by Jordan Ford
“But how did they know?” I whisper.
“I wish I could tell you. I’ve spent many hours wondering.”
“And the police. This Officer Crawley…he just dropped it? He just accepted that some strange guy left me with you before my parents’ bodies were even discovered? Wasn’t he suspicious?”
“He must have been part of the plan.”
“But what about his superiors? The Bozeman police force? FBI?”
“I don’t know. I’m so sorry. I know it hurts.”
I close my eyes, clenching my jaw against her sweet tone. I want to stay hard and logical. I can’t let emotion get in the way right now.
“Maybe I can call and talk to him.”
Sister Theresa lets out a heavy sigh. “He’s no longer with us. Passed away three years ago.”
“Murdered?” My tone is acidic.
“Cancer,” she whispers. “He called me near the end to see how you were doing.”
I huff and squeeze the bridge of my nose. “The guy…the one who dropped me on your doorstep,” I croak.
“He was never found.”
“Who was he? Tell me what he looked like. All you can give me is gray eyes?”
“My boy.” Sister Theresa is using her mother-hen tone. “He looked like a man desperate to save his child.”
“But my father was found dead in his car, miles from St. Catherine’s.”
“I’m just telling you what I saw. When he kissed you goodbye, he whispered, ‘I love you, my son.’ He wanted you to have a good life.”
“But…” My heart is beating so loud and fast I can’t see straight.
My son?
What the hell is going on?
Caitlin’s hand rubbing circles on my back is the only thing keeping me sane right now.
“Are you having a good life?” the nun asks me. “Are you safe the way he wanted you to be?”
“I’m trying,” I whisper, then hang up before she can ask any more questions.
#19:
A Day for Strangers
Caitlin
“Whoa.” I lean away from Riley.
I heard most of the conversation. My mind is reeling right now. I can only imagine what Riley must be going through.
His muscles are wound tight. I can feel his taut shoulders even through his shirt and sweater.
Shrugging me off, he stands and walks away from the bed. He keeps clenching his jaw, obviously trying to contain whatever emotions are pounding through him.
Shaking his head, he breathes out a harsh, cynical laugh, like he just can’t believe it.
Tracing the pattern on my bedcover, I softly ask, “So who do you think the guy was?”
He shakes his head again, then squeezes the back of his neck. “Maybe it was Uncle Rafe. I mean, if there were reports of a guy running through the woods with a kid…if he just disappeared into thin air…he knew this forest better than anyone. Sister Tee said he was having trouble breathing. Those hikers said he was covered in blood. I mean, it’d have to be him, right?”
“Sounds like he was more than you thought he was. I mean the lawyer and instructions and stuff. He and your mom must have known they were living on borrowed time.”
“But why? Because they were having an affair? And where does my dad fit into all of this?”
A sharp knock on the door makes me flinch.
“Yes?” I jump up and run to answer it.
Swinging back the door, I’m met by my dad. He has his angry bear face on. “I told you to leave the door open.”
“Yeah, sorry. I forgot.”
“No, you didn’t.” He shakes his head, then looks past me to Riley. Thankfully he’s standing a few feet away looking one hundred percent innocent. Because he is.
Dad’s eyes track the room. “Why is your laptop closed?”
“We’re finished.” I shrug.
“Uh-huh.” Dad crosses his arms over his broad chest. “And what have you been doing since then?”
I roll my eyes. “Seriously, Dad. If I wanted to have sex with a boy, I wouldn’t do it locked in my room with a puking kid next door. Trust me.” I place my hand on his arm and give him a playful smile. “I have a whole forest I can get naked in.”
He groans like I’ve stabbed him in the gut. “You kill me.”
“Dad.” I laugh. “I’m kidding!”
I wait until he’s looking me in the eye. With the amount of fibs I feed him he has every right to be wary, but I’m telling him the truth right now. I may be falling pretty hard for Riley, but I’m not about to strip off my clothes and jump into bed with him.
Even if that thought is kind of tantalizing, I doubt Riley would go for it anyway.
I glance over my shoulder. He bulges his eyes at me and I give him a swift, apologetic smile.
He’s probably just as mortified as my dad, and I feel a little bad about that. But it’s gotten us straight out of any suspicious water so it was worth it.
“Well.” Dad’s voice is gruff. “If you’re finished up, then you can get your butt downstairs and help me out.”
“Okay.” I give him a reluctant nod and turn back to Riley.
“I’ll get going.” He gives me a sad smile before heading for the door.
Dad moves out of the way, turning to Penny’s room, and I follow Riley down the stairs.
Watching him leave totally sucks. It’s hard not to worry that he’ll ignore me again.
I hope not. Although what we just shared in my room was a little harrowing, I can’t help feeling like it’s brought us closer together. I’m now privy to stuff no one else knows.
We reach the bottom of the stairs and Riley spins to face me. His eyes are a stormy kind of gray, but they’re softened by the sweet smile on his lips. “Thanks, Caity.”
I take two more steps down so our heads are in line.
Resting my forearms on his shoulders, I brush my fingers through the back of his hair. “I’m here for you. No matter what. I’m going to help you answer every one of those questions. I don’t care how long it takes.”
His eyes glimmer as his lips pull into a genuine grin. “You really like me, don’t you?”
“Big time.” I’m sure my skin is turning red. “You’re not the only one falling, Riley.”
Tucking a loose wisp of hair behind my ear, he leans forward and presses his lips against mine. It’s the briefest kiss but it runs all the way through me.
The second he lets go, I feel the loss. It’s a fleeting yearning that’s bulldozed by an intense determination to help him solve this mystery.
Skipping down the last two stairs, I walk into the store as Riley heads for the front. A woman is standing at the counter, looking around. She’s thin and willowy, with a nervous twitch on her lips. Her eyelashes are thick with mascara, making her pale brown eyes rich and beautiful.
She’s blinking like she’s nervous, her hands clasped together on the counter.
I haven’t seen her before.
It must be a day for strangers.
I’m about to move around the counter to greet her but Riley has stopped walking.
He’s standing between the woman and the door, looking at her with this confused kind of frown.
Walking further into the store, I catch his attention with a subtle hand wave. “You all right?” I mouth.
His gaze flicks to mine. His skin’s kind of pale and his eyes are now fully gray.
Something’s wrong.
“What is it?”
He shakes his head, points to the woman, then presses his finger against his lips.
Don’t tell her anything. Got it.
I nod but give him a confused frown.
“Tell you later,” he mouths before dashing out the door.
Great. So now all I’m left with is a strange woman at the counter and a whole new barrel full of questions.
#20:
The World’s Biggest Idiot
Riley
I can’t believe what I’ve just seen. How muc
h more bizarre can this day possibly get!
Slamming into the car, I rev the engine and scream out of my spot.
Mrs. Sorrentino is currently standing in Powell’s General Store.
Why?
I know why.
But how the fuck does she know we’re in Legacy?
And what are her intentions?
Her screams from the docks waft through the back of my brain. “You killed my baby!”
My brain’s struggling to put the pieces together. I still haven’t swallowed all the information Sister Theresa dumped on me. And now this?
Gripping the wheel, I race up the hill double-time.
What if Ana’s mom isn’t acting alone?
Images of the house surrounded by Sorrentinos torture me.
How’d she find us? How?
I slap the wheel and growl. All these months of hiding can’t come down to this. We can’t be caught!
The engine strains as I force the car up the hill faster than usual. The back skids out on the final bend, but I manage to control the wheel and pull up to the cabin in one piece.
Thankfully everything looks normal.
Looks can be deceiving, but Ana’s father doesn’t seem like the subtle type. Not after his display at the shipping yard.
If he was here, we’d know about it.
Getting out of the car, I slam the door. “Ana!”
She pops onto the porch as I thump up the stairs.
“Hey.” Her instant smile disappears the second she sees my face. “What’s wrong?”
I grab her elbow. “Are the guys around?”
“No.” She wriggles free of my grasp and frowns. “What’s wrong with you?”
“Where are they?” I scan the area, studying trees and shadows. My mind turns them into men with guns, and I have to force myself to breathe and think logically.
“They’re still collecting firewood.”
“And Jules?”
“She and Ellie are taking a nap.” Ana huffs. “Now, what’s wrong with you?”
I turn to her, focused on reading her expression as I softly say, “I just saw your mom in town.”
Her brown eyes bulge, her breath put on hold as she absorbs my news. A second later her chest starts heaving. Pressing her hand against her forehead, she stumbles away from me and ends up falling into one of the porch chairs.
“I…” Breaths punch out of her. “She wasn’t… I mean, I didn’t…” Covering her face with her hands, she lets out a little groan. “I’m sorry.”
Her words are muffled but I still hear them.
“A-na.” I say her name between clenched teeth. “What did you do?”
“I thought it would be okay.” Her words are still muffled, so I hurry towards her and wrench the hands away from her face.
Her eyes are filled with tears—agony, regret, guilt.
“What did you do?” I think I know but I have to ask again.
“I…I called her.”
“How?”
“Caitlin got us a burner phone.”
“Us?” I balk. “So, Trey knows about this?”
“No.” Ana sniffs. “Jules and me. We just wanted to call our moms. Let them know we were safe.”
“She…” I blink slowly, then shoot to my feet. “Are you guys crazy?”
“It was a burner phone. I thought it’d be safe. I spoke to Mom for like ten minutes!”
“And what did you say?”
“Nothing! I’m alive. Well. Healthy. Happy.” Ana runs her fingers through her hair. “She was crying for most of the conversation. But she swore she wouldn’t say anything to anyone.”
“Did you tell her you were in Legacy?”
“No! I just told her I was living in this cool place in the mountains. That’s all I said!”
“Shit, Ana!” I lightly kick the other porch chair.
“I know. I know. I’m sorry. I don’t know how she figured it out. Trey’s going to lose it.” She wipes the tears off her face and sniffs. “What is she even doing here?”
“She’s spent the last year thinking you were dead. She’s probably desperate to see you. Make sure you’re real.”
A fleeting smile brushes her lips. I get it. I’d do anything to see my mom again.
I sigh and spin to kick the railing post.
“What am I going to do?” Ana’s voice is trembling.
And it does my heart in.
My initial shock and outrage is torn to shreds by her tears, the hitch in her voice, the hopeless remorse in her eyes.
Scratching my stubble, I look out across the mountains and wonder if it really would be okay.
If we found somewhere hidden enough.
“Can you trust her?” I murmur.
Ana steps up beside me, rubbing her arms against the cold. “She left Dad. After what happened on the docks, she said she couldn’t even look at him again.”
“So, you think she’s up here on her own?”
“Yeah.” Ana nods. “Definitely.”
My tongue skims my bottom lip as I think. “She could have been followed.”
Ana’s bottom lip quivers. She bites it to bring it back into line and bobs her head. “Okay. Yeah, you’re right. I shouldn’t surface. Tia and Caitlin are the only people who know we’re up here and we can trust them, right?”
“Yeah.” I nod, knowing it to my core. Caitlin might lie through her teeth when it comes to her dad but it’s to protect me. Us.
“So, we can just lay low and Mom won’t know any better.” More tears spill from Ana’s eyes. She doesn’t bother to wipe them away so they slowly track down her cheeks, two cold trails of mourning.
I puff my cheeks, then blow out a sharp breath.
I shouldn’t.
Trey will kill me!
Glancing at Ana again, I take in her forlorn expression and it breaks me wide open.
I close my eyes with a sharp sigh. “Look, I’ll go back into town to see if I can speak with her. If I think it’s safe, I’ll bring her to see you.”
“What?” Ana grabs my arm and yanks me around to face her. “You can’t bring her here.”
“No, of course not. I, um…” Dread seeps down my collar as a fleeting idea hits me. I’d rather slit my wrists, but Ana’s crying…
And it’s the most isolated place I can think of.
“I know a place. It’s an abandoned shack close to town. It’ll be completely private.”
“Trey can’t find out.” Ana’s face creases with worry.
“He won’t.” I squeeze her shoulder. “You can tell him after she’s gone. This has to be a one-time visit, Ana. A chance to say goodbye.”
She blinks and nods. “Yeah, I get it.”
Unable to stop myself, I pull her into a hug. She clings to me, pressing her chin against my shoulder and crying some more. I squeeze her tight, hoping to quell the tears.
“It’s okay,” I murmur into her hair.
She nods and I pull back, ready to go into action mode. “We better go before the guys get back. I’ll drop you at the start of the trail and bring your mom there.”
Ana worries her lip as she trots down the stairs beside me.
“We can’t take too long. Trey will go out of his mind if he comes back and has no idea where you are.”
“He’s going to be so pissed about this.” I’m not used to seeing Ana look so worried about Trey. She has no problems standing up to him when she needs to.
But this is different.
A betrayal of sorts.
And she knows it.
“Leave him a note. Something bright and breezy.”
“Good idea.” She races back into the cabin. I have no idea what she scribbles on that piece of paper, but she’s back out in two minutes flat. She pulls on her jacket and jumps into the car.
I glance at Kade and Julienne’s bedroom window as I pull away from the cabin. The curtains are still drawn, and all I can pray is that she’s slept through it all.
The less people who kn
ow about this, the better.
Ana and I don’t say much as we drive down the mountain. I’m still kind of reeling at the fact she called her mother. It was a stupid move. I mean, I get it, but…
“Jules called her mom too?”
“Yeah.” Ana sighs. “She wanted to let her know she was safe. I didn’t hear the conversation, but Jules had tears in her eyes when she came out of the room. I just hugged her. There was nothing else I could do.”
“I’m guessing the guys weren’t around.”
Ana shakes her head.
“Does she know you called your mom too?”
Ana shakes her head again. “I wasn’t going to tell a soul.” Rubbing her hands together, she breathes on them to try and warm them up. She always feels the cold.
I start fiddling with the heater, but it probably won’t do much good. This car’s a piece of crap.
Ana gives me a grateful smile, then shocks me yet again. “I was going to tell you. I tried this morning but chickened out when Trey came out of the cabin. I just needed someone to know, and then tell me I’m not the world’s biggest idiot.”
All I can give her is a sidelong look that basically indicates I can’t say that.
Because it’d be a big fat lie.
She was an idiot. We set up boundaries to protect ourselves and she busted right through them.
This thing with her mother could turn into an F5 shit storm.
I slow the car as we near the turn-off and hope like hell I’m not adding to it by setting up this meeting.
I pull to the side of the road and leave the engine running. Pointing over Ana’s shoulder, I indicate the forest road. “You’ll find a trail to your right that will take you to a pond. Across the other side is a weird-looking tree that splits at the trunk. Behind that is an overgrown trail that will lead you through to the shack. Either wait for me by the tree or I’ll see you at the shack.”
“Okay.” Ana nods.
Sudden doubt scours me as she goes to leave the car.
I snatch her arm to stop her. “Be careful, okay?”
“I know, Ry. I’ll watch my back.”
Nausea swirls through me. Am I doing the right thing? If something happens to her, Trey will kill me. It’s not that I’m scared of my brother. I just don’t want to be the guy who causes him to lose the girl he loves.
