A Forever Masterpiece (The Masterpiece Trilogy Book 3) (28 page)

"So, we do take a commission on any sale, but you'll still get the bigger amount. I'm thinking these eight pieces, including the new one you brought, will be a good start. When we set up your art show, I'd love a lot more, but we'll get to that." Brock's enthusiasm brought Becca back to focus. "I'm going to work on picking out a few frames that I think will enhance your paintings, but you can have the final say."

"This all sounds fantastic!" Becca grinned. She stared at the paintings that once hung on the walls of the Lange Center, now moving to a new temporary home. Someone could walk in here, fall in love with her work, and hang it on their own wall. What an unbelievable feeling!

"Well, if we're all satisfied, the last thing we need to do is sign the contract. You went over it thoroughly?" Brock asked.

"Sure did. Though we're still shocked at those numbers, the terms look good." Becca exchanged a look with Hunter. He reached for her hand, bringing it up to his lips before he brushed his mouth against her skin. His eyes were warm and full of excitement.

Her heart fluttered. Becca smiled back at Hunter before she turned away to pick up the pen. With a slightly shaky hand, she signed the contract, sealing her fate as an artist in a gallery. The moment the ink touched the paper, this became real. By next week, one or more of her paintings would be up on the walls here. She might have to stop in and stare, take a few pictures, and revel in the fact that she'd actually done this. A few months ago, with Hunter's help, they'd come up with some ideas for a studio and gallery, but with everything going on, it moved to the back burner. This would be a good testing point to see how well her work would do. Becca set the pen down on top of the contract.

Brock's eyes lit up. "It's official. Welcome to my gallery. If you have any questions at any time, don't hesitate to call or come by. I'm going to get my framers to work on a few of your pieces and show you the results. If I don't have anything by Wednesday, come on by or call and check in with the progress."

"I'll do that. Thank you for this." Becca and Hunter both stood at the same time.

Brock followed suit and held out a hand to shake. "Thank you for sharing your talent." Then he nodded at Hunter. "And you for sharing your talented lady. Lucky man."

"Don't I know it." Hunter slid an arm around Becca's waist and brushed a kiss to her temple. "I hate to cut it short, but we have somewhere to be."

An aching dread filled Becca's chest. Yes, they sure did. Not that she'd forgotten by any means, but the events of tonight and what it represented for the future weighed heavily on her. It was nice to have a good thing happen before they returned home to meet Jed.

"Not a problem. I should probably close up soon anyway. I'll see you two later." Brock picked up the contract. "I'll make a copy of this for your records. If you want to wait, I can do it now, or I can email it."

"Email will do fine. I'd wait if we didn't have a time frame to work with," Becca said apologetically.

"Email it is." With a wave, Brock walked off toward his back office, whistling.

For a brief moment, Becca stared back at her canvases, feeling strange for leaving them here. Hunter gently coaxed her to look at him. His eyes were full of love and admiration. "I can't even begin to tell you how proud of you I am. This is good progress, Bec. You're blossoming. In the blink of an eye," Hunter blinked and snapped his fingers at the same time, "these pieces are going to sell, and Brock, along with others, are going to beg for more. I really wish I could take you out and celebrate right now, instead of jumping right back into our other reality."

"I know. We should get home and get it done," Becca replied softly, kissing him. She wasn't looking forward to Hunter being gone tomorrow and possibly Sunday, especially going back to Maryland, but it was a necessary evil in order to get what they needed.

Silence stalked the ride home. Jed's car was already by the curb.

"Jesse's on his way, too," Hunter informed Jed.

"He is?" Becca hadn't heard this before.

"Yeah. We figured we'd get a sample from both of you, then get one from your ... his mom." Hunter fumbled over his words. "Jed is acting as our mutual third party to do this."

"Speaking of, a truck is pulling up right now." Jed nodded in the direction.

Once Jesse walked up to them, Hunter led the way inside. He gestured to the living room. Jesse hesitated as his gaze landed on Jed.

"Jesse, this is Jed, a ... friend of ours." Becca guessed Hunter wasn't going to tell him Jed's actual role. Smart move.

Becca watched Jed look Jesse over in his usual way. What did he think of him? What kind of vibes was he picking up?

Jed pulled something from his black bag. "I've got a kit to get the samples we need." He glanced between Becca and Jesse. "Who first?"

"I will." Becca volunteered, eager to get it over with. She lowered herself to sit in the chair and crossed her legs together. Nerves swarmed like bees in her belly.

Jed opened the kit and prepared. "I just need to get a quick swipe from your cheek on the inside. It won't hurt. Might be slightly uncomfortable, but it'll be over before you know it." He explained, edging closer. "Ready? Just open wide and I'll move fast."

"Okay." Becca said and opened her mouth. She closed her eyes, unsure of why. She didn't feel like looking at Hunter or Jesse at the moment. Before she knew it, Jed said he was done. Becca opened her eyes just as he put the samples in a tiny tube. Jed moved toward Jesse and repeated the process.

Hunter sat beside Becca, taking one of her hands in his. He squeezed, and she returned the gesture.

"All right. Done." Jed put everything away. "I'll have these sent out once we get the last sample. By next weekend, there should be results." He gestured at Hunter. "Can I talk to you for a few minutes?"

"Sure." Hunter stood, and the pair walked out of hearing range.

"Are you feeling a little better?" Jesse finally broke the silence. He'd been sitting in the chair across from her, but moved to sit beside her on the couch.

"Feeling better?" Becca wasn't sure what he meant.

"From the other night. The letter. You were so upset."

"I'm..." Becca thought about what to say. "Honestly, no. I'm not better. But I'll get there. "

"Can I ask you something? The guy who came after you in Maryland. Do you know who he was?"

Becca flicked her gaze to him. "No. We know now where the connection comes from, but I didn't at the time."

"I thought maybe somehow Dad found out about you, but I don't think there's a way. You were so young, and Mom and I kept you a secret after- what he did. He believed he ... I can't even say it!"

"He thought he got rid of me," Becca whispered, taking a guess. Which was why no one in the family would know of her, other than Jesse and their mother. "Did he not want another child?"

"I don't think it was that. He was a sick man, Becca. Very dangerous. It wasn't you specifically. I know this isn't easy to hear."

"Of course it isn't, but the truth is better than nothing at all." The truth hurt. It wore her down, but they were getting closer to the puzzle being complete. No matter what, that was the end result she'd been looking for. She'd just have to work out the way it made her feel. The man beside her could be her brother. The one who'd risked so much to protect her. Becca wanted family to be around for years, ever since losing Rusty, Anne, and Ellie. They weren't blood related, but they were her family. The scattered memories in her head and heart were all she had to hold on of them. They weren't taking her to replace a lost baby. They took her to keep her safe. It just happened to go down that way. She had so many things to resolve in her beat up heart.

Chapter Twenty-Two

A sense of déjà vu washed over Hunter the next morning as their flight took off for Maryland. He hated to be away from Becca. They both remembered the last time they said goodbye at an airport. But this time would be different, or so he hoped. He stole a glance at Jesse, who faced away from him, staring out the window. "Can I ask you a personal question?" Hunter asked.

Jesse faced him, eyes full of curiosity. "Sure."

"When were you diagnosed with PTSD?"

"I was eleven."

That young? Damn.

"So are you always having symptoms? It always affects you?"

"Not always. It's here and there. It hasn't been easy, because when I see my mom and how much she's declined because of her grief and depression, especially when she still thinks she's holding her daughter in her arms, it hits me. Or when Dad's ... thugs decide they're going to mess with me a little. It's like he always wants me to know he's still around watching."

"It really never does go away then," Hunter stated, wondering how he'd ever be able to resume flying.

"It's manageable. No, it may never go away, but you can still have a good life despite it." Jesse fiddled with his seatbelt, seeming uncomfortable.

"I'm hoping maybe it'll calm down once all this is over." Hunter leaned back in his seat. "It already has a little."

"Are you asking because you're thinking about Rhode Island?"

Hunter stared at Jesse, about to get all crazy wondering how he knew, but then it dawned on him. The man had been at meetings. He'd listened to everything Hunter said. A mix of anger and frustration ran through him. He still hated the way Jesse did things, but he'd been a good source of information and a good friend. Or something like friend.

"Yeah. I know Becca's worried. I didn't want to leave her, but I know why we're not taking her, either. Our last two trips looking for closure didn't turn out so well. Are you staying in Virginia permanently?"

Jesse blinked and cocked his head to the side, obviously taken aback. Hunter stifled a laugh. The guy wasn't used to his abrupt change of conversation yet. "I was thinking about it."

"So where are you staying then? Are you working?" Hunter was curious all of a sudden.

"I'm working. I searched for work before I headed out there the first time. When I first heard about the story of Becca and the plane, I came out a few times to see if I could find anything out. At the time, I think she still had her address listed in Vermont, so I didn't make any bold moves. I haven't been thinking clearly. All I knew was your name, and looking at the photo of Becca made me realize she'd been closer than I ever imagined."

"You didn't know the plane crashed twenty years ago?"

"I did know about it, which didn't help my guilt any. I thought it was because of me. I never even knew your name, but your last name popped up in a search, and it led me to you. I didn't know Becca was on the plane with you and your family."

"You randomly search my last name?" Hunter narrowed his eyes at him.

Jesse shrugged. "Yeah. I never thought it would turn up anything, but I always wondered. I never heard what happened to you. There were never any photos of you or Becca associated with the crash, so I didn't know."

"There's still a lot we don't know about the plane ride and what led us to it. Look, since you're most likely going to be around and in our lives, I should warn you. Someone is out to hurt us."

"This Sylvia/Carrie person, I'm guessing," Jesse said. "You keep mentioning it."

"Yeah. Well, we think it's her, anyway. At first, I thought she died, not making it out of that jump. Now she's the only one I can think of to be behind these messages."

"What does she want with Becca?"

Hunter sighed. "Not quite sure, other than she's a twisted woman with vengeance on her mind. Rusty Lange, Becca's ... father, was married previously to Sylvia's mother. She's the reason we were on the plane when it went down."

"Not me." Jesse's gaze turned intense.

"No, not you. Not fully. I don't know if we would have been on the flight if you were the only factor, but from what I'm told, Sylvia found Becca's family on vacation and overheard Rusty talking about her brother-"

Jesse paled. "So I had a part in it indirectly."

"I don't know, man!" Hunter raised his voice. Whoa. He needed to chill. "Until this past summer, Becca and I didn't even know there was more to the plane crash. We thought it was a random tragedy. The only question haunting our minds was why we were on the same plane. I have a question for you. Why did you only come across information on my name now? If you'd searched earlier, you might have come across my name associated with the Lange Center." Did it really matter?

"I did, and saw that, but never found photos of you or Becca. It wasn't until I caught a glimpse of you two near where Becca landed your plane that I realized you were the one I'd been looking for. I'd left it alone for years, until Mom's condition worsened. I thought maybe, if I could start a search again for my sister, it would help."

"How bad off is she?" To think Becca could have her family in her life and then taken away hurt Hunter. She'd want this, but if Elizabeth Laughlin turned out to be her mother and she wasn't doing well, how would Becca handle more pain and loss?

"Mentally? Not well. Physically, she's better, other than the stroke. If I can reconnect my family just one time for Mom's sake, I will."

Hunter didn't know what to expect when it came to where Elizabeth Laughlin lived. He kind of thought about a hospital at first, or maybe an old fixer upper house. But to his surprise, she lived in a regular house, but it was one of those that she shared with others who had similar issues- a group home. How much did the others living here know about Jesse and the situation since he arrived now with two people the woman didn't know? He followed whatever Jesse said to do.

"I'm going to bring her outside for a little while. I feel weird about this. I can't tell her why she needs to open her mouth to get a sample, and I hate lying. I know it's for her own good. You're a friend." He pointed at Hunter, then to Jed. "You're a doctor. It's going to be the best way. I'll be right back, okay?"

Jed nodded and kept his bag closed.

"Jesse," Hunter said quietly. The man turned around. "I'm sorry we're doing it this way. I wish there was a better alternative. Don't feel bad. If this gives everyone the closure they need..."