Mistaken Identities (17 page)

What she had gone through in the past had been hard and painful, but she discovered one day as Grayson’s wife more than made up for it. What would life as the mother of his child be like? She looked forward to seeing it and loving her new family. The future spread out before her, and she would never be alone again.

The End

Time After Time

Dahlia Rose

Chapter One

The Friday night crowd was in rare form at the Lucky Sixes Bar in Tombstone, Arizona. Stasia Copeland blew back a tendril of her straight hair that stuck to the side of her damp face. The air conditioning needed to be bumped up and Al was probably in the back watching TV instead of doing inventory or, more importantly, fixing the fucking air conditioner. God, she couldn’t wait until the end of the night. She’d go back to her apartment and turn the A/C all the way up to snowflakes and then walk around in her panties and bra until her nipples were so hard they could cut diamonds. Stasia grinned at her inner thought while she made the four boilermakers that had been ordered.

“Hey, sweet cheeks, hurry up with those drinks,” the leader of the pack of assholes yelled. “You’re losing tips unless you want to ride something later to gain them back.”

His friends guffawed at the joke and Stasia pasted a smile on her face. She took the drinks over and set them on the bar.

“Here you go, boys,” she said.

“What about my other offer?” Big and dumb leaned over the bar like he thought he could charm her with alcohol breath and the stench of sweat.

Stasia leaned forward and made her voice loud enough so everyone in the bar could hear her. “I thought we tried that last night and we found out that you have no bang for your buck. No woman can work with a baby carrot.”

His friends laughed and his face turned red. “Fuck you. You’re lucky I don’t come over this bar and show you for real.”

Stasia stepped back and got into her fighting stance. You couldn’t work late nights at a bar and not know how to defend yourself.

She called him forward. “Come over the bar if you feel lucky. When I’m finished kicking your ass, I will tap dance on your balls until you’re singing soprano.”

He seemed to contemplate what she had just said and then turned away without a word.
Yeah, that’s what
I thought
. She turned away angrily and stopped dead in her tracks. A face, one that she thought she’d never see again in her lifetime, was waiting at the end of the bar. Stasia felt like she was moving in slow motion as she walked over. Bryce McDowell. She’d know his face anywhere. Gone were his boyish good looks; he’d morphed into a ruggedly handsome man. Those icy blue eyes seemed to bore into hers the same way they did when they were kids. Well, when she was a kid and he was heading off to college. But her high school crush on him faded when he started treating her as everyone else did. Seeing him again caused the need to hit her in a wave that almost faltered her steps.
Fuck that
, she thought angrily and went to him pokerfaced.

“What can I get you?”

“Stasia, you look well.” Bryce’s voice was like the smoothest top shelf whiskey in the bar.

“Again, what can I get you?” she snapped. “Order something or get out.”

“Jack Daniel’s over ice,” he said. She turned to get his drink. “I need your help, Stace.”

That fucking nickname!
Stasia slammed the full glass on the table in front of him. “Really? I thought I was trash in the worst form, not good enough to live in Caldwell County. Why would the uppity, high brow McDowells need my help?”

“Kim is missing,” Bryce snapped. “After all the trouble you got her into, you can at least repay the favor by helping me find her.”

Stasia laughed as she poured herself a shot of Patrón. She drank it back without a wince and slammed the glass against the wooden bar.

“I see I’m still getting blamed for Wild Kim. And, no, I didn’t give her that name so don’t glare at me,” Stasia said with a cruel grin. She wanted him to hurt, just like she hurt for twelve years even though hearing Kim was missing sent a sliver of fear through her heart. Was she still living the nightmare from her childhood and it made her run? Still, Bryce being there made Stasia too angry not to strike out. After all these years he was asking her for help. “Every man in Caldwell that had a flatbed truck can tell you that for themselves. Wait, she liked it bareback in the grass or any alley would do. Why the fuck would I help you or anyone belonging to you, Bryce McDowell? Go back to Caldwell and do your own dirty work. I don’t owe you or anyone anything.”

“You’ve gotten hard, Stace,” Bryce said.

“Don’t call me that. And how would you know, Bryce?” Stasia sneered and took another shot. “I’m a product of my upbringing and the people in that environment and you’re part of that. Go home, Bryce, you’ll find no help here.”

“You have outstanding warrants that I can arrest you for.” Bryce placed his badge on the table. “You have an attempted murder and robbery charges against you. They don’t go away.”

“That was your damn sister and Dani. You know that.” Stasia leaned close until they were almost nose-to-nose and held out her hand. “Put the cuffs on then. I was the youngest and they had learned their craft really well by that time. Well enough to know how to blame it on the sixteen year old.”

“Well, then, help me find Kim and she can tell me the truth, and I have the power to make your record disappear.” Bryce took a swig of his drink.

Stasia drawled, “Well, well, the high and mighty Bryce willing to commit a crime for his family? I’m not surprised.”

“I do what I must. So what will it be?” he asked.

“No, thanks, I like my life.” Stasia spread her hands wide. “This bar, these guys, they are my family. Trash like me stay with our own, right, boys?”

The whole bar hooted and she laughed, even though inside her heart was breaking. She thought the memories would fade and she had let it all go, but seeing Bryce made her feel like that teen again on a Greyhound bus not knowing where she’d go or how she’d survive.

“You know I can turn you into the cops here,” Bryce said coldly.

“Go ahead. Why not? It’s just so easy to restart your life over and over again.” Stasia raised one eyebrow of disdain in his direction. “I learned well how to take care of myself. Having no family and no one who cares can do that to a person. But, anyway, by the time you find where I live I’d be gone and your sister would still be a slut who likes to push daddy’s money up her nose to feel something—anything. You want to know what she said, Bryce? That living in the McDowell house was like living in a sterile prison. Your father made her skin crawl and you were too busy being the small town hotshot to notice. Your mother closed her eyes to it. I hope she did run, so she could feel something other than fear and live without the drugs. If she got away from all of you then she’s free.” She took a deep breath. “Now get out. The drink is free for old times’ sake.”

With that, she turned away from him and went back to her job. She felt his stare against her back and when the door opened and closed, she let out the breath she had been holding. Damn him for coming here and ruining her good flow. Damn him for making her feel things she didn’t want to feel. Tonight she’d drink until she was numb and, tomorrow, if the cops didn’t show up, she’d move on with her life. Just in case, she’d bring along her bug-out bag and find another town and another bar. Out of necessity, she’d learned quickly how to hide in plain sight. Bryce and his problems meant nothing to her.

* * * *

Stasia got into her little compact car and started the engine. She’d done the usual clean up after the bar closed. She helped Al count the till, cursed him out for not fixing the A/C and pocketed her tips. She had about a hundred and seventy dollars in tips which was a typical weekend. She could go back to her place, grab her things and head to Canada. That was her backup plan if things didn’t work out in Arizona. As she learned how to hide in plain sight, the last resort would be to cross the border and live out her life there. Maybe it shouldn’t have been plan B but her first choice. Then Bryce wouldn’t have found her. Stasia pulled out of the gravel parking lot and her mind wandered back to the past.

“Let
’
s do something fun,” Kim said.

Stasia always looked up to the flirty, vivacious young woman with blonde hair and happy blue eyes. As happy as they could be because sometimes Stasia could see turmoil beneath the façade of happiness that Kim showed the world. They were the three musketeers—Kim, Dani and Stasia. Kim and Dani were both older than her and she was thrilled when they accepted her into their close friendship.

“Like?” Stasia took a pull from the cigarette being passed around. She hated the taste and the smell but wanted to fit in.

“Score some beer and shit from the liquor store and then party up at Lake Norman.” Dani threw the idea out there.

We could be twins, Stasia thought as she looked at Dani. They wore their hair long and straight and had the same color skin and bone structure. But there was a callousness about Dani that sometimes scared the shit out of Stasia.

“Stasia, the guy at the liquor store is always looking at your chest. You can keep him occupied while we grab the stuff,” Dani continued.

“Yeah, I can do that,” Stasia mumbled. She really didn’t want to be part of that crap, but she had no other friends.

“Damn, here comes your brother.” Dani rolled her eyes, snuffed out the cigarette and threw it in the bushes. “Can we not hang out without him looking for you?”

Kim sighed. “Daddy probably sent him.”

The way Kim spoke made Stasia cringe. One time when Dani was away at a juvenile detention center, Kim had revealed what her father did and how no one in the family dared stop him. She’d had a crush on Bryce and wanted to tell him what Kim had told her but she’d decided against it because the McDowell name was known everywhere and she lived in the rundown Ruby Houses section of town. No one would ever believe her.

“Kim, Dad is looking for you,” Bryce said when he walked up.

“Daddy can wait till I get home,” Kim said stubbornly. “Girl time.”

“I wish you’d pick better friends,” Bryce said.

Dani laughed coldly. “Really, Bryce, insult us right to our faces? I can show you how much fun I really am.”

He barely glanced at Dani. “Yeah, I’ll pass. Stasia, you should be home, it’s after eleven.”

Stasia was thrilled he had even mentioned her name but played the part of the others. “My mama doesn’t worry about me, and neither should you.”

Bryce shrugged. “Whatever. Kim, you have an hour or he’s going to send me back and I have no time to play babysitter. I’m studying for my military exam.”

“I can show you better ways to spend your time,” Dani purred.

Bryce was walking away when he spoke. “Again, I’ll pass.”

The sound of a horn from a passing car brought her out of her reverie. She stuck her hand out the open window and gave the driver the finger. Stasia could recall how thrilled she was that he didn’t accept Dani
’
s come-ons. In her fantasies, Bryce was hers and only hers. That was before he looked at her with condemnation in his eyes.

“I hate this,” Stasia muttered under her breath.

Why would she want to go back to a place where everyone treated her like a leper? To clear her name meant she could go to school and get a business degree. Her exile took all of her dreams away, but that didn’t stop her from craving them. She was twenty-eight and could still own that little restaurant she dreamed of. But because of those damn charges, she lived under the grid, being paid under the table. Going back could finally give her the chance to move forward with her life.

Stasia took the turn to the apartment complex where she lived. It wasn’t the greatest area of town but, hell, it wasn’t like she could afford the Ritz anyway. It was clean, she had decent neighbors, and a maintenance guy who fixed everything quickly. She turned into the parking spot of her one-bedroom townhouse apartment. Her eyes widened in surprise when the headlights of her car rested on her front steps and the man sitting there.
Bryce.
She got out of the car and walked towards him.

“It seems I found you pretty quickly,” Bryce said.

“Oh, joy for you,” Stasia snapped. “I’m tired. Go bother someone else.”

“I only know you.” He smiled. “Invite me in?”

“Do not try to charm your way into my apartment. Why are you smiling at me? I don’t like you and you don’t like me,” she stated.

“Where did you get the idea that I don’t like you?” Bryce asked.

Stasia looked at him and gave a shocked laugh. “Um, let me see, twelve years ago you made it quite known that your sister hung out with trash, indicating that me and Dani were low class. Celeste Blackman told me you called me a whore and that I should be paid for sexual acts. That, and the various other times you basically spit on me in words tells me you don’t care for my type much.”

Bryce held up his hand. “First, I meant that Dani was low class. Come on, you know that.”

Stasia inclined her head. “I will agree to that since the bitch set me up.”

“Celeste was jealous of you and would make up anything. That’s why her lawyer husband dropped her like a hot stone and took up with his secretary,” Bryce explained.

“I feel so sorry for her.” Stasia’s voice was deadpan.

Bryce grinned and teased, “I can hear it in your voice. If you won’t come back with me, please at least tell me some places where Kim might have gone.”

“I haven’t been in Caldwell County in twelve years. Things change,” Stasia said in frustration. “Kim probably changed.”

“I found out what Dad was doing to her,” Bryce said suddenly. “After you left, I came home from base one day unexpectedly. She was twenty–two still living at home. She wanted to leave many times but he never let her, would say that Mom needed help since she was sick. I walked into her room to say hey and he was on top of her while she just stared up at the ceiling. It was like she wasn’t even there. The only way she could deal…” His words stopped as emotion took him over. He cleared his throat. “The drugs helped her cope. I kicked his ass and put him in jail since he had been doing it to her since she was a child. Mom got sicker and I tried to get Kim help. He broke her and I’m trying to fix her. Mom is useless and bakes pies while pretending that what happened didn’t and blaming Kim. I can’t fail her. They already did. I can’t.”