by Sharon Sala
“Jack, what was her name?”
“Mercy Dane.”
Hope let out a wail and then covered her face and started to weep. “Oh my God. That’s my sister, Jack. I don’t need a DNA test to prove it. I had to nearly die to find her, but God gave her back to me. I will never ask for another thing in this life as long as I live. We have to go get her. I need to see her. I need to explain I didn’t want to leave her behind. It wasn’t my fault, but the guilt has colored my entire life.”
“Well, not today, you’re not. She’s not going anywhere, and I need to get you home,” Jack said.
“I can’t believe it. I just can’t believe it,” Hope kept saying. “All these years, she was still in Savannah.”
Chapter 6
Duke was waiting at the house when they drove into the yard. He came out onto the porch smiling, ready to help Hope inside, only to see her get out of the car in tears.
“What’s wrong?” Duke asked.
“Nothing’s wrong,” Jack said as he steadied Hope’s pace.
“It was my sister who saved my life,” Hope said.
Duke frowned at Jack. “Why did you tell her? We still don’t know if—”
“I know!” Hope cried. “Mercy Dane. That’s my sister’s name. I was Hope Dane until I was adopted. She’s my sister, and I want to see her!”
Duke’s frown deepened. “Well, Mark Lyon took a DNA swab, and we may as well wait until there’s hard proof before—”
“That’s not your decision to make, Duke Talbot. If you don’t go get her, I will find a way to get her here without anyone’s help.”
“Now see here, Hope. She—”
Hope stopped at the bottom of the porch steps. “Shut up, Duke. Just shut up right now before you say something I won’t forgive,” she muttered.
Jack frowned. “Back off, Duke. What’s the matter with you?”
Duke held up his hands and stepped aside. “I’m sorry. I was just trying to take care of you. Not wanting you to get your feelings hurt if all she wanted was a handout.”
“She didn’t know us from Adam. She came to help Hope from the goodness of her heart. She was leaving, and you’re the one who insisted she give a DNA sample,” Jack said. “Now you’re acting like she’s going to steal something. Hope’s right. Stop talking now and help me.”
Duke hurried down the steps and then gave Hope a quick hug. “I’m sorry, honey. I didn’t mean to upset you.”
Hope didn’t say anything as they helped her up the steps and into the house. The ride home had been uncomfortable, and now she was upset as well. She just wanted to be in her bed and out of earshot of Duke’s dictatorial voice.
And then Duke’s phone rang. He glanced at caller ID and frowned. “I need to take this. Jack, can you get her to the bedroom on your own?”
“Yes. We’re good,” Jack said, then helped her down the hall into their bedroom and pulled back the covers on their bed as she sat down.
“Oh my lord, I am so sore,” Hope said.
“I have your pain pills in my pocket, baby. Do you want to change into some pj’s?” Jack asked.
“No. I just want to lie down for now.”
Jack ran into the bathroom to get a glass of water, then came back, handed it to her, and then dropped to one knee beside her chair as he dug the pills out of his pocket.
“Here you go. It says to take two,” he said as he put them in her hand and then watched her swallow them. “I’m so sorry Duke hurt your feelings. I’d go talk to your sister myself tomorrow, but I’m not leaving you here alone. If I can get someone to stay with you, I’ll make it happen. This is a miracle for you, and I know it. I can’t wait for you to meet her all grown up. She’s just a younger, tougher version of you.”
Tears were rolling down Hope’s face again. “Bless her heart.”
“Honey, you two will have the rest of your lives to catch up. She’s not lost anymore, right?”
“Right,” Hope said. “I’m ready to lie down now.”
Jack helped her into bed, then leaned down and kissed her square on the lips. It was a gentle kiss, but one of longing as he pulled away.
“I love you so much, Hope, so much. I’m grateful you are home.”
“I love you too,” Hope said.
Jack patted her shoulder and then closed the door as he left the room, only to meet Duke coming out of the kitchen with a smile on his face.
“That was Mark Lyons at the lab. The DNA test came back positive. Hope and Mercy Dane are full-blood sisters.”
Jack’s eyes narrowed. “Yeah, well, she already told you that, so—”
Duke sighed. “Look, I already apologized, and I’ll go to Savannah myself and give the woman the news.”
“And you will invite her to stay here, and you will not be an ass about anything. Do you understand?” Jack asked.
Duke didn’t like to be called down by anyone, especially his younger brother, but he was already walking on shaky ground here, and let it slide. “Yes, of course. I’m not heartless.”
“Fine. As long as we understand each other,” Jack said. “I’m going to make some lunch. Hope is resting now.”
“And I’m going out to see about that broken fence wire on the road. Last thing we need is cattle getting out.”
“Okay,” Jack said, and went to the kitchen as Duke went out the back door.
* * *
It had been nine days since Mercy’s return from Blessings, and she hadn’t had one solid night’s sleep since. If it hadn’t been for the intermittent texts from the cop, she wouldn’t have had one good thing to say about that crazy ride to Blessings other than someone’s life was saved.
She was having dreams that felt more like memories, dreams of crying in the dark and soft hands and a gentle voice pulling her close, but she couldn’t tell if they were real or wishful thinking. She also dreamed about the cop and that night they’d spent making love.
Yesterday was her day off. She’d spent the day cleaning her apartment and doing laundry, and today she’d been baking before going to work. It’s what she did when troubled.
Now, the aroma of pumpkin muffins in the oven filled the apartment. She’d made too many. She always did when she baked because the foster mother who’d taught her to cook always had a lot of mouths to feed. And since she had to go to work in a few hours, she would take most of the muffins to the bar. A few minutes later, the timer went off. She took them out of the oven, turned it off, and set them aside to cool as she cleaned up the kitchen.
It was 3:00 p.m. by the time she was through. She hadn’t eaten lunch, and there wasn’t much left in the refrigerator, so she sat at the kitchen table with a glass of milk and a hot muffin, slathered it with butter, and ate with the melting butter dripping through her fingers onto the plate. Unwilling to waste anything this delicious, she sopped up the drips with her last bite and popped it in her mouth. She thought about eating another, then happened to glance out the window.
She sighed. It was raining, one of those days she wished she had a car.
* * *
Moose was counting out change for the till when Mercy got to work. When he saw the container she carried, he grinned. “Please tell me you baked something.”
“I baked something,” she said, and slid it across the bar.
He opened the lid on the plastic container then groaned. “Oh man, oh man, oh man. Muffins! Smells like pumpkin bread. Is it pumpkin?”
“All day long,” she said, and disappeared into the back room to lock up her stuff before she came back, tying on her bar apron and slipping a new order pad into the pocket.
Within a couple of minutes, Barb arrived along with Farrah Welty, another of the five rotating waitresses Moose employed. Farrah had a sharp tongue and a wicked wit. Once she’d been a looker. Now she was just a Botox version of her former self and wa
s working at the bar to save up for a boob job. After four kids and forty-five years of hard living, she claimed her boob size had become a 36 long and wanted that fixed.
When the girls saw the container at the end of the bar and the muffin in Moose’s hands, they both squealed. “Did Mercy bake again? Oh lord, I want one of those,” Farrah said.
“Like eating the best pumpkin bread you ever tasted,” Moose said.
Barb groaned. “Well, hell, there goes my diet. I didn’t last twenty-four hours this time,” she said as she helped herself.
Mercy smiled. It wasn’t often she felt proud of anything she’d done, but she knew she was a good cook and an even better baker.
By the time eight o’clock rolled around, the Road Warrior Bar was loud and rocking. Moose had the sound system keyed in to country music, and chili heating on the stove in the back. A half dozen truckers had pulled into the parking lot for the night. After beer and chili and a few games of pool, they would spend the rest of the night in the sleeper cabs.
Most of the others were regulars, including Big Boy and a couple of his biker buddies. So far they’d been too involved in getting drunk to worry about harassing the waitresses.
Mercy was on her way back to the bar with another order when the door opened, and Duke Talbot walked in. Her heart skipped a beat as she saw him scanning the room, and when he spied her and grinned, she started to shake. By the time he stood in front of her laughing and talking, she couldn’t hear a word he was saying for the roar in her head. And then he took her by the shoulders. She heard the words “full-blood sister” and “can’t wait to meet you” right before the earth shifted beneath her feet, and everything went black.
Duke caught her before she hit the floor and scooped her into his arms. Her head dangled limply against his arm as both waitresses came running, yelling for Moose. “What did you do to her?” Moose growled as he yanked her out of Duke’s arms.
She flopped like a rag doll as he carried her past the tables of shocked customers toward his office.
Duke was at his heels, explaining as he went. “I didn’t do anything. I was just giving her the news about her sister, and she fainted.”
Moose laid Mercy on the old sofa in his office and yelled at Farrah, who was standing in the doorway. “Bring me a wet bar rag, and make sure it’s clean,” he said, and then turned and poked a finger at Duke’s chest. “Mercy doesn’t have a sister, so you better come up with another excuse, buddy.”
Even though the guy was twice his size, Duke didn’t back down. “She does have a sister. She just didn’t know it. They figured it out when she came to Blessings to donate her blood.”
“I don’t know anything about any blood donation!” Moose said.
“I do,” Barb said. “Over a week ago. Some woman was dying and needed a blood transfusion, but had a rare blood type. The same type as Mercy.”
Farrah came running with the wet cloth, folded it, and placed it over Mercy’s forehead. “Mercy, honey, wake up,” Farrah said.
Mercy groaned.
Duke frowned. This was not the reaction he had expected, and he was trying not to be judgmental about this bar or the low-class people who were obviously Mercy’s friends.
Mercy shoved the wet cloth off her forehead, swung her legs over the side of the sofa, and sat up. “You fainted,” Moose said.
“I never faint,” Mercy muttered, and then saw Duke again and remembered. “Say it again.”
“Hope is your sister. She’s out of the hospital and so excited to see you. I came to take you to Blessings.”
Mercy frowned. He was doing it again—making plans without giving her a chance for input. “You’re not taking me anywhere,” Mercy said, and stood up.
Duke frowned. “Don’t you want to meet your sister?”
Mercy’s eyes narrowed. “Yes, but I’ll get myself there.”
“But—”
She held up a hand. “Just stop. Please.”
Duke’s frown deepened. He wasn’t used to people disagreeing with him about anything.
Moose glared at the stranger. “So Mercy has a sister. What business is it of yours?”
“Mercy’s sister, Hope, is my sister-in-law. She and my brother have been married for almost ten years. I’m the one who suspected the connection between them. I’m the one who urged her to have a DNA test. I found out yesterday and came here tonight to give her the news.”
“And now she knows,” Moose said. “It’s up to her what she does, right?”
“I guess,” Duke said.
Mercy sighed. “Moose…I’m sorry, but I need some time off. I need to explore this revelation, and see how it plays out in my life.”
Moose patted her on the shoulder, but there were tears in his eyes. “I understand, and we’re all happy for you, girl. You know that. You do what you have to do, just know you’ll always have a job here, if you want it.”
“Thank you,” she said, and when she saw Barb and Farrah crying, she fought back tears of her own. “You guys! Don’t make me cry too.”
They hugged her. “We’re happy for you. It’s just that we’ll miss you,” Barb said.
“And your baking,” Farrah added.
Duke could see that her ties here were strong. The sooner she got into a decent environment, the better off she would be.
“Go on home,” Moose said. “Get a good night’s sleep, and safe travels.”
“Thank you all. I’ll stay in touch. I promise.”
They went back into the bar, leaving Mercy alone with Duke. “So?” he asked.
“I’m going home to pack. You can follow me. We’ll talk more there.”
The invitation pleased Duke. Now they were getting somewhere.
She got her things and led the way through the bar, then out the door.
Chapter 7
Big Boy was drunk and almost missed seeing Mercy leaving with a stranger. It ticked him off that she wouldn’t give him the time of day. He wondered what that man had on her, then decided he might be some kind of cop.
He grabbed at the tail of Barb’s shirt as she walked past his table. “Hey, where’s your buddy going? Is she getting arrested?”
Barb slapped at his hand and moved out of his reach. “No, he’s not a cop, and it’s none of your business where she goes. But I hope wherever it is, she doesn’t ever have to come back to put up with your crap.”
Big Boy was startled that her exit might be permanent. This didn’t fit in with his plans. The fact that she rode a Harley had been what first attracted him to her. He’d spent months aggravating her, believing that he’d finally break her down and turn her into his bitch. He didn’t like to think that was the last he’d ever see of her, but he’d worry about that tomorrow.
“Then bring another round of drinks to the table, and bring us some chili and crackers. We’re hungry!”
* * *
Mercy took the usual way home, super-conscious of the headlights on her tail. She was so overwhelmed by the news Duke Talbot had given her that she was struggling with an urge to cry. She didn’t know how she was supposed to feel at this point, but she was scared. She didn’t know how to be a sister. She didn’t know what being part of a family was about.
By the time she rode up to her apartment building, she’d erected one heck of a mental wall. She didn’t like Duke Talbot. He was too pushy, and the sooner she set boundaries, the better off she would be.
“Follow me,” she said as she locked up her bike and headed up the stairs and into her building.
Duke followed, already forming an opinion of her living conditions, and didn’t think any more of them than he had her place of work. He was happy for Hope’s sake that they’d found her missing sister, but if all of this was okay with Mercy, they had their work cut out getting her to a presentable mind-set.
Mercy entered the building wit
h Duke on her heels. She unlocked the door to her apartment and turned on a light as she entered. “Have a seat. We need to get on the same page before I go to Blessings. First, I need directions to where she lives.”
He frowned. “She? Her name is Hope.”
“Right now you know her and I don’t,” Mercy said. “Directions please.”
Duke sighed. None of this was going as he’d imagined. Here he’d been imagining her taking advantage of their lifestyle, and now he wasn’t sure she even wanted to come.
“Actually, the directions are a little complicated. We live in the country, and there aren’t street signs to get you there.”
She frowned. “We? She and her husband live with you?”
“Jack and I inherited our family farm. We both work it. We live in the home we grew up in, but it’s a big two-story house. Besides the two rooms we occupy, there are still three empty bedrooms upstairs. Staying there will give you and Hope lots of time to get to know each other again, and plenty of time for her to fill you in on whatever you can’t remember. It will be weeks before she’s strong enough to return to her job.”
Mercy relented. It made sense to be as close to Hope as she could, especially while she was recuperating. “Yes. Okay.”
“Good, then it’s settled,” Duke said. “Are you coming tomorrow?”
“Yes.”
He handed her a business card. “When you get to Blessings, call me. I’ll come to town, and you can follow me back to the farm.”
She slipped the card into her pants pocket. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“Look, if you have a lot to bring, why don’t you pack up what you can tonight, and let me take it back for you?”
She started to tell him no, but then changed her mind. “Yes, alright. There’s the TV, and the remote is on the sofa. You can start with loading that first while I pack clothes and dishes.”
“Oh, you won’t need dishes,” Duke said. “We have everything you’ll need.”
Mercy looked at him as if he’d just lost his mind. “I am not leaving my things behind. I am not living with you for the rest of my life. I will need them again.”
