Twilight's Encore (10 page)

The words when they came, fell with all the subtleness of a bomb.

“I was pregnant when I left Tidal Falls. The baby was yours.”

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

Kyle sat in the passenger seat of the sheriff’s sporty Ford Mustang GT and grinned when Jack grabbed second and burned a little rubber leaving the station. Kyle appreciated the rumble of power coming from the Ford’s dual exhaust pipes as those eight cylinders did their job and set him back in his seat.

Kids and their toys, guess you are never too old to enjoy the need for speed.

That was his excuse every time he went up in the belly of a Hurricane ’copter and felt his heart soar with the thrill of the ride. Then there were the endless moments of pure adrenaline while plummeting toward earth with only a mushroom cloud of nylon stopping him from becoming an ink splat on God’s canvas.

Kyle was a little surprised that this was Jack’s choice of vehicle though. He’d always pictured him as a four door sedan type of guy. Mind you, becoming a father at the age of seventeen couldn’t have been an easy thing to do. Put a quick end to Jack’s football scholarship. Put an end to a lot of things. Suddenly Ty’s superhero brother became as human as the rest of them.

“So how’s army life treating ya?” Jack glanced over as he shifted down for one of the two traffic lights Tidal Falls sported. “You stuck with it a lot longer than I figured you would.”

He wasn’t the only one.

“It’s good. I enjoy the camaraderie, and the babes aren’t bad either.” That was a side benefit of wearing those badges, women love a man in uniform. And if that seemed a bit jaded, Kyle figured after ten years in the forces he’d earned the right. Every relationship he’d ever had went south the moment he deployed. In his experience, with the exception of his mother and sister, women couldn’t be trusted.

The light turned green and Jack coasted through to the other side, pulling into the only spot open in front of the stucco and brick façade of Grits and Grace. The rapidly darkening evening provided a backdrop for the action going on behind the plate glass windows. Customers filled the booths, some eating and some looking at menus, while the servers raced up and down the aisles with food and drink piled high on trays that looked too large for their arms to handle.

Jack shut off the engine and pulled his keys. “You ready to eat?” he asked as he pushed open the door and climbed out.

Kyle nodded, but hoped they didn’t have to wait long for a table. The need to see Katy was growing by the moment. He opened his door and started to step out when he noticed the courtesy light provided the lit figure of a mustang running on the pavement at his feet. He turned and lifted his brow at Jack, impressed even though he wouldn’t openly admit it. “Special effects, much?”

Jack just grinned and closed his door. Then his gaze landed on some yellow tape running across the entry to the alley beside the café and his expression sobered. Curious, Kyle joined him on the walk and nodded toward the obvious crime scene.

“Trouble in paradise, Sheriff?”

“Yeah, something like that. C’mon, let’s get inside before there are no tables to be had.” He strode to the diner’s glass door and yanked it open.

Kyle hesitated as that uneasiness brushed up against his spine again, then shrugged and followed him inside.

~~~*~~~

Ty threw himself back on his pillow and stared at the ceiling, the words reverberating in his head,
“He was yours. He was yours. He was…”
mine.

A baby.

He’d had a little boy and never even known.

Fuck.

He started to hyperventilate. His body vibrated with the need to move.

Now.

Ty jumped from the bed as though it was full of snakes and headed down the dark hallway, his bare ass flapping in the wind. He didn’t care. He just needed some air before he did something he might regret. Using more force than he’d intended, the patio door slammed open, and a few long strides later he gasped as his body hit the cool water in the pool. The liquid churned as he power-stroked through a few fast laps before the worst of the shock eased off and his stroke evened out.

He didn’t know how long he stayed there, but when he finally came to a stop, his arms resting on the flagstones surrounding the pool and his chest heaving, Katy was there. Waiting.

She crouched in front of him. Silent tears rolled unheeded down her cheeks. Lightning flickered across the sky behind her lowered head.

“I’m sorry, Ty. I should have told you.”

He ignored the underlying need to comfort her and ease her pain. Who was going to help the soul-stealing ache he was feeling? The one person in the world that he’d always trusted more than any other had managed to pull the wool over his eyes for the very last time.

He was done. They were done.

“Where is he? With your darling parents?” His laugh turned bitter. “They never did think I was good enough for their precious baby girl, did they.”

Katy sniffled and held out a shaking hand to touch him. He recoiled, not at all sure what might happen if she did.

“I’m not going to ask again.” Each word was a whip meant to flail her alive. To make her hurt even an eighth of what he was going through right now. “Where. Is. My. Son?”

Her fingers scrubbed at colorless cheeks before she rose and turned away from him.

“Katy?”

“I don’t know where he is,” she whispered. “I don’t even know if he’s alive.” Her back hunched as though to receive a blow. “I gave him up when he was a newborn.” Her shoulders trembled. “I gave our son away.”

Ty shook his head, and droplets of water flew in all directions. He was pretty sure she just said she gave their son away. Like a piece of furniture. But that couldn’t be true. Could it?

He heaved himself out of the pool, grabbed a towel from a nearby cupboard to wrap around his hips, and strode to her side to demand an answer. Ty paused when he saw how distraught she’d become. He sighed. It couldn’t be easy for her either, having to confront the past like this.

He turned her into his chest and wrapped his arms around her shivering body. They’d have to head inside soon or she’d catch her death of cold. His chin rested on top her head and they slowly rocked from side to side.

“Shh, it’s going to be okay.” Then after another moment when she showed no sign of easing up, “Quit crying now, you’re soaking me.”

That got a half-fast laugh out of her. A few more hiccupping sobs and she pulled herself together. She swiped her nose, then lifted her head and bravely met his eyes.

“I’m sorry, Ty. More sorry than you can ever imagine. I wanted to tell you as soon as I knew I was pregnant, but my mom was a mess with my dad leaving her and everything. It just wasn’t the right time. And then afterward… afterward there wasn’t much left to say.”

She gave a little self-depreciating shrug. “It was easier to push it under the carpet and try to forget about it, you know?” Her eyes beseeched him to believe her. “It’s not an excuse, and I’m really, really sorry, but that’s what happened.”

Ty’s feelings were ping ponging around in his chest like this was a championship match. Anger, sorrow, sympathy, and disappointment fought for supremacy. In the end sympathy won the battle. Her slouched shoulders and dull eyes made it clear the decision had weighed heavy on her these past years. He wasn’t sure if they could get past her betrayal. It hurt too much right now to contemplate, so he kept to the basics.

“Why did you give him up?” He loosened his hold and stepped back a couple paces, needing some space between them right now. “I don’t understand. It couldn’t have been a money issue, your family is loaded. So, what then? How could you give up your own flesh and blood?”

He lifted his hand to rub tiredly at the base of his neck, absently noting a few random drops of rain hitting the flagstones. The wind was chilly and they needed to get inside, but all he could think about was his child in someone else’s arms. Jesus, he’d be almost ten by now. So many wasted years. The anger made a return trip.

Katy held out her hands, pleading, and he didn’t think he’d ever seen a sorrier sight. She’d slipped on his robe to come looking for him. It hung unevenly on her slight frame, one side dragging the ground while the other flipped around her ankles in the wind. Her hair could have happily accommodated an entire family of sparrows, and her face was blotchy from too many tears. None of it mattered; his heart still ached with love and tenderness, even though she’d hid something so vital it damn near crippled him to think about it.

“I don’t know if I can properly explain.” Her voice was small and her hands fell to worrying the ends of the belt.

“When my father betrayed my mother it changed our lives. I was whisked away without any choice to California. Dad and Kyle were gone.
You
were gone.” She gazed at him with a lost look. “Mom was a mess. She counted on me for everything and I couldn’t let her down. She needed me, Ty.”

He shook his head. “I needed you.”

“I had to make a choice. I couldn’t walk away from her like that, I just couldn’t.”

Katy’s words rang with the desperation she must have felt suddenly getting cast in the role of provider, at least emotionally, for her mom. Ty tried to understand, but at the same time he didn’t get how she could have turned her back on them with such ease.

So he cut off whatever excuse she would’ve made, “Look, it’s getting late, and I don’t know about you, but this has been the day from hell for me.” He turned away and strode for the French doors.

“Let’s shelve this discussion for the evening and get some sleep. We can talk again in the morning, agreed?” He moved aside to let her pass and tried not to think about how few clothes stood between them.

He shivered from the warmth inside the house and realized just how chilled he’d become from standing around in almost nothing. Ty glanced at Katy and cleared his throat. “I’m, ah… going to take a quick shower. Do you want to check what’s in the refrigerator while I’m gone?”

She gave a hesitant nod, obviously as reluctant as he was to enter that den of iniquity. He walked away before he decided to prove her right.

~~~*~~~

Katy stared after Ty as he took off down the hall like a scalded cat. This wasn’t easy for either of them, but at least she’d had the benefit of time to dull her pain. Not that it ever truly disappeared. Birthdays and holidays were the hardest. She’d find herself trolling the toy store sites to find the newest and coolest items, from superhero costumes to Transformer play sets. Sometimes going so far as to place them in the cart before she realized there was no need. Then the depression would hit and she’d have to dive back into her work at the hospital or drive herself crazy.

It was hard not to hate the doormat she’d been as a teenager. Whatever her parents asked of her, she’d done. Why couldn’t she have been more like Kyle and stood up for what she wanted? Her life would have been so different if only she had. She and Ty would have learned of their upcoming baby together and celebrated its birth as proud parents should. They could have built their life in this home—the home they’d chosen together so long ago—married, had more children and been happy as a family.

Instead, they were separated at the seams by conniving parents, much as a seamstress destroys a half-sown sweater one stitch at a time until everything unravels around their feet.

She’d told Ty her mom was an emotional wreck after finding out about her father’s infidelity, and that was true. What Katy hadn’t mentioned was how her mother manipulated her into leaving Tidal Falls, and him, behind. How she cried about needing her daughter at her side after losing first her son to the army, and then her husband to a younger woman.

Looking back on those events, Katy could see how she’d been influenced by her mom’s very real grief into giving up her own dreams. The only freedom Katy had in those first few years was her schooling, and even that came at the direction of her mom. She would have been happy to become a family physician like Doc Johnson—tears surfaced again as she pictured him as she’d seen him last—but her mother determined her career would be as a surgeon. And Katy had let her.

That was the worst of it, she had no one to blame but herself for the mess her life had become. But that was the old Katy. Her shoulders straightened and she tightened the belt on her robe. This Katy knew what she wanted.

She just needed to figure out how to get him.

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

Ramsey decided to let the dust settle for a few days and took a trip down to California. He strolled along the busy boardwalk of the Santa Monica Pier in the afternoon air and kept an eye out for the boss, enjoying the rare treat of a foot long New York style hot dog, complete with fried onions and piled high with sauerkraut.

Shit was going to hit the fan when Ramsey confessed to the shooting. There’d been no real choice though. The old man had gotten a good look at him as he made his escape. Now he was going to need some protection, and the boss could arrange for that to happen.

Frustration at his near miss with that bitch ate at his insides. It was girls like her who had tormented him his entire life. Hoity-toity, snooty women who wouldn’t give him the time of day. After this job that would change. They say money can’t buy love, but it sure as hell could buy some sweet fucks, and that was good enough for him. He’d never be stupid enough to fall for the whole
love
spiel anyway.

He watched some guy win his girl a giant stuffed Panda at the shooting gallery. The chick squealed her pleasure with the gift, gave the guy a peck on the cheek, then spun away to show off the prize to her friends. Typical. Women were the human’s version of the Black Widow spider. They hung around long enough to bleed a guy dry, and then they destroyed him. Game over.

Ramsey checked his watch. Almost time. He always made certain he arrived in place long before a meeting. That way he could take his time, watch the crowd, and make sure he wasn’t getting set up. In his experience it was better to play it safe, than end up dead.

He threw his wrapper in the overflowing garbage bin, kept to the shadows of the buildings, and made his way over to the Ferris wheel. The irritating noises of the crowd blended with the carnival music and amped up his edginess. Then he caught sight of the familiar blue ball cap and relaxed.

The boss had arrived.

“What are you doing here? I thought I told you to follow my orders and keep an eye on my daughter.”

Ramsey’s hand fisted by his side, and then he forced a smile. “Don’t worry, I’ll take care of your daughter.

~~~*~~~

Katy debated following Ty down the hall, then decided to give him a little time to process. Maybe afterward they could talk without ripping each other apart. There was something she did need to do though, call Jeff. No sense putting off the inevitable. She couldn’t marry one man while loving another.

Curled up on the leather sofa Katy reached for the landline sitting on the table. She dialed the memorized number, and listening to the ringing tone, inhaled a deep breath. A quick glance over her shoulder proved the hall was still empty just as the phone was picked up on the other end.

“Hello?” His familiar voice in the quiet room startled her. Guilt flooded her chest. Even though Katy hadn’t meant to, she’d betrayed this man who meant so much to her. The man she would have married in a few short weeks.

But he wasn’t Ty.

“Who is this? Katy?”

Oh yeah, caller ID. He probably recognized the area code. “Yes, it’s me. Hi, Jeff.” She stared across the room at a giant watercolor of the Cascade Mountains at sunrise, stunning.

“Where are you calling from? This isn’t the hotel’s number.” His voice turned warm, beckoning, “I miss you, babe.”

The mountains took on a misty hue.

Katy put a hand to her chest, blinking to clear her vision.

This is so hard
.

“I miss you too, but that’s actually not why I’m calling.” He started to say something, but she cut him off, needing to get it out before this conversation got any more difficult. “I have something I have to tell you.” Her voice hitched, filled with pent-up emotion. “I’m sorry, Jeff, but I have to cancel the wedding. I can’t marry you any more.”

Silence greeted her announcement. Well, what did she expect? One minute he’s a happily engaged man looking forward to his wedding night, and in the next he finds out the woman who was to say I do in front of one hundred and fifty of their closest family and friends, now says I don’t.

“I’m sorry,” she repeated, her voice nothing more than a subdued murmur. “Please believe I never meant to hurt you.” Her fingers plucked nervously at a couple of loose threads in the robe. “I care for you. Just not in the way a woman should love the man she plans on spending the rest of her life with.”

Jeff sighed, “Are you sure?”

And then he released the saddest chuckle she’d ever heard. “I knew it was too good to be true almost from the moment I laid eyes on you. What’s a girl like you going to see in a guy like me anyway, right?”

“That’s not true. A woman would be lucky to have a man like you in her life. Please, believe that.” Katy let out a little sob that she muffled with her fisted hand. “I... I need to go now. Take care, Jeff. I hope you can see your way clear so that we can still be friends. I’d miss not having you in my life.”

“I’m not going to deny I’m stunned. I thought we had a good thing going, but if you’re not happy I’m glad you found out before this became a whole bunch more complicated. Good-bye, sweetheart. No hard feelings—they may be somewhat bruised, but I’ll survive.”

He hesitated a moment before adding, “You know where to find me if you have a change of heart.” And then with a quiet click he was gone.

Katy cradled the phone against her breast for a moment before carefully setting it back in its resting place. The kitten jumped up and daintily stepped onto her lap. “Hi there, little one. How are you liking your new home?” She rubbed the top of her head and behind the ears, smiling past her tears at the cold engine sound of her purr.

So. That, was that. Two years of love and friendship gone in a couple of short long distance phone call minutes. It was the right thing to do, but that didn’t make her feel any better. She fiddled with the ring she’d once worn with pride. Now it felt like an anchor pulling her down with the weight of her recent decisions.

Not the least of which was that maybe Doc Johnson would still be alive if only she hadn’t stepped out that back door. It tightened the knot in her belly. Logically, she knew that it may have happened anyway. The man who’d grabbed her probably already had a police record. Maybe that’s why he’d run when Jack stepped out to talk to him. It was her sheer misfortune to be in the wrong place at the right time.

She hoped Jack would arrest him soon and life could get back to normal, minus her wedding of course. At least she had time to figure things out before she was needed back in LA. Between the preparation time and the honeymoon, Katy had booked two months away from her job. The board was reluctant to agree at first, but since this was her only holiday in years, there wasn’t a lot they could do.

Truthfully, she’d been unhappy with her life in California for some time now. Her mom was the main reason she’d stayed. Katy’s mother was never the same after her husband’s betrayal. The confident, successful woman had turned into one that had become needy and desperate.

Dissatisfied, Katy set the cat down, stood and skirted the edge of the couch to go to the kitchen and make a light dinner for her and Ty before he came back from his shower. Except, she was too late. He stood watching her from across the room. She gulped. His skin still carried a light sheen of moisture, causing it to glisten in interesting places on his bare chest—didn’t the man own a shirt?

His abs—holy moly his abs—were well delineated, and pointed the way to his happy trail which in turn lead into the unbuttoned top of faded, form-fitting jeans that had her practically salivating. The man was sex on a stick and acted as if he didn’t know, or care. His gaze, in contrast, was solemn under his towel brushed hair.

“You okay?” He edged a little closer. “I couldn’t help but overhear your phone call. So you broke it off with the big shot, huh?”

Katy’s lips quirked upward. Trust Ty to cut to the chase. “I did, yes. It wasn’t easy, but after… you know, us, it wouldn’t have been fair to continue on with the ceremony.”

He nodded his head and stepped the last few feet until he was directly in front of her. Uncomfortable in her own skin, Katy stared at the masculine chest she’d lain beneath not long ago. It felt deceitful to turn away one man in hopes of attracting another.

There, she’d admitted it. She wanted Ty. Always had, and probably always would, no matter how this turned out between them.

Ty’s index finger curled under her chin and gently lifted until Katy had no choice other than to meet his concerned, yet triumphant, gaze. “So, now you’re single?” His tone coaxed an answer.

Much as she wanted to shout it from the rooftops, Katy also needed Ty’s forgiveness. Something she feared might never happen. So for that reason she hesitated before replying, “Yes, but…”

“About damn time.” His eyes glowed with warmth and happiness just before he swept her up in his arms and swung her around the room.

“Ty,” she shrieked, laughing, her arms wrapped in a stranglehold around his neck. “Ty, put me down.”

He did, but it was a slow, sweet slide down the length of his oh-so-fine body. And when her toes touched the ground, he kissed her. The whole world shrunk until there was no one else except one boy and one girl and a lifetime of loving one another. This was the reason Katy needed to come home. Not the theatre. Not the wedding. Just Ty.

His mouth seared as his tongue mated with hers in a ritual only lovers could share. The rising heat enhanced the fresh pine scent of his skin after the shower. His shoulders turned to malleable steel under her hands.

Excitement made Katy’s breathing choppy and her heart race. There was little doubt where this was going to end. She loved how dominant Ty was in his desire. It made her feel delicate, yet strong. Precious, and yet his equal. They would be partners in this journey of the body and the soul.

She rubbed against him like a cat, her breasts aching for his touch, and he groaned. “I need you,” he muttered. “Always and all ways.”

Katy caught the distinction and her eyes flooded with tears of joy. Maybe they were going to be okay after all. He swept her up in his arms to carry her down the hall and her lips found his ear. She nuzzled and nipped until he nearly dropped her. He stopped to return the favor and goose bumps popped out on her arms and chest.

She squirmed and Ty lost his grip on the back of her legs. She slid to the floor, her head and shoulder blades thumping the wall behind her.

Ty lifted his head from her neck long enough to ask, “Shit, are you okay?”

Katy giggled, she couldn’t help it. They were like their teenage counterparts, all legs and arms. She’d just opened her mouth to reassure him she was fine when the doorbell rang above their heads and startled them into silence.

Katy looked at him with raised brows and he shrugged, returning to her exposed neck. She shivered.

The doorbell rang again.

The consternation on his face would have been funny to see if not for the fact that she felt the same way.

Ty cursed, and after one last lingering kiss, he turned away and strode for the front door. Katy followed a few steps behind, curious as to who it could be. The door swung open and there stood a frowning Jack, still in uniform so this probably wasn’t a social call.

Ty spoke first. “Anything yet?”

Jack swept his brother and then her a knowing look before answering, “No, but we’ll get him. I need to take your statements. And there’s someone here to see Katy.”

Hearing her name, Katy stepped forward just as the sheriff moved out of the doorway. In his place stood her brother, Kyle.

“Kyle,” she cried, and raced past Ty to jump into her twin’s outstretched arms. “Oh, Kyle.” And she burst into tears.