HELENE WALKED SLOWLY through the rooms of Sea Haven. She knew every nook and cranny, every detail of the place. That nick in the plasterwork, barely visible—that was from the time Amy had been an inquisitive eight-year-old and had experimented with setting off a firecracker in the house. Those sturdy bookshelves—Merrick had built them himself when they'd first moved into the house. And the spoonback chair…Helene had been thrilled when she'd unearthed it at a secondhand shop. She'd had it reupholstered, restored to all its former Victorian splendor, and then she'd added it lovingly to her home.
But Sea Haven didn't feel like her home anymore. It had been almost two weeks since she'd moved back in with Merrick. Each of them kept to a separate bedroom. Each of them treated the other with a cool politeness. No…it didn't feel like home.
This morning Helene couldn't seem to sit still. She kept wandering through the house. Merrick, as if to give her a wide berth, had retreated to the patio. As she passed a window, she caught a glimpse of him. He sat. in one of the lawn chairs, ostensibly reading the newspaper. She wondered if he felt as uncomfortable as she did, as ill at ease in his own house.
She felt, quite literally, heartsick. Could they ever repair the damage between them? At this moment, it did not seem possible.
Footsteps heavy, she climbed to the second floor. Here she passed the empty rooms where her daughters had once brought life into Sea Haven. Laughter, chatter, doors banging open and shut… whispers late at night, when the girls were supposed to be asleep. Helene had cherished those the most, the secret whispers she had pretended not to overhear. But now the rooms were silent. Her three girls had gone on to their own lives. Amy, so happy with her new husband, Jon. And Lisa, newly engaged to marry Matt Connell. Somehow, Helene hadn't been surprised about that. She was just glad that Lisa had found her own happiness. And that left Meg, who'd returned once again to her busy life in Nebraska. Meg…Helene guarded a special part of her soul for Meg, her oldest daughter, the one who had known far too much heartache of her own.
As if from a great distance, Helene heard the doorbell ring downstairs. She paid no attention to it. There was no one she wanted to see. Even her friendships brought no satisfaction these days. The fit was all wrong. She was someone who'd tried to break out of a mold, but could not find the new pattern for her life. Everything felt so uncertain, so tenuous.
She wandered into her solitary bedroom, picked up a book and tried to concentrate on it. She'd made no progress at all when Annie appeared in the doorway. Annie, usually so capable, now seemed downright flustered.
“You'd better come—you'd better see—” Annie could hardly seem to get the words out.
“Whatever is the matter?” Helene asked.
“I thought I'd tell Mr. Hardaway first. But then I thought—maybe you should be the first—” Annie took a deep breath. “You'd just better come!”
Thoroughly mystified, Helene followed the housekeeper down the stairs and to the front door. Standing on the porch was a dark-eyed, dark-haired teenage boy. He was at the lanky stage, when he didn't quite seem to know what to do with his arms and legs. And he had an odd expression on his face—half scared, half challenging.
Annie recovered some of her usual aplomb. “Very well, young man,” she said sternly. “You tell Mrs. Hardaway exactly what you told me.”
The boy turned to Helene, staring at her hard as if to see something beyond her outward features. How peculiar…
“I think…I know I used to live here,” he said. “My name is Eric…except it used to be Derek. Derek Noah Carson. And I used to live at Sea Haven, Gulfview Road, Hurricane Beach, Florida.”
The world seemed to tilt. Helene suddenly found herself holding on to solid, dependable Annie. As if it had been yesterday, she remembered a fouryear-old little boy carefully reciting his name, and the address of his grandparents' house, should he ever get lost. My name is Derek Noah Carson. And I live at Sea Haven, Gulfview Road…
* * * * *
Could this boy really be the son
Megan Hardaway never thought she'd see again?
Be sure to look for the exciting finale to the
Sisters trilogy
MEGAN by Marisa Carroll Superromance #742
Available in June/97 wherever Harlequin Books are sold