“I do if they’re in my kitchen when I wake up,” he cracked. He looked around her shoulder to see what she was doing on the stove. The aroma took him back. “What’s all this?”
She looked at the stove and the pancakes. “If you can’t tell, I must be worse at it than I thought. I wanted to make you breakfast.”
The protest that there was no need for her to cook faded in light of something more important. “You remember how to make pancakes?”
“I guess. This amnesia thing is pretty damn selective,” she lamented and then pressed her lips together, looking very uncertain. “The trouble is I don’t know if I know how to make ‘good’ pancakes or not,” she admitted.
He smiled. “They smell good,” he said, trying to encourage her. “I’d say that was half the battle.”
She caught her bottom lip between her teeth. Something inside his gut tightened as he watched. “Are you willing to try them?”
“Sure, I’m game,” he said, then added, “if you join me.”
She tried to gauge his thoughts. “Want to make sure I didn’t put any poison in them?” she asked glibly.
“No, I just don’t like eating alone when there’s someone else in the room.” It was the truth. Eating to him was a sharing experience.
“Okay.” Venus nodded gamely.
She placed three pancakes on a plate and offered the plate to him. Trevor opened a drawer, taking out two sets of forks and knives. He put them on the table as she slid two pancakes onto a second plate, this time for herself. She sat down at the table opposite him.
“Don’t feel you have to be polite,” she told Trevor. “Just tell me what you think.” Despite her disclaimer, she watched him intently as he took the first bite. He’d barely gotten the morsel into his mouth when she asked, “Well?” with an ill-disguised hopeful note in her voice.
He smiled, nodding his head. The moment he did, he could see relief coming into her eyes. It was important to her to be good at something. He could relate to that.
“Looks like you know how to cook, Venus. And damn well, too.”
Beaming, she tried to pretend that the compliment didn’t matter. But he could see that it did. Beneath her blasé, flippant attitude was a vulnerable woman. As he took another bite, he couldn’t help wondering what had gone into forming both.
Chapter Five
Trevor had more than an average day ahead of him. He hardly had any time for a cup of coffee, much less time to play detective on his apartment guest’s behalf.
Venus, or whatever her real name was, needed someone’s full attention to her problem, or at least for long enough to get her on her feet. But with a full, thriving lunch crowd coming in and a golden anniversary banquet to prepare that evening, not to mention the fact that he was still short one salad girl, that person wasn’t going to be him.
At least, not today.
And it wouldn’t be fair for him to ask Venus to wait until tomorrow. Someone might be looking for her right now. He would be if she belonged in his world and had suddenly gone missing.
Which was why, half an hour after he’d eaten the breakfast she’d prepared, Trevor was on the road, with Venus sitting beside him in the passenger seat. He headed to his parents’ house, which was located in the neighboring town just twelve miles away.
“I don’t feel right about this,” Venus told him as she’d taken her seat. Trevor wove in and out of traffic with the ease of a practicing magician. They were approaching his parents’ development. “This is an imposition.”
And she was a stranger who meant nothing to them. Or him, she reminded herself.
“You’ll have to meet my stepmother to understand,” he answered. Trevor made a right and then an immediate left to get into the development. The streets were all short, feeding into one another like pieces of a familiar, beloved puzzle. “But I promise you she won’t see this as an imposition. She’ll see it as something she was meant to do.”
The sarcasm came of its own accord, as if it had a life of its own. “How often does she take amnesiacs under her wing?”
She was being flippant again, Trevor thought, steering the car down an oak-tree-lined block. More than the rest of them, Kate, because of her vocation as well as her nature, was better equipped to handle the situation—and make Venus feel at ease.
“As far as I know, you’d be her first. But the point is, she likes helping people,” he assured her. “It’s what she does, who she is. That’s why she went into child psychology in the first place, to help.”
And who was she? Venus couldn’t help wondering. What did she do for a living? Was some boss impatiently waiting somewhere for her to come in this morning, or didn’t it matter to anyone that she wasn’t there?
This not knowing anything about herself was really irritating.
“We’re here,” Trevor announced as he pulled up before a cheery two-story house, parking beside the mailbox.
In the last twenty years, the house had been through two major renovations as well as a couple of minor ones. During that time, bathrooms and the kitchen had been updated, and a pool and Jacuzzi had been installed in the backyard. But even though the exterior of the house had changed, this was still home, still the place where basically good memories of his childhood resided.
“This is home,” he announced, turning off the car engine.
Home.
For just half a heartbeat, something hazy and distant flashed across her mind, bringing with it an image of something large and imposing. Austere. Was that her home? Or just something she’d seen once?
Venus suppressed a sigh. She had no way of knowing, no way of turning the glimmer into something more. And already now, the flash receded, fading without a trace. Leaving her even more exasperated.
Venus did her best to hide her frustration. It was bad enough that Trevor imposed on his parents by bringing her to them like some stray puppy. They certainly didn’t need someone who was irritably out of sorts as well.
Opening the door on her side, she swung her legs out, then hesitated for a moment. “You’re sure they won’t mind? Absolutely, positively sure?”
Trevor had already made his way around the vehicle and now took hold of her arm, gently coaxing her out of the car. “Absolutely, positively,” he echoed.
“Okay.”
But it wasn’t okay. All of this was almost happening against her will and she couldn’t even begin to explain how annoying that really was, not to have a say in anything. Not to know what her say would have been if she’d had the option.
Just then, as she turned from the car, Venus saw the front door of the house open. A young woman with long blond hair, held in semi-abeyance by a hair band, came hurrying out. She balanced a backpack, a purse and several extraneous books, trying not to drop anything. The young woman stopped dead in her tracks when she saw them, surprise and then pleasure washing over her fresh young face.
“Mom,” she called out, aiming the words over her shoulder and into the house, “I think it’s Trevor. And he’s got a girl with him!”
Venus didn’t know which sentence sounded stranger, that the blonde was surprised that Trevor had brought a woman with him, or that the blonde didn’t seem to know if it was him or not.
She looked at the man beside her. “Isn’t that your sister?” she asked. When he nodded, she asked, “Why isn’t she sure who you are?”
Trevor smiled as he urged her forward. “Because two of my brothers look pretty much exactly like me.” When he saw the puzzled look intensify, he added, “I’m a triplet.”
She rolled this newest piece of information over in her head. “So I guess identity crises are right up your alley.”
“I know what you’re going through better than most,” he allowed.
It hadn’t been easy, finding his own way. But then again, it hadn’t been as difficult as some might think. He’d known early on what he wanted to do with his life and he’d never felt an overwhelming desire to break away from the family, just to march
to the drummer he heard in his head. The only time that had been a problem was when he’d faced disappointing his father, who’d wanted him to become a lawyer, like him.
Before Venus could comment any further, another woman emerged out of the house. This one was a slightly older version of the girl with the backpack. A sense of warmth emanated from her. She crossed to them and they met halfway up the driveway.
“Trevor, what a nice surprise,” she declared, kissing his cheek. Her warm smile washed over both of them. She looked at her son’s companion. “Hello, I’m Kate Marlowe.” She waved a hand at the girl with the backpack. “That’s Trevor’s sister, Kelsey. And you are…?”
A frustrated sigh preceded her answer. “I haven’t the slightest idea.”
Joining them, Kelsey looked from the woman next to her brother to Trevor. “What does your girlfriend mean, Trev?”
“Hey, what’s all the commotion out here?”
Venus turned toward this newest voice. A tall, dark-haired man in a light gray suit stood on the step before the front door. The eyes that met and held hers were filled with curiosity.
Although Trevor had sandy-blond hair, like his stepmother and his sister, Venus could still see a definite family resemblance between the man and Trevor. This had to be his father. He had a nice family.
The moment she thought that, she felt an odd pang in the pit of her stomach. Why? She had no idea and then, the feeling was gone. Like her memory and her identity, she thought ruefully.
“Trevor brought over his girlfriend,” Kelsey announced gleefully to her father.
Trevor glanced at Venus. “Sorry about that,” he apologized, then looked toward his family. “She’s not my girlfriend.”
Kelsey had never had trouble speaking up. As the baby of the family, she was accustomed to being indulged. She was also accustomed to fighting to be heard and taken seriously on occasion. “Then who is she?” she asked.
“That is the million-dollar question,” Venus answered before Trevor had a chance.
Kate, Bryan and Kelsey exchanged glances, then looked at Trevor for an explanation.
He turned to Venus. In deference to her, he thought they should take the discussion inside rather than go on talking out here.
“Mom, can we go inside?” he suggested.
“Sorry, where are my manners? Of course.” Kate gestured toward the doorway. “Please,” she insisted, “just go in.” Then Kate looked at her husband and her daughter, kissing each in turn. It was meant as an act of loving dismissal. They each had someplace else to be. “I’ll see you two tonight—and don’t worry,” she promised, “I’ll fill you both in.”
Bryan eyed his son and the woman Trevor had brought with him as they disappeared into the house. Life with Kate had activated his curiosity gland.
“Call me as soon as you find out what’s going on,” he instructed.
“Ditto,” Kelsey added her voice to the request.
Nodding, Kate smiled. Rather than say yes, she promised, “I’ll do my best.”
Her intuition told her that this was not exactly a run-of-the-mill situation. That meant that Trevor might ask her not to repeat something. She was very careful not to betray a confidence, even if that meant withholding information from another member of the family. Her word was everything to her—and to them.
“Can’t ask for anything more than that,” Bryan answered. He brushed his lips against hers one last time.
“But I can,” Kelsey chimed in.
Kate put her hands on her daughter’s shoulders and turned her around until Kelsey faced the street. She gave her a gentle push toward the smaller of the two cars parked in the driveway.
“Get to school, Kelse. You don’t want to be late.” And with that, Kate hurried back into the house.
Once inside, she closed and locked the door. In the distance, she heard the sound of first one car and then the other being started up. Bryan and Kelsey were on their way. There wouldn’t be any further interruptions, at least for now.
“All right, your father and sister are gone, Trevor,” Kate announced as she walked into the living room. Both Trevor and the girl were on the sofa. She noted that the mystery girl acted as if she were sitting on a bed of nails instead of a soft leather sofa. “Can I get either one of you something? Coffee? Tea? Breakfast?”
“Is ‘help’ on the menu?” Trevor asked.
If she felt any apprehension over whatever was to come next, his stepmother hid it well. “Help is always on the menu, Trevor, you know that. What kind of help do you need?”
“Let me start at the beginning,” Trevor offered. In short order, he filled his stepmother in, telling her about how he rescued the woman he’d brought with him and how the trauma of almost drowning had robbed her of her memory.
Kate listened quietly. And when he was finished, she nodded slowly, digesting what he’d told her.
“You’re a very lucky girl,” she told Venus, squeezing the girl’s hand. Her eyes shifted to her stepson. “You both are,” Kate emphasized. “They said on the news last night that there was a high tide in force.” She closed her eyes for a moment, as if to push the next thought away. “It doesn’t take much of an imagination to think of what could have happened. You could have both easily drowned.” And then she laughed ruefully. “You’ll have to forgive me. That’s the mother in me coming out.”
Folding her hands before her, she looked up at her stepson. “You said something about needing my help.”
He nodded. Although he knew there was nothing he couldn’t ask of her, he still hated to impose. “I’ve got to go in early today. I’m expecting a large lunch crowd and there’s the Kellerman anniversary tonight.” He still marveled at the idea that two individuals could, within a couple of generations, produce so many people. “A hundred and twenty-nine family members are flying in today to celebrate the anniversary of the two people who started it all and I—”
Kate held up her hand. There was no reason for him to go any further. “Say no more. I can take over.” She smiled at the girl sitting so tensely beside her stepson. “I’m not going into the office today, so you caught me at a good time.”
Trevor knew better. Even if she were scheduled to go into the office today, Kate would have found a way to reshuffle her patients in order to be there for him. It was a given. And he adored her for it.
“Thanks. I’d appreciate it if you took Venus to the police station to find out if anyone reported a woman matching her description missing.”
Kate glanced from Trevor to the young woman in her living room. Amusement curved her mouth at the name he’d given her. “Venus?”
Venus shrugged a bit self-consciously. No way could she picture herself as the goddess of love. “Since he saved me from the sea,” she explained.
Kate nodded. “Like in the painting.” Her eyes shifted to her stepson. They made a nice couple, although she doubted if either one of them noticed that. “Okay, you get to work, Trevor, and leave everything else to me.”
Relieved and glad to be leaving Venus in such capable hands, Trevor rose from the sofa. Beside him, Venus popped up like toast. “I really appreciate this.”
Kate waved away his gratitude. “What’s a mother for if not to search for her son’s friend’s missing identity?” she teased.
“You’re the best, Mom.” He kissed her cheek, then turned toward Venus. “I’m leaving you in great hands,” he told her.
Kate motioned Venus toward Trevor. “Why don’t you walk Trevor to the door and I’ll go see if I can find you a few things so that you’ll have a change of clothes.” Her eyes swept over Venus’s figure and she made a judgment call. “I think we’re the same size.” With that, she left the room.
Venus accompanied Trevor the short distance to the front door. She was reluctant to see him go. Right now, he was her oldest friend. She didn’t like this clingy side of herself. “You’re right, your stepmother seems very nice.”
“That’s because she is. But she also knows
how to get things done,” he assured her. “I think she mentioned having a friend at the Bedford police station. That might help move things along. This time tomorrow, you might be home.”
Venus forced a smile to her lips. “Great.”
But even as she said it, there was no feeling of triumph accompanying the word, no surge of happiness at the thought of going home, even though she had no idea where home was. Instead, she felt a strange foreboding hanging over her. As if home was someplace she ultimately didn’t want to be.
But she’d spent all this time being frustrated at not knowing who she was.
Maybe she was just going crazy, Venus thought unhappily.
They were at the front door and her reluctance to see him leave increased almost to the point that she was close to saying, “Don’t go.” She curbed her impulse and instead, just thanked him.
“Um, I just wanted to tell you that I appreciate your going out of your way like this, enlisting your family to help.” Bringing up his family brought something else to mind. Something that had made her curious. “Your sister seemed surprised that you would have brought a woman to the house.”
He shrugged, indicating that the matter was inconsequential. “I don’t have time to socialize.”
“Oh?” Venus looked down at the pullover and jeans he’d given her, as well as the sneakers. “I thought you said that these clothes belonged to a significant other from your past.”
Significant other. At one point, that was what Alicia had been to him. What he’d been to her, he was no longer certain. But it was over and he wasn’t about to make that kind of mistake again. Heartaches took too long to get over.
“She’s gone,” he told her, his voice devoid of any feelings. “I’m not much on relationships,” he added. “They require even more nurturing than your average soufflé.”
He was a chef, all right, she thought, amused at the comparison. “Maybe, but they have a tendency to last a great deal longer than a soufflé if you do them right.”
He watched her for a long moment, trying to decide if she was just being philosophical, or remembering something without realizing it. “Are you speaking from experience by any chance?”
[Kate's Boys 02] - The Bride With No Name Page 5
