Annalise
To meet Violet?
“Noooo,” she said, skidding to a halt. “Caine, no.”
But it was too late.
“Hey, Violet!” His big, booming voice carried easily over the general din of partygoers. “I want you to meet someone!”
“Caine!” she hissed, trying desperately to get his attention. “Not now!”
The big idiot turned back and gave her a reassuring grin. “It’ll be fine, trust me. You came here from,” he frowned. “From wherever you came from. You traveled all that way to meet her. It’s nerve-racking, I get it. But I’m here, and Violet is a good person. No matter whether she is or isn’t your sister, it will be okay.”
Annalise shook her head. “I’m not ready.”
“You’re never ready for something like this. Which is why I called her over here. This way you don’t take an hour trying to decide whether to tell her or not. You just do it, and see what happens.”
“Hello?” A woman in a cream-colored bridesmaid dress entered their circle. “What is it, Caine?”
“Violet, I want you to meet Annalise. Annalise, Violet.” He gestured back and forth between the two of them, then stepped out of the way.
Annalise glared at him, but all she got in return was a playful wink. Dammit, he was enjoying this! Ooooh, she was going to get him after, that was for sure.
“Hi, Annalise.” There was a slight uncertainty in Violet’s voice, and Annalise found it echoed in her own.
“Hello.” It was eerie. The woman standing across from her looked very similar. They were both short and thick all over. That in itself wasn’t unusual, but the similarities didn’t end there.
Both of them had hair the color of purest night, thick, lustrous and shiny. Hers was down, while Violet had a lovely and intricate bun. It was the eyes, however, that caught her attention the most. More amber than her own whiskey, the similarity between the two was uncanny.
“Do I know you?” Violet asked slowly. “You look…familiar.”
“I don’t think so,” she said nervously. “But…” her courage faltered her.
Caine stepped up beside her and laid a hand on her shoulder. “It’s okay, Annalise. You can tell her.”
She glanced at the long-fingered hand, wondering why she wasn’t immediately shrugging it off. But Violet captured her attention, and she started to speak. “I…I don’t know for certain, okay? But I was adopted at birth, and I think there’s a chance we might be related.”
Violet’s face widened in surprise. “Really?”
“Maybe. There isn’t much I know about my mother. But her name was Tracey Walker, and we look a lot alike.”
Violet gasped. “My mother’s name was Tracey.”
“I know, that’s how I found you. Your birth record.” She looked around, at a loss of where to go next.”
“So are you my older sister then?” Violet asked.
“I think so. I’m thirty-five.”
Violet frowned, doing some mental math. “That might work.” She brightened. “My mom’s here, do you want to meet her?”
Annalise’s knees trembled so hard she thought they might buckle. Without missing a beat, Caine slipped an arm around her waist, steadying her. Meet the woman who might be her mom? This was way more than she bargained for.
“Um, okay?” she said. What other response was she to give?
Violet hurried off and she turned to Caine. “I am not ready for this.”
He smiled. “Yes you are. You’re stronger than you know. Just…” he paused. “Just don’t get your hopes up yet. There’s a chance it might not be the same woman.”
“I know. Did you see the way her face got all confused when she heard my age?”
Caine nodded. “Yeah. Her mother is fairly young already, I think.”
Violet came back with a slightly taller version of herself. “Annalise, this is Tracey. Tracey, Annalise.”
Tracey looked back and forth between her daughter and Annalise. “Holy cow, you two could be sisters!” she exclaimed. “The resemblance is uncanny.”
Taking pity on Annalise, Violet started the conversation. “Well, Mom. That’s actually what we were wondering.”
Tracey frowned. “What?”
“I was adopted at birth,” Annalise whispered. “From a Tracey Walker.”
“Oh.” Tracey clapped her hand to her mouth. “Oh dear.”
“Are you my mother?” she asked, trying to keep her lower lip from trembling.
“Oh, darling. Oh, I’m so sorry. I get it now,” Tracey said, reaching out to hug Annalise. “I’m so sorry if you thought so, but no. Violet was my first. I…I had a hard time getting pregnant. We had to use lab help for Violet, though her younger sister came easier than that. Darling, I’m so sorry.”
Annalise nodded. “It’s okay. It was a long shot anyway. I…I didn’t really expect it to be true.”
The mother and daughter apologized again, and then with a last glimpse at Caine they both retreated into the party, letting Annalise deal with the pain alone. An arm tightened around her, followed by a second one. She wasn’t alone. Not this time.
“I’m sorry,” Caine rumbled as he hugged her tight. “I can’t imagine how hard that must have been.”
She let herself enjoy the warmth of his embrace for a few seconds longer than was probably safe. Then she pulled back, defenses sliding into place once again, armoring her soul. “It’s okay.” Giving a wry smile, she slipped from his grasp. “It’s not the first time I’ve been disappointed by people. It won’t be the last. You get used to it.”
The anger that displayed on Caine’s face in response to her comments caught her off guard. He didn’t say anything. His emotions were plain for her to see. He disliked her cynical worldview, though she couldn’t fathom why. It’s not like it wasn’t true. Everyone disappointed you eventually, if you let them get close enough. Why should this be any different?
“Listen, I’m going to go.” She glanced down at the dress. “I’ll find a way to get you money for the dress.” That was a lie. She’d have to sell it, but it wouldn’t fetch her nearly as much as the price tag. Hopefully it would be enough that he wouldn’t come after her for the rest. One person hunting her was enough; she didn’t need more.
Caine dismissed her concerns. “Don’t worry about the dress. And don’t feel like you need to leave. The after-dinner buffet will be served soon, and it’s going to be delicious. Stay, eat, enjoy yourself. There’s no need to leave yet. Besides, where are you going to go?”
He had a point. She was out of days at the motel, her paltry funds having barely covered the two nights. It was late and a Saturday on top of that, so finding the passersby to fund her travels via begging, as she usually did, was not going to be an option. Plus all the buses would be gone already, finished for the day.
She was trapped, the only option to hitchhike out of town, and she didn’t particularly feel like going that route. Truckers were mostly decent people, but there were enough that weren’t. Unfortunately, they were the only ones likely to pick her up at this hour.
“You don’t have anywhere to go, do you?” Caine guessed, nodding slowly as her face revealed the truth. “Okay. How about this? I know a place you can crash for the night. So you stay here, we have some fun, that sort of thing. You can laugh at my terrible dancing ability, like everyone else. Then I show you where you can crash. Tomorrow we’ll figure out what’s next in the life of Annalise Walker.”
“I don’t know, Caine. I’m not really comfortable shacking up at your place. That sounds a little too much like you want me to play Mrs. Caine for the evening.”
He put on a shocked face. “Nonsense. Mrs. Caine would flay me alive if she knew what I was doing.”
Annalise gasped. “Are you?”
“No, no,” he laughed, holding up a hand. “Bad joke, I’m sorry. Poor taste. There is no Mrs. Caine. Just an attempt at humor.”
“It wasn’t very good.”
“I guess my dancing and jokes have something in common at least.”
This time Annalise did laugh. “How about this? I’ll stay for the buffet and maybe even some dancing, if you promise not to crush my toes. Then we’ll see after that.”