Blackout (38 page)

Lynn snorts her irritation. “You must be mistaken.”

“Like hell I am.” My voice rises, attracting attention.

Lynn steers me around to the other side where less people gaze out over the breathtaking edge.

It hits me like a wrecking ball. “The book…Francois gave it to Lilly, not you. She…” Now, I’m at a loss.

“Lilly slept with him. Francois and I were to marry that spring. Lilly always wanted what I had.” Lynn’s voice is low and trembling. “I love him with all my heart. We were so happy, but Lilly went wild. She took him to sex clubs, got him drunk, seduced him. She was always stealing my boyfriends.”

“Like Tate and Kirkland,” I say, snorting.

Francois and Lynn both have roving eyes. I wonder how they’ve lasted this long without her ripping him apart.

“You were hurt and angry, and then you met Daddy.” My poor unsuspecting father, a good man from a wealthy family. “You used him.”

She pulls out her compact to powder her nose. “It was more than a fair trade.” She speaks as if she were selling shoes on eBay.

“What about Mr. Tucker, Sheriff Tate, Judge Kirkland?”

Her glare hits me like a shockwave. “Don’t be so naïve. I’ve had many lovers. It’s very European.”

My European friends don’t seem to believe that affairs are okay.

“What about Daddy? You hurt him to the point he told you to leave.” He had confessed this to me. That he couldn’t stand to see her anymore, and after he found out about the emotional abuse, he told her to stay away from me.

“It was for the best.”

“It was all good for you. What about me?” I don’t want to cry, so I sniff back the tears. She doesn’t deserve them, though I so wanted a mother—one who loved me.

“I begged your father to let me have you, but he was adamant that you had to stay with him. He never wanted me to see you again. He said I’d brought enough shame to his family.”

I bite back my tears. I won’t let her see them. “Why did you want me? You didn’t love me.” My voice sounds strained, childlike.

Her hand cups my chin. “Of course I do.”

I don’t subscribe to her twisted view of the world.

“But you stayed here in Paris,” I say just above a whisper. It still hurts.

“I desperately wanted to see you before I left, and then Lilly showed up. First she begged Lulu for money then me. Your father wasn’t about to give me a dime.”

I don’t want her words to crush me, but they do. “How thoughtful of you. One last goodbye.”

“I followed you to the swamp, then I realized you were following Lilly. From the back, we look the same, and we do hold a strong resemblance.”

I couldn’t deny that. When I first saw the masked woman, I thought she was Lynn. Miles had told me coming upon the sexual acts seemed violent due to my age and ignorance. I had screamed, but before I could run, Lilly had bashed in my head.

“There’s no statute of limitation for murder,” I say, but what’s the point? She’s already created her own hell on earth. She’s with a man as vain as she is, and they’ll destroy each other, but then I think of my half sister Elise. She doesn’t deserve this.

“Would you really do that to your mother?” Her jaw tightens. “After all I’ve done for you.”

“Done for me? You went out of your way to humiliate and ostracize me. You were a horrible mother and an adulteress. You fooled your mom and others by putting on a show, but Daddy found out and then he was done with you.”

She sips on her champagne like she’s bored. “Grow up, Teal. The world doesn’t revolve around you.”

“It doesn’t revolve around you either.” I stalk away from her, but before I take the elevator down, I say, “Goodbye. I hope you’re happy with your new family.”

Dare reaches me before the elevator descends. He wraps his strong arms around me.

In his arms, I sob all the way down because as much as I want to hate her, I’m horribly jealous of Elise who has her attention, but then I think, do I want her to suffer like I did?

“You have me always,” Dare whispers into my ear. “You don’t need her. You were always strong.”

His words fortify me. I lean into his warm embrace. He is the one man I can always depend on.

After we reach the bottom, I spot Elise and Francois eating pastries. Holding Dare’s hand, I walk over to her.

In French, I ask Francois for a moment with her.

“Not a problem,” he says. He strolls over to study a painting from a vendor.

Dare waits off to the side while I speak to Elise.

“Let’s exchange email, phone numbers, and addresses,” I say. “If you need anything, please call me, and I’ll come see you.”

“You will?” she asks shyly. She stares at the ground. “Do you like her?”

“No,” I say, “but that doesn’t mean I don’t like you.”

She lifts her head. “I’d like to see you. Daddy won’t mind.”

After we each punch information into our smart phones, I hug her. “If you need anything, please call me.”

She hugs me back. “I will.”

I send her a text immediately with a kitty emoticon and smiley face.

She laughs, and I know that I can help her and provide emotional support. I promise to keep in touch before I go to Dare, the man I will live with in the fall and hopefully the rest of my life.

Twilight settles onto Paris. The Eiffel Tower glows golden behind the string of fountains and manicured lawn of Jardins du Trocadero. The lights cast pink and gold in the spray of water. Dare guides me to a park bench, so that the view of the sun setting warms us in its afterglow.

I tell him everything, every horrible detail. He listens patiently.

“Should I turn her in?” I ask.

He smiles and tenderly kisses me. “I can’t answer that for you. I know I’ve lied for my brothers before, never for murder. Guess it would depend on who they killed.” He’s trying to be funny, and it almost works.

I give him a playful shove. “That’s not helpful.”

“I’m here to love you, not to make your decisions.” He kisses my neck. “Enough about her.”

He’s never mentioned those words, and I wonder what context he means.

“I love you,” I blurt out, my sudden confession torching the tips of my ears.

Dare kisses me with the intensity of a violent thunderstorm. The stubble on his chin burns my face. I kiss him frantically before he stops and gets down on one knee.

“What are you doing?” My voice trembles. He couldn’t be. We’ve barely seen each other for the past two years.

“Men only get down on their knees for two reasons. One, because they’re begging their girlfriends' forgiveness or two, to propose.”

His eyes lock onto mine. “I know I haven’t been around much the last two years, and I doubt I’ll see you much over the summer.” He should finish his Bachelors degree this summer.

“But I can’t let some guy smarter or better looking than me scoop you up.”

“Dare, we’re moving in together in the fall, aren’t we?” I hope we still are.

“Yes.” He looks down at his boot. “I don’t want to lose you.”

“You won’t.” I clasp his hands. “I thought you didn’t want to see me anymore.”

“I’m sorry. I’ve been working my ass off, so I could be with you. I’ll take a regular load when I start vet school in the fall.”

From his khakis, he pulls out a small ring box. Inside is a beautiful blue diamond solitaire. “Will you marry me, Teal?”

Tears rim my eyes. “You know I will. Where did you get the money?” He’s never had much, and he’s paying for school.

“I finally fixed up the Shelby and sold it.” He’d sold the racecar to pay for junior college. “I have enough in the bank to put a down payment on the vet clinic in the Outer Banks after I graduate from vet school. I know you had your heart settled on international law, and I don’t want to keep you from your dreams.” Apprehension crinkles his lips and his brow.

“I’ve been thinking about being a child advocate lawyer.” The more I speak to Miles about it the more intrigued I am.

He grins, melting me into a puddle of gushy sentiment. “We can’t marry until I graduate, but that gives you plenty of time to plan the wedding. I know how you beach house girls are.”

“You do, do you?” I stroke his bicep that stretches and strains his short-sleeved polo.

Dare slips the ring onto my finger, and I like the way it feels belonging to him only.

My arms loop around his neck. “I love you so much.”

“It’s hard for me to say those words, even though I feel them for you. My mom always said them before we went to school or went out to play. They remind me of her and how much she loved us. They physically hurt to say, but I promise to give you the love you have always deserved.”

He wipes a tear from my eye and presses his forehead to mine. “So?”

I admire the brilliance of the cut. “You’re not getting the ring back—ever.”

He laughs. “You beach house girls are all the same.”

“I hope we’re not all the same,” I tease.

“No one else is like you.” His lips press against mine, and I dissolve into his embrace.

With all my heart, I believe he will always love me, and I will always love this strong, protective man. Lynn can never take that away from me, and I won’t let her destroy my sister’s confidence. I will always be there for Elise.

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Chris Myers

A group of unlikely teens come together to form Ripsters, ghost hunters for hire. The series is teen fiction for ages 12 and up.

Lennon's Girls Trilogy is New Adult, Contemporary Romance. The second and third books contain explicit sexual content and are meant for ages 17 and older.

The Lost Girls Collection contains standalone New Adult Romantic Suspense/Thrillers about young women in trouble. Steamy thrillers for 18 and up.

The Confetti Killer is a gritty thriller set in the near future for ages 17 and older.

I would like to thank all the bloggers and readers encouraging me to continue writing with all the wonderful reviews and comments they have provided. ATOMR and Literati Lovers were instrumental in garnering reviews and publicizing several of my books as well as this one.

I would like to thank the critiquers of this manuscript: Bonnie Hagan, Carol Nugent, Lynde Iozzo, Dakota, and Michelle Borek my copy editor.

Why did I choose the Outer Banks? This is one of the most serene, most beautiful areas in the country. I've spent many days on the beaches and swamps of North Carolina. The Dismal Swamp is one of my favorite bogs that I've hiked through. I can't say enough good things about this area and its people.

I spent a great deal of time researching blackouts and have a minor in psychology. Any error in the book is solely my fault and not the fault of the countless clinicians I interviewed about the disorder.