by Maggie Thom
Her fingers brushed over the ratty, holy jeans she wore and couldn’t help but be grateful. They were far more comfortable than any Yves St. Laurent dress she’d been shoved into as a kid or as a paid escort. And the life she’d had with her daughters was what she’d really been looking for, not something money could buy. That almost made her laugh because that was exactly how and why they’d been brought into the world. If she’d thought her parents would have helped her she would have gone to them but they’d written her off a long time ago. Rightfully so with what she’d done. And the truth was that they would never have let her keep her children. She’d brought enough scandal to their lives and they hadn’t even known most of it.
“Look, just let me come back with you. I’ll take care of the—her. Please.”
“You’re a prostitute.”
“You just said you knew my family. That I’m from ‘good stock’.”
“You are but once a whore always a whore. I paid you to have my child, so that makes you one. Get out of my way and get that kid ready. Now. My patience has run out and if you don’t do it, I’ll send my driver in to get her.”
Tyana looked at the 300 pound, six-foot-five behemoth that looked like one solid wall of muscle. She didn’t want him anywhere near her children, especially since he only knew about one of them.
“Please. Don’t do this.”
“Three... two—”
“Alright. Just give me a few minutes with her, okay?” She didn’t wait for him to respond but ran past him, fighting back the sobs that were tearing at her throat and chest. The wooden screen door slammed closed behind her, something she’d have given the girls heck for, but now it meant nothing. Grabbing her portable phone as she raced through to the bathroom to find her girls, she quickly dialed a number.
“I need your help. He’s here.” she gasped, pressing her hand to her chest as it felt like it was collapsing in on itself.
“I’m five minutes away. Just do what we planned. You knew this day would come. We got it. You’re okay. Go out the back door and into the woods. Go to the creek, cross it and I’ll be waiting for you.”
“Hurry.” She hung up and turned to her two perfectly created, beautiful daughters. It amazed her that she’d been so blessed.
“Okay, girls we have to play the quiet game or that angry man will come storming in here. I need you to grab your backpacks and I’ll grab mine. We’re going on that adventure that we’ve been practicing for. But we have to be silent or we’ll scare the animals away and then we won’t have any fun.”
Both girls looked at each other; some sort of silent communication happened before they nodded and ran off to their bedrooms. Tyana hustled her little group out the back door making sure that it didn’t make any sound. The door hinges had been almost a daily task of being oiled, for she’d known this day would come but had hoped and prayed it never would. They had been practicing this event almost since the day they could walk.
They ran as fast as their little legs would carry them. Tyana’s head swiveled around like the mama owl that often sat perched, high in the tree, in the front yard. As they approached the creek, Tyana realized that the spring melt and heavy rains they’d had recently, which had kept them housebound, had also raised the creek level by at least two or three feet. The girls were not going to be able to hop from rock to rock in the fast running water. Frantic she looked up and down the stream bed hoping to find a better place. To their left there was a tree that had fallen across the rushing water. It would at least give them something to hang onto.
“They’re not here.”
“Find them.”
Tyana’s heart leapt into her throat. The two men had gone into and were now coming out the back of the house. They’d already discovered they were gone.
“Come on girls we have to hurry.” She hustled them upstream. The sound of heavy footsteps through the trees made her shiver but also realize she didn’t have time to use the rope in her backpack to tie the girls to her. “Grab my belt loops; hold onto me like you do Marty and Mandy, your teddy bears. Do not let go.”
She quickly ducked under the tree and stepped into the frigid water. Goosebumps immediately covered her body. The girls yelped when the water hit them. Seeing that the strength of water was way too much, she grabbed Tarin and hoisted her up on her back.
“Hold tight around my neck, sweetheart.”
Next, she lifted Tijan and held her in front. She reached out, grabbing a branch on the fallen tree. She lifted her foot, wobbling slightly as the rushing water drove against her one ankle almost buckling it. She shoved harder, finally able to push it through the water and put it back down.
“Eeek!”
She wasn’t sure which one cried out or if it had been both of them but she paused for a moment. “Hold tight my babies. Please don’t let go for anything. I promise we’ll make it. I promise.” I hope. She snuggled Tijan a little tighter to her chest, making sure her arms were tight around her neck. Then she let go for a brief second to reach back and lift Tarin up so her tiny hands were clasped tight around her throat. “Squeeze tight with your legs Ta.”
There was hardly any pressure. She knew the girls were struggling to hold on and were terrified, as was she. She quickly took another step, shivering as the cold water was burning her legs. Whether someone had found where they were or not, she didn’t know because she couldn’t hear anything over the sound of the running water and the echo of her heart pounding in her ears.
She only had to make it about another six steps. Holding onto her girls with one hand, switching from one to the other, while clinging to the log to remain upright, she took another tentative step. She lifted her cold, soaked, jean clad leg and thrust it through the rushing water. Before she could put her foot down though, the force immediately jerked her sideways. Her one knee buckled as she was pitched sideways into the tree.
“Mommy!” Tarin screamed as her tiny arms lost their tight grip and she slid off her mom’s back.
“God, no!” She frantically grabbed for Tarin but the water was pulling her away, tumbling her under the big log and sweeping her downstream.
Trying to keep her eyes on her daughter that was being swept away, she held tight to her other one as she pushed thru the cold water. Finally reaching the other side as fast as she could, Tyana set Tijan down under a tree. “Stay here honey. Don’t move.”
Tripping and falling on the wet, soggy ground, she shoved her way through the thigh high brush that hugged the bank.
“Tarin! Tarin!” Her eyes darted back and forth over the muddy water. There was no sign of her baby. She jumped into the rushing torrent, only to have her feet swept out. She went under. Coughing and choking, her arms swung and paddled like crazy as she tried to find footing and get her head above water. Finally, she managed to burst upwards, gasping for breath. As soon as she did though, she felt an intense pain and a sudden lethargy invade her body. That was the last thing she knew as she sunk down into the murky depths.
Chapter 2
“Why do you have to do this?”
“It’s just a holiday, Trent.”
“Yes, but I don’t see you inviting me.”
Tijan took a deep breath, regretting that she’d let him in five minutes before. It had seemed easier than listening to him whine. “That’s because we’re no longer seeing each other, Trent. We broke up.”
“No, you ended it. I didn’t want to.”
He was never going to go away. “Okay. I’m going away for a few days. When I get back, we’ll get together and see what we can work out, okay?”
He threw himself at her, wrapping his arms around her. “I knew you’d come around. Mom said you were the best thing that has ever happened to me.”
That woman had been one of the reason’s Tijan was no longer seeing Trent. She ran his life, right down to still buying his underwear and making his dental appointments. It had been too much for Tijan. The two of them had only been out on two dates—the second one had been more of
a pity date. That hadn’t stopped him and his mom from having the two of them married. They also had the house picked out and the number of grandkids ordered.
Tijan eased back. “I really have to get this done.” She waved at her clothes laid out on her bed. “If I’m going to be able to go and then come home so we can talk, I need to get back to this.”
What she didn’t tell him was that she hadn’t made plans for her trip yet. All she was doing was going through clothes, seeing what she might take and what she should give away.
When he tried to kiss her, she ducked out of the way. He stepped back, acting all cool like he was back in control. “Got it. See you in a week, babe.”
She made gagging motions as soon as he turned his back. Once she heard the front door close, she scooped up the clothes on her bed and set them on her chair. She was glad the guy was a bit dense and had no clue that she had no intention of ever seeing him again or he might not have left. She made her way through the tiny house, a part of her almost terrified to be leaving her little sanctuary but a part of her knowing this was long overdue. She had no idea where her new adventure was going to take her but she did know one thing, she had someone to find: her sister. The only thing she’d been grateful for was that her mom wasn’t too savvy on the Internet. The picture she’d come across hadn’t shown much but it sure made her believe it was her identical twin. Tijan had almost given up ever believing she was alive. But now she had a lead. Not a good one but it was all she had. Her mom had told her that her sister had drowned. It had always felt to Tijan, though, that couldn’t be true. She had no evidence, no facts, just a sense that it couldn’t be true. For a long time, it had torn Tijan apart watching her mom say one thing but pray for another. Tijan had never been sure if she believed her sister was alive because she’d wanted it so bad for her mom or if there had been a connection. That there was a knowing that part of her was missing but not dead. After seeing the photo on the Internet, her gut had told her it was her twin. That she was connected to that person. The one thing she did know was that her sister’s body had never been found. So just maybe...
It was so crazy. Maybe the many hours out riding and the one or two throws from her horse, had done more damage to her hard head than she’d thought.
Now she just had to find the person, who may or may not be her sister. All she had to go on was the city newspaper that took the photo and where it had been taken. It reminded her of searching for a calf in the brush in the mountains. It could take minutes, hours, days, weeks or months. And sometimes it just didn’t happen. That thought settled with a whomp in her stomach. If it was possible, she planned on finding her sister and bringing her home... soon. That was if she could find her. If she really was alive. If what she’d seen even belonged to her sister. If she wasn’t just making stuff up.
Maybe it was time she got a life.
It was all a long shot but was the best gift she could come up with to get her mom for her fiftieth birthday. Tijan pressed her hand to her chest hating the overwhelming emotion because right behind that thought was, what if she couldn’t? What if it hadn’t been her sister? She hadn’t seen her face, just her hand. How crazy was that? But for her it had been enough. She couldn’t explain it. Not even to herself.
Telling her mom she was leaving was not going to be easy, especially since she’d have to lie. One thing that she loved about her relationship with her mom was that they were honest with each other. Or at least they had been.
Pushing away her thoughts, she knew that she had to find her mom. It was time to break the news to her, or at least a small part of it. Stepping out of her small house, she made her way around the clump of trees and headed to the main house.
“Mom. Mom? Where are you?” Tijan wandered through the big sprawling ranch house. As a kid the house had never been big enough for her. She’d loved to run through the house and ride her small bike. Now, though, it seemed way too big. She cut through the dining room, going around the large table that still had weekly gatherings of eight or so people. Her mom was always inviting the ranch-hands and their families to dinner. And since she was such a good cook, rarely did anyone decline.
“Mom?” She peeked in the room she liked to call the library room as it was full of books. It was the TV room but for her it was a room filled with adventure. She loved to grab a novel, hop on her horse and go to her favorite place near a creek in the foothills.
“Are we playing hide and seek?” Tijan moved through the living room. The dark leather sofa always looked so inviting to plop down and sprawl on it.
“I’m in the back in the greenhouse.”
Heading down the hallway, Tijan made the first left, going through a small room, out into her mom’s plant room.
“Hi honey. I thought you were taking Tango for a ride today?”
Tijan bent down to give her mom a hug. Her mom wrapped her arms around her but kept her dirty hands away from Tijan’s clothes. Her mom shifted her wheelchair so that she could keep working but face Tijan as well.
“I was but changed my mind. You look like you’re having fun.”
“I am. I’m transplanting my spring flowers and vegetables so they’ll be ready for the outdoors in a few weeks.”
Tijan sat down on a bench, allowing the warmth of the sun that was shining down on the glass room to warm her.
“So? I know you didn’t come to help me. The last time I think I managed to get you to put your hands in the dirt, you were five. And even then, you were good at vanishing.”
Tijan laughed. “Yeah, plants and me, we don’t get along. Well, I like to look at them and maybe eat them but that’s as far as my interest goes.”
“I think you were three when Cal finally persuaded me to let you ride a horse. From that day on, that has been the only thing you’ve wanted to do.”
It was true. Tijan had tried a few times to bring her horse into the house but that hadn’t gone over well, so she’d spent many a night sleeping with her horse in the barn. Her stepdad, Cal, had often covered her with a blanket or carried her into the house on cold nights.
“What’s up, Tijan?”
She took a deep breath. One thing she loved to do was talk to her mom. They had some amazing conversations and her mom always helped her to see a different side to things. Normally, she didn’t have a problem with asking her mom questions but this was different. There were two things they never talked about. One was her mom’s past and the other... well Tijan knew she wouldn’t be able to bring that subject up yet.
“Uh, I was thinking I might go on a holiday.”
Her mom spun her wheelchair and rolled up to her so fast, she jerked back.
“You’ve been distant and preoccupied lately. What’s going on? Please tell me you didn’t fall off your horse and hit your head and decide that Trent was the one for you?”
Tijan threw her head back, clapping her hands over her heart. “Oh Mom, you wound me. The love of my life and you’re dismissing him. I’m so offended.”
“Well shoot me in the foot but that dude is never going to be my son-in-law. I’ll send you to the funny farm, myself.”
Tijan couldn’t hold it in any longer, she burst out laughing. Her mom soon followed. This was what she loved about their relationship. They could talk and laugh about anything.
“So, now what is this really about?”
Tijan rubbed her hands together but wasn’t aware of doing it until her mom wrapped her hands around them.
“I’m thinking of going on a trip—”
“A vacation?”
At any other time, her mom’s shock would have amused her but it reminded her of the story she was about to tell.
“Yeah. A friend, Carol, from high school, has invited me to come for a visit.”
“I knew you were close in high school but I wasn’t aware you kept in touch over the last ten years.”
“It’s more of a recent thing. Anyway, she got me to thinking that I should go and visit her.”
“
I think it’s a great idea. You’ve never gone anywhere for very long. Where does she live?”
“Toronto.”
Her mom was pale by nature but Tijan saw her go completely white. “Mom, are you okay?”
“It’s time you told her, Meigan.”
Tijan looked up. Her stepfather was standing in the doorway. She went to him and gave him a hug. “Dad, what’s going on?”
Chapter 3
August climbed onto the dolly and rolled under the big machine. It needed a lot of work, which was one reason he’d been hired by Caspian Winery. The previous mechanic had been fired. He'd been more interested in ordering parts for a ‘63 Mustang he'd been rebuilding. Perry, the apprentice, had tried to keep up with all the work. He'd finally gotten fed up and had mentioned that Dean wasn’t doing anything.
Even though he hadn't asked for it, August was glad. He loved doing this work but hadn’t been on the tools much in a long time. He’d run a successful mechanic shop but hadn’t had much time to do very much work, although he’d always tried to keep his skills up. The last year and a half his life had changed so much. He was still pretty surprised that he’d agreed to work for Caspian Winery.
