Summer's Landing (A Loving Summer Standalone Novel Series): Loving Summer Spinoff (Loving Summer Series Book 9) (9 page)

“How
did you lose it?” I asked.

“Knocked
over the head, and stolen from my hands. Not even 24 hours out of my lab when
it was stolen and sold on the black market. Where it went I don’t know, but I
didn’t even get the chance to test it completely or to know how to administer
it to someone.”

Nat
walked up and said, “Marie…um, we’re being followed.”

Right
when the Yeti handed me to the box for the serum, two men jumped him, while another
pushed me down to grab the box.

Nat
punched the third man, making him drop the box, and punched him again until he
stumbled and fell to the ground. He went to the Yeti, grabbed one of the men on
top of the Yeti, and kneed him in the groin.

The
man bent over, while Nat went to work on the last man who was trying to push
the Yeti into the truck so he could kidnap him away. Too late, the man pushed
the Yeti in and ran to the driver’s side to start the car.

Nat
banged at the driver’s side door. But the man had already pulled up the windows
and was starting the truck.

The
started and gave a jump before pulling away.

“Shoot!”
I ran after the truck, and banged at the Yeti’s door. “Get out,” I cried. “Open
the door and jump out!”

The
Yeti heard me, and the door opened. I grabbed his arm and pulled him out right
before the truck sped up out of the parking lot and hit the dark road as fast
as it could.

He
landed on me with a thump, and the weight of him nearly trampled me, knocking
the breath out of me. But he was safe. The Yeti was safe. And here with me.

Nat
ran to me, frantically gathering me up into his arms and pushing my hair away
from my face. “Summer? Are you okay, Summer?”

The
Yeti sat up and said, “Summer?”

Nat
kissed me and caressed my face. “Summer, are you hurt anywhere?”

I
opened my eyes. “I’m fine. Check to see if the Ye…”

“Summer?”
the Yeti was next to Nat looking down at me intensely now. “Are you really
Summer?”

“I’m
Summer,” I said, trying to catch my breath. I had taken most of the weight and pressure
from the Yeti’s jump from the truck. I may have crushed my ribs or something.
There was an ache along my sides and back of my ribs where I had fallen against
something hard.

“Summer
Jones…” The Yeti said. “I thought I’d never see you again. The last time I saw
you, you were so small. My little Summer. My little girl!”

I
stared into the Yeti’s eyes just as Nat looked over in surprise. The Yeti tied
his long hair back, removed his glasses, and said, “It’s me, Summer. I’m your
father.”

“Holy
Be…” Luis ran up to us. “Did I just hear the Ye…um…the Doctor…was Summer’s
father?”

“Yes,”
Nat said evenly. “Where’s Hector? You guys were supposed to be right behind
me.”

“Sorry,
Sir,” Luis said. “A fight broke up in the tavern right after you and Summer
left. Hector and I were detained for a while. But he’s handcuffing one of the
attackers. The other one got away.”

“They
took my truck,” the Yeti said. “I had my formulas in my laptop and…”

I
felt underneath me when I sat up. I had landed on a small aluminum laptop case.
It must’ve fallen out of the passenger seat when I pulled the Yeti, um, my
father out. “You mean this one.” I said raising it up.

“Yes,
that’s the one,” he said. “I have most of my formulas in there.”

“Okay,”
Nat said, coming up to me and the Yeti. “We notified the French police about
this tavern. They should be arriving in minutes. The auction’s going on still
so no one would suspect.”

“So
let’s get going,” I said.

“Exactly,”
Nat said, gesturing for Luis and Hector to hit the road.

Hector
left the third attacker handcuffed to the handle of a car door, while Luis
walked over to their car and pulled up next to Hector who jumped in.

Nat
led me and the Yeti to our car, where it was already started and ready to go.
He had the box of serum in the crook of his arm and dropped it next to the
Yeti, who slid into the back seat.

“You
must be Nathaniel Donovan,” the Yeti said. “All grown up and as handsome as
Summer is beautiful. You’re married now? I always thought you two would be
together, even when you were toddlers. Sookie raised you two right. I knew we
put Summer in good hands with Sookie.”

I
was still reeling from shock as Nat pulled his car into the long
elegantly-trimmed tree-lined driveway to Summer’s Landing. The Yeti had stopped
talking for a while to admire the scenery.

Chapter 14

Summer

“
W
ow. Some digs,” he said. “I assume this is
yours?”

“Nat’s,”
I said. “All of this is his, and he remodeled the place to this magnificent
grand palace.”

“You
turned out well, son,” he said. “I always liked you more than the other two,”
the Yeti said. “Always thought you’d be the son your Aunt Sookie would raise,
but luckily for you and everyone; you ended up being one of the Donovans.”

Nat
pulled his car next to the black Audi Luis and Hector had been driving.

“You
knew about me being adopted by the Donovans?” Nat asked.

“Yes,
Nat” the Yeti said. “Summer’s mother and I were sworn to secrecy to your
parents.”

“And
Aunt Sookie’s baby?” I asked. “Nat explained to me she had one, and for a while
we thought that Nat…”

“Not
Nat. The baby died before the Donovans could adopt it. They would’ve loved to,
but instead, they found Nat.”

I
leaned over to kiss Nat then. I didn’t even think about it, and said, “Best
decision Mr. and Mrs. Donovan ever made.”

Nat
took my hand and squeezed it. I knew he wanted to say something to me, but he
wanted to say it in private.

“Dr.
Jones,” Nat said. “Now that we’ve found you, and you’ve found your daughter;
would you come with us back to the U.S.? I have a place there where you could
work freely on your research in medicine, and also work with other scientists
like yourself to help come up with the most innovative medicines, products…you
name it.”

“I
can’t step foot onto U.S. soil,” my father said. He turned to me. “That’s why I
don’t see that many Americans anymore.”

“Because
of one of your medicines that was banned?” I asked.

“Yes,
and because of people who I worked with (I don’t care who I help cure. I follow
the Socrates Oath. Not politics…so I’m banned for that. Apparently I’ve treated
people not well-liked by the U.S.”

“We
could set up a lab right here at Summer’s Landing,” Nat said suddenly. “You’ll
still be in France, and we could come visit here.”  Nat looked over at me. “I’d
like Summer to come here as often as she wished, too. I’d like her to join my
Medical Research team, as Head U.S. Scientist.”

“But
what about Dr. Turk?” I asked.

“He’s
retiring. After what happened to Drew, he felt it was his fault for not making
sure the coma medicine was safer.”

“Coma
medicine?” my father asked. “Are you talking about mine? The CX2010?”

“Yes,
Dr. Jones,” Nat said. “My scientist found it in one of our raids of the
contrabands from crime lords, and we found the CX2010.”

“Which
crime lord?” my father asked.

“The
Dragon,” Nat said. “It was found amongst his belongings. How it got there…”

“He
got it back,” my father said. “Xavier got it back for me.”

“You
know the Dragon, um, Xavier?” Nat asked. I knew Nat knew my father knew the
Dragon. He showed me a surprising and shocking photo of my father with Xavier
when Xavier was younger.

“He
was the boy I tried to reform,” my father said. “For the most part, he had some
good in him, but he was in such a dire situation with his little brother, they
turned to organized crime.”

“So
he found it on the black market just to lose it to us,” Nat said. “How ironic.”

“So
you used it on Drew Donovan, that little brother of yours?” my father said to
Nat.

“We
were desperate and didn’t have much of a choice. Leave Drew slowly dying in a
coma or try the CX2010 on him. We used the CX2010 on him, and he’s up and
functioning like a normal person, but something’s off.”

My
father got out of the car and reached for his laptop. “You came all the way to
France to find me to help Drew, didn’t you?”

“Yes,”
I said.

“What
happened?” he asked me.

“He’s
physically fine, but he’s lost his memory. Not of everything, but of me and the
last 10 years we’ve been together,” I said. “You see, he’s forgotten it’s me
and Drew who are together. We were about to get married. We were engaged, and…”

“Suddenly
Nat showed right up into your lives, and Drew suddenly lose his memory of ever
coming between the two of you,” my father said.

Nat
led my father and I into a sunny Atrium-like room with flowers and a water
fixture. There were velvet-cushioned seats set up around glass tables. “You
look like you needed a place to sit and work,” he said to my father.

“I
do,” he said. “Let me pull out my notes about CX2010.”

He
pulled out his laptop and began typing. I sat down in the chair next to him,
and pulled out my paper notes from my inside coat pocket.

Nat
came back with a tray of lemonade with ice in wine glasses.

“Oh
fancy,” my father exclaimed. “You have excellent taste, Nat. After all, you’re
with my daughter right now, aren’t you?”

Nat
shook his head slowly.

“Now
here’s what I have,” my father said. “The CX2010 does rejuvenate the body with
a neurotransmitter that jumps start the brain’s many functions. After all the
brain runs and controls the entire body. It’s our central control, and without
the brain, we essentially become vegetables. I think I’ve covered most of the
brain’s functions with the CX2010 except for one or two stubborn areas…the
subconscious. Deep within us are strong but hidden memories we hide because
they were so traumatic. I guess that is what had malfunctioned with Drew.
Somehow some event or events in the present triggered him to bury them into
that subconscious area. Along the way, his brain had dragged accompany memories
in along with the bad memories.”

Nat
and I looked at each other. “What you’re saying,” I said, “Is that something
today was so painful to Drew, he’s blocked all memories of it? What could it
be?”

Nat
looked at me with deep pain in his eyes. “My return.”

“It’s
not Nat’s fault!” I cried. “He’s the one who suffered in loneliness and exile
from his friends and family all these years.”

My
father looked at Nat and I. “But in Drew’s mind, the return of Nat, had made
him realize he would lose everything, that he had lost everything. He had
always felt like the inadequate little brother next to Nat.” My father took a
sip of his lemonade. “Oh this is so good. Did you make this yourself, Nat?”

“Yes,”
Nat said still frowning with concern over Drew.

“Even
your lemonade is top-rate. How could a goofy kid like Drew compare to you?”

“He’s
grown up so much since Nat left,” I said. “He’s gotten more serious. He stepped
up to help run Donovan Dynamics and to take care of his mother…”

“Everything
that Nat used to do, and did it with flying colors,” my father said.

“But
he’s doing it…Drew is being responsible now…”

“Was
he happy about it?” My father asked. “Was it his passion to run Donovan
Dynamics? Was it his dream?”

“You’re
saying,” Nat said, “That Drew’s brain had created a memory erase of the time he
had to step into his position as head of Donovan Dynamics. That he just wanted
to escape that reality?”

“No,
Nat,” I said. “He remembers everything about Donovan Dynamics, but he had
erased the last 10 years with me from his life.”

“People
can do that, especially with strong emotions like love and hate,” my father
said.

I
looked down at my notes and also from the formula I had written. It made some
sense. Drew’s condition physically with the blackouts and then the coma
medication was the same as before. The coma medicine didn’t affect his
medication for schizophrenia.

Nat
sat down next to me and looked at my father. “Can you bring back Drew’s
memories of Summer?”

“I
could try, but honestly, the CX2010 didn’t cause it. It wasn’t a side effect
from it. The condition was there, it just resisted the CX2010’s transmitter
enough to manifest itself into his current memories.”

“Working
on the CX2010 isn’t going to help then,” Nat said.

“It’s
psychological,” my father said.

“You
mean, it wasn’t forced on him from any medication,” I said. I looked at Nat,
and I was sure he knew what I was thinking.

Drew
had wanted to lose his memories of being with me. He had deliberately tried so
hard and wished so hard, that when he woke from his coma, his dream and fantasy
of being free from our relationship, became his reality.

“Drew
wanted it,” Nat said out loud, echoing what I thought.

My
father looked at Nat and I with sad but wise eyes. “The question is, do both of
you want it too?”

Chapter 15

Summer

A
strange twist of fate. That was what it was. The
next day, we took Nat’s jet back to California and back to the compound.

Without
my father, who agreed to work for Nat in the lab at Summer’s Landing.  He
seemed happy…his life as a fugitive finally coming to a halt. His years spent
in a magnificent French chateau working on what he loved best was just the
cream on top to discovering his little daughter again.

My
father had shaved and gotten a haircut, no longer looking like a Yeti.
Surprising, underneath all that hair, was a very handsome older man with pepper
grey hair and bright green-blue eyes…a Brad Pitt lookalike. Steven Jones was
back, and my mother had been notified. In fact, I told her that I had quit my
job as neurosurgeon at the hospital to work for Nat at the compound. Better
hours and even better benefits.

Being
with Nat these days, it was as if he had never left. I knew I should feel
guilty about being with him, like I was cheating on Drew, but when I found out
how Drew subconsciously wanted out of my relationship with him; it was the kind
of breakup that seemed like fate.

In
fact, as Nat and I changed and slipped back into his quarters as though we had
never left when we got back around 2 in the morning; there were several texts
from Rachel to me.

Rachel
:
Summer. I need to warn you. Don’t pick up any tabloids you see at the
supermarket newsstand. If you do,  just know he had lost his memories. He isn’t
trying to hurt you.

Rachel:
Summer. Don’t watch any television, especially TMZ. He’s just being old Drew.
Don’t think anything of it.

Rachel:
Don’t know if you’re ignoring my texts, but he’s back on the internet.
Trending. If you’re on, you can’t ignore it. It makes me sick to my stomach how
he’s flaunting it, but then again, that’s how Drew is.  Until you came along.

I
finally took a look at my Twitter and Facebook pages, where I was friends with
Drew.

There
had been post after posts of him with this sexy starlet who would be appearing
with Rachel in a love triangle film. My jaw dropped to the ground as Nat walked
in on me looking at my computer screen.

“So
Drew really has moved on,” Nat said slowly. “With an ex-porn star, too, turned
starlet.”

“You
know her?” I asked. “Carmel Tight?”

“All
the guys know who she is,” Nat said. “Well, have seen something or some part of
her.”

I
didn’t really want to think about it. Was this the real Drew? Was this the Drew
who would surprise me after being married to him 20 to 30 years? He’d drop me
when my breasts begin to sag unless I’ve had surgery and my butt begin to
flatten, for a girl a quarter of his age named Carmel Tight?

“Nat?”
I asked. “Is this the real Drew? Because I don’t know this guy dating Carmel
Tight. What kind of a name is that? An ad for some tinted tightening cream?”

Nat
laughed. “Sorry Summer, I think this is the real Drew.”

He
was a charmer, and also the boy who thought I was a challenge to bed. He was a
challenge for me, as the boy whom I thought I could change. And did change
until the day came for him to say, “I do.”

“Now
that we’re back, I’m calling Rachel over,” I said. “Let’s see what that girl
had been up to?”

“Yes,
let us see how much damage could my sister could inflict in a couple of days?”
Nat asked.

“Rachel?”
I called on my phone. “Come over. We’re back. We’ve got to tell you what
happened. Plus I think Nat and I would love to get an update of what you’ve
found while we were gone.”

“You’re
back?” Rachel answer. “Didn’t even noticed you were gone. Been busy. Real
busy.”

“I’m
sure you were,” I said, looking at Nat.

Nat
grabbed me by the waist and bent me over while simulating sex with me. He
whispered into my ear. “This is the sight I want to burn into my brains rather
than the one with Rachel and Teddy.”

He
kept rubbing against me, while I talked to Rachel on the phone. “I need to tell
you something about Drew so you don’t worry about him. And me. Come over so I
could tell you in person.”

Rachel
said, “I’d be right there in about half an hour.”

“Okay,”
I said, turning off the phone and throwing it across the bed before I sprawled
out in front of me. The simulated sex had now become real with Nat ripping down
my panties from under my dress and patting my butt.

The
sound of zippers pulling down and then a loud groan filled the air before I
felt all of Nat pushing deep into me and pumping steadily in and out of me. “I
can’t get enough of you,” Nat said.

“I
want more, too,” I said.

“I
wasted so much time worrying about other people and their happiness,” Nat said.
“I want us to be happy, finally, Summer.” He rocked me back and forth until I
was clenching down hard, squeezing him with my very being.

“Oh
mother,” Nat cried. “I. Can’t. Go. On. Without you, Summer!”

“I
love you, Nat,” I said. “I’ve always loved you.”

“I
love you too, Summer,” Nat said ramming into me one more time until we both
cried out and sprawled onto the bed in exhaustion.

When
the door knocked, and we both got up in surprised, Nat turned to me and kissed
me softly. “I meant to do this the right way, but sometimes just doing it, is
the right way.”

He
got down on his knees and took my hand. “Summer Jones, you have and always will
be my perfect lasting summer. Everytime I look at you, I am fulfilled. I am at
peace. I am complete. I can’t get you out of my mind. I can’t get you out of my
life. After all these years and every trial and tribulations we’ve encountered;
we have always been meant to be with each other. My moon orbits around you, and
you orbit around me. You are my Sun, and I am your moon. Together we can rock
this universe. Marry me, please, Summer?”

My
eyes were filled with unshed tears. I didn’t expect this, but in a way I had.
Perhaps that was why haven’t married Drew yet. I know I would disappoint a lot
of people if I don’t marry Drew, but I also know deep down…I can’t forget Nat.
I can’t stop loving Nat.

“Yes,”
I said. “Yes, Nat, I will marry you. You have always been my Nat in Shining
Armor. Your steadfastness and constant strong love have always been my rock,
Nat. I’ve always loved you. I’ve never stopped.”

Nat
had tears in his eyes as he scooped me up and dropped me on the bed. He kissed
me and said, “We’re taking the jet to Summer’s Landing tonight, Summer. Just
you, me, Rachel, Luis, Hector, my parents, and your Mom.”

“What
about Drew?” I asked.

“He’s
coming too, along with Carmel Tight,” Nat said.

“We’re
going to have the wedding right on the beach on the western side of Summer’s
Landing,” Nat said. “I’ll notify Dr. Jones so he knows we’re coming, and Chef
Guy.”

I
got up, pulled on some clothes, and headed over to the front door to let Rachel
in.

She
was looking a little pissed, while checking her phone. “Can’t believe my idiot
twin. He’s practically parading her around, getting more publicity for her than
for me. What kind of a brother goes with you to the film location because he’s
bored, and the next moment, he’s now seriously dating my co-star, who had been
a total biotch to me the entire time until Drew visited.”

“So
he’s replaced me with someone ‘tight’,” I said.

“I
wished his memories would come back, and he’d get right back with you, Summer,”
Rachel said.

“That’s
what I had to tell you, Rach, it won’t happen.”

“Because
of Carmel Tight? That won’t last, Summer. It’s just his immature self acting
up.”

“That’s
just it, Rach,” I said. “That’s just Drew. Anytime he’s made a mistake or acted
juvenile, we excuse him for being Just Drew. I did all the time. I couldn’t
help it. He was Just Drew. Everyone loves that about him. But we were about to
get married, and that’s when it got to him. Rach, we can’t get married. He wasn’t
ready. I wasn’t ready. The coma medicine didn’t wipe his memory away. It wasn’t
a side effect. It didn’t even affect that part of his memory. It was Drew. It
was all him. He wanted to forget about being with me. He wanted to erase every
part of me so he could erase what he’d done to be with me…his betrayal to Nat,
his betrayal to me of not telling me Nat was alive so he could be with me…and
more…stuff I probably don’t even know about.”

Rachel
rushed into the room then and hugged me tightly. “Oh Summer, I am so so sorry.
I can’t even know how to excuse Drew’s behavior.”

“No,
Rach,” I said. “He wasn’t doing this deliberately like a prank. His mind
deliberately chose to forget his memories of me. He chose the fantasy of a life
without being with me without the guilt and the responsibilities. I think,
Rach. He’s happy.”

“Oh
my God, Summer,” Rach said. “I don’t know what to say. I didn’t mean to push
you two together or to push Nat and you together…as long as you’re happy and
not hurt by this.”

Nat
walked into the room then. He was grinning. “All set!” he clapped his hands. “Chef
Guy called the local caterers, florists, the Priest next door to Summer’s
Landing, and even a small orchestra.” He turned to Rachel, “Pack your things
for a long weekend or even a week. Tonight, we are jetting you, our parents,
Summer’s mom, Drew, and even Luis to France.”

Rachel’s
face was as confused as a cartoon manga girl’s. “What for?”

“For
a wedding, Rach,” Nat said.

“Whose?”
Rachel said. “Not Drew and Summer’s. You heard about Drew hooking up with that
hooker Carmel Tight.”

“No,
Rach,” Nat said coming over to hug Rachel. He was all smiles and looking
happier than he had for years. “Summer and I are getting married tomorrow when
we land in France. At my place…a chateau I named for Summer. Summer’s Landing.”

Rachel
was sobbing. “I can’t believe it. Nat and Summer. Finally! You both came to
your senses. I always wanted you two to be together. I’ll finally be able to
call you a Donovan.”

“And
I will be working here at the compound from now on instead of the hospital,
Rach,” I said. “I’ll get to run experiments and research, discover new
medicines, help people in a bigger and broader way instead of one-on-one.”

Rachel
pulled herself together and said, “I’m so happy for you, Summer, especially for
everything that’d happened to you. I thought it was devastating to find out
that Drew had cheated on you with Carmel Tight, but now I see, he just didn’t remember.
And well, you’ve moved on to something and someone better for you. I love you,
Summer, my forever sister.”

“I
love you too,” I said crying and hugging her.

“Now
let’s break this news of the wedding to Mom and Dad.”

I
looked over at Nat and said, “And Drew.”

Nat
nodded, “And Drew.”