The Forsaken (Echoes from the Past Book 4)

by Irina Shapiro

  “Ah. Being chaste, were you?”

  “I wasn’t in any rush to jump in the sack. Given our history, I wanted to be sure a relationship with Sylvia was what I really wanted before going to the next step. I didn’t want to hurt her,” Rhys explained.

  “I’m not judging you. Only you know how you feel.”

  “When I first contacted Sylvia, I had unresolved feelings about what happened the night you were conceived. I wanted, in some small way, to atone for what she’d been through, and to get to know her as a human being. I like her; I genuinely do.”

  “But you don’t love her,” Quinn supplied.

  “No. It could never work between us. We are just two very different people who find ourselves at different stages in our lives. I enjoy Sylvia’s company. I like her boys, and I certainly like you, but I can’t see a future for us, not a romantic one.”

  “So, who is the lucky lady?”

  “Haley Madden.”

  “The Haley Madden who played Elise in the first episode of Echoes?” Quinn asked, smiling. She recalled Rhys’s face when Haley had come into the room to audition. He’d sat up straighter, and his eyes had lit up as he watched her read. Quinn had known at that moment that Haley got the part.

  “Haley and I didn’t get together until after the shooting finished. It would have been unprofessional, and I had no wish to put her in an uncomfortable situation if she had no interest in going out with me. She was seeing someone at the time of the shoot, but they’d broken up by the time the episode was completed,” Rhys explained.

  “And now she’s pregnant.”

  “I was shocked at first but, truthfully, I’m thrilled. I didn’t think I’d ever have children, but the thought of being a father makes me deliriously happy,” Rhys admitted.

  “Is she as giddy as you are?” Quinn asked gently. She didn’t know Haley and couldn’t presume to know how she felt, but for a woman in her twenties at the start of her acting career, a baby might not fit into her plans.

  “She’s really happy. She said that was one of the reasons her previous relationship broke up. She wanted to start a family while she was still young, but her boyfriend didn’t. I’m over the moon, Quinn. I really am.”

  “Well, in that case, I’m really happy for you. Congratulations to you both.”

  “I’ve asked Haley to move in with me, and she’s agreed.”

  “Big step.”

  “I know, but it just feels so right. I’ve always been a bit commitment shy. I like my space, and my freedom, but at this moment, I want nothing more than to have a family of my own.”

  “Well, I have a very important piece of advice for you, Rhys Morgan.”

  “What’s that?”

  “Don’t bake for her. Haley won’t thank you if she gains several stone.”

  “I know. She already warned me about that. All baked goods are prohibited. I’ll have to find a new hobby.”

  “I hear knitting is gaining popularity among the male population,” Quinn quipped.

  “I was thinking of joining a gym, actually. I’ll need energy to run after a little one.”

  “You certainly will,” Quinn agreed. “Have you told Sylvia?”

  “Not yet. I haven’t thought of a way to break it to her gently.”

  “Just be truthful with her. Nothing hurts more than someone trying to deceive you and playing you for a fool. Sylvia is a big girl; she’ll understand.”

  “Do you really think so?” Rhys asked, looking hopeful.

  “Like you said, you want different things. Sylvia’s already had her children, more children than either of us knew, and you are just starting out.”

  “I hope it’s a girl,” Rhys said. His eyes were glowing with excitement and Quinn felt a wave of affection for him. “But a boy would be grand too. My mum will be thrilled.” Rhys glanced at his watch. “We’d better finish up. I have a meeting at two. This has been lovely, Quinn.” He paid the bill and got up to leave. “Keep me in the loop, will you?”

  “About?”

  “About your search for your sister. I’ll help in any way I can. Do you have any leads?”

  “I have the name of the social worker.”

  “That’s a start.”

  “It is.”

  Quinn said goodbye to Rhys and turned for home. She’d had her doubts before the conversation with Rhys, but now she was sure. She had to call Seth. He had a right to know that he had another daughter out there somewhere, and he had to hear it from Quinn.

  Chapter 35

  Quinn propped up her cheeks with her fists and stared down at the mobile phone lying on the kitchen table. It looked harmless enough, but at the moment it was an object of acute anxiety. It’d been easy enough to decide that she must call Seth, but somehow the act didn’t follow naturally. She’d spoken to Seth only twice since leaving New Orleans, and although they’d had a fairly easy relationship while she was there, now that there was an ocean between them it was hard to recapture that feeling, especially after what had happened.

  Quinn genuinely wanted to hear his voice and share the news with him, but for some reason her hand just wouldn’t move toward the phone, no matter how many times she willed her hand to lower and pick up the object. She supposed it was because she couldn’t not ask about Brett. That would be like avoiding a two-thousand-pound elephant in the room. Thinking of Brett still hurt, and probably always would. She’d opened up to him and let him in, believing he’d felt the same about her. She’d misjudged her brother just as she’d misjudged Luke. They had both taken her completely by surprise when they’d betrayed her.

  Quinn sighed and pushed the phone away. She simply couldn’t do this today. When she thought back to her time in New Orleans, her breath caught in her throat and a great big lump welled up in her chest. Not only had she nearly died, but she’d had several confrontations with Luke, who’d come all the way from Massachusetts to see her and try to win her back. Luke could be like a dog with a bone when he genuinely wanted something, and what he wanted was to go back to the life he’d left behind. With his American girlfriend gone and his teaching commitments about to end, he’d longed to return to the life he’d taken for granted. And now he was really coming back, all set to teach the autumn term at the institute while he waited for his next grant to come through. Quinn and Gabe had had a blazing row about it just the other day, and although Quinn had fought tooth and nail to make her point, she knew Gabe was right.

  “You can’t possibly take him back,” Quinn had fumed. “It’s not fair.”

  “Quinn, be reasonable. I have no grounds to refuse his request. Luke, for all his personal shortcomings, was a good employee—a fine lecturer and an experienced archeologist. As head of the department, I can’t allow my personal feelings to get in the way of good judgment.”

  “This is not my idea of good judgment. He can get a job elsewhere.”

  “Archeologists are not exactly in high demand. Or haven’t you noticed? I’ve had two job offers in the past two months, both of them offering a pittance. I’d make a better living driving a bus or fixing leaky sinks.”

  “He can stay in the States,” Quinn said with a pout.

  “I can’t prevent him from coming back, Quinny,” Gabe replied softly.

  “No, you can’t,” she conceded. “Monica must be doing cartwheels of joy, especially since her marriage appears to be on the rocks.”

  “I’m not intimately familiar with the state of Monica’s marriage, but yes, she’s happy that Luke is coming back.”

  Quinn rolled her eyes at Gabe. “You know all.”

  “Do I?” he asked sheepishly.

  “You only pretend not to listen to gossip, but every good administrator knows that it’s a valuable source of information and knowing what’s going on under one’s nose can only be beneficial if you don’t want to get caught with your pants around your ankles.”

  Gabe cringed. “A charming image. Yes, I hear things, whether I want to or not.”

  “And?�
��

  “And Monica is separated. She caught Mark in a lie about going out of town on a business trip and things unraveled from there. He’d been seeing someone else.”

  “She’s always had a thing for Luke, and now that they are both single...”

  “Then things should work out splendidly for all involved. Monica and Luke will pair off and, in their newly discovered bliss, forget their resentment toward us and live happily ever after.”

  “You’re laughing at me,” Quinn said with a frown.

  “I wouldn’t dare.” Gabe chuckled, finally getting Quinn to smile.

  She knew she was being ridiculous, but she was pregnant, hormonal, and allowed to throw a temper tantrum once in a while. Wasn’t she?

  She decided to check with Jill, who wasn’t pregnant or hormonal, but she was temperamental and loved to put on a good show of bad temper. She said it was therapeutic.

  When Gabe left for work after their argument, Quinn rang Jill. “Morning, coz. How are things in the world of high fashion?”

  “Meh!”

  The response was so unexpected that Quinn burst into a fit of giggles. “What does that mean?”

  “It means that I’ve gone off this whole idea of owning my own shop. It seemed glamorous and exciting when I first conceived of the idea, but the reality is bleak and depressing. I’ve had a grand total of three walk-ins in the past two days. Only one of them actually bought something. I made a whopping two quid.”

  “Are you reconsidering your prospects?”

  Jill sighed. “I am. The lease on the shop expires in January. I think I might just have a ‘going out of business’ sale and close my doors right after Christmas. There doesn’t seem to be much point in hanging around. And how are things with you?”

  “Well, I called to have a little moan, but I see that you’re not in any position to cheer me up.”

  “Are you kidding? I love other people’s misery. It’s the best antidote to one’s own,” Jill joked. “Bring it on. Too bad you can’t come over and have lots of wine. I could use a drink. Or six.”

  “I can match you glass for glass with mineral water, but then I’ll be cursing you all night when I have to pee every five minutes.”

  “Ah, the joys of pregnancy. How’s the little bean?”

  “Fine. It likes to play rugby between midnight and three a.m., with my bladder as the ball.”

  “I’m so jealous,” Jill moaned. “I want a baby, Quinny.”

  “Can Brian be persuaded?”

  Quinn could almost hear Jill smile across the space between them. “He’s mentioned us moving in together.”

  “Is that what you want?” Quinn asked carefully. In some respects, Jill was more traditional in her views than Quinn.

  “I always imagined doing things the old-fashioned way. I thought I’d meet a nice bloke, get married, buy a rambling mansion and hire a staff of nannies for when the heir apparent arrived, but I don’t think that’s likely, Quinny.” Jill giggled merrily. “Living together is not a bad idea. Brian is the type of bloke who puts down his roots. Once I have him in my clutches, he’s not going anywhere. Then I’ll just plan a wedding and tell him when to show up. A baby will be the natural next step.”

  “What about the rambling mansion and a host of nannies?”

  “On a civil servant’s salary?” They both laughed, knowing how likely that was. “Speaking of which, are you going to stay at Gabe’s bachelor pad for the duration?”

  “Only until the baby is born. Gabe is having second thoughts about moving up north. If Phoebe agreed to sell the manor, Gabe and I would be able to get a bigger place in London. That would be a dream come true. Gabe loves his job, and Emma and I would be only too happy to remain here. And speaking of Gabe’s job, guess who’s coming back? Luke.”

  “No! Really?”

  “Yes. Gabe rehired him. He’ll be teaching several classes next term.”

  “You never have to see him. It’s not like you’ll be working at the institute.”

  “No, I won’t be returning to the institute for a while. The program has been renewed, so Rhys has three more episodes in the works. I’ll be quite busy after the baby comes. I hope Rhys allows me to take my maternity leave. You know how dogged he is.”

  “I never thought I’d say this, but he cares about you, Quinn. He won’t push you too hard, especially since he’s now involved with your family. He might become your stepdad in time.”

  “Rhys’s going to be a dad,” Quinn blurted out. It wasn’t really her news to share, but since Rhys had been seeing Sylvia and Jill knew all about the relationship, Quinn had some small right to discuss his affairs, in this instance.

  Jill gasped. “You’re joking. Sylvia is pregnant? At her age?”

  “No. He’s moving in with someone else. He’s not in love with Sylvia, so he thought it was time to move on. His girlfriend is an actress he met while making the program.”

  “He certainly didn’t waste any time, did he?”

  “He’s over the moon,” Quinn said, smiling when she recalled Rhys’s blissed-out expression.

  “Well, I wish him luck. Having a newborn at fifty can’t be easy. I hope he’ll be a hands-on dad and not someone who just pops in, coos to the baby for five minutes, and then stares into his phone for the rest of the night. Does he love the mother?”

  “I think so. He’s really excited.”

  “How’s Sylvia taking it?”

  “I have no idea. I haven’t spoken to her. We’ve had a bit of a situation.”

  “Do tell,” Jill urged. “What has she done now?”

  “She had twins and didn’t tell me I have a sister.” Quinn was no longer smiling. Tears of hurt filled her eyes and she grabbed a pillow from the sofa and wrapped her arms around it for comfort.

  “She what? Please tell me you’re joking.”

  “I’m not. I found out completely by accident. There’s a woman out there called Quentin who is my twin sister.”

  “Do you know where she is?” Jill asked. All the humor gone from her voice, she sounded stunned and subdued.

  “No. Sylvia never bothered to look for her. She left the baby at a hospital because she had trouble breathing, and never looked back. My sister might have died, for all I know.”

  “Oh, Quinn! How awful for you. Is there anything I can do?”

  “Just be there for me when I need a good cry.”

  “I’m always here. You can cry as much as you like. But seriously, what are you going to do?”

  “I’m going to look for her. How can I not?”

  “I can’t wait to meet her. Have you told your parents?” Jill asked. Jill’s father and Quinn adoptive father were brothers, so Jill was acutely aware of how this news might affect her aunt and uncle.

  “No, I haven’t. Finding Sylvia and then Seth was difficult enough for them. They feel threatened, especially my mum, even though I told them time and again that no one could ever replace them in my affections. They think they weren’t enough somehow. They were always enough, but I just had to fill in the blanks. And now I have,” Quinn added bitterly.

  “Seems like there’s one more giant blank you need to fill.”

  “And I will, but I’m not going to say anything to Mum and Dad until I know more. So please don’t mention anything to your parents. I don’t want Mum and Dad to find out just yet.”

  “My lips are sealed. I haven’t been speaking to my mum and dad as often as I used to,” Jill confessed.

  “Why not?”

  “Because I’m getting older and they are worried about my future, a topic that creeps up in every conversation. I’m in my thirties, unmarried, childless, and the proprietor of a failing business. My mum never stops reminding me that by the time she was my age she had three children.”

  “Times were different.”

  “Yes, they were, but this is the only reality they understand. ‘You’d better get a move on, old girl, or it’ll be too late. Mark my words. Your brothers are younger than
you, and they have six children between them.’ That’s what Dad said to me last time we spoke. You’d think there’s a line of willing men outside my door and I’m just refusing them all on principle. If Brian asked me to marry him, I would. And I would gladly produce a baby nine months later, but times have changed, and now men want to take their future wives out for a test drive before they commit to a lifelong lease. I bet Brian will want to live together for several years before he finally decides it’s time to make things legal. He’s not in a rush. His biological clock is not ticking like an undetonated Wehrmacht bomb.”

  “Jill, it will happen for you. Just be patient.”

  “I know, but in the meantime, I have to close down my shop and salvage what’s left of my pride. Then, I have to find a job in forensic accounting. Talk about coming full circle.”

  “Gabe and I were attracted to each other when we met on that dig nine years ago. Had I not been blinded by Luke, we might have wound up together, but we both had other relationships and other heartbreaks. In the end, we got together, as we were meant to do. And now we’re older and wiser, and more determined to make things work. We came full circle, because we were meant to. You might be going back, but it’s never really to the same place or with the same result.”

  “I hope you’re right, Quinny. There are so many women out there who are middle-aged and alone. Did their time never come, or did they miss the signs?”

  “Jill, I’ve known you all my life, and you’re not the type of person who’d ever miss the signs. You’re not going to be middle-aged and alone. You will make Brian so happy that the thought of leaving you will never cross his mind. This time next year, we’ll be planning your wedding.”

  “From your mouth to God’s ears.” Jill sighed. “I have to go. I think an actual customer is walking in.”

  “Bye.” Quinn rang off and set aside her phone. Talking to Jill always made her feel better, if only because they could complain to each other and not feel pathetic about it. Quinn had been supportive and encouraging of Jill, but she could understand her worry. The business failing was a tremendous blow, and Brian, although a nice bloke, just didn’t have the same drive and passion for life as Jill did. Quinn couldn’t imagine the two of them happily spending their lives together, but it wasn’t her decision to make. Jill had disliked Luke, but it’d taken Quinn nearly eight years to see him for what he really was—a liar and a cheat. She hoped Jill wouldn’t end up disappointed. She deserved to be happy, and if Brian was her choice, Quinn would support her.