Ewww, gross! Seeing him
buck naked today was bad enough to scar me for years. Even the
thought of...just too gross to think about again.”
“ You saw him naked? Cool!
I saw Gracie naked once. But she was a teenager and a girl.
Probably not the same, I think. But Cain? Yeah, ewww written all
over that,” Quinn said.
Cain turned to glare at his sisters.
“She’s my twin.” He inclined his head toward Quinn. “But I’m older
and she should have more respect.”
Julie snorted. “Respect is something
you earn. You”—she smacked Cain’s shoulder—“are a royal pain in the
ass. I can see the resemblance now. But I’m assuming she got all
the niceness and you got...well, all the sarcasm. And then
some.”
Both his sisters burst out laughing.
“Oh, I like her. Can we keep her?” Jazzie asked.
“ No. I have a life of my
own. Thanks. And as soon as I can convince this—”
“ Your bag, doc. Mr. Waite
is on his way downtown. But if he can post bail, he’ll be out again
in a few hours. You might want to have those gates out front locked
up from now on,” Jake said.
“ Thanks, Jake. It was on
my list of things to do today,” Cain said, feeling guilty he’d not
done it quicker.
“ I just need to get
everyone’s name for the report to file.”
Jake looked at Julie first. Cain did as
well. She was pale and Cain was sure she was panic-stricken. He had
hoped to get her real name and this seemed to be the perfect
opportunity. But her face, her expression, said she wasn’t giving
it up. When she looked at him, Cain knew for a certainty that she
was hiding from someone.
“ Quinn, take Jake in the
kitchen for me, please? I need to have a word with Julie.” Cain
never took his eyes from hers. “Use this address as your home base
and tell Jazzie too.”
“ Okay. Jake? It’s
doubtful, but let’s see if there’s some coffee on. Can you believe
it? Cain doesn’t drink it. Then there’s...” The door closing to the
kitchen cut her off.
“ Tell me who you are,
Julie.”
~CHAPTER NINE~
Julie looked at him. She thought she
could trust him, but wasn’t one hundred percent sure yet. So many
people were greedy and she could make someone a very rich person
fast if her family found her. She leaned back on the couch and
looked around the room.
The room was a beautiful mixture of
antiques and modern stuff. The blends of bright colors and dark
woods gave the room a very homey, cheerful feel that Julie was
certain could be changed easily to formal if need be. She was just
thinking about the fireplace when Cain spoke again.
“ Julie?”
“ I’m not...I won’t tell
you. Him either. I’ve worked too hard at becoming who I am. If I
have to run again to avoid this, I will.”
Cain stood up and walked to the
fireplace she had just been admiring. With a flick of a switch,
there was a roaring fire warming the chilled room. She could feel
the heat and was afraid that it all wasn’t coming from the
fireplace.
“ You don’t trust me.” It
wasn’t a question, but she answered anyway.
“ I trusted only one person
in my life and he’s dead. People who I should have been able to
trust betrayed me more than I thought would have been possible.
You’ve known me for a very short time and I’ve no reason to not
trust you. Nor do I have any reason to trust you.”
Cain didn’t say anything for a long
while. He just stared into the flames. “Is your real name Julie? Or
any of the other four or five names I’ve heard you called when I
was looking for you?” he asked without raising his head.
“ No. Julie was a name one
of the older ladies called me because she thought I was her
daughter.”
“ Sally,” he
guessed.
It took her a second or two to remember
that he’d seem them together. “Yes. Sally. Miss Rocky is because
Moon, the man I gave the fruit to, calls me that because of Rodney.
Moon thought Rodney’s name was Rocky. I don’t believe Moon is right
in the head most days. He sometimes has
buck naked today was bad enough to scar me for years. Even the
thought of...just too gross to think about again.”
“ You saw him naked? Cool!
I saw Gracie naked once. But she was a teenager and a girl.
Probably not the same, I think. But Cain? Yeah, ewww written all
over that,” Quinn said.
Cain turned to glare at his sisters.
“She’s my twin.” He inclined his head toward Quinn. “But I’m older
and she should have more respect.”
Julie snorted. “Respect is something
you earn. You”—she smacked Cain’s shoulder—“are a royal pain in the
ass. I can see the resemblance now. But I’m assuming she got all
the niceness and you got...well, all the sarcasm. And then
some.”
Both his sisters burst out laughing.
“Oh, I like her. Can we keep her?” Jazzie asked.
“ No. I have a life of my
own. Thanks. And as soon as I can convince this—”
“ Your bag, doc. Mr. Waite
is on his way downtown. But if he can post bail, he’ll be out again
in a few hours. You might want to have those gates out front locked
up from now on,” Jake said.
“ Thanks, Jake. It was on
my list of things to do today,” Cain said, feeling guilty he’d not
done it quicker.
“ I just need to get
everyone’s name for the report to file.”
Jake looked at Julie first. Cain did as
well. She was pale and Cain was sure she was panic-stricken. He had
hoped to get her real name and this seemed to be the perfect
opportunity. But her face, her expression, said she wasn’t giving
it up. When she looked at him, Cain knew for a certainty that she
was hiding from someone.
“ Quinn, take Jake in the
kitchen for me, please? I need to have a word with Julie.” Cain
never took his eyes from hers. “Use this address as your home base
and tell Jazzie too.”
“ Okay. Jake? It’s
doubtful, but let’s see if there’s some coffee on. Can you believe
it? Cain doesn’t drink it. Then there’s...” The door closing to the
kitchen cut her off.
“ Tell me who you are,
Julie.”
~CHAPTER NINE~
Julie looked at him. She thought she
could trust him, but wasn’t one hundred percent sure yet. So many
people were greedy and she could make someone a very rich person
fast if her family found her. She leaned back on the couch and
looked around the room.
The room was a beautiful mixture of
antiques and modern stuff. The blends of bright colors and dark
woods gave the room a very homey, cheerful feel that Julie was
certain could be changed easily to formal if need be. She was just
thinking about the fireplace when Cain spoke again.
“ Julie?”
“ I’m not...I won’t tell
you. Him either. I’ve worked too hard at becoming who I am. If I
have to run again to avoid this, I will.”
Cain stood up and walked to the
fireplace she had just been admiring. With a flick of a switch,
there was a roaring fire warming the chilled room. She could feel
the heat and was afraid that it all wasn’t coming from the
fireplace.
“ You don’t trust me.” It
wasn’t a question, but she answered anyway.
“ I trusted only one person
in my life and he’s dead. People who I should have been able to
trust betrayed me more than I thought would have been possible.
You’ve known me for a very short time and I’ve no reason to not
trust you. Nor do I have any reason to trust you.”
Cain didn’t say anything for a long
while. He just stared into the flames. “Is your real name Julie? Or
any of the other four or five names I’ve heard you called when I
was looking for you?” he asked without raising his head.
“ No. Julie was a name one
of the older ladies called me because she thought I was her
daughter.”
“ Sally,” he
guessed.
It took her a second or two to remember
that he’d seem them together. “Yes. Sally. Miss Rocky is because
Moon, the man I gave the fruit to, calls me that because of Rodney.
Moon thought Rodney’s name was Rocky. I don’t believe Moon is right
in the head most days. He sometimes has
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