AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“She’d been injured. The woman knifed her in the neck. She was a little girl—Kylie’s age now. Do you think Kylie could protect a smaller child from an adult?”
She blinked. “She could have at least screamed.”
“She was fighting for her life too. Since you hate her so much, why even tell her who you are?”
Taylor chewed her lip. “I didn’t think you would press charges if you knew who I was.”
At least she was being honest. “So it was all about getting out of trouble? You didn’t care to get to know your sister?”
“Why are you interrogating me? This isn’t your business. It’s between me and Annie.”
“I love her and don’t want to see her hurt. She desperately wants to find Sarah, and if you are Sarah, you plan to twist the knife in her chest, don’t you?”
“Someone should pay for what happened to me,” she shot back.
“What that woman did was terrible, but bad things happen in life. You think Annie has had it easy? Her dad was an autocrat, and he never forgave her for not saving you. Money was tight, and she worked hard to get where she is today. It wasn’t given to her. Every person on this planet faces challenges. How you handle those trials determines your character. I think yours needs some work.”
Her cheeks went red. He hadn’t made the most tactful comment, but he was beyond coddling her. “You need to grow up and take responsibility for your life. No one is going to lead you by the hand to a better life. Get a job and work hard. Take classes in your spare time. There are programs to help with education. Don’t sit in the house and cry over the past. The future can be as bright as you want to make it.”
“I don’t have to listen to this.” She stepped back and reached for the door.
He stuck his foot out to prevent her from slamming the door. “Just remember, I won’t let you hurt Annie. If you’re really Sarah, you wouldn’t want to hurt your own sister.”
Her blue eyes glittered. “If? You don’t believe me?”
“You haven’t exactly been truthful.”
“I’m Sarah, and there’s nothing you can do about it. I’m going to be in her life whether you like it or not. If you know Annie well, you’ll know I’m right when I tell you that if there’s a choice between you or me, she’ll pick her own flesh and blood. All I have to do is drop a few whispers in her ear about you, and she’ll listen.”
He wanted to shake off her words, but he knew how much Annie valued family. He couldn’t let Taylor see how her words had stung. “Don’t hurt Annie or Kylie.”
“Or what?” she jeered.
He had no answer for that, so he retracted his foot and spun on his heel. The door slammed behind him, and he realized his hands were trembling a little. That hadn’t gone well. His meddling might have made her more determined to cause trouble.
One thing was clear—she hated Annie and blamed her for the wreck that was her past life. And Jon wasn’t sure how to stop her from destroying Annie’s happiness.
***
Taylor stalked outside into the breeze off Lake Superior, but the moist air failed to cool the heat in her cheeks and radiating through her chest. How dare he! This was between Annie and her and was none of his business. She went past the Fresnel lens tower and picked her way down the hillside to the water, where Bree threw a ball with Samson and her children.
Taylor liked Bree and felt she might be sympathetic to her plight. After all, she’d offered her a place to stay while this all played out. That had to stand for something.
Samson, curly tail high, left the ball and pounced on the white foam rolling to the sand. Bree’s four-year-old twins, Hannah and Hunter, ran into the waves with the dog while their mother dropped to a beach towel on the shore. The older boy wasn’t around, so Taylor headed toward Bree.
Bree’s curls gleamed golden red in the sunshine. It was a much prettier color than the one Taylor had used from a bottle. A light, flowery scent wafted Taylor’s way, but she couldn’t identify the cologne the other woman wore.
Bree was checking her phone when Taylor approached, and she put it down when Taylor stopped beside her. “Good morning.” Her smile faded when Taylor scowled. “Something wrong?” She patted a place beside her on aMoanatowel. “Have a seat and tell me about it. Did you sleep well?”
“I slept fine.” Taylor dropped beside her and clasped her denim-clad knees. “Jon Dunstan showed up at my door. He doesn’t believe I’m telling the truth about being Sarah. I admit it’s hard for me to think of myself as Sarah after being called Taylor all these years, but I know the truth.”
Bree tucked a wayward curl behind her ear. “Do you remember much about those early years?”
Bree’s careful tone stiffened Taylor’s spine. Did she have doubts as well? Was no one on Taylor’s side—no one in town who wanted her to take her rightful place? Her eyes burned, and the beautiful blue water blurred. She wasn’t about to give anyone the satisfaction of seeing her pain, so she turned her head and blinked.
“I remember a little. Mother used to sing songs in the kitchen. I remember some of them. One was something about a playmate.”
Bree sang a few stanzas in a clear soprano, and Taylor nodded. “That’s the song.”
