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Tara watched Charlie’s face as Jake slid the cat carrier onto the back seat of the black SUV.
“He’s giving me stink eye,” she said. Charlie hated crates. “I explained to him about the noise reversal thing with the Steed, and how he had to be in the crate inside a special compartment because all the engine noise was contained inside the craft.”
“Just a guess, but I don’t think he believed you.”
The drive to the hangar in front of Angie’s house only took a couple of minutes, and it wasn’t long before Tara was apologizing to Charlie again, this time about stuffing the crate into the chamber of silence.
“You’ll be able to watch them on video monitor for the whole flight,” said Angie. “The COS was originally designed so we could take an infant on board if necessary. Which is why it’s big enough to squish in an adult too. You can tell Charlie lots of the dogs have ridden in there, but no other cat has had the pleasure. He and Nixie will always be the first.”
Jake laughed. “He’ll like that.”
Angie passed her a black helmet. “Time to suit up and strap in.”
Tara slipped her arms around Jake’s neck and he tugged her in hard. Held her there. “I know you said no contact for a week, but if you want to break your own rule, you won’t hear me complaining. I want you with me Tara. I—”
She placed her fingers against his lips. “Not yet.” She rested her forehead against his chin. “Soon, Jake, but not yet.”
He tipped her face up. “Soon, then. I can live with soon.” He kissed her long and hard, grabbed her helmet and helped her put it on.
Angie’s voice came through the built-in headphones. “Time to blow this pop stand. Climb in and fasten your harness. Jake will get your door.”
Tara kept her eyes on him as he backed out of the hot zone while Angie got the craft fired up. A quick glance at her monitor showed Charlie and Nixie looking comfortable enough in the COS.
“Ready?” asked Angie.
“Yep.” I am, she thought, I’m ready for the next step. I only hope I’m doing the right thing.
Angie wasn’t big on small talk and that suited Tara. Her own thoughts kept her occupied. Once she’d gone over her original plan—backwards, forwards, and sideways—she even developed a series of backup ideas.
But by the time they landed, Tara wondered if she was making a mistake.
Wouldn’t be her first, she thought as she moved the cat carrier from the COS to Grace’s Jeep.
“See ya tomorrow,” said Angie with a mock salute and she climbed back into the Steed.
“Not very chatty today,” Grace remarked.
“She seems to have something on her mind lately.”
“The guys still bugging her about the man she’s seeing?”
“Actually, no. They seem to have backed off.”
“I’m glad to hear that. She has enough on her plate.” Once the dust cleared from the Steed’s takeoff, Grace pulled onto the narrow roadway. “We’ll stay at my house tonight. There’s more privacy and the cats will be free to roam. Milo and Careless are camping with Caroline.”
“You didn’t have to ship them out.”
“I know, but they enjoy playtime at her place and it makes things simpler. Careless has issues with sharing his litter box.”
Coming around a soft curve and seeing Grace’s home for the first time, Tara was immediately enchanted. It was perched on a hill, surrounded on three sides by trees, and the front windows overlooked acres and acres of Paradise.
Once the cats were uncrated and free to roam the house, Grace sent Tara outside to relax on the patio. “I’ll put the kettle on and join you in a minute,” she said.
Tara had just settled on a lounge chair when Hannah magically materialized from under the nearby trees. She wore layers of multicolored scarf like panels, and her long white hair was lifted and feathered by the breeze—an ethereal vision until the slapping of bright yellow flip-flops grounded each step she took.
Charlie and Nixie were spooked away from the screen door when Tara jumped up and ran to throw herself into her aunt’s open arms. “You came.”
Hannah drew back and stared into Tara’s eyes. “You needed me, and I could come this time.” She grinned. “Plus, I got another ride in the Steed. That’s quite a machine. Come on, Grace promised she’d make me tea when she got back.”
Tara’s memories stirred. “The tiny silver apple with the holes. I remember measuring the tea leaves into it—equal amounts from all three glass jars—and then turning the timer twice for a perfect steep.”
Hannah beamed. “You were so frustrated at not being allowed to pour the water from the kettle.”
“That was very unfair of you.”
Hannah’s laughter filled the air. “You were barely big enough to see over the edge of the counter.”
“Ah, but with my stool to stand on, I was a giant.” She’d had such power then. Could reach anything she wanted without help. Oh, how she’d hated needing help to do anything.
They went into the kitchen to find Grace.
“You were always a giant. Had no idea you weren’t an adult, or a fully fleshed out super-hero. Nothing could beat you.”
She turned to Grace. “You should have seen this one on what I call the day of the apron. I’d tied one of mine onto her, and it went clear to the floor. Sure enough, even though I warned her to be careful, she tripped on the hem and fell. Took her about ten seconds to shove it out of her way, then she hopped up, plucked the shears out of the drawer, and very carefully cut about a foot off of the bottom of my favorite apron. Keeping a straight face throughout was one of the hardest things I’ve ever done.”
Tara’s cheeks hurt from the grinning. “Damn thing never tripped me again, did it?”
“What an image,” said Grace, as she poured tea into an oversized blue mug.
“You gonna make me drink out of my own handiwork?”
“Thought you might like to use something made by a semi-famous potter.” Grace winked and passed the cup to Hannah and then another to Tara. “Hannah has a pottery studio and does beautiful work, some of can be seen in a well-known Seattle gallery.”
“Fame, schmame. I used to have a house full of these things, but it hurts when I drop them on my toes, so I’ve gone to lighter weight stuff that doesn’t break.” Hannah sipped. “Oh, but the flavor. I’ve never figured out why it’s so much more robust in a hand-thrown mug.”
They chatted for a bit before giving up the kitchen for the living room. “More comfortable in here,” said Grace. “I’ll leave you two alone to talk.”
“No.” Tara’s tone was sharper than she’d intended. “You’re welcome to stay. I don’t have anything to say I wouldn’t trust you with.”
“Yes, but—”
“Likewise,’ said Hannah. “I would also like you to stay.” There was a serious edge to her voice now, and warning bells went off in Tara’s head.
“Relax, child.” Hannah laid a hand on Tara’s arm, making it tingle oddly. “You have questions.”
“I thought I was having a recurring dream, but now I’m positive it’s a memory. I overheard voices one night and crept down the hallway in time to hear you say, ‘You can never tell her she’s mine, Rose.’ Is it true?”
“It is.” Hannah set her cup aside and her hands dropped to her lap. “I am your birth mother.”
How could she say something like that without any expression? “Why did you give me away?”
“Because Rose’s heart was broken. Her baby had been stillborn and she needed you.” This time when her gaze met Tara’s there was a storm of emotion in her eyes and conviction in her voice as she enunciated each word with care. “And I didn’t dare to keep you.”
“Why not?”
“I guess I need to tell the long version of this story.” Hannah took a deep swallow of her tea. “It began when my parents used their life savings to send me to a dance school in America. I was twelve. Turned out my family had been duped and we—I—was part of a shipment of twenty girls from Romania who’d been sold to the highest bidder. I was tall and not pretty, so I was sent to a garment factory, I learned to sew, and I moved through the ranks until a manager took a shine to me.” One corner of her mouth lifted in a wry smile.
“I went to his office every day at lunch and for thirty minutes, he’d teach me English. He gave me food, and brought me an old sweater once because he’d noticed me shivering when I worked. One thing led to another, and I fell in love. I lived for lunchtime and missed him terribly on the weekends. Until...” She hesitated and lifted her chin.
“The day I told him I was pregnant, he cried because he said I’d be sent away. They didn’t let pregnant women work in the factory. When I said I could go to wherever he lived and get another job, he cried harder and told me he had a wife and five children.” As Hannah lifted her tea, Grace stilled her hand and added more to the cup.
“Only a few days later, a man came into the factory and spoke to me in my own language. I was afraid he was from Immigration, and since I had no passport, no documents at all, and didn’t want to be sent back to Romania where I’d be disgraced, I didn’t answer. The man came back several times and I eventually grew to trust him. His name was Isaac.”
Grace inhaled sharply.
“Yes, your father, Grace. I was one of the first he rescued from the human traffickers. Isaac got me away from there, but I was terrified Immigration would send me home. That’s when he set me up at Rocking Point. He put a deed in my hand and told me it was my own land so no one could take it away from me. And then, one day, he had a passport for me, and he moved me back to the mainland, to a place where my baby could be born safely. That’s where I met sweet, terrified, Rose, and we became friends almost instantly.”
Tara could only imagine what it would mean for them to have each other in such a tenuous situation.
Hannah dragged her hair over her shoulder and began to work the long, white thickness into a single braid. Her hands were quite beautiful. Long, thin fingers with as many silver rings as there were bangles dancing on her arms.
“Girls were supposed to leave the day after they gave birth and they were not allowed to keep their babies. You were born on a Friday night, and Rose’s daughter was born dead the next morning. I grabbed you and her, and we made a run for it and got safely to my island.” Hannah sat back as though that was the end of the story.
Far from it, thought Tara. “I still don’t understand why you didn’t keep me.”
“Pregnancy hormones had started something in me that I didn’t understand until years later. I thought I was having hallucinations, horrible events frequently flashed into my mind. Blood, death, mutilation. What I was having were psychic visions. But I thought I was losing my mind, and became terribly afraid that I’d hurt you. So Rose took over caring for you when I wasn’t well.” She wrapped her hands around the mug as though to warm them.
“When Stan came to stay at the inn and I saw the chemistry between them, I knew it was right. She needed you and I couldn’t be the kind of mother she was.”
“That’s why I’ve always felt comfortable referring to her as Rose. Because that’s the first name I knew her by.” How many more things would slide into place over the next while? “Why didn’t you come when she died?”
“My work has put my life at risk. I couldn’t endanger yours as well.”
“Your work?”
“When I told Isaac about my hallucinations, he sent me to some people who helped me get a handle on them. Taught me how to live with my extraordinary gift. You’ve heard of ETC?”
Tara nodded.
“In exchange, I did some work for them. Work that makes an assortment of people very uncomfortable.”
“So you’re in hiding?”
“Not anymore. But because of my visions, I prefer to live a solitary life, and that way, I’m available whenever ETC needs me. I live on a private island not far from Rocking Point.”
“Do you know about the fire?”
“I set it.”
“What?” Tara and Grace spoke in unison.
This time Hannah’s smile went all the way to her eyes. She sat back and folded her legs up under her. “I should have done it long ago. There was too much history there and information that could get into the wrong hands. I was glad you had a chance to visit it once, but I couldn’t let anyone else take an interest.”
This wasn’t making much sense to Tara. “But it had been empty since I was five. When you signed over the deed.”
“I actually lived there off and on for years. There is no maintenance company, no law firm, and the deed is still in my name. ETC set it all up for me, and then you were told the story, given documents and contacts that they supported. End of story. Rose was a wonderful friend and mother. I hope they hang Thomas Brady or whoever he really is.”
Tara’s breath caught in her throat. “What do you mean?”
“You’ve had the dreams, child. The authorities can solve the mystery of her disappearance from what you know.”
“The thermos,” she whispered. “It’s always the focus of the dreams, and lately there have been numbers, the same ones over and over. Lat and Longitude?”
“Exactly.”
Could the day have produced any more surprises? Day, hell, in an hour Hannah had turned Tara’s life upside down. But was this it? Would she leave now? Vanish?
“Are you staying?”
“Would you like me to?” Hannah’s fingers folded together.
Tara shook her head in disbelief. “What do you think? Yes. I’m sure I’ll have questions after I process some of this.”
“As will I,” added Grace, whose presence had as usual been so subtle Tara had almost forgotten she was there. “Can I get you more tea, Hannah?”
“If you have ice to add to it, I could drink what’s still in the pot.”
“I’m going to take a walk,” said Tara. “I need to do some thinking.”