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  But she couldn’t ask him that straight out as it would lead to more questions, and then she would have no choice but to admit that Jake Peters was Jamie’s father. If that happened, a series of unfortunate, and probably horrible, things would follow. So she kept her mouth shut.

  She knew that if Jake ever discovered she’d kept the baby, he would do whatever was in his power to take her away from Holly.

  Thinking this way was probably irrational, considering Jake had wanted her to get an abortion, but Jamie was the type of kid who crawled into one’s heart, dirty feet and all. She had everyone falling in love with her on the spot—a trait she shared with her father.

  When Frank’s gaze shifted to her, Holly looked away, pretending to read through her textbook.

  “Please tell me you are not going to study the whole weekend,” Jane remarked as she dropped into the chair next to her.

  “Mom, I don’t feel ready for the test.”

  “You are ready, sweetheart. Believe me.”

  There was no point arguing with her mother, so Holly gave her a tired smile.

  “Put it away, please. It’s family time.”

  Acquiescing, she shoved her textbook into her carry-on. Just then, the flight was announced and passengers were called for boarding.

  Jamie, beside herself with glee, jumped up and down as they all stood up. She grabbed hold of Frank’s hand and bounced along beside him, Holly and Jane following behind.

  Holly took a deep, shaky breath.

  “Are you nervous about the flight, sweetheart?”

  “Maybe. I don’t know, Mom. I just have a horrible feeling in the pit of my stomach.”

  Jane wrapped an arm around her shoulders and brushed her lips across her cheek. “I’ll be right by your side. Like always.”

  Holly smiled. Getting her mother back was the second good thing that had come out of the horrible situation. And this time around, her mother was her rock, just as it was supposed to be.

  The flight was uneventful, and Holly even managed to relax a bit. Once they landed, Frank went to collect what was needed so he could take possession of their rental car. Holly settled in for the four-and-a-half-hour drive, resting her head against the window, watching the trees flash by as they drove.

  The words Black River Lodge eventually appeared before they turned into the resort’s entrance. It was clear that this was a getaway for people with expensive tastes and an abundance of money.

  Holly’s jaw dropped when the lake came into view. It was magnificent. She saw a marina where various boats and jet skis were moored, and a large board that listed all available water activities. In the winter, it was a ski resort, so the board had all the winter activities listed as well.

  Opulent cabins were scattered all over the grounds.

  “Oh, Frank, this is gorgeous,” Jane said, her hand on her chest. She couldn’t stop looking every which way, wanting to take everything in.

  Holly was doing the same. The place was so beautiful that a part of her was happy she’d come with them.

  “We’re going to stay here?” Jamie asked, her eyes as wide as saucers.

  “For the entire weekend, munchkin,” Frank answered.

  Jamie squealed with glee.

  Once inside, Holly, Jamie, and Jane settled themselves on the plush couch in reception, while Frank checked them in.

  They were taken on a tour around the resort, which was beyond impressive, and then were led to their cabin. Holly’s eyes nearly popped out of her head at the sheer beauty and opulence of the place. Her eyes darted around the cabin, as her feet took her from room to room—a lounge, kitchen, two bedrooms and two bathrooms were at their disposal.

  She was eager to go the pool and lounge on one of the many deck chairs, and Jamie, who was bouncing on the balls of her feet, clapped her hands excitedly and begged to go swimming. But first, Holly had to get them set up in their room.

  “This is beautiful, Mommy,” Jamie said with delight.

  “It is, isn’t it?” Holly winked at her. “You should give Uncle Frank a big hug for bringing us with him.”

  “I will, I will,” Jamie shrieked and ran out of their room.

  Holly trailed her fingers over the soft bedspread. The place was really what dreams were made of. If Jake hadn’t abandoned them, Jamie would’ve been used to this.

  She heard Frank laugh as Jamie yelled, “Thank you!” Over and over again. A smile spread across Holly’s face. Her little girl was so excited. The knots in her stomach were slowly unraveling and she blew out a breath. Perhaps this place was just what she needed after all.

  Holly quickly changed into her bikini, then called Jamie so she could get her into her swimsuit. She tickled Jamie when she was dressed, then blew a raspberry into neck.

  “Mommy, no!” Jamie squealed through her giggles. “Swim! We’re gonna go swim now.”

  Holly chuckled. “Yes, baby. Mommy just needs to get our things together.” She hurriedly threw some towels into a bag, along with sunscreen, a juice box for Jamie and a bottle of water for herself, then left the room with Jamie bouncing alongside her. Her daughter was packed to the brim with pent-up energy; hopefully the swim would wear her out.

  “No, they haven’t checked in yet, but I expect they will soon,” Frank said, just as Holly entered the lounge.

  “I can’t wait to meet your brother.”

  “He’s going to love you,” Frank said.

  Jane looked up at Holly and chuckled. “I see you two are all ready to go to the pool.”

  “It’s calling my name.”

  “Do you have Jamie’s floating vest?”

  “Yes, Mom. It’s in the bag.”

  “Just making sure.” Jane got up and hugged her. “Glad I dragged you here?”

  “Very.” Holly smiled.

  “See, mothers always know best.”

  “That they do,” Holly agreed. She waved at Frank, then took Jamie’s hand and headed out to the pool. When they got there, she tightened her grip on Jamie’s hand as she surveyed the area. A few people lounged on deckchairs, and a group of couples were splashing and hanging on to each other in the pool.

  She missed that. That closeness, that feeling of safety and home when that special someone wrapped their arms around you.

  She shook her head. She was here to relax, not wallow in self-pity. Setting their bag down next to the closest deck chair, she sat down, trapping Jamie between her legs so she could put the swimming vest on her. The minute the last fastening clicked into place, Jamie pried herself loose from between Holly’s legs and ran toward the pool, jumping in without a care in the world.

  “Look, Mommy,” she called, waving her arms excitedly.

  “I see you, baby.” Holly grinned at her daughter—so happy, so carefree, the joy of her life. The best thing in her life; the picture of perfection.

  Someday, she’d give Jamie the life she would have had if Jake had stuck around, it was just going to take a little while longer to get there. But her little girl deserved the best, and Holly would make sure she got it.

  An hour or so later, her mother and Frank joined them, greeting a few people around the pool. He also introduced Jane to them.

  Holly remained where she was, keeping an eye on Jamie. She was overprotective, but so were most mothers—it went without saying that the world was a terrible place.

  She caught a few people glancing at Jamie a couple of times, which wasn’t really out of the ordinary—Jamie was in her element in the pool and it showed—but all it did was make Holly’s stranger-danger radar go off even more than usual.

  When the sky turned dark, Holly got Jamie out of the pool, gathered their things, and went back to the cabin. She gave Jamie a warm bath and let her play in the tub while she took a shower.

  When both were dressed, they settled themselves on the couch in the lounge, staring out at the view of the lake, Jamie’s head resting on Holly’s lap. The lights from the poolside bar twinkled on the water.

  It wasn�
��t long before Jamie’s head became heavy on her lap. She looked down at her daughter. Jamie had fallen asleep, her face as sweet as an angel’s. Today had been a long day of traveling, and the fun in the pool had tired Jamie out as Holly had thought it would.

  She was stroking Jamie’s hair when Jane and Frank entered the cabin. Holly shushed them, nodding down at Jamie’s sleeping form.

  Frank walked over to her and scooped Jamie into his arms, taking her into the bedroom. Holly turned slightly to look over her shoulder; Frank tucked Jamie in and then placed a gentle kiss on her forehead. When he returned to the lounge, he had the same look on his face he’d had at the airport, and on many other occasions.

  She often wondered if Frank knew the Peterses, and if so, how well he knew them. Or was this train of thought—one she’d had a number of times—all just paranoia?

  “They have child care if you want to join us for dinner and drinks, sweetheart.”

  “No, but thank you, Mom. I don’t feel comfortable leaving Jamie with a stranger. You could bring me something to eat, though. I’ll be fine.”

  “Don’t tell me you’re going to study? You came here to rest.”

  “I won’t study. Scout’s honor,” Holly said with a laugh. She’d never been a scout, so it didn’t count. She’d wait until her mother and Frank left before she got her textbooks out. She needed to study.

  When her mother and Frank went to their room to get ready, she heard her mother talking. Frank’s brother and his family had finally arrived, and it turned out that most of the resort had been booked out for them.

  Holy shit. How wealthy were these people?

  Her mother kissed her cheek on their way out, and Frank gave her a hint of a smile. As soon as the door shut behind them, she got her textbooks out, figuring she could at least get an hour or two of studying in before they returned. She’d hide the book behind one the couch’s pillows and pretend to have fallen asleep in front the TV.

  But she’d only been revising her notes for Tuesday’s test for about forty minutes when the door suddenly opened.

  She quickly shoved the book behind the pillow, grabbed the remote and turned the TV on. The one thing she didn’t do was pretend to be asleep as it was too early for that.

  Showing surprise, she glanced up at her mother, whose eyes were as big as saucers. Something wasn’t right. “Mom…you’re back early. Everything okay?”

  “No.” Her mother stared at her, a panicked look on her face. “We need to leave. Sweetheart, I’m so sorry. I didn’t know this would happen.”

  “This? What do you mean? And why do we need to leave? What’s happened?”

  “It’s the Peterses. Frank knows them. It’s not his brother who’s here—it’s Gus Peters. Frank explained that the reason he called him brother was because of some childhood bond or whatever. I can’t believe it’s that wretched family. I’m so sorry.”

  Every last ounce of air left Holly’s lungs, and something akin to a vice grip squeezed the life out of her heart. Her eyes darted toward the room Jamie was asleep in.

  “Holly, did you hear what I said?”

  “How, Mom? How are we going to leave? What did you tell Frank?”

  “I told him I wasn’t feeling well, and that I was tired.”

  “Do you think he bought it?” She was now in full-on panic mode.

  “Yes, yes. I’m good at keeping a straight face, even though it was extremely hard to do it with Frank.”

  “Did you see Jake?”

  “No, I didn’t. But I was introduced to Gus and that wife of his.” Jane didn’t like Mara since the woman had been a part of the event that took place four years ago.

  “How are we going to get out of here, Mom? It took us four-and-a-half hours to get here in the first place! We can’t tell Frank the truth. He’ll tell them. This was a mistake.” She took a couple of deep breaths, the knots in her stomach returning, coiling tighter than before. “That’s the reason why I felt so…”

  Tears welled in her eyes. This was going to end badly. She could feel it.

  There was a knock on the door, and Holly froze, her insides icing over with fear.

  Three

  “Calm down. It’s probably just Frank. I took the key when I came back.”

  “We can’t tell him, Mom.”

  Jane worried her bottom lip between her teeth. “I know.”

  “I’m going to my room,” Holly stated, as her mother went to check who was at the door. She just managed to slip inside the room when her mother pulled the door open.

  Holly couldn’t make out what was being said, but the voice that responded to her mother wasn’t masculine.

  Definitely not Frank. Her heart raced. She silently closed the bedroom door and rested her back on it. Shit, shit, shit. Who could it be? No one in that family knew what her mother looked like.

  She jumped when a knock sounded on her door. Turning, she reached for the handle and opened the door. It was only her mother.

  Still, Holly felt every muscle in her body stiffen. Who is it? she mouthed the words.

  “You need to come with me, Holly.”

  “Mom, who is it?” she hissed, unable to contain her worry.

  “Just come with me. We aren’t going to hide this,” she said in a no-nonsense tone as she turned around and walked back to the lounge.

  Holly was shaking with panic. She wished there was a way she could disappear with Jamie.

  A tear rolled down her cheek. If Jake found out about Jamie, he’d take her away, she knew he would.

  Turning to where Jamie was sleeping, she tiptoed over to the bed and kissed her on the temple, then unwillingly trudged to the door, her heart pounding with every step she took.

  Taking a deep breath to steady her nerves, she opened the door, walked out of the room and stared at the figure of the woman sitting in the lounge with her back to her.

  All Holly could make out of her was her blond hair, streaked with red highlights.

  Jane looked up at Holly, and the unknown woman turned around.

  A million goosebumps traveled over Holly’s body as she locked eyes with the woman who had been her best friend for much of her life.

  Bernie stared at her—the silence and awkwardness between them stretched on for what seemed like an eternity. Finally, as if awakening from a dream, she tore her eyes away from Holly and turned back to Jane. “She’s here!”

  “Shhh,” Holly hissed.

  “Don’t you shush me,” Bernie spat, getting to her feet, her eyes blazing with anger. “Where the fuck have you been? Do you have any idea how worried I was?”

  “Bernie, stop shouting.”

  “Don’t tell me what to do, Holly.” Tears filled her eyes. “How could you just leave like that? Without even telling me—”

  “Keep your voice down,” Holly pleaded once more.

  Bernie stopped talking and frowned at her friend.

  Holly wiped her eyes to stop the tears from falling, then glanced over her shoulder at the bedroom door she’d left slightly ajar.

  Narrowing her eyes, Bernie walked toward the room, pushing the door open when she reached it. She gasped at what she saw. “What the fuck, Holly?” she managed to whisper.

  But before she got a reply, Holly grabbed her arm and pulled her away from the door, closing it quietly behind her. Back in the lounge, she glared at Bernie. “I couldn’t do it. You know me, I wouldn’t have survived, Bernie.”

  Bernie’s mouth was still hanging open. “Oh, this is a mess.”

  “Do you understand why I had to leave? I had no idea Frank knew them. I shouldn’t be here. Please, I need your help.”

  “Help you? Why didn’t you phone Jake the moment you decided to keep the baby.”

  “Say what?” Jane sputtered.

  Holly glared at Bernie. “Decided to keep her?” Holly bit out through clenched teeth, her anger punctuating every word.

  Bernie pursed her lips, her brows furrowing even more. “What happened that day, Holly? You
just up and left without an explanation.”

  Holly closed her eyes and shook her head, her fingers massaging her temples. “Don’t ask me for details, please,” she begged.

  “I need to know. Mara told us the shake didn’t work for you, and that you left because you wanted to get an abortion,” Bernie said, her jaw clenching in anger. “Is that what happened?”

  Holly’s eyes widened. “What?”

  Bernie chuckled sardonically. “I knew that bitch was lying.”

  “No, Bern. I spoke to Jake that day. That’s why I left.”

  “You spoke to him?”

  “Yes, I spoke to him over the phone, and he confirmed what his mother told me. Not only did he not want me, he didn’t want me to go through with the pregnancy. He wanted me to get an abortion.” She blinked her tears away.

  “That can’t be true, Holly. Jake was a mess. He didn’t speak to Leo, or me, for a year. He blamed us for introducing you to him. Jake fucking looked for you for months.”

  “What?” Holly struggled to get the word out.

  “Gus retracted the shake because it wasn’t working for you.”

  “But the shake was working for me.”

  “So…what the fuck happened?” Bernie looked puzzled.

  With a sigh, Holly sat down on the couch and rubbed her hands over her face.

  Did Jake lie to Leo and Bernie? Why? She had spoken to him that day.

  She started relaying the events of that day four years ago, as if it had happened yesterday, remembering every little detail; she couldn’t forget because she dreamed of that day over and over.

  A horrified expression played across Bernie’s face as she sat in the armchair listening to her friend’s side of the story.

  Holly’s voice broke when she got to the part of the phone call, sharing Jake’s famous nine words. And then she fell silent. For a while, no one said a word.

  “That fucking bastard! You really spoke to him, and he acted as if your leaving was such a surprise to him.”

  “Why would he search for me?”

  “I don’t know…” Bernie shook her head. “No, Holly. What am I saying? He couldn’t have spoken to you that day.”

  “But he did, Bernie. You know me,” she said, “and I haven’t changed. I just moved on with my life and tried my best. I did speak to him that day.”