Page 55 of Dark of Night

Her fingers were cold in his. “Sarah wouldn’t listen this morning.”

Kylie took her other hand. “But I’m here now, Mommy.”

“You’re a good girl, Bug.” Annie lifted her chin. “You have Cocoa?”

Kylie showed her the plushie. “Right here.”

“And I’ve got the pictures as well as Mom’s favorite sweatshirt. It still smells like her, so I never washed it.”

Jon tugged her up the hillside. They went past the lighthouseand around to the cottage in the back. The breeze blew the fresh scent of the lake into his face. Gulls squawked and flew overhead in the blue sky.

He spotted Sarah sitting on the little porch in an Adirondack chair, holding a book. She rose when she saw their approach.

Her inscrutable expression was a little off-putting, but Kylie didn’t seem to notice. She darted forward and ran toward the aunt she’d just discovered existed. “Aunt Sarah! You’re my aunt Sarah!” She threw her arms around Sarah, and though the woman hesitated for a moment, she finally embraced the little girl.

Jon held back a few feet in case his presence made things worse. Annie paused at the base of the steps with the box in her hands.

Sarah stepped away from Kylie and stared at her. “You’re back a lot quicker than I thought you’d be.”

Annie mounted the steps. “We brought you some things.”

Kylie thrust the stuffed cat into Sarah’s hands. “I brought you Cocoa!”

Sarah smoothed the plushie’s fur. “She’s a little ratty.”

Annie laughed and opened the box. “She’s twenty-eight years old, so what do you expect?” She pulled out the sweatshirt and handed it to Sarah. “This was Mom’s favorite, and it still smells like her. I thought you might like to have it.” She reached into the box and gathered up the pictures. “I thought these might help you remember too.”

Sarah glanced at the top picture of the happy family. “I can’t do this right now.” Her voice quavered, and she turned with her gifts and ran inside. The lock clicked closed behind her.

Tears gathered in Kylie’s eyes, and she leaned against theporch post. Jon moved to lift her in his arms. “It’s going to take a little time. She’s not mad at you, but she has a lot to process.”

Kylie buried her face in his neck, and he felt her tears trickle onto his skin. He had to help fix this somehow.

Twenty-Four

Seated on the love seat in the living room, Taylor stared at the photo of the happy family. Who was she really? Taylor Moore or Sarah Vitanen? The two were very different women. One had come here for revenge, and one had started life here as the treasured daughter of a popular family.

It was up to her to decide, and she wasn’t sure which one to choose. If she accepted her identity as Sarah, she would be welcomed into the bosom of Annie’s family and friends. People in Rock Harbor would smile and stop to talk as she walked the village streets. She’d have friends nearly everywhere. And maybe Annie would even give her a job at the marina again. She’d have a place of her own.

If she held on to her previous identity, she could pursue her revenge, a plan she had laid out for years. People would cross the streets to avoid her once they knew what she’d done. She’d have to leave here. Where would she go?

While she had been sure the DNA would show the truth, hearing it from Annie had rattled her. She’d expected Annie to still be standoffish, that she might even try to deny the truth staring her in the face, but she’d come here immediately. And withgifts. What did that say?

She laid the top picture aside and stared at one of two littlegirls. The older girl was braiding the long blonde hair of the smaller one. Taylor ran her fingers through her short hair, which was finally losing the fake color. One of her earliest memories with the woman she called Mother was of her whacking her head with the back end of a hairbrush because she wouldn’t sit still. She thought she’d always hated having anyone do her hair, but this picture was proof she’d happily allowed it when she was small.

This picture had to have been shortly before she was taken away. The small Sarah appeared to be around five, the age when she disappeared. She’d heard memories could be tricky, but she hadn’t expected to remember only bad and nothing good.

She struggled to remembersomething. The feel of a loving hand in her hair, the sound of another little girl calling her name, squeals of laughter on a swing. But nothing came except more anger and bitterness over what she’d lost. The lack of memories just punctuated what she’d missed for so many years. That time could never be reclaimed. Her parents were gone now. She’d never really known them.

She picked up the sweatshirt that had belonged to her mother and lifted it to her nose. The sweet scent of a cologne made tears spring to her eyes. The memory of sitting on a soft lap and nuzzling into her mother’s chest brought emotions surging into her heart. At least it was something, even if it was only a snippet of memory.

She’d been loved once. Really loved. There hadn’t been any warmth or cuddles with Mother. Why had she even taken Taylor if she didn’t intend to love her? Why snatch her away from her family if she simply wanted a servant?

She’d always felt alone anddifferent. Mother had homeschooled her, so she hadn’t had any friends. They’d kept tothemselves, and the only other person she’d ever been around had been the occasional neighbor. Now that she was out of that living situation, Taylor realized how strange it had been. Since she’d come here and seen how a real family lived, her rage over what she’d missed had grown.

The last picture was one of Kylie and her. She stared into the little girl’s face. The plans she’d had to use Kylie to make Annie suffer would rip the little girl out of her mother’s arms. In spite of Taylor trying to keep her distance, Kylie had crept into her heart in ways she hadn’t expected. Was she prepared for Kylie’s tears and heartache?

She would treat her better than Mother had treated Taylor. Shouldn’t that count for something?