Second Chances by K.L. Phelps Page A

was obviously on something the driver figured, but he wasn't going to refuse a monster tip. And he sure as hell wasn't going to ask if the guy wanted change. He slipped the car into gear and eased away, doubtful that the man had any clue how much he had just given him. Hell, given the look on his face, the driver was doubtful the man realized he'd even been in the cab only moments ago.
    However, Nathan knew. He was well aware of the entire cab ride. Aware too that he had overpaid. He simply did not care. Money was not exactly an issue of great concern for him at the moment. His attention was focused on the reactions of Paige and the woman on the patio. Or rather Paige's lack of reaction.
    His mind raced. A number of possibilities jockeyed for top spot, but he dismissed most of them immediately. Only one of them even seemed remotely possible. Perhaps the woman had thought she'd recognized Paige. Perhaps she had mistaken her for someone else. He almost laughed at himself. Almost.
    Yeah, that was almost it , he mocked himself. Sure, Paige just has that kind of look. Everyone mistakes her for someone else, right?
    He shook the thoughts from his head, but he couldn't shake the dread that was building. No, that woman hadn't mistaken Paige for anyone else. She knew who she was, there was little question of that. And perhaps that should have been a relief. He had to admit to himself that while he hadn't wanted it to be true, perhaps, just perhaps this Paige was exactly who she had said she was.  
    Sure that would still leave a lot of questions. Who exactly had his wife been? Why the lies? How was it possible for them to look so alike? Why the near exact pasts? Why the same pasts and yet differences in time?
    Yes, there would still be all those questions and more. And while many of those would likely occur to this Paige, they would not completely consume her as they would Nathan. They might perhaps cause her a restless night or two, but they wouldn't likely become the focal point of her existence. She'd likely be able to resume a normal life. She'd have an interesting story to tell her friends. A story that was a bit scary, a bit mysterious, and certainly rather unique. Sure, everyone knew you should shred your documents and not give out private information, but still identity theft was definitely not unheard of. The person stealing your identity didn't usually look exactly like you. However in the age of plastic surgery even that could possibly be explained. Right?
    All this had flashed through Nathan's mind many times since encountering Paige. Consciously he had not wanted to believe it and yet on some level he had actually hoped that perhaps it would be true. Either way there were questions to be asked and answers to be searched for. Which set of questions or rather which set of answers would be easier to deal with?
    He wanted his Paige back, had wanted it more than he had ever wanted anything in his life. However, if this wasn't his Paige then he did not want to wreck her life. He thought of her as his Paige, for the most part believed her to be his Paige, but still there were so many questions. More then anything he wanted for this to all be over. He saw the pain and anguish she was going through and it hurt him, hurt him tremendously knowing he was the source of it all.
    Did that even make sense? No, he doubted it did, but then his thinking hadn't been exactly crystal clear these last couple of days. He wanted it this way. He wanted it that way.
    Can't have it both ways, Buckeroo.
    And he knew that was true. He also knew if he could have it any way he wanted it, then none of this would have ever happened. Paige would never have...have what? Died? Faked her own death? Had her death faked?
    Yeah, well if wishes were trees then you'd be living in one hell of a forest.
    Again it was the blast of a horn that pulled him back to reality. For a moment he looked and actually saw the cab driver again, but it wasn't the cabbie. He was long