A Masterpiece Unraveled (The Masterpiece Trilogy Book 2)

by Nikki Lynn Barrett

  Paranoid. That's all it was. No one was purposely following her. Why would they? She was just reacting to the idea of driving to the airport and having to make the trek back home by herself. Gosh, she had to pull herself together!

  And then the airport came into view.

  So much for keeping it together.

  "I can walk the rest of the way if you need to stop," Rissi said softly. Her friend must have noticed. But of course she did. Rissi knew her well. Stopped at a four-way stop, Becca shook her head vigorously.

  "No way," she signed. "I'll be fine. It just brought back memories, not that they've ever left my mind to begin with." Becca put her hands back on the wheel and watched the cars before her.

  "Hey girl, when Hunter goes to face his demons, you go too. I can't and don't blame either of you for what you're going through and how it's affecting you, but this is a joint effort. You're holding on for the other but you both have to face it. Promise me."

  Becca nodded in agreement before she drove through the intersection.

  A few minutes later she found a place to park. This airport didn't have a major pick up/drop off area since it was private. The spot faced her car away from the airport. She didn't realize until her hand had the pins and needles feeling that she'd been gripping the wheel tightly.

  "Bec." Rissi touched her shoulder.

  Becca jumped and faced her friend.

  "It's okay. Give me a hug and I'll go. You go home and be careful. Take a deep breath."

  She did, taking comfort that her friend was so understanding. Then she climbed out the car, grabbed one of Rissi's bags and set it on the ground. Rissi ran around the car with arms wide open and wrapped them around her.

  "I'm gonna miss you so bad! Let me know when you ever want to get the rest of your stuff from storage or what you want to do. Just keep me updated on everything. Man, whose butt am I going to kick at Scrabble when neither of us can sleep?"

  Becca grinned and took a step back. "Oh please. You didn't always win." So Scrabble wasn't her strong suit. Still, the late nights of laughter and tile tossing made for great memories.

  Rissi rolled her eyes. "Whatever. I did too. You're better at everything else, let me have my damn Scrabble." Then she stuck her tongue out. "Get your happiness, Becca. If anything weird goes on, I'll let you know. So now that Vince has backed off, can I tell him to pull the boot out of his ass?"

  "You're terrible!" She wagged a finger. "Not that I haven't thought of really telling him how I feel lately. A long, detailed letter."

  "Maybe you should." Rissi glanced at her watch. "I'd better get ready. I'll let you know when I'm home. Thanks for everything."

  Becca's heart sank as she watched her head inside the airport. Rissi was one of the few people she'd ever been able to open up to. Making friends had never come easy after the accident, even when she'd been able to walk again. Rissi had always been friendly and open. Becca had liked her instantly. Now she wasn't her neighbor any more, and they were living states apart.

  Rissi spun around with a little wave before disappearing through the double doors.

  Time to get out of here. Becca settled in the seat and drove away, eager to be as far from the airport as possible. The first three miles, she didn't see the car she'd suspected of following her earlier.

  As she turned back on the main road, she noticed it. The dark blue sedan.

  Becca accelerated, her heart racing.

  Keep calm, keep calm, she kept chanting in her head. The sedan, two cars behind and one lane over, sped up just a tad as well. She hit the gas again, not even thinking clearly. Crap, she was speeding bad!

  She'd been looking in the rear view so much she wasn't paying attention to notice a police officer she just passed, and they turned their lights on and pulled up behind her.

  *****

  "I sure hope this is the last one and they don't have to take more drastic measures. Poor baby girl." Hunter peeked at his daughter in her booster seat behind him. Another ear infection. If this one didn't go away soon or they kept coming back, they had to possibly have the fluid drained from her ears.

  "I used to get them a lot, too. Mom was up with me for hours calming me down. Jeff never had them as bad." Eva mentioning Jeff and talking this casual came as a surprise to Hunter. She seemed to be in a decent mood today, other than worrying about Sienna.

  His phone rang. This became a normal occurrence lately, the phone interrupting a conversation. With everything going on he at least had to check. His heart did a double take when Becca's number showed up on the caller ID. Unless her voice all of a sudden came back and she wanted to tell him right then and there there was no reason she could be calling him! But that was way too much of a long shot. "Hello?" he said tentatively, unsure about what he'd hear from the other end.

  "Is this Hunter?" A male's voice came through the line.

  "Yes it is. Who is this? Why do you have Becca's phone?" Panic made his skin crawl and his pulse go crazy.

  "I'm Officer Drake. I pulled Miss Lange over for speeding to find she's unable to speak. She's been writing down in a notebook to communicate to me and said to call you. She says someone has been tailing her and that's why she sped up."

  "Following her? Is she okay? Where are you? I can be there soon to sort this out."

  "She's a bit shaken up, but she seems okay," the officer said, then gave him their location.

  "I'll be there as soon as possible. I'm not that far from there." Hunter hung up the phone and glanced at Eva. "Can you drop me off? I'll pick up the car from the house later." Sienna was ready for a nap. Her little eyelids closed, fluttered open occasionally, then closed again.

  Eva eyed him warily. "Sure, I guess. What's going on?"

  He filled her in on what little he knew, then told her where to go. "Maybe if Sienna's feeling better when I pick up the car I'll take her for a treat." He couldn't get his mind to function. Too many thoughts and worries.

  "Sounds fine by me, depending on her mood."

  Fifteen minutes later, Hunter spotted the flashing lights and Becca's car in front of the police car. Eva pulled in behind the officer. Hunter took a peek at Sienna to notice her fully out. When he climbed out of the car, he opened the back door and kissed his daughter's cheek gently. "I love you," he whispered.

  Eva pulled back in to traffic and drove away as Hunter made it to Becca and the officer. She rushed into his arms. Hunter stroked her hair. "What happened, angel?"

  Officer Drake watched them closely.

  "I noticed a blue sedan following me on the way to the airport, then saw one on the way back. I sped up to try and get away and went over the limit." She cringed.

  "Are you sure it was the same car?"

  Becca hesitated, which meant she wasn't sure.

  "How fast was she speeding?" Hunter asked the officer.

  "Sixty three in a fifty five." He clicked his tongue.

  "Did you happen to notice a blue sedan doing anything out of the ordinary?" When the question tumbled from his lips, Becca gasped. He glanced at her. Her cheeks were red and her eyes narrowed.

  "Not really, but then I wasn't focusing on that." He shot a pointed look at Becca.

  Hunter sighed, rubbing his left temple. "Are you going to write her a ticket or will you let this go? She doesn't make a habit of speeding and it's been a crazy few weeks." He was rambling. Becca, on the other hand, seethed. She crossed her arms over her chest and gave Hunter a look so deadly he felt the heat coming from it. Her nostrils flared. He'd found it cute before, but not when that anger was directed at him. Oh boy. He should have shut up and waited for the cop to say something. Him and his big mouth.

  "I'll let it go with a warning. Something is obviously going on. You just be careful on these roads, ma'am. Welcome to Virginia, but drive safe next time." He walked away muttering.

  Becca dropped the keys in Hunter's hand. "You drive." Then she climbed in the car and slammed the door.

  Yep, she was ticked. He couldn't blame her
. He made her out to be some child or a crazy person and just now realized it. That wasn't how he meant to do things, but he hadn't been thinking. Well hell.

  Back at home before Becca left the car, she glared at him. "You don't believe me, do you?"

  "About being followed?" How did he answer this question without causing any more damage? He wasn't sure what to believe. "I believe you believe it."

  "You humiliated me in front of that officer! You made it look like I'm the poor crazy girl who had it rough and is paranoid! It made me so mad!"

  "I didn't mean to, Bec. I was just worried about what he was going to do, I wanted to know if he happened to see anything, not to make you look bad, but to find out the truth! So I screwed up again. What more do you want me to do?" Never failed. Every time, he seemed to put himself further in a hole. This wasn't easy on Becca, he knew it.

  Becca leaned back in the seat and rubbed her forehead. Then she grabbed her purse and darted out of the car.

  With a grunt of frustration, Hunter stormed after her. They reached the living room when he tugged on her hand, guiding her to look at him. Damn it, she flinched again! He shouldn't take it personally as she'd been doing it with pretty much anyone, but he'd been one of the ones who caused it to begin with. "I know this is rough. You think it's easy on me? I can't stop worrying about you. You have to admit you've been paranoid, and it's not that anyone can blame you, angel. You're trying to put your brave face on again. You always have, but it's been even more so since your visit with your grandparents. I'm not them. You can let it out any time."

  She yanked her hand out of his grasp. "You think I'm crazy, don't you?"

  That stopped him cold in his tracks. A few weeks ago, he accused her of having the same thought. Wow, had the roles ever been reversed. He shook his head. "I don't think you're crazy. In fact, you're the far opposite of crazy. What you've been through would be more than enough to send anyone over the edge. While I think you're paranoid and even you've even admitted it before, you're far from crazy. Bec, you're still one of the strongest people I know."

  Sadness flashed in her eyes. "I don't feel strong. I feel like I'm losing control of reality."

  "I know that feeling all too well."

  "I've been debating in my head all day about the car. You think I like not knowing if I'm losing it or someone's actually following me? I hate both options!"

  So did he. Hunter sighed. "Tell you what. Why don't you write it down in the notebook Jed gave you and we'll pass it along. I don't want to be wrong, but I don't want to be right, either. I definitely don't like either option. Bec, we have to stick together instead of push and shove at each other the way we do. I'm not pointing fingers. It's something we're both guilty of. I think this whole thing will get worse before it gets better."

  She nodded, regret filling her eyes in the form of tears. "I guess I shouldn't be so defensive. I just saw that look in the cop's eyes and I couldn't take it, then the way you said things ... I just snapped."

  "I don't like it either, and I really am sorry. I didn't think, just acted." He remembered a few weeks ago when he'd left Becca in the cabin after the storm and Shane found her. He'd given her that same look and Becca brushed it off. This version of her was much more vulnerable. Maybe it was that she'd felt safer with Hunter at the time and she didn't now? "I have an idea. I was going to wait to show you something, but I think now might be the perfect time. Want to go for a drive with me? We can swing by and pick my car up from the Sundstrom's since I was with Eva for Sienna's appointment. I can see if one of them will drive my car home and I'll take them back."

  Becca scrunched up her face. "I'll drive a car back by myself. I don't want to inconvenience anyone just because everyone thinks I'm too paranoid to drive alone!"

  "That's not what I-" He'd done it again not even trying.

  Becca lowered her eyes. "Sorry. That pretty much counteracted what we just talked about. I know how you feel now, too."

  "Come on. I'm anxious to show you an idea."

  Hopefully she'd like it.

  *****

  There were a few things in her life that Becca never imagined she would do. Go back on a plane was one of them, lose her mind was another, and get a speeding ticket. Three of those within a span of a few weeks? Well she was on a roll and it sure as heck wasn't a good one!

  Losing her cool and fighting with Hunter had to be added to the tally, too. She'd been really hurt when he didn't show four years ago and had planned on telling him how she felt if she ever saw him again. She'd rehearsed it plenty of times. Some came out good, some were angry. Then, when he'd walked up to her the night she was on the swing and stared at her with his gorgeous grin and a twinkle in his eye, she lost all nerve. The only thing that mattered was she had him back again.

  Still, she should have just laid it all out then and there. It would have been over and done with instead of the gradual build up that she never even know was building until things kept happening.

  Hunter drove to an unfamiliar part of town she hadn't seen yet and parked in front of a plaza. She noticed right away that one of the buildings was empty. A woman wearing black dress pants and a green blouse stood in front of it holding a briefcase. What in the world was this all about?

  "Just trust me on this," Hunter said when she looked his way. The corner of his lip twitched. He seemed excited by something.

  Okay, she'd just go with it for now. She followed him up the walkway.

  "Hunter?" the woman asked.

  "That's me. This is my girlfriend, Becca." He reached for her hand.

  "Ready to see what's inside?"

  Why would they look inside?

  "Absolutely. If it's possible, could you give us a few minutes alone in there first?" Hunter squeezed Becca's hand.

  "Sure," the woman said slowly, opening the door, then took a step back to let them in.

  Hunter nodded, moving inside. "Thank you."

  Becca took in her surroundings, still confused. The tile on the floor was plain white squared. What was this? What had it been before?

  Hunter led her to the middle and took both her hands in his. "I see you're caught off guard. Hear me out?" He kissed her lips gently.

  After she nodded, he took a deep breath and started talking.

  "I have a vision in my head of this space as a gallery and studio. I see plenty of fun community events. Working with kids doing what you love. If you want, this could be yours. I'll snap it up in a heartbeat and help set up. We'll create a business plan."

  She tried to take her hands out of his to tell him why this wouldn't work.

  "Not done yet, angel." His eyes bore into hers.

  Becca stopped, listening with interest.

  "I know you what you're going to say. Or at least, I have a pretty wild guess. Your voice. But the actual events and opening would take a few months, maybe more, to put together. It gives you plenty of time for everything to get back to normal. In the meantime if you want to find something to do immediately for work, Beverly has some ideas, or you could come and work at the facility. Even if your voice comes back soon, I don't know if there'd be any art teacher openings at the schools. You can always apply next year."

  Hunter had put a lot of thought into this. It wasn't just one of his spur of the moment ideas, either. This had been well planned.

  "I know for some reason you've always hesitated at the idea of having a gallery or even selling at one. That's kind of why I like the idea of you being able to teach, too. It's two for one."

  Becca's breath hitched, overwhelmed with emotion from Hunter's thoughtfulness. He still knew her so well. The distance she'd felt from him faded slightly when she realized he still wanted only the best for her. He knew her dreams and wanted to help further them even when she balked.

  "I see tears." Hunter wiped one away with his thumb. "Good or bad?" He seemed genuinely worried.

  She knew she startled Hunter when she threw her arms around his neck in a big hug. When she let him go, he loo
ked a little shocked. "You know I don't mean to fight with you so much, right? You still know how to get me right where it counts. I'm touched. I don't know if I can say yes right this minute, but the idea is beautiful and amazing."

  "So what do you think?" The saleswoman walked in. Not so perfect timing. Becca wanted to know how long she had to decide. A place like this could be gone in the blink of an eye. She didn't want to commit right away.

  "I think we both love it, but are a little hesitant to jump right this minute. How long until you need a definite answer?" Hunter asked, sliding an arm around Becca's waist to pull her close.

  The woman pursed her lips and tapped her fingernails against her purse. "Five days. And that's being generous. I see the look in your eyes of how much you want it, so I'll grant a slight extension. This place could go quick."

  "Yeah, I know. I appreciate it." Hunter turned to Becca. "We've got some big decisions to make."

  At least this time, in terms of this specific decision, it could lead to great things if she put her fears aside.

  Chapter Twelve

  Today could go any which way. Hunter stared at the tired stranger in the mirror as he shaved. One of the moments he dreaded most happened in a few hours. The doctors appointment. He couldn't put it off. He had to get better, not only for his own sanity, but for Becca, Sienna and all the others who cared about him. The ups and downs between him and Becca had to ease up somehow, and one of the sure ways of doing so would be this appointment. He'd never, ever been so scared of a damn doctor's appointment in his entire life. Not for himself, anyway. How did he start off? "Oh, everyone thinks I'm crazy. I have nightmares that I try to find clues from. I'm cranky as hell and I blend dreams with reality and hurt the woman who means the world to me." Might as well bring in the men in white coats from the start!

  Grunting, he tapped the razor against the sink and rinsed it. He was surprised there were no cuts as he'd barely been paying attention. A flash of movement from the bedroom startled him.