A Masterpiece Unraveled (The Masterpiece Trilogy Book 2) (24 page)

Her eyelashes were wet with tears. "You've given me so much. Don't you know that?"

It didn't always feel like it lately, but he didn't say it out loud. Time to go forward and stay positive. Hunter hoisted Becca up and she squealed as she wrapped her legs and arms around him. He carried her inside as he kissed along her neck. He shivered in anticipation.

Becca's eyes blazed with love and somehow, at that moment, he knew they'd be all right.

*****

"Hmm. You know, we could always forget working and just spend every morning like this." Hunter curled up next to Becca, sliding his hand over her bare stomach. He loved the feel of her. He'd fallen in love with her this summer, or rather he'd given in to what he'd secretly and unknowingly felt for years. For the second time in a few weeks, he got to experience that feeling again. For a while, when things were tough, he wasn't sure how they would end up, but this morning he knew their love only grew stronger.

She laughed, and he realized he could never get enough of her. He loved her laugh and the way she lit up when she got excited about something. He loved the way she covered her mouth when she said something out of anger or surprise. Even if she didn't like saying it, her reaction afterwards was just too cute. He definitely loved her determination and the way she pushed through every obstacle. And he got to call this woman his every day from now on, as long as he kept up with keeping the past at bay.

"Somehow I don't see that working out forever." Becca's eyes danced with amusement. "But some days, that is the perfect plan."

"Had to try." He kissed the tip of her nose, then leaned up on an elbow to look at her. "So when do I get a glimpse at your sleeping Hunter portrait?"

The corner of her lips turned up. "You need to know, living with an artist isn't always easy. And you don't get sneak peeks unless it's complete, at least with certain ones anyway."

"No sneak peeks? Hey! What happened to perks?" He pretended to be sad. Hunter knew Becca's artistic quirks, she'd always been like that, but this piece he anticipated even more.

"Perks? No one ever said a thing about those," she teased, reaching for his hand. Their fingers twined, sending tingles all down his arms. Becca's smile was contagiously sweet.

He tried again, giving her his best pout. "Aw, come on. As the inspiration of one of your paintings, I feel I should see the progress."

She shook her head. "Nope, you can't play that with me. Besides, I'm not near done. I've been spending most of the time on Sienna's mural to finally finish it, not to mention all the other painting fulfillments I've completed. Do you think that one woman will reschedule?"

"Probably. I haven't heard anything, but I wouldn't worry too much."

"I still can't believe I did that," Becca muttered.

"Hey. You know how you always tell me not to beat myself up for things I did? I'm going to turn around and use those lines back to you now. Stop it, angel. You made a mistake. You were caught up in a moment of fear and acted on it. No one was hurt. Let go, okay?"

Before she could respond, his phone rang. Hunter debated letting it go to voice mail, but at the last second answered.

"Hey Hunter, it's Jed. I've got a few updates for you and Becca." He sounded grim.

"Is it bad?" He didn't like the tone in Jed's voice at all.

"I'll leave that up to you to decide. Is there a good time today to meet up and talk?"

Hunter avoided looking at Becca. "We're available now."

"I can be there in a half hour."

"Okay. Sounds good." Or did it? Hunter slid his phone across the nightstand and turned back to Becca. "Jed finally has some information."

She sat up immediately. "He does?" Worry filled her voice.

Hunter had to admit, he had his own worry. Who knows what they'd hear? "Guess we'd better get dressed."

*****

Sitting next to Hunter holding hands, well, more like squeezing for dear life, Becca waited for Jed to begin.

"I started looking at your family background, Becca. I found that your father was married prior to Anne. The woman had two kids from previous relationships. One of them was a very troubled girl named Sylvia. Their marriage didn't last long, a year or so." He slid a photo across the table. "There's the family, and there's Sylvia. She's about seven in that photo. Rusty kept in touch with her for two years after divorcing her mother until he moved away suddenly. She had to have been about seventeen or eighteen the year of the plane crash. Sylvia had a lot of problems and had been in and out of juvenile detention and even a metal hospital a few times. Not too long before the plane crash, she escaped and hadn't been seen for a few months. After that it gets even more sketchy as to her whereabouts."

Sylvia's facial features very much resembled Carrie's. Becca noticed that right away. It was the same troubled look she had the day on the plane. She tore her gaze away from the photo, shuddering. No doubt this was the same girl. So at least part of what Sylvia said was true. Rusty was her stepfather.

"I also found out that Anne was married previously. Ellie is not Rusty's biological daughter."

Ellie wasn't Rusty's child? That one Becca didn't expect. She covered her mouth, not sure how much more she wanted to hear.

Jed continued. "Anne and Rusty had trouble conceiving a child. When she finally did, the pregnancy was very difficult. I can't find any direct documentation that she lost a child, but she'd chosen to have a home birth and avoid hospitals. I can't find any information on who worked with them. There's also no record of a child being stolen at nearby hospitals. Do you happen to have a copy of your birth certificate? I'm not finding anything about the birth of a Rebecca Lange."

"Yes. I've had it in my safe box ever since I declared emancipation," Becca said with a shaky voice, unsure where this was going. No information on her birth? Why wouldn't there be?

"Do you have that here?"

She nodded.

"Bring it to me. Let me see if I can get any information off of it and dig further."

"Of course. I'll be right back."

As she ran upstairs, Becca heard Hunter ask. "Did you find any connection between the Langes and my parents?"

Becca opened her safe box and pulled out the faded piece of paper. She stared at it without focusing on the contents for a moment. "You hold the key to my past in more ways than one," she whispered. This still didn't answer her questions. She studied the birth certificate that stated Anne and Rusty Lange were her parents. These could be falsified easily, if needed.

Her stomach hurt. Her heart did a pitter patter dance as she made her way back downstairs. With a shaky hand, she handed over the paper to Jed. When she sat back in the chair, Hunter slid her a concerned stare and moved his arm around her shoulders. She leaned her head on him, taking in his comfort and love. His fingers gently rubbed her shoulder where his hand rested.

"I'm going to take a photo of this for now. If you have a scanner, it would be great if you'd scan this in and email me a copy." Jed looked to Becca for approval.

"Go ahead," she instructed.
Whatever it takes.

He took a few pictures from different angles before pushing the birth certificate back across the table.

"Okay, Hunter. Your family history was much harder to find. However, I did find that Savannah and Anne went to high school together."

Becca gasped, staring at Hunter. Color drained from his face.

So there was a connection.

If what her grandparents said was true, it very well could have been that Hunter's parents helped her parents. But where did Becca come from? She covered her mouth with her hand, choking back a cry.

Hunter let go of her and sat up straighter. "Did they stay in touch after high school?"

"If they did, I can't find anything on it. Nothing is out of the ordinary. This is going way back, so getting information isn't easy. Obviously, something had to have happened if your families were both on that plane. I just don't know yet if that connection is Becca. Having this birth certificate might help pinpoint anything because I can check with hospital records."

"Is there any information about Anne and Ellie, surrounding Ellie's birth?" It felt weird to say Anne, but at the moment, it felt weird to say Mom. Becca sucked in a sharp breath, waiting for the answer.

Jed nodded. "I'm still going to look into that, but it does appear that Ellie was your mom's biological child."

Too bad the same thing couldn't be said about her.

"This is all I have so far. I'm sorry it wasn't more."

Hunter cleared his throat. "It's plenty, actually. It tells me being on that plane together was no coincidence."

No, it wasn't a coincidence at all. What tied them together that night?

Chapter Twenty

"I want to know more than ever where we were going that night," Hunter muttered after Jed left. Did Carrie ... er, Sylvia?- whatever the hell that psycho's name was, find something out about Becca and threaten to tell? Why was his family dragged in the middle of it unless they had something to do with it in the first place? Most of all, why the hell was Sylvia on the plane with them, too? Where the hell were they headed?

He thought back to his parents. Could they really have been responsible in helping to steal a child?

Just how close was his mom with Anne Lange?

This new information provided some answers, but it gave him even more to question. How much of this did Becca's grandparents know?

Speaking of Becca, she never followed him to say goodbye to Jed. He headed back to the dining room, where he found her sitting in the chair. She was stiff as she stared ahead. When Hunter knelt beside her and reached for her hands, he found them sweaty and shaking. "Angel, look at me." He knew from the start this whole thing would get messy. He'd even warned Becca, but neither of them could have expected this. It was more than just a simple plane ride gone wrong now. So much more.

Her eyes had an empty, cold look to them. "I know you said brace myself, and I thought I did, but..." She shook her head.

"I know." Hunter licked his lips. Words failed him. He had nothing. This took him by surprise, too. He had no idea there'd been a connection between the families from that far back. How far would one woman go for her best friend? Were they even best friends, or did they just know each other? How the fuck did this all fit?

"If I'm not a Lange, who am I? There is a family out there possibly who lost their child and they have no idea what happened to them! That child could be me!" Becca jabbed her finger at her chest.

"Hey, let's not do this yet. Don't fill your head with stories that are going to scare the hell out of you. We don't know for sure that you aren't Anne or Rusty's child. We'll get to the bottom of this." Somehow. He sure as hell hoped so.

"What if we don't? What if it's too far back and too much is buried to get the answers? Sylvia's dead, my grandparents won't speak of it, and our parents can't tell us anything because they aren't alive! What if this hangs over my head the rest of my life?" Becca spit out in angry bursts.

His heart broke for her. Rising to his feet, he swooped her up in his arms and held on tight. "I wish I knew, baby. I don't like the scenarios any more than you. Go ahead, let it out. I've got you. I've always got you."

Like a dam ready to burst, Becca finally cried. She clutched Hunter's shirt with one hand and her other wrapped around him, clinging to him for dear life. Powerful, shaking sobs erupted from her. He wished there was a way to make it better. He held her while she let it out as he ran his hand up and down her back. Hunter closed his eyes and wished for relief somehow.

Becca pulled herself together pretty quick. Hunter was surprised when she calmed down so soon. She sucked in a ragged breath. "I don't know what to think. I'm a mixed bag. I'm angry at them for things I don't even know, I'm angry at my grandparents for never giving me the truth. Not to speak ill of the dead but I'm angry at that spiteful woman who had it out for my family and did what she did. I hate to say this, but my grandmother was right. I can't unlearn what I know and I sure wish I could! But I can't cry myself into crazy mode over this any more. I just have to finish what was started. Learning the truth." She straightened and clenched her jaw. "At least I still have you," Becca whispered.

"You'll always have me. Just know that whatever we find still brought us together. What happened in our past doesn't change who we are now. I'm struggling with my own feelings, even without all the answers. For some reason we were all on that plane and it wasn't to reunite. I have a suspicion there are plenty of buried secrets about to surface. When I think of my mom and dad, I don't see a couple who could have possibly helped steal a child. I guess it's weighing on my mind too, even though I suggested for you not to let these ideas fill your head." Hunter let her go and rubbed the back of his neck. His phone rang, which startled him. More bad news?

Eva's name came up on the caller ID. He said as such to Becca before answering it, as her face paled. She probably thought the same thing about more news. "What's up?"

"Are you available right now? Can I drop Sienna off for a while? I actually have a job interview and they wanted to know if I could come in today. Mom and Dad aren't around and you're on the way." She sounded winded.

"Of course you can! I'll even drop her off this evening if I can have a few extra hours with her," Hunter offered, loving the idea of having his daughter over for a while.

"Are you sure? I know you have a lot going on-"

"Eva, I always have time for Sienna." His tone came out harsher than intended. "Have the doctors made any decisions about her ears?"

"We're waiting on the specialists follow up. He's supposed to call this week about options. So far, the new medicine has helped, but she still rubs her ears a lot."

"Well, bring her by. Becca and I are home and don't have anything going on until tonight."

Eva promised she'd be there in ten minutes and hung up.

"Good timing," Becca said softly. "She'll get to see the finished result in her room." While her smile was genuine, it didn't reach her eyes like usual. In fact, her eyes were haunted, full of question and doubt. "I'm going to go change and make myself presentable."