Forgotten Truths (The Forgotten Truths Series) (23 page)

“If it’s about finding Shawn, I promise, we’ll still look for him. We won’t get married until we find him if that’s what you want.”

“It’s not about Shawn.” It really wasn’t for once. I wanted to find him and talk to him yes, but it wouldn’t matter to me if it was before or after I married James. I just didn’t understand how he could still love me when I’d never done anything to show him how much I cared for him. Care for me and protect me I could understand. But love was a much deeper emotion.

“Why do you want to marry me?”

He sighed, but kept a smile on his lips. “You’re making this more complicated than it needs to be. I just need a yes or a no. You told me once already that you’d marry me, but it was under other circumstances. Whatever you decide, just understand that I love you no matter what.”

“But why do you love me?”

“Why shouldn’t I?”

“Why should you is more of the question.”

He looked at me closely. After staring at me for what felt like hours, he slid his hand down my cheek so that he was gently cupping my chin. “I just do. I can’t explain it, but I do. I’m sorry if that doesn’t satisfy your question, but I can’t explain.”

“It’s like what you said earlier, back when we had this conversation before. You’re just drawn to me.”

“As you are to me, if I remember that conversation correctly.” He smiled again. “So what’s it going to be?”

Chapter XIII

James told me our wedding was going to be absolutely stunning. It was decided that he would work on planning everything for the wedding while I was healing so we would be married when I was fully recovered. Sometimes he was in town making plans, but as often as he could he made sure he was in the room while I was awake. He didn’t like being away from me, but once I had convinced him I’d be fine then he started to leave more. Sometimes I would wake up and find Will instead of James, but once I’d wake, he’d leave. James said it was because Will wasn’t sure what to think of me. I wasn’t at all what he had expected, and he was trying to get used to the idea that he had a sister who acted and fought like a man. It made me wonder what kind of relationship we’d have, but then I’d have to remind myself that we’d only met a few days ago.

During this recovery time, I started to gain my strength back. I could walk around the bed with little help, and the scars on my legs and arms were almost gone or as faded as they were going to get. The one on my face had been deeper and therefore was going to be a permanent part of my face. James would look at it and an expression full of love and sadness would take over his face. I usually had to look away because of the feeling it would give me in the pit of my stomach. He would never forgive himself for what he couldn’t do for me, and it showed every time with that expression. I didn’t want to remember it.

One morning I woke up to find him sitting on the bench by the window instead of on the bed or the chair where he usually sat. He was leaning against the glass with a strange expression on his face. His eyebrows were scrunched together, and his eyes were closed. He had one knee pulled up to his chest with one arm draped over it. I couldn’t tell if he was thinking about something, worrying about something or both.

“James?”

He opened his eyes. After a few blinks he lifted his head away from the glass. He let his face muscles relax before he turned his face toward me. “What is it, Love?”

“I just wanted to know if you were all right.”

He smiled. “Why wouldn’t I be?”

“The expression you just had on your face would make me think otherwise.”

His expression changed slightly. His smile faded a little and then disappeared altogether when he clicked his tongue and looked out the window again. “I’m just thinking about some things.”

“Some things you don’t want to tell me?”

“No. It’s not that. It’s just…” He sighed. “Captain Brown is supposed to be back today, and I’m not sure of what his reaction will be about us.”

“He hasn’t been here?” I was surprised. I was sure I’d heard him once or twice out in the hall. “Didn’t he know we’d been kidnapped?”

“He did. And I already told him everything that happened.”

“Then why hasn’t he come by?”

“He’s giving you space. He’s also not sure what to say around you. You make him… nervous.”

I raised my eyebrows. “I make everyone nervous, don’t I?”

He grinned for real. “Not me.”

“So, he hasn’t been here then. He’s been avoiding the house?”

“He’s been here, but he left again, keeping up appearances.” He tilted his head toward me, and a small smile appeared on his lips. When I didn’t smile, he frowned and looked out the window again. “He doesn’t know that I asked you to marry me, let alone that you said yes.”

I leaned forward. “Does it really matter?”

He chuckled before he turned back to me. “Yes, it really does. I know you don’t care what he thinks, but I have a lot of respect for him, and I need him to be approving of all of this.”

“But you’ve already been making plans. What happens if he doesn’t agree? Will you not marry me then?”

He got up to come over to the bed. He sat down and leaned back so that his head was lying on my lap. He looked exhausted as he reached his hand up and stroked the side of my face. “I will marry you no matter what he says. I’d just prefer it to be approved.”

“So what would you do if he says no?”

He sat up and stayed close. He put his hands on either side of his face. “I don’t foresee this as a problem. So instead of asking his permission, I’m going to ask for his blessing. He knows me fairly well, and I’m pretty sure he knows that I’ve been planning this anyway.”

“So there’s nothing to worry about?”

His charming smile appeared on his face which gave me butterflies. “No. There is no need to worry.”

“I’m glad.”

He kissed me softly on the lips. “As much as I’ve been enjoying this conversation, I need to get going back into town. I have a couple things I still need to get done before the day is over, including getting your dress.”

I looked at him. “I get to see it, right?”

“Of course you do.” He placed his hand on the side of my face. “But in order for you to see it, I have to go get it.”

He slid off the bed. He seemed
to be in a much better mood than he had been when he’d been sitting at the window. He went over to the door but then stopped. He turned around and leaned against the doorframe before he said, “I took your dresses back to the tailor for him to put a higher collar on them.”

I had never said anything to him about the scar on my chest or how it made me feel. I shouldn’t have been surprised that he’d figured it out, but then he seemed to understand everything about me. “Thank you.”

He smiled and left. I got off the bed and went over to the window seat. The sun was rising over the town, and I could see some ships getting ready to head out to sea while others were pulling in to dock. I hadn’t realized how busy the port was. Of course, I hadn’t been around the docks since I had been brought here so I wouldn’t have noticed anyway.

James had said he’d be gone for several hours, but when darkness started to fall and he still hadn’t come back, I started to worry. Will had already gone to the fort, and once again Captain Brown hadn’t come back so I was alone in the house. When the moon started to rise over the town, I knew something was wrong. I got off the bench and slowly went down the hall. I went down the stairs without making a sound and then went out to the barn. The moon was bright enough where I could see without a problem, which helped settle some of my nerves.

Buttercup was in her stall, and when she saw me coming, her ears perked up. I opened the stall and put the bridle on the way James had showed me months ago. I didn’t know how to put the saddle on, so I used the sides of the stall to get up on her back. I clicked my tongue and gently kicked her sides. She trotted out of her stall, and when she got out of the barn I clicked my tongue again and she started to gallop. I hadn’t realized how much a saddle helped until that moment. I cringed as I held tight to her body with my legs. However, she got me to town quicker than any time James had taken me. I rode her toward the docks, and when I arrived there I couldn’t see anything. I had a feeling James had to be close, so I slowed Buttercup to a trot. We passed the piers, and when we hit the beach, I felt like we were getting closer. I couldn’t explain what drew me to this conclusion, but I followed it all the same. I saw another dock farther down the beach, one that looked like it had been forgotten about. It was piled with crates which blocked the view if anyone was on it. I nudged Buttercup again, and she flew toward the dock. As we got closer, I started to wonder what would happen if James wasn’t there. Then I wondered where else he could possibly be. I found myself looking out at the sea. I thought I could almost make out the shape of a ship. I got a bad feeling in my stomach as I brought Buttercup to a stop at the edge of the dock. I slid off and stepped forward. I peered around the crates. I could see some men standing down at the other end of the dock by a small boat. One looked to be bound by the wrists with one man standing behind him and the third man stood in front of the bound man. I looked a little closer, and it looked like the one standing behind the bound man was Jason. I couldn’t believe my eyes as I realized that the bound man was James and the one standing in front of him was Shawn. Shawn suddenly pulled a gun out and held it at James’ head.

“No!” I screamed
as I took off down the dock. I stumbled and barely caught myself before my foot struck a plank of wood. I flew forward and landed at James’ feet. I immediately cried out in pain. I was pretty sure I had re-broken something, but I didn’t think about it. I rolled onto my side to gaze up at Shawn.             

“Andrea?
Where did you come from?” Shawn asked with the gun still held toward James’ head.

“Don’t hurt him.” I gasped. I winced
when I took a breath.

Shawn looked confused as he star
ed at James. “Isn’t he the one who kidnapped you?”

“You don’t understand.” I gasped for air.

“What is there to understand about someone kidnapping you?” He glared at James.

“Because he kept me safe. He never harmed me.”

Shawn started to bend over to help me up, but I put my hand up to stop him.

“What’s wrong, Andrea?”

“I can think of a few things,” I snapped. Very slowly, I sat up. I gasped again. It must have been a rib I’d broken. I carefully sat on my knees. Nobody said anything as I progressed to a standing position. It took everything in me to stay standing without help.

All three of them were watching me closely, but it was Jason who spoke. “What’s wrong with you, Andy?”

“I’m hurt.”

“Hurt?” Jason and
Shawn shouted at the same time. They whipped their eyes to James.

“It wasn’t him! It was Mark.”

“What?” Shawn turned back to me.

“He worked for Peter.”

Shawn flinched.

“That’s beside the point. James didn’t do anything to me. He helped me. He got me out of there.” I looked at him. His eyes were soft, but I knew even if he could have said anything, he wouldn’t have. “He saved my life.”

“You could just be saying that so that we don’t kill him,” Jason said quietly.

I turned my attention to him. I knew
my anger was starting to show. “But I’m not.”

“Why does his life matter to you, Andrea?” Shawn asked. He was looking back and forth between James and me. “How can you care about a man who kidnapped you?”

I was furious. How could he act so innocent when he’d done the same thing all those years ago? “I’m not sure. How could I
possibly
care about anyone who’s kidnapped me, Shawn?”

He s
lowly turned his head toward me as his arm holding the gun dropped to his side. “What are you talking about?”

“Let’s think about it. You kidnapped me ten years ago. But what you don’t know is that when James kidnapped me, he took me to my real father. So my question for you is why? Why did you kidnap me instead of taking me back to my
family all those years ago?”

Jason looked at Shawn, confused. “I thought you had left her with her mother, but then she died so you had to bring her aboard.”

Shawn slowly shook his head, but still didn’t say anything.

“I want to know, Shawn. Why did you
take me?”

“You were in such bad shape when I found you,” he said quietly,
but he wouldn’t look at me. “I was on the run from someone, and when I saw you, I knew you were in trouble. I didn’t have time to find your real family, so I just took you with me.”

“Why didn’t you take me back then, after you had gotten away I mean?” I stepped closer.

“I couldn’t imagine what your father would do to me. I had found out through a line of people that you were the daughter of Captain Brown and that he was looking for you. I couldn’t deal with him. So I just made sure we stayed out to sea as long as possible.” He was looking at me, but it was as if he didn’t really see me. “You never questioned your past. It helped you didn’t remember, but everything came so naturally to you. You wouldn’t have believed me if I had told you anyway.”

“Were you ever going to tell me?” This was the big question.

He slowly brought his gaze to mine. “I don’t know. I hoped you would remember eventually. I didn’t want to keep you from you father, but I had no choice.”

“What do you mean?”

“What would your father have said if I had showed up on his doorstep with you? He would have put me in jail. He wouldn’t have listened to me if I had said I took you to protect you. Who would have believed that? And you didn’t even know who you were. Would you have believed me if I told you that I wasn’t your father?”

“No, I probably wouldn’t have. I didn’t believe it until I saw my brother.”

Shawn blinked and brought himself back to the present. “You have a brother?”

I nodded. I looked at James, who was still patiently waiting for whatever was going to come next. I turned back at Shawn. “Now, will you let James go?”

He glanced at James then at Jason. “Let him go.”

Jason looked back and forth between us. “Are you sure, Captain?”

“Release him!” Shawn snapped.