The Tick-Tock Between You and Me

by Kristy Tate

  Yes, but probably not for the reason Crystal suspected. Nora gave Crystal a bleak smile.

  Crystal wrapped her arm around Nora’s waist and pulled her into a sideways hug. The older woman felt small and brittle like a collection of dry bones. Her lacquered hair smelled of chemicals and a hint of alcohol clung to her breath.

  “It was hard for me to attend social gatherings after Clyde and I split up, but—” she sighed and brushed a loose curl off Nora’s forehead, “you’ll get used to it, I promise.”

  Nora smiled. “I knew it would be hard.”

  “Do you miss the dirty little rat fink?” Crystal’s smile softened her words.

  Nora nodded. “I do. I’m trying to be understanding, but…”

  “Where is he now?”

  “San Francisco, with Teddy…that’s his lover’s name.”

  “Sounds like a bear.”

  “And he totally fits his name, too.” Nora still couldn’t believe that Blake had left her…and for a man who looked like he’d just lumbered out of the woods in search of a picnic basket. Nora sniffed, wiped her hand under her nose, and looked back out at the boats. “Crystal, you’ve been friends with my mom for a really long time.”

  “Nearly thirty years.”

  Ah, then she would know…

  “And your father for even longer. We worked at the same firm back when I thought I was a hot shot in a power suit.”

  Nora grinned. “You’re still a hot shot.”

  “Yeah, but I’m no longer putting the bad guys behind bars.”

  It still surprised Nora that loud, forceful Crystal and her quiet, reserved mom were acquaintances, let alone best friends. How had that happened? But at the moment, she was wondering how a lot of things had ever happened.

  “It’s not Blake, is it?” Crystal studied Nora, giving Nora the uncomfortable feeling of being read like a laundry list.

  “It’s Blake,” Nora lied.

  “But there’s something else, isn’t there?”

  Nora glanced at her parents through the window. The dying sun reflected off the glass making the party look shimmery but blurry. It seemed apt. Her parents had often seemed glittery but insubstantial. Not quite real.

  Everyone’s been lying to me, Nora thought. Anger stiffened her spine. “Tell me about 1991.”

  Crystal looked surprised. “What do you want to know? You were there, weren’t you? Big hair? Shoulder pads? A bunch of Madonna wannabes?”

  “I was born in 1991.” The hardness in Nora’s voice surprised even herself.

  She watched the comprehension dawn on Crystal’s face. The older woman took Nora’s arm in a gentle but firm grasp. “Maybe we should go for a walk.”

  Neither of them wore walking shoes and Crystal was a good six inches shorter than Nora, but Crystal led the way down the steps of the Shore Cliff Country Club’s patio to the marina’s floating dock.

  “What do you want to know about 1991?” Crystal asked when they were safely away from the party and any of its revelers.

  “I want to know why there’re photographs of my mother looking—as always—rail thin, days before my birth.”

  Crystal sniffed and rubbed her nose. “And where did you see those?”

  “Tom Thacker brought an album.”

  “And do your parents know?”

  “Know what?” Nora practically exploded. The curiosity in her had turned into a raging animal that demanded satisfaction.

  “For the record, I never agreed with your parent’s decision,” Crystal said.

  “To do what?”

  Crystal slid her glance. “To keep your birth mother a secret.”

  “Birth mother?” Nora leaned against the rail as her knees gave. “My whole life is a lie,” she breathed. First her husband and now her parents? Fantastic.

  “Not everything, no,” Crystal said, worry etching the lines around her eyes. “Your parents adore you.”

  “I’m adopted…?”

  “Well, sort of,” Crystal said.

  “What does that mean? Either I’m adopted or I’m not.” Nora’s thoughts spun. Everyone told her she looked just like her dad because she did. They were both tall, blond, with fair skin and pale blue eyes while her mother was small, dark, and impish. Her family consisted of just the three of them. No grandparents, aunts, uncles or cousins. The three musketeers, her mom called them…and now Crystal didn’t even have them. Or did she? “What happened?” Nora demanded.

  “Sweetie, this is a conversation you should have with your parents.”

  Nora pointed a trembling finger at the Dream Catcher. “You know as well as I do that at any moment the people I thought were my mom and dad are about to sail away! For six months!”

  “Darling, don’t,” Crystal said in her courtroom voice. “You’re upsetting yourself, and you’d undoubtedly cause your parents an enormous amount of embarrassment and pain if anyone overheard you.”

  “And my failed marriage has already embarrassed them,” Nora said bitterly.

  “No one’s blaming you for Blake’s…change of heart.”

  Nora swallowed and tried to tamp down her anger. “What happened?” she repeated.

  Crystal pinched her lips together and met Nora’s glare.

  Nora pointed her finger at Crystal’s bony chest. “If you don’t tell me right now, I’m going to go in there and confront my—”

  “Just stop.” Crystal took Nora’s hand and interlacing their fingers. “I’ll try to tell you everything I know. But keep in mind, I don’t know everything.”

  And for Crystal to admit that she didn’t know everything so surprised Nora and that she fell silent. For a moment, the sound of the waves lapping the moorings and the cry of seagulls filled the air. Then Crystal told her a story Nora didn’t want to believe. “You are not your mother’s child.”

  “What?” That didn’t even make sense. And yet, given her relationship with her mom, it sort of did.

  Crystal nodded and gazed out over the water. “Your father had an affair, and you are the end result.”

  “I don’t believe you.” The words choked in the back of Nora’s throat.

  Crystal pinned her with a steely gaze. “Really?”

  Nora flinched. “So, do you know who my birth mother is?” The words came out as a whisper.

  “No, but I have an idea,” Crystal said with a speculative glint in her eye. “Let me do some subtle investigating, and I’ll get back to you.” Her eyes narrowed. “You know, if I were you, I would be dying to confront your parents, but I really don’t think that’s a good idea.”

  On a distant pier, the cheer of a small crowd rose as the Dream Catcher pulled into the harbor.

  Ignoring Crystal’s warning, Nora ran after her parents. After a few faltering steps in her high heels, she pulled off her shoes. “Mom! Dad! Don’t go!”

  Her parents, too far away to hear, waved.

  Nora cupped her hands and shouted, “Stop! Wait!”

  Her dad lifted his hand to his forehead and gave her a salute.

  Nora fumbled for her purse, but then remembered she had left it in the club. With tears streaming down her face, she pounded down the boardwalk, skittering around the others on the dock. Inside the club, she scanned the tables looking for her purse. Where had she left it? How could she have been so careless? She’d been so shaken and confused when she’d seen the photographs…She spotted the offending albums on the table next to the partially eaten sheet cake, half-empty wine bottles, and goblets smudged with lipstick. Beside the album lay her purse.

  Relief whooshed through her. She scooped up her bag and knew immediately something was wrong. It was too light. Even before opening it, she knew it would be empty. Her money, her credit cards, her phone…like her parents and Blake, they were all gone.

  #

  She felt his gaze upon her. Slowly, she turned, quickly her heart accelerated. Tall, blue-eyed, sun-kissed blond, he looked like he should be carrying a surfboard instead of a stethoscope. He strode tow
ard her, and she backed away—

  Cole Rowling tore himself away from his tablet when his phone buzzed with an incoming call. He smiled as he answered. “Hey, mom, where are you today?”

  “Mexico—so much adventure! I can’t wait to tell you about it, but that’s not why I called.”

  Only his mom would spend her much deserved vacations rebuilding houses in earthquake riddled countries.

  “We have a new applicant for the English position,” his mom began.

  “I’m reading her novel now. Did you know that she self-published?” Cole stole another glance at his tablet.

  “What do you think?”

  “Why? I thought we ‘d settled on Turner Lawson.”

  “I’ve had a change of heart.”

  “What? Why? This applicant…she has an impressive academic and career background but absolutely no teaching experience.”

  “Are there other applicants?”

  “Well, yes. But none of them can match Lawson.”

  “Forget Lawson. Tell me about Nora Tomas.”

  Cole shuffled through the pile of resumes and pulled out Nora’s. Just this morning, he had thought he should cancel the interview, but then he’d ended up buying her book instead. He didn’t have any regrets. “Maybe you should come home,” Cole said. “I thought it was decided…”

  “Lawson is no longer a consideration.” She sounded surprisingly firm.

  “Okay. You want to tell me about what’s going on?”

  His mom cleared her throat and launched into a description of her work with Habitat Rescue. Cole listened, but after a while, his thoughts drifted back to the novel on his tablet. He had only an hour until his interview with Nora Tomas. He hoped she was as adorable as her book.

  #

  Cole Rowling gazed the pale blond sitting across from him. She looked nothing like any president of a multi-million-dollar company he’d ever met. “Tell me, Miss Tomas, why would you leave your position at Apex to teach at Canterbury?”

  Nora blinked. She had amazing light blue eyes, so translucent they reminded him of opals.

  “I studied English literature in college.”

  Cole tore his gaze from hers to glance back at her resume. “I see that. But then you went to Horn for your MBA.”

  “Yes, but that was my parent’s idea. Literature was my first love.”

  She twisted her hands in her lap. A pink flush stained her cheeks. She looked nervous but excited.

  “We’re a small, private school. You must understand we can’t even come close to matching your previous salary.”

  Nora nodded. “I didn’t expect you to.”

  He frowned at her and tapped his fingers on his desk. “You self-published romance novels a few years ago.”

  She looked pleased and for just a moment, she stopped twisting her hands. “Yes. It was…fun.”

  “Fun?”

  “I was bored.”

  “You find running a multi-million-dollar company boring?”

  She rolled her eyes. “You have no idea. All those suits and ties worrying about falling profit margins.”

  He laughed. “A lot of powerful suits and ties send their daughters to Canterbury.”

  “I know. But I also know you take a handful of scholarship children as well…girls who are deserving of a second chance, a new start.” Her voice warmed with passion. “I admire that.” She rehearsed the school’s mission statement. “Compassion coupled with edification. Canterbury cares.”

  Cole flushed with her words. He stared at her as if seeing her for the first time. She wasn’t just an applicant for a job. She was something more. Something integral…but to what?

  “I want to be a part of that,” she added.

  Flustered more by his reaction than by her, Cole stood and held out his hand. “I have more candidates…” he stuttered.

  “I understand,” she said, taking his hand.

  “I’ll get back to you.” Her hand felt small and soft in his own. Heat radiated up his arm.

  “I’ll look forward to hearing from you.”

  Cole dropped her hand. “You aren’t…” he cleared his throat. “You would need to work on getting your teaching credentials.”

  “I understand.”

  But he didn’t think she did, because he certainly didn’t.

  #

  This is my brother, Nora thought, holding his hand a little longer than necessary and liking the way his flesh made her tingle as if her body recognized their similar DNA. If she made it to the second interview, she would probably get to meet her mother. Her real mother. A guilty sense of betrayal flashed through her which she tried to quell but couldn’t ignore.

  Mr. Rowling yammered about credentials, the school’s reputation, class size, but all Nora could think about was meeting her mom. It had been all she could think about for the last two weeks—ever since Crystal had dropped her bombshell.

  “Tell me, does Apex know of your decision to leave?”

  “I actually left the company about a year ago,” she told him.

  He raised his eyebrow, waiting.

  “Apex was my husband’s—” she reddened and corrected herself, “my ex-husband’s baby. It still is. Well, actually, he also has another baby now.” A large, hairy one. “I still collect a salary, but I’m no longer involved. It was a mutual decision.”

  “So you don’t need this position.”

  “Oh, but I do. Maybe not financially, but not all needs are financial. Wouldn’t you agree?” He had the warmest eyes. Nothing like her own, but green with flecks of brown that matched his thick wavy hair. She had never had a sibling before. She flashed him a smile and decided that even if she didn’t get the job—and she really hoped that she would—just meeting her brother had made the long drive to Oak Hollow worthwhile.

  #

  “You’re crazy. This is craziness,” Darby said as she sat cross-legged on Nora’s bed, watching Nora fill one suitcase after another. “Why would you even believe Crystal Clare?”

  “Why would she lie?” Nora poked her head out of her closet to meet Darby’s gaze.

  Darby picked at a loose thread on the comforter. “Please don’t go. I don’t feel right about it. Crystal’s lying. She’s an ice witch. You know what her son says about her.”

  “It’s just sad that those two don’t get along.” Nora fished through her closet, carefully selecting her wardrobe. How many dresses would she really need? Cole had said there would be numerous fundraising activities, but how many were formal? “Honor your mother and your father and all that.”

  “Don’t be a hypocrite,” Darby said. “You know this decision is going to put your parents in the hospital.”

  “This isn’t about them.”

  “Blake’s bombshell already broke their hearts.”

  Nora threw her boots onto the bed more forcefully than she needed to. “They should have told me!”

  “Of course they should have, but I get why they didn’t.” Sometimes when Darby smiled, she still reminded Nora of the ten-year-old girl with pigtails and buck teeth that had beat Nora in a hopscotch game on the school’s playground. “So, why do you think you haven’t met Irena Rowling?”

  “I told you, she’s been traveling. She’ll be back the week before school starts.” Nora gathered up a collection of scarves and dropped them in an empty suitcase. Her wardrobe as a teacher wouldn’t need to be very different from that as the president of Apex. But inland weather wasn’t as easy to predict.

  The ocean kept the weather in Shell Beach foggy but moderate. Canterbury was only fifteen miles from the California Coast, but it was nestled at a higher elevation in the foothills making the temperatures more extreme. She’d read that in the winter there was occasionally ice on the roads. She shivered and threw a flannel shirt into her suitcase.

  “Seriously, I don’t know how you’re going to tell your parents,” Darby said.

  “I’m not sure I will.”

  “They’ll figure it out!”

>   Nora thought about this. “I just want to meet her.”

  “So meet her! You don’t have to move up there and take a job at her school!” Darby froze. “Do you even like kids?”

  “Everyone likes kids. Only monsters don’t like kids.”

  “Have you ever spent any time around kids?”

  “Well, no. But I’m not sure why that matters.”

  Darby rolled her eyes. “You, my friend, are brilliant, but clueless. And gullible. You need to talk to your parents.”

  “Not about this.” Nora went back to raiding her closet. She came across a red dress sprinkled with yellow daisies. She’d loved it but Blake had said it made her look like a school marm…well, that’s exactly what she was…now. She wondered if Cole would like this dress. Maybe she would wear it on the first day of class. Her chest tightened as she thought about facing a room filled with teenage girls. She hadn’t even liked teenaged girls when she’d been one.

  “This is so dumb.” Darby flopped back against the pillows.

  “It’s just for one school year.” Nora went to the bed, plopped down, tugged her laptop to her, and pulled up The Canterbury Academy website. “The school is gorgeous. It’s surrounded by green hills dotted with these ancient oak trees. They have a Four-H program with horses, chickens…”

  “Sounds smelly,” Darby said, looking over Nora’s shoulder. “Ooh, is that your boss?”

  “That’s my brother.”

  “If I married him, we could be sisters!” Darby sat up and hugged her knees.

  A sick wave of revulsion swept through Nora. She told herself that feeling territorial about her brother was a typical response. Especially since she’d just met him and he was so brand new in her life. It made sense that she wanted to keep him for herself. Right?

  Darby bumped her shoulder and read her mind. “But maybe you want him for yourself.”

  “He’s my brother,” Nora repeated.

  “Says who? Crystal?”

  Nora closed the lid of her laptop with a sharp click.

  “You need to talk to your parents,” Darby repeated.

  “You keep saying that, but I can’t.”

  “Why not?”