Finding Kylie (29 page)

             
At least, she seems to be letting off enough steam out with out directing a lot of it at Jesse.  I can’t imagine the train wreck she’s had to live with her whole her life.  She’s carried her mother’s baggage and dealt with constant upheaval.  That poor girl. 

             
She descended the stairs to the living room. From the looks of things, Chastity and Jesse seemed to be getting some closure.  Pleased, she rounded the couch and stood next to her new niece. 

             
“Here, I believe this is yours.”  She handed the file to her, looking to Jesse for reassurance. 

             
He nodded to his wife and added,  “I think you should have it.  Take it, burn it, or keep it.  It’s up to you.  Think of it as my first official gift to my niece.”  He looked to her from under his eyebrows and asked, “Is that okay?  Are you okay if I call you that?”

             
She smiled in return and nodded in agreement.  Her entire life, she’d been waiting for some part of her to belong to the mystery family, she knew was out there ... somewhere. She was amazed that Jesse and his wife accepted her so willingly. 

             
She blinked back tears of joy.  “As long as you don’t make me call you uncle Jesse.  I get a visual of the Dukes of Hazard with that one.”

             
Lauri laughed at Jesse’s expense while he retorted,  “I don’t think you have to do anything of the kind.  I’m okay on a first name basis.”

             
“Good.  Thank you for this.” She cautiously opened the file.  She browsed through the photos, quick to laugh.  “No wonder that guy took off so fast.  I looked like I was going to beat him within an inch of his life.”

             
“It scared me seeing those.” Jesse’s face was somber.  “I knew I’d blown my chance at trying to establish any connection with you after that.”

             
She put up her hand. “We’ve gone over it.  It’s done … honestly.” 

             
Chastity was about to close the file, when she saw the one picture, which was taken before she realized she was being watched.  Her heart melted as she gazed at the photo of her and Timothy by the survivor tree.  They were standing side-by-side; close enough to touch but obviously aware that they weren’t. 

             
I remember this ... wanting to hold hands with him.
  She smiled; glad to have at least one picture to capture the moment before the day was ruined.

             
“I am glad something from that day was good.” He saw the far off look in her eyes, and was happy she had someone in her life.  “So who’s your friend?”

             
Her eyes lit up. “He’s definitely just a friend … for now.  A really good one that I look forward to getting to know better.”  She looked at her watch.  “Wow, I’ve been here a lot longer than I thought.  I’ve got to get ready for my dinner date.” 

             
Jesse stood, to walk her to the door.

             
“Would you like another copy?  It’s the least I can do before telling the private investigator to get rid of it.”

             
“I would really appreciate that.  Thank you.”  She was glad to have another reason to come see them. 

             
Lauri fell into step with them.  “We’d love to have you over for dinner one of these evenings before you return back to California.  We could have a copy ready for you then.”

             
“I would love that.  I’d really like to get to know Alex better too.”

             
“Great!  Here’s our numbers.”  Lauri was already prepared with a sticky note in hand.  “Call us when your ready, and I’ll set it up.  You could even bring your friend too, if you wanted.”

             
Jesse lightly put his hand on Chastity’s arm before she stepped out the door.  “Thank you so much for coming over today.  I am so glad to have finally met you.  Please call me whether it’s for dinner or if you just want to talk.  I’m sure you’ll have questions.”

             
“I will, thank you.”  She took the yellow sticky, put it in her purse, and said her good byes.
She left with a sense of peace that she hadn’t had in years. 

             
The afternoon turned out completely different than she’d expected.  Instead of having an awful confrontation, she made a connection she’d been waiting her whole life for.  She rushed to the car, to sit down in solace, contemplating what just happened and tried to remember the last time she was this content, other than when she was with Timothy.  

             
Now it’s time to focus on another connection that needs my attention. 

             
Chastity started the engine, in anticipation of tonight’s date.  She couldn’t wait to see where things would lead.

Chapter 3
9

             
Luckily for her, Whitney took her shopping earlier in the week.  She talked Chastity out of going to the mall and into trying a local western wear store instead. 

             
To Chastity, it looked like full-fledged red neck bar on the outside, but once inside she was pleasantly surprised to find it had array of styles, which she could have found in California.  After only a few minutes, she and Whitney were in the dressing rooms trying a multitude of different tops and jeans.

             
She silently thanked her young friend, as she laid a few of her new favorite pieces across her bed. 

             
I needed some cute things.  Now, am I brave enough to wear them?
She asked herself, as she pawed through her selection of slinky tops.

             
Timothy would be picking her up in less than an hour, and she wanted to knock him off his feet.  She slid into her new pair of form fitted jeans and found a flirty tank to wear. 

             
The green one,
she decided, smiling as she slipped it over her head. 
He’ll like this one, I’m sure.

             
She heard a low whistle from behind and turned around. Whitney had slipped in unnoticed. 

             
“Wow, Chastity. I told you that was a great look.”

             
“You’re right.  I just wasn’t sure if it was me
.”
She spun to face her reflection in the full-length mirror. “But, it doesn’t look half bad.”

             
“Nope, you look great.  So tell me more about this guy.  Friends?  Hoping for more than friends?”

             
Chastity took a seat at her the vanity mirror, to finish her makeup, and pulled out her sparkly green shadow to apply it with just the right touch.  Her artistic ability wasn’t just on paper.

             
“Um, I like him, which is more than I could say for anyone.  I’m not one to be in
to a guy like that.  I mean ... I’m in to guys,” she quickly recovered.

             
Whitney laughed at her friend’s flub. “I know silly.  I didn’t take it that way.”

             
“What I meant was ... I don’t usually let anyone in far enough for me to feel anything.  I usually just blow most guys off.”

             
“Yeah, I get that.  They usually have to prove themselves first, right?” Whitney asked, hoping for insight. 

             
“You’d think,” she smirked, in response.  “Most guys don’t even make it a week before they flake out. They can’t think past their anatomy.” 

             
Chastity looked to Whitney’s amused expression in the mirror, and quickly recovered.  “But ... uh, there are a few nice guys out there.  And maybe if you’re lucky ... there’s one that will treat you with respect.”  She stared at her own reflection.  “Wow, did I just say that?”

             
“I heard it.  You’re not as jaded as you’d like to think.”

             
“Well, to answer your question - Timothy is special.  He’s got me thinking about things that I never have before.  I’m not the hearts and flowers type, but …” she paused.  “He’s got me thinking.”

             
She nodded to herself as she put the finishing touches on her eyes.  She chose a clear glitter wand to place below her eyelashes, under her eyes. 

             
“This will offset my dark circles.”

             
“What dark circles?”  She smirked.  “Well, I guess I can tell my mom now?  She’s been dying to know what happened, but didn’t want to pry.”

             
“She sent you in to do her dirty work?”  Chastity threw her hairbrush at her.

             
Whitney dodged it, with a smirk. “Kind of.  She didn’t directly ask me to, but I wanted to know too.  I saw him when he picked you up yesterday,” she teased.  “He’s a hottie!”

             
“Yeah, he is.”  Chastity pressed her lips together to refresh her lip-gloss.  “Not bad for your cousin.” 

             
“Eww!” Whitney scrunched her nose with disgust.  “I didn’t know that.”

             
Chastity laughed whole-heartedly and was about to comment further, but Cheryl interrupted her train of thought by lighting tapping on the door. 

             
“Mind if I join you guys?” She waited in the doorway.

             
“Come on in.  We’re having a little girl talk.”  Whitney winked at her mom. 

             
“Good, can’t wait to catch up.”  Cheryl’s deadpan face had them thinking otherwise. 

             
“Whit, do mind giving us a few minutes?”

             
“Nope, see ya later.” She tossed the brush back to Chastity before leaving.

             
Unsure of how to begin, Cheryl quietly moved to sit on the edge of the bed.  She had a million questions about Chastity’s sudden departure, unclear at what sparked it.  All she knew was that her keys went missing, and there was a page torn from her phonebook. When she scanned the remaining pages, it wasn’t too hard to figure out which address Chastity was after.  Looking at her, Cheryl didn’t see any obvious signs of distress. 

             
She actually looks content
.

             
“You’re wanting to ask me, so why don’t you.” Chastity put the finishing touches on her hair, and turned to face her.

             
“I’m that transparent, huh?”  Her voice was just over a whisper.

             
“Crystal clear.  Sorry I borrowed your car without asking.”

             
Cheryl clicked her thumbnails back and forth, and bit her lip.  “That’s okay, but ask next time.” 

             
She looked up from her fingers and stared into Chastity’s eyes. Chastity could see the concern in them.

             
“Did you find what you were looking for?” She continued to search her face for any signs of distress.

             
“Yeah, it went okay.  I was out with Timothy, downtown yesterday.”

             
“Yeah, that part I know,” Cheryl cut in.

             
Chastity lifted her eyebrow and gave her one of her looks.  “Give me a few minutes. I’m getting there.”

             
“Sorry, I’ve been so nervous since I saw the phone book,” Cheryl said anxiously.  “You know, the one you left open to the M section.  I did the math.”

             
“I’m sorry.  I looked it up, tore it out, and rushed out.”  Chastity shrugged. “I obviously wasn’t thinking.  It ended up okay, ya know.”
           “Yeah, I know that part already.  What happened to make you rush out of here so fast?”

             
“At the park, downtown, there was a photographer … more specifically a private investigator, taking pictures of me.  I won’t go into details, but I recognized him from Alabama.  And, one thing led to another and I ended up at Jesse’s place.”

             
Cheryl’s mouth fell open.  “You mean they still have someone tracking you down?  When is this going to stop?” 

             
Chastity leaned over and placed her hand on Cheryl’s arm.  “It has.  He wasn’t tracking me.  It all ended up okay,” she softly promised.

             
When Chastity saw the apprehension in Cheryl’s eyes, she added, “Trust me.  It was the P.I.’s decision to take those pictures.  It wasn’t at Jesse’s request.  He only wanted to find out more about me just like I wanted to find out about him.  He was just as upset over those pictures as I was.”