Be My Baby (29 page)

Something Trey said then triggered a memory
of mine. My keys had been lost. I recalled it now.

"Wait a minute, Trey. I lost my whole set of
keys last year, remember?"

"That's right," he said, his voice getting
excited. "It was shortly after we returned from Baton Rouge. You
thought you had left them at your father's house."

"That's right. I called him and he had his
staff search high and low but they never found them. I figured
after that I had either left them on the plane or in the limo. I
bet Ms. Deeny took them."

"Yeah but Tylar, we hadn’t moved out here
yet."

"I know Trey, but I still had a key on the
chain for this house. It even had one of those circular white tags
that had the address on it. We both had them for when we came out
during construction, remember?"

"That's right," he replied. "Do you suppose
she has been lying in wait all of this time?"

"It's possible. I need to let Dad know what
happened. I'm going to call him Trey, then we'll leave to get
Preston."

"Okay, baby," he said, pulling me to him. "I
love you, Tylar. I had a great time with you this past week. I want
more of those times for us."

My butterflies surged as I pressed against
my husband. We kissed and held each other for a moment. "I love
you, Trey."

An hour later Trey and I were on our way to
pick up Preston. I had Gina's stuff in my purse. I had brought an
envelope full of the pictures we had taken on our cruise. The
ship's photographer had taken about twenty pictures of Trey and I
that we bought as we left the ship. I had printed the others out
that Trey and I had taken, from our home computer.

There was no available parking in front of
the apartment building. Trey had to circle the block twice before
finally finding an open parking space on the street the next block
down. It was on the other side of the street from our old apartment
building. We got out and started down the sidewalk toward the cross
walk.

As we neared the crosswalk I remembered that
I had left our vacation pictures in the car.

“Hold up, Trey,” I called out as he turned
from the curb to see where I was.

I unlocked the car with my remote and pulled
the envelope full of pictures off of the front seat. I relocked the
car and joined him at the curb.

“You aren’t going to bore Gina and Tristan
with our vacation pictures, are you?” he teased.

“They are gorgeous. I’m sure they will enjoy
seeing all of the fun we had.”

We waited for the light to change to enter
the crosswalk of the busy street. Trey was several steps ahead of
me as usual due to his long legs and the fact that I had
unfortunately decided to wear the new pointed toe, high-heeled
leather boots that I had purchased in Montego Bay. They weren't
quite broken in yet. I was stumbling along after him, my feet in
pain.

“It might be nice if you waited for me,
Trey,” I called out after him.

Trey turned to look back at me and that’s
when we both heard the squeal of peeling tires coming from around
the line of stopped cars. It was a cream-colored SUV traveling at a
high speed and going in the wrong direction. The driver was headed
directly for me. I froze.

In that split second it was if everything
unfolded in slow motion. I saw the look of fear and panic register
on Trey’s face; I saw him instantly dive in front of me. He shoved
me back full force towards the curb and sidewalk. I rolled up
against the sidewalk, my head slamming against concrete. My purse
and the envelope full of photos went airborne and landed several
feet from me on the sidewalk. I heard the sound of metal and glass
shattering further on down the block. I tried to raise my head up
to see what had happened. The SUV had crashed into a storefront;
the vehicle’s horn was blaring.

I saw a pair of men’s shoes standing in
front of my face as I tried to get up; a voice instructed me not to
move. I figured the voice belonged to whoever was wearing the
shoes. It wasn’t Trey’s voice. Those weren't Trey's shoes. My head
was reeling as I rolled on my other side to search for Trey.

I saw his black coat lying in the street. It
took me a moment to realize he was still wearing it. He was face
down in the street; he wasn’t moving. People had gone over to him.
I could hear shouting; someone said they had called for the police
and an ambulance. From somewhere I heard a very loud, plaintive
wail. It seemed to go on forever. It took me a few moments to
realize that it was coming from me. Then it was dark and
silent.

CHAPTER 23

Christ - what the hell happened? One minute
Tylar and I are getting ready to cross the street; the next moment
I spot that crazy bitch steering her car on a deadly path towards
my wife! The crazy look in her dark, beady eyes was enough to make
me spring into action.

I am flat on my stomach in
the street. That much I can tell. I hear people yelling and on top
of that, there is a long, plaintive wail in the distance. What the
fuck? That sounds like Tylar. Christ! That
is
Tylar. I need to get to her and
get to her right now. There is a problem. I can't move - at all.
This is fucking crazy! I can'-t move a muscle but I can hear
everything that is going on around me. I need to get to my wife! I
need to get to Tylar!

Things are getting weirder by the second. It
is as if I am watching a recap of the last couple of years through
a colorful kaleidoscope. I relax to enjoy the show as it unfolds in
my mind. Perhaps I am dreaming . . .

There is Tylar, in the barn with Derringer.
I see her slim body brushing away at him. He is so fucking calm for
her. That is not Derringer at all. I realize that he likes her. Who
the fuck is she? I have no time to ponder that as I try like to
hell to get that mongrel 'Rusty' out of the barn. Christ, he is
sending Derringer into a tizzy and the petite girl brushing him is
going to go flying!

I manage to get Rusty out of the barn. I
catch her before she is knocked to the floor. I lift her and place
her safely away. When I turn to look at her I see how exquisite she
is. I want to chuckle as I see her taking inventory of me. Uh-oh
her eyes have seen the fact that I am excited for her. Christ! Am I
in junior high school again? She is embarrassed that I've busted
her. That's fine. I need the upper hand here.

We introduce ourselves - she has a boy's
name of all things. She makes a crack on my name after I point that
out to her. I see; I have a smart-ass on my hands here. I can put
her in her place in no time. I set out to do so.

I laugh as I leave the barn and head for my
car. 'Little Miss Susie Sorority' has been put in her place quite
nicely. She is fucking fuming!

I glance over as I put my Lamborghini into
full throttle heading past the field where she is walking toward
the cottages. There is something very different about her. I might
be interested in exploring it but Charlotte is waiting. Horny,
ready Charlotte - what the fuck?

My kaleidoscope imagery has fast-forwarded.
It is going quicker now - too quickly to suit me. There is Tylar in
the saddle in front of me while we ride Derringer together, so soft
as she leans back against me. Christ - I want to take her right
then like some rutting stag…then in the meadow together. She blurts
out that she's a virgin of all things.

There we are together at Morelli's. Tylar
'pretending' not to know Italian as I admit to Carmelita that I
love her right off the bat! The little shit knew it the whole time.
I'm walking her to her cottage. I want her safe. Now she is
screaming on the porch of her cottage; those fucking silk pajamas
have set her off. I comfort her and ease her fears; God, I love
her.

Fast forwarding again; it is her 21st
birthday in Atlanta. I feel like a jealous, pimply-faced teenager
watching her dance with Rodney. I will rip his throat out if he
touches any part of her magnificent body. This feeling of jealousy
is new to me. I don't like it. He glances over and senses my rage.
He's out of there leaving her alone on the floor. Smart move,
Rodney. She has been under my skin from the moment I laid eyes on
her.

Next up on the kaleidoscope, it is Tylar and
Derringer taking the dressage cup with their superb performance in
Malvern Park; then I watch as she tosses her cookies all over my
new Bruno Magli shoes, as we collect our trophy.

Pictures flash by me of Tylar giving birth
to Preston. She does it with her usual flair for trying to be brave
(except for the cussing and yelling.) I chuckle in my dream at how
she held her own during all of it. Now I can see my little Preston
at her breast and the way Tylar is looking at her. I see the way my
newborn daughter is looking at Tylar. The love between them is
unmistakable. Preston looks just like me but her personality is my
Tylar's. I adore them both.

There are Tylar and me sitting together in
that court room in Baton Rouge. Wow! Tylar is giggling in the stone
cold silence as Judge Tylar banishes Mr. Louderdick from the
room.

I am watching now as Tylar views the open
casket of her mother; seeing her for the first time ever and trying
to make sense of it all. Her mother is beautiful in that red knit
dress. It disarms me at how much Tylar resembles her mother.

Tylar and me at the cemetery as they lower
Marley's casket into the cold earth; standing so close to each, but
yet so far apart. These pictures bring me discomfort as they flash
in front of me.

Oh God, I am at Judge Tylar's home. I want
my wife to come home with me. She comes into the room and I almost
don't recognize her! She has her hair dyed and cut like Amber's??
What the hell?

There I am waiting in Tylar's room for her
to get home. I will make love to her; I will fix all of this
between us. She comes through her bedroom door and hears my voice.
She looks over at me and I can see that she is disheveled; she has
that 'just fucked by a stranger' look. My heart breaks into pieces;
I want to vomit but I know deep down I helped her get to where she
is at the moment. I watch myself bathe her; I need to wash that
random guy's scent from her and get her to bed.

Finally! These pictures unfold to more
recent - happier times! I watch in amazement as we comb the beaches
of Montego Bay together; we laugh and talk; we love and explore. We
take all of those pictures to share with Tristan and Gina.

My God! That's where we were going when all
of this happened! Why the hell am I unable to move? I've got to
find my Tylar. I hope like hell I was able to get her clear of the
lunatic's car! I don't want to live my life without her. I know
that now. I've always known that.

Sirens are in the distance. Thank God. They
will help us get off this cold pavement and send us on our way. I
feel something deep within my chest. Someone is pounding on my
freaking chest. What the?

Blackness . . . the wailing from the short
distance away has not stopped. For me everything goes blessedly
silent in my mind.

CHAPTER 24

I awoke to blinding bright ceiling lights
shining from above. My head was throbbing; my I mouth was dry and
my throat was sore. Where the hell was I? A nurse came into the
area of what I presumed to be the ER of a hospital. All that
provided privacy was a curtain on a rod that was easily pulled
aside when someone wanted to enter. At that moment it was a nurse
who came in and breathed a sigh of relief at seeing me awake.

She quickly put a blood pressure cuff on me
and pumped the rubber bulb up to get my reading. I was still in a
daze.

"What the hell happened?" My voice was weak
and raspy.

"Don't worry," she replied in a very calming
voice as she recorded my BP reading, "You are going to be just fine
Mrs. Sinclair."

Then I suddenly recalled the chain of events
that had brought me to this hospital; to this ER.

"Where is my husband? Where is Trey?" I
asked, my voice did little to hide the panic that was evident.

"Mrs. Sinclair," she said in an almost
scolding tone, "The important thing at this moment if for me to get
your vitals and the doctor will be in shortly to examine you. You
have a head injury that needs to be addressed. Please lay back
down. Try your very best to relax."

There was no freaking way that I was going
to lay on this gurney and relax. I wanted Trey; I had to know if
Trey was alright.

I started shouting for him. The sound of my
own hysterical voice resounded in my throbbing head. I didn't care.
I was going to scream his name until he heard me and came to me. I
needed him here with me. I needed my Trey.

"Doctor!" It was the nurse screaming
now.

"I need help here in ER 2, stat."

The curtain was pushed aside and a man in a
white lab jacket was beside my gurney in moments. I saw the syringe
in his hand; I felt the prick of the needle in one of my arms as
the nurse was lying across my torso to keep me from moving. Once
again I sank into deep, dark silence.

My dreams swirled around me like a carousel
of memories. I could hear carnival music in the background; crowds
of people were murmuring to one another. Bits and pieces of
conversations floated above me. I was suspended in an abyss without
a care. I was searching faces for recognition; I was calm now. The
fogginess of my dream was clearing. Sights and sounds were becoming
more distinguishable. I was not at the carnival any longer. The
noises were now reminiscent of my earlier awakening. They were
hospital noises. My eyes stayed closed. My lids were too heavy to
move. It seemed as if no time had passed at all since I had drifted
off to sleep that I was awakening.