by Brenda Novak
She followed the instructions he gave her. Then, when he’d placed the swab securely in its vial, she gathered up her purse and stood. “How long does it take to get the results?”
“A few weeks at most.”
Telling herself she should save all other questions until this vital piece of information was in place, she started to leave, but her curiosity got the better of her, and she turned back at the door. “Do you know how it happened?”
“How—”
“I was abducted? From where?”
“A preschool located near a park. It was during a blizzard. As the parents were coming to pick up their children, there was an accident in the parking lot. The teacher walked over to make sure no one was hurt and when she turned around, there was one less child lined up against the wall.”
“So how did you ever track me?”
“That teacher, a Ms. Grimwald, had met Anita a few days earlier. Anita had approached her to see if she needed any volunteers in the classroom. Because she smelled of alcohol and wasn’t particularly…respectable-looking, Ms. Grimwald told her that anyone who had contact with the children had to pass a background check, and Anita immediately backed off. Ms. Grimwald thought her behavior strange enough to mention that incident to the police. Then someone else came forward to say she saw a woman matching that description in a car pulling out of the school the day you went missing. Your mother realized it was the same person she’d hired to help get the house ready for a charity event. Victoria had allowed her to bring her daughter over to play one afternoon while she worked, and in the course of their conversation she happened to mention where you went to school.”
“That sounds like Anita—taking advantage of someone who was trying to be nice to her. So my abduction was reported.”
“Absolutely. The police had Anita’s name, her description and the make and model of her car. Thanks to the fact that she already had a record for minor infractions, they even had a photograph. But they were never able to find her. She didn’t go by ‘Anita’ back then. She kept changing her name, which complicated matters.”
“But my family didn’t give up.”
“No, they didn’t give up.”
She slid her hand inside Dylan’s. “Do I have a father?”
“You do. Walt is sixty this year. He and Victoria are still married and love each other very much.”
Dylan’s fingers tightened around hers. “Siblings?”
“A younger brother. Victoria couldn’t have any more children after that. Fertility issues.”
Cheyenne tried to imagine a “Walt” and a younger brother to go with her “Victoria” but couldn’t. “I had a bedroom with a canopy bed.”
He smiled. “Yes, you did.”
* * *
The next two weeks passed with agonizing slowness. Cheyenne tried to throw herself into the remodel at the B and B, which was taking longer than expected. She also worked with Gail over the phone, trying to gain the interest of Unsolved Mysteries. She wanted to help Eve kick off the inn’s upgrades and new name in grand style—with the type of PR that would really attract attention. But the whole time, her mind was on that DNA test she’d taken in Eugene Crouch’s office and what might happen once the results were in.
She was at the inn when she got the call. Eve was sitting at the other desk in their small back office, paying bills, but swung around the second she heard Cheyenne say, “Oh, my God!”
“What is it?” she asked as Cheyenne hung up.
“The DNA was a match. My name is really Jewel Montrose. My birthday isn’t May 15, it’s July 5. And I’m from Denver, Colorado.”
With a scream, Eve jumped up to hug her. “I can’t believe it!”
“My parents want to meet me…er, see me.”
“When?”
Her mind was racing. “As soon as I can come. They told Eugene to buy me a plane ticket.”
“That’s fine. Go this weekend. I can manage here. I’ll even go visit Presley.”
“This facility doesn’t permit visitors for the first month.” Cheyenne covered her mouth, then dropped her hands. “Those memories I had, they were right all along.”
Eve’s eyebrows came together. “Why didn’t you ever tell me about the blonde woman?”
“Because I wasn’t sure about her. I didn’t want to claim I’d been stolen without some sort of proof.”
Eve smiled. “Now that you have your birth certificate, we can go to Europe.”
“I’m going to hold you to that.”
“If you don’t marry Dylan before we can get it planned!”
Cheyenne laughed. Except for when they were at work, she and Dylan were together almost all the time. “We could always take him with us.”
“Only if he’ll bring one of his gorgeous, troublemaking brothers,” Eve teased.
“I’ve got to call him.” Cheyenne turned to look for her phone but before she could locate it on her desk, Eve received a call and then she started screaming.
Cheyenne gaped at her, waiting for the news.
“Gail got hold of Unsolved Mysteries. She told them that Simon would make a guest appearance on the show if they’ll come out here and chronicle the facts of Mary’s murder.”
“And?”
“They’re coming in two weeks!”
* * *
Cheyenne had chosen to make the trip to Colorado by herself. Dylan had been willing to come with her—he said he’d prefer it, knowing how hard this might be on her—but she’d convinced him that this was something she needed to do alone. If Presley and Aaron could continue to brave rehab, she could face her past.
The flight had been crowded and, thanks to the weather, turbulent, but she’d scarcely noticed. She’d been too preoccupied thinking about the people who’d be meeting her at the airport. Eugene Crouch had said that her parents, her brother and his family—meaning his wife and two boys—would be there.
What would they be like? How could they ever regain the years that’d been lost? What would they think of her?
Her brother had been eighteen months old when she went missing. That meant he didn’t remember her any more than she remembered him. Would he mind suddenly having a big sister? No longer being an only child? Her abduction must have had a significant impact on his life. Their parents might have become extravigilant, maybe even overprotective.
Or maybe not. It was impossible to say how they’d reacted without knowing them. Cheyenne had spoken to her mother once while they were making travel arrangements. Victoria had sounded excited about seeing her, but they’d decided to wait until they could meet to really talk.
The first thing Cheyenne saw when she reached baggage claim was a small group of people carrying signs.
Welcome Home.
We Missed You.
We Are So Happy to Have You Back.
Thank God!
She saw that none of them had her name written on them. They probably didn’t know what to call her. She’d been Cheyenne Christensen for twenty-seven years.
Stopping before she reached them, she studied each hopeful face. Sure enough, her mother was no longer blonde, but Cheyenne recognized those eyes, that smile. The memory of her mother’s face was indelibly etched into her brain. Although she didn’t recall her father as well, his expression showed just as much eagerness, just as much longing. Even her brother and his family seemed excited.
“Is that her? Is that my auntie?” one of the boys cried, and the whole group hurried toward her, carrying those signs, as well as balloons and presents.
They all looked so well-groomed, so normal, so different from Anita....
These were the people she’d lost.
“We found you at last,” her mother said, and they both started to cry.
Epilogue
When Dylan came to find her, Cheyenne was sitting outside on the steps of the newly dubbed Little Mary’s B and B, watching the snowflakes swirl gently to earth. Because Simon O’Neal’s cameo for Unsolved Mysteries was being f
ilmed inside, she knew he’d expected her to remain in the middle of things, along with Eve and Gail and everyone else. Getting the inn on TV had been her idea, after all. But she’d wanted a moment to reflect on the past month and all that had happened—and to enjoy the snow.
“What are you doing out here?” he asked.
She twisted around to smile up at him. “Just thinking.”
“About…”
She patted the step and he sat with her. “My trip to Colorado.”
His shoulder bumped hers. “It’s cold. You can’t think inside?”
“Wouldn’t be the same.”
“So what about your trip to Colorado? You’ve only been back a week. Are you ready to go see your family again?”
“I am.” She’d had a wonderful visit. Since her return, she heard from her mother every day. “But next time I’m taking you with me. The Montroses want to meet you.”
“I’d like that.” He bent to look into her face. “Is that all? Or is something else going on? Because you’re going to be soaked by the time you go back in and you’re missing all the fun.”
She smiled into his handsome face. The more she got to know him, the more she loved him. “I heard from Presley this morning.”
“How is she?”
“She can have visitors in a few days. She’s holding up well.”
He grimaced as he glanced at the sky. “I wish I could say the same for Aaron.”
“You don’t think he’ll make it?”
“It’s not looking good.”
“You’ve done all you can, Dyl.”
He kicked some snow off the step below them. “Let’s hope it’s enough.”
She felt guilty for not telling him about Presley’s pregnancy. She wanted to, but Presley wouldn’t allow it, and the baby was the only thing that kept her hanging on. It was all she talked about, the motivation behind her desire to get her life in order. Cheyenne didn’t dare take that from her.
But the fact that Aaron was Dylan’s brother made her feel bad about keeping the truth from him. “Whatever happens with Aaron and Presley…we can’t let it affect us, okay?” she said.
“What do you mean?”
“We’re happy. Whether they make it through rehab or not, what’s between them or not between them…it’s their business.”
“Of course.” He acted surprised that she’d even mention it, but he didn’t know what she knew. She hoped he’d never have to find out. Just because Presley had a baby didn’t necessarily mean it was Aaron’s.
“I’ve been wondering…”
He kissed the top of her head. “Here we go.”
She wrinkled her nose, showing her indecision. “Should I change my name back to Jewel?”
“Do you want to be called by that name?”
“I don’t know. I think I’ve been Cheyenne for too long to make the switch and my family accepts that.”
“What about your last name?”
“I definitely don’t want to go by Christensen anymore.” She’d decided that already. “I’m thinking I’ll go with Cheyenne Montrose.”
He offered her a sexy grin. “I personally like the sound of Cheyenne Amos.”
She blinked at the snowflakes hitting her face. “But that would require you to make a lifelong commitment,” she said with a grin.
The commitment didn’t seem to bother him. “What if I was willing?”
She sobered. “Are you really ready for that?”
He shifted so he could dig a velvet box out of his pocket, which he handed to her. “I thought I’d do this tonight after dinner, in front of the fire, but…somehow this feels right, here in the snow.”
It wasn’t until that moment that she realized his question hadn’t been hypothetical. She turned to gape at him. “You’re serious? You’re proposing?”
“I’ve never been more serious.” He motioned to the box. “Open it.”
Inside, she found a large round diamond set in white gold with smaller diamonds all around the band. “It’s gorgeous!” she murmured. “It must’ve cost you a fortune.”
He lifted her chin with one finger and gave her a lingering kiss. “You’re worth it. I love you, Chey. You’ve wanted to move out of the river bottoms for a long time. Let’s do it together.”
She smiled as the whole world seemed to turn white around her. “But…what about your brothers?”
“They can have the house. They’re old enough to live without me.”
A noise caught Cheyenne’s attention. Leaning to the left to see around Dylan, she spotted Eve coming out of the inn. “There you are! Why’d you disappear?”
Cheyenne held up her diamond ring.
“Oh, my God!” Eve grabbed the railing. “He just proposed? You’re getting married? When?”
Laughing, Cheyenne threw her arms around Dylan’s neck. “As soon as possible,” she said.
* * * * *
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ISBN: 9781459244405
Copyright © 2012 by Brenda Novak, Inc.
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This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events or locales is entirely coincidental. This edition published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.
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