A Forever Masterpiece (The Masterpiece Trilogy Book 3) (21 page)

"Here." Vince thrust out his hand with his phone. "It's just this one. The creepy thing about it is I got the text just as I pulled up to the center. It's partially why I thought Becca did it, because she was there and might have seen me drive up."

Sweet, young, and innocent. She'll never be who she used to be, even if they can save her. How does it feel to know you caused it?

Hunter's stomach flip flopped. He handed the phone back to Vince. "Does your family know?" It had nothing to do with the situation itself, but it did have him curious. More so, did the Langes know?

"No. They all thought Debbie just lost control."

"Because that's what you told them," Hunter accused, thinking he probably wasn't off base.

"Yes," Vince answered after a tense silence.

He held up a finger, preparing to ask another question he wanted an answer to. "And since you and your family dislike me and mine, how do they feel about your niece being in a program I helped create?"

"My sister just wants her to have every chance she can. My father ... he doesn't know. He's ... well, he's sick. Dementia. He has no idea where my niece is at, and it's for his own good." Vince's voice was cold.

"Another thing I want to know." Hunter held up a second finger. "How the hell did you know what happened in Maryland?"

"Her grandparents have someone watching you guys, okay?" Vince yelled, turning away.

"Why?" Hunter shot up from his seat.

"Because we're trying to track Sylvia. She's obviously out there somewhere, and we want her found before she causes more havoc."

Or before she exposes more secrets. He didn't dare express that thought out loud. Hunter pulled out his own phone, typed Jesse's name in, and brought up a picture. "Is it this guy?"

Vince stared blankly. "This guy what?"

"Whoever the Langes have watching Becca and I. Is it him?"

Staring down at the phone, Vince was quiet for a minute. "No, but I've seen that man somewhere. I can't place where though. Who is he?"

"That's what I'm trying to figure out." Hope faded. Jesse's identity was still unsure. Damn.

"You're being very vague, Hunter. About everything."

"I don't trust you!"

Vince glared at him. "Same goes, but we might have to start somewhere to figure out who this anonymous person is."

Bond with the enemy. Wonderful. What next? Hunter wasn't about to put trust in this man. Vince also spoke vaguely. With the few already uncovered past discretions from this man, he had no idea what Vince was capable of, but sure as hell didn't want to be on the receiving end of it.

Chapter Seventeen

Becca stepped outside, surprised to find Hunter's car in the driveway with him still sitting in it. He stared blankly ahead. She'd contemplated going to make use of the punching bag again after what she learned today, but seeing Hunter home and in some kind of mental distress, all other thoughts faded. Shara left a half hour ago when Becca said she planned to go to bed. A truth, at the time, but she ended up not being able to sleep. Shara didn't tell her flat out, but Becca knew Hunter wanted her there to keep her company.

Darting to the passenger side, Becca pulled the door open. She opened her mouth to calmly coax him out of it, and then realized there'd be a problem. Her voice hadn't come back yet. Ugh! She scooted closer to Hunter, gently prying one of his hands off the wheel. He must have gripped the wheel tight, because now he did the same thing to her hand. With her other hand, she rubbed his right shoulder. If only she could say what she needed to. How did she plan to get Hunter out of this if she couldn't talk?

They sat there like that for almost ten minutes. Becca ignored the pins and needles in her hand and continued to soothe Hunter in silence by keeping contact with him by touch. Then he let out a cry and focused his eyes on her. "Whoa, that's not good," he muttered, then immediately let go of her hand. "Bec, how long have I been here like this? And your hand..."

"I wasn't sure how to help, since I still can't talk."
Becca's fingers throbbed as she signed. Hopefully her facial expression didn't show the distress.
"What did you mean when you said that's not good?"

"I don't remember driving home. The last thing I recall ... maybe we should go inside. I'm also going to check the car and make sure I didn't hit anything. I don't like not remembering a drive home. How the hell did I manage that?" Hunter pulled away from her and pushed the door open.

Becca followed, studying the car. Hunter kept crouching to inspect. Then he faced Becca. "Well, I didn't hit anything, or there's no dent if I did. That's the longest period of disassociation I've had in a while. Anyway, come inside. I have something to tell you." He held out a hand to her.

Once inside, Hunter took Becca in his arms. "I'm sorry I hurt your hand. Mine both hurt from whatever else I must have squeezed. Let's go sit so I can tell you where I went tonight."

"You had Shara keep an eye on me,"
Becca accused when they were comfortable on the couch.

Hunter winced. "Not quite. I wanted someone around, yes, especially in your state of mind and with everything else. Look, don't get mad, but I went to see Vince."

She blanched.
"As much as I'm angry, I hope you didn't do anything crazy like beat him up."

"I was tempted, I'll admit. I wanted to make him suffer for all the hell he's caused you throughout the years. No, I went because I wanted to find out more about the text, what it said, and see if you were right about him being a real victim in this. I learned a few other unsettling facts while there."

Becca's eyes went wide. With all the truths lately, she had no idea what to expect.

Hunter continued. "The first one is that your grandparents apparently have someone watching us. According to Vince, it's to try and track Sylvia. Strikes me as odd, but they have as much to lose as the rest of us. That brings me to my second revelation. I pulled up a picture of Jesse and asked Vince if he was the one tailing us. He says no, but he's seen him from somewhere before."

"Guess that explains why I feel like I've been followed the past few months, even before the texts started popping up."
Becca let out a sigh.
"I'm so tired of this."

"You aren't the only one, angel." Hunter slapped the arm of the couch. "Okay, that's it. I think for both our sakes, we need to have even a sliver of something that resembles non-chaos. We could pick a hobby together and get into it, or ... I don't know. I want to give you the kind of life I always wanted to give- take you places without looking over our shoulder. Embrace our relationship the way we should have before we were robbed of it. You know?"

"I do know. I wanted this over with before our wedding. I'd hoped for closure. I didn't expect more of the eerie messages again. I've fought for a sense of stability for twenty years."

"I know you have." Hunter leaned forward and touched her cheek lovingly. "Somehow, we're going to get that. Both of us. Tonight's episode reminds me we both need some kind of light at the end of the tunnel. We're going to find our answers. We're going to keep an eye out and figure out who's trustworthy and who isn't. But we should also give ourselves some kind of comfort in the sense of living the way we want to. I'm not about to let my demons or the past win. You shouldn't either."

Becca thought about it. Hunter had a point. This wasn't him avoiding, either. This was a good balance, a balance they both needed before someone snapped.
"You're right. We should."

"Thought you'd agree. Change of subject. Here's a question I've never asked you before. Do you want kids of your own?" Hunter kissed her lips softly. "I wouldn't mind a few more."

"I'd love to have kids of my own,"
Becca signed with excitement, thinking of her future with this man. Hunter had always been everything to her, and it meant so much more since they explored their hidden, deeper feelings for one another. Even without the past exploding, Hunter became the one true thing in her life.

"A little boy and a girl. Maybe two of each!" Hunter's eyes danced with delight.

"I think we'll have to discuss that one a little more. But at least one of each."
Becca smiled.
"If we had a son, he'd be as handsome and strong as you are. He'd have your eyes and your devilish smile."
The kind of smile that one would have to give in to.

"Devilish, huh? How do we pair together so well then? And our daughter would resemble you. Creative, sweet, loving, and talented. I bet Sienna would be excited for siblings. At least, I hope. She hasn't had to share attention yet."

"She shares you with me,"
Becca told him.

Hunter raised a brow and folded his arms across his chest. "Actually, she shares you with me!" He laughed. Then his grin faded. "We should definitely hold off on having kids until this whole thing is over."

She nodded, her heart sinking. Sometimes she wondered if it would ever be over. Months ago, she never knew there was something to begin with. Funny how life changes in a blink of an eye. No, it wasn't actually funny, but she had no other way to put it.

"There I went again. Okay, what do you say to going to bed? I'm beat and could use a night curled up next to my soon to be bride." He stood and reached for her.

Becca put her hand in his. Hunter swooped her up in his arms and gave her a grin.

"Practice. I want to make sure I get the carrying my bride over the threshold down pat." He chuckled. "Lots and lots of practice involved."

Becca wrapped her arms around him and gently pulled his face closer for a kiss. She loved this man and all of his goofy, beautiful spontaneousness.

"More practice?" Hunter winked after the kiss ended.

She nodded and trailed a finger along his jaw, then gestured for him to take her upstairs.

"Honeymoon type?" He ran a trail of soft kisses along her neck before whisking her upstairs. She held on tight. When he set her down on the floor at the foot of their bed, Becca tugged on his shirt to show him her answer.

She didn't know how she managed it, but Becca avoided Vince at the center all day. She got her voice back in the morning, which she was glad for, but it would be nice if the whole back and forth thing would quit. Liane wouldn't hear her apology, saying it was over and done with, and they left it at that. Becca expected a ton of strange looks from coworkers, but there'd been none. Liane kept it under wraps rather well. Good. She didn't want to explain all of this to everyone.

With the work day behind her, Becca ran into Brock on the way out. He was heading toward the parking lot. "Hey! Good seeing you." He shot her a friendly smile.

"You too! How are you?" Becca asked.

"Good! Quick question- since you're here and I'm here, can I show you the pieces I'd like?" He gestured back at the Lange Center.

She smiled, loving that this was moving forward. "Sure. That way, I can tell Hunter."

They strolled back to the center and walked the halls. Brock pointed out paintings he had an interest in and explained the reasons. Becca made a note about his choices, reminiscing about the pieces at the same time. Hunter had always been so excited to get something new from her. She had no idea he'd put her works up on these walls or that there was even such a place! Now they had a new opportunity and, despite her past history, Becca was excited about this venture.

"So what do you think?" Brock asked after they returned to the lobby.

"I think this is exciting! Let me run this by Hunter, since I did give him these pieces, but I bet he'll go for it," Becca said with a smile.

"Good. And bring some new ones with you from home as well. Anything you're working on." Brock held out his hand. "I'm very excited to be working with you, Becca. Why don't you drop by Friday night? We'll discuss it then."

"I'd like that. Thank you for this opportunity." Heat crept up in her cheeks.

"I should be thanking you. Discovering new talent is something I enjoy, and you're a rare find." Brock stepped a little closer. "You're going to do well. I feel it. I'll let you get home to Hunter. See you later."

She waved goodbye, and her phone rang at the same time. Becca pulled it from her purse. Speaking of Hunter. "Hey. I'm just about to leave the center, but I'm thinking about stopping by to see Henry and Cherie. Oh, and Brock showed me the pieces he's interested in."

"I'll come by tomorrow, and you can point them out to me. I'm not leaving work quite yet, but I had some ideas I wanted to run by you. If I didn't tell you now, I might not remember later. Since I'm on break, I figured I'd say hi. How did today go? Anyone say anything?"

"Actually no. Liane kept looking at me off and on. I think she was hoping I'd say something, but I didn't bring it up. Other than that, it all went unnoticed."

"That's good. No Vince run-ins today?"

"I'm not even sure if he's still in town or not, but no." Thank God for that. She wasn't ready to talk to him yet, but eventually she probably had to.

"So this might seem random to you, but I'm sure you're used to that with me. When do you normally put up Christmas decorations?"

Becca laughed. Most definitely random, but she adored that about Hunter. "Usually the first week after Thanksgiving. At least, that's what I did living on my own."

"That's when I do it, too. Do you want to put them up this week, or even over the weekend? We'll pick up Sienna and include her."

"I'd love to! As long as it's not Friday. Brock asked if we could come back to the gallery with some of my work."

"Then we'll do it Saturday. Spend the whole day with Christmas festivities." Hunter's voice held plenty of excitement. "The second thing- I was thinking about our idea to do something together. What about pottery?"

"Pottery?" Becca asked, pulling her keys from her purse to unlock the car door.

"I don't know. You're artistic. I'm interested. It's something we could try together."

He really had been putting a lot of thought into this for their plan. Hunter wanted to give them both what they longed for. "You know what? I love the idea. Let's take a pottery class together."