Burned by Deception (The Dark Side of Springwood Book 2)

by Jennifer A. Brown

  She paused, looking down. He shook his head, sending her a baffled gaze. “Sorry, I—don’t remember any of this.”

  She bit her lip. “That’s because you were already pretty drunk.” She went on, grimly. “And then…she came in.”

  ****

  Gabrielle’s email was half a page long. She remembered Tammy Cauley all right. The girl was hard to forget, she wrote. Blonde haired and bitchy was how she described her. She was only seen there a few times, but it was long enough to make an impression. Robin bit hard on her lip as she clicked on reply and began to type a response.

  ****

  When Tammy awoke, she saw a nurse shutting off the TV. It looked like the late news was on from the brief glimpse of the screen she got before it went black. She closed her eyes as the nurse turned toward her. She felt her taking her vitals before leaving just a few moments later.

  She opened her eyes, gazing at the box on her blankets. She picked it up and looked at the bracelet inside. She took it out and put it on her wrist that didn’t have an IV stuck in it.

  She knew what it was. She had heard everything today; Allen Harrison’s emotional confession that he was Lyn’s grandfather, Jacob spilling his heart out, bawling that he missed his sister and needed her back and he was so sorry he let her down.

  Tammy rolled her eyes. Jacob was so ignorant. He was so caught up in work and trying to be the hero; he missed the fact that Lyn truly idolized him.

  She had dozed on and off and pretended to be asleep for most of the evening because she didn’t feel like trying to be Lyn. Too much of the pain killer had her mind in a fog.

  She heard a code blue across the hospital’s loudspeaker. She gently fingered the bracelet around her wrist, feeling her eyelids grow heavy again.

  ****

  Jacob stood under the shower Christmas Eve morning, just letting the warm spray hit him. He came home last night, aggravated after sitting with his sister for almost two hours…and she never woke up. He had to actually ask a nurse if it was possible she’d slipped back into unconsciousness again. She told him no, that the medicine they had her on for pain was pretty powerful.

  So Jacob still didn’t know what his sister remembered. He had come home last night, slinging his keys down, aggravated, as he explained everything to Robin.

  Everything except the kiss. He slid his hands through his wet hair at the thought of that.

  It had happened so quickly, and he didn’t expect it. At all.

  He groaned, shutting the water off and stepping out.

  ****

  Becky awoke that morning to the sound of her phone ringing. She blindly grabbed it from her nightstand, answering.

  “Hello?”

  “Good, you made it home.”

  She sat up, straightening her tousled blonde strands. “Trent?”

  “Yeah, it’s me. I’m so, so sorry I couldn’t get you yesterday. Let me make it up to you tonight. They’re having a Christmas light show up north. Around six. You feel up to it?”

  She sighed, gazing ahead at her Beach Scenes calendar. The image for December was a snow covered beach with Santa in red trunks and sunglasses sitting in a lounge chair.

  “Uh, I don’t know.”

  “Why not? Aren’t you feeling well?”

  She sighed, closing her eyes. What happened yesterday with Jacob still played out against the back of her eye lids. She felt her heart miss a beat.

  “Becky, are you there? Are you feeling sick?” Trent’s voice sounded panicked.

  “Yes, I’m here. Look, I’m sorry, Trent. Not tonight.”

  She hung up on him, not giving him a chance to protest. She sat, Indian style, on the bed, her head in her hands.

  She was so stupid. Jacob would never want to be around her again after what happened yesterday. She had bolted from the car, not even looking at him after it happened, and hurried into her apartment building.

  She could tell he had been upset, and she wanted to distract him, take his mind off the situation with Lyn. So she started looking through his CD’s in the car, commenting on the different artists. She was telling him about the first time she’d heard Angel by Aerosmith when she was interrupted by Jacob slamming on his brakes to avoid hitting a car that cut him off.

  The CD fell out of her hand, and she had reached down on the floor to get it. Jacob had already pulled in front of her place and was doing the same, so when she rose back up, holding the CD, his face was only inches from hers.

  And she kissed him. On the lips.

  So stupid. Stupid, stupid, stupid.

  So why did she feel like it was the most incredible thing that had ever happened to her?

  Chapter 21

  Toby whistled the tune of Jingle Bells as he boxed up a customer’s refurbished laptop. “Have a merry Christmas.” The older woman smiled back at him, lifting the box into her arms as Toby continued to work, assisting another customer. As she made her way precariously to the door, trying to also juggle her purse, which was slipping from her arm along with another shopping bag from the Walgreen’s across the street, he threw a glance at Dan. “Dan, can you help Mrs. Harvey out the door?”

  Dan did not look up from the invoices he was sifting through aimlessly at the other end of the counter.

  “Dan, did you hear me?”

  Still nothing.

  “Dan!”

  He jumped and looked up. “What?”

  Mrs. Harvey was already at the door as another customer hurried over to help her out. Toby just shook his head, continuing to talk to the guy in front of him about a faulty mouse.

  Dan released a breath, turning to head into the back. He rubbed his eyes, trying to wake himself up. He’d gotten little to no sleep last night after talking to Sarah Long. She had finally introduced herself.

  She had been there for a little over thirty minutes telling him everything that occurred that night.

  He sat down at the desk where they worked on computers, and not long after, Toby came in the back. “What the hell is wrong with you? You have the nerve to jump my shit for flirting with customers, yet you space out and can’t help a customer to the door?”

  ****

  Jacob called the hospital as soon as he got out of the shower, asking about his sister’s condition. He was told she was awake and doing well. Anxiously, he hung up and informed Robin he was heading back to the hospital.

  She smiled and embraced him. “Will you be okay?”

  He nodded. “Yeah. Just stay here and finish up wrapping those gifts. And call Justin; find out what he and Camryn are doing.” He grabbed his coat, heading out the door as Robin got busy.

  ****

  Tammy smiled at the church youth group who stood before her singing Angels We Have Heard on High. A group of about nine or ten was caroling all through the hospital. Out of the corner of her eye she saw something and turned to notice a glimpse of Jacob in the doorway. Their gazes caught, and he beamed at her.

  She kept her smile pasted on her face until the group stopped singing. Then one of the younger girls in the group stepped forward, holding a huge red cloth sack, pulling a small bulky Christmas tote out of it, and handing it to her. “Merry Christmas. May God heal you soon.”

  “Thank you.” Tammy said as the group filed out. She looked into the tote to find candy and a light up Christmas tree pen with a tree shaped memo pad.

  “Hey Sis. How are you feeling?”

  She looked up to see Jacob gazing at her, caring and warmth in his eyes. “Okay, I guess. Wish I could go home.”

  He smiled, sitting down. “I know. Me too.” He went on. “Um…” he cleared his throat before continuing. “Lyn, what is the last thing you remember before waking up in here?”

  ****

  Before she could spare a chance to call Justin, he ended up calling there. Robin was tying the ribbon on the third gift she’d wrapped when the phone rang. She quickly went into the front room, answering it.

  “Hello?”

  “Hey, Robin. My bro
ther around? I’m sorry. I just got his message about Lyn from yesterday. It’s been crazy here with the holiday and all.”

  “Justin, your brother left to head to the hospital about half an hour ago.”

  “Okay, thanks.” He went on. “So…how are things with you and my brother?”

  She smiled. “Going good, Justin. How about you and Camryn?”

  There was a small pause. “Well, you’ll know soon enough.”

  Their call ended before Robin had a chance to find out any more. She returned to wrapping gifts.

  ****

  Dan had closed his eyes in response to Toby’s harsh words. Luckily, the front door jingled again, tearing him away as he stepped back out front. Dan heard him ask “Can I help you?” as nausea ate away at him.

  The flashes of memory, Tammy speaking to him in the car that night before slamming into the credit union; it all added up now. Sarah had told him how Tammy came in that night months ago to the bar, and the moment she spotted Dan, she told Sarah to get lost.

  “What?” she had repeated.

  “You heard me. Go get us both a Heineken. You work here, right?” Tammy had put an arm around Dan, who was already pretty buzzed and eying her like she was a centerfold model. “Sorry, I’m late, baby. It won’t happen again.” She said to Dan, kissing him.

  Sarah had been appalled. “What? He just told me he and his girlfriend broke up.”

  Tammy had turned cold eyes on her. “You were probably talking to his other personality. This is my man…right, baby?” she laid her head near his shoulder, licking his ear as he chuckled.

  Sarah had gotten up and stormed off, pissed. Three Heinekens later, she had told him, he and Tammy left.

  Sarah had teary eyes reliving all this, and it had left him stunned. “As I was serving other tables nearby, I heard her tell you she’d gotten a hotel room for the night. She wanted to show off her new pink bra and panty set to you. You said oooo baby.”

  Dan bit down hard on his lip. All this had been the day after he remembered Lyn stopping in at Cyber-Fix. Jacob was offering to let his sister stay with him that next night since her apartment was being bug bombed.

  “No, it’s okay. I got a hotel reservation. It’ll be like a one night vacation.” She’d smiled and laughed about it. Even waved at Dan, telling him bye that day as she left.

  “Oh my God.” He moaned.

  ****

  Robin finished up everything and an hour later sat back down with her laptop. “Just one more time,” she told herself, logging into her office account. She was anxious to see if Gabrielle had replied. It was Christmas Eve, so she highly doubted it.

  To her surprise, though, it was the only message sitting in her inbox. She clicked on it and read the message.

  Oh, my God, Robin! Are you serious? I heard about some crazy chic possibly killing that newscaster.

  Wow, that’s crazy, but it does sound quite possible it’s one and the same. As for your question; yes, I do remember why Tammy was treated there and for what. Kind of hard to forget a crazy girl like that. She came in about three weeks pregnant wanting an abortion. As a nurse, I felt I needed to try and talk her out of it, you know? At least try to get to the bottom of why she wanted it. I asked about the father, asked “Does he know you’re here?” She said the father would never know. Long story short, she got very pissed with me, and I think she was going to try to hurt me before the doc came in. After that day, we never really got along.

  Well, I hope that helps you out. Have a happy holiday!

  Gabby

  Robin put a hand over her mouth.

  Three weeks pregnant? With whose baby? Davis Cauley’s? Lyn’s biological father?

  “Oh, dear God.” Robin laid her head back against the sofa for support.

  ****

  Tammy gave him the best innocent look she could muster. “What do I remember? I-I don’t know for sure.” She said in a voice on the edge of tears.

  Her voice had just the effect on Jacob she hoped for. He sat up closer, taking her hand. “It’s all right.” He said, sighing. “If you start remembering anything, be sure to speak up.”

  She sniffed, looking down. “Sorry for ruining Christmas.”

  “You haven’t ruined anything, Sis. I’m just thankful you’re still alive.”

  Tammy kept her head down, inwardly rolling her eyes. The carolers could be heard in another room down the hall.

  “Now, tomorrow morning, Robin, Justin and I will all be here with gifts in tow. And we’ll stay here as long as you want us.”

  God. She wanted to vomit. But she kept her head down and nodded. “Okay.”

  Jacob sighed again and reached over, kissing her cheek. She pretended to doze off after that then after several moments, she thought she heard him leave. “Thank God.” She muttered, opening her eyes and gasping to see Justin there.

  ****

  Becky spent the evening wrapping what few presents she’d managed to get for her best friend and her two brothers. She’d never gotten a gift for either Jacob or Justin before, but this year, decided she should start doing so. In a spontaneous moment at the mall earlier in the month, she’d gotten a monogrammed scarf for Jacob and a black leather key ring for Justin. For her friend, she’d gotten a personalized pen with her birthstone.

  She thought about just dropping the gifts off on Jacob’s front step before driving on to her parent’s place. She wasn’t sure she could face Jacob right now.

  She grabbed the gifts, stuffing them into a tote bag. She picked it up, accidentally knocking another item onto the floor; the watch she’d gotten for Trent as a gift about two weeks ago, after her third date with him.

  She let a tiny moan escape her lips. “Trent,” she said, aloud to herself, before setting the bag down and picking the watch up.

  ****

  Dan and Toby locked up that evening then stepped out into the cold air. Snow was starting to lightly fall.

  “Well, Merry Christmas, man. Sorry about earlier. Hope everything works out with you.” Dan silently nodded his thanks as Toby walked off toward his car. Then Dan made his way over to his own car.

  He sat inside, not doing anything for several moments. He just remained still, watching as the light snowflakes layered a dusting across his windshield. That’s when his cell phone rang, making him jump. He dug it out of his pocket, seeing Jacob’s name and number. A heavy sigh escaped him as he answered.

  “Hello?”

  “Hey, buddy! Merry Christmas! You on your way over?”

  Dan gulped, remembering Christmas Eve was always their time to exchange gifts. He still had the gift he’d gotten Jacob at home. Unwrapped.

  “Dan? Are you there?”

  “Yeah, I’m here.” He went on, looking up at the interior of his car. “Give me an hour, and I’ll be over.”

  ****

  “Cool. He’s on his way in an hour. That should be plenty of time for the pizza to get here.” Jacob smiled at Robin, placing his lips on her forehead. “I can’t thank you enough for handling the gifts this year.”

  “No problem.” She answered.

  His smile faded, noticing another grimace and nervous flash in her eyes. He put a hand under her chin. “Hey, what’s going on? You’ve been acting a little funny since I came home.”

  She nodded. “Yeah. I’ve just got an upset stomach.”

  He frowned in concern. “Well, I’ve got some antacid in the bathroom. I’ll get it.”

  “Jacob, no.” she stopped him as he turned to her looking very confused.

  “Robin, I don’t want you feeling sick if I can do something to help you.”

  “It’ll be fine. Really.” She tried to smile, but somehow knew she wasn’t managing it.

  ****

  Jacob’s look turned suspicious. “Oh, my God.”

  It was her turn to give him a mystified look. “What?”

  He closed his eyes, sighing. “Robin…I’m sorry. I have to ask. When was your last period?”

  Chap
ter 22

  Becky stopped at a dollar store on the verge of closing and grabbed the last gift bag on a shelf, stuffing some tissues from her glove compartment inside of it before putting the watch inside. Then she drove to Trent’s place.

  She’d only been there once since they started dating, and it was because Trent had forgotten his wallet. She pulled over to the curb in front of the house Trent shared with his older sister and brother in law.

  One light shone in the front window. She gulped, getting out of the car and walking up to the door, knocking. She heard a shout from inside, and a short time later Trent opened the door. He didn’t say anything, just stared at Becky as she handed the bag out to him.

  “Merry Christmas, Trent. Can we talk?”

  ****

  Dan got home and tore through everything looking for Jacob’s gift until he realized something.

  He never got him one.

  He had considered buying him season passes to the Knights’ games, but with everything going on, it had totally slipped his mind. They used to go watch the games all the time until the basketball team moved out of Springwood. He sank down onto his bed, holding his head.

  What the hell was he supposed to do? He could always get online and order something, just tell Jacob there was a delay with his gift. Stuff like that happened.

  He smoothed his hands over his pants. He couldn’t do this. It hit him hard and quick. There was no way he could go over to his best friend’s tonight without a gift and pretend he didn’t sleep with his kid sister’s alter personality.

  He also knew he couldn’t ignore Jacob forever. And, with as bold as Tammy was, she could end up telling him everything before Dan could. As much as Dan dreaded it, he knew Jacob should hear it from him. Not Tammy.