Imogene hugged her sister fiercely, obviously making an effort not to cry. "Tori, honey, it's so good to have you back." She lost the battle with her tears and they spilled onto her cheeks. Dabbing at them, she sniffed, then blushed.
Squeezing her sister's hand, Victoria managed a smile. "I can't tell you how great it is to actually recognize you. It's even better knowing who I am." She cried too, then, but they were tears of sheer joy.
Stepping back a little, Imogene held her hand out to Raf. He came over and stood beside her. "This is my husband, Raf Shakir. We were recently married, and we live on a horse farm near Cotton Creek."
"Raf, it's so nice to meet you," Victoria said to the dynamic, dark-haired man beside Imogene as she brushed her tears away with her fingertips.
"Believe me, it is my pleasure," Raf assured her. "Genie has spoken of you often. You look very much like her. It is easy to believe that you are a Danforth. You are quite lovely."
Victoria smiled again, his sincerity and kindness assuring her that she would like Raf Shakir. And he loved her sister. She could see it in his eyes when he looked at Imogene.
"So that's why you were at the celebration?" Victoria asked, curious as to how her sister ended up at the town celebration. "Because you live nearby?" She frowned, her thoughts still a little confused. It was disconcerting to learn that her sister had lived so close to her, yet their paths had never crossed.
"Earlier today, we had attended Marc and Dana's wedding." Stopping herself when she realized that Victoria wasn't following, she briefly explained that their cousin, Marcus Danforth, had gotten married earlier in the day. Afterward, she and Raf had left before Thanksgiving dinner and the ensuing wedding festivities so they could return for the holiday celebration at Cotton Creek.
"This was our first year living in Cotton Creek together. Raf has lived here for some time," she explained. "We had promised some friends that we would meet them at the celebration." She gave a soft laugh as she looked at her husband. "They're probably wondering what happened to us."
Victoria's eyes filled with tears again, and she sniffed. Her emotions were difficult to control. "Marc is married? God, Genie, this feels weird," she confessed. "I feel like I know you but I don't know you."
"Take it easy, honey," Imogene said. "Give it some time. The doctor told us that it would take a while before you feel oriented to your previous life. You have a lot of catching up to do."
A movement across the room caught Victoria's attention, and her gaze went to David, who had taken up residence against a wall. Apparently he'd chosen to stay in the background as she talked with Imogene.
What was he thinking? For years he'd thought, as she had, that she was a street kid, a misfit. But she wasn't. She was a Danforth. She had a home. A loving family. She was rich, for goodness sake!
"Have you met David?" she asked Imogene and Raf. Victoria held out her hand and he came to her side.
David took her hand and leaned close to her face. "Hey, you gave me a scare," he whispered.
"I'm sorry." Victoria didn't know what else to say. How did David feel about her now that he knew her real identity? She scoffed silently at herself. Who was she trying to fool? Why would who she was change how he felt about her? While their relationship had become intimate, he hadn't confessed his feelings went any deeper than lust. Her gaze swept over him again. His expression gave her little clue as to his thoughts.
"We talked while we were waiting for the doctor to examine you," Imogene replied. "David told us that you'd lived with his father until just a while ago. I know you lost him recently. I'm very sorry, honey," she said quietly, stroking her sister's arm.
At the thought of Edward, Victoria began crying again. She swallowed hard, forcing the tears back down. "David's father, Edward, was wonderful to me." Despite how David and his father had gotten along, she couldn't discount her own feelings for Edward. "He offered me a job and a place to live, gave me a future to look forward to." She didn't mention David's difficult relationship with his father. "He was a wonderful man who gave me the security I needed when I had nothing."
"That was very kind of him. I wish he were here for us to thank." She looked at David. "Please know how grateful our family is."
David nodded, but said nothing.
Sniffling, Victoria asked, "How is everyone? How are Mom and Dad? Are they okay?" Five years. She'd lost five years of her life. How did someone make up for that? But it didn't really matter, did it? She was back where she belonged now.
Or was she? She felt oddly misplaced. Though she had a life to return to, it would feel strange leaving the one she'd become accustomed to.
"They're on the way here," Imogene replied, breaking into her thoughts.
"I can't wait to see them. Do they know that I'm all right?"
Imogene brushed her hand across Victoria's cheek. "They do, honey, and so does the entire family by now, I'm quite sure."
"Tell me about them," she implored, wanting to hear everything she'd missed.
Imogene did her best, filling Victoria in on everything that had been happening with her siblings and cousins, about Jake, her oldest brother, and his wife Larissa. "They have a three-year-old son." At Victoria's surprised expression, she added, "It's a long story, but he went to college with her and never knew she'd had his baby. But they're happily married now. They can't wait until we bring you home."
"What about Toby?" she asked, wondering about her other brother.
Her sister shook her head. "That's a long story, too. He's married. His wife's name is Heather and they also have a son."
"Oh, my gosh. I've missed so much," Victoria exclaimed with despair.
Imogene lightly touched her sister's hand. "Tori, I want you to know that we've never stopped searching for you. Morn and Dad, all of us, wouldn't give up hope that we'd find you one day." She started to cry again, this time more earnestly. "What happened, well, it was my fault, and I'm so sorry."
Crying along with her sister, Victoria grabbed tissues from the bedside table, gave her sister some, then dabbed at her own eyes. "Your fault? How?"
"I should have been there with you. Jake only gave you the tickets to that concert because he thought I was going with you. If I had, this would never have happened." She broke down, and Raf drew her to him, let her cry on his shoulder. When she garnered her strength, she looked at her sister. "Please forgive me."
"There's nothing to forgive, Genie. This wasn't your fault at all. It was mine. I was the one who invited Tanya." The memory was now so vivid in her mind, as if it were only yesterday. "I hadn't known her for very long, but she'd seemed as if she needed a friend."
Imogene gave a half laugh. "You always had such a big heart." She looked at David. "She always wanted to take care of everyone. If any of us were sick, Tori made it her job to be at our beck and call, nursing us back to health."
"Well, this time it caught up with me. After the concert, Tanya and I headed to the car. I didn't know it, but she had planned to run away afterwards with her boyfriend. He was waiting for her outside the concert hall. She wanted me to give them a ride to a bus station. Though I felt uneasy about it, I told her I would." She endured her sister's tolerant expression. "I didn't know that they'd planned to steal my car."
"Oh, my God!" Imogene gasped.
"As we were riding, Tanya's boyfriend asked me to stop at a convenience store. I didn't want to, but he was acting a little weird, like he was on drugs or something, so I did. When we went to get back into the car, he took my keys and forced me to get into the back seat. That's when I realized that I was in real trouble. He took a route off the highway. After several turns, I lost track of where we were. Eventually, I decided I wasn't going to just sit there and let them get away with it, so I started arguing with him and hitting him from the back seat.
"He got really angry and stopped the car and told me get out. When I refused, he dragged me out of it." She blinked, then frowned as the memory of that awful night came back with clarity. "I stumbled and fe
ll, and that's the last thing I remember."
David picked up her story from there. "The doctors who examined her said she had a concussion. They weren't sure how it happened." He looked at Tanya. "It must have been when you fell."
She nodded. "I guess they just left me there." Frowning, she asked, "But couldn't you have found all that out from Tanya?" Surely by now they would have questioned the girl.
Imogene shook her head. "No, honey. We've had an investigator searching for you, but neither he nor the police could even find your car. It was like you dropped off the face of the earth. The only information he could turn up was that Tanya Winters had gone into a group home. He was told that she had amnesia." Her eyes widened. "That must have been you!" she realized. "He tried to find her after that, to check out the story and see if she remembered anything, but the courts had lost her paperwork. Oh, my," she said, turning to Raf, "he was on the right trail all along, we just didn't know they thought you were Tanya."
"When the police found Victoria, she had Tanya's identification on her." David told them. He shook his head. "So it was Tanya who disappeared."
Victoria eyes widened. "That's why they thought I was Tanya. For the fun of it, we'd dyed our hair red and switched clothing." She laughed bitterly. "Well, I learned a hard lesson. Mom told me she didn't want me dressing like Tanya when we went to the concert. I should have listened to her."
Exhausted, she lay her head back on the bed and fought back a yawn. David studied her, then met Imogene's gaze across the bed. "Would you mind giving us a few minutes alone?"
"Of course," Imogene replied softly. "We'll be right outside if you need anything," she told her sister.
David waited until the door closed behind them, then because he couldn't stop himself, he leaned down and briefly kissed Victoria. Not wanting to unnerve her, he drew back and let his gaze drift over her face. She looked tired, but otherwise was as beautiful as always. "How are you really feeling?" he asked as he took her hand in his.
"Overwhelmed," she admitted, and now that she'd heard about her family, even more so. Victoria drew in a deep breath, then let it out slowly, her heartbeat quickening. "I can't believe all that's happened," she said, still tasting him on her lips, wishing his kiss meant more than just concern. "I remember everything now, but it's hard trying to sort it all out." Her throat felt swollen, and she took a cup of water from the table beside the bed. After taking a swallow, she put it down. "One minute I'm Tanya, and the next, I'm Victoria Danforth. I don't know what to think."
David stroked her forehead with the palm of his hand. "The doctor said you might be confused for a while, and for you to take it easy for the next few days. You've been through a lot, not just in the last few hours, but for the past five years. Don't try to sort it all out right away."
Pulling her hand away from his, she sat up again. "I can't help it. It all seems so surreal. I want to know everything, but it gets jumbled in my mind. And I can't help feeling that I've missed so much. I feel like there's two people inside me." She trembled. "It's scary."
David stroked her back. "Tori, I'm not going to let anything happen to you. I promise."
Victoria's gaze connected with his. Tori. Her name sounded strange on his lips. "Tori," she repeated. It even sounded a little strange coming from her.
He gave her a resolute look. "I have to call you something other than Tanya. Victoria is a beautiful name, but it doesn't feel, I don't know, right to me." For what they'd been through together, for what they'd shared, he wanted to say. But he didn't. He let her digest his words, then asked, "Do you mind if I call you Tori?"
"Tori is … nice."
"I mean it, you know," he said, his tone serious. "I don't want you to feel threatened in any way. I'm not going to let anyone hurt you."
Victoria wanted to believe him, wanted to believe that he would take care of her forever. Because he wanted to, not because he'd promised his father. But she just wasn't sure of anything anymore. Her two worlds had collided, and her life as she knew it had forever changed. Soon her family would be arriving, and surely they were expecting her to return to Savannah with them.
And she wanted to go. She wanted to see her brothers and their wives and children, wanted to catch up on every detail of their lives that she'd missed. Victoria had thought that she'd be happy living at Cottonwood for the rest of her life, but did she even belong there now?
Sadly, she had to face the truth. There was no permanent place for her in David's life. He'd never intimated there would be anything permanent between them. No, as much as it hurt to admit it, she belonged in Savannah with her family. Before all this occurred, she had been planning on leaving because she couldn't stay without his love.
Nothing had changed in their relationship.
Summoning all of her courage, she said, "I'm not your responsibility anymore, David." Her words seemed peculiar to her own ears. David had made a deathbed promise to his father that he'd take care of her, one that he'd told her he would keep.
She remembered back when he'd first arrived home. He'd been ready to ship her off to college to get her out of his life. Maybe he was more comfortable with her now because they'd had a sexual relationship, but that didn't mean he felt anything in his heart for her. Becoming lovers had only complicated things between them, because she'd fallen in love with him.
But David didn't love her.
He had no plans to stay on the plantation any longer than he had to. She'd heard that straight from his own mouth when she'd overheard his conversation with Justin. His life was in Atlanta. She'd known that before her memory had returned. Her memory returning merely facilitated a decision she'd already made.
And had provided a place for her to go. Home to Savannah.
David grimaced at her choice of words. "We've gone way beyond that, haven't we?"
"Because we were lovers?" she asked with surprising calm.
His gaze hardened. Were lovers. Not, because we are lovers. She was already thinking of the time they'd spent together in the past tense. He studied her, and suddenly an odd feeling of doom settled in his chest. He was losing her. He had found everything he'd ever wanted in this woman, but he hadn't seen it in time. Now she didn't need him.
The feeling of dread deepened. "I love you." She looked away and desperation set in. "I do," he said fiercely. He touched her face with the palm of his hand, turning her face to him and lifting her chin, willing her to look at him. "Tori, I—"
"Don't," she pleaded, and freed herself from him. "Don't do this, David. Not now." She pressed her lips together, wishing with all her heart that David's words of love were coming from his heart. But she knew better. When she'd been Tanya, she hadn't fit into his world. Now he thought because she was Victoria Danforth, an heiress, she did. All along she'd wished he was falling in love with her. Why hadn't he admitted his feelings when he thought she was a poor girl from the streets? Why now?
Did he truly love her?
Maybe he was telling himself that he did, but she wasn't going to be foolish enough to believe him. As much as it caused her pain to do so, she said, "I'm sorry, David. Everything has changed now. All this," she said, waving her arms around, then dropping them to her sides, "learning who I am, finding out what happened, it's all just too much. I think it would be best if you took me back to the plantation so that I can pack my things. I'd like to be ready to leave with my parents when they arrive."
David stepped back from her, stunned by her request. "You can't mean that. You belong at the plantation." Frustration built up inside him. He couldn't believe she was telling him she wanted to leave.
"The plantation," she whispered, and sighed at the realization. "That's what you wanted all along, isn't it? Cottonwood?"
David couldn't deny it, but he wanted so much more now. He wanted Victoria. He swallowed hard. "Yes, I did, but—"
"It's yours," she told him, her voice void of emotion. "The terms of the will stated that I could stay for as long as I wanted. If I leave, the p
lantation is yours, free and clear." She took a breath. "So now you'll have what you always wanted. Your family's plantation and me out of your life."
His lips twisted wryly. "You think that's what I want? The damn plantation?"
Instead of answering, she said quietly, "I'd like to get dressed now, please. Would you mind asking Genie to come back inside to help me?"
"Tori—"
"Please." Staring at him, she willed him to let her go. She'd already lost her heart to him. She wanted to leave with at least her self-respect. "I can't stay, David."
Not with doubt in her heart.
Because she'd never really know if he loved her for herself.
* * *
Twelve
« ^ »
David sat at the desk in his father's study, his heart aching. He couldn't believe that Victoria could just walk away from the plantation.
From him.
He'd told her he loved her, but it hadn't mattered. She had her old life back now. She was from a wealthy family, a family who loved her and wanted her home with them.
Everything had changed once she became aware of her true identity.
He leaned over, his head braced against his hands, wracking his brain for what he could do to change her mind. Until today, the only sure thing in her life had been Cottonwood. David would have bet his life that nothing could get her to leave.
But he had never planned on this. Victoria was an heiress. She could do anything she wanted, live anywhere she wanted.
She didn't need the plantation.
She didn't need him.
David had only himself to blame. Like a fool, he'd chosen the worst possible moment to bare his soul to her. She'd had the biggest shock of her life, and because he was afraid of losing her, he'd confessed that he loved her.
No wonder she hadn't believed him. It sounded contrived to his own ears.
She thought that he only wanted the plantation, and if he were honest with himself, he did. Coming home had been cathartic for him. He'd learned that he cared about Cottonwood, and he wanted it to continue to be successful—for his father.
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