by Rimmy London
An unsteadiness grew in Abby during their drive home, a tension that wound tighter and tighter like the coils of a chain. There were things they needed to work out, foremost was the question of Abby's memories. If they were real, their family was in significant danger. And if they weren't…
"So, I've been thinking about you seeing your dad today,"
Chase stared down the road as he spoke, and Abby took a moment to study his handsome face. His head tilted a bit when he thought. She loved that. "Yeah?"
"Well, it had me wondering." He paused, nodding gently. "What's the most recent picture you have of him?"
Abby hesitated before leaning forward and digging into her purse. She knew right where the small photo was, in a small zipper pocket folded once. The picture was something she’d wanted to throw away so many times, but couldn’t. The memories she had of her father were colorful and bright, and a small part of her was grateful to him for that.
"Just this one." She held it up between them. His face was shaved, and he was smiling with youthful happiness. Abby remembered him smiling like that, the way he'd read to her and bring her treats and toys… when he was around, which wasn't often. How could he have just up and left her with her horrible mother?
"Hmm." Chase glanced from the road to the image a few times. "And when you saw him the other day, he didn't look like this?"
Abby shook her head.
"Okay, and what was he wearing?"
Her eyes flicked back to the photo again, and she froze. She knew instantly what he was getting at, and she wanted to fight it. Anger burst from inside like an explosion, although there was fear, also, lots of it. Fear that she had made him up. Because what were the odds he would be wearing the same long-sleeved, blue plaid flannel shirt as her picture? What were the odds he'd have kept it all this time?
"Uh…" She tried to answer, but her eyes were fixed on the photo, aching to find some distinct difference. But there was none, the shirt was the same. "It's the same one." Her voice was dull, and she lowered the picture, looking out at the road again. Fear was quickly overtaking her anger.
"So he was wearing the same shirt today? The same as your picture?"
"Yeah." Abby felt dazed, the world around her out of focus as she took it in.
"That makes me wonder if your memories are just especially vivid right now."
Abby turned to him. "Especially vivid?" She exploded. "I think what you meant to say is I'm completely crazy, right?"
"What? No, Abby, of course not. No." He shook his head vigorously, glancing back and forth from the road to her so many times that a few blond-tipped waves fell across his eyes. "You're the smartest person I know. Maybe there's just something we need to change in our lives, perhaps? Or maybe it really would help you to talk to someone outside of the family about your childhood. There could be pent-up fears that are only surfacing now that you have a child of your own to raise."
He looked back at her and reached for her hand, running his fingers across her palm. "Don't think that, not for one moment. Because I don't."
Her shoulders sagged, and she leaned against his arm, resting her head on his shoulder. "Then why am I seeing people that aren't' really there?"
Silence settled around them for long enough that Abby was certain her life was a hopeless mess.
"You know what I think?" Chase asked, glancing down at her with optimism practically dripping from his cheerful face.
A dry laugh escaped her lips. "What do you think, Chase?"
"We need to meet with Mr. Daylen Baker." He glanced at her downturned mouth and continued in a rush, "Let's just talk to the guy, ask what he does, get a feel for his company. If he is who you think he is—and he could be!" He leaned forward to stare at her square in the eyes.
She pushed his chin so he was facing the road again, and he kissed her fingertips as she drew them away, making her laugh despite her miserable mood.
"That's where everything started, so let's begin there. We can talk to him and maybe get to the bottom of why you thought he was someone from your past. Deal?" Cheerfulness radiated in his voice, although Abby couldn't help thinking of the one thing that would crush all his hopes. Talking to Daylen wouldn't help, even if it did prove that he wasn't Kyle. Because everything didn't start with him… it all started with the gift.
Chapter 8
Naptime was the perfect moment for a meeting that would require her full attention, so Abby was glad when Ava went down for her usual afternoon snooze. She joined Chase in the office and pulled out a planner and pen, her phone, and a magazine featuring Poppyridge Inn. It was all just fluff to calm down and feel a little less like a panic attack was on the horizon.
She drew in a deep breath.
There was little time for anything else as tires ground up the gravel drive. She listened to a door close and forced herself into as much professionalism as she could manage while her hands began to shake. She stayed behind as Chase walked out of the office to meet Kyl—Daylen at the door.
"Hello there, nice to see you again." Chase's voice was always so friendly, but she didn't catch the reply. Nerves crawled up her throat as she waited, and she swallowed hard as the two men entered the office.
Chase stepped in front of Daylen. "Abby, this is Daylen Baker. Daylen, Abby." He gestured to them both, and Abby reached out her hand, not daring to speak with the way her insides were trembling.
"Nice to meet you." Daylen's voice was very similar to her memories of Kyle, but she pushed the thought aside.
"I'm glad you've invited me back, and I'm able to meet with you both," he continued. "I was so excited about the prospect of working with the inn at Poppyridge. It's an incredible honor for my company."
"Thank you," Abby managed as they all sat. She pulled her stack of personal items from the desk and hugged them to her chest. With a breath, she reminded herself that since she had this chance to talk to him, she didn't want to ruin it. "Can you tell me a little about your company?" She crossed her legs and settled her planner atop her lap, feeling closer to normal.
Daylen nodded pleasantly. "Of course, I'd love to. Our last visit was so brief, I felt like I'd left all the important parts out." He chuckled and settled a briefcase on the floor. "Shoreside Spa has been going for a good fifteen years, although it was a slow start. Things have really gotten moving in the last seven or eight years especially." He took a moment to smile at them both. "We pride ourselves in relieving hotel owners of some of the intense burdens of the business. Let us take care of pampering your guests, and I guarantee you will enjoy cost savings, and they will be eager to return."
"Where was your company established?"
Abby glanced over at Chase, surprised by the question. It was just the direction she wanted to go.
"Ah, well, we started up in southern California and Mexico…"
Abby's gaze shot back to Daylen at the mention of Mexico.
"I've never been across the border myself but managed to make the right connections. There are resorts every ten feet if you go to the right place. A great area to get started."
Abby sighed, relaxing a little even though a voice in the back of her head told her it could all be lies. She tried to ignore it and pay closer attention as he spoke.
"So, anyway, we've been collaborating for a while now, merging with the right small businesses to give us the most driven and passionate working base while expanding steadily as well. It's panned out quite perfectly. I do plan to visit our warehouse in Mexico before long, though, if you'd ever want to see it. Our main warehouse is in San Diego, and I've started up a small office north of San Francisco as well."
He opened his briefcase and shuffled through papers, moving a wide stack to the bottom. "Invoices I need to file electronically. So many customers prefer a paper copy as well as digital, that I continue to use both." He lifted out a couple of pamphlets and Abby took one, glancing at his face quickly as he handed one to Chase.
Although she could swear it was Kyle, he did look a bit different than she
remembered. His face, for one, was heavily scarred, with the most noticeable scar running into his lip and pulling it down slightly. She didn't remember him having such vivid green eyes, either. She could've sworn they were brown. Was her mind so easily tampered with?
She brushed a hand across her face, flicking a few curls from her eyes. Stop it, Abby. Give him a chance.
She noticed the business card paper-clipped to the top of the pamphlet. "Do you have references?" Caught up in her thoughts, she didn't realize she'd interrupted them completely. They both stared back at her for a moment, thrown off track. "I'm sorry." She hoped there was a confident smile on her lips. "I don't mean to interrupt, please continue."
"Oh, no, not at all." Daylen reached for her pamphlet and she released it. He quickly scribbled half a dozen names of persons and businesses alike. "You can give any one of these establishments and clients a call anytime. Thank you for asking." He dipped his head politely, his mannerisms nothing like the Kyle she remembered. But then, a lot of time had passed.
Just before he turned back to Chase, his eyes tripped up, catching hers. They seemed locked even when his head turned. It was a fraction of a second, too quickly for anyone to have noticed. If she hadn't been so fiercely scrutinizing him, she would have missed it as well. A tingle of suspicion threaded through her hands, and she clutched the pamphlet tighter.
Sounds of Ava waking reached the office, giggles and chatter, along with an occasional squeal of complaint.
"I need to be heading off." Daylen smiled and got to his feet. "I have another appointment quite a ways inland." He glanced up the stairs as Ava giggled and then lifted his eyebrows at Abby. "Be sure to call those references, it really would be a pleasure to work with you both."
"Thanks again." Chase shook his hand and stayed aside Abby as he left. They were still as his car pulled away, but Abby eventually turned to Chase. She wished she could tell him that Daylen didn't resemble her memories of Kyle in the least, that there was no way it could be him. But it was impossible. Time had passed and there were differences, but not enough. It was still entirely too believable that Daylen wasn't who he claimed to be.
Instead of answering the question in her husband's eyes, she dropped her gaze to the writing scribbled on her pamphlet. "I think I'll make some calls." She nodded decisively. "Just to be sure."
Chase leaned in and kissed her temple, looking relieved. "I'll go get Ava. I'd like to know what they have to say as well. Be right back."
"Okay."
Crossing the room, her toe collided painfully with something on the floor. "Ouch!" She grabbed her foot, glancing down to see Daylen's briefcase on the floor. The top was open and she could see through the small gap to the stack of invoices he'd rifled through.
She glanced around quickly and knelt aside it, lifting the lid. Her heart pounded in her chest, telling her she was making a mistake, but she didn't listen. She had to know for sure. Pulling out the stack of paper invoices he'd spoken about, she flipped through quickly, her heart pounding stronger as she saw the same thing on each one. They were blank, with only a heading at the top. She dropped them back in and dug through the pamphlets, not finding anything else. Pamphlets, business cards, and blank invoices.
The sound of a car approaching registered in her sub-conscience and she gasped, accidentally dropping a small stack of business cards. They landed on her knee and scattered across the floor around her.
There were footsteps in the gravel as she fumbled with the small cards, trying to force them back into the tiny pocket they'd been tucked into. Pushing the lid closed, she shot to her feet and backed up next to the bookshelf. She snatched the pamphlet off the desk and held her phone quickly to her ear.
A shoe scuffed behind her, and she hesitated. "Yes, thank you for your time." She ended the fake call and turned around, feigning a look of surprise. "Oh, hello, Mr. Baker. Nice to see you again."
"I'm sorry, ma'am." He stepped forward, lifting his briefcase from the ground. A business card was on the floor underneath it, and he paused, half crouched, staring at it. He lowered again, picking it up and tucking it into his pocket. "My apologies for leaving my things strewn about," He smiled, although it was a slow attempt, curving with apparent effort and never reaching his eyes. "I'll give you a call in a few days after you've had time to discuss my offer with your husband."
His eyes darkened, and Abby's breath pulled in, but the moment passed in a flicker. He straightened with a smile and walked out, filled with brisk professionalism as he had been before.
A moment later, Chase returned to the room and pulled a box of blocks from the bookshelf for Ava to play with. "Have you made any calls yet?"
Abby flinched. "Uh, no. Not yet."
The sound of tires on the gravel had Chase glancing out the window. "Oh, I thought he'd already left. Did Daylen come back for something?"
"Yes." Abby still felt far away, but as soon as Chase looked back at her she stepped closer to him, whispering in her anxiety. "He left his briefcase here, and it was open. I looked at those invoices he said he had and they were blank." Her eyes felt dry, and she blinked rapidly. "He was lying, Chase."
Chase rubbed her arm and shrugged. "It wouldn't be too shocking, would it? I'm sure he just wanted to make a good first impression. He did say he prints both electronic and paper copies, maybe these are yet to be filled in."
"O-oh." Abby hadn't thought of that. Of course, he was just trying to impress them. She felt a pang of foolishness at jumping off the conspiracy wagon so easily. "Yes, I guess so."
"Let's check out the places he wrote down. I'm sure they have websites." Chase knelt next to Ava and helped her stack a tower atop her castle. "We can see what type of businesses he works with and then give them a call and ask how it's been going."
"Good idea." Abby tried to settle her jitters and flipped open her laptop, typing in the first hotel, The Garden Escape. A beautiful page loaded, showing circular-shaped topiaries and stone sidewalks. The building was simple and small, but the reviews were raving. Over a hundred, and all five stars. She scanned the page and decided to give them a call.
They answered quickly and were very kind, replying to her questions thoroughly and leaving high praise for the Shoreside Spa. Having worked together for over ten years, they were one of the very first clients. Abby's heart sank a little as she realized how unlikely it would be for someone with this level of commitment and success with their business to be pining for her or plotting against her at the same time. Very unlikely.
Chase glanced at her from time to time, mostly to give her an encouraging smile or a cheerful wink. She couldn't help but smile back, although with each call she realized more and more fully that her insistence that Kyle had come back from her past to haunt her was ridiculous. Unbelievable. Insane.
Her heart sank steadily, every one of the clients and businesses having only the highest praise for Mr. Baker and their experience with the Shoreside Spa. They were leaving very few options for her except to admit she'd been wrong. What else was there to say? Somehow she'd created the connection between Kyle and Daylen.
On a whim, she searched his name and their location growing up, scouring the internet for any sign of him. There had to be some shred of proof that he was real. Chase and Ava were still arranging block towers on the floor when a thought suddenly struck her. The license plate. She found a vehicle search sight and entered GVMESUN and the state, waiting. A bubble circle spun slowly. She glanced at Chase quickly, pulling out a notepad and pen. The name of a car lot appeared on her screen, the location within a 40-mile distance. A picture of the wood-paneled station wagon looked old and tired, but it was exactly like the one in her memory. Her breath came faster as she anticipated actual proof of her memories. She scribbled it down and pulled the paper off, tucking it into her back pocket. It wasn't ideal to find the car at a dealership. Who knew how long it had been sitting there gathering dust. But there was a chance the dealership would know something about where the car came from.
She closed the laptop and released a tense breath. Chase glanced up. "Anything?" His face was relaxed, enjoying the time with their daughter.
"He is who he says." Abby shook her head, tossing a hand in the air. "I don't know, maybe they just look really similar, and after the party, I must've been so nervous about it…" She left it at that, glad she was able to tell part of the truth. The fact that she'd hidden the other half of her search results from her husband instantly created a pool of guilt inside her stomach. She sat down next to Chase and helped Ava steady a wobbly block atop the tallest tower.
"Should we dig a little deeper for Kyle?" Chase leaned against her gently. "Just in case, I wouldn't want to leave anything out."
"Uh…" Abby could picture the station wagon in her mind. What if someone bought it before she could get there? She didn't want to tell Chase only to feel like a fool when the trip failed. "Yeah, we should. What if we went back to the high school and just asked for records or something? They could probably look it up."
"That's a great idea." Chase kissed her cheek. "What if we go together on Wednesday when I have the day off?"
"I can do that." Abby nodded, kissing him quickly. Things were moving fast. If Chase was coming with her on Wednesday, that only gave her one day to get some actual proof. In the morning, she would go, drive out to the dealership, and collect whatever evidence she could find.
Evidence. What was she, a detective? How long could she keep it up, anyway? She was a terrible liar, and Chase could read her so well. The only reason he hadn't just now was because he'd been distracted by Ava. But it didn't matter. She wasn't lying forever; she just needed to be able to show him in an actual, physical way that she wasn't crazy.
Ugh. She really was sounding like it, though.
Chapter 9
In the rearview mirror, Ava kicked her feet happily, staring out the window as they drove. They'd started their journey early enough that there was no threat of Ava falling asleep too soon. On the way home, she could take her usual afternoon nap. That way, her routine would be kept, and her mood would remain cheerful… and Chase would have nothing to suspect.
