Finding Bailey: A Lake Tahoe Romantic Suspense Novel

by Dana Mason

  Ryan’s hand rested on her back, and she took a deep breath. When the moment had passed, she looked at Alex and said, “Is this my mother?”

  “Yes. Theresa Anne Spatz, formerly Theresa Anne Milan.”

  Mae leaned forward and looked at the picture. “You look just like her.”

  Bailey nodded and looked down at it again. The picture was just of her head and shoulders, so Bailey couldn’t see the rest of her.

  As if he knew what she was thinking, Alex said, “She was little, like you, barely five feet tall. Little bitty shoes, like yours.” He pointed to her feet, and Bailey brought her boots together to look down at her size five feet.

  “I have more photos, but they’re put away. I’ll get them out for you when you come visit.” He pointed to the photo in her hand. “You can take that one with you.”

  Bailey clutched the picture to her chest. “Thank you.” And she meant it with all sincerity.

  Alex smiled wide and bowed his head. “Even your voice…it’s just like hers.”

  “I’m sorry,” Bailey heard herself say.

  He shook his head and made eye contact with her. “No, don’t be. I’m sorry. I should’ve kept looking for you. I just gave up. What was I thinking?”

  Linda sighed heavily. “Alex, don’t do that.” She turned in her chair, grabbing his hand. “You thought she was dead. You did what you could. Stop beating yourself up.”

  Bailey wanted to comfort him, too, but she didn’t know how. She honestly didn’t know what to think. Maybe he should have kept looking. Then she thought about strangers coming to take her away from her mother, and that scared her to death.

  “I was fine,” she said, placing the picture in her lap. “I’ve never been hurt—” As soon as the words were out of her mouth, she felt the ones she held back vibrate her core… Until recently. Until Dex tried to have me killed. She shoved the thought from her head and said, “I was very happy with…” She stopped talking, not sure whether to call the Mortons her family. Jesus, this entire conversation was a fucking minefield. She didn’t want to hurt his feelings. Her eyes fell to the photo. “I don’t want you to feel guilty about me. I was fine, and I think we should focus on moving forward.”

  “Yes,” Linda agreed. “Very smart. Let’s move forward and not wallow in the things we cannot change.”

  Alex nodded and looked back at Bailey. “Tell me about yourself.”

  “I live in South Lake Tahoe. I own a business with Mae.” She looked over and grabbed Mae’s hand. “It’s a boutique.”

  “That’s right, I saw that on the news. You’re Bailey Mae’s?” Linda said quickly.

  Bailey smiled. “Yes. Do you know it?”

  She nodded with a smile. “I love it. Beautiful designs and handmade jewelry. I stop in every time we visit Lake Tahoe.”

  “Wow, small world,” Mae said.

  “That must’ve been after you finished school,” Alex said.

  Bailey tilted her head. “Excuse me?”

  “College. You must’ve started the business after you finished college. Where did you attend?”

  “I took a few business classes at Lake Tahoe Community College.”

  “Community college?” Alex asked.

  Bailey’s face grew warm with the question. “Is there something wrong with that?”

  “No, of course not,” Linda said.

  Bailey looked from Linda back to Alex. “My mother was a diabetic. Her health was failing, and I didn’t want to leave her alone, so I decided on community college instead of going to a university.”

  “Bailey was accepted at UC Berkeley and Cal Maritime,” Ryan said, the agitation apparent in his voice.

  “Ah,” Alex said. “Let me guess. Engineering?”

  Bailey smiled. “Yes, that was my original plan.”

  “Nicole just graduated from Berkeley last year,” Linda said proudly.

  Bailey knitted her brow. “Where is Nicole?” And as soon as she said it, she wished she hadn’t.

  “We didn’t bring her or the boys with us today. We didn’t want to overwhelm you,” Linda said.

  Bailey wanted to laugh and say ‘too late’ but decided to keep her mouth shut instead.

  Alex looked back at Bailey. “You grew up in South Lake Tahoe. So close. It’s hard to believe how close.”

  Bailey frowned. “Yes, it’s very odd, isn’t it? To have family so near and not realize it.” She waved a hand at them. “Do you like living in Sacramento?”

  Alex pursed his lips. “Yes. We moved up here about fifteen years ago.” He glanced at Linda and smiled, his expression glowing. “It’s been a good life. We live on the river, and our kids have all stayed close to home.”

  “I’ve lived in the same house most of my life,” Bailey said. “With my mom.”

  Alex glanced at Ryan. “And did I hear that correctly, Ryan? You grew up with Bailey?”

  Ryan cleared his throat. “Yeah, we were neighbors. We grew up next door to each other.”

  Alex said, “Did you also attend the community college?”

  Ryan shook his head. “No. Actually, I didn’t.”

  “He attended Berklee College of Music,” Vince piped in. “Back east. Boston.”

  “Music?” Alex asked.

  “Yes, Ryan’s a classically trained musician. A pianist, actually, but he can play any instrument,” Bailey said. “He’s very talented.”

  Ryan smiled at her. “Thank you.”

  “What kind of career can you have with an education in music?” Alex asked.

  Bailey tried not to feel offended for Ryan, but as Alex asked the question, his eyes rested on the ground at their feet. Was this a protective father thing? She couldn’t be sure. “You can have a career in music,” Bailey said.

  “That’s wonderful, Ryan,” Linda said, smiling. “Do you have a recording career?”

  “I record for an independent label. I’m not interested in producing commercial music.”

  “How do you make your living if you don’t sell your music?” Alex asked.

  “I do sell my music, but I do it privately or independently.” He glanced at Lucas then back to her father. “I also own a club, and I play there.”

  “A club?” Alex asked, and Bailey prayed it was interest in his expression.

  “Yes, like me, Ryan is a business owner. He co-owns with Lucas and another gentleman named Wade.” Bailey pointed to Lucas, who had taken a seat next to Mae. “Lucas is a chef, and Ryan manages the entertainment.”

  “What kind of club is it?” Alex asked.

  “A nightclub and a restaurant on the lake. It’s called El Lago Bar and Dock,” Bailey said.

  “You own El Lago?” Linda asked. “I’ve heard of that place. Yes, the boys go there when we go on our ski trips to Tahoe.”

  “Yes, we’re popular with tourists,” Ryan said.

  “Small world,” Mae said again under her breath.

  “So, you all ski?” Bailey asked, trying to change the subject.

  Alex laughed. “Well, the boys ski. Linda and Nicole shop.”

  “You should all come into El Lago the next time you’re in town. I’ll make you dinner,” Lucas said. “I hope you like Mexican food.”

  “Oh, yes,” Linda said, brushing her hand at Lucas. “It’s one of our favorites.”

  “Actually, we were hoping you might stay with us for a while,” Alex said.

  Ryan’s body shifted slightly and stiffened next to her.

  “I can’t. I have to work. Mae can’t run the shop by herself.”

  “I can handle it—” Mae stopped when Bailey and Ryan looked over at her. “If I had to.”

  “I’ve already left her alone to run the shop too many times over the last year. When my mother died, we took a trip to Wisconsin and…when…” Her eyes closed, and she took a deep breath.

  “I’m sorry about your mother, Bailey,” Linda said, breaking the tension. “That must’ve been a difficult time.”

  “Yes.” Alex nodded. �
�Terrible time…”

  Bailey frowned, not sure what to say. She couldn’t compare it to losing a wife and child. But then again, the years gone by must have made things easier for him. And he must have remarried fairly quickly.

  “You said you vacationed in Wisconsin?” Alex said, changing the subject.

  “No, I went there looking for some answers about…well, about you.”

  Alex tilted his head. “Why Wisconsin?”

  “Because that’s where my parents lived when they found me.”

  “Oh, yes,” Alex nodded. “I believe Agent Scofield mentioned that. It’s so strange, though.” He looked up at the ceiling for a moment then shook away his thoughts.

  “What’s strange?” Bailey asked.

  “Whoever took you must’ve driven directly there. It wasn’t a great deal of time. The agent said you were found on December sixteenth.”

  Bailey sat up straighter. “I still don’t know what you mean.”

  “Well, the drive alone would take several days. I can’t imagine they took you on an airplane. Not with the local media coverage.”

  Bailey stared at him, not sure what to say. She was clearly missing something.

  “Why do you say that? Were you not in Wisconsin when she was taken?” Ryan asked.

  “Oh.” Alex shook his head. “Theresa and I lived in Southern California. We were both grad students at UCLA.”

  Ryan coughed and cleared his throat. “Did you say UCLA?”

  CHAPTER THIRTY

  Ryan must have had the same thought as she when Alex said UCLA. They looked at each other. Bailey’s cousin Anna had said that Uncle Patrick had attended UCLA.

  “Theresa was going to walk Marianne—Bailey—to the sitter’s then meet with her study group and advisor before her first class.” Alex paused, and Bailey saw him drift a little into the memory. “She didn’t want her pregnancy and a new baby to keep her from finishing her thesis. She was a very motivated student. She went right back to class the week after you were born, without much recovery time.”

  Alex’s eyes darkened. Bailey looked down at her mother’s photo and wondered what had really happened to her. The words in her Uncle Pat’s letters rang in her head. ‘We have protected him and ourselves long enough.’

  “Excuse me.” Bailey stood, setting the photo down. She left the sitting area and went into the bathroom. When the door closed behind her, she sat on the toilet lid and inhaled slowly, trying to catch her breath. Is there a connection here? Was she jumping to conclusions? She had to be.

  Bailey stood and looked at her pale face in the mirror, now seeing the difference in her and the photo of Theresa Spatz, and those differences matched her father’s face. She washed her hands, patted her face with water, and dried it, still staring in the mirror. Is this how Dex had figured out who she was? Did he see it in her eyes, her chin, maybe her nose?

  When she exited the bathroom, the suite suddenly seemed smaller. Her father and Linda were chatting with Vince, Mae, and Lucas, but Ryan was looking in her direction, watching her. She smiled, hoping to put him at ease. He gave her a crooked smile, and some of her tension melted away.

  She sat back down and watched as her father talked. She tried to set everything about him to memory. How strange he seemed to her, but had things turned out a little different, she’d be much more intimately familiar with him, with the way his mouth moved when he talked, the way his left eyebrow lifted when he smiled, and the bob of his Adam’s apple. How odd. He was her father, her flesh and blood, yet a complete stranger.

  Her eyes traveled over to Linda, and she thought they seemed well-suited for each other. They were affectionate, but not uncomfortably so. Linda was easy, relaxed, and confident. Alex seemed a little stiffer and more formal. Both looked well-groomed, not a hair out of place. As she considered that, she realized why Alex was uneasy with Ryan. Ryan was all untucked shirt, blue jeans, tattoos, and long, unkempt hair. The unwilling rock star, Mae had once called him. That must go completely against the grain for this well-to-do family.

  The thought made Bailey laugh. She couldn’t help it. The entire day was absurd. Her entire life was absurd. What was she doing here? She was Bailey Morton, not Marianne Spatz. She was raised by an eccentric music teacher and a car mechanic, not these people.

  When her laughing pitched higher, everyone stared at her. She didn’t care. The sick part of this whole thing was she had no one to blame, no one to be mad at. She could be resentful at Alex for not looking for her, but then she would have hated him for taking her from her home. She could be angry at Ernie Morton for finding her. Maybe she would have been better off dead. Maybe all these people would be better off without her.

  She stood up and walked to the large picture window that looked out at the Tower Bridge, hovering low over the river. God, this was crazy. She was still laughing, but nobody was laughing with her. They just watched her like she was crazy. Maybe she was.

  “What’s so funny?” Alex finally asked her.

  She bent over, now crying from her giggle fit. She shook her head and put her hand over her mouth. Then she took a deep breath and said, “My life…oh, God,” she said, coming out of it. “Sorry ‘bout that.” She turned to look at them. Ryan walked toward her, his eyebrows drawn together. “I’m fine,” she said, still chuckling.

  “Really?” Ryan asked, not at all amused.

  She looked into his eyes and said quietly. “How could she not tell me about this, Ryan? How could she leave me alone to deal with this? What the hell was she thinking?”

  “I don’t know, babe.” He took her hands in his. “I wish I had the answers. I can’t imagine what she was thinking, but you don’t have to deal with it alone.” He was earnest and completely unconcerned about their audience.

  Alex stood and walked toward them. “Are you okay?”

  She nodded and looked into Ryan’s eyes again. He had relaxed slightly. “I’m fine. I just can’t believe this.” She released Ryan’s hands and went back to settle into her chair again. “All of this is just a bit much. I didn’t know I was adopted until a few months ago, and now this. It’s just so crazy.”

  “You didn’t know anything?” Alex asked.

  She shook her head. “No, my mother never told me. I found out after her death.”

  “Oh, I’m sorry. That must make this much more difficult,” Alex said.

  Bailey resisted the urge to laugh again. “Yeah, it’s a little unsettling.” She pounded her fists lightly on her knees and said, “I’m not sure where to go from here.”

  “Bailey,” Linda said, leaning in to lay a hand over one of Bailey’s. “Why don’t you stay for a few days? I know your business is important to you. But this is family, and I think it would give us all, especially you and Alex, time to get familiar with each other.”

  Bailey looked at Ryan, but he didn’t look back at her, so she looked over at Mae.

  Mae nodded her head. “Bay, that shop isn’t going anywhere. I’ll be fine if you stay here for a few days.”

  “I can help, too, Bailey. I can help out at the shop,” Vince said, and that gained him a dirty look from Ryan.

  Bailey chuckled. “You’re going to help at the shop? Really?”

  He shrugged with a grin. “What else is an old, retired guy to do?”

  “I can help, too, if she needs me, Bailey,” Lucas offered.

  She felt backed into a corner. She turned to Ryan again, but he wouldn’t meet her gaze. She had just done the payroll for the shop and El Lago, so she didn’t need to worry about that. Bailey glanced up to see Alex. He was watching her with a crinkle between his brows and anxious eyes.

  Linda looked earnest, too, and, after a moment, she said, “Ryan, of course, is also welcome to stay.”

  Alex’s head turned toward his wife, and he didn’t look pleased. Linda lifted her chin and squeezed Bailey’s hand. “I understand. I do. You’ve been through hell.” When her voice broke, she closed her eyes for a moment. “The circumstances are not
ideal, but we’re a family, and we’ll come together.” She glanced over at her husband then back to Bailey and said, “If Ryan being by your side makes it easier, he’s welcome to stay, as well.”

  * * *

  She felt like they had driven for hours. Alexander Spatz’s home was outside the city in a more rural area of Sacramento. The house was situated in the center of a grove of trees, gated and set off the street. The trees protected the house from prying eyes and left it mostly in shadows. It was a large house, white and two-story, well-cared for and clean. Maroon shutters flanked the windows. A porch wrapped around the house, which was decorated with overflowing flower pots, adding vibrant color. The gates were open, so Ryan drove straight through. Bailey looked around and thought if things had worked out differently, she might have grown up here.

  Ryan parked in front of the house, and before they were out of the car, Linda appeared on the porch. “Well, come into the warm house. It’s cold out here.” Linda said, waving her hand. “Alex and the boys are in the family room waiting to meet you, Bailey.”

  Bailey smiled and tried to relax as she stepped inside the double front doors and into the foyer. The absence of any mention of her sister hadn’t gone unnoticed. She glanced at Ryan with a raised eyebrow. He shrugged as if to say he didn’t understand either. She looked away from Ryan and around the large house. There were rooms on either side of the foyer, and directly in front was a sweeping wood-framed staircase. Linda walked to the left and into a large room where two very tall men stood with Alex.

  “Bailey, these are your brothers. James is the oldest. He’s twenty-four. Stanley here,”— Linda gripped his arm—“is our baby. He’s twenty.”

  James approached her first and held out his hand for her to shake. Afterward, he introduced himself to Ryan, who smiled charmingly at them. James was tall, blond, and very handsome. His eyes were blue, like Linda’s, but colder. His narrow face was like hers, as well.