The Mysterious Stranger (Triple Trouble) (19 page)

She looked up at him, her dark eyes wide and bright with humor. “Uncle Jarrett, that’s a bad word.”

“I know. Sorry. But do you promise?”

She nodded her head. “I’m glad they’re gone, and I’m glad you’re here.” She squeezed him tight.

Sometime in the past few days he’d decided it was safe to love this child. She couldn’t hurt him the way a woman could. She brought him love and laughter. But Fallon was the one who had brought color to his world. Before her, he’d lived in a drab place of grays. And he would return there when she left. Then he would be the one with creatures nipping at his heels. Better to be haunted by the vicious bites of imaginary creatures than risk the ultimate price of love.

Chapter Twelve

F
allon sat down on the lounge chair by the pool. Intellectually she knew that only a few hundred miles north, along the eastern seaboard, there were people shoveling snow. But here, in this tropical paradise, her heart found it hard to believe the entire world wasn’t warm, sunny and tropical.

She adjusted the back of the chair so it lay more at an angle, then she stretched out her legs and closed her eyes. After a morning spent going through her luggage and trying to assimilate her brief time as the mysterious “Ariel” with her memories, she needed a break.

“Don’t even think about going to sleep,” a voice said.

Fallon opened her eyes and saw both her sisters looming over her. “Uh-oh. I recognize those looks,” she said. “You guys are about to interrogate me. I should have guessed.”

“Exactly,” Kayla agreed, bending over and tugging on Fallon’s hand. “There’s no point in resisting, so give in graciously when we tell you we’re going for a walk on the beach.”

Fallon rosé to her feet and glanced around. “Where’s Anna Jane?”

Elissa smiled. “Helping Leona with more baking. It was a tough decision for her, but Kayla and I convinced her we understood being torn between company and chocolate chip cookies. She could talk to us later in the day, so it was okay for the cookies to win.”

They began walking in step, heading down to the beach. “She’s wonderful,” Kayla said. “She talked a little about missing her mother and her nanny. After all she’s been through, it’s amazing she’s as well-adjusted as she is.”

“Her uncle has something to do with that.”

“And you.” Kayla’s gaze was knowing. “Every other sentence started with ‘Fallon this’ or ‘Fallon always says.’”

Just thinking about Anna Jane made Fallon’s heart tighten in her chest. “I really like her, too. Even when I couldn’t remember who I was or if I had a family or children of my own, I felt drawn to her. She’s a special child and I’m glad I’ve had a chance to get to know her.”

They left the path and walked onto the sand. It was warm and smooth beneath her feet. To their left was the sea. A tropical breeze teased at them, bringing with it the scents of the island. She raised her face to the sun.

“Don’t you love it here?” she asked. “I can’t imagine wanting to spend Christmas anywhere else. It’s not as traditional as a ski lodge, but it’s still magic.”

There was no reply. She glanced to her left, then to her right, suddenly realizing her sisters had neatly trapped her between them. Their expressions were identical—she had to cough up some information right now, or else.

She squared her shoulders. “What do you want to know?”

Kayla tossed her head. She wore her hair back in a ponytail, and the gold-blond strands danced with the movement. Her cutoff denim shorts exposed long, tanned legs. A loose white sleeveless blouse covered the bare hint of roundness in her belly.

“Start at the beginning,” Kayla said. “You opened your eyes and saw this gorgeous guy staring down at you. There was instant attraction, and then?”

“Don’t leave anything out,” Elissa added. “We want details.”

“There’s nothing to tell,” Fallon said.

Kayla chuckled. “We are more than your sisters, Fallon. We are your identical sisters. Don’t try and pretend with us.” Her voice dropped. “We have ways of making you talk,” she intoned.

Fallon smiled. “I’m being serious. There isn’t anything to tell. Jarrett is—” How did she describe him? What words could she use to define the complexity of their relationship?

“It’s not what you think,” she said at last. “He’s been very kind.”

“I’ve seen the way he looks at you,” Elissa told her. “He’s more than kind. He’s interested. So, what’s been happening?”

Stalling for time, Fallon paused and removed her sandals. Her sisters followed suit. Then they moved down to the water’s edge. The sand was firm and damp, but still warm. As the gentle waves rushed over her feet, Fallon dug her toes in deep. Despite the fact that it was late December, the Caribbean Sea still felt like bathwater.

“I know you’re hoping to hear some exciting, romantic story, but it isn’t like that. When I was first found, Jarrett was a little concerned about me. He’s very wealthy and very successful. Women have tried to get to him in very unethical ways.”

Kayla’s eyes widened. “He thought you were faking it?”

“It crossed his mind.”

“But he quickly figured out the truth,” Elissa added.

Fallon thought about those first few days. She wouldn’t have used the word quickly, but she didn’t really want to go into detail. “He made the decision to trust me,” she said, because it was close to the truth. “We’re friends. I like him. That’s the end of it.”

“Bummer,” Kayla said. “I was hoping for a few details about hot kisses in the moonlight.”

Fallon was careful to keep her expression neutral. “Sorry to disappoint you.”

“Uh-huh.”

She didn’t dare look at either of them. They would know what she was thinking—worse, what she was trying to hide. While there hadn’t been bunches of hot kisses, there had been that one evening. Just thinking about it made her start tingling. And the second she started to tingle, her sisters would know.

Elissa kicked at the water, then took a couple of steps back and sat on the sand. The skirt of her peach sundress billowed out around her. “You don’t just like him, Fallon. I can see it, even if you can’t.”

Fallon plopped down next to her. “I’m not sure what I feel. These past twenty-four hours have been sort of strange. This time yesterday I didn’t know who I was. Now my life is restored. I’m trying to make it all connect somehow.”

Kayla waded out until the waves reached her knees. “What was losing your memory like?”

Fallon frowned. “Sort of like being in a mental tunnel. I knew what was going on around me, but I could only see directly in front. There were no sides, no points of reference. The worst part was wondering if I had any friends or family. There was no one looking for me at the resort. I spent a few nights thinking I didn’t belong anywhere.”

Elissa shuddered. “I don’t ever want to know what that’s like.” She gave Fallon’s arm a quick squeeze. “You have us, and you’ll always have us.”

“That’s right,” Kayla said. “You couldn’t get rid of us even if you wanted to. You can run, but we’ll track you down.”

“You don’t know how good that makes me feel.”

Elissa studied her. “Do you feel any different because of your experience?”

“A little. When I didn’t know who I was, I wasn’t just Fallon with no memory. I changed.”

Kayla looked at her. “How?”

“My clothes.” Fallon pointed to her cropped red T-shirt and shorts. “Did you notice what I’m wearing? It’s not conservative, it’s not tailored. When I opened my suitcase, I was shocked by what I saw there. Everything is familiar, but it doesn’t look right. Even though I can remember wearing those things, I don’t want to put them on now. I’m wearing my hair loose, the makeup isn’t the same. I feel slightly out of focus somehow.”

“Maybe it’s just a different side of your personality coming out,” Elissa said. “You’ve always been the responsible one, Fallon. I assumed the reason you dressed so conservatively was because you were trying to look more in charge. I don’t know if it’s because you are the oldest, or it’s just a quirk of your personality, but for some reason, you are the leader of the three of us. You’ve spent a lot of time worrying about us, which hasn’t left all that much time for yourself.”

“Someone had to take care of things,” Fallon grumbled, reasonably sure Elissa was right, even if she, Fallon, didn’t want her to be.

“She’s not being critical,” Kayla said. She moved forward and knelt in front of them. “It’s true. You’re real bossy about stuff, but we needed that. When our folks split up and Mom started looking to get married again, there wasn’t anyone to take care of us. So you filled in the gap.”

Fallon had known that she was the leader, but she’d never stopped to consider why. “I’ve always wanted to control things,” she admitted. “In my heart, I guess it was about wanting to make everything a certain way because if it was right, I didn’t have to be afraid.”

Elissa nodded. “Just because we get older, it doesn’t mean we change those rules. Even if the world is different, I don’t think we allow ourselves to notice.”

“You’re right,” Fallon said slowly as her sister’s words sank in. “I know in my head that everything is different, but in my heart I’m still scared because my dad is gone and my mother doesn’t notice me anymore.”

“That was the worst,” Kayla said, sadness replacing the usual humor in her green eyes. “She was so distant. It was as if we didn’t exist.”

Elissa nodded. “I thought nothing could be worse than the divorce, then Daddy died. Looking back, I wonder if they were ever in love.”

“Does it matter?” Fallon asked. “Love does crazy things to people. I see it all the time at school. Parents split and the kids are the ones who suffer. I can always tell when there are problems at home. The children really act out. Love hurts.”

“You can’t believe that,” Elissa said gently. “Love can hurt, but it doesn’t always.”

Fallon stared at her. “I know you and Cole are happy now, but there was a time when he broke your heart.”

Her sister flushed. “I broke his, too. We were too young. But we’re grown and we’ve changed, and now we have a wonderful relationship. I don’t want you to give up on love, Fallon. You need to let yourself experience it. I promise you’ll never regret it.”

Fallon wasn’t sure that was a promise she could believe.

“There were reasons Mom and Dad split up,” Kayla said. “I’m sure we could guess at many of them, but the truth is, we were just kids and there were plenty of things we didn’t know about them. You can’t cut yourself off just because of the past. Elissa’s right. You’re a terrific woman, Fallon. You deserve an equally terrific guy in your life.”

“We were all afraid,” Elissa added. “When Cole and I were first married, the fire between us burned so hot, it nearly burned out. We had to grow up enough to handle the responsibility. There are rewards in this, but you have to let go of the fear.”

“Easier said than done,” Fallon grumbled. It was true. Loving someone like Anna Jane was easy and uncomplicated. Loving a man like Jarrett was something completely different. “I would want to love someone forever, but there are no guarantees. One thing I learned while working on the television show was how simple it is to make the illusion look real.”

“There is one guarantee,” Elissa said.

Fallon glanced at her. “What’s that?”

“If you don’t risk loving someone, you’ll always be alone.”

“That’s a cheerful thought.” She didn’t want to be alone. Losing her memory—thinking she had no one—had convinced her of that. But what were the alternatives? Taking a chance?

She wanted to tell them both that romantic love was just something that existed in people’s imaginations. It wasn’t real. Yet she knew it was. She’d seen it in her sisters’ lives. She’d seen how love could transform two people. Most days she wanted that for herself. But the risk was so great.

“It’s a lot of work,” Kayla agreed. “But it’s worth it. Loving Patrick is the best part of my life.”

“What do you think of Jarrett?” Elissa asked Fallon.

“I don’t know, and I mean that. I’m not sure of anything.” Fallon shook her head. “This was so much easier when I was Ariel and didn’t have a past. I could just feel, without having to think.”

“You can still do that,” Kayla said. “Don’t let the fear win. I nearly lost Patrick because I was a fool. I’d hate to see the same thing happen to you. That’s my advice, big sister. Be very, very sure before you walk away.”

Fallon glanced from Kayla to Elissa. Both of them stared at her intently. She remembered their near disasters and knew they were right. “I’ll be sure,” she said, then wondered what she was agreeing to. She would rather have promised to look twice before leaping into love, but she had a nagging suspicion it was too late for that.

* * *

Anna Jane snuggled under the covers and smiled up at her uncle. He brushed her cheek with the backs of his fingers. “Happy?” he asked.

She nodded. “I had fun today.” A yawn caught her off guard. She sighed sleepily. “I’m glad that Fallon and her sisters are here. And it’s almost Christmas.”

“I’m glad, too.” Uncle Jarrett squeezed her fingers. “I want you to enjoy this time, honey.”

“You want to know if I’m sad about Mommy and Nana B.”

“Yes, I do.”

She thought about what her life used to be like when she still lived in New York and nothing had changed. “This is different,” she said. “Sometimes it’s really nice being here.”

“For a while I was afraid your mother had made a mistake leaving you with me,” he admitted. “I’ve never had children before, so I don’t always know what to say or how to act.”

“You’re doing a very nice job raising me.”

He smiled. “Thank you. No matter what happens, or how I mess up, I want you to know that I’m grateful you’re here. Your mother probably could have picked someone with more skills, but she couldn’t have found someone who cares more than I do. You’re a precious girl and I love you very much.”

Anna Jane’s chest got all tight as a funny feeling filled her tummy. She’d known her uncle cared, but she hadn’t expected him to tell her. She sat up and flung her arms around him. “I love you, too, Uncle Jarrett.”

He held her so close, she could feel his heart beating. The steady sound made her feel safe and warm. He was big and strong and he would look out for her. God had answered that prayer. Which only left the one about Uncle Jarrett and Fallon falling in love with each other. She snuggled closer to her uncle and smiled into his shoulder. It was nearly Christmas, and everyone knew Christmas was a time for miracles.