Wait for Me (8 page)

“Simone’s thinks you might be Annie,” Ryan said. “That’s why you’re here.”

“No. Not exactly. In fact, she doesn’t know I’m here. She told me not to come, but I…” She bit her lip, then reached into her purse. Her eyes cut to Julia, standing at Ryan’s side, and a protective urge bubbled through him, one that made him want to tug his daughter tight to his side. With trembling fingers, she held a photo out to him. “I found this in a lockbox in my house.”

Hesitantly, Ryan reached for the picture. Looked down. And felt his entire world tip right out from under him.

Julia’s eyes widened as she glanced at the photo in his hand. “That’s me.”

Ryan’s head darted up. When she turned to look at Julia and tucked her hair behind her ear, he caught sight of a faded strawberry birthmark just below her left ear where her jaw met her neck. An upside down heart. One he’d kissed and licked and nibbled so many times he knew it as if it were his own.

Hope burst into flame in his chest. It was her. She was alive. She was…

He moved to reach for her. She stepped back to avoid his touch, and when her gaze fell on his, the look in her eyes registered. No recognition. No love. Nothing but emptiness and distrust.

Her reaction in the street slammed back into him. And that hope was quickly doused with ice.

Accident. Retrograde amnesia… Alive
.

Sickness pushed up his esophagus. The room closed in around him as it had at her funeral, when the reality that he’d lost her forever had hit him like a ton of bricks.

But he hadn’t lost her. She was here. She was real. No matter what had happened to change her appearance, one thing remained. She was alive. She’d never gotten on that plane. She’d been here in San Francisco the whole time and he’d never looked for her. He’d never even thought to look for her.

Air choked in his lungs. The photo fluttered to the floor at his feet. He had to get away from her. Away from all of them before he lost it for good.

He walked out of the room. Didn’t know where the hell he was going. At his back, he heard Mitch mutter, “Ah, just give us a minute, okay?”

He made it as far as the kitchen. Needed to go farther, wasn’t sure his legs would carry him. Bracing his hands against the cold granite, he dropped his head, just focused on breathing. In and out. In and out. Hoped like hell it would alleviate the pain spearing his chest.

Don’t lose it. Keep it together for Julia
.

His eyes slid shut, and he forced back the tears. Of all the scenarios he’d imagined over the years, this wasn’t one of them. In all of them, in the ones where she’d been alive, at least, she’d been as thrilled to see him as he was to see her. But this woman, this Kate Alexander didn’t know him. She wasn’t running into his arms. She wasn’t professing her love for him. She was just standing there, staring at him like he was…nobody.

And she’d said she had a husband. That pain cinched down tight until he could barely breathe. She’d gotten remarried. Her life had moved on while his had stood rooted in time, the memory of her the only thing that kept him going day after day.

“Ryan.”

Mitch. Dammit, he should have known Mitch would follow him.

He didn’t turn, couldn’t face Mitch’s eyes. “She doesn’t recognize us.”

“No, she doesn’t. It doesn’t mean it’s her.”

“It’s her. You saw the way she ran her hand over her hair. And she’s got the same damn birthmark near her ear.” His voice cracked. “That’s Annie.”

“We don’t know that.”

“I know it.” Ryan finally turned Mitch’s way. “I know it. I knew it as soon as I saw her.”

“It’s possible. But the chances are so remote. Look, I’ll agree she looks like her. Christ.” Mitch scrubbed at his jaw. “And her story, well, it could fit. But we don’t know for sure. She could be some crazy loon looking for money. Ryan, I don’t have to remind you you’re practically a celebrity. That draws the sickos right out of the woodwork. We don’t know if it’s her. There are tests we can take. DNA sampling—from me, from Julia.”

“It won’t matter. You and I both know it’s her, whether you want to admit it or not.”

“I need to know for sure.”

Ryan’s eyes slid shut. Mitch was so rooted in science, in the black and white of everything. But this situation was nothing but gray. “She doesn’t recognize us,” he said again.

“Ryan, don’t do this to yourself. Not yet. Let’s see what we find out. This could all just be a huge coincidence.”

Ryan turned to stare over the kitchen. Minutes ago, he’d been about to make Julia dinner. He’d planned to show her pictures of the new Jag Hannah had talked him into ordering. After, he was going to sit down with her and watch a movie. He was even going to let her choose one of her favorite Indiana Jones flicks that they’d already seen ten thousand times. Now…now he couldn’t figure out what the hell to do next.

“I gotta get out of here. You…you take care of it. Tell her whatever you want. I’ll go along with whatever you decide.”

“Ryan—”

“I need a few minutes, Mitch,” he snapped. He couldn’t stand looking into her blank eyes again, knowing she wasn’t remembering him or what they’d shared. He couldn’t deal with the pain. Pain he thought he’d gotten through long ago. Pain that was now sucking him under all over again.

He opened the back door and left before Mitch could stop him.

***

Kate studied the photos on the mantel while Ryan Harrison and Mitch Mathews spoke quietly in the other room. The face in the pictures looked like her, albeit a slightly different her. A river of unease rushed through her veins as she looked from photo to photo. The Harrisons on what looked to be a hiking trip. Annie Harrison in a hospital bed, holding a newborn. A wedding photo of Ryan and Annie on the day they were married, both dressed to the nines and grinning from ear to ear.

Her chest tightened, and her skin grew hot. If it was her in the photos, she didn’t remember any of the events. But the odd roll of her stomach told her that didn’t mean it wasn’t her either.

She looked quickly away from the photos, not wanting to go there yet, and scanned the room. Nothing about this house was familiar either. Not the furnishings or the pictures on the walls, though she did like the job Ryan Harrison’s decorator had done. Leather couches, plush pillows, chunky wood tables and trendy lamps she might have picked out herself if given the chance.

Her stomach rolled again at that thought, and she turned to find Julia Harrison staring at her with suspicious eyes. The girl had refused to utter a single word the whole time Ryan and Mitch were in the other room. Kate’s nerves kicked in. Staring down Ryan Harrison was one thing. Staring down his daughter when she very clearly wanted Kate gone was another.

She didn’t need this. She had enough problems in her life right now—moving to a new city, getting Reed adjusted to life without his father, trying to figure out what the hell had happened to her. And now, add to all that a man who could possibly be her real husband and a daughter who looked at her like she was the anti-Christ?

It couldn’t possibly get any worse, could it?

Mitch came back into the room, shot her a weak smile. Relief rushed through Kate like sweet wine when she saw him. As Julia slipped out of the room without a word, guilt rushed through Kate’s veins. It couldn’t be easy for the girl to see someone who looked so much like her mother. Kate hadn’t considered the girl’s feelings in all this when she’d decided to come by here today. She’d been so intent on finding answers, she hadn’t thought of anyone but herself.

Mitch watched her leave, then turned to face Kate. Heartache showed clearly in his features. And that guilt expanded ten-fold as she stared at him. This was so much harder for all of them than she’d anticipated.

Mitch blew out a breath. “We, ah, we think maybe there are enough similarities to warrant some tests. DNA tests to either prove or disprove the whole thing.”

She nodded, swallowing the lump in her throat. Was it relief or regret? At this point, she wasn’t sure. “Yeah, that’s what I was hoping. I can have my lawyer set it up. It should be easy, just a blood sample from you, her brother, and possibly her daughter.” As she glanced around, her unease grew by leaps and bounds. Ryan Harrison obviously wasn’t coming back out to talk to her. “I should go.”

“Okay.” Mitch raked a hand through his hair. “I, ah, I’ll walk you out.”

He led her out of the house and back down the street to her car. She wasn’t sure why, but she felt comfortable with him, even if he’d been the one to leave her that nasty gram at her office. Funny…a few hours ago he’d been her biggest enemy. Now he seemed to be her only ally.

Which was ludicrous because she knew nothing about this man.

He was quiet as they walked, his hands shoved deep in the front pockets of his jeans, his eyes on the ground in front of him, and as they headed toward her car his words from earlier echoed in her mind.
Annie’s brother
… Jake had told her she was an only child. That her parents had died years ago. She’d believed him. She’d believed so many things that now could very well be wrong. What else had he lied about?

She pushed that thought aside. Told herself she’d deal with it later. Right now, she had to stay focused on the moment or she’d break down.

When they stopped near her Explorer, she turned toward Mitch and looked into his eyes. Green eyes, she noticed now, that were eerily familiar. Like his niece’s—Julia’s—eyes. Like her eyes. “Can I ask you a personal question?”

“Sure.”

She probably should let it go, but she was curious. “You seem like a really nice guy. So nice considering all this and what you must be feeling that I’m having trouble figuring out which guy you really are. The pompous jerk who left me that note this morning, or the supportive brother-in-law you seem to be this afternoon?”

He chuckled and looked down at his feet.

“What?”

“Nothing. That’s just something my sister would have asked me.”

“Oh.” The implication of those words hung in the air between them. He thought she was his sister. She could see it in those emerald eyes. Did she want that? Panic spread through her chest. She didn’t know what she wanted. Was seriously starting to doubt whether coming here had been a smart idea or not. God, why hadn’t she just waited like Simone had told her to do?

She ran a hand over her hair. They stood in silence for several seconds, then her curiosity finally got the best of her. “So which is it?”

“Both, I guess.”

“I see.” But she didn’t. Not really. She didn’t see anything. Doubted she ever would. And that fact left her feeling more lost than anything.

She drew in a deep breath that did nothing to ease the ache in her chest and glanced back toward the house. “I don’t think he likes me very much.”

“He’s been through a lot. You have to understand, when Annie died, it changed him. They had something special, something most people don’t find in a whole lifetime of looking.”

“I find that hard to believe. I’ve read a lot about him, and nothing I’ve ever seen leads me to believe he’s a caring individual.”

“Don’t believe everything you read.” Something in his voice warned her to be careful about her choice of words. But that voice softened when he added, “Seeing you today, well, it’s something I think he’s dreamt about for years. I just don’t think he ever expected Annie not to remember him. It’s like losing her all over again.”

“I’m not Annie,” she said quietly.

“No. Not yet. At least, not that we know for sure.”

There it was. Spoken aloud she didn’t know what to think. What to feel. What to do for that matter. “He thinks I am.”

“He knew her really well. They were together for ten years.”

Guilt tightened the already snug feeling in her torso. “I didn’t come here to hurt anyone. I hope you know that. I just need answers. You don’t know what it’s like to go through life not knowing who you are. A person without a past, well,” she shook her head, “it’s an anomaly.”

“And scary, I bet.”

“Yes, very,” she whispered as he stared into her eyes. And though she fought it, she couldn’t deny the jolt of déjà vu that coursed through her when she looked at him. “I’m just looking for answers, one way or the other.”

“I get it.”

She didn’t answer, was too afraid of what would come out if she tried. Her pulse beat hard. If he was really her brother, she’d remember right? But there was nothing. No memory flashes, no images in her brain, nothing but this feeling of…familiarity.

When she realized she was staring, she quickly looked away. “I have to go. I’ll, ah, call your office when I have the details mapped out for the test.”

“Okay.”

“Okay.” Her feet didn’t seem to want to move. But she forced them to. For her sanity as much as his. “Okay,” she said again with a shaky voice as she climbed into her car.

Chapter Six

Midmorning sunlight glinted off the bay, the tall spires of the Golden Gate Bridge rising against a dense, green backdrop of trees and hills. Salt and the ripe stench of fish wafted on the air as Kate sat on a park bench, digging her fingers into the seat. Around her, seagulls swooped, their cries echoing through her mind, jangling her already overstressed nerves.

What she needed was a good kick in the pants to get off her duff and get back to work finding out what had happened to her. What she was doing was waiting for Ryan Harrison.

After three days of biting her fingernails to the quick, languishing over news from Simone about the blood test results, she’d finally given in and called him. She didn’t know why she felt compelled to talk with him, and couldn’t explain why his reaction to her affected her so much. All she knew for sure was that guilt had consumed her every minute of every day since their meeting. And if she didn’t do something to fix it, it was going to eat away at her and prevent her from finding the answers she desperately needed.

She knew what it was like to lose someone you loved. And because of that, she tried to put herself in Ryan’s position, to imagine what she’d do if Jake suddenly returned from the grave.