“Oh right, they find a ready-made family—someone else’s family. Isn’t that right?” She finished with a patronizing sneer.
Johnny! This conversation sounded eerily similar to the one Johnny and I had had at the reception. But why? What could either of them hope to gain by highlighting my insecurities?
“Tell me who you are!” I demanded, clenching my fists in frustration. “What do you want?”
She crossed her arms and consulted the sky. “What do I want?” she repeated a few times before turning her focus back to me, her features hard with malice. “I want to watch you suffer.”
She stepped forward, her eyes darkening, looking back at me with a menacing glare. “I want to see you turn tail and run,” she said, her words spewing repugnance, sending my head spinning with a feeling of déjà vu.
But then, I knew exactly where I’d heard that tone before, except she wasn’t a cadaver or a foolish college prank. She was a living, breathing human being standing right in front of me.
“I mean, look at you,” she continued, “Your mind is so preoccupied with the silly distractions of a life that will inevitably end. End and then be forgotten,” she added, her tone growing harsh, bellowing in my ears. “So, you see, there’s no sense in fighting. Why waste the opportunity to enjoy all the perks life with a man like Daniel can afford you?”
And just like the warning the cadaver had issued, her words tumbled down on me until I couldn’t breathe. But unlike that night at the ball, I would not pass out.
“I’m going to ask you one more time,” I said keeping my voice controlled but insistent. “Who are you and what do you want?”
“Who I am, is not important. It’s who you are that concerns us both.”
“I still don’t understand.”
“You will, and when you do, I hope you’ll do what’s best. There’s no use in playing the hero. Heroes live lonely lives that end tragically,” she stated, matter of fact.
“Wouldn’t it be better for you, for your new family, if you simply learned to fit in? Think how easy, how blissful, the rest of your life could be if you would just swim with the current and not against it?” she said, her voice withdrawing as she began to back away.
Parting the canopy of an enormous weeping willow, she stepped into its shadow. I moved to follow but then the teasing banter of the boys drawing closer had me hesitating.
“My name isn’t what’s important,” she continued. “Heed my advice and we never have to meet again. But always know that I’ll be watching you,” she called back in a sing-song voice. The drooping limbs closed around her. “We’ll all be watching you.”
Chapter Ten
C upping a mug of steaming peppermint tea between my palms, I bent my knees to my chest, attempting to ward off the chill. In spite of the fact that I’d taken a bath, so hot it’d turned my skin red; had layered myself in flannel pajamas, turtle neck, fleece hoody, robe, socks, and slippers; and had lit the small fireplace in our master bedroom, I was still cold. Freezing, was more like it. I took a sip of my tea. Pale swirls of steam rose up to water my eyes. While I’d heated the tea to well above my usual liking, the liquid felt like it was evaporating as it cooled on its way down my icy throat.
What were the chances that the woman in the cemetery was Gentry’s twin? Evil obviously, and banished from the family, but her genetic match all the same?
I considered that possibility as the only logical one. After she’d disappeared, it had been a miracle I held myself together long enough to get the boys safely home. I don’t think they noticed anything out of the ordinary though. Why would they? They barely knew me. Another shiver worked its way through my bones.
Crossing my legs in front of me, I shifted the mug to one hand and tapped the screen of my laptop to life. Is there a difference between investigating and spying? Curiosity and fixation? And when does any
Johnny! This conversation sounded eerily similar to the one Johnny and I had had at the reception. But why? What could either of them hope to gain by highlighting my insecurities?
“Tell me who you are!” I demanded, clenching my fists in frustration. “What do you want?”
She crossed her arms and consulted the sky. “What do I want?” she repeated a few times before turning her focus back to me, her features hard with malice. “I want to watch you suffer.”
She stepped forward, her eyes darkening, looking back at me with a menacing glare. “I want to see you turn tail and run,” she said, her words spewing repugnance, sending my head spinning with a feeling of déjà vu.
But then, I knew exactly where I’d heard that tone before, except she wasn’t a cadaver or a foolish college prank. She was a living, breathing human being standing right in front of me.
“I mean, look at you,” she continued, “Your mind is so preoccupied with the silly distractions of a life that will inevitably end. End and then be forgotten,” she added, her tone growing harsh, bellowing in my ears. “So, you see, there’s no sense in fighting. Why waste the opportunity to enjoy all the perks life with a man like Daniel can afford you?”
And just like the warning the cadaver had issued, her words tumbled down on me until I couldn’t breathe. But unlike that night at the ball, I would not pass out.
“I’m going to ask you one more time,” I said keeping my voice controlled but insistent. “Who are you and what do you want?”
“Who I am, is not important. It’s who you are that concerns us both.”
“I still don’t understand.”
“You will, and when you do, I hope you’ll do what’s best. There’s no use in playing the hero. Heroes live lonely lives that end tragically,” she stated, matter of fact.
“Wouldn’t it be better for you, for your new family, if you simply learned to fit in? Think how easy, how blissful, the rest of your life could be if you would just swim with the current and not against it?” she said, her voice withdrawing as she began to back away.
Parting the canopy of an enormous weeping willow, she stepped into its shadow. I moved to follow but then the teasing banter of the boys drawing closer had me hesitating.
“My name isn’t what’s important,” she continued. “Heed my advice and we never have to meet again. But always know that I’ll be watching you,” she called back in a sing-song voice. The drooping limbs closed around her. “We’ll all be watching you.”
Chapter Ten
C upping a mug of steaming peppermint tea between my palms, I bent my knees to my chest, attempting to ward off the chill. In spite of the fact that I’d taken a bath, so hot it’d turned my skin red; had layered myself in flannel pajamas, turtle neck, fleece hoody, robe, socks, and slippers; and had lit the small fireplace in our master bedroom, I was still cold. Freezing, was more like it. I took a sip of my tea. Pale swirls of steam rose up to water my eyes. While I’d heated the tea to well above my usual liking, the liquid felt like it was evaporating as it cooled on its way down my icy throat.
What were the chances that the woman in the cemetery was Gentry’s twin? Evil obviously, and banished from the family, but her genetic match all the same?
I considered that possibility as the only logical one. After she’d disappeared, it had been a miracle I held myself together long enough to get the boys safely home. I don’t think they noticed anything out of the ordinary though. Why would they? They barely knew me. Another shiver worked its way through my bones.
Crossing my legs in front of me, I shifted the mug to one hand and tapped the screen of my laptop to life. Is there a difference between investigating and spying? Curiosity and fixation? And when does any
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