Lost Identity (26 page)

“I’m sorry, son, but this can’t wait. We have a confession from Janelle Balfour, but I need details from you. What exactly happened?”

Andrew raised his head, and then leaned back against the couch. Staring at the ceiling, he related as best he could everything that led up to the moment when Janelle appeared at the door. He described Trish’s flash of memory in the car, and her sudden remembrance when Janelle came into the house.

“So she remembers everything?” O’Donnel pressed.

“I don’t know about everything,” Andrew sighed. Maybe it would take a little time to recover her complete memory. And when she did, would Trish, the
foundling, disappear now that the wealthy socialite, Patricia Radcliffe, had made her reappearance? Once Trish’s total memory was intact, he knew that she had a business to run, obligations to fulfill, and responsibilities to pick up where she had left off.

O’Donnel asked a few more questions, and then closed his notebook. “That’ll be enough for now. I’ll speak to the doctor and see when I’ll be able to interview Ms. Radcliffe.” He paused. “Amnesia victims are a little out of my line. I missed the boat on this one,” he admitted as peered at Andrew through his large glasses.

“Yes, you did,” Andrew agreed shortly. He could have added that the lieutenant’s handling of the case almost got Trish killed twice, but didn’t.

O
NCE
T
RISH WAS MOVED
to a private room, Andrew was instantly by her bedside. “I’m here, sweetheart,” he assured her when she began to stir.

Opening heavy-lidded eyes, she peered at him. Then a faint smile touched her pale lips as she said, “You look god-awful.”

“Thanks,” he smiled in relief. “And may I say, you’ve never looked lovelier.”

“Liar.”

He chuckled as he gently smoothed a strand of dark hair back from her forehead. “I never lie. You’re beautiful and I love you.”

“Tell me what happened. Janelle?”

Her worried expression convinced him that she needed to hear the truth. He assured her that the woman was in custody, and had signed a confession. “You can relax now. There’s no more danger. It’s all over, Trish.”

“Is it?” she frowned as if trying to make all the pieces fit. “Is my memory completely back?”

“I don’t know about completely. I guess that will take a little time. You may want to ease back into things slowly.”

There was the hint of a sparkle in her eyes as she said thoughtfully, “Maybe I ought to go back to the cottage and spend a little time recuperating.” She gave him a wan smile, closed her eyes and went back to sleep.

C
URTIS PAID HER A VISIT
a couple of days later, his arms filled with flowers, and deep concern etched on his face. It only took a few minutes for her to realize that any hopes she had to stay removed from the world of Patricia Radcliffe, were not going to happen. She couldn’t leave the company adrift. It became apparent that her responsibilities and her commitment to the people involved in Atlantis Enterprises could not be ignored.

Curtis’s relief was obvious as they began to talk about business, and he even commented that her business acumen was as sharp as ever. He also hinted at the possibility of becoming a partner now that Perry’s position was open.

“I need some time to sort things out, Curtis. We’ll talk later.”

“Yes, of course. In the meantime, I’ll make sure that everything runs as smoothly as possible. There’s a woman in the accounting department that can assume Janelle’s responsibilities for the time being. Her name is Sarah Henderson. She’s very quick, intelligent, and she has the company’s best interest at heart. I think she’d really handle the job beautifully.”

Trish smiled secretly as she listened to him extol the virtues of Sarah Henderson. There was a hint of something in his voice that had to do with more than just business. She was grateful that he said nothing about resuming their old relationship, and a heavy burden was lifted off her shoulders. She couldn’t help but wonder if Curtis’s declared love for her in the past was based more on his desire to assume more responsibility in the company, than any undying love for her. Obviously, he felt that, given the chance, he could easily step into Perry’s shoes.

Andrew was not surprised when Trish decided that she couldn’t afford the luxury of hiding out at the cottage now that the full knowledge of her responsibilities had landed on her shoulders.

It was the beginning of the end.

Even though they tried to hold on to the passionate feelings that remained between them, Trish’s former lifestyle began to intrude, and as the weeks passed, the distance between them widened.

They met for lunch as often as Trish’s schedule would allow. When she could delay weekend meetings and conferences, they spent brief romantic trysts at the cottage. Andrew tried to be a willing escort to social affairs that demanded her appearance, but he came away feeling more like excess baggage than anything else.

He had finished his software program, and was floundering in trying to decide which new project he wanted to tackle. He turned a deaf ear to his boss’s suggestion that he customize the program he’d just completed for one of their business markets overseas.

“We need someone to spend a little time in Swit
zerland, implementing your program toward their specific office demands. How about it?” he asked.

“I write them,” Andrew had replied shortly. “Let someone else customize them.”

He struggled to concentrate on his work, and failed. The contented solitary life he’d enjoyed before a devastating mermaid washed up on his beach was gone forever. As he wrestled with his own future, the idea of getting away for a little while became more appealing. He reconsidered the offer his boss had made about sending him overseas to customize the program he had developed. Spending time in different surroundings might help soften the inevitable parting with Trish. When he mentioned it to her, he could tell that she was shaken by the sudden possibility that he would go abroad for an indefinite time.

She stared at him as if he’d suddenly become a stranger before her eyes. “Switzerland? You’re thinking of going to Switzerland?”

“Maybe it would be best—for both of us.”

She’d been finishing up some work at her desk, while Andrew sat on the white couch waiting for her. They had already been delayed going to lunch by telephone calls and last minute interruptions. “Do you want to go?”

“You’re settled in nicely now,” he said evenly. “Your memory is back almost a hundred percent. Your busy life is spinning off in so many directions, you won’t even know I’m gone.”

“How can you say that?” Her whole world suddenly seemed to tilt.
Andrew was leaving her.
She hurriedly sat down on the couch beside him. “You can’t go.”

His eyes narrowed. “Why not?”

“Because…because I need you.”

His smile was patient and loving. “No, you don’t, love. You’re a strong, independent woman who is capable of running a successful company. You know it, and I know it.”

“But that doesn’t have to change things between us,” she argued. “And I do need you, terribly.”

Trish swallowed back a lump in her throat. Didn’t Andrew realize how much she depended on his quiet strength and love to help her make momentous business decisions that could make or break the company her father had left her? She had been programmed from youth to this lifestyle, and he just needed time to adjust to it. She argued that their love was strong enough to survive the challenges they faced, but when he bent his head and lightly kissed her, she knew that she had lost.

“I can’t do it, live as a reflector of someone else. You’ve found your life, Trish, and I’m happy for you, but now I have to find mine.”

“And we can’t do that together?”

He remained silent and let her answer the question for herself.

T
HEY SAW LITTLE OF EACH OTHER
in the three weeks prior to his departure. Trish’s schedule was tighter than ever with board meetings and numerous business demands. They talked to each other on the phone, but Andrew had the feeling that her mind was somewhere else. He kept telling himself that it was better that way. Her preoccupation with business made it easier for him to leave.

When she showed up at the cottage just a few days before he was scheduled to leave, she looked like
someone who needed some down time, and he suggested a walk on the beach to help her relax.

Slipping her arm through his as they walked, she confessed, “I feel as if I’ve been running to catch a bus that’s already left. Not a bus, exactly, more like a plane.” She tossed her head and laughed. “Yes, definitely a plane.”

He searched her face and saw that her ocean-blue eyes were sparkling with suppressed excitement. “What are you trying to tell me?”

“You’re not the only one who can make changes in their life.”

He stopped and turned her toward him. “All right, you’ve got my attention.”

The quickening of his breath was evident in the sudden rapid movement of his chest as she looked up into his face and said, “I’ve made Curtis the CEO, and decided to let him run Atlantis for me.”

“But the company has been your whole life, Trish.” He was dumbfounded. “You can’t just give it away like that.”

“I’m not giving it away,” she corrected him with a toss of her head. “I’m putting Atlantis in better hands than mine, and freeing myself from the legacy that Patricia Radcliffe handed to me.”

“Are you sure about this?”

She smiled as she leaned into him. “I’ve decided to follow my heart and spend some time abroad.”

“And where you are planning on going?” he asked as he folded her into his arms.

“I was thinking Switzerland.”

“Really?” he said in mock surprise as a geyser of joy shot through him.

She lifted her lips temptingly close to his. “To tell
the truth, I was thinking that a mountain chalet would be a lovely place for a wedding. That is, if a certain gentleman decided to ask me to marry him.”

His smile was tender and intimate, and as he lowered his mouth to hers, his possessive kiss was all the answer she needed.

ISBN: 978-1-4592-4293-7

LOST IDENTITY

Copyright © 2002 by Leona Karr

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