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  She handed the computer, along with a portable laptop desk to Caycee. It’s all there, all one hundred thousand words. It takes about eight and a half hours to read. I’d be happy to email it to you if you’d like.”

  Caycee balanced the computer on her lap and started to read, waving her away with her hand. “Go make your call to lover boy,” she said, smiling darkly. “Send him my love.”

  Jaynee released a half-sigh, half-laugh, then turned on her heel and headed toward the bathroom, deciding to make her call in private this time.

  Their call wasn’t long. Jordan had an interesting evening with Jeremy. Her baby seemed to be getting into more trouble with her being gone.

  Jordan groaned into the phone. “Did I tell you how much I miss you when you’re gone, especially when things like school issues pop up? Seriously, babe … The house, cooking and cleaning, the kids, school … me … and you still find time to write. How do you do it?”

  She laughed. “I love taking care of you and the family, and I’m home all day now, so I have plenty of time. I’m not trying to run a construction company and a household.”

  “True … I can’t wait for you to get home. Not because of all that other stuff, but for me. I know I’m your biggest kid.”

  “You’re also the love of my life, and I enjoy every minute I spend babying you and taking care of our home and kids. It’ll only be a couple more days.”

  He sighed longingly. “Sounds good. I need to get some sleep. I didn’t sleep well last night. For some reason, I couldn’t stop worrying about you. It’s just New York, I guess. I hate not being there with you.”

  Jaynee cringed, thankful he couldn’t see her reaction. “I’m fine, Jordan. It’s not like someone is looking for me. I think there are plenty more victims out there.”

  “Okay … Love you. Call me tomorrow.”

  “Of course. I love you too.” She disconnected the line and walked back into the main area of the hotel room. Caycee was reading and didn’t bother to look up, so Jaynee walked to the fridge and grabbed one of the Diet Cokes she’d brought with her. “You want something?” she asked, knowing she could see what she was referring to, even though she hadn’t acknowledged her.

  “Sure, is there chardonnay?”

  Jaynee grabbed the miniature bottle and one of the plastic cups on the counter and brought the pair over to the couch. She eased her way onto the far corner of the sofa, pulling her afghan over her. She’d had this particular blanket since Johanna and Justin were born. The once mint green throw was now pure white from years of washing and bleaching, but she loved it. She took it everywhere she went. Well, not everywhere … she didn’t take it in public, but she took it on long car rides, camping trips, and even trips like this one. She just liked having her midriff covered when she read a book or watched TV.

  She poured the chardonnay into the cup and offered it to Caycee. Popping open her Diet Coke can, she took a long pull. It was her only vice, and no matter how many times Jordan complained, she refused to give it up. She had only agreed when she was pregnant, because she had concurred there wasn’t enough evidence of the effect of artificial sweeteners and she didn’t see any reason to take a chance with her unborn child.

  “Are you going to just read all night?” she finally asked Caycee.

  “Shh … lemme finish this chapter.”

  Jaynee complied, as she knew the feeling. She hated to be bothered when she read, and she always liked to finish her chapter.

  Chapter Twelve

  (Caycee)

  Caycee finished reading the chapter while Jaynee sat quietly on the opposite end of the sofa. It was the book they’d started in college. She’d guessed, but her guess had proved to be accurate.

  It was good. The first chapter had an attention-grabbing hook, and she found herself already interested, even though she knew how it ended.

  She closed the laptop and set in on the side table. “So, did you end it the way we’d planned?”

  “Not at all,” Jaynee said, a sly smile hinting at the edges of her mouth, as though she had some delicious secret.

  “Why on earth not? It was a flawless outline.” Her eyebrows knitted together in confusion, wondering why she’d ruined the story. Granted, she hadn’t pursued a writing career, but she’d always been a writer … just like Jaynee. “That old Hemingway-wannabe had wanted a story that would make him laugh, that entailed drinking and fishing, but he still liked the rough draft. What did you change?”

  “She falls in love.”

  She couldn’t resist rolling her eyes. “The mother … aw, Jaynee … that’s not right. You ruined it! It wasn’t a love story … it was about real life.” Clearly, Jaynee had needed her half to even her out. Once they’d split, she’d obviously gone all mushy.

  Jaynee shrugged. “I think it made it better, but why don’t you read it for yourself and decide. Her faith in God enabled her to sacrifice everything for the one person who’d never hurt her, and in the end, she’d been able to experience true love.”

  She uttered a quick, “Humph,” shaking her head in unison. She glanced around at the drab hotel room. “You know, this place is dull. You should come back to my place.”

  “It’s fine.”

  “Jaynee,” she whined, “aren’t you the tiniest bit curious? Isn’t there anything you would like to know about my life?”

  Jaynee contemplated for a few seconds, then replied without really sounding interested, “Why don’t you start from the beginning?”

  She pondered Jaynee’s apathetic reply, but then smiled. She knew Jaynee was interested. She knew she couldn’t be as unmoved as she’d pretended. She tucked her legs up underneath her, getting comfy, feeling like she did when Rainey and she would share secrets during sleepovers.

  “Okay …” she started, “so you know the beginning. I emptied our savings and college fund and flew to California. I found an inexpensive efficiency and a job as a cocktail waitress. I know we’d given that up a year before, but you know as well as I that it paid substantially better for fewer hours.” Jaynee offered a non-committal shrug, but Caycee waved her off and continued, “I also accepted a position at a dinner theatre, something I thought I would never do, but it seemed like an excellent way to get some experience. I even got a few solos, which really ticked off the girls who’d been there for years. So, as always I didn’t make any friends.”

  This time Jaynee gave her a real smile, letting her know nothing had changed in the making-friends department.

  Caycee gathered one of the throw pillows onto her lap. “One night a guy comes in with a group, some family graduation thing. He didn’t look like the type who would sojourn such an establishment. You know … the Hollywood-type, dressed to kill, pretty boy. But, he’d come for his nephew’s graduation dinner. I guess the kid wanted to go into theatre, so it was a “theme” graduation party.” She made quotes in the air, giggling. “Corny, I know. Anyway, remember the guy who’d wanted to hire us for commercial jingles, but we blew it off about six months before meeting Jordan?”

  Jaynee nodded, and if Caycee weren’t mistaken, she’d finally hit a nerve. She was certain Jaynee had pondered some of their missed opportunities. If they hadn’t rejected several offers when they were young, they wouldn’t have wasted so many years with the wrong man. Three years to be exact. Three years with a no-good cheating drug addict. Stupid.

  “Well … the same thing happened. Only this time I followed through,” Caycee announced. “The jingle became so popular the cable network noticed consumers weren’t fast-forwarding through the commercial, even when they had a program recorded on their DVR. The man from the graduation dinner, Ben, became my manager and recorded a demo to send to studios. He landed me a couple of minor gigs at fairs and opening for smaller bands and then a real break. Disney had a new animated movie and they wanted a fresh face to sing the theme song. Ben sent in my demo, and voilà, they picked me.”

  Caycee accepted the nod and smile from Jaynee, but she offered
no comment, so once again, she continued her babbling, “Well, everything happened pretty fast from there. I’d been in California for about two years by then, and I was twenty-four, old by Hollywood standards. The theme song, however, was a huge hit and in no time, they’d offered me a recording deal. From there, I went on tour … you saw some of the pictures.”

  Jaynee finally interrupted Caycee with a raise of her hand. “So, no love interest, then?”

  Caycee laughed. Yep … she’d left behind the mushy, romantic part of herself with Jaynee, it seemed. Even though Caycee did want to find the love of her life, she’d been too busy to focus on a relationship, especially when none of the men measured up to Jordan. She licked her lips and glanced around the room, not wanting to lie, but not sure how to explain that to Jaynee. “I had a few over the years. Several even asked me to marry them. Problem was … none of them compared to what I knew I could have had.” Jaynee didn’t ask, and Caycee didn’t elaborate. She was obviously able to read between the lines. “There was one guy …” Caycee trailed off, knowing Jaynee would disapprove. “Unfortunately, he was married.”

  Jaynee’s expression hardened, furious at once. “Oh, Caycee, you didn’t?”

  She took in a deep breath and nodded. She’d never been proud of their affair. Didn’t even know how it’d happened, since she’d never really been attracted to him.

  “How could you? After all those years Mom did that. We hated she was having an affair with a married man. We swore we’d never do that.” Jaynee chewed on the tip of her nail, exhaled a long breath through her nose, and moved her head slowly from side to side as though she were utterly disgusted with her.

  “You don’t know what it’s like, Jaynee, night after night being alone. Ben had always been there for me, and it just happened.”

  Both of Jaynee’s palms shot up in front of her. “Wait a minute … your manager? Mister Hollywood … He’s not even your type.” She let the words fly out of her mouth with no restraint. “Great, you’re exactly like Mom. I’m surprised you two haven’t hooked back up. It sounds as though you have a lot in common. ”

  Jaynee’s sharp tone surprised Caycee. Maybe she wasn’t as pitiful as she appeared; maybe she did still have some backbone. But that last barb was uncalled for.

  “I am not my — our mother,” Caycee snapped. “I knew it was wrong … so, I broke it off, years ago. Ben came back recently, said his wife left him and he wants us to be together.” She failed to mention that it was last night. No sense in getting Jaynee all up in arms about Ben being in her apartment. She’d never agree to stay if she heard about him showing up unannounced, and she was certain Jaynee would switch with her if she played her cards right. It just so happened she was holding several aces. Not that she would ever use them, but Jaynee didn’t know that.

  She didn’t want to hurt Jaynee, but deep down, she felt she had a right to know what she’d missed. She might not even like the thought of being a wife and mother. She could get to Charlotte and want to turn directly around, but shouldn’t Jaynee at least allow her to experience what it would have been like? She was Jaynee, too. She had as much right to that life as Jaynee did. Of course, she would do everything in her power to convince Jaynee before she stooped to blackmailing her.

  Jaynee’s eyes softened, genuinely concerned, it seemed. “Is that what you want? Do you want to be with him?”

  Caycee pressed her lips into a straight line and shook her head. “I told Ben it was too late.”

  “Oh … why?”

  “He’s not the man for me, Jaynee. I’ll know him when he comes along.” She certainly wouldn’t make the same mistake twice. She’d given up Jordan once; she wouldn’t lose the man of her dreams again.

  “So, what else is there to tell me?” Jaynee said, as if trying to change the subject, but her eyes widened, as though she were finally curious. Whether to be polite or if she wanted to experience some of Caycee’s life, it was hard to tell.

  “Well, after things cooled down in California, I moved to New York, and Ben came along, too.” She decided not to mention her stalker in California, one of the reasons she’d wanted to get away from that lifestyle. “The life of a pop star doesn’t last long if you don’t keep producing new albums, but I just didn’t have it in me. So, I haven’t done much in the last ten years, a few appearances here and there. Mostly I get up, workout, read, shop, eat, and sleep. I would live a more exciting life if I had someone to share it with, but I’ve never been good at making new friends, as you know.” She reached out and tapped Jaynee’s knee. “Hey … would you like to go out while you’re here? I’d love to see some theatre, maybe even catch some of the tourist traps. I haven’t seen much of New York other than restaurants and shopping.”

  “That’d be fun,” Jaynee said, a smile lifting her cheeks. “You know, it’s kind of cool having a sister, since we’ve never known more than being an only child.”

  “Yeah,” Caycee agreed. “It is cool.” They continued to talk throughout the evening about their family, past and present. Time passed quickly, and before Caycee knew it, it was midnight and Jaynee’s eyelids were starting to droop. Jaynee definitely wasn’t accustomed to staying up late anymore, whereas she couldn’t fall asleep until three or four and then usually slept in until noon. “Jaynee, you’re tired. You need to get some rest. Do you mind if I stay and read the story? I’ll sleep on the sofa.”

  “Uh-uh,” Jaynee mumbled. “Help yourself. Oh, wait … I need to open it; it’s password protected.”

  She handed the computer to Jaynee, watching as her fingers flew across the keyboard. It was exactly what Caycee thought, she would have figured it out. They were still the same person.

  She read for four hours straight and even then didn’t want to turn off the computer. The story was good, Jaynee was good, but she was exhausted. She would have Jaynee email it to her, or she would stay in the hotel tomorrow and finish it while Jaynee was out selling books.

  She pulled a blanket out of the closet and prepared herself a bed on the sofa. The bed was large enough, but Jaynee hadn’t offered, and she didn’t want to make herself out to be a pest. The truth of the matter was she really didn’t want to go home. She didn’t want to be alone. These last few days with Jaynee had affected her in a way she hadn’t felt in years. Suddenly, though she’d been a loner for years, she needed companionship, she needed a family, and if she were honest with herself, she needed love.

  Chapter Thirteen

  (Jaynee)

  As always, Jaynee awoke at five a.m. no matter how late she’d stayed up. Her internal clock was set.

  It was her last full day in New York, and she’d promised Caycee they would hit the town. She made her way over to the end table next to the sofa where Caycee was still sleeping.

  Retrieving her computer, she headed back to bed to check her Twitter, Facebook, and email accounts. Maybe she could get in and out without getting sidetracked, as she tended to do. She enjoyed chatting with her readers, liking a few cute animal pics, finding new great reads, but then she had to turn off her Internet in order to get any work accomplished.

  After entering her password, it sprung to life; Caycee had not shut it down. Several windows popped up. The first file, her book, Caycee had already read more than half of the manuscript. The idea encouraged her. Caycee would have stopped reading if she had become bored; it was what Jaynee did.

  The next window was from her personal documents, Johanna’s page. She’d organized all her photos by date, but then had prepared separate folders of individual pictures for each of her children. She had more pictures of Johanna, mostly because she was more active in sports and drama than her other children were. Not to mention she was also the biggest ham.

  Caycee had stopped on this folder for a reason, and she didn’t have to deliberate long to realize what it was. When she was a teenager, she’d always wondered what it would be like to have a real mother. A mother who would help her pick out dresses and fix her hair and makeup for home
coming, prom, and other major events in her life. Gram was great, but she only saw her over a few weekends and major holidays when she was a child. She’d only moved in with her after graduating high school and her father’s death.

  No one had been there for her when she was growing up; even her junior prom had been a sad event. That night her father had asked her stepmother for a divorce. Not that there had been any love lost between her and Lidia, in fact, while her father was asking for a divorce over a game of chess, Jaynee had been in the kitchen … washing dishes. It didn’t matter that it was prom or any other night. It didn’t matter that she wasn’t even going to eat at home that evening. It was her night to wash dishes, her stepmom had pointed out.

  So, even though Jaynee couldn’t have cared less whether her father divorced her stepmom, she’d wished he could have at least done it after she’d left. As fate would have it, she’d broken up with her boyfriend of over two years the same night, which would have been an intelligent move on her part, if she hadn’t walked into another horrible relationship.

  By the age of twenty-one, she’d been fatherless, practically motherless, and had lived through three brain-sucking relationships because of their mentally abusive personalities and drug use, even though she’d never used drugs.

  She’d made a promise to herself that when she had a daughter, she would be the best mom ever. She wouldn’t be a pushover or try to act like a best friend. She would be a mom who cared, who was there for her daughter during all of life’s difficulties, through all the teenage hormones, and finally when she walked down the aisle.