WindSwept Narrows: #16 Anna Carson & Catherine Jenkins

by Diroll-Nichols, Karen

  “He has a girlfriend,” Charlie teased with a wink.

  “I think I’m a little on the old side for the term,” Carter saw the humor and curiosity in their eyes. “But for the moment, I’ll accept it.”

  “Well…she is a girl…and you are friends?”

  “It’s up for debate at the moment,” Anna answered testily, her palm up and on her lips. “Sorry…I…”

  “Oh, no, dear, please…always be honest with us,” Gail said through her happy laughter. “I have to admit, listening to Carter the last few minutes puts an appealing dent in his unusually calm façade.”

  “It’s maddening,” Anna agreed softly.

  “So how did the pair of you meet? I can’t tell you…” Charlie looked over at Gail with a little frown. “He never brought a girl home before, did he?”

  “Never. We’d see him talking to plenty at school when he thought we weren’t watching if we picked him up or dropped him off…” Gail chuckled at the groan from their son. “I think he believed he was hiding them from us…”

  “He stalked me…”

  “I contacted her to do landscaping at the house,” Carter said through his teeth.

  Anna found their laughter interesting and smiled a little.

  “You’re a landscaper? How fascinating,” Charlie said, watching the younger woman closely. “We have a house full of plants. With the heat outside, we’re limited on what we can put in the yard, though. Ours is a mow free area.”

  “That’s what he wants around the house. I did some drawings for him, but,” Anna frowned slightly. “He wouldn’t discuss it over lunch and…well…”

  “It’s a long story,” Carter said smoothly.

  “Do tell…” Gail arched a brow, chuckling at the unusual blush on his cheeks. “Has he taken you on interesting dates, Anna?”

  “Hmm…not so much…he drugged me and brought me here last night,” she answered without thinking, the sharply drawn in breaths and the low groan at her side had her head swiveling. “Oh…that probably…”

  “Anna has nightmares,” Carter began slowly, his head shaking even as humor filled his eyes. “She is also part of a twin set. Aaron had to go out of town for a few days. When he’s gone, Anna doesn’t sleep well, she eats less and makes herself ill.”

  “I am old enough to take responsibility for my choices,” Anna declared stiffly.

  “So Aaron gave me some of the sleeping tablets her doctor gave her – that she refuses to take – and I put them in her protein drink,” Carter continued. “I brought her here because it was closest to her office, where she wanted to sleep, instead of going home.”

  “I remember most of it…I had planned to be very angry this morning,” Anna told them with a sigh. “He’s very good at diffusing things…and distracting. I don’t know how my clothes got all over the room…but you raised a gentleman, thank you for that.”

  “You lost your clothes?” Gail asked when she was sure she could keep the laughter inside at the expression on Carter’s face.

  “I was responsible for one boot,” he murmured, trying to remind himself that he had volunteered for this. “And it went soaring over my head when you decided to try kicking it loose.”

  “Sorry about that…those pills make me a little loopy,” she said with a wince.

  “How fun…so tell me, Anna…three things that you like about our son,” Charlie asked with a little laugh.

  “Hmm…I have to find three…”

  “Notice she’s smart enough not to ask what you dislike,” Carter teased, his fingers moving gently along her neck.

  “He has beautiful eyes,” Anna said after a very short pause, blinking and staring at him for a minute. “He has a wonderfully intelligent, dry sense of humor…” she felt something inside her catch. “And he’s not afraid of my temper.”

  “Anna…” He saw the moisture in her eyes.

  Anna moved to stand up, shaking her head slightly. “No, you talk to your family. I’m going to look at a few things around the outside. It was very nice meeting you both.”

  “And a delightful pleasure to meet you, Anna,” Charlie told her honestly.

  “I’m sure we’ll talk again,” Gail said, her gaze on the pale green eyes behind the lenses that watched the younger woman leave. “Carter? Are you alright?”

  “Mother’s intuition?” He asked, leaning back and sighing thickly. “I feel like I’ve been hit by a bus.”

  “It seems fostering a house of honesty comes in handy,” Charlie teased lightly. “It’s a new feeling for you. But I know what you mean,” she said, her hand holding tightly to the smaller palm on the desk at her side.

  “Why does she have nightmares, Carter?” Gail asked, concern in her voice. She’d been a physician’s assistant for too long to miss the hints.

  Both of them saw the apprehension on his face, knew the gesture when he raised both hands and rubbed his shoulders. Pale lashes closed for a few seconds behind the lenses.

  “Carter, it’s perfectly alright if you don’t want to talk about it,” Charlie told her son gently. There were times it was very easy to forget he was a grown man. “She’s beautiful.”

  “Yeah…she is…but she doesn’t see it,” he said quietly. “Anna and Aaron had a really different upbringing than a lot of people. She’ll be the first to tell you they had it easy compared to most kids in bad situations. The nightmares come from one incident that…she can’t shed sometimes.”

  “It only takes one,” Gail agreed softly. “Perhaps another time…”

  Carter offered up a little laugh. “I’ve lost her to her notebook and the plants, mom, just give me a minute to…Anna tells it in stages…I’m still wrapping my head around a lot of it.”

  “You said she was part of a set of twins?”

  “Yes…Aaron…I’d also bet if they were ever IQ tested, it would fly off the charts,” he said, recalling things she had told him. “They remember reading and writing when they were two. Anna has a journal she started when she was four of events and impressions and drawings she’s made. They had what she calls parental units…they birthed them, but had no interest at all in them. They were taught to basically fend for themselves very early. Anna says learning toys of all kinds were always brought to them, their clothes were kept laundered and they had a fridge and microwave at their disposal. The fridge was kept stocked. What she described as their room sounds like a very large library…shelves of books, a big desk and their beds and dressers.”

  “I…” Gail blinked, trying to take in what she was listening to. “A journal at four?”

  “Their birthday is in March…she tells me they began going to the library when they turned four, just a couple little kids sitting there reading all day,” he laughed at the thought. “The paternal grandparents provided the house and all the goods. Her parents were evidently involved in drug sales and distribution. Anna has drawings in her journal of people she met and things she’d seen. At the time, she didn’t know what they were, but as she got older….like the incident that causes the nightmares. When it happened, she only knew she was terrified,” Carter inhaled deeply. “When she got older, she realized what the man had intended.”

  “And I’m sure that cemented the nightmare even more firmly,” Charlie shook her head. “It’s always baffled me…so many children in need of…just…”

  “No high blood pressure this morning, Charlie,” Gail tightened her fingers on her partner’s palm.

  “She remembers being taken in limos to visit the paternal grandparents every couple weeks. But it stopped just after they were eight and no one ever said why. She believes there was a disagreement between grandparents, which is why they never met the maternal grandparents,” Carter rubbed his neck. “July of the year they were four, they were at the library and returned to a house surrounded by federal agents. Their belongings were removed and they were taken off in a limo to another house. No one ever told them what happened, but…”

  “Anna is a very inquisitive so
rt,” Gail said with a knowing nod.

  “She and Aaron are extremely talented with the computer. Between that and libraries, I’m not sure much would remain unknown to them,” Carter said with a twinge of pride.

  “But with information also comes sadness,” Charlie said softly, feeling the pain in her son.

  “Once you open the box…” Carter shrugged. “It’s not a part of her that I’d change.”

  “Does she have a temper, Carter?” Charlie asked delicately, a pale brow arching at the wince on her sons handsome face. “Hmmm…”

  “I might have…” He paused, searching for words as he dragged one palm over his face.

  “Now where have we seen that expression before, Charlie?” Gail chuckled.

  “You know I locate people for inheritance and other reasons,” Carter began again. “Anna is a landscaper with a highly successful nursery. And the maternal grandparents hired me to find them.”

  “Ahhh…so there might have been just a little…” Charlie sighed.

  “Deception?” Gail suggested mildly.

  “I was thinking provocation,” Charlie chuckled. “Or even justification for the temper.”

  “I approached her to contract her for the landscaping. I wasn’t totally convinced she was the one I was searching for. Records and all indications said they had died in the house explosion, even if there were no bodies to find,” Carter said the words at the same time he realized he hadn’t quite gotten to that part yet.

  “House explosion?” Gail worked to keep her voice from rising and failed.

  “Did I mention that Anna is thirty-three years old and this story begins when she was four?” Carter shook his head.

  “Short and concise?” Charlie suggested.

  “A little past the age of four, feds broke up the drug house, the kids were tossed into a limo and taken to another house. Evidently the grandparents didn’t want them living with them, since I don’t know that side, I don’t know why. They were set up with what Anna calls minders…a housekeeper and tutor. From four to just short of fourteen, that’s what their lives were. But somehow…Anna says she just knew she had to arrange another life. Instincts…I don’t know. They moved personal things to a storage unit…got the housekeeper to stand them and got registered in public school…intuition, maybe…but she has it strongly enough to get her and Aaron out of the house when some strangers in suits appeared,” he heard the small gasps from the speakers.

  “It’s no wonder the poor girl has nightmares.”

  “News claimed gas rupture. But I’m not so sure…and I know there’s more that Anna hasn’t told me yet. Anyway, they got out, started another new life and like she says…adults don’t bother you if things are going smoothly,” Carter saw her sitting out on the wide ledge of rock wall. “And how are things in Arizona?”

  “I think you need to go spend time with Anna,” Gail told him with a chuckle. “We’re healthy and fine and we still miss you.”

  “She doesn’t know how to deal with parents,” Carter said quietly. “I got the feeling she’s afraid of making mistakes…”

  “Perhaps she wanted to impress us, dear?” Charlie said with a shake of her head.

  “I love you both…thanks for listening,” he stood up and stretched as they finished their good byes. Yes, he was very glad he had been found, he thought, sliding the patio door open and stepping onto the smooth, deep red tiles.

  Chapter Eight

  “Thank you…for being patient, Anna. We talk once a month and I let it slip my mind today,” Carter moved to lean at her side.

  “They’re nice…and they love you very much,” she didn’t move her hands from their resting place on her knees, her head tipped up at the sky. “It shows in their eyes.”

  “Now you see why I find people for others. I was lucky…Meditation?”

  “One of the school counselors recommended it years ago…this…yoga…a little martial arts. They meant well…it can be distracting but…” Anna exhaled slowly and turned to face the house, her feet on the ground.

  “You promised me a tour of the nursery,” he lifted her hand but didn’t tug, instead, positioning himself between her knees. “Afraid people will see us together?”

  “I don’t know relationships…” she said softly, her hands on his forearms when his palms went to her waist, holding them close. “It took me a long time to get a handle on friendships…the nuances…the…the pitfalls. Aaron isn’t nearly as gullible as I seemed to be…he used to try and make me believe it was no different than our friendship, but I was born with that…born with him…” Dark eyes met his, obvious confusion in them. “You…I felt it…the morning I walked into your office. One of those heat waves that warn me…that tells me the whole world is about to change…”

  “Did we work out that you and I have nothing to do with what I was hired for, Anna?” He sighed at the expression in her eyes and took both her hands in his. He pulled her closer, his lips dropping a soft kiss into the center of each of her palms.

  “You aren’t stupid, Carter. I’m not…I don’t blame them for anything. When we got on our own at fourteen, I didn’t care if we ever saw another well-meaning adult in my life. I wanted no more minders. We were safe and no one knew about us. We talked about what could change if we let someone know…allowed someone inside…adults amazed at your brain and wanting to…to lead you…put you in a path that they thought you belonged on, but not bothering to ask where you wanted to be. Aaron was very good at fitting into the school structure. He joined sports and clubs and…and he fit. I took every single course I could fit into a day but I didn’t trust. I couldn’t and I don’t know why. With you and I…you won’t consider it closed, solved, unless I do what you want. And I can’t…not yet…and I don’t know when…”

  “Anna, you’re under no pressure to meet with the Austin’s,” he said the words at the same time another part called him a liar. He sighed thickly at the arched brow she offered.

  “It will always be a point of contention. You don’t understand why I won’t…and I’m not sure I have the words to explain why I just can’t do it right now,” she leaned her head against his chest. “Something is wrong with them…with them wanting us after all this time…but I can’t put a finger on what. And yes, I am well aware of how maddening that is to people outside my head, but there it is. I know Aaron well enough that his nature will have him meeting them and making excuses for me. I’ve told him hundreds of times not to…I don’t need explained.”

  “You are inexplicable, sweetheart,” Carter watched her eyes roll back and laughed.

  “Your mothers are sweet…they seemed pleased that you introduced us…but you’ve never done it before,” Anna relaxed against him, her eyes closed as she allowed the gentle massage he offered her neck to sooth her senses.

  “I went through some periods of adjustment. It’s easy to…get caught up in your own ego,” he kept his hold loose when she pressed against his sweater to peer at him. “I dated…I was stupid, but thankfully not careless or cruel, I hope. I knew I enjoyed business and law and wanted both, so I went after it and everything else was in the far reaches of my life for a time.”

  “I think you surprised them today, Carter,” Anna inhaled deeply and took his hands in hers, studying the large palms before turning them over and just looking at them. She raised her eyes to find his expression patiently bemused. “You have hands like Aaron. You’ve done hard things…work things…” Her fingers traced scars on his palm and wrist. “They think we’re having sex, don’t they?”

  Carter would have bet the house that wasn’t her next question, his mind pulled back from the large, innocently dark eyes watching him.

  “Very probably,” he responded cautiously.

  Anna sighed and leaned back on the wide stone wall, her legs drawn up and crossed beneath her. The sun was warm on them and she watched him draw one of the patio chairs closer, sinking down and kicking his feet up on the wall. It was nice to relax, she thought absently
.

  “Our sexuality…” She searched for the words. “No one told us anything for a long time. Missy tried…she was very embarrassed by the words she was trying to use to explain things to us. It bothered her that we ran around naked together. We liked her so we kept our under clothes on. I think we were eight then. We knew about sex. We didn’t know the why part, other than it’s what animals used to procreate. Did you get a lecture about sex?”

  “I remember the talk I had with my mother’s…I think I was eleven and had just discovered that girls were definitely made different,” he recalled, grinning at the smile she offered. “I was told very seriously about my responsibility when I was older. It’s not something I ever forgot.”

  “I guess we had electronic mothers for that…I never quite understood the confusion people have with sexuality and nudity. Aaron was like you…about eleven he started staring at girls when we’d go to the market or library. Their appearance was what he followed with his eyes. It was baffling to me. I had a very good looking brother, and didn’t quite grasp why he was looking at other females. So I did more reading to try and understand and we talked about responsibility,” she laughed at the memory, a tint of pink striking her cheeks at the picture she recalled.

  “You’re blushing, Anna.”

  “Imagine two teenagers…I think we were thirteen when we went to the store. Just standing and reading in front of the condom shelves. Reading did not cover the purchase, let’s put it that way. And adults…have a very difficult time talking about sex,” she shook her head. A soft sadness entered her eyes. “We’d listened when we were little…we weren’t planned. We weren’t wanted. We talked about that and never wanted to do that to another child.”

  “I understand how you feel about that,” he watched her blink rapidly, turning her head and staring into the last vestiges of fog over the water.

  “Do you want to have sex?”

  Carter felt his mouth fall open and quickly snapped it closed when she turned a pair of wide, clinically curious eyes on him.