A Secret Fate (10 page)

“So, you managed to find him and bring him back. Good work, Detective,” the chief said to Cael.

Detective? I’m a detective. A private investigator.
His mother mentioned he was a PI.
Guess they are the same thing.
He did remember now, that had always been his goal and working for the police department was merely a stepping-stone, mostly for on-the-job training. Ristéard had given him most of his instruction, but there were certain things that only experience could offer.

“Yeah, Chief. Cael did a great job,” Gerry said and turned to the other man. “He’s all yours, Lieutenant.”

“Good job, Cael,” the lieutenant called over his shoulder as he walked Finn out of the office.

“Thanks for your help in bringing him back, Cael. I’ll be in touch.” The chief tipped his hat as he followed the lieutenant and Finn out and through the bar to their car.

Gerry shut the door to his office and turned to face Cael. “You okay?”

“No. You
can
put it back, right?” Cael asked.

“No. I’m sorry. I could give you some memories, things I know, things I’ve witnessed you doing, but they wouldn’t be accurate. I can’t give you back memories I don’t know. Maybe over time you might start remembering some things, I don’t know for sure. I have no idea how strong the current was that entered your mind. I’d been shot and the intensity of my ability magnified with my sudden pain.”

“So what did you just give Finn?”

“I made some things up. I gave him some visions of the way Careen had been killed, the scene at the wedding that took place, some of his time here in Whisper Cape with the band. Not much really.”

“The band?”

“Um, Gerry,” Bart interrupted. “I think Cael needs time to adjust. There’s a lot to take in. Too much at once might not be good.”

“No, Uncle Bart. I want to know. But …” Cael wiped his hand over his face, rubbing his eyes. He was tired. Too damn tired. “Maybe you’re right. A lot has happened and not all of it is good. I need some sleep and then maybe I can begin to pull my fucked up life back together.”

“I don’t suppose you remember where you live,” Bart said.

“Nope. Last time I remember having a place was back in New York, a block from the police station. Since I haven’t worked there for four years, I’m sure I don’t live there anymore. I don’t suppose you know where I live now.”

Bart shook his head. “Can’t say.”

It wasn’t unusual for Bart to answer that way, but Cael wondered if he meant that literally or not. It seemed that there were a whole lot of things people couldn’t say, or wouldn’t say. They were protecting him for some reason, which only made him dread learning anything more about his forgotten past.

“Maybe you should stay with me for a while. At least until you get your feet back on the ground, so to speak.”

Cael smiled at Bart’s little joke. “I don’t know. I don’t want to impose, and I think I should try to figure out where I hang my hat. Who knows, I could have a dog or something.”

“Nah, you’re not the dog type.”

“Now that’s not true, I love dogs. I’m just never home enough to give one the attention it would need.”

“Well, there you go. Pretty certain there’s no dog.”

“Are you and mom keeping something from me? I can’t believe you don’t know where I live.”

“Cael, you’ve moved around so much over the past few years, I lost track. Besides, I never visited you. You always came to see me. Remember, free ride and all?”

“Yeah. Okay. I wouldn’t mind hanging with you for a while.” He’d gotten kind of used to having someone around. Finn had been somewhat of an enjoyable companion over the past couple of weeks, telling stories of himself with his Scottish accent, had even had Cael laughing uncontrollably one night. Finn had been good company, even if he’d turned out to be a murderer. “I need to pop back to Bora Bora to check out of the room and gather the clothes I had there. You still have that spare bedroom I used to stay in when I was a teenager?”

“Yep. I even put clean sheets on the bed day before yesterday. I had an inkling that you might show up. Thought I’d better get the room ready, just in case.”

“What about Aunt Jewel. She won’t mind?”

Bart hung his head, scratched the top of it, before shaking it slowly. “Your Aunt Jewel passed away a little over three years ago. Nothing anybody could do, not even Ristéard. She died instantly in an automobile accident. Drunk driver came rocketing down the middle of the highway, hit her car head on.”

“God, Uncle Bart, I’m so, so sorry.” Cael swiped his hand over this face catching the moisture from his eyes. Another loved one who’d passed away during the years that Cael lost. He wished he could remember the details. He’d loved Aunt Jewel, Bart’s Jewel. He smiled at the memory of her sweet, kind smile.

Bart nodded. “Me too, son. Me too.” He wrapped his arm around Cael’s shoulder. “You can stay as long as you like. It’s quiet there. Should do you some good to hang out here in Whisper Cape.”

“Thanks. You sure you’re not developing some psychic ability?”

“Nothing would surprise me.” Gerry laughed, patting Bart on the shoulder. “This old guy knows more about things than anyone I know.”

“I’m not old.”

“Then why’s everybody call you ‘Old’ Bart?” Gerry asked.

“Since when do people call you ‘Old’ Bart?” Cael smirked.

“Ah, hell. I started it when I was feeling under the weather last year. I had a kink in my neck, could hardy turn my head and was feeling like an eighty-year-old geezer. The name stuck for some, like Gerry.”

“Hey, if you’re going to stay here in Whisper Cape, we’ll need to come up with a plan to tell people why you don’t remember them,” Gerry suggested. “We can’t just tell them I erased your memory.”

“I guess a lot of people here know me?”

“Well, some. You’ve been here before. You know, visiting Bart. People have met you. They’ll expect you to remember them and want to know why you don’t.”

“Right. I guess we could say I got hit over the head or something … hey, why was I at your wedding anyway?”

Bart and Gerry stared at each other for a moment. “You came with me,” Bart said, squeezing his strong arm tighter around Cael’s shoulder. “Listen, there are lot of things you’ll find out as time goes on. Let’s get out of here and go home. You look beat.”

Chapter 8

Addie paced the length of the sofa in the living room at the beach house. The carpet would begin to wear out if she didn’t stop. She didn’t like the plan, not one bit. When Gerry called and informed her it would be best to tell others, like Darcy and Jared, that when Cael found Finn, they’d struggled and Cael fell, hitting his head and losing part of his memory, it just didn’t seem like it was going to fly. On top of that, everybody was going through a lot to keep the fact that Cael and Addie were formerly in a relationship from him. Everyone agreed it would be better if he fell in love with her again on his own rather than being told he had loved her. Was that the best way to handle situations like this? Someone was bound to slip up sometime. Wouldn’t telling him about her trigger some memory of their love? Unfortunately, there was no easy solution. Gerry couldn’t even be sure how permanent his memory extractions were, and admitted he’d never heard of anyone ever gaining their memory back after he’d erased it. He’d removed the Eidolon situation from Darcy’s and Jared’s minds, as well as Lieutenant Whealan’s, and they never showed any signs of remembering anything about what really happened. Then again, Gerry hadn’t removed their memories of the entire event, only the supernatural aspects of Eidolon, or Ed, as they knew him, being able to compel people and animals to do his hideous biddings.

She plopped down on the sofa in front of the fireplace and stared out the large picture window, watching the big orange ball make its slow descent into the ocean. Clouds flowed in from the north, adding majestic colors and illuminating the sky with blood orange and deep purple. It would be nighttime soon and she hoped the clouds didn’t get any darker, threatening the possibility of an evening shower. She hated driving in the rain but she needed to get to the bar and grill. It had been a week since Cael had come back and she hadn’t seen him since those brief moments at Breena’s party. She let him have his space, not pushing herself on him. Waiting for him to … to what? Remember her? She needed to stop pretending that would happen. Maybe she should go find him herself.

Darcy and Jared were asked not to mention anything about the past involving Ed, or  Addie’s relationship with Cael. They must have believed Gerry’s story about Cael hitting his head, because Darcy had come over a couple of days ago, telling Addie how sorry she was. She didn’t like lying to her friends but deep down she knew it would always be that way. Having supernatural abilities required secrets and lies. She hated it. How Bart and Gerry got Cael to agree to the story of Finn getting the upper hand was beyond her. Cael was a prideful man, very much full of himself most of the time. The Cael she knew would never admit to defeat without putting up an argument.

Now that Cael was back and she knew he was safe, Addie reluctantly agreed to return to her bartending position at the bar. Tonight would be her first time back at work since he’d disappeared. In fact, she hadn’t been back to the bar since Maia and Gerry’s wedding, the day Cael vanished. Bart mentioned he and Cael would be going to the bar tonight. It was Friday night and Aiden and The Wave Runners band would be performing. Aiden had been pestering her to come and listen. Of course, he’d been trying his damnedest to coax her out almost every night since Breena’s party. Aiden had been by her side throughout the entire week making her dinners, even showing up with take-out breakfast. She had to admit, Aiden had been a lifesaver. They’d become good friends and she found herself trusting him more and more every day. She’d confided in him about things she didn’t normally discuss with people. She even told him about the crystal she wore around her neck. Addie didn’t know what she would have done without him. So, she promised Aiden she’d return to work and would be at the bar to listen to the band. They had a new member taking Finn’s place, so it should be interesting. Maia mentioned that the band was still very good, even without Careen’s magical voice. Aiden’s voice was great too, and the band didn’t particularly need the addition of a female voice to bring out the crowds. Addie closed her eyes, remembering how much they had all wanted this, she had wanted this, for the Cliff Hanger from the beginning. With the addition of the band, it was more than just a place to hang out, eat and drink. The residents of Whisper Cape now had a place with entertainment, a place to enjoy good music and let their hair down, a place to dance. It was also attracting people from some of the nearby towns like Rockaway Beach and Cannon Beach.

It was a good reason to go and besides, she needed to be visible and available to Cael. How else would he ever fall in love with her again if he never got the chance to see her? Cael was alive. She had to be thankful for that.

After taking extra time perfecting her makeup, Addie slipped into one of the short tight skirts she knew Cael admired. Hell, he couldn’t keep his hands off her whenever she’d worn one of them. He’d been attracted to her before, wouldn’t he be again?  

She arrived slightly after the dinner rush began. Gerry told her to start her shift a little late, to ease back into the swing of things. The place was packed and the hum of voices and laughter filled the small bar and grill with excitement and anticipation. She placed a pint of beer in front of Aiden—of course, he had to be here. “Thank you, darlin’.” She should be grateful he cared, considering how poorly she’d treated him at first. He’d been a good friend during all the uncertainty with her life’s future, her love life, to be exact. She smiled at him, glancing up as Cael and Bart strolled in through the large wooden door. She felt the smile quickly fade from her face. Every freakin’ bar stool in the place was occupied. She’d hoped he’d be able to sit at the bar so she could talk to him. Catching herself ogling Cael as he and his uncle scoped out the place for a table, Addie blinked and tried to appear busy cleaning the bar countertop, anything to keep from looking anxious or nervous. Cael’s jeans clung snug to his well-defined thighs and the top two buttons of his black shirt were undone, revealing a glimpse of the small patch of soft hairs on his chest. His dark hair a bit longer than when he disappeared, he ran his hand through it, pushing it all back as they headed to the corner table, the same table Cael sat at the first time he’d come into the bar. To think she’d actually thought she’d hit him with her truck and left him for dead. Then she remembered the relief when she saw him walk into the bar that night—relieved she hadn’t killed him. She’d still been frightened he’d have her arrested because at the time, in her head, it had been a hit and run crime scene, even though she couldn’t find him anywhere. Of course, she hadn’t hit him after all. He’d simply vanished from her sight.

Her stomach knotted in the silly way it had when she’d first met him—a mixture of fear and excitement as little fluttering wings danced around inside close to her heart, tugging. Fear he might never love her again and excitement that they’d resume their happily ever after with a couple of kids, just like
he
wanted. Well, maybe she wanted that too now. God, she’d given him such a difficult time about that. Now she regretted it. Placing her hands over her empty womb she considered; maybe a cat and a dog to keep the baby company and of course, they’d continue living in the beach house forever.

“You okay, love?” Aiden’s voice pulled her out of the fairytale her mind wanted so desperately to be living in.

“Yeah, just peachy,” she said and coming to her senses, thought those were dreams from another time. Looking at Cael now, she didn’t see how it would ever happen, because he didn’t seem to be the slightest bit interested in her. Turning away before Aiden could ask her anything else, she strolled toward the middle of the bar, opened up the small fridge, and pretended to look for something inside. Coming up empty-handed, she closed it. The last thing she wanted was for Cael to get the impression that she and Aiden were a couple. Letting Aiden accompany her to Breena’s birthday party had been a mistake. It probably appeared as if they were more than friends, especially after the way Aiden caught her around the waist when her knees had buckled while re-meeting Cael. Sure, they had been spending some time together; Aiden made it almost impossible not to, but it didn’t mean anything just because she’d given into his kindness. Yes she’d accepted his generosity and concern about her eating properly, and they’d been hanging out and being friendly, but they’d just sit around and talk, sharing ability stories mostly. There really was nothing to it. Aiden had never made a pass at her, and even though Addie knew how he felt without him confessing anything, they were just friends.