Echoes (13 page)

Ohio
. Tess took a drink of water.

"Mommy doesn't like to stay in one place too long," Caitlin said, swirling a french fry in ketchup.

"Why not?" Craig asked.

Caitlin shrugged, stuffing the french fry in her mouth. She held up another for the fish to see. Watching her, one would never guess that she was dealing with such incredible circumstances and uncertainties. Mrs. Sanders had been right on when she'd said Caitlin was repressing it all.

Tess sighed. The ability to block everything out must be a family trait. Wasn't Tess doing the same thing? Carrying on a conversation while inside she felt like her whole world had been turned upside down and shaken? She wanted to ask Craig why he'd accused Tori of paranoid actions this morning. What had she been doing that made him think she was paranoid? Was she delusional? Did she see people waltz off the pages of history books? Did she feel like she should know who they were and why they'd appeared like the sudden storm buffeting the restaurant outside? But she didn't ask. She didn't think she could handle the answer.

Gently, Craig touched her hand. "It'll be okay," he said. "We'll find Tori and get to the bottom of this."

"Do you know her very well?" she asked.

"No better than I know most of my students' parents. Not very well at all."

Caitlin yawned loudly. "It's getting late," Tess said.

She reached for her purse to pay for dinner, but Craig insisted that he buy. She didn't want to feel beholden to him, but it would have been ridiculous to argue over a dinner check.

"I can follow you home and make sure you get there safely," he offered as they moved to the door.

"Thanks, but we'll be okay."

As she started her car and pointed it in the direction of Tori's house, Tess hoped that was true.

Chapter Fourteen

The storm had gathered steam while Tess and Caitlin were inside the restaurant, making the drive home a harrowing test of man against nature. The rain came in thick, powerful sheets that pelted the roof and slammed the windows. Thunder exploded in the pitch-black sky and just ahead of them a bolt snapped down and cracked open a huge oak. Caitlin screamed. White knuckled, Tess swerved around the branch that crashed to the ground.

Her tires churned over the rough, flooded roads, defying the slippery, sucking mud as they inched closer to their destination. At last the driveway leading to Tori's house appeared and she turned onto it with a deep sigh of relief. She brought the car to a gentle stop in front of the house, but her clutch on the wheel was much harder to disengage.

She and Caitlin raced to the porch, knowing they'd be soaked no matter how fast they ran, but trying to beat the torrential rain all the same. They were both shivering as Tess shut the front door behind them. The dark stillness dispelled any hope Tori might be there, but they both called out for her all the same. No one answered.

Tess's despair nearly overwhelmed her as she reached for the switch to turn on the lights, saying to Caitlin, "Let's get in some dry clothes and I'll make us something hot to drink."

The click of the switch followed her words, but no illuminating comfort came with it. Tess switched it on and off again and then tried the lamp with the same result. The darkness of the house folded back like a layered swathing wrapped tight enough to suffocate.

"What's wrong with the lights, Aunt Tess?"

"I don't know. I guess the power is out."

Caitlin made a small hurt sound and clutched her stuffed kitty. "I don't like the dark. I don't like the way it smells."

Tess had never thought of the dark as having an odor, but as she gave Caitlin a reassuring smile, she realized it did. It had a definite scent. And she didn't like it either.

Headlights sliced across the yard and through the open living room curtains as they hovered there, unsure of what to do next. Tess let her eyes flutter down in relief. Craig. He must have known about the power and followed them home. She'd never been so happy to have a man disregard her wishes.

But as the headlights stopped behind her car, she realized that they couldn't belong to Craig's Lexus. They were too high. Too far apart. The vehicle's door opened and the interior light bathed Grant Weston and his rundown pickup in a buttery glow.

Famous person to the rescue…

Tess reached up to smooth her hair in an action that was at once automatic and ridiculous. Rain had plastered it to her head and probably streaked her makeup down to her chin. Why was it she looked like hell every time this man appeared?

"Who cares," she mumbled to herself, moving to the front door.

Turning on a high beam flashlight, Grant made a dash for the porch. She opened the door as soon as he reached it and stepped back to let him inside. Caitlin took Tess's hand and moved with her like a shadow.

He shook off his coat on the porch and came in. "Power's out, could be for the night. I thought I'd make sure everything was alright over here."

The words were said with cool detachment, but those light eyes scanned her face with a glimmer of concern and something else. Something she could no more identify than she could deny. A warmth that belied her shivers spread up to her face.

Tess quickly looked away and tried to match his tones. "When did it go out?"

"I heard something hit about ten minutes ago. Sounded like a canon went off. The lights went at the same time. Do you have candles and a flashlight?"

"I don't know. We just got home. I haven't even looked."

His flashlight beam cut across the dark living room as he went into the kitchen. Tess followed with Caitlin close behind, watching as the light bathed barren counters, faded cupboards and deep corners. He opened doors and searched drawers before empty-handed he faced them again.

"Is he going to make the lights come on?" Caitlin whispered. Shadows played across her face and her eyes looked huge above dark crescents and pale cheeks.

"No, honey, but don't worry. We'll be okay."

"I don't wanna be in the dark."

The fear and anguish in Caitlin's eyes was nearly Tess's undoing. Not only were the two of them here, alone and frightened, but Tori was out there somewhere and all they could do was pray she was safe. Tess smoothed Caitlin's hair back from her face and pressed a kiss to the top of her head. She caught Grant staring at her and had the eerie feeling that he'd read her mind.

"I saw some wood outside," he said. "I'll start a fire for you."

"It's okay. Don't trouble yourself, Mr--"

"Grant. Just Grant."

His voice was deep and smooth, just like in the movies. She caught herself staring at his mouth, watching his sensuous lips forming words.

"Grant," she said. His name felt strange rolling off her tongue, strange and somehow intimate. His eyes darkened and Tess felt another wave of awareness heat her chilled skin. "I've already inconvenienced you enough for one day. I can get the wood myself."

"Good. Glad we got that out in the open." As he handed her the flashlight, his fingers brushed against hers and the warmth of his touch registered on a thousand different levels. He hesitated, or maybe she just wished that he would let the touch linger. But then he turned up the collar of his jacket and went outside. A moment later she heard an engine start and his lights switched on.

Disappointment washed through her. Well so much for him being a real life hero. He'd just left the damsel in distress to drown in the dark. His headlights danced up the wall as the truck backed up and then they repositioned away from the window. Holding Caitlin's hand, she peered out in time to see Grant moving past the corner of the house toward the woodpile. The headlights illuminated the way.

Surprised, Tess gave Caitlin's shoulders a reassuring squeeze. "See. He seems like a nice man."

Caitlin didn't say anything.

"Come on. Let's find out if the stove is working."

A bright blue flame
whumpfed
up to the burner when Tess turned the knob. Trying not to look as relieved as she felt, Tess pulled out a box of hot chocolate she'd found earlier, filled a small saucepan with water and set it over the fire. What she really wanted was a cup of coffee, but she couldn't stomach another cup of the instant stuff. She still couldn't believe Tori didn't have a coffee maker—not that it would do her any good with the power out, but it would have been at least comforting to know that one existed on the off chance that the electricity would be restored by morning.

"While we wait for that, why don't we change into something dry?" she said to Caitlin. "Then we'll snuggle up in some blankets in front of the fire. It'll be fun. Just like a camp out, only inside."

By flashlight they went upstairs. Caitlin brought her pajamas into Tori's room so they could share the light while they changed.

Tess draped Caitlin's discarded clothes over the bathtub before undressing herself. Taking a deep breath, she faced the bathroom mirror. The glow of the flashlight turned her reflection into a ghost that floated in the gloom. She looked for the bruises she'd gotten during her afternoon of insanity. But her skin was clear and unmarred. The bruises were gone. Gone. All of them.

"Aunt Tess?"

If they had existed at all.

"Do you think there are lights where Mommy is?"

Tess gripped the sink. "What did you say?"

"Do you think there are lights? Where Mommy is? Does she have lights?"

Tess thought hard, trying to find an answer in the chaos of her thoughts. The bruises were gone, gone….where did they go… had she imagined them? Dreamed them up like she had those people today?

"I hope there are lights where she is," Tess managed at last. Quickly she changed into a dry sweatshirt and soft gray sweatpants. She forced the uncertain hysteria back. "I'm sure there are lots of lights."

Tess stepped out of the bathroom. Caitlin had scrambled up on the bed and sat crossed legged atop the bright red comforter, dressed in lavender pajamas with black and white kittens parading over them.

"Mommy hates the dark, too."

The front door slammed and footsteps thumped the wooden floors. Caitlin jumped off the bed and hurried to the top of the steps.

"It's
him
," she whispered and started down.

They found Grant bent over a stack of wood by the fireplace. He reached for some paper in a bin next to the wall and began to crumple it up and shove it beneath the grate. After arranging some logs on top, he lit it. The paper burned bright and fast, but the wet wood hissed and smoked in protest before finally giving in to the flames.

Looking up, he said, "I put a stack of wood right outside the door there. Should be enough to get you through the night." He stood and set his matchbook on the mantel instead of returning it to his pocket. Tess could see two silver tea cups and teal and pink writing embossed on the front of the pack.

"I'm making hot chocolate," she said. "Would you like some?"

He paused and then shrugged. "Sure."

Tess filled three mugs with powder and boiling water, adding a big splash of milk to Caitlin's so she wouldn't burn her mouth. In silence they took their cocoa in to sit in front of the fire. Grant seemed too big for the small room, or maybe it was simply her awareness of him that made her think so. He sat on the chair, forearms resting on his spread thighs and the cup cradled in his big hands.

He looked around, his eyes lighting on the life-sized sunflower that had taken Tess weeks to make.

"Huh," he said, reaching out to touch the seeds that she'd painstakingly glued, one by one, in the flower's center. "That's a lot of sunflower seeds."

"Only about a billion." She could feel her face grow hot. "That's how bored I was."

"You made it?" He raised his brows and looked at the flower again.

"Believe it or not. I don't know why Tori kept it."

"We love that flower," Caitlin said in an injured voice. "It's beautiful."

Tess smiled at the adoration on Caitlin's face. She gave her small shoulders a squeeze. "I love you, Caity."

The warmth had already begun to spread through the room, but the booming thunder and cracking lightening kept them at the edge of their seats. Caitlin drank her hot chocolate quickly, then laid down on the couch with her head on Tess's lap. Absently, Tess stroked her silky, damp hair, overly conscious of Grant sitting so close that their knees nearly touched.

"This is twice today you've come to my rescue," she said into the gaping quiet that had settled in between the thunderous disruptions.

He looked up and his eyes crinkled at the corners with a smile. "Well, seeing how I almost ran you over earlier, I thought it was the least I could do."

Tess grinned, for the moment overcoming the nagging anxiety that stuck in her head like a high pitched hum. "I guess you were indebted to me for not having a broken neck."

"You've got that right. The way my luck has been lately, I wouldn't have been surprised to have a lawsuit waiting for me by the time I got home."

There was just enough bitterness in his voice to make his smile transparent. Tess thought of the paparazzi and the pulp newspapers that had used his name like toilet paper in the last years. She hadn't noticed until just then, but his face, either bloated by booze, or disfigured by recent alien abductions, had been noticeably missing in the checkout aisle at the grocery store lately. Looking at him now, he didn't even resemble the man they'd exploited. Apparently he'd managed to elude their prying and lies long enough to vanish and clean up his act. Or had he become old news and been allowed to pass the limelight to the next victim of fame?