A Secret Fate (27 page)

“That’s a great idea, Darcy,” Addie said.

“Let’s do it. We can make it a potluck,” Maia added.

“That must have been quite a shock for Cael, to suddenly realize he owned a beautiful house overlooking the ocean. A pleasant shock, I would say. Jared’s glad he finally knows about you guys. He said he was having a hard time keeping it a secret. I’m glad Cael didn’t get too upset about it.”

“He still doesn’t remember anything,” Addie said.

Maia knew better, but added, “I’m sure in time he’ll start to remember things.” Addie wished that were the case, but for Darcy’s sake, she was glad Maia said it. Cael’s memory loss had nothing to do with a brain injury like Darcy and Jared believed. The chances of him remembering anything about the last five years on his own were extremely slim.

“Yeah. And a party just might be the thing to help,” Darcy urged.

“Why do I get the feeling that you think any reason for a party is a good one?”

“You know me.” Darcy picked up the two drinks Addie placed on the bar and took off toward the customers waiting for them. “I’ll invite some people,” she called over her shoulder.

“Not too many,” Addie said, now worried about how Cael might take the idea of a party.

“Yeah, yeah.”

***

“So, Dad, what’s the plan? What are we going to do?” his daughter asked as he looked up from the local newspaper he was examining.

“
We
are not going to do anything, Caitlin. You are not to approach the woman again, do you hear me? I’m serious, honey. This is dangerous business and that woman you stole the pendant from can also be very dangerous.”

“Oh, really?” She faced him, her hands on her hips. “She didn’t seem too wicked a few months ago, standing in that bathroom, crying like a little girl to some invisible being that she no doubt thought was actually there.”

“That’s beside the point.” He got up and tossed the paper on the small round table beside the sliding glass door of the hotel room balcony. He glanced down at the ocean; rain mottled the view he knew was gorgeous. Frowning, he turned toward his daughter. “She has skills beyond what you could imagine.”

“Like what?”

“Stuff I can’t explain.”

“Well, regardless, I found out some interesting information today.”

“You went to the bar again, didn’t you? I told you not to.”

“I am certainly old enough to be in a bar.”

“You know that’s not the point, Caitlin.”

“The point is, Dad, that I found out how we can get to know these people better so we can get more information on the crystal and how it works.”

“How’s that?”

“I overheard her talking about her boyfriend and how they recently got back together and so now they are having a party to celebrate and I got us an invitation to it.”

“You can’t go.”

“What? Why the hell not?”

“Don’t take that tone with me, young lady. You’re not too old for me to take you over my knee.”

“Daddy,” she laughed, “you’ve never punished us that way and you know it.”

“It’s just an expression, Caitlin. And you’re right. I’ve never laid a hand on you or your sister, but don’t tempt me. This is too dangerous. I should never have let you join me. Your mother is going to kill me.”

“No she won’t. You know she’d want to get Carly back just as badly.”

“You didn’t tell her about any of this did you?”

“No. You told me not to. But I don’t see …”

“Just keep it between us,” he interrupted, the sharpness of his tone enough to cut through lead and he hated that he made her wince. “Please, Caitlin,” he added, softening his voice, “I don’t want her to worry about you and Carly. She has enough on her plate right now.”

“Okay, okay. But don’t you want me to at least tell you about the party?”

“All right. Tell me, but that won’t make me agree to let you go.”

She scoffed. “Well, apparently this woman, Addie, the one I stole the crystal from, and her boyfriend, Cael, are now back together after some sort of break-up and memory loss of his. I don’t know, maybe he was in an accident or something, I didn’t get all the details on that.” He stood at the window, staring out blankly as his daughter’s voice became a distant hum in his mind. She stopped talking when she must have realized he wasn’t paying attention, lost in his own little world. “Dad?” When he didn’t answer, she approached him, shoes scuffing the carpet, and placed her hand on his shoulder. “Daddy? Are you okay?”

He pulled himself out of his self-induced trance and wrapped his arm around his daughter’s shoulder. “Yeah, I’m okay, honey.”

“You looked lost. Are you sure you’re feeling okay?”

“Yeah, sweetheart. Go ahead; tell me about this party you want to go to.” His voice sounded so distant, so mater-of-fact, even to himself, as though he were listening to her tell him about some sweet little innocent get-together she and her sister were attending with their friends. There was more to these people than he could let on and he knew Caitlin wasn’t the type to let the mystery go without further investigation.

***

Everything was going just as planned. Addie looked around at all the lights Cael had strung up around the yard, using the trees as anchors. Some of the lights twinkled while others cast a gorgeous glow over the cliff’s edge, illuminating the waves as their foam sprayed against the rocks. It was beautiful and Cael seemed excited about having all the people over. He loved this place and was excited to show it off, now that he knew it was his. Of course, he didn’t remember that Maia and Gerry’s wedding had taken place in the exact same spot only a few months ago. He hadn’t been as excited about showing off his home back then. Maybe the twenty-five-year old Cael liked the party life a little more than the older one, she mused. Oh, he’d been very receptive to having the wedding there, but he seemed so obsessed with marriage and having kids then that the party life wasn’t as big a deal.

Kids.

Did he still feel the same about wanting one? Addie remembered how she’d reacted to his desire to have a baby—so adamant about not going down that road. So afraid of what abilities a baby of theirs might have, convincing herself he or she would be nothing short of a monster. But when Cael disappeared, she’d wished with all her soul that she’d gotten pregnant so she’d have something of his to cherish. Did she still feel that way? She wasn’t sure. She’d been so happy with his return and having him fall back in love with her, she’d almost forgotten he’d wanted a baby with her. Of course, he didn’t remember it now. Should she remind him? Not yet.

She was so glad Cael was up for this party. She’d worried at first. She only hoped Darcy hadn’t gotten carried away with the guest list. Leaving that part up to Darcy afforded Addie more time to worry about the other things. Then again, this was sort of an impromptu party so the chances of a whole slew of people showing up were highly unlikely. She busied herself around the table, positioning dishes, making sure all the condiments and silverware were in place. Jared had done a wonderful job. The spread was magnificent with all sorts of canapés, little sandwiches, several creamy sauces with an array of vegetables for dipping, and platters with cheese and fruit. When she walked down toward the other end of the table, she noticed some little square pastries wrapped like presents filled with who knew what, but begging to be eaten. She picked one up and took a bite, holding it over a napkin so the juices inside wouldn’t drip on her pink and white floral dress. At first, she’d thought the strapless dress a bit too fancy for an outdoor party, but Maia talked her into it, suggesting it was elegant, with a little flirty flair and perfect for the party.

“How are they?” Startled, she almost dropped the little pastry as she turned to see Jared’s broad and proud smile. His black slacks hung low on his waist, secured by a black belt. He’d paired them with a solid teal shirt neatly tucked in. She smiled. It was nice seeing him wear something other than jeans and a T-shirt. The only other time she’d seen him dressed up was at Maia’s wedding.

“Mmmm. Jared,” she said, swallowing the yummy morsel filled with a spicy chicken sausage and cheese, “absolutely magnificent. You’ve outdone yourself. You’re going to have to show me how to make these.”

“Maybe,” he said with a grin.

“Hey, you trying to steal my girlfriend?” Cael came up behind Addie, wrapping his strong arms around her waist and they stood swaying together waiting for Jared to defend himself.

“That’s fiancée, something
my
girlfriend won’t let me forget, and no, I’m not trying to steal yours.”

Addie cringed at the fiancée reference, but then smiled when she realized it must have slipped by Cael since he didn’t say anything about it. They hadn’t talked about marriage since he’d come back to her. “I’ve got enough to deal with,” Jared continued. “You know Darcy. Now that you two are back together, she wants to get married too. Something about women, they all want the same thing.”

When Cael smiled, nodding his head in agreement, she figured the marriage comments hadn’t registered.

Addie pushed her fist lightly into Jared’s shoulder. “No we don’t.”

“Ouch,” he said, rubbing his arm where Addie tapped it, feigning pain. “Well, I’m not complaining. I’ve been wanting to marry Darcy since kindergarten.” He laughed. “Maybe we will beat you two to the punch.”

Jared was probably right about that. The idea of being engaged was something Cael and she hadn’t discussed much. In fact, she hadn’t put the ring he’d given her back on yet. She’d left it on top of the dresser in plain sight though, hoping Cael would see it and maybe propose again since he didn’t remember doing it the first time. She certainly wasn’t about to force the issue and when Cael didn’t say anything about it when Jared just mentioned it, she figured marriage was probably the furthest thing from his mind. Annnnd so were babies. Thank God. She needed a little more time to deal with her feelings on those, particularly with Maia due in just a few weeks. The last thing Addie needed was to worry about having babies of her own, particularly since her boyfriend hadn’t even come to terms with their engagement yet. As Cael moved to her side, she wrapped her arm around the smooth black silk shirt he wore. He had on black slacks similar to Jared’s, only Cael’s seemed to fit nicer. The man knew how to wear dress pants in a way that made Addie want to take them off him.

“Hey, everyone!” Darcy said while walking toward them, her arm tucked inside another young woman’s. “Like your hair, Addie. It compliments your face just like I said it would.”

Addie ran her fingers through a few of the tendrils hanging from the fancy messy up-do hairstyle she and Darcy had found in a magazine and copied. She’d been so proud of being able to get it all to stay in place.

“Yeah, I do too. You look sexy,” Cael said, wiggling his eyebrows.

“You’re so lucky, Addie. Your boyfriend is always full of compliments.”

“What about me, Darcy? I already told you how beautiful you look tonight,” Jared said, making Darcy laugh.

“Yeah, you did. I guess I’m pretty lucky too.” She turned a little, showing off a lime green form-fitting mini dress, one she claimed had been hanging in her closet for months waiting for just the right occasion. “Hey, I’d like you to meet my new friend, Caitlin. She was at the bar the other night and we got to talking and it turns out she’s visiting Whisper Cape with her dad. He’s here on business or something and she’s bored out of her mind. So I invited her and her dad to stop by.”

“Nice to meet you, Caitlin.” Addie smiled, admiring the newcomer’s outfit, a slimming a-line red and white dress showing off some beautiful, long slender legs. She wore her dark, almost black hair pulled to the side of her neck and fastened with white beads that twisted through the beautiful dark tendrils flowing over her shoulder to the top of her breast. There was something familiar about this girl and Addie instantly remembered having a similar case of outfit envy previously. “Hey, I’ve seen you before. Wait. I know. Gosh, it was a few weeks ago or close to that. At the bar.”

“Hmmm… maybe. We … I mean my dad and I were here about that time. He’s been coming here quite frequently lately. I’ve tagged along with him because I love the area. I’d like to make my home here eventually, I think. Nice to meet you all.” Caitlin shook hands with Addie, then Cael and Jared.

“Where’d your dad go?” Darcy asked. “I thought he was right behind us.”

“Oh, I don’t know. I thought he was too. Oh well, he’ll be along soon enough. I’m sure he’s just lingering inside. This is a gorgeous spread.” She gestured toward the display of food on the table. “It looks delicious.”

“You can thank Jared for that,” Cael said.

“Caitlin.” A male’s voice bellowed from behind them.

“See. I told you he’d be along soon. Hey, Dad, over here.” Caitlin waved and Addie and Cael turned to see the man walking toward them. Cael’s eyes grew huge then narrowed to angry slits.

Chapter 24

“What are you doing here?” Cael asked.

“This is my dad,” Caitlin said, making her way toward the man. “Sorry, is something wrong? Do you two know each other?” Caitlin asked.

“Hello, Cael. I didn’t realize you would be here. When Caitlin told me we were invited to a local party, I just thought she meant with some girls she’d become acquainted with around town. I had no idea.”

“Bullshit!”

“Cael!?” Addie said. “Why are you acting this way? Who is this man?”

“Okay, okay. Cael, you’re right. It’s not just by chance that I’m here. You caught me. Happy now?”

“No. I want you to leave.”

“I wanted to see you. I needed to see you.”

“You’ve had your chances, a lot of them. Now leave.”

“What is going on?” Caitlin asked. “How do you know each other?”

“Cael, please. Give him a chance,” Siana said, walking up to them and placing her hand on Cael’s shoulder.

“Mom? What are you doing here?” Caitlin asked, looking just as shocked as Cael. Why was she calling his mother “Mom?” His mother wore her hair up, giving her that extra edge of authority she liked to convey. Portraying that self-confidence with a royal blue skirt and jacket only solidified the effect.