At Hidden Falls (Angel's Bay Novel)

by Barbara Freethy

  Returning to the bedroom, she found Tory still rocking, still clutching the teddy bear to her breasts as if it were the baby she wanted so badly.

  “Can I get you something?” she asked.

  Tory shook her head.

  At least she’d responded to the question; that was something. Isabella left the room and went outside to wait for Nick. He pulled up in front of the house five minutes later. As he stepped out of the car, a flurry of sand flew off him. He must have just left the beach.

  He ran up the driveway toward her, his expression concerned. “Where is she?”

  “Sitting in the baby’s room, rocking and crying and staring out the window.”

  Nick moved into the house and down the hall. “Tory?” He entered the room and went down on one knee in front of her. “Are you okay?”

  She shook her head. “It’s really over, Nick. The dream—it’s done. You were right. Love is nothing but pain. I hurt all over.” Her voice broke. “I’m not going to be a mother. I’m just not.” Her face crumpled, and her shoulders shook, and she collapsed against Nick in a torrent of sobs.

  Isabella left them alone and went into the kitchen. She filled the teapot with water and turned on the stove. Digging through Tory’s cupboards, she chose a soothing chamomile tea. The pot had just begun to steam when Nick walked into the room, looking as if he’d been through the wringer.

  He sighed and sat on a stool by the counter. “I got her into her bed. She fell asleep in about one minute.”

  “She wore herself out,” Isabella said. “She needed that cry.”

  “I hate seeing her suffer.”

  “Do you want some tea?”

  “I’m not much of a tea drinker. Is there anything in the fridge?”

  She opened the door. “Orange juice, milk, and fruit punch.”

  “I’ll take some orange juice. The glasses are in the cupboard on the left.”

  She poured him some juice and set the glass on the counter. “I’m sorry I had to interrupt the sand-castle building. I know you wanted to spend time with Megan.”

  “You didn’t interrupt; we were done. We came in second.” He shook his head in disgust. “The mayor’s cousin won—talk about rigged. Our castle was far superior.”

  “Where’s Megan now?”

  “She bailed on me as soon as they handed out the trophies. She went off with two girls, but I’m not convinced that’s who she’ll stay with. She was very vague about her plans.”

  “Megan is fifteen. She’s going to like boys.”

  “Don’t remind me.” He drank the rest of his juice. “So tell me what happened with my sister. Tory saw Annie’s baby and flipped out?”

  “Pretty much. We were getting coffee, and Charlotte and Joe came in with the baby. Tory couldn’t take her eyes off that little boy. It was as if she was seeing the life she was supposed to have flash in front of her eyes. I could see that she was shaken, so I drove her here. I think she finally faced the fact that she wasn’t going to get that child. Somewhere in her head, she still had hope.”

  Nick’s mouth drew into a grim line. “Tory deserves to be a mother. It’s all she ever wanted to be. When we were kids, it was always her and her dolls, making up pretend families, acting out the parts. That was her dream. She likes working at the theater, but I’ve always thought it was just what she did while she was waiting to be a mother.”

  “She could still have kids. There are children who need homes and babies who have yet to be born.” Isabella paused. “But Tory also seems to be confused about her husband.”

  “I heard he hired a lawyer, which is ridiculous. If it’s his kid, he should just say so and do the right thing. I didn’t plan on getting Kendra pregnant, but I never thought about walking away. Hell, I married her, and I was a teenager. Steve is a grown man. He’s got a dental practice and money in the bank.”

  “But to acknowledge the baby, he would have to admit he cheated. And he obviously doesn’t want to do that.”

  “He’s not going to be able to run away from his DNA.”

  Isabella rested her arms on the counter. “What’s ironic is that if Steve is the father, then there’s a chance he and Tory will end up with the baby if Annie doesn’t come back. But I don’t think that connection has sunk into Tory’s head.”

  Nick stared back at her. “You’re right. I don’t know if Tory could take Steve back if he cheated on her and lied about it for all these months.”

  “If he comes with that baby, I don’t know how she’ll turn him away.”

  “Good point.” He ran a hand through his hair. “Love sucks.”

  “Sometimes,” she agreed, meeting his gaze. He gave her a long look, then slid his hand across the counter and covered her fingers. She drew in a quick breath at the heat of his touch.

  “It doesn’t go away,” he murmured in bemusement. “The first time you took my hand that night on the cliff, I felt as if I’d been branded. The heat was incredible, like something electric flowing between us.” His fingers tightened around hers. “But it’s not just the way you touch me.”

  “It’s not?”

  He shook his head. “It would be easier if it was. Every time we say good-bye, I tell myself that’s it. That I’m going to play it cool the next time I see you. That I’m not going to touch you again or kiss you or . . .” His voice trailed away as his gaze settled on her mouth.

  She drew in a quick breath. “Nick, if you really want to keep it cool, you can’t look at me like that.”

  “I can’t help myself.” He raised his gaze to hers. “My grandfather told me the first time he saw you that you would cast a spell on me, and he was right.”

  “I’m not a witch.”

  He smiled. “Then how come I’m feeling bewitched?”

  She smiled back.

  “If you can see into the future, tell me how this is going to end,” he continued.

  “I never have visions about myself,” she reminded him.

  “Did you dream about me last night?”

  “No.”

  “Maybe the dreams will stop now that you warned me that I was in danger. Maybe that’s all you were meant to do.”

  “It’s possible, but I don’t think so.”

  “If the dreams started with the necklace, why do you still wear it? Wouldn’t you have more peace of mind if you took it off?”

  “It doesn’t come off. The clasp won’t open. I could cut it off, but I’m afraid to go that far.”

  “Let me try,” he said, getting up and moving around behind her.

  She lifted her hair so he could see the clasp.

  He fiddled with it for several minutes, then said, “It does seem to be stuck.” His hands dropped to her waist, and he nuzzled her neck with his lips. “But this is nice. God, you smell good.”

  She turned in his embrace. “What happened to keeping your hands off me?”

  “I can’t help myself.” He lowered his head and gave her a long, tender kiss filled with the promise of so much more.

  Her heart sped up as she leaned into him, putting her hands on his shoulders, pressing her breasts against his hard chest, moving her legs between his, the intimate memories of the night before flashing through her with nerve-tingling sensations. She wanted nothing more than to strip him out of his clothes and have him do the same to her. Already his hands were stroking upward, his thumbs caressing her breasts, making her ache with need.

  But this wasn’t her house or his. It took all of her strength to push him away. “Nick, we can’t. Not here,” she said with a breathless gasp.

  “We should go somewhere.”

  “You said you wanted this to end.”

  “And you said we should live in the moment. I like your philosophy better.”

  When his mouth closed over hers again, it felt as if she’d found home. Their bodies, their minds, their hearts—everything was in sync, everything was right with the world.

  And then the front door slammed.

  They jumped apar
t.

  Isabella was still catching her breath when Steve strode into the kitchen, calling Tory’s name. When he saw them, he froze.

  “What’s going on? Where’s Tory?” His gaze moved to Isabella. “Who are you?”

  “I’m Isabella. We met at the theater the other day,” she reminded him. “Tory is asleep.”

  “In the middle of the day?”

  “She wasn’t feeling well.”

  “Because of you,” Nick interrupted. “Tory is messed up because of this adoption and the rumors about your fidelity. Did you screw that girl, Steve? Did you lie about the baby?”

  With each bullet-shot question, Steve tensed, and Isabella could see the guilt in his eyes. Nick could see it, too.

  “You son of a bitch!” Nick launched himself forward, and his fist connected with the side of Steve’s jaw. He stumbled and fell against the wall, knocking off a picture.

  Nick moved forward again with vengeance in his eyes, and Isabella knew that the stunned, soft-in-the-middle dentist was no match for Nick. She grabbed his arm as he pulled it back for another blow.

  “Don’t,” she said.

  He sent her an angry glare. “He deserves it.”

  “Not from you,” she replied. “This isn’t your fight. It’s Tory’s. He’s her husband; she has to deal with this.”

  “And she’s my sister. It’s my job to protect her.”

  “I think you broke my nose!” Steve took his hand away from his face and stared down at the blood on his fingers and his shirt.

  “What’s going on?” Tory asked as she stepped into the kitchen. Her eyes were still sleepy, but her voice was stronger now.

  “Your brother hit me,” Steve said, fury in his eyes.

  Isabella grabbed a towel off the kitchen counter and handed it to Steve to stop the flow of blood from his nose.

  Tory looked from her husband to Nick. “Why? What happened?”

  Nick’s jaw tightened. “Ask your husband, Tory.”

  Tory swallowed hard, looking as if that was the last thing she wanted to do.

  She knew, Isabella realized. Deep down, Tory knew, but hearing it would make it more real.

  “This is between Tory and me,” Steve said. “Would the two of you go?”

  “No, I want them here,” Tory said quickly.

  Steve put out a hand to his wife, a silent plea for forgiveness for what he was about to say, but Tory backed up next to Nick and stood with her arms folded across her chest. She looked as if she was gearing up to take a bullet.

  Steve drew in a long, deep breath, then released it. “Okay, if this is how we have to do it, then here it is. I had a brief affair with Annie last year.”

  His words stole the air from the room, leaving a thick, tense silence. When Tory didn’t speak, Steve continued, “I’m sorry, Tory. I never meant to hurt you. It didn’t mean anything. I was lonely. I was tired of planning sex around ovulation and injections. I just wanted it to be mindless and no big deal. It was a stupid, thoughtless mistake.”

  “A mistake?” Tory echoed in amazement. “That’s what you think it was? You got a girl pregnant—a very young girl. And you left her on her own for nine months.”

  “It was wrong. I love you, Tory. I don’t love her.”

  “What about the baby?”

  “I didn’t know there was one until Annie jumped off that pier. She hadn’t told me.”

  “That was several months ago. Once you did know, how could you not stand up and declare that he was your son?”

  He gave her an incredulous look. “How could I claim him when you were so desperate to have a child? It would kill you to know I’d conceived a baby with another woman. I thought Annie would give the kid to someone far away from here, but then Andrew kept getting the locals involved, and I had to do something. I thought we could adopt him, and then we’d all win.”

  “We’d all win?” Tory echoed in astonishment.

  “Yes. Annie would be free to live her life without the responsibility of being a mother, you would get the child you always wanted, and I’d be fulfilling my responsibilities. It was a good solution all the way around.”

  Isabella could see that he’d rationalized it all in his head. But Tory obviously wasn’t buying it. Neither was Nick, who still looked as if he wanted to kick Steve’s ass.

  “No, it was not a good solution. We all would have been living a lie,” Tory said. “How many nights did you and I talk about Annie and speculate about who was the father? You threw out other names. You lied to me over and over again.” She stared at her husband as if she’d never seen him before.

  “I got caught up in it,” he admitted. “I had to go all in. I didn’t know what else to do.”

  “You should have told me the truth as soon as you knew Annie was pregnant. Hell, you should have told me that you had an affair when you had the affair.”

  “I couldn’t tell you that. I loved you. I still do,” Steve repeated. “You’re the only woman I want to spend my life with.”

  Tory started shaking her head even before he was done speaking. “How could I ever trust you again?”

  “Just give me a second chance,” he pleaded. “I’ll do whatever you want. I swear, it will never happen again. And just think, we can raise that little boy together. We can have the family you’ve always wanted.”

  “Do you know where Annie is?” Tory asked, anger burning in her eyes. “Did you have something to do with her disappearance?”

  Steve gave her an incredulous look. “God, no! I have no idea what happened to her. I think she ran away.”

  “The cops don’t believe that.”

  “Well, I didn’t have anything to do with her disappearance.”

  “You’ve lied before. You could be lying now,” Tory said with a sad shrug. “I don’t know you anymore.”

  “Yes, you do. I’m the man you married,” he said, desperation in his voice.

  She gave a definitive shake of her head. “That man wouldn’t have hurt me like this.”

  Steve swallowed hard as he saw the resignation on Tory’s face. “Don’t give up on me—on us.”

  “You’re the one who did that. How many times was it? How many times did you have sex with her?”

  “You don’t want to do this, Tory.”

  “Yes, I do. How many times?”

  “Three, four, maybe.”

  Tory nodded, her jaw tight and unforgiving. “I knew it wasn’t just once.”

  “This can still work out,” Steve coaxed. “When Annie comes back, she’ll give us the baby. She was reluctant to do so without you knowing the truth. Now that you do, there won’t be any decision to make. You can be a mother, Tory. We can raise that little boy together.”

  Isabella’s stomach turned over as she watched Steve dangle the ultimate prize. If Tory ignored his infidelity, she could have what she always wanted. But at what emotional cost?

  Isabella glanced at Nick, seeing the same fear in his eyes, that Tory might look the other way to get that baby she needed to feel complete. But what kind of life would they be bringing that child into?

  “Tory, please. Don’t make any snap decisions,” Steve pleaded.

  “Don’t pressure her,” Nick cut in. “She can decide any damn thing she wants.”

  “I don’t know,” Tory said slowly. “When Annie comes back, she might not want to give up her child at all.”

  “Her hesitation was because of me,” Steve said. “She didn’t like the lie, either.”

  “Why did you get a lawyer? Why did you act so outraged when the rumors started?” Tory asked. “You’ve had so many opportunities to come clean, Steve. But every time, you chose to lie. I don’t understand that. Were you stupid or so arrogant that you didn’t think you’d ever get caught?”

  “I’ll apologize to you until the day I die,” he swore.

  “That doesn’t change what happened.” The fight seemed to go out of Tory, and she sat on the stool. “You need to go now.”

  “You heard
her,” Nick said. He put his arm around his sister’s shoulders, providing a united front.

  “I’ll give you time to think, but I’m not giving up on us, Tory,” Steve replied. “We love each other. I want to raise the baby with you. I want us to be a family. And no one will ever be able to take him away from us. Even if Annie doesn’t want to let us adopt, we’ll get shared custody. Annie doesn’t have any money. She can’t compete with what we have to offer.”

  “Get out,” Nick said forcefully, as more tears gathered in Tory’s eyes. “She’ll call you if she wants to talk to you.”

  “I’m leaving. But I’ll be back.”

  Isabella followed Steve out of the kitchen.

  He gave her a look of confusion as he reached the front door. “She’s going to forgive me, right?”

  “I don’t know. Some decisions are very hard to forgive.”

  Steve walked out to his car, looking beaten. The house of lies he’d been building had come crashing down.

  Tory had been dealt a devastating blow, and Isabella couldn’t imagine how long it would take for her to recover. Nick would have to help her pick up the pieces, and they both needed time to figure out what to do.

  She lifted her purse off the hall table and left, shutting the front door behind her.

  SIXTEEN

  Late Sunday night, Nick peeked into Megan’s room and saw his daughter curled fast asleep in her bed. Despite her disdain for the sand-castle-building contest, their second-place trophy was displayed proudly on her dresser. He smiled and quietly left.

  Back in his own room, he kicked off his shoes and stretched out on the bed. It was after ten, too late to make a phone call . . . When he closed his eyes, all he could see was Isabella. She seemed to inhabit every breath that he took, and with each passing day, she became more entangled in his life.

  He thought about the necklace that she claimed had brought her to the bay. How it had been given by his grandfather to one of her ancestors and how he and Isabella were now involved. Just another strange, spine-tingling coincidence. Isabella would say that none of it was coincidental, that fate was playing a hand. And it was hard not to agree with her. Yet believing that they had been destined to meet wasn’t easy, either.