Apparently, blond moments are a factual thing. Kristen looked stupefied, then backed up with her hand over her forehead. “Oh, my…God. There’s just no way.”
Elaine looked positively flummoxed. I softened my tone. “Sorry to get personal, but I need to know if you gave a baby up for adoption.”
“Excuse me?” Elaine’s face flushed red. “Why would you ask such a—” Elaine wrapped her arms around herself and stared at the floor.
“Elaine, she’s thirty-four. Do the numbers add up?” I persisted. I watched as she clamped her eyes shut and took a deep trembling breath. Iris put a hand to my arm and stilled me before I grabbed Elaine and started shaking answers out of her. I wasn’t sure why I was so riled up. I suppose it was my need to protect Adrienne from the shock of it all.
Kristen sat on the bed and laid a hand on Elaine’s shoulder. “Did you have a baby?”
“Yes.” It came out on a whisper before Elaine grabbed a lock of her own hair and started twirling it around her finger.
Colie, the more analytical of us all, spoke up. “There is a chance that it could very well be coincidence.”
Iris huffed. “Look at her, Colie. She looks and sounds just like Adrienne, and she has the gift.”
No one could refute that.
“She’s going to wake up from her nap, and that brain of hers is gonna start ticking.” I got up and started pacing.
“Oh, her blood pressure,” Iris said with a groan.
“Is she ill?” Elaine looked up at me.
“She’s pregnant,” everyone in the room said at once.
Elaine looked as though we had all taken a turn bitch-slapping her. She had that bewildered overwhelmed look that I’d seen on Adrienne, and my heart melted. I didn’t need DNA tests or blood work to know she was most certainly Adrienne’s mother. “I’m sorry, Elaine. On our visit to the doctor yesterday, we found out that Adrienne’s blood pressure was sort of high. I guess I’m a bit overly protective. Adrienne is adopted, she’s never met her birth parents. And you…you look and sound just like her. I can’t agree with Colie on this one. It can’t be a coincidence, especially with you both having the same ability.”
“Someone should check on Adrienne,” Iris said.
I wanted to go but knew I couldn’t. Adrienne would take one look at me and know something was wrong without getting in my head. She’d figure out Iris and Kristen in a heartbeat, too. “Colie, would you do it?” I asked.
“Certainly.” He backed out of the room quickly, probably relieved to escape the drama.
Elaine was pale and trembling when I looked back at her. “I need a drink. Iris, why don’t you come with me to the bar and let’s let Elaine and Kristen talk?”
Chapter Eleven
I made myself a giant rum and Coke while Iris grabbed a few bottles of water and one bottle of wine. She uncorked it and set two glasses on a tray. “I’ll be right back. They probably need something for their nerves, too.”
“I’ll wait for you in the kitchen. I don’t want to see anyone right now.” I took my glass and went straight to one of the big freezers. With a bag of frozen peas against my forehead, I stood in the quiet kitchen and wondered what the hell I was going to do. I started mentally ticking off the points.
Adrienne’s probable real birth mother was on the island and presently at our inn.
There was a guy we were fairly certain was a killer on the island, as well, and he was after Kristen, Adrienne’s cousin…Oh my God, cousin.
And now, Adrienne’s mother was directly in the path of the killer, too.
Hell, we all were.
And in the middle of this shit storm, the love of my life was carrying our child, and she wasn’t doing so hot.
“Shit.” I covered my entire face with the bag of peas.
Iris walked in with a tall drink of her own. She rarely imbibed, but today, she was making an exception. I marveled that she had taken the time to add an umbrella to her glass. She took a long healthy sip. “Hayden, you have to tell her. Dere’s no way we can keep dis a secret.”
“I know, but I don’t know what it’s going to do to her.”
Iris shook her head. “Dat woman is Adrienne’s mother, I know it down in my bones. She even moves like Adrienne.”
“My life has become an article straight out of the National Enquirer. Right now, on this island are three women with some sort of psychic ability. And to top it off, they’re probably all related.” I smacked my forehead with the bag of peas. “And let’s not forget that there’s some nutcase with his sights set on one of them.”
“Dis is bad.” Iris nearly caved in her cheeks as she sucked through her straw.
“I have often wished that she couldn’t hear my thoughts, but today I wish it more than ever.”
“You have to tell her before she begins to hear it on her own. Can you imagine the shock?”
I tossed the peas back into the freezer and gulped down half my drink.
“Do you want me to go with you?” Iris pulled out her straw and did the same.
“Did you honestly think I was going to say no?”
*******
By the time I got to the steps of the house, I had a buzz and no plan.
“Just say it from dey hip.” Iris climbed the steps behind me. “Don’t beat in the bush, just say it.”
“It’s ‘beat around the bush.’”
“Dat’s what I said, girl.”
Adrienne was on the couch when we walked in. Colie sat across from her in a chair. They both smiled at us, but Adrienne’s faltered when she looked at me. “What’s wrong? I’ve been hearing nothing but doughnut songs since Colie woke me. And where’s Kristen?”
Adrienne made room for me as I sat on the couch. “Kristen’s fine. She’s with her aunt who has come to be with her.”
“Then why do you look so troubled, and what’s with the internal doughnut monologue?”
“It’s the aunt.” I stalled for time, hoping something brilliant would come to me. “I just want to prepare you before you meet her.”
“She looks just like you, and she has the gift,” Iris blurted out. She shrugged when I glared at her. “You were taking all day.”
“Have you been drinking?” Colie asked Iris.
“Yes…a lot.”
“Iris?” Adrienne looked at her in shock. “During the day?”
“Dat woman, she’s—”
I cleared my throat and silenced Iris. This was no time to be blunt. I had to be careful in my dissemination of information. Too much at one time could be upsetting. I took Adrienne’s hand in mine. “We think Kristen might be your cousin and Elaine is your mother.”
Adrienne leaned in close and sniffed. “Have you been drinking?”
“A lot.” I nodded. “But we’ve all seen her, and we all think…”
“My mother,” Adrienne said. “You’ve met a woman who looks like me and you think she’s my birth mother?”
I nodded. Adrienne looked at Colie, and he shrugged, leaving me and Iris to look like drunken lunatics. “I know it sounds crazy, but you’d have to see her to understand.”
“Okay, well, let me have a look at her,” Adrienne said as though she were humoring us.
I’d been so concerned about how Adrienne might react that I didn’t consider that Elaine might not want to see her. Adrienne zeroed in on that thought and narrowed her eyes. “Where is she?”
“At the cottage that Kristen stayed in. They’re talking.”
“Let me get this straight. You left Kristen alone with her?” Adrienne said.
“They’re not completely alone,” Colie cut in. “I have my people all over the grounds.”
Adrienne relaxed. “Well, invite them over.”
“We’ll go and see if dere ready.” Iris motioned for Colie to follow her.
When the door closed behind them, Adrienne’s expression was a mix of disbelief and humor. “Love, this is a little crazy even for you. This woman might favor me, but how can you belie
ve she’s my mother?”
“Like I said, you have to see her. She has the same ability you do, and she did admit that she gave a child up for adoption.” I tucked a strand of hair behind Adrienne’s ear. “Are you all right?”
“Of course I am. I’m just wondering if you’ve all lost your minds. What did you drink?”
“Rum and Coke, but that was after I met Elaine. Iris was so rattled that she drank one, too.”
This gave Adrienne pause. Her smile slowly dissipated.
“What if this woman really is your mother?”
“I don’t know,” Adrienne said with a slight shake of her head. “I suppose I’d have a lot of questions if she actually was. I have to admit, I have wondered what it would be like to meet my birth parents.”
“Did you ever try to find out who they were?”
“No, I guess I thought that if they really cared, they’d look for me. I was afraid that if I found them, they might not want to have anything to do with me. That alone kept me from doing anything.”
“What if they or she has been thinking the same thing, and that’s why she didn’t try to find you?”
Adrienne smiled and stroked my cheek. “That’s a sweet notion.”
Iris and Colie stayed gone for a while, and I began to assume the worst when I heard footsteps on the stairs. Iris’s head popped through the door. “Dere here.”
Adrienne and I stood, unsure of how to behave. Iris stepped on through with Colie behind her. Kristen was next, then Elaine. All eyes in the room were on her and Adrienne.
“Ah…Elaine, this is my partner, Adrienne,” I said when no one spoke.
Adrienne blinked for a second, then smiled slightly. “Well, I see what all the fuss is about now. It’s nice to meet you, Elaine.”
Elaine inhaled sharply. “It’s nice to meet you, too.”
No one moved a muscle.
“Umm…why don’t you come in and sit down?” I said. Iris tugged Colie down into a chair. She perched on the arm, and Kristen took a seat on the floor.
Elaine shook her head slightly. “This is so…very awkward. I can’t believe what I’m seeing. I…I don’t know what to say.”
“I say we should be leaving.” Colie stood despite Iris’s protests. “We should give you some time to get acquainted.” Iris looked miffed as he led her toward the door.
I wanted to say we were all family and there was no reason to leave, but I wasn’t sure it was my place. Adrienne probably would’ve said the same thing, but she was in a stare-down with Elaine. Iris broke the spell when she kissed Adrienne on the cheek. “Call me if you need me, child.”
Adrienne looked at her wide-eyed and nodded. I took Adrienne by the hand and led her to the couch where she sat. “Please sit down, Elaine. Can I get you something to drink? Water, coffee, bourbon?” I asked nervously.
“No, thank you.” She took a seat on the edge of a chair and looked like she was ready to bolt at any second. “We do…look a lot alike.”
“Hayden says you gave a baby up for adoption?” Adrienne’s voice had a dreamlike quality to it.
Elaine nodded. “Thirty-four years ago. She was born May twenty-ninth.”
I watched as Adrienne closed her eyes and opened them slowly. “Do you mind if I ask why?”
“It was very complicated back then.” Elaine looked at me. “Hayden, if you don’t mind, I’d like to take you up on that offer of water, please.”
“Sure.” I got up and went into the kitchen. Looking back over the room while I opened a bottle and poured it into a glass, I was struck by the spectacle. Adrienne’s and Elaine’s profiles looked so much alike they could’ve been twins. Kristen sat quietly as she tried to take it all in.
“He was my first and only love. We we’re both seventeen.” Elaine’s hands shook as she accepted the glass I gave her. “Thank you.” She took a sip and cleared her throat. “He dropped out of school and took a job when he found out I was pregnant. We were going to be married, but he was killed in a car accident before we ever had the chance. I found myself faced with raising a baby alone with no means to support myself or…my child. My family was very poor, and I had…” Elaine put a finger to her lips and took a deep breath. “I…was going through so many things then, and I was convinced that the baby would’ve been better off with someone else.”
“Is that why you had a nervous breakdown?” Kristen asked.
Elaine looked taken aback by the question and sighed. “Yes. I just needed time to get myself straight. I didn’t look at my ability as a gift, but rather an affliction. All the voices in my head.” Elaine pressed a trembling finger to her temple. “I thought something was wrong with me. I thought I was unfit to raise a child.”
Adrienne ran a hand over her stomach, her expression a mix of empathy and bewilderment.
“You have it, too,” Elaine said as she gazed at Adrienne’s protruding belly. “I thought it was just me. I never dreamed that I would…pass this…on.” She looked at Adrienne with trepidation. “Is your birthday May twenty-ninth?” Elaine set her glass on the table with a thud when Adrienne nodded. “Dear God.”
“So it is you then,” Adrienne said. “You’re my…birth mother.”
Elaine smiled weakly. “Everything appears to be pointing in that direction. I suppose we could have some tests run to confirm.”
Adrienne’s expression was puzzling. I wasn’t sure what was going through her mind, but before I could ponder it further, the phone rang. Colie was cool, but there was an edge. “Stinslin is on the move. He’s rented a scooter and has been to two of the other inns already. We think he may be headed our way.”
“I’ll meet you at the bar.” I hung up and met Adrienne’s curious gaze. “Colie says Stinslin is headed our way. I’m going to the bar to meet him.”
“I’m going with you.” With effort, Adrienne got to her feet before I could stop her.
“No, stay here with Kristen. I’ll go see what he’s up to.”
“Hayden, I can help. I can get into his brain. It’ll give us a leg up.”
I grabbed Adrienne gently by the shoulders. “I know you don’t want to be reminded of this, but you have to lay low. Besides, it’s a stressful situation, and you don’t need any more of that in your life right now.”
“I could go with you.”
Adrienne and I turned and looked at Elaine who was standing, as well. I looked back at Adrienne and shrugged. “That could work.”
Adrienne sighed in resignation. “You promised you wouldn’t do anything dangerous. Just see what he’s up to and leave the rest to Colie, okay?”
I kissed her softly and gave her my promise. Elaine followed me out the door, but I waited to speak until we were on the path together. “Adrienne’s ability is hit and miss. Is yours the same?”
“There are a lot of variables. If I’m preoccupied, the voices are only whispers. You have to understand that I hear them all the time. Unless I’m paying close attention, it’s all background noise. If I can touch him, the link will be stronger. Nothing big, just a handshake or I could accidentally bump into him.”
“We’re gonna have to play this one by ear. Colie says he visited the two other inns. That tells me he’s actively looking for Kristen. If we can keep him occupied, he won’t be able to approach the other guests if they’re in the bar.”
When we arrived, Colie was in street clothes. Jacob was there, too, sitting by himself. He smiled and nodded as I walked in. “What’s the word?” I asked Colie.
“He’s definitely coming here. I have people watching him now. Bill at the Bayside said he showed him a picture of a young blond woman. He claimed she was his sister and is missing.”
“Sly son of a bitch.” I grimaced. “Sorry, Elaine.”
“I was thinking sly bastard,” she said as she looked around.
There were only two guests in the bar, Bobby and Alex, and from the looks of it, they were putting the finishing touches on a late lunch. Iris walked out of the kitchen with her skillet an
d set it on the bar before joining the group. “Iris, you can’t hit him yet.”
“Just a precaution,” she said.
We all looked at one another when a sound of a scooter met our ears. “Honey, you and Hayden just act normally. Treat him as you would anyone else coming to the inn,” Colie said. “Elaine and I will sit at the bar.”
We broke from the huddle with our game plan. Iris checked on Bobby and Alex while I moved behind the bar and mixed drinks for Elaine and Colie. The repugnant little bastard pulled up dressed in a pair of Bermuda shorts and button-down short-sleeved shirt. I was expecting him to be dressed in black covered with tattoos depicting some horrifying scene, but Satan personified looked like any other tourist.
“Hello, how are you today?” I called out. Stinslin’s gaze darted around the room as he made his way to the bar. “I hope you’re not looking for a room. I’m afraid we’re booked at the moment.” I smiled and wiped away a water ring on the bar.
“Are you the proprietor?” He took a seat.
“I am unless you’re selling something.” I thrust out my hand. “Hayden Tate.” My stomach roiled when my skin came in contact with his. I pointed to Elaine. “This is Elaine, my mother-in-law.” He gripped her hand daintily and smiled. It made me sick.
I put an empty glass on the bar. “What can I get you Mr.…?”
“Waverly, Ronnie Waverly,” he said. “Jack Daniels and Coke if you got it.”
“That we do.” I mixed the drink and waved off the cash he’d pulled from his pocket. “We’re all-inclusive here. I can’t make change, it’s on the house.” And I hope it gives you the screaming shits.
“Thank you kindly.” He tipped the glass in my direction, reached into his pocket, and pulled out a picture. I knew it was going to be of Kristen, but I was expecting to see a shot of her that maybe he’d taken with a phone. Kristen was standing arm in arm with a nice-looking young woman. They were both smiling for the camera. Stinslin tapped Kristen’s image. “This is my little sister. I’m hoping you’ll be able to tell me that you’ve seen her.”
I stared at it long and hard, wondering how he’d managed to get his hands on a photograph that obviously belonged to Kristen or someone she knew. “She looks like a girl that stayed here briefly.” I decided not to lie because if he did get past me to one of the guests, they’d more than likely contradict my story.
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