The Other Twin

by Nan Dixon

  Daniel waved him over. “I didn’t have a chance to ask how last night went.”

  “Great.” Except for Issy’s nightmare. “Thanks for letting us use the boat.”

  “Just remember what I said about hurting Cheryl,” Daniel warned.

  “We went through this when I asked you to babysit.” Nathan rolled his eyes. What about Cheryl hurting him? “With the kids, it’s hard to get time together.”

  “Yeah, yeah. The puppy was a date killer for a while.” Daniel rubbed his foot on the dog lying near his feet.

  “Carly’s an angel.” Nathan rubbed her head.

  “You’ve never cleaned up after she gets into the garbage.”

  “Want to talk about messy things?” He nodded at Issy. “She’s still having trouble with potty training.”

  Daniel held up a hand. “I’m not ready for that.”

  Nathan laughed. “As soon as you’re married, Mom will expect grandchildren.”

  “She’s got a good one now.”

  “If only Issy would talk.”

  “She will. You’re good with her.” Daniel didn’t look at him.

  Compliments from his brother were rare. “Thanks.” His voice cracked a little.

  “You stepped up for her and you’re getting the help she needs. When does she see the psychologist?”

  “Next week.” He hadn’t stepped up for her in the beginning. He’d wanted to pawn her off on Mom or Cheryl.

  “I’m looking for a best man.” Daniel tipped his head and looked at him. “You interested in the job?”

  Best man? Now he really was choking up. He’d been shocked when Daniel had asked him to be a groomsman. “I’d...I’d be honored.”

  “Good.” Daniel’s eyes sparkled in the sunlight. Was he choking up, too?

  Nathan cleared his throat. “Next we’ll be hugging and doing each other’s hair.”

  Daniel punched him in the arm. “No way.”

  Nathan punched him back.

  “Bess wants Issy to be a flower girl.” Daniel rubbed his arm.

  They both looked at the kids and their parents. “That can be arranged.”

  Nathan checked on the kids as Daniel steered the boat through traffic. His brother’s best man. Cool.

  “Hey, crew,” Daniel said. “Can someone secure those fishing poles?”

  Since Bess had her hand on Josh’s shoulder, Nathan stowed them.

  After they cut through the surf and into the ocean, Daniel hollered, “Lower the mainsail!”

  He and Bess moved to the lines.

  “Captain Bligh needs an eye patch,” she whispered.

  “Are you sure you want to spend your whole life with Mr. Control?”

  Bess’s face softened. “Oh, yes.”

  Together, they hoisted the sail. The sheet billowed and caught the wind. The boat leaned into the wind.

  “Beautiful.” Nathan stood next to Josh, making sure he was hanging on. “What do you think?”

  “I love this!” Josh’s eyes sparkled.

  “Hey, Josh,” Daniel called from the helm. “Ready to steer?”

  Josh skidded across the deck to the wheel. “Yeah.”

  The kid’s grin was bigger than Nathan had ever seen. He pulled out his phone and shot pictures of Josh standing with his feet spread, hands on the wheel. Cheryl would love to see this.

  He wasn’t sure he’d get cell coverage out here, but he sent Cheryl the picture anyway. Then he took some of Pop, Mom and Issy.

  His daughter was growing so quickly. Her face had filled out and her cheeks had more color than when she’d arrived. He should buy a camera.

  He dug through the bag and squirted sunscreen into his hand. “Short stuff, we need to get you covered up.”

  “I’ll put Josh’s sunscreen on,” Bess volunteered. “All this helping with kids is kind of fun.”

  “Thanks,” he said, squirting more in his hand and handing her the bottle. At least Josh liked Bess.

  Around lunchtime, Daniel anchored near an island. Nathan helped the kids into the dingy and they headed off to play while the adults set up the meal.

  “Lunchtime, Issy, Josh,” Nathan called out. When they didn’t come running, Nathan searched. “Where are you guys?”

  Issy dragged herself out of the brush. Carly tumbled after her.

  “You’re supposed to wait until I found you.” Josh came out of the other side of the brush. “That’s what hide and seek means.”

  She shrugged.

  “Let’s eat.” Nathan pointed to where the food was set up.

  Josh scratched his tummy. “I’m not hungry.”

  Josh toyed with his sandwich. Issy wasn’t much hungrier. Nathan handed the kids water bottles. “It’s hot. Make sure you drink plenty of water.”

  After lunch, they played in the surf and searched for shells. They fished, sailed some more, ate dinner and then headed into the harbor for fireworks.

  As they waited, Issy sat on the deck near his chair. Nathan finished his beer.

  “When do we eat my fish?” Josh asked, rubbing his stomach.

  “You barely ate dinner.” Nathan frowned. Josh usually had a great appetite. “I cleaned it and put it on ice. We’ll take it back to your mom and she’ll decide.”

  “I caught the biggest fish,” Josh bragged.

  “You sure did, slugger.”

  “Thanks for helping me bring in my fish.” Josh scratched some more.

  “You’re welcome.” Nathan grinned. The kid’s thank-you was...gratifying.

  Issy scratched her back.

  “Did you kids get bit?” Sand fleas could be vicious. He checked their ankles, but didn’t see any bites.

  “It itches.” Josh reached down to scratch, but Nathan stopped him.

  “Let’s see if there’s something in the bag.” He pulled out a pink bottle of calamine lotion. “Your mother packed everything.” He pretended to dig some more. “Yup, there it is...the kitchen sink.”

  “It’s a mother thing. You might need to start carrying a bag.” Mom laughed. “I’ll grab paper towels for the calamine.”

  Daniel handed Nathan another beer and sat in the lawn chair next to him.

  “Thanks.” He sipped the ice-cold drink.

  “Mom says you shouldn’t drink.” Josh crossed his arms, a miniature version of Cheryl.

  “It’s a holiday.”

  Daniel changed the subject. “I want to go back and talk about the idea of you carrying a man bag.”

  Pop huffed. “Forester men don’t carry purses.”

  “I carry a backpack.” Josh frowned. “Is that wrong?”

  Pop patted Josh’s head. “Backpacks are approved.”

  “I can be a Forester man?” Josh looked at Daniel with more longing than a kid at Christmas.

  “We’ll name you an honorary member,” Nathan said so his father didn’t step into the trap Josh was setting for him.

  The kid wanted Daniel as a dad. Good choice. Who would choose Nathan Forester? Poor Issy hadn’t had an option.

  What would Josh do if Nathan asked his permission to date Cheryl? Spit in his face?

  Mom handed him a paper towel and he and Bess dabbed pink liquid on the kids’ ankles. “Does it itch anywhere else?”

  Issy pointed to her calves. He dotted more of the liquid there. She kept pointing and he kept dabbing.

  He finally bounced a dot on her nose. “I think it doesn’t itch in all those places. I think you just want me to paint you pink.”

  She giggled. He pulled her onto his lap, getting pink streaks on his arms and shorts.

  The first set of fireworks exploded. Issy screamed.

  “Honey.” Nathan clutched her to his chest.

&nb
sp; She kept screaming.

  “It’s fireworks.” He rocked her back and forth. “Only fireworks.”

  She trembled, burying her face deep in his shoulder.

  “Issy.” Josh patted her head. “Don’t worry.”

  “It’s nothing bad. I won’t let bad things happen to you. This is just...” Nathan couldn’t think of the words.

  Mom knelt next to his chair, stroking Issy’s back. “Oh, baby, fireworks are just colorful lights that make a big bang.”

  Her sobs came out in shuddery gasps.

  “I’m here. It’s all right.” Nathan repeated the words, rocking back and forth. His heart ached for his daughter.

  “Talk to me, Issy,” he begged. “Tell me why you’re afraid.”

  She shook her head, frantic.

  “Oh, honey.” Nathan’s mother stroked her hair. “Your dad will make everything better.”

  Issy’s sobs eased. Her back, stiff as a two-by-four, softened. Nathan wanted to rip her pain away. Was this what it was like to love someone? Love your child?

  “Should we leave?” Daniel asked.

  Issy clung to him but she’d stop crying. “Are you okay?”

  She nodded.

  He turned her around and pointed to the sky. “Watch, honey.”

  She snuggled into his arms, but her eyes were open.

  “It’s only noisy lights.” He jiggled his knee.

  A massive bang echoed across the water. Issy whimpered, but the fireworks exploded into a golden waterfall.

  “Isn’t it pretty?” he asked.

  She pointed at the sparks as they fell into the water and faded. He hugged her close. He had to get the bottom of her fear. Then maybe she would finally speak.

  * * *

  “LOOK AT JOSH steering the sailboat!” Cheryl held her phone out to Abby.

  “He’s a natural.” Abby brushed a wisp of hair off her cheek with her shoulder. “How’s the reception going?”

  “Dinner’s done.” She bit her lip. “The cake’s been cut.”

  “I popped in as they cut the cake.” Abby poked her shoulder. “You may have found a new calling. They were raving.”

  “Really?” Cheryl leaned against the counter.

  “I tasted it. Fabulous.” Abby blew on her nails and polished them on her chef’s coat. “You must have had the best teacher.”

  “I did. I do.”

  “How are classes going?” Abby asked.

  “Really well.”

  “I can tell. Your skills improve every day.”

  “Thanks.” Warmth filled her chest. “I want to work full-time in your restaurant.”

  “You’re doing all the right things,” Abby said but didn’t commit to hiring her.

  Cheryl’s phone dinged. “Nathan’s sent another picture.”

  This time Josh’s ankles were covered in pink dots. “Oh, no.”

  “Bug bites?”

  Cheryl shrugged. “I hope he’s okay.”

  “He’ll be fine.” Abby loaded the last of the dishes. “How was your date? We’ve been so busy, I didn’t get a chance to ask.”

  “A dream.” She smiled. Nathan had said this was the best summer of his life. What did that mean? “The food and setting were perfect.”

  “And was Nathan perfect?”

  “Until Bess called.” Then everything had gotten weird. He’d looked so hurt when he and Issy had left last night. “Issy had a nightmare.”

  “The poor kid.”

  The phone call had been a reality check and had kept them from having sex. It had reminded her she couldn’t ignore her real life. In the moonlight, she’d forgotten how much Josh despised Nathan.

  Abby wiggled her eyebrows. “I wouldn’t have paired the two of you, but you’re like puzzle pieces. You fit.”

  “You might be right.” But Cheryl wasn’t sure they could ever fit together properly. Josh despised Nathan. “I think I’ll take more coffee to the ballroom and make sure they don’t need anything.”

  “I’m done here. If you need anything, call.” Abby dried her hands. “I’m going to watch the fireworks from my balcony with Gray. Come over if you get a chance.”

  Cheryl nodded and filled the coffee urn.

  Josh was watching fireworks with the Foresters. Too bad she’d let Amy talk her into working. Sitting on a boat with Nathan and his family would have been wonderful.

  Mama had never taken her to a fireworks display. The one good thing about Mama was that she wouldn’t drive drunk. And by the time it was dark enough for fireworks, Mama was at the stage of her evening where she’d stayed put.

  Brad had been appalled she’d never watched fireworks. He’d taken her one summer and they’d made out on a grassy hill while fireworks glittered. When Josh had been two, they’d gone as a family. Her chest ached at the memory of how innocent she’d been to all the pain that was coming.

  She pushed through the swinging kitchen door and headed to the ballroom. Next year she would make a Fourth of July family memory for Josh. She would develop a backbone and stand up for herself. She had seniority at the B and B and should be able to have holidays off if she wanted.

  In the ballroom, everything was running like clockwork. She checked with the bartender and brought him more ice.

  The glittering chandeliers reflected off the mirrors on the walls. She wanted to salute all the red, white and blue draping. The newlyweds had been in the navy, stationed near Norfolk.

  The patio doors were open and guests milled around the terrace, staring into the sky at the same fireworks her son watched. If only the reception would end. She could go home and cuddle her boy. And maybe cuddle Nathan. She drew in a shaky breath at the memory of him kissing and touching her.

  But what about Josh?

  Back in the kitchen, she pulled out Nathan’s computer. She had a paper to finalize for her history class and wanted to get it in a couple of days early.

  Why she needed a history class—actually two of them—when she was going for a Culinary Arts Associate’s degree, she’d never understand. She just wanted to work in Abby’s restaurant. But she wouldn’t let her grades drop. She hoped to get an academic scholarship to help pay for her remaining classes.

  She began editing. If she had to write about ancient history, it would have a food twist. She’d picked the history of nutmeg. Who knew the Dutch had controlled the spice? A couple hundred years ago, the bag of nutmeg in her cupboard could have made her a wealthy woman.

  She reread the paper, checked her references and sent it to her professor. Done.

  Since no one needed her in the ballroom, she opened her email. She’d take a couple of minutes to clear out the junk.

  There was an email from a J Smith. More junk? But the subject line said DO NOT DELETE. She took a chance and clicked on the message.

  A mutual friend wanted me to send this to you. If you don’t deposit the requested money, this goes to the Fitzgeralds. You have the instructions.

  What? She hesitated, then opened the attachment.

  It was a video showing a blonde woman bouncing on a man seated in a chair. A naked blonde. It was—porn. She shivered. As Josh would say, gross.

  She slid the cursor over to stop the disgusting video, hoping she hadn’t infected Nathan’s computer with a virus. Before she could, the camera panned around and zoomed in on the woman’s face.

  Cheryl’s hand froze. Her face?

  The woman’s eyes were closed, her hair wild around her head.

  Cheryl’s hand shook, making the cursor jump.

  “No.” Acid burned the back of her throat. The camera shifted and focused on the guy.

  “How?”

  It couldn’t be. She didn’t recognize the man, the room or the body. But it was
her face on the woman.

  She slammed the computer shut, swallowing back bile.

  It wasn’t her. She’d never been that busty. Her hair hadn’t been that long for a couple of years. She rubbed her throbbing head. What should she do?

  What if J Smith sent this to Abby? Would her boss believe the disgusting images weren’t her? How would it affect her job?

  What if Nathan saw this? Or Josh? She wanted to curl into a ball. Oh, God. What would this do to her son?

  Her breath came in raspy gasps. She couldn’t move. Her life was just coming together. Now this.

  * * *

  NATHAN LIFTED A sleeping Issy out of the car. It broke his heart that she’d been so scared.

  Josh’s feet dragged as they headed up the stairs. The kids were up way past their bedtimes.

  Laughter floated from the ballroom into the courtyard. The wedding guests at the B and B were still partying.

  He’d hoped they’d be gone. Then he could spend the last of the holiday with Cheryl. Just holding her would be nice. He wanted to get back to the connection they’d had on the boat.

  He’d missed her today. Hopefully next year she’d have the holiday off and they could celebrate together.

  Next year?

  His heart jolted. He’d never thought that far ahead with a woman. Never wanted to date beyond a month or two. It was just too hard hiding his flaws.

  But Cheryl already knew. She knew and hadn’t booted him from her life.

  He unlocked her apartment. Setting down the bag, he said to Josh, “Go brush your teeth and hop into your pajamas.”

  Both kids should probably wash off the sand and salt, but it was more important for them to get to sleep.

  “I’ll be right back.” He planned to let Issy sleep in Josh’s bottom bunk until Cheryl came home. He stripped her down, checking her ankles. No bites that he could see.

  Grabbing her toothbrush, he carried the sleepy girl to Cheryl’s place.

  Josh was putting his toothbrush in the holder.

  He helped Issy onto the stool and applied toothpaste to her brush. “Here you go.”

  “That’s my toothpaste.” Josh crossed his arms.

  Nathan refused to engage. “And next time you brush your teeth in my place, you can use Issy’s.”

  He wet a washcloth and wiped it over Josh’s face and then Issy’s. He said to Josh, “Why don’t you hit the sack and I’ll tuck you both in.”