A Masterpiece Unraveled (The Masterpiece Trilogy Book 2)

by Nikki Lynn Barrett

  *****

  "Eva says she's not home yet, but she'd come pick up Sienna on her way," Hunter informed Becca hours later. "She didn't realize how long she'd be. I guess it turned out to be a working interview and she stayed to help." He shot her an apologetic look.

  Becca waved it off. "It's fine. You just go to your meeting and I'll see you in a few hours." He worried for nothing again. As much as she loved him, he didn't need to.

  "I know. I was just thinking about what you said earlier. I know you and Eva aren't comfortable with each other yet, not that I can blame you. She sounded a little off about me not being here, but she'll get over it."

  Becca couldn't believe she was going to say this, but... "Her mother instincts are kicking in. I'm the new woman in your life and she's probably struggling with it all. How would you feel if she had a new man in her life and around Sienna?"

  That got him. Hunter had been all ready to stay something but her question threw him off as his lips moved wordlessly. "I'd be wary too, now that you put in in perspective. But I've known you for so long!" he protested.

  "You have, but Eva hasn't. She knows me through your eyes, but that's not enough. I could try to get to know her, but I see the unwelcome in her eyes."

  "You want me to stay?"

  Becca wagged a finger at him. "I want you to go to your meeting and not worry so much. I can handle Eva." She would just pick up her daughter, probably send Becca a few scathing looks and move on. Simple as that. Not a big deal. Becca had dealt with much worse before.

  Hunter chuckled. "It really wasn't an attempt to get out of going, I swear."

  "Not sure I believe you," Becca teased. At that moment, Sienna ran in the room with a piece of construction paper. She waved it around with excitement.

  "For you, Daddy!" She handed it to him.

  "I think it's another one for the fridge hall of fame." Hunter bent to give her a hug. "You're becoming quite the artist. I think someone's rubbing off on you." He sent a suggestive smile at Becca. "Daddy has to go to a meeting for a while, but you'll be here with Becca until Mommy picks you up. Okay?"

  "Okay Daddy." She hugged him.

  "How about you give Becca the picture so she can put it on the fridge for me? I'll see you later. I love you, Princess." He tickled her. Sienna giggled.

  "Love you!" Sienna even signed it again.

  "I adore when you do that." Hunter stood again, reaching for Becca. "I love you. See you in a few hours."

  "Love you too." Becca tilted her head for a kiss. "Have a good meeting."

  Sienna stood beside her, waving at Hunter as he headed out to the car. When he was out of the driveway, Becca shut the door and focused her attention on Sienna.

  "Let's go put your latest masterpiece on the fridge. Then we can figure out what we want to do while we wait for your mommy to get here. Show me the perfect spot to display your new picture."

  Sienna skipped ahead of Becca and waited for her by the fridge. "Right here!" She pointed to a spot already covered. Becca put the picture there, an idea forming in her mind about a great way to display her artwork.

  "I have an idea. How about you and I work on something for your daddy?"

  "A present?" Sienna's curious, wide eyed gaze fixed on her.

  "Yes, exactly! Your daddy has been doing so much for everyone. Let's make something special for him. Want to?"

  "Yes!" she squealed.

  Becca laughed, loving the excitement. "Okay. Let's find a few things and see what we can do."

  A few minutes later, they sat around the dining room table with paint and a large frame. She handed Sienna a small paintbrush. "Paint the frame like this," she instructed, moving the brush against the wood in gentle strokes. "How about dark blue, since your daddy loves that color? Just be careful not to drip too much paint." She wanted Sienna to be as much of a part of this as possible. Hunter wouldn't mind if the paint wasn't perfect. He'd love that his daughter helped create something for him. He'd be so surprised. Maybe if they finished it fast enough without his knowing, Becca could hang it up in his office when he wasn't home. She wasn't sure how much time they'd have tonight with Eva on her way, but it would be the perfect start.

  Twenty minutes and a bit of a mess later, the doorbell rang. "I bet that's your mom. Let's go greet her and then clean up real quick. Just don't tell Daddy we're working on a present. We'll have to finish later." Becca hid her disappointment. She loved this time with Sienna and working on something special for Hunter.

  "Don't wanna go," Sienna pouted.

  Becca hugged her. "I know, but you'll be back." Guilt crept into her gut about the closeness Sienna felt with her and how she didn't want to go home. Being a child with divorced parents couldn't be easy, especially when Sienna was closer to her dad than her mom.

  The doorbell rang again. Becca ignored the way Sienna's lip curled out and forced herself to get up and answer it. "Hey Eva. Come on in. Sienna's a little messy right now because we were painting, but we were about to clean up." She stepped back to let her in.

  "I'll clean her up." Eva brushed past her, making a beeline for her daughter. "Hey baby doll. Did you have fun with Daddy earlier? Let's get you clean so we can go home."

  So Eva was upset. Okay, fine. Becca could deal with it. Still, the brush off stung.

  "Becca!" Sienna yelled, trying to run from Eva's reach.

  "Go with your mom, Sienna," Becca managed to say, knowing this could get ugly at any minute. Eva's look was something deadly, the way her eyes narrowed as she glared at Becca.

  As difficult as it was, Becca left the room. She took the paintbrushes and plate to wash. If she busied herself, maybe being away would help Sienna calm down and go with Eva to be cleaned up. Dread wrapped a hand around her heart and squeezed.

  She heard Sienna and Eva upstairs and the water running. Sienna didn't sound too happy, which in turn frustrated Eva. Moments later they trudged downstairs. Becca greeted them at the landing of the steps, holding out Sienna's bag. Sienna pulled from her mom's grasp and ran straight into Becca's arms. Talk about a catch twenty-two. Becca didn't want to hurt Sienna's feelings but the way Eva's anger practically radiated from her body scared her.

  "You be good and feel better soon." Becca hugged her. Sienna clung to her not wanting to let go.

  "Come on, baby doll. Mama's ready to go home. It's been a long day. You'll come back again with Daddy."

  Okay, did she have to be so rude? Eva acted as if Becca wasn't even there, other than to shoot her with evil looks.

  Shake it off.

  "I'm sorry about the mess. I should've had her ready to go, but we were working on something for Hunter." Becca tried to stand up and coax Sienna to let go.

  "You have to always be so perfect, huh? The perfect girlfriend, the perfect fill in mom." Eva rolled her eyes.

  That did it. She'd had enough. "Perfect? I'm not perfect and never have claimed to be," Becca snapped. Seriously? This was going to be the way it went? "I'm not trying to replace you. I'm sorry if you feel that way-"

  "Just stop! I'm tired of having to compete with you." Eva reached for Sienna's hand. "Come on, Sienna. That's enough now."

  "This isn't a competition," Becca protested. Eva snatched the bag from her hands.

  "Right. That's why Hunter couldn't wait to get back to you after we divorced. Now my own daughter prefers you over me."

  Fury spiked within her. "I'm sorry if that's the way you feel. I'm not going to even get into the past because it's not my business, but you don't need to accuse me of things I'm not doing. I would never in a million years even try to take your place! I love Sienna and Hunter, but this isn't about taking anyone's place! Geez, Eva! This isn't easy on me either!"

  "You know what, whatever. Tell Hunter thank you. Let's go, Sienna." Eva stormed away. Becca followed, watching as she settled Sienna in her car seat, climbed in the drivers side and drove away. Becca stood there, stunned. Some of this she expected. The looks, the irritation. But the way Eva accused her of b
eing perfect and a replacement? Ugh!

  Before she closed the door, Becca noticed something resting against the front step. Did Eva drop something?

  It wax a box, just sitting there.

  She froze.

  Not again. Not this again. Sylvia was dead! No one should be sending them boxes and strange stuff on the doorstep!

  Becca picked it up and brought it inside, her heart racing. Forgetting about the episode with Eva and the present she'd been working on for Hunter, she opened up the box and feared the worst.

  Chapter Twenty One

  "You've been distracted all night. Is everything okay?"

  The meeting was over, and Hunter walked out of the room with Jesse in a daze. He couldn't stop thinking about Becca and the way she was feeling. He'd only half listened to others talk tonight and didn't put any effort into saying anything himself. Luckily, no one asked him anything during the time. He would have been completely caught off guard.

  "It's complicated," Hunter replied. Total understatement. "Just found out some startling news having to do with my family and I can't stop thinking about it."

  "Your family? I thought they, umm." Jesse fumbled for words.

  "Yes, they died in the crash. I've been looking for a connection between my family and Becca's and we found it. I just don't know what it all means." How was it he could talk so easily to this stranger? Hunter surprised himself with opening up even that little bit of information to him.

  "Ahh. Trying to sort out the mystery."

  "This really does remind me of a damn TV show or book, but it's my life." Hunter grimaced. "Want a ride home? I'll drop you off if you want."

  "No man, that's all right. I could use the walk. Hope you figure things out."

  "You should come by sometime and meet Becca," Hunter offered.

  "Yeah, we'll work something out sometime." Jesse waved, then took off.

  Hunter hurried home. "I'm back!" he called, opening the door. To his surprise, Becca was in the living room staring at a piece of paper in her hands. "Bec?" What's that?" On high alert, he shoved the door closed and ran to her side. Sylvia's dead. Who the hell else is sending us stuff?

  "Her mother sent me a p-package," Becca stuttered.

  "Her mo-whose mother? What are you talking about?" An opened box sat on the table. Hunter lowered himself on the couch next to Becca and gently eased the paper out of her hands. His heart almost stopped at the words written in cursive.

  Dear Rebecca,

  This is going to come off as strange, a letter coming from the mother of the woman with an intent to hurt you. I just recently found out about Sylvia's latest scheme, or whoever she goes by now. When I recognized your last name, I wondered if it could really be, but then I looked you up and sure enough, your father Rusty Lange was my ex-husband. I'm so terribly sorry about his loss. He was a good man, even though things didn't work out.

  My daughter has had a long road in and out of institutions. She blames me for the divorce and has been on a path of destruction since. Twenty years ago, she ran away from one and I never heard from her until about five years later. She was worse off than she'd ever been. I never knew she'd been in contact with Rusty after we divorced. It was a surprise when she said she'd been on that same plane. I thought she was making it up, she has a history of that. There's no record of her on that plane, but she certainly has some stories to tell. Sylvia only contacts me every few years.

  I have so much more I want to write, but I'm sure this is probably going to scare you off already. I'm in shock. Apologizing for her actions won't change anything, but for some reason I was compelled to contact you. Maybe because you're a part of Rusty and I feel he was the one who got away.

  I don't expect you to, but if you want to connect with me I'd love it. I've sent you a few things I still had of your father's. I've held on to them, especially after finding out about his death, but I feel they may be better off in his daughter's hands.

  Sincerely,

  Amelia

  Hunter set the note down, then reached for Becca. Too many strange thoughts crowded his mind. How did the woman know where to find Becca this quick? Did she know her daughter was dead? Something about this just didn't feel right, but then again, he was concerned over everything. "Did you look in the box yet?"

  Becca shook her head. "I've been reading that letter over and over. I noticed the box when I walked Sienna and Eva out."

  He wanted to ask how that went, but decided not to change the subject. "What are you going to do?"

  "Part of me is curious. Okay, more than just a part of me. I want to know about my dad, but I don't want to think about Carrie... Sylvia... whatever her name was!"

  "Give it a few days and let it sit," Hunter suggested. "You don't have to decide right now."

  "I think I'm at least ready to look in the box." Becca leaned forward. She brought it closer. Her fingers trembled as she pulled out a large envelope. "Photos," she whispered when she'd opened it. Instead of looking through them, Becca inspected the rest of the box's contents. A pocket watch with Rusty's initials on the back, a worn out copy of The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, a wool hat. Just little things. "I've never been able to have any of Daddy's things. My grandparents never gave me anything." She clutched the hat to her chest, tears in her eyes.

  Even with as odd as this was, Hunter found it touching too. Becca a had a little part of her father's history with her now, a few of his personal effects. Maybe if she did contact this Amelia woman, she could tell them where she met Rusty and give a little insight to his past. Maybe it would help.

  He held back on suggesting any of this to Becca right now. She needed time to process, not be bombarded with looking for answers.

  *****

  Becca was still asleep when Hunter got up the next morning. He wanted to stay in bed and curl up with her, but his first appointment with the PTSD person was today. Not that he looked forward to it at all, but it was another part of the process. Still, he took his time getting out of bed.

  Downstairs, he grabbed a quick bite to eat from the kitchen and stopped in the dining room. A partially painted frame lay on the table along with a handful of Sienna's artwork. Curious, he looked over it. Was this something Becca was working on with Sienna last night? She never did mention what the two of them did and how Eva was when she picked her up. Then again, Becca had been preoccupied with the box. She never did look at the photos.

  It looked like Becca had let Sienna do most of the painting. It was messy and there were spots not covered in blue. Hunter smiled. What was this supposed to be? He had a feeling he wasn't meant to see this yet.

  His text message notification went off. Hunter took a peek. It was a text from Eva.

  Please tell Becca I'm sorry about last night.

  What did that mean? Instead of texting her back, Hunter decided to call.

  "What happened last night?" he asked after she said hello.

  "She didn't tell you?"

  "No, she didn't. We were preoccupied with something else. What happened, Eva?"

  Eva sighed. "It was a long day and Sienna didn't want to go with me, and I ... I kinda snapped at Becca."

  Hunter held back a pissed off retort. This was exactly what he'd worried about. He gripped the top of the chair.

  "I pretty much said she always had to be perfect, was trying to take my place, and other things," she said in a small voice.

  "What the hell?" This time, he couldn't keep in his anger. His voice echoed off the walls. Hopefully he wouldn't wake Becca.

  "I know, I-"

  "Let me tell you something, Eva. Becca stood up for you the other day. She knows you're having a hard time with this and she even asked me how I'd feel if you had another man in your life who got close to Sienna. She's not trying to take anyone's place!" He kicked the side of the chair in frustration. "I'm not telling Becca anything for you. It's best you apologize to her yourself. You can't blame Becca because Sienna got attached. It's something our daughter did on her o
wn."

  "Hunter-"

  "I have so many things I want to say right now. I think I'll stop before I really lose it." He hung up on her, steamed.

  He was just as upset when he arrived at the psychiatrist's office. He needed to calm down before he walked back there, considering he already had a feeling the questions would be fired one right after the other about things he'd sure as hell like to forget and not rehash. As he threw himself on one of the chairs, he pulled out his phone to send Becca a quick text.

  Sorry I didn't wake you before I left for my appointment, but you looked so content. I'm here now. Can't wait until I can be home with you again.

  Just as he put his phone away, they called him back.

  Here went nothing. Again. He stood, making his way to the doctor.

  "Hi Hunter. Good to meet you. I'm Dr. Ryan. Let's go on back and get started." After shaking hands, he led the way down a hallway to his office. Once Hunter was inside, he closed the door then moved to sit behind his desk.

  Hunter lowered himself on a chair as he surveyed his surroundings. He remembered offices much like these back when he'd first had counseling after the crash as a twelve year old boy. He didn't want to talk then, and he felt he same way now. But this time was different. There was much more on the line.

  "So today is probably going to drive you nuts because I'll be asking questions you've probably answered thousands of times. I apologize about that in advance, but it's a necessary evil." He seemed nice enough. Hunter pegged him in his forties maybe. He shuffled some papers around on this desk, uncapped a pen and then opened his drawer, pulling something out.

  A recorder?