At Hidden Falls (Angel's Bay Novel) (4 page)

“And it did,” he said with a smile. Annie had gone into labor in the middle of Kara Lynch’s Halloween party on Sunday night. “For a few minutes there, I was afraid she’d have the baby in my car.”

Charlotte grinned. “It wouldn’t be the first time I’ve delivered a baby in a car. It’s hell on the upholstery.”

He winced. “Too much information.”

“Anyway, I’ve had two other babies come into the world since then, and it’s only Tuesday night. Fortunately, I don’t have anyone else near delivery for another couple of weeks.”

“How’s Annie doing?”

“She came home yesterday. Physically, she’s fine; mentally and emotionally, she’s a mess. She’s driving herself crazy about whether she should give up her baby for adoption. The adoptive couples she’s spoken to are all desperate for her to make up her mind, and I can’t blame them, but this isn’t anywhere close to an ideal situation. Annie has already held her son in her arms. How will she be able to give him up now? Maybe if she’d done it right away, the second he was born, but he came ten days early, and she wasn’t ready to say good-bye. She’s still torn between wanting to keep him and wanting to give him a better life with a stable family. I don’t know what she’ll do.”

“It’s a big decision. Will she stay with you and your mother until she decides?”

Charlotte and her mother, Monica, had taken Annie in six months earlier. The eighteen-year-old had no living relatives except a mentally ill father, and she’d desperately needed support. Charlotte had stepped up; she couldn’t stand by and do nothing when she saw someone in pain. It was one of the things Joe liked most about her. But he wondered if she and her mother were really prepared to help Annie raise her baby over the long term.

“She’ll stay for now. We’ll see how it goes. There’s still the unresolved issue of paternity, but one thing at a time.” She glanced down at her watch. “I should get home. My mother has been with Annie and the baby all day, and none of us got much sleep last night. That seven-pound bundle of joy can really cry. Annie is afraid to breastfeed, thinking she’ll get even more attached, so we all took turns with the bottle. Her baby is picking up on her indecision.”

“Sounds like you have your hands full.”

“As do you,” she said with a smile. “It’s nice to meet someone from your family. Maybe I can get Isabella to tell me some of your secrets.”

And maybe he’d made a mistake putting the two of them together, but it was too late now. “I’ve already told you my secrets,” he said lightly.

“I’ve barely scratched the surface. But I’m not done trying,” she teased.

It was the perfect opportunity to ask her out. But while that question had been hovering on his lips for the past few days, he’d held it back. He wasn’t officially divorced yet. Nor was he quite ready to get involved with another woman, and Charlotte wasn’t just any woman. She was already someone he cared about. He wasn’t ready to dive into something deep and intense, but with her, he didn’t think it could be any other way.

Or maybe he was a coward. Because if he did ask her out, he really didn’t want her to say no, and he wasn’t completely convinced that he’d get a yes. She might be willing to flirt, but he wasn’t so sure about her taking a bigger step forward.

Charlotte’s cell phone began to vibrate. “This is my mother. Hang on a sec, will you?” She moved a few steps down the hall into a quiet alcove.

He didn’t want to intrude on her call, but when she said, “What do you mean she’s gone?” he walked down the hall to join her.

“I’ve got to get home,” Charlotte said, ending the call.

“Something wrong?”

“Annie went out for a walk hours ago and never came back. The baby was napping, and my mother had a friend over, so she didn’t realize until just now that Annie hadn’t returned. I can’t imagine where she could be.” Charlotte glanced down at her watch. “It’s after eight.”

“Maybe she’s talking to the father,” he suggested. The identity of the baby’s father was still a mystery to everyone but Annie. “She needs to get his release to give the baby up.”

“I suppose, but she’s had nine months to talk to him. You’re probably right, though. She doesn’t really have any other friends, so he seems the likely choice. But still, to stay away so long when she just got out of the hospital and had a baby . . . I don’t have a good feeling about this.”

He didn’t, either. “There’s another scenario to consider.”

“I don’t want to believe she’s run away,” Charlotte said quickly, shaking her head.

“She’s been under a lot of pressure. It might have gotten to her.”

“She wouldn’t leave her baby behind. She loves him.”

“She’s also exhausted and confused.”

“And her hormones are running rampant,” Charlotte added. “I hope you’re wrong.”

“Call me when you find out more. I’ll help any way I can.”

“You have a dog,” Isabella said in amazement as she stepped into Joe’s living room, and a large golden retriever jumped up and smothered her with kisses. “And he’s
really
friendly.”

Joe grabbed his collar. “Sorry about that. Down, Rufus.”

The dog gave an eager bark in reply.

“He belonged to Uncle Carlos,” Joe explained. “The neighbors took him for a while, but once I moved in, he dug his way back into the yard and hasn’t left since. He’ll settle down in a second. He always gets excited when I come home. Don’t you, boy?” he added as he scratched behind the dog’s ears.

“I feel better knowing you’re not coming home to a quiet, lonely house,” she said.

“Rufus is good company. Man’s best friend,” he said with a smile.

She smiled back. “And you always wanted a dog. But Teresa had allergies, so we couldn’t have one at home, and Rachel didn’t like dogs. I guess you can finally do what you want.”

“The silver lining to divorce,” he said, his smile slipping away. As she shivered, he moved toward the thermostat on the wall, and said, “It will be warm soon. This place doesn’t take long to heat up.”

Isabella looked around the small house her brother had inherited from their uncle almost a year ago. The rooms were sparsely decorated: a brown futon and a recliner in front of a big-screen TV, some chairs and a table in the dining room, none of which she recognized. These pieces had not come from the house Joe had shared with Rachel. He’d left his L.A. life behind in every way.

“The house needs a remodel,” Joe said, following her gaze. “Uncle Carlos let things go. The roof leaked with the last rain, but the view from the deck is spectacular. Do you want to take a look?”

She shook her head. The dark night and the sound of the ocean would only remind her of those terrifying moments on the cliff. “Later.” She picked up a photo from the mantel. “Is this Uncle Carlos? I don’t remember him.”

“That’s him. He only came to L.A. a few times. Dad used to bring me up here to fish when I was about ten or twelve. Carlos was actually Dad’s uncle, our great-uncle. He was quite a character, and he could tell a story like no one else. You would have liked him.”

“I probably would have. I did like the pendant you sent me.” She pulled it out from under her blouse. “It was a good thing I had it on, or I would have lost it, too.”

“It looks good on you. The blue reminded me of your eyes. I found it in a wooden box in the basement with some other costume jewelry. There are a lot of boxes I still haven’t gone through yet. And anything I found that looked like it might have sentimental value for someone in the family I stuck down there as well.”

“Maybe I can help you sort through it while I’m here,” she offered. “Who knows what might be down there waiting to be discovered? I’m surprised you’ve left it this long. Where’s your sense of adventure?”

“I get enough excitement on the job.”

“In Angel’s Bay?” she asked dubiously.

“There’s enough to keep me busy and on my toes,” he said, stiffening a little.

“I wasn’t criticizing. I’m the last one to judge someone for making a change in their life.” She paused, fingering the pendant. “It’s funny that Uncle Carlos would have this necklace when he never married. I wonder who it belonged to.”

“I have no idea.” His gaze narrowed thoughtfully. “You’re awfully curious about Uncle Carlos all of a sudden. Is something going on?”

“I don’t know what you mean.”

“I don’t think you’ve told me the real reason you’re here.”

“I wanted to see you, Joe. I’ve been worried about you.”

“There’s not more? Maybe something to do with that pendant?”

She’d forgotten how perceptive he could be. “Can we talk later? I really want to take a bath.”

“Sure. Sorry. You’re freezing, and I’m interrogating you.” He waved his hand toward the hall. “The bathroom is the first door on your left. I’ll find you some sweats and a T-shirt. And while you’re cleaning up, I’ll make us some dinner. You must be starving.”

“I am—but you’re going to cook?” she asked doubtfully.

“I can make a few things,” he said dryly. “It won’t be Dad’s tamales or Mom’s Irish stew, but I can scramble up some eggs and put in some toast.”

“I’ll take it. But don’t start them yet. I plan to be in that tub for a while.”

“Take all the time you need. And Izzy, I’m glad you’re all right.”

“Me, too.” She headed into the bathroom and glanced into the mirror. Big mistake! No wonder Joe had been so freaked when he saw her, she looked like a ghost. There was no color in her face, making the raised cuts appear worse. Her hair was a muddy mess, and her eyes were huge, still reflecting the horror of seeing her death come so close.

Glancing away, she started the bath and undressed, wincing when she had to use her left hand. There was no fracture, thank goodness, just a sprain. When the tub was full, she sank into the warmth with a grateful sigh. Resting her head on the back of the tub, she closed her eyes and let herself breathe. She needed her heart to slow down, her body to relax. She tried to remember the mantras from her yoga classes. Yoga was about living in the moment, which was her preference. Seeing the future never seemed to make anyone happy, least of all her.

But her mind seemed to have other ideas. As she tried to find that peaceful place, Nick Hartley’s face flashed through her brain.

He was telling her something, but she couldn’t hear him. There was a roaring in her ears. Was it the wind? Or was it her own heart pounding?

She’d hoped that her earlier visions had been foreshadowing the car crash, in which case they should have stopped. But she couldn’t shake the feeling that this was just the beginning.

An hour later, dressed in Joe’s oversized sweats and T-shirt, Isabella sat down at the dining-room table and dug into a plateful of scrambled eggs. “These aren’t half bad,” she said in surprise. Joe had mixed in veggies and had also fried up some bacon. She was impressed with the effort. As her stomach filled, her tension eased. She was clean, warm, and alive, and for now, that was enough.

“How can you tell how good they are?” Joe asked dryly. “You smothered them in salsa.”

“Everything tastes better with hot sauce,” she said with a grin, repeating their father’s favorite phrase. “And I love breakfast for dinner.”

“Then you won’t starve around here.”

She smiled. “It
is
nice to see you, Joe.”

“Likewise.”

“Really? You haven’t exactly sent any invitations to the family to come and visit.”

He shrugged. “I’ve been getting settled in. But you know you’re always welcome. What’s going on with your work?”

“My next movie project got postponed until after Christmas, so I have some time to kill.”

“What about that guy you were seeing? He won’t miss you?”

“Jarrod and I were over six months ago,” she said with a dismissive wave.

“I’m sorry to hear that. It’s hard to keep up with your love life.”

“Why do I feel a big-brother lecture coming on? I haven’t met the right guy, Joe. I know you and everyone else in the family think I need to settle down and pick something—a guy, a nine-to-five job, a permanent address—but I’ll know when I’ve found where I belong and who I belong with. And then I’ll stick.”

“I wasn’t going to lecture,” he said with a smile. “I actually admire your adventurous spirit and your unwillingness to settle. More people should be like you.”

Isabella felt surprised and pleased. She’d taken a lot of heat from her parents and her sisters about her multitude of jobs and boyfriends. She’d been out of step with her family for most of her life.

As Joe lifted his beer for a swig, his face grew pensive, and she had a feeling he was thinking not about her love life anymore but about his own.

“So what happened with you and Rachel?” she asked. “I didn’t think you two would ever split up. It shocked all of us.”

“We grew apart,” he said shortly.

When it didn’t appear that he intended to elaborate, she said, “That’s it? That’s all I get?”

“What do you want me to say?”

“When I saw Rachel a few weeks ago, she was really thin, and she looked tired. I asked her how she was doing, and she almost started to cry. I don’t think she’s happy about the divorce.”

Joe’s jaw tightened. “It was her idea.”

“If you didn’t want it, why did you sign the papers?” she countered.

“I don’t want to get into this, Isabella.”

“I know you’re not used to confiding in me. There are too many years between us. But I am your sister, and I’m not a kid anymore. I’ll listen if you want to talk.”

“There’s nothing to talk about. Rachel and I don’t want the same things. I was burned out on L.A. I was turning into someone I didn’t recognize and didn’t like very much. When I came here, everything changed. I hoped that Rachel would like Angel’s Bay, but she didn’t. So she left.”

Isabella shook her head. “It’s not that simple, Joe.”

“No, it’s not,” he admitted. “Rachel and I had a lot of problems that had nothing to do with Angel’s Bay.”

“I want to help you fix it.”

“I know—because that’s what you do. You’re our fix-it girl,” he said with a soft smile. “It must come with your gift for sewing: your desire to repair things, to make them right.”