Loe raamatut: «The Other Twin»

CHAPTER ONE

“WE LIVE IN an apartment,” Cheryl said. “We can’t have a puppy.”

“Mom, I’d take care of it.” Josh’s pleading brown eyes were hard to deny. “I promise.”

She shook her head. “No.”

“We can move.” He tugged on her shorts. “All my friends live in houses. They all have dogs.”

“Not all your friends have dogs.”

Dogs were expensive. Where would she find the money to feed one?

Josh’s chin jutted out, reminding her of his father. When Brad had died in Afghanistan their lives had imploded. Now she and Josh lived in Savannah barely making it.

She wanted a better life for her son. That meant finding a better job, which meant training. Culinary school cost money.

Waiting to cross Bay Street, Cheryl switched the box she carried to her other hand and caught Josh’s arm. Mid-May and the temperature, along with tourist traffic, had soared. At Fitzgerald House, where she worked, all the rooms were full. She’d been lucky the day she’d found their ad for maid service. Now she cooked more than cleaned at the B and B.

Once she and Josh crossed Bay Street, he pulled away and ran to the River Street steps.

“Slow down! Hang on to the railing.” She sped up, not wanting to lose sight of his blond hair. “Josh!”

As she descended, the brackish scent of the river mingled with the aroma of onions and hot oil from nearby restaurants. Tourists clogged River Street checking out the shops and pubs.

Josh disappeared.

Her heart pounded. Six months ago he’d rarely left her side. Her life had been easier when he’d still been afraid.

Up ahead, she spotted a flash of blond hair as Josh stumbled on River Street’s flagstones. When they got to the apartment, they would have a long talk about safety.

She broke into a run, jostling a man as he exited a bar. The scent of bourbon washed over her. “Excuse me.”

“Hey, pretty lady,” he called. “Slow down. I’ll buy you a drink.”

She shuddered. Not in this lifetime.

She caught Josh as he stared into the candy shop.

“Don’t run off.” She grabbed his hand, panting from her rush. “I couldn’t see you.”

“I’m not a baby.”

“You’re six.” And next week Josh would finish kindergarten. How had he grown so fast? “You know better than to run in this crowd.”

He pointed. “Can I get candy?”

“Not today.” Not after this behavior.

Scowling, Josh held her hand until they got to their warehouse apartment building.

She dug in her purse for her keys, longing to get inside. Her feet ached from standing and decorating two hundred cupcakes for this weekend’s wedding.

“How was school?” she asked.

“Okay. Tommy threw up.”

She winced. Don’t let Josh get sick.

Juggling a bag, her purse and the box, she unlocked the door. “Can you take the bag?”

They headed down the hallway to their apartment.

“What’s in the box?” he asked.

“Cupcakes.”

“Can I have one now?”

She shook out the apartment key. “Once you finish your chores.”

“Let me help with that.” The bourbon man from the street snatched the bakery box away.

How did he get into the building? She grabbed for the box. “We’re fine.”

He held it above his head. “I’m just being neighborly.”

Josh glared. “You don’t live here.”

The guy laughed, his alcoholic stench washing over her.

She jammed her key into the lock, pushed open the door and held out her hand for the box. “Thank you.”

He leaned close. Too close. He was big. Almost as big as her brother-in-law, Levi.

She shuddered. When Brad had died two years ago, Levi had invited her and Josh to live with him. Moving in with Levi had been a big mistake.

“How ’bout I come in?” His words were slurred.

The odor of cigarettes and booze threw her back to her childhood. The lead weight of memories pinned her in place. She was afraid to move. Afraid to push past him for fear he’d hit her like Mama used to.

“Mom!” Josh yanked on her hand.

“Kid, go inside,” the guy said. “I wanna talk to your mom.”

She inched back, bumping into the wall. No escape. She wanted to duck and curl into a ball. Then when the blows came, they wouldn’t hurt as much as a punch in the belly.

“What’s your name?” He caged her to the wall with his arms.

“Leave.” Her voice was a whisper.

Josh kicked the man’s shin. “Get away from my mom.”

“Cut it out.” The guy pushed Josh into the door.

“Don’t touch my son.” She tried to shout, but the words were as weak as her knees.

“What’ssss your name?” His slur grew.

“Move.” She couldn’t get past him to the apartment.

He sniffed her neck. “You smell like cookies.”

Her skin crawled. Why couldn’t she move? Shout? Save her son?

A door at the end of the hallway opened with a metallic clang.

“Go away,” she said a little more loudly.

“I jus’ want your name.” The man thrust out a finger. “Ya don’t hafta be a bitch about it.”

Josh came at him with a flurry of tiny fists. “Don’t call my mom names.”

“What’s going on?” a deep voice called.

“Help.” She shoved at the drunk’s chest but he was too big for her to move. “Help.”

He shoved her shoulder. Hard.

She smacked into the wall, crumpling to her knees.

Josh kicked and punched. “Leave her alone!”

“Hey!” Boots thumped on the tile floor.

The drunk stumbled away.

Josh’s arms wrapped around her neck and she clung to him. “Mommy.”

“Are you okay?” her rescuer asked.

She stared at work boots and then up a pair of long legs.

Nathan Forester gazed down at her. He was the twin brother of Bess Fitzgerald’s fiancé and Bess was one of her bosses. Nathan had worked in this building off and on since last fall. Cheryl tried to avoid him as much as possible. He was so...large. But since they were connected through the Fitzgeralds, avoidance was impossible.

“We’re...fine.” A lie. Both she and Josh shook like they were standing in a walk-in freezer.

“Who was he?” Nathan peered down the hall.

“Some drunk.” Her voice squeaked.

Nathan held out his hand. His usual cocky grin was missing. A dirty white T-shirt tightened against the muscles in his chest and arms. Sheetrock dust covered his jeans. His ball cap was on backward, but thick blond hair curled on his neck. He was a modern-day James Dean without the cigarette. “Does that guy live here?”

“I don’t think so.” She put her hand in his and let him pull her to her feet. “He followed me.”

Nathan’s eyebrows arched. “You shouldn’t let strangers into the building.”

Had she? “Oh, God. I forgot to pull the door closed.”

A door clanged again and Gray Smythe, the building owner, came down the hall. “Something wrong?”

“Some creep hassled Cheryl. I yelled and he hatted.”

Gray studied Cheryl. “You okay?”

She nodded, afraid any words she spoke would come out a muddled mess.

“Mr. Gray.” Josh threw himself at Gray. “I kicked the guy and he ran away.”

Cheryl backed into the apartment. She’d almost mastered not cowering around Gray. She shouldn’t be afraid of him. He was very kind and married to her boss, Abby Fitzgerald.

“I don’t like this.” Gray carried Josh into the apartment and set him down. Nathan followed and shut the door. With two men filling the entryway, she couldn’t breathe.

“He was mean. He pushed me.” Josh hung his backpack on the hook. “Can I have a cupcake?”

She looked around. “I dropped the box in the hall.”

“I’ll get it.” Gray headed for the door.

“What if the man’s still in the building?” Cheryl wrapped her arms around her waist as she headed to her small kitchen.

“He left,” Nathan said. “But I suppose another idiot could let him back in.”

“Idiot?” she gasped.

“Sorry.” But he didn’t look sorry. “With all the bars and pubs on River Street, you need to pay attention.”

“I do,” she protested.

Nathan raised an eyebrow as Gray handed her the smashed box.

With shaking hands, she pulled a plate from the cupboard. Only this time her hands shook because of Nathan. Idiot? She would do anything to protect Josh.

But, just like in her childhood, she’d frozen. Why couldn’t she be brave?

In the box, the bright pink and blue cupcakes had smashed together. “Have a cupcake?” she asked.

Josh grinned. “The colors mixed together and made purple.”

She grabbed glasses and filled them with milk. “Gray, I meant to tell you, the latch on the entry door isn’t catching.”

“This is the third time this month someone got in.” Gray took a cupcake and paced the small room. “I’ll replace the door.”

“How about adding a security camera?” Nathan selected a mostly blue cupcake.

“Maybe.” Gray nodded.

The two men discussed options and Cheryl backed into the corner, wishing they would leave.

“How often do you work late?” Nathan asked.

She frowned.

“How often do you come in late at night?” he clarified.

She rubbed her arms. “Once or twice a week.”

“Too often.” Nathan shook his head.

Gray’s blue gaze sharpened. “No one’s living in the B and B carriage house apartment right now.”

Nathan tipped his head. “I start the restaurant renovations next week.”

Ever since Cheryl had started working for the Fitzgeralds, a sister had always lived in the second-floor carriage house apartment. But just a few months ago, Dolley, the youngest sister, had moved out to live with her boyfriend.

“Will your crews work at night?” Gray asked.

“No.” Nathan pushed off his ball cap and rubbed his hair. “But it’ll be busy during the day and I don’t want to work around a woman and a kid.”

“Cheryl and Josh lived in this building during the renovation and I was glad for the extra security,” Gray said.

Nathan grimaced. “I guess.”

Gray turned to her. “What do you think about living in another work zone?”

Men working below her apartment? She looked at Nathan and chewed her thumbnail. Having him around most days might bother her, but she couldn’t explain that to Gray. She sank into a chair, not able to take this in. “Savannah’s safe.”

Nathan snorted. “Don’t be a fool.”

First he called her an idiot and now a fool.

“My mom’s no fool.” Josh glared.

Nathan held up his hands but didn’t apologize.

Nathan knew nothing. This place was a huge improvement from the apartment she and Josh had rented after escaping Levi. Drug deals had happened daily in the nearby Laundromat.

Living in a brand-new apartment had lulled her into a false sense of security. And she’d had to be saved—again. The story of her life.

Her son crawled onto her lap. “He’s a butthead,” he whispered.

“Josh,” she warned. Unfortunately she agreed.

But if Nathan hadn’t come along, her son might have been hurt. She shuddered and held him close. Josh had to be safe. That was her job as a mother. Living across the courtyard from work might be the perfect solution.

She swallowed. “I would love to rent the carriage house apartment.”

* * *

A BUMP ECHOED above Nathan’s head. The bare bulbs hanging from the ceiling swayed and dust drifted to the dirt floor of the Fitzgerald carriage house.

What were Cheryl and the kid doing, dropping loaded boxes from the top of the bunk bed?

They’d moved into the carriage house this afternoon, barely a week after she’d let the drunk into a secured apartment building. He’d helped unload the truck.

At least she’d be safer here than walking on River Street when the bars closed.

He checked the time on his phone, but the numbers didn’t make sense—6:08 p.m.? It was after dinner. The sun had set. It had to be after eight—8:06 p.m.?

The kid thought he was a butthead. Hell, maybe he was. He planned to keep his distance from the pair. Kids made him uncomfortable. They guessed they were smarter than him.

Everyone was smarter than him. First-graders could read better than he did. Nathan inhaled and choked on the dust.

He unrolled the architect’s plans and anchored them on his toolbox. Since he’d remodeled restaurants in Atlanta, he was in charge of this project.

Studying the blueprint, he willed his eyes and brain to work together for once. He planned to lay out the footings tonight. No way would he let the crew see him struggle.

His twin brother, Daniel, might think Mom and Pop had scraped the bottom of the barrel asking Nathan to return to Forester Construction, but he would prove his brother wrong. He’d grown up in the five years since he’d been kicked out of the family company. Nathan wanted back in, permanently, not just while Pop went through chemo in Texas.

For a week every month, Pop and Mom traveled from Savannah to Houston. Pop was enrolled in a clinical trial to help him beat back the monster Myelodysplastic syndromes. MDS. Cancer.

The thought of not being good enough for the family business still stung. All his life, Nathan had wanted to be normal. Was that too much to hope for? To read without getting confused? To remember the names of people he’d known all his life? Hell, just reading street signs would be nice.

He shook it off. He’d done okay in Atlanta. He’d coped.

Locating the back door on the plans, he calculated where the first wall support would be and recited the numbers into his phone. Then he grabbed a tape measure and a roll of flagging ribbon. Time to translate the plan into the actual space.

He moved to the kitchen area and tucked the end of the tape measure into a crack between the floor and the wall. Checking his phone, he walked straight back. He needed thirty feet. He looked at the numbers on his phone and the ones on the tape measure. The numbers swam and twisted. He closed his eyes and looked again, but it didn’t help.

He ripped off a piece of flagging tape and placed it on the floor, not willing to commit. Then he worked his way through the plan.

After he’d taken a half dozen measurements, he stepped away, comparing the markings with the drawing. The architect’s plan was a rectangle. His mess of orange tags looked more like a star.

“Damn it!”

He kicked one of the pillars supporting the second story. Why couldn’t he do this? He kicked the pillar again and dust rained down.

He’d be here all night and even then he might not get it right. The crew would show up at seven thirty tomorrow and he’d still be doing effing measurements a ten-year-old could do.

He headed to his toolbox, yanked open the bottom drawer and pulled out a flask.

The door to the courtyard creaked open. He tucked the flask in his back pocket and spun to see who was spying on his stupidity.

“Ooh.” Cheryl filled the narrow doorway. “What are you doing?”

“Working,” he snapped.

She crossed her arms over her chest. Her plain gray T-shirt strained against the swell of her small breasts. Her faded cutoff jeans cupped her ass like a man’s hands would.

He fought to keep his eyes on her face. Her blond hair was pulled into a ponytail. He’d only seen it brushing her shoulders a few times. It was straight and fine and would feel like silk in his fingers. Not that he would ever touch Cheryl’s hair.

“Abby told me the work wouldn’t start until tomorrow. It’s almost ten o’clock.” She hesitated before stepping inside. “Did you kick something?”

He swallowed. “The post.”

Her brown eyes grew as large as dinner plates. She stepped back. Yeah. Be afraid.

“What is that?” She moved into the room, pointing at the orange tape.

“A fucking mess.”

Her shoulders straightened. “I know you’re supervising this project. I’d appreciate you warning the crew that a six-year-old boy lives here. I don’t want him learning words like that.”

“Sure.” He ran a hand through his hair, pushing off his cap. The same kid who called him butthead.

It landed at Cheryl’s feet. She picked it up, batted it against her leg to dust off the dirt and then handed it to him. “What are the orange tags supposed to be?”

He jammed his cap back on his head. “I was marking off the kitchen. We’re pouring footings tomorrow.”

Now he’d have to ask one of the crew to help. Apparently, he couldn’t measure and mark. The other option was to have his twin help. Perfect Daniel would give him the look. The one that said Nathan was an idiot. Besides, he’d lied and told Pop and Daniel he could do this.

Cheryl stared at the mess on the floor, frowned and then moved to the plans he hadn’t rolled up. She carried them to where he’d been measuring. “This is close.”

“Does it look like a rectangle to you?”

Her head snapped up at the snarl in his voice. Her brown eyes flashed. “Do you want help or not?”

She was willing to help him? Relief ran through him like a warm shower, easing the strain in his shoulders. “Yeah, I do.” Then he remembered her son. What the hell was his name? “What about your...kid?”

“Josh sleeps like a rock.” She turned. Clipped to her back pocket was some sort of monitor. “If he wakes, I’ll hear him.”

His eyes lingered on her lovely rounded butt. He wouldn’t mind wrapping his hands around those cheeks.

Too bad she had the kid. Josh. Josh always glared at him. Kids were a deal breaker.

“Let’s start over,” she said. “What’s the scale?”

He knew this. “It’s...” The words slipped away. His fingers formed fists.

She stared at the drawings. “Is it an eighth of an inch equals a foot?”

He nodded, afraid the words would tangle. The story of his life. His fingers flexed against his thighs.

“Wait. They already have the feet marked here. That’s what this means, right?”

She moved close, showing him the blueprint. She smelled like—apples. His mouth watered. When her head turned, her hair brushed against his arm, a silky, soft brush.

He’d known it would be.

She shook the blueprint. Using her thumb, she pointed to a number. “Is that the measurement from one wall to another?”

“Yes.” He choked out the word, hoping he’d answered correctly. Sometimes, as much as he concentrated, everything came out twisted.

“Let’s see where you went wrong.” She set down the plans. “Can you hold the other end of the tape measure?”

He headed to the wall to be a friggin’ anchor.

“This one’s right.” She tapped the first piece of tape he’d placed.

They slid along the wall.

“This one needs to be here.” She moved the orange tape. And kept checking and rechecking each measurement. He’d gotten half of them right. What had taken him thirty minutes took her five.

“That looks right, doesn’t it?” She held the blueprint and compared it with the tape they’d run and anchored.

He stood behind her, inhaling another whiff of apples. “Yeah.”

He could see the space now. There were the doors into the kitchen and more doors into Abby’s large storage area.

Cheryl helped him mark off the walk-in freezer, too.

“Now I can finish running the tape for the footings.” Relief eased out of him like a curl of wood from a plane. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.” She dusted off her hands. “Anything else you want to get done tonight?”

“I’ll mark the wall and doors.” That way, if the crew moved the tape when they did demolition, he’d know where everything was supposed to go. He’d developed tricks over the years to convince people that he was in control.

“Then I’ll head home.”

“Thank you.” Too bad Cheryl had a kid. Otherwise he would ask her out.

She moved to the door, stopped and turned back. “Do you...have trouble reading?”

Reality slapped him in the face. “I can read,” he growled. Sometimes.

“I could help.” She gave him a small smile. “At the army school, I worked with kids who had trouble reading.”

His face heated with shame. Kids. She’d helped kids. “I don’t need help.”

She jerked back a step at the snap in his voice. The woman was scared of her shadow. “It’s just...”

“Thanks for the help.” He pulled the flask out of his pocket. He wouldn’t admit his flaws.

Her face paled and she crept backward again. “I’d appreciate if you didn’t drink in front of my son.”

“I’ll bet you would.” He took a big swig. Not wanting her to see she’d hurt him.

She dashed outside. Her footsteps pounded the stairs to the carriage house apartment.

He twirled the cap back on. He’d been a jerk. But he didn’t need any help from a do-gooder like Cheryl Henshaw. His flaws couldn’t be fixed.

* * *

THUMP!

Cheryl jolted out of a deep sleep.

Josh? Had he fallen out of bed?

She raced into his bedroom. When she didn’t find him on the floor, she scrambled up the ladder. He was still asleep, his hand tucked under his pillow.

She rubbed her forehead as she headed back to bed. Maybe she’d been dreaming.

Her alarm clock flipped to six thirty. Her first morning to sleep in for five days and she was already awake?

Thump!

The noise came from the second floor.

It had been a week since she’d helped Nathan measure. Since then, the work crews always arrived at seven thirty and they only worked on the first floor. This noise was next door. A chill raced over her skin.

Cheryl threw on yesterday’s shorts, tucked in the T-shirt she’d worn to bed and grabbed her phone. Slipping her feet into her Keds, she hurried to the kitchen.

The carriage house apartment had two doors. The main door led to the outside steps and down to the Fitzgerald House courtyard. The kitchen door opened into the interior of the carriage house’s second floor.

Holding her breath, she put her ear to the kitchen door.

Bang. Bang. Bang.

She dug out the dead bolt key from the kitchen drawer and paused in front of the door. The key jangled in her shaking hand. Who was back there? Thieves? A homeless person?

Forcing herself to breathe, she shoved the key into the lock. For Josh and the Fitzgeralds she had to be brave. The Fitzgeralds had done so much for her—saved her. It was her turn to stand up for them.

Before turning the key, she punched in 9-1-1 on her cell phone, but didn’t hit Dial.

Inhaling, she unlocked the door and twisted the knob. Nothing.

She pulled and tugged, then put her foot on the door frame and yanked. The door gave way with a soft whoomp. She stumbled, clutching the knob to stay upright.

In the dark hall, she waited for her eyes to adjust and her heart to stop pounding.

A screech of wood on wood came from around the corner. So did a sliver of light.

Cheryl tiptoed silently toward the light. Her childhood had taught her well. She touched the scar next to her ear. Mama had been a mean drunk.

Before she rounded the corner, she heard a deep voice swear. Her phone clattered to the floor. As much as she wanted to escape to the apartment and throw the bolt, she didn’t. She snatched up her phone and held her thumb over the dial button.

“Who’s here?” she called.

Silence.

She turned the corner. The door was ajar, weak light leaking out. “I’ve called the police.”

“Now, why would you do that?” A man moved into the hallway, blocking the light.

All she could see was big. Big man. Big shoulders. Big hands fisted on his hips.

“Get out before they arrive,” she whispered through chattering teeth.

“Cheryl.” The man moved closer.

The man knew her name. He rushed toward her.

She turned to run, pressing the dial button on her phone.

“Wait,” he said.

She knew that voice. “Nathan?”

“Did you really call the cops?” he asked.

She looked at her phone. The call had already connected.

She pulled it to her ear. “I’m sorry. I didn’t...”

Nathan’s hands slapped against his thighs.

“Nine-one-one, what is your emergency?” a woman asked.

“I...I don’t have one. I dialed accidently.” She forced the words out.

“Are you sure?” the woman asked.

“Yes.”

There was silence on the line. Then the operator asked, “Do you need help?”

“I heard a noise, but it’s nothing.” At least she hoped it was nothing. What was Nathan doing here?

After the woman checked one more time, she hung up. What if they sent a patrol car anyway? The Fitzgeralds might decide she wasn’t worth all the trouble she always caused. She shivered. Only last year, Gray and Abby had saved her and Josh from her brother-in-law, Levi.