A Forever Masterpiece (The Masterpiece Trilogy Book 3)

Blurb

Becca and Hunter plan a future without knowing their past...

Few people know the entire truth about Becca and Hunter's connection. Even fewer are living. One is in hiding, and another is closer than they think. They're still no closer to knowing everything. Hunter gets a piece of his old life back, while Becca still longs for all the answers.

One terrifying night brings consequences...

Someone doesn't want them to find the answers and will go to dire lengths to keep the past hidden. The question is, who? With so many people involved, which one of them would go to the extreme to make sure they never know?

The hunter becomes the hunted...

With the one person who started the whole thing in hiding, everyone is desperate to find her and gain the truth or keep her silent forever. It's only a matter of time...

The final installment of the Masterpiece Trilogy is full of triumph, mystery, romance, and so much more. Prepare for the twists and turns as Becca and Hunter make their way to forever.

A Forever Masterpiece

Copyright June 2015, Nikki Lynn Barrett, First Version.

Acknowledgements

Dedication

Praise for books by Nikki Lynn Barrett

Chapter One

Hunter Beckman stared at the property and house on 1123 W. Rainwood Drive, never believing he'd be here again. Today, he stood in front of the house he grew up in when his family was still alive.

A house changes in twenty years, but standing in front of this one now, Hunter had a flood of memories rush back. Thanks to Joe, he finally had an opportunity to step inside his childhood home. The people living in it last moved out about four months ago, and it sat empty ever since. Joe contacted the real estate agent and set up a visit.

"Wow," he whispered. He couldn't move from the spot on the sidewalk yet, still awestruck by the house. So his recollection of the place wasn't that far off when he'd picked the house in Virginia. The large porch spread the entire length of the front side of the house. It must have had a fresh coat of paint recently, because the white was very bright and not aged.

From beside him, Becca squeezed his hand. "It's beautiful." Her tone held a hint of sadness. Hunter couldn't blame her. They were no closer to finding anything else about her biological family, and now here they were in the town that everything happened in. Knowing Becca, she wouldn't say a thing, because she wouldn't want to bring down his excitement. But what Becca felt, he did too. He ached for her. There were times he didn't have the words to express the pain he felt from their lack of knowledge to her past.

"I've got the keys. Let's go see the inside when you're ready." Joe jingled them in his hand. Hunter watched his reaction. He had the same haunted expression Hunter felt.

"I'm ready." Consumed with emotion, he took a step forward. Once on the front porch, memories surrounded him. Hunter remembered on the nice fall days, Mom let him do his homework outside instead of at the kitchen table. She'd been one to enjoy the crisp air of fall and found any reason to spend time outdoors. In the far left corner, he'd played tic-tac-toe using chalk with his dad. Mom used to get annoyed, but the two always washed off the porch, which satisfied her.

All of these things he hadn't remembered, or some he hadn't thought about in years, flooded back to him now. His chest tightened. He missed them so much. A house full of love and cherished memories now stood empty because of a choice made almost thirty years ago. A choice that led to a lot of heartache and tragedy, but in the same instance, eventually brought him the best love in the world.

Becca. His heart. His soul. His soon-to-be wife.

As Joe pushed the key in the lock and opened the door, Hunter pulled her close. "I can't believe this is happening."
I just wish I could give you what I'm getting right now.
A chance to remember, a chance to reflect in a place that had once been his home. Would they ever be able to understand, or would there always be speculation from what few people could tell them? It was only their versions of the story, but no one had anything to fall back on. No names, and no identities. No easy clear cut way to find Becca's family and get the reasons for why a little boy would bring a baby to another family, begging for help.

Her smile, while genuine, didn't reach her eyes. She leaned in for a kiss before they moved inside.

The living room was huge. Vaulted ceilings, with a view of the upstairs. Dark cherry hardwood floors. Now that was definitely new. His gaze landed on the stairs. They were so damn similar to how he'd seen them in flashbacks months ago.

He planned on scoping out the entire house, but there was a room he wanted to see first. It was the one he'd spent the most time in when living here. His bedroom.

Without a word, he climbed the stairs. One by one, memories continued to find him. Family pictures used to hang on the wall leading upstairs. While the walls were painted a bright white, they'd been more of a peach color before. Somehow, he was certain of these things.

Becca and Joe followed him as Hunter continued.

The room on the left had been his. He stopped in front of the closed door and reached for the doorknob, but didn't open it yet.

A tightness formed in his chest. One hand still on the knob, he covered his mouth with the other. Hot breaths filled the gap between his slightly cupped hand and his lips. Why did an empty room terrify him so much? He thought it would be easy to open the door and walk inside, but he continued to hold back.

"Hunter?" Becca stood behind him now. She rested a hand on his shoulder.

"It's a little overwhelming," he said softly, after dropping his hand to his side. More than a little, actually. "I wanted memories, but I didn't expect them to hit me like this. This was my room."

Behind them, Joe coughed. Hunter took a chance and looked his way, surprised to find tears in the old man's eyes. Well, he may not know how much Joe could be trusted, but one thing was for sure. Joe missed his parents, too. Hunter knew it by the haunted expression on his face. He hoped his old friend's heart was strong enough to endure today's intense feelings.

Ready or not, here I come.
He twisted the knob and pushed open the door. Hunter's breath hitched as he stepped inside the room. Like the rest of the house, the floor had the dark cherry hardwood. He stood in the middle of the room and slowly turned 360 degrees, as he remembered where his things had been in place. He moved to the corner of the room, the one that had a window on each wall. "My bed was here." Then he slowly moved along the wall, passing the first window that provided a view of the backyard. "My desk here." He pointed to the small wall space between the edge of the room and the closet door.

His old room. Wow. After twenty years, he didn't expect to be standing here right now. With shaky legs, he moved to stare out the second window. If he recalled correctly ... yep, it was still there. From this window, he had a view of the old park and the basketball court. It had been his favorite place to hang out in the neighborhood.

"It's still there." He closed his eyes, placing a hand on the cool surface of the glass. He'd give anything to have his dad by his side for one more game. He blew out a shaky breath.

"We had some good times in this house, didn't we?" Joe had moved to the left side of Hunter, so when he spoke, it startled him.

He opened his eyes and stared his old family friend in the face. "Yeah, we did. I'm amazed at how much I'm remembering just by being here. It's weird."

Joe nodded. "I can imagine." Then he left the room. As Joe moved further away from the room, the sound of his cane thumping along the floor grew quieter. He probably wanted to take a look around, himself. Hunter wasn't the only one who needed this. Joe lost, too.