I popped upon the bed, crossing my legs. I had given up the room I rented in the basement apartment in Maryland, so I’d be crashing on my parents’ couch. I couldn’t wait to see them. We were extremely close.
“Yeah, I can’t wait to get home, either. My sister said my dad has been a little ill. It will be good to see him.”
“Emily, you didn’t tell me that. Is he gonna be okay?”
“He should be fine. I just want to see him.” She quickly changed the subject, picking up the phone receiver. Emily called United and scheduled our return flights. We bought open round-trip tickets to come back to Alaska, so our return ticket would be flexible again.
Quickly, our sadness from missing the guys was replaced by the excitement of going home to see our families.
I talked to Jess, and she was so excited about me coming home to get her and bringing her back to Alaska land.
With Chris out of town on business and Dylan on the Slope, Emily and I spent most of our time working double shifts. Friday came and we were all packed and ready to move into our new place . . . not that we had much to pack up, just a few suitcases and the bags and boxes from my shopping spree—oh, and of course, our endless stash of Cup of Noodles.
Friday morning, Steve came to pick us up at the hotel. This time I let him come directly to the hotel, since I realized he would know where we lived soon enough.
“Your sons?” I commented. I expected them to find them in the car with him.
“They are still at their grandparents’ house. They will be coming up with the nanny in a few weeks. She will fly to Oregon on her way back up here so they won’t have to fly alone. My parents want to spend as much time as they can with their grandsons before they come back.”
We pulled up to the house. The cathedral ceiling and fireplace welcomed our arrival. It wasn’t as elaborate as Chris’s place, but it was really nice and totally blew away the tiny hotel room we had been cramped in for the last two months. Steve helped us unpack the car and convinced us to take off work so he could take us out to dinner to celebrate.
“There is a quaint little restaurant around the way. You will love it.”
I wanted to work as much as possible since Jessica wasn’t here, but we decided it would be a nice way to begin our first night in the new place.
“I’m taking the ladies to dinner. Let’s call it a day,” he told the mechanics, Alan and Timothy.
“Hi. How are you all doing?” I asked.
“Doing fine, ma’am.” Alan said, still as bashful as ever. Timothy just nodded in agreement with Alan. I wanted to ask him about Katie. I knew they had gotten together and she was taken by him. He was a sweet, southern boy who was infatuated with her. Worried, however, that she may have broken his heart, I decided to keep my mouth shut.
We sat in the restaurant. They brought a bottle of wine and our entrées soon followed. When he handed them his credit card, the gentleman said, “Thank you, Randall.”
Randall? His name is Steve.
“Randall?” I questioned.
“Oh, he just teases me about my middle name.” He blew it off.
He introduced us to everyone like we were good friends. Steve let them know we were new from the Lower 48, not telling them we were renting the basement. He made it seem more like we were visiting.
When we got back to the house, he said we should join him for another glass of wine. During dinner, he had told us of houses he owned throughout the world and said he wanted to show them to us in case we ever wanted to take a vacation to any of them. Pulling out the DVD, he assured us he would let us rent them for free if he didn’t have anyone staying there at the time.
He turned on the footage. The video was of Steve and this lady going through these beautiful mansions.
“This is our kitchen, Mom, and this is our living room. Here is the view from our front porch,” or back deck, or whatever it happened to be. It was Steve and his ex-wife showing all of the houses they owned and giving a tour of each room. He had houses in Hawaii, Europe, the mountains, all over the place—each home beautiful, spotless, and pristine.
“This mechanic shop is my hobby. I like working on cars. It takes my mind off some of the stress of my other businesses,” he said casually. “You would like the house in Italy. It’s really beautiful. If you all ever need to get away, just give me a few weeks’ notice.”
I thought about Dylan and how he wanted to go to Italy. Wouldn’t it be awesome if one day I could surprise him? Steve seemed really nice. He wanted to take us under his wing. He started to open another bottle of wine.
“I’m tired, but thank you anyway.” I stood up from the couch, grabbed my glass, and made my way to the kitchen.
“Thanks for dinner.” Emily stood up smiling.
“Yeah, thank you for everything,” I nodded. We rinsed out the glasses and searched for the cabinet to put them away.
“Where do these go?”
“Leave them on the counter. I’ll put them back,” he replied.
Steve was recently divorced and going through a hard time with it. I think he liked the company, especially since his sons were visiting his parents.
During dinner, he had confided his wife had a drug problem and between her addiction and his responsible nanny, he got sole custody. She seemed normal enough on the DVD, but apparently, that was before the addiction began. We felt a little sorry for him, but he seemed to have his life together.
Chapter Twenty-seven
We spent the next day unpacking—putting our clothes in the drawers and hanging things in our own closets. Emily finished and came into my room, sitting on my bed.
It felt so good to not be living out of a suitcase anymore. When we went upstairs to get something to eat, we saw Steve had started a barbecue.
“You all hungry?” It smelled really good.
“That would be great. We were ready to start making a cup of noodles.”
“I went ahead and started the process to get you tags,” he began, “so you could start driving right away. Whenever you want, you can just change the title into your name. It takes five or six hours—you know how slow those places are. In Alaska, you need proof of residency, and I just figured you would want to be able to have the transportation you need now, instead of waiting till you had established it. It’s getting an inspection Monday. It should be ready Monday afternoon.”
I had forgotten about those details. I guess it made sense to keep the car in his name for now, since I didn’t have an Alaskan driver’s license or proof of an address. We didn’t have a lease since we were paying month to month.
Monday? That stinks. We planned to work over the weekend. I guess two days off wouldn’t kill us. However, if I had known that we wouldn’t have transportation, I would have stayed in the hotel until Monday.
We really needed the money since we spent a lot of it on the deposit, the car, and the first month’s rent. We didn’t want to waste a hundred dollars on the cab fare it would take to get us to work and back. We would end up working for free.
The phone rang.
“Can I get it, Steve? It may be Dylan. He told me he was going to check on me today.”
“Sure you can.”
“Hello?”
“Nicole?” his sexy voice greeted me.
“Dylan.” I covered the receiver and told Emily and Steve, “I’ll be right back.” I ran down the stairs with the portable phone. “Well, it’s official. We are officially moved in. And I’m getting my car Monday. How are you doing?”
“Besides missing your beautiful smile, I’m doing okay. I only have a minute. The line is really long, but I wanted you to know that I’m thinking about you and am excited about your new adventure. But you tell Steve if anything happens to you, I will have to kill him.”
“Everything is fine. We are settling in nicely. It’s great to have our own closets.” I told him we would be in Maryland soon, and how excited I was at the chance to see my family and bring Jess back with me.
“That is wonderful, baby, I can’t wait to meet her. I have to run but I had to hear your voice. I miss you so much. I will try and call again in a few days before you go back to Maryland.”
“It was so good to hear your voice. I miss you too.”
I ran back upstairs with the phone.
“I’m sorry about that. I told him we were moving in today, and he wanted to make sure everything was going fine.”
“No problem. I was telling Emily that I finished all my work early. I didn’t know if you wanted to go to a movie or something after we eat. I never finish early and haven’t gone to the movies in a long time.”
The mechanics knocked at the front door. They entered the house, stomping their feet at the door so they wouldn’t track snow inside.
“So, it’s not too cold out there for you?” I rubbed my arms, just the draft made me shiver.
“No, ma’am. We are doing fine.” Alan nodded.
“I love the accent.” I looked at the table realizing we needed plates. “I’m sure we will be seeing you around.” I excused myself and exited to the kitchen. Because of the open floor plan, it was easy to overhear their conversation.
“We are going to the movie if you want to come,” Steve asked the mechanics.
Well, we hadn’t exactly said yes. Truth was I preferred not to go, but it was really awkward to say no. I still couldn’t believe we were going to miss three days of work—three weekend nights—that was when we made the most money.
“No, thank you, Steve. We are getting ready to head out and wondered if we could get our checks,” Alan asked.
“Sure, I’m getting ready to sit down and eat with these young ladies, and then we are going out. I’ll bring the checks to you all later.”
I peeked out of the kitchen. They seemed to be a little disappointed. We could wait to eat. I wondered why he didn’t just give them their checks.
* * *
“Mommy!” Jessica ran up to me, leaping into my arms at the airport. “Mommy, you’re home!”
I wrapped my arms around her, lifting her up, and smothered her with kisses.
“My Angel! I missed you so much!” Tears came to my eyes. It was only a few months, but it had seemed like an eternity.
My mom and dad watched as we embraced, giving us our moment. They slowly came forward when they felt they wouldn’t intrude. I set Jessica down and ran to hug them as well, their faces decorated in smiles.
“How are you, sweetheart?” My dad gave me a kiss on the forehead.
“I’m doing wonderful. How are you all?” I squeezed my mom.
“We’re just happy to see you.”
Driving home from the airport, we passed a park that I played at when I was younger. I hadn’t been to the park in years. It was dusted in snow. We stopped in a nearby store and I bought plastic sleds.
“Dad, do you remember coming here when I was a kid? I thought this hill was a mountain.” The four of us made our way up the hill in the park.
“I was a lot younger then,” he laughed. “I have to say at my age, this hike does feel like a mountain.”
“I remember you coming here to paint,” my mom reminded me.
“This is where I did my first painting. The one of the sunset. It was on this hill. I had forgotten about that.” I used to come to paint and write poetry before Ronald wouldn’t allow me to.
“I think we should race. What do you think Jess?”
“I’m on Mommy’s team.” Jessica jumped up and down in excitement.
“Wait a minute. I don’t think I have been on a sled in fifteen years. You have to take it easy on us old folks.” My dad tried to play the sympathy card.
“Yeah, right. Old? I don’t think so. I don’t see any cane. How about loser makes dinner?”
“Well, I was going to make your favorite pot roast anyway.”
“Mom’s pot roast? Oh man, the stakes are big. Jess, we have to win.”
We laughed as the snow whipped across our faces. We were doing great until all of a sudden my parents whizzed by us. They won the race! Of course, we had to have a rematch. And before long, I had agreed to make dinner and dessert.
“I think somehow it was rigged,” I whispered to Jess when we got home. Jess and I entered the kitchen. I picked her up and set her on the counter.
“So what are we going to make tonight, Angel?’
“Can we make chicken soup? I love soup!” Jessica’s eyes lit up.
“That sounds perfect!”
“And apple pie.” She rubbed her little tummy.
We worked hard at our gourmet meal. Jess tasted the soup for approval.
“This is the bestest soup in the whole wide world.” She seemed proud.
I tasted a tiny spoonful myself. “Wow, Jessica, I think you are right. What did you do? This is the best soup ever!” I smiled.
“Grandma says it tastes good when you make it with love.” She looked at me with her big blue eyes, “And I feel lots of love with you, Mommy.” A tear came to my eye, and I gave my angel a kiss and scooped her up in my arms. I closed my eyes and just held her. It was so good to be home.
“Grandma, Grandpa, close your eyes!” Jessica wanted to surprise them. She had helped me set the table and decorated it with a bouquet of red roses. Everything had to be perfect. It was our first meal together in a long time.
As we sat down to the table, my little angel bowed her head and intertwined her fingers. We all followed her lead as she began to pray.
“Dear God, thank you for my mommy and the love I feel in my heart.”
As I sat there at the table, a warm sensation came over me. I leaned over and kissed my angel on the check. “I love you, Jess.”
My parents’ eyes sparkled, watching the two of us together. It sure was good to be home.
After dinner, Jessica fell asleep in my arms, and I gently tucked her in bed, brushing her dark hair off her porcelain face so I could kiss her goodnight.
I walked into the living room. The tiny Cape Cod was an older home, the house clean but cramped. They had a lot of my stuff stacked in a closet, but most of it they’d given away because they just didn’t have the space to store it.
I walked over to the recliner where my dad was relaxing and sat on the arm of the chair. Dad was in his sixties. His black hair, dusted in gray, brought out the blue in his eyes. He wasn’t tall, but he always made me feel protected. I never doubted my parents loved me. He put the newspaper he had been reading on the coffee table.
“How’s my girl?”
“It’s so good to be home. Thank you, Dad. Thank you for everything.”
“Are you kidding? We love that little girl. It has been fun.”
“Having her here with the two of you has meant so much to me. I know all the crap with Ronald has been hard for you all. Thank you for keeping her safe.”
“You know she is always welcome here.”
“Dad, why did you move all the way out here? And you are not only unlisted, but I noticed the phone bill is in Mom’s maiden name.”
“We didn’t want you to worry, honey. It all worked out. He has put you through enough in the past. We knew you would come back if you found out. That is what he wanted—to trap you.”
“Ronald? You did all this because of Ronald? What the hell happened?”
“We are fine and Jessica is safe. We found a nice couple to rent our house. It all worked out.”
“Dad, what did he do? What did Ronald do?”
He tried to change the subject, but I didn’t let him.
“What the hell did he do?”
“He tried to take Jess. He tried to get her from the babysitter’s.”
“He tried to kidnap her? He tried to kidnap my baby?”
“It all worked out; he won’t find us here.”
“How do you know? How do you know she’s safe? How do you know you are safe? You know his temper. Why didn’t you tell me? I would have come home.”
“That’s exactly what he wanted, Nikki. He
wanted to get you to come back. We are safe. My job let me transfer offices. We are using your mother’s maiden name. This place is small, but it suits us well enough. There is no way he will find us here.”
I knew they changed their number but had no idea what they had been going through. “I’m so sorry. I am so sorry, Dad.”
“It all worked out, Nicole. Everyone’s fine. It all worked out.”
“Yeah, but Dad, you had to change everything.”
“Let’s not worry about this now. It’s just good to have you home honey,”
“I love you, Dad. Thank you for everything. Really. Thank you for everything!”
I leaned over, wrapping my arm around him.
“I had fun today.” He polished his nails on his shirt like he was rubbing it in my face that they won the sledding race.
“I did too, even though I think somehow you cheated.” I grinned, giving him another squeeze, letting him change the mood.
“Some may debate it was our extra weight, but I maintain it was our extraordinary skill.”
Chapter Twenty-eight
The next morning, I walked into my mom’s bedroom and sat on her bed like I did when I was growing up.
“You doing okay, Mom?”
“We are fine, dear.”
“I’m so sorry I didn’t listen to you when you told me not to move in with Ronald.”
I could see the slight lines in my mother’s face from the stress she had to deal with, but she still was beautiful. Her dark hair was braided off her face and her hazel eyes gazed at the knitting needles in her hands. The years had been good to her despite all I put her through because I had been with Ronald.
“You were young and thought you were in love. We have to think you met him for a reason. You have a beautiful daughter. It has been a little hard adjusting, but we are managing.”
The Impostor, A Love Story Page 19
