Trace - Part Two

by Deborah Bladon

  "What did she say?"

  Replaying my sister's cruel reaction to my showing up on the doorstep isn't going to offer anything beneficial to either Zoe or me. She'll try to explain it away based on my sister's shock at seeing me, but I know it runs deeper than that. Connie didn't want me there and judging by the words she was spitting out at me, most of her refusal to welcome me back into the family with open arms has to do with money.

  Her eyes widen as I scan her face while I think about how to respond. I have to trust someone. I know that anything I tell Zoe will only go as far as her husband, Beck. She won't run off and share the news that I'm the baby that was stolen from one of Manhattan's most affluent families decades ago. She'll help me. She'll steer me in the direction I need to move. She'll offer me an anchor in this sea of uncertainty that I've fallen into.

  "Can you tell me what she said, Van?" She pushes my hair behind my shoulder. "Tell me."

  I pull in a deep breath, hoping that it will contain some of the courage I need. "She was angry. She immediately started talking about money and how I came back for part of the estate."

  "Really?" She can't mask the surprise in either her voice or on her face. "Why would she think you came back for money?"

  I shrug. "I have no idea. She accused me of waiting to come back until Francesca had died."

  Zoe's hand leaps to her chest. "Wow. She actually said that?"

  I turn to look out the car's window. "She thinks I'm after whatever Francesca left when she died."

  "Van?" She pats my shoulder lightly. "What are you going to do now?"

  I breathe a small sigh of relief as we turn into the hospital's parking lot. "I'm going to work. It's the only thing I can do."

  ***

  "I went to see your mother yesterday," Ben doesn't look up from the tablet in his hand. "Her nurse told me that you hadn't been to see her in a few days."

  I swallow hard. "I've been really busy."

  "It's more than that." He closes the cover of the tablet before he finally pulls his gaze to my face. "I can tell something is wrong, Vanessa."

  He can't really tell that. Ben and I aren't close friends. We're acquaintances who are working on developing a closer friendship. I'm aware enough to realize that anything I share with him will likely work its way back to Garrett in short order. Ben has to know that Garrett and I are seeing each other.

  "I've had a lot going on, Ben." I say dryly. "I'll go see her soon."

  "Soon?" he repeats back. "It's not like you to avoid seeing her."

  "I'm not avoiding her." I laugh half-heartedly. "I've just been very busy."

  "You went out of your way earlier today to find Garrett when he was at a client's house." He rests his hand on my shoulder. "You told him it was because of your mother."

  Shit. Why didn't I see that coming? I should have known that Garrett would confide in Ben.

  I pull back. I feel exposed even though there's no possible way that Ben can know what I've been dealing with during the past twenty-four hours.

  "I'm here if you need a friend, Vanessa." He pulls his smartphone from his pants pocket. "I'll always be around if you need me."

  Chapter 4

  "Didn't you get my message?" I try to ask without sounding as aggravated as I feel. It's late. It's actually well past midnight and my shift, up to this point, has been one angry patient after another. I'm exhausted and I don't have a firm grasp on my emotions. I'd texted Garrett almost an hour ago to tell him that meeting during my break tonight, wouldn't work. I hadn't heard back and now I know why. The man is sitting at one of the tables in the almost vacant cafeteria with a wide grin on his face and a bouquet of flowers in his hand.

  "I got it." He bolts to his feet. "I got these for you."

  I don't resist as he pushes the large arrangement of flowers into my chest. I wrap my arms around them, inhaling their beautiful scent. It's a thoughtful gesture and since it's the second time he's given me flowers, it's obvious that he's naturally chivalrous. I can't think of another man who would stay up half the night to bring someone flowers during a coffee break.

  "They're beautiful." I smile up at him. "I didn't expect this."

  "You need them." He leans forward to brush his soft lips over my forehead. "I can tell that you've had a bad day."

  It's a gross understatement. My entire life has changed dramatically in the past few days. "It's been a rough day."

  "Sit." He points to one of the plastic chairs next to the table. "Can I get you a coffee or something?"

  I glance briefly towards the corner of the cafeteria to where two women are serving beverages and food. Normally, I'd order a juice and some fruit or oatmeal to fuel me for the remainder of my shift, but I can't stomach the thought of anything stronger than water. "I'm fine."

  He lowers himself into the seat next to me. "How has work been tonight?"

  It's an easy out and I latch onto it without any thought at all. "Brutal. The ER is crazy busy tonight."

  "You must see some wild things working there." He takes a large gulp from the paper coffee cup in front of him. "There has to be things that are crazier than guys that ram their bikes into trees."

  I smile at the reminder of how we met. "You recovered from that quickly."

  He rubs his forehead. "I still can't believe I did that. I don't remember most of what happened in the park that day."

  I need a reprieve from everything that I've had to face the past day-and-a-half. I want to laugh. "You were chasing a woman with perfect tits."

  His chin dips down as he cocks a dark brow. "What?"

  "It's true." I reach across the table to pick up his coffee cup. I inhale the rich aroma before I bring it to my lips. "You told me in the ER that you hit the tree because you were chasing the most perfect pair of tits you'd ever seen."

  He leans back in his chair before he pulls his hand across his stubble covered chin. "You have the most perfect pair of tits I've ever seen."

  "I don’t." I nod towards my chest. "According to you I have the most perfect looking ass you've ever seen."

  "You do." He taps his index finger on the table. "I'm not going to argue that point with you. We've already talked about that."

  "You were such a jerk when they brought you into the ER." I push the coffee cup back towards him but he motions for me to stop.

  "You keep that. It's already my third cup."

  "Your third cup?" My gaze moves to his eyes. "How long have you been here?"

  He looks up at the clock on the wall opposite me. "Almost two hours."

  "What?" I search his face, realizing that when I texted him telling him not to come, he was already sitting here waiting for me. "Why have you been here so long?"

  He stands with effortless ease, rests one hand against the table as he leans down so his lips are hovering next to mine. "I just needed to be in the same place as you. I had to be close to you."

  ***

  "You've slept with him, haven't you?"

  It's Carla. I can tell by the giddiness in her voice. It's always there when she's talking about sex.

  "Vanessa?" She taps me on the shoulder. "You fucked him, didn't you?"

  "No." I turn quickly on my heel to where she's standing behind me. Thankfully we're the only two people waiting for the elevator. "He fucked me."

  "How the hell did that happen?" She scoops her arm around my shoulder. "Tell me everything."

  That's not happening. I don't kiss and tell or fuck and tell. I may have shared a few juicy details with Zoe, but that's where my confessions about making love with Garrett Ryan stop. "I'm not telling you anything."

  "I saw him kissing you in the cafeteria. I think he had a boner."

  "A boner?" I pull my hand over my mouth as I giggle. "Seriously, Carla? A boner?"

  "Is that why you're never home anymore?" She guides me into the elevator once the doors pop open. "Is it because you're in bed with him?"

  I push the button to the ground floor where the ER is located before I tap th
e button for the third floor. "My life consists of more than work and that."

  We both grip tightly to the chrome bar that stretches around the entire perimeter of the lift. I can feel her eyes honed in on my face, but I stare at the doors wishing we'd get to her floor.

  "If I was sleeping with him, I'd never get out of bed."

  I shake my head slightly, trying to hold back a smile. "You're one a kind, Carla."

  "He is, Vanessa." She brushes past me as the doors open on the third floor. "Hold onto him. Men like that only come along once in a lifetime."

  Chapter 5

  "Are you going to go to the police?" Zoe reaches past me to grab another handful of newborn diapers from a package. "I can go with you."

  I step to the left. "I hadn't thought about it."

  She pulls the rest of the diapers free before tucking them into the top drawer of the change table that was delivered not more than an hour ago.

  "I don't know what it would accomplish at this point," I say under my breath. "It was so long ago. My birth mother is gone and from what I read online last night, my father died ten years ago."

  "It's probably still an open case." She runs her hand across the top of the diapers before she carefully closes the drawer. "I think it's the right thing to do, Van."

  I have no grasp on what the right thing to do is anymore. Since I said goodbye to Garrett at the hospital early this morning, my mind has been on overdrive. I was finally able to get a few hours of sleep in after my shift, but I was jarred awake by the image of Connie's face. If she's the only family I have left, there's no reason to pursue anything related to my birth as a Tomlin. I'm Vanessa Meyer now and I have to accept that and all the tangled emotions that go with that.

  "My mother will get in trouble." I look past Zoe to one of the nursery walls. Beck has started to paint a mural. It's vibrant, colorful and full of life. "I don't think any of it matters anymore."

  She rubs her hand over her swollen stomach. "If someone took my baby away from me, I don't know what I'd do."

  I knew when I first showed her the newspaper clippings that it would hit a chord deep within her. Zoe's entire life has been focused on the impending arrival of her son for months now. She's juggled her schedule at law school so she can have the time she wants and needs at home after the baby arrives. He's her life and I can only hold onto the hope that I was just as wanted and loved by Francesca in the months and days leading up to my birth.

  "Are you at least going to tell Garrett?"

  I know that she doesn't mean for the words to sound as challenging as they do. I'm absorbing them that way because I've been struggling with whether or not to tell Garrett that I just discovered that I'm the daughter of Francesca Tomlin.

  "I haven't had time to think about everything," I say truthfully. "I need time to adjust first before I make any decisions."

  She nods. "You're right. I know it has to be hard, Van. Just know that Beck and I are here if you need us."

  I take as much comfort from the words as she's offering. More than ever, I've come to view Zoe as my family. She's the one person I can depend on and right now, I know that even though she's pushing me to do the things she views as right and expected, that she'll stand by me regardless of what I finally decide to do.

  "Do you think it might be worthwhile to talk to a lawyer?" She scratches her brow. "I know someone who I think could help you figure this all out from a legal perspective."

  "I don't know. It would have to be off the record." I look down at my fingernails. "I can't afford anyone expensive."

  "I know someone." She reaches to where she tossed her purse on the rocking chair. "She's kind of my mentor. I think she'd be happy to help."

  ***

  "I'd like to talk about something." Garrett refills my wine glass. "We haven't had a chance to talk about why you came to find me at my client's townhouse the other day."

  We haven't talked about it because I don't have any feasible explanation for why I was there. I've been holding my breath waiting for Garrett to tell me that he asked around his office to find out who gave me that information. I bring the wine glass to my lips and take a leisurely swallow, hopeful that the silence will spur him to carry on the conversation on his own.

  "I wish you'd stop by the office again." He taps the top of the table with his hand. "I'd love to have a surprise visit from you in the middle of the day."

  I need to stop this runaway train of assumptions before it falls right off the tracks. I've never stepped foot in the man's office. Until this afternoon, when I did a quick search online, I had no idea where it was even located. I admit I'm impressed that he works for one of the most influential firms in the city, but I'm not surprised. He obviously knows what he's doing as a lawyer. The list of notable clients he's handled probate for speaks of that.

  "You'd take time out of your busy day for me?" I tilt my wine glass towards him. "Would I get a personal tour of your office?"

  "Can I get either of you anything else?" The soft voice of the waitress breaks into our conversation. "We have a delicious dessert menu."

  I promised myself, when I agreed to have dinner with Garrett, that I'd at least tell him that I'm adopted even though I'm technically a missing person who was raised by a desperate woman. I'm not sure I'll need to tell him anything beyond that. He doesn’t strike me as the type of man who dates a woman for more than a few weeks. Maybe by the time this thing between us finds its end, I'll have a firmer grasp on whether I'll share with anyone that I'm Charlotte Tomlin.

  "We're not interested," Garrett answers as he looks directly at me. "We're ready to go."

  She whispers something under her breath as she quickly takes her leave and disappears into the bustling crowd of this mid-town Italian eatery.

  "We're ready to go?" I repeat back as I smooth my hands over my black pants. "What's the rush?"

  "It's been four days since I've been inside of you, Vanessa." He rests his palms against the edge of the table as he pushes back the chair he's sitting in. "I can't wait another minute. We're leaving now."

  Chapter 6

  I almost scream the moment I feel his mouth on me. He'd kissed me, in the taxi on the way back to his apartment, like a man who was starved for my touch. My mind has been telling me to stop him so I can explain that I'm holding tightly to something that he deserves to know. I can't or more precisely, I won't. I want this and I need it. I want to feel desired, and adored by this man.

  I hear the snap of the material of my panties as he rips them from me. It had taken all the strength I had to hold him back as I'd quickly pulled off my pants and sweater when we came through the door. He'd scooped me into his arms and carried me into his bedroom before throwing his own clothes onto the floor.

  "I've been craving you, Vanessa," he says quietly as his tongue circles around my swollen clit. "I've thought about nothing but you for days."

  I reach down to pull my hands through his lush, dark hair. I want to take as much pleasure as I can from this. He knows exactly how to bring me to the edge of an orgasm with his tongue and fingers. "It feels so good, Garrett."

  "I was so hard in the restaurant." His breath glides over my core. "I thought about taking you into the hallway near the back entrance so I could fuck you against the wall."

  The crude image of him taking me within earshot of the other restaurant patrons only adds to my arousal. "You wouldn't do that."

  "Don't dare me, Vanessa." He reaches for my hands, pulling them into one of his. "Never dare me."

  I arch my ass off the bed, wanting him to lick me. "I'm so ready. Please."

  He looks down to where I'm completely exposed. I'm wet. I'm so wet from my own arousal and from the lashes of his tongue over my folds. "Your body craves mine. It's the same for you, isn't it? You ache when you think about us together."

  I press my cheek into the soft reprieve that the pillow offers. "It feels so good when we're together."

  He licks a long, slow path over my cleft. The dee
p moan that escapes from him runs right through me and I arch my back even more.

  My hands fall back into his hair, tilting his head slightly to the left. "My clit, Garrett. Please."

  He doesn't say anything as his tongue circles my throbbing clit. He slides one of his long, elegant fingers into my channel as he licks me harder and faster until I come in a heated rush.

  ***

  "You've been asleep for more than four hours." His breath flows over my shoulder. "I could watch you sleep every night forever, Vanessa. You're so beautiful."

  I try to sit up but his strong arms are around me, my back pressed into his chest. The last thing I remember is him licking me to a second intense orgasm. I had screamed aloud, unable to control the depth of what I felt.

  "I need to go home."

  "We've talked about this before." He pulls me even closer. I can feel his erection pressing against my ass cheek. "You're going to stay here with me. I'm going to fuck you nice and slow as soon as you wake up more."

  My body involuntarily moves at the promise of him inside of me. I press against him, wanting him to slide his cock into me now.

  "You're going to come again for me like this first," he whispers into my neck.

  I whimper when I feel him press his hand between my legs. I'm wet again already. I reach down to cover his hand with my own. "It's too much. Please just fuck me."

  "Not yet," he growls as his teeth graze my shoulder. "You're so tight. I'll hurt you if you're not ready for me."

  I'm ready. I'm so ready that my core is aching for him to be inside of me. I want him more than I've wanted any man in my life. I don't have to tell him. My body has already told him that over and over again tonight.

  I moan when he glides his fingers over my clit. I gasp when he pushes two fingers into my depth and I grab tightly to the bed covers as I come.