something James prided himself on—always being on time. Unfortunately, there was nothing he could do about it. As the owner of C-Lite hotels, he could do as he wanted and he had done that most of his life; that’s why he’d gotten as far as he had. He did not bend to anyone’s will or demands. He set the rules and his team of lawyers, who he paid well, would just have to wait.
After popping a couple of pills, intended to help with a cold, he grabbed his phone and stood up. The room seemed to go a little fuzzy. Holding onto his desk, he took a moment until he didn’t feel so dizzy. Once he felt that he could walk and wouldn’t collapse, he headed to his meeting. He might not feel well but that wasn’t something he was going to show anyone. Squaring his shoulders, he straightened to his 6’2” height as he entered the room.