Chapter Seven

Her head felt heavy, almost as if someone had opened her skull and filled it with led. What little function her groggy mind had, registered a swimming motion, her thoughts bobbing among the ocean of uncertainty. One thing was clear, however, she was moving. No, not she; whatever she was in was moving, and quite quickly. The rush of the wind filled her ears, the sound causing her brain to thump angrily. If she didn’t have a headache now, she would soon; she could sense the mounting pain behind her eyes.

Moaning softly, she kept her eyes tightly closed against what seemed to be a dim afternoon sunlight. Where was she?

It was hard trying to clear the pounding away long enough to form a coherent thought, but Sheridan was known for forcing the impossible. The second she felt competent enough to think, she tried to review her afternoon. After having a lovely lunch with Gwen, in which she had shared her secret plans of revenge against her ex-husband and father, she had gone to the bank to withdraw some “shopping money.” It wasn’t odd for her, at least the former her, to withdraw an obscene amount of money for a weekend shopping spree. So what if she had no intention to use the money to shop? It was hers after all.

‘Focus, Sheridan. You need to focus.’

Right, she was trying to guess her location.

She left the bank, money filling her Dooney and Burke wallet within the matching purse, and then headed for the Book Café. At that point she had been in need of some serious caffeine, her nerves shot. Harmony was a small town but that didn’t calm her at all when it came to carrying a small fortune around in her bag. Her father would be convinced she was heading to Boston to spend his money on items for her new life with Antonio, when in fact it was to be spent on her life with Luis in God-knew-where.

‘Crane, you’re not focusing!’ Her conscience reminded her.

What happened after her coffee?

The pulsing of her head returned full force and, for a moment, Sheridan considered the fact that she might become sick. Her stomach was churning and it rumbled furiously. Only once before had she felt this sensation, years ago when Luis had kidnapped her from the Paris airport…

Kidnapped? Again?

It couldn’t be, could it?

Forcing her lids to open against the sun, which seemed brighter than it actually was in her drugged state, Sheridan realized why she felt like she was moving. The car she was in zoomed down the interstate, through what resembled a relatively beautiful New England town. Passing a green mile sign, she noted the town names. She wasn’t in Maine anymore; in fact, she was in Massachusetts just past Boston.

She didn’t recognize the vehicle she was in, but the gurgle of an infant in the back alerted her to baby’s presence. Scowling, she turned irate azure eyes upon the man driving.

“Luis!” she grumbled bitterly. It didn’t calm her that he was her kidnapper. In fact, it further incited her. How could he do this to her again?

“Good morning, sleepyhead,” he smiled distractedly, barely casting a gaze her way as he moved the car through the light traffic. “Rest well?”

“You bastard!” she cried softly, trying not to disturb her sleeping son. “Are you insane? Did Pilar drop you on the head as a baby or was this something that happened post-adolescence?”

This time his eyes did meet hers, but only for a moment before returning to the road before them. “If you want something to drink, there’s a cooler…”

“Don’t try to placate me, Lopez-Fitzgerald,” she scolded and for the briefest time she felt like the Sheridan Crane she once was: determined and sassy. The one her Luis had fallen in love with years before. That wasn’t going to save him now though. “What were you thinking, if you were thinking at all?!”

“Sheridan…”

“Don’t Sheridan me. I want an answer!”

“If you’d just keep your mouth shut long enough I would reply,” he growled, instantly rendering her speechless. “Thank you,” he pronounced after a beat. “As I was going to say, I was tired of waiting.”

As far as excuses went, that one was horrible.

“So you decided it would be a brilliant idea to kidnap me and forgo our plan? Wonderful, Luis, now every cop from coast to coast will be looking for us. How stupid can you be? You’ve totally ruined everything.”

“I didn’t kidnap you,” he argued, as if he muttered that claim everyday.

“Funny, because I don’t remember skipping merrily into the car and telling you to go speeding through the countryside.” Crossing her arms defiantly over her chest, she glared at him and awaited his next claim. She didn’t have to wait long.

“I still went through with the plan, Sheridan. Hank slipped me the documentation today; it’s in the glove compartment. Your old car is gone, over the side of the ravine, and Hank is going to claim that I forced myself into your car when we pulled you over speeding. We lost control and over the side we went. End of story.”

“What were you doing with Hank?”

“He’s a rookie and we were on patrol together. Sam will vouch for that since we radioed in to tell him we were hitting the road to pull over some speeders. Not much else was going on today and Hank was available to help set up our untimely demise.”

She softened. “What about money?”

“You went to the bank,” he replied casually.

“How did you know that? Were you following me just waiting for the chance to chloroform me again? I mean honestly, Luis, now you’re no better than your…”

“Finish that sentence and I’ll leave you on the side of the freeway,” he threatened and she had no doubt he meant it. “Gwen called me. She said you two were having lunch and that you divulged the entire plan to her. I couldn’t help it if she decided to let me know you were withdrawing enough cash to last us half a lifetime, or so she said.”

“What she knows about is only today’s withdrawal,” she told him, leaving it at that. “What about clothing? Food?” She paused. “Wait, when did Gwen call you?”

He smirked. “In the middle of your lunch. She happened to mention that you had a bag of things for the trip hidden in your bedroom. Didn’t take me long to find it.”

“Luis!” Her eyes were wide. “You didn’t!”

He nodded. “They’re in the trunk.”

“Well, you really have thought this out, haven’t you? So then, plan guy, where are we going to live our new lives?”

“As far away from Harmony as humanly possible, so long as we don’t need a plane.”

She scowled, rolling her eyes. “Helpful. Can I at least know what my new name is or do I have to think that one up on my own?”

“Go ahead. Like I said, the paperwork is in the glove compartment.”

Opening the tiny black door of the SUV’s glove compartment, Sheridan removed a large yellow envelope from inside. Her eyebrows knitting in confusion, she glanced at Luis once more. “Didn’t you say Hank owned an old car that he never registered?”

“This is it,” he responded. “Bought it ages ago at one of those police auctions for next to nothing. He intended to use it for the cold day in hell when he suddenly had a family of his own.”

“I see,” she mumbled, digging into the package.

Riffling through the pages for a moment, she found a birth certificate for Martin, who was now named Jacob Joshua Martinez Jr. She smirked. Luis didn’t look much like a Jake. Flipping further through the pile, she found diplomas, fake résumés, a marriage license and passports. Towards the middle she found two wallets and opened them. Inside the smaller one lay her new driver’s license.

Though all the information on the card was quite similar to her own, right down to her birth date, the name was completely different: Katelyn Marie Martinez.

“We’re married,” she whispered, fingering the name. Sure she had seen the license, but she and Luis had signed one of those before. They hadn’t been married then.

“For two and a half years according to the wedding certificate inside,” he pointed out.

Two and a half years, long before the boat exploded in Bermuda. Before Antonio had torn their world to shreds. Back when things seemed so much simpler, when they hadn’t needed to stage their deaths to be alone together. She sighed heavily.

“What about rings?”

“Inside the box in the glove compartment,” he answered, changing lanes to zoom past a mobile home. “Go ahead and put them on.”

Removing the small black boxes, Sheridan immediately flipped up the lids. Disappointment flashed across her face as she fingered the cases. “But…”

“I couldn’t get you my grandmother’s ring,” Luis apologized. “I looked and couldn’t find it, not to mention it’s too unique. People would ask too many questions when they saw it and we can’t risk Antonio finding out you’re still alive.”

“I understand,” she replied softly, her tone clearly filled with upset. Her heart refused to think that the beautiful heirloom would no longer be her engagement ring.

“Don’t you like those?” he asked, clearly dreading her reply.

They were beautiful and obviously quite expensive, but they weren’t hers. She removed the wedding set from the box, the beautiful platinum bands shimmering in the afternoon sunlight. She always adored platinum, but the expense was just something she knew Luis could never afford. When they had selected their rings years ago, she had gone for the less expensive, plain gold band instead, since it matched the ring from his grandmother. “These must have cost a fortune,” she stated, trying to assess just how many diamond chips were imbedded in the wedding ring along. Place that next to the tasteful three-stone diamond engagement ring and she wondered just where Luis got the cash for these little treats.

“Well, I was dying right? Mama won’t have to pay off my credit cards if anything happened to me, so I thought a little shopping spree of my own was in order.”

She chuckled. “You’re insane.”

“No, Katie,” he teased, winking at her. “I’m in love.”

“Well, Jake,” she turned the new name game on him. “Where’s your band?”

“In the box. I didn’t have the heart to put it on yet; I wanted you to do that,” he explained.

“I feel the same way.”

They shared a brief, but loving, gaze before he was forced to return his attention to the road. Wordlessly, they agreed the rings could wait until they could slip them on each other.

“So where do you plan on taking me?” she questioned, breaking the comfortable silence.

“Check the driver’s licenses a little more closely, darling.”

Removing them, she noticed for the first time that they weren’t licenses from Maine. In fact, they weren’t licenses from the entire east coast. While Maine’s had been beautiful, an image of the sunset over the ocean adorning the top, this one was quite plain. It was a pale peach with nothing but her photograph and the state seal on it. The address near her picture wasn’t familiar, but the city and state were.

“San Francisco, California?”

He nodded. “It will take about five days if we drive as far as possible each day. We’ll have to live in some cheap motels for a while, but we should be able to get a place once we’re settled a little. Maybe rent some furniture until we have jobs.” He waited, allowing her to throw in some comment about his plans. When she didn’t, he continued, “Unless you have more cash than I think you do.”

“Trust me, I have enough where we could pay for a house and still buy furniture,” she quipped, thinking about her expensive wallet full of cash and the luggage he took with a pocket full of money her father insisted she use for a good time. “We’re going to live quite comfortably until we have some employment.”

“You really used to spend that much on shopping sprees?”

She nodded. “I considered it proof that my father loved me,” she retorted bitterly. “Now he’ll just be supplying funds for my new addiction: life without him.”

“I really am sorry this happened, Sheridan.”

“I’m not,” she answered. “Proves to me who really cares, you know?” She sighed.

“Let’s forget about it,” he offered. “Are you hungry? We could stop for a quick bite before hitting the road again. I know JJ back there won’t be hungry for another hour or two, he had a late lunch.”

“Just keep going,” she replied, her eyes focused out the window. “I just want to go somewhere no one knows who I am.”

“Don’t worry, baby.” He took her hand, stroking the back with his thumb as he easily steered with his free one. “Sheridan Crane is dead and by this time tomorrow the entire world will know.”

Chapter Eight

Cars raced along the freeway, their headlights the only identifiably mark in the dark of night. Idly, she wondered where each passing vehicle was destined, where the driver would finally end his or her journey and rest. Were they on the way to some family gathering or perhaps driving towards a business meeting in another city? Perhaps he or she were meeting a date at some fancy restaurant and were on the way to pick up a beautiful bouquet of flowers before the rendezvous. She knew that a few of them were travelers passing quickly through the relatively busy Pennsylvania town, but others lived nearby. Those of them simply returning from work were heading home.

‘Home,’ she thought to herself with a heavy sigh, eyes misting over at the thought of her little cottage on the Crane estate. ‘I never had a place to call home before L--Jake and now we can’t even be there to raise our son.’

As if her thoughts became flesh, he joined her in the bedroom. She felt his presence long before his arms slipped gently around her waist. Chin resting on her shoulder, he coaxed her to relax against his chest and share the window to their motel room. Her body oozed tension and his hands rose to his shoulders offering her the comfort of a massage.

“What are you thinking, Katie?” he questioned softly.

She sighed again, hating the sound of her new name and the ease it rolled of his tongue. Earlier, she had pleaded with him to use her given name when they were in the privacy of their room; he had refused. “It’s too dangerous, sweetheart. If someone heard our names and it got back home…”

She had wanted to cry when he mentioned Harmony, mentioned the home and life they would never have again. The simplicity of the small New England town had been part of the charm and the draw. Now they were being forced into the big city over three thousand miles away. Luis was going to go back into law enforcement, which terrified her. He wouldn’t be as safe in San Francisco as he would have been in Harmony.

“Katie?” he prodded again.

Her head shook to clear the cobwebs from the corners of her mind and jar the crushing remembrances out of place. “Just things,” she hedged.

“Don’t do that,” he grumbled, though his tone wasn’t harsh. “Don’t close up on me now.”

Her shoulders slumped as she sighed yet again, fighting the tears that pricked her eyes. Her lids fluttered shut and she focused on her breathing to regain some composure. “I was just thinking about home,” she responded, eyes now focusing on a pair of lights pulling into the parking lot of the cheap motel.

“If you have any regrets, I’ll take you home. I won’t stay, but at the very least…”

“No,” she cut him off, her tone leaving no room for argument. “I love you and I will do anything necessary to have a life with you. I can’t say I’m happy about the predicament my father forced us into, but I am not going to give up on our family because of a new challenge.”

“That’s what I wanted to hear.” He smiled, kissing her neck. “Are you hungry? I think JJ is ready for some dinner.”

“Me too; I’m famished.” She slipped from his arms, crossing to the mirror near the bed. Taking a deep breath to steady her nerves, she slowly removed the white terrycloth towel that was wrapped like a turban around her head.

Jake gasped from behind her and she caught her lower lip between her teeth. She expected his reaction to be one of surprise, but she still prayed that he didn’t dislike the change in her appearance. She had done it for him, well for them, and if he had any objections to her decision she wasn’t sure how to handle them.

“What do you think?” she inquired cautiously, reaching up to finger her now cocoa colored locks. She had noticed the picture on her drivers’ license wasn’t one with blond hair; in fact, even the hair color on her license said brown. Sure, people often dyed their hair, but she wanted to be sure that her resemblance to Sheridan Crane wouldn’t cause them to be found out. “Do you hate it?”

“It’s different,” he answered, tentatively taking a step towards her. She could feel the scrutiny in his eyes as they raked over the new color but she held her ground. When she didn’t move away, he joined her and fingered her silky locks. “It suits you; really brings out the blue of your eyes. I’m sure it will take a little time to adjust to our new lives but I promise this doesn’t change how I feel about you.”

She blushed, bashfully lowering her eyes to the ground in an uncharacteristic display.

“What caused you to do this, sweetheart?”

“Katelyn Martinez is a brunette,” came her simple reply as she turned back to the mirror. She began to brush her hair out so the curls became little waves. Finished with her hair, she took a step towards the door but he caught her arm.

He smiled, guiding her to the bed where he sat beside her. “One more thing my beautiful wife needs before we go.” He reached into his pocket, removing their wedding bands. “I have loved you from the moment we met and that will never change. I regret that we never had the change to make this official, but as far as I’m concerned, we are married and always will be where it counts: in our hearts and souls.”

A tear rolled down her cheek and his hand lifted to her face to brush it away.

“I marry you this night, before our son in this terrible little motel room offering you the love in my heart and the promise of a better tomorrow.” Taking her left hand, he slipped the ring on her finger, sealing it with a kiss.

She sniffled, removing his band from the palm of his hand and gazing into his eyes. “I don’t have anything to say that you haven’t already said. I love you and tonight I promise to give you my heart and soul for the rest of my life.” She guided the ring to the base of his finger, also kissing its resting place.

It wasn’t a real wedding before a priest, but to the couple who had fought so valiantly to have a life together, it meant the world. A real wedding with all the trimmings could be forever coming, but spiritually the pair admitted that this was as binding as the piece of paper the government would have issued. Leaning in slowly, their lips met for a brief kiss to seal the pact.

Then, JJ began to whimper, sucking on his fist.

“I think we’ve taken too long,” Jake chuckled, going to his son and removing him from the playpen. “Come on, sport, let’s take mom out for some good food over at the grease pit next door.”

“Mm, when you put it that way, how can I resist,” Katie teased, slipping on her coat and grabbing a cheap purse. She had hidden her Dooney and Burke earlier as she realized a housewife like Katelyn wouldn’t carry one around.

Together the trio made their way through the dimly lit parking lot of the motel along the highway, neither adult looking back at the dilapidated building. They hadn’t selected the Erie Motel for its stunning good looks or relatively fair price. It had been the only place in the entire town that was close to the highway and claimed a vacancy. Everywhere else seemed to be holding some sort of foresting convention or some such nonsense. It didn’t matter; all they needed was a place to rest for the night before they began the second leg of their journey to San Francisco. Anything would do; even a rest stop.

But even the hotel looked more appetizing than Fancy’s Diner, the only place to eat that didn’t involve loading poor JJ into his car seat again. It was as if someone had taken the sickest of trailer parks and relocated it to the middle of the highway, leaving behind an archaic looking steel trailer. The electric sign hanging outside the joint, and the term fit this place entirely, shivered in the wind, small sparks coming from the F as it blinked off and on. The creaking of the door was silenced only by that of the sign as it shifted back and forth constantly.

The interior was no better. Once past the stainless steel and glass doors leading into what should have been a fifties diner, that obviously was still in the fifties not designed to look as such, one was graced with the duct taped repaired red vinyl booths and chipped white and black tiled floor. Chipped and sticky, Katie noticed as her shoe stuck to a piece of the tile, peeling up the corner. She nervously glanced from the obese, perspiration drenched cook that wiped his brow on a beefy arm, to the petite, gray-haired, yellow-toothed waitress that smiled slightly at them.

“Table for three?” she asked in a nasal tone.

“Yes, please,” Jake replied as Katie slipped her hand into his. She held on for dear life, afraid of being trapped in the redneck local should she let go.

“You folks at the motel next door?” the woman asked, trying her best to sound polite and interested as she showed them to a corner booth at the far side of the nearly vacant diner. Katie questioned why, not desiring to be quite so far from the nearest, and what seemed to be the only, exit.

Remembering the question, Katie just nodded while shifting as close to Jake as she could. “Do you have a high chair for our little boy?”

“Yea sure,” she responded, seeming offended by the question. “Let me just get your drink orders first and then I’ll bring it over.”

“Right,” Katie mumbled, scanning the drinks on the back. She noticed Jake doing the same thing and prayed this woman would leave quickly.

Moments later, their orders were placed; Jake and Katie watched as their waitress departed from their table with her pencil stuck behind her ear. Shivering slightly, Katelyn shared a look with her husband before silently delving into the plastic bound pages covered in a fine sheen of oil. Nose scrunched in dislike, she browsed for something worth eating while JJ bounced happily in her lap.

“See anything good?” Jake asked, trying to strike up a conversation.

“Yes,” Katelyn replied. “A triple bypass and the number for the nearest pizza delivery.”

“Katie,” he laughed, shaking his head as he began searching his own menu for something that sounded…eatable.

A few minutes later, the waitress, whose name they learned was Shirley, returned to their table with a drink tray precariously balanced in one hand and a shoddy excuse for a wooden high chair dragging behind her.

“Your drinks and your seat,” she muttered, slamming the high chair into the side of the lopsided table before depositing a soda before each of them. The table was still trembling from the collision, causing the liquid in their glasses to slosh over the sides. “Do you know whatcha wanna order?”

“The grilled chicken salad sounds good,” Katie smiled tensely, pointing to the item on the menu without resting her finger on the plastic. “Do you have French dressing?”

“No, and we don’t have any chicken for the salad either,” Shirley replied indifferently.

“Oh.” Katie returned to the menu, trying to find something else. She was afraid of at least ninety percent of the listed dishes and wanted something that seemed safe. “How about the grilled cheese?”

“No can do,” the waitress answered.

“Well what do you have?” Katie inquired irately, growing tired of this game.

“Burgers, fries, eggs…pancakes. We’ve got most of the breakfast stuff stocked.”

“All right, how about a cheeseburger and fries?”

“How would you like that cooked? We offer it in well done, slightly well done and burnt.”

Sheridan cringed. “Um, slightly well done please.”

“I’ll have the same,” Jake agreed, quickly handing the waitress both menus. “Thanks.”

“Yea, no problem,” the older woman replied, walking away.

Katelyn sighed heavily, grabbing a nearby sugar packet to empty into her ice tea. Before she could pour the sweetener into the glass, she noticed something afloat in her drink. Shuddering in disgust, she poked at it and observed it as it bobbed around the ice. With a quick glance at the fork wrapped neatly in her napkin, her nose crinkled in distaste. “Don’t examine the silverware. Don’t examine the silverware!”

“What’s wrong?” Jake asked, noting her apprehension.

“There’s something floating in my tea and I’m afraid to find out what it is since this establishment just barely missed the four star requirement of other wonderful eateries.” She kissed her son’s head. “Not to mention, I’m afraid JJ’s weight will bring the highchair to the floor.”

Jake chuckled, lifting the glass and examining the contents in the light. “I believe it’s a lemon pit, sweetheart. Just relax.”

“Easy for you to say,” she muttered, dumping three times the normal amount of sugar into her glass and stirring it. Given the lack of items they actually had in their kitchen, she was terrified the drink would actually be brown water or something equally as repulsive.

“I’m sorry, I know this isn’t what you’re used to, but it’s close enough to the hotel that we don’t have to worry about being followed and…well at least we’ll see people coming in and out.”

“What people?” She sighed, wishing she hadn’t said that quite so loud. “I understand, Jake, but that doesn’t make it any easier to cope with.”

Katie placed her elbow on the table, landing on a gooey part. “Eww.” She shook her head, wiping off the goop off with her napkin. “And I’m not asking for anyplace fancy, but I’ll even settle for McDonald’s at this point.”

He smiled. “I love you.”

She grinned. “I love you too. We’ll make due, Jake. Before you know it we’ll be in San Francisco and life will be back to normal.”

“Or something like it,” he agreed. “Things will be a little off for a while, baby, but before you know it our lives will have calmed down and without the family breathing down our necks, we’ll be able to have a real relationship.”

“I know.” She took his hand. “So where do we go from here?”

“Home.” He kissed her hand. “But only after a good night’s sleep at the hotel.”

Peering out the far window to what was probably an insect infested, fire trap. Katelyn forced a smile. “I can hardly wait.”

Chapter Nine

He listened as she rummaged through their room, obviously in search of something she considered important. With a sigh, he removed the cap from the toothpaste and studied his reflection in the mirror. Sheridan, even as Katelyn, was a creature of habit and part of her morning ritual was reading the newspaper first thing in the morning. Either that or she would watch the Today Show. Glancing at his watch, he noted that the second option began in mere minutes and prayed for a distraction. Or else he would have to resort to plan B, making love to her, which would cause them to be incredibly late.

“Sweetheart, did we get the morning paper?” she called from the bedroom, the slam of their room door sounding behind her.

“I don’t recall seeing one, Katie,” he replied with mock honesty as he squeezed some toothpaste onto his brush. “Maybe they forgot or they just don’t offer a free one. I’ll grab you one on the way to breakfast.”

“I don’t believe this place doesn’t leave a free paper outside every morning,” she complained, joining him to peruse her makeup bag. “Even the bed and breakfast gave patrons a paper each morning.”

Jake laughed tensely, trying his best to conceal the truth from his beautiful wife. Hidden beneath their bed was the morning edition of the New York Times, which he had earlier discovered resting haphazardly against their bedroom door. Splashed across the front page was a large picture of Sheridan and the headline Heiress Dies in Devastating Crash. He had assumed that Sheridan’s premature death would once again be a major headline for any paper, but he was flabbergasted by just how large the story was. This time the media was out of control with their interest, most likely because the wife of Antonio Lopez-Fitzgerald was killed in the same car as her lover, Luis.

“Jake, did you hear a word I said?” Katie asked, blotting her lipstick on a tissue.

“No, sorry, baby. I was just distracted thinking about the trip ahead.” His lips twisted into a feeble smile, which faded quickly. “What did you say?”

“I was just saying that I hope my appearance is different enough to fool the world since I’m sure there’s some small story about me on the news. I hate to sound conceited, but Sheridan Crane was an important figure.”

“Yea, the only Crane with a heart,” he muttered, rinsing his teeth. “What do you say we hit the road and stop in an hour or two for something to eat?”

“Only after I get the paper,” she brushed by him. “Do we have to leave now or can I get some of the morning headlines from Katie and Matt?”

He glanced at the nearby clock and groaned. In his haste to leave, he hadn’t noticed the time. The Today Show would start in mere minutes. “I’d really like to hit the road,” he replied.

“Why do I think you’re really trying to hide something?” she questioned in return, packing up their remaining items in the room.

“Now why would I try to keep any secrets from my wife?” He once again forced a tense laugh as he crammed his toothbrush and comb into a bag. “Katie, I just want to get moving. The faster we leave, the more miles we can put between ourselves and home.”

She sighed. “All right. Let me just get JJ changed and we can leave.”

“Thanks, sweetheart,” he kissed her cheek. “I love you.”

“I love you too,” she responded. “Why don’t you start loading the car and I’ll bring JJ down when I’m finished.”

“Good idea. Don’t take too long. I hear Eerie is a disaster in the morning.”

One last quick kiss and he was gone.

She waited until she could no longer hear his footsteps on the cheap carpet outside before flipping on the TV and lifting her son onto her lap. “Daddy must think I’m incredibly stupid if he believes that I would skip hearing the news this morning.”

“Ma ma ma ma ma,” JJ babbled, sucking his hand into his mouth.

Katelyn smiled proudly at her little boy, resting her lips against his head. “A few minutes of the Today Show and I promise to make sure you’re ready for our trip, little man.”

As if agreeing with the idea, JJ settled down and rested comfortably against her stomach. Katelyn idly caressed his chubby little leg as the commercials ended and the music for the morning news broadcast began.

“Good morning, the President heads to Maine today.” Matt Lauer’s monotonous voice droned over the TV as a picture of her father greeting the President flashed across the screen.

It quickly cut to ice skaters busying themselves on the ice outside the studio as the announcer spoke, “Live from Studio One-A in Rockefeller Plaza, this is Today with Katie Couric and Matt Lauer.”

Katie Couric’s faux grief was displayed once the camera returned to the studio’s interior. “It’s a terrible tragedy for two Harmony, Maine families this morning as Sheridan Crane Lopez-Fitzgerald and her former fiancé have been killed in what seems to be a freak accident. The President arrived in Harmony earlier this morning to comfort his heartbroken friend, Crane patriarch, Alistair Crane,” she sounded pained.

“Indeed it is, Katie. Also coming up this half hour, a tale of two lives: the story of Sheridan Crane Lopez-Fitzgerald and her life torn from daytime dramas.”

“But first, let’s head to Ann at the news desk and see what’s making headlines. Ann?”

“Good morning, Katie, Matt. Good morning to you too,” she said to the audience before moving onto other national headlines. Five minutes of news briefs and she turned the microphone back over to the co-anchors waiting patiently to continue with their stories.

This wasn’t too terrible; in fact, she expected some coverage of the accident. At least it had been minor enough to allow them some room to relax. Sheridan’s life was ended, story complete. No one would question it and the mourning would be brief.

No sooner did she have that thought then her photo covered the screen with the date of her birth and death beneath it.

“She was one of American royalty, the heiress to a fortune and a dear friend of the late Princess Diana. Sheridan Crane was born into a privileged life that others might have idolized, but she wasn’t one to boast. A woman simply accustomed to the flash of paparazzi cameras, Sheridan was known for her kind heart and love affair with the Harmony police officer that had saved her life on more than one occasion.”

“Luis is something special,” her voice from an old interview sounded as pictures of her and her beloved graced the screen. “He’s someone I definitely wouldn’t be living without and I’m honored to be the woman he loves. We’re looking forward to our wedding.”

“But her life wasn’t without tragedy,” Katie returned. “Sheridan lost her mother at the age of two and was raised by her widowed father and older brother, Julian. Sent to boarding school in Paris at age eleven, Sheridan was hardly on American soil growing up. It was in Paris that she met Jean- Luc Moulin, a member of the French drug cartel who kept this a secret from the beloved heiress. After their breakup, she returned to the states where she met Luis.”

“It wasn’t a match made in heaven,” she heard herself say. “I slammed into the side of his police car and he arrested me.”

“Uncomplicated beginning or not, Sheridan and Luis had a relationship later newspapers would report as romance novel-esque. But it wasn’t until Sheridan’s staged murder to rid her of the French drug cartel that their romance blossomed. Together they planned a wedding, only to have their time together cut short as their boat exploded in Bermuda, leading her lover to believe she was gone a second time.

“Sheridan returned to Luis once more, this time on the arm of his brother, Antonio. She had been living on a small island near Bermuda where she resided in a hotel having and had no recollection of her identity or her past. When she returned, she wed Antonio Lopez-Fitzgerald and gave birth to a child, whose father was actually Luis. The child was kidnapped and never seen again; both the child and kidnapper were killed in horrifying car accident earlier this year. Sheridan was distraught and institutionalized temporarily to deal with her grief.”

“My wife simply needs some time to get over the loss of our baby. Once doctors give her a clean bill of health, she’ll come home and we’ll pick up our marriage as if this never happened.”

“Antonio’s hopefulness for continuing their marriage ended abruptly yesterday afternoon. On the old Coast Road that runs along Harmony’s rocky sea cliff, police are searching this morning for any remains to the vehicle that was holding Sheridan Crane and Luis Lopez-Fitzgerald. There was only one witness to the accident, Officer Hank Bennett, who was pulling over speeders along the road when he saw Sheridan’s car speed by. He attempted to pull them over, when the car spun out of control and broke through a metal divider where it crashed against the rocky surface and burst into flames. Seconds later, the pieces tumbled into the ocean below. Police agree no one could have survived the devastating crash.”

“We will miss my sister horribly,” Julian’s tearfully told reporters as both the Lopez-Fitzgeralds and Crane stood outside the mansion. “She and Luis were soul mates and I only find peace in the fact that their short lives ended together. The real tragedy is that Luis’ son was also in the car and he may never know life. I hope they rest well in their eternal paradise.”

“The Crane family is offering a reward to anyone with information that may lead to the arrest of the person behind the accident. Police are saying they believe the break line in Sheridan’s vehicle had been severed and that Sheridan, who is assumed to have been driving the car, might have attempted to break before the car went over the side of the cliff.”

Hitting the mute button, Katelyn lifted her free hand to wipe the tears from her cheeks. The news returned to Maine with more of the interview with her brother and Luis’ family, even showing a distressed Pilar answering the questions of the media. She didn’t have the heart to hear another word as the woman she had known as a mother sobbed openly. What they had done pained so many people, not just Antonio but the other Lopez-Fitzgerals as well.

“The car is loaded and we’re ready to…Katie? What…?” Jake stopped short, seeing his family on the screen. “What are you watching?”

“They miss us. They’re heartbroken,” she cried, dropping the remote onto the bed beside her. “We’ve hurt them so terribly because of our choices. We should have stayed there and fought for the right to be together.”

“And do what, Katie?” he argued. “Sneak around until we could find a way to convince Antonio we should be together? Hide from your father’s threats by moving around constantly so he didn’t know where we were? What kind of life would that be for JJ? What kind of life would that be for us?”

“But look what we did!” she pleaded. “Your mother is beside herself with grief. She’s lost so many other people that she’s loved, Jake, she didn’t deserve this.” She sighed. “In one swoop we took away her daughter-in-law, her son and her grandson. How can we ever expect her to forgive our selfishness?”

“We didn’t have a choice if we wanted to be together. Our only other option was to go our separate ways. In time, she’ll understand. Right now she needs to believe that our bodies were inside of that car when it went into the sea.”

She shook her head. “We made the wrong decision.”

“It’s too late to go back now, Katelyn. The media are swarming Harmony and any contact we try to make with my family or yours will only alert your father and Antonio to our presence. In a few days, this will all go away and we’ll be able to consider letting my mother know the truth.”

“That’s not really feasible, though. If she knows, she’ll be in just as much danger as we were.” She sighed heavily, hugging JJ close. “We’ll just have to make due with the consequences for now. Maybe someday we can go back and let her have some peace.”

He kissed her head. “Someday we’ll go home, Katie. Right now we need to get as far away as possible and I think this is the best time to get moving. The more people that see the story, the more of a possibility we’ll be recognized. We need to head for the largest places possible to keep under the radar.”

Katie nodded, rising from the bed. “JJ’s diaper is clean. Just let me get his clothing changed and we’ll be ready to go.”

“All right, baby.” He kissed her softly. “I love you, remember that.”

“Love you too,” she replied as he left the room, quickly occupying herself with changing JJ. All she could see was the desolation etched into Pilar’s face as she clung to the stoic Antonio. The woman was dying inside at the loss of her beloved son and Katelyn wasn’t sure just how long she could live with that memory burned inside her mind. They had ruined Luis’ family with their decision to leave Harmony in such a gruesome way. How would they ever repair that relationship when they could return home?

“If we can ever return home,” she corrected herself as she dressed her son. “I guess we’ll have to start believing California is our home if we ever want to make it, huh little man?”

JJ simply gurgled in reply.

“This is the only way,” she reminded herself forcefully. “If we didn’t leave town, I wouldn’t have my son or the man I truly love. I’ll simply have to set my conscience aside on this one.”

But it wasn’t going to be easy; the memory of those families in front of the daunting mansion would be imbedded in her mind for years to come. They would haunt every moment of her life.

“I’m sorry, Pilar,” she whispered tearfully. “But I had to do this for my son.”

“Katie, are you ready to go?” Jake’s head peeked back inside. “Rush hour traffic is starting and I’d like to make it to Des Moines today.”

“Yea, I’m ready. Let’s get out of here.”

Behind her Antonio vowed that the person who destroyed their family would be found and punished, if not by the law, by him.

Chapter Ten

“Home at last,” Jake said excitedly, opening the door to the fifth and final hotel room of their journey. His eyes sparkled with the prospect of something new, something more than the life they would have had in Harmony as he looked around the room. He carried JJ’s car seat inside, the child slumbering peacefully as he had been for the last leg of the extremely long trip. “Katie?”

She sighed wearily, dragging herself into the room and closing the door behind her. At that moment, she felt older and much less of the woman she once was. It was almost as if she had taken to the roll of house wife to Detective Jacob Martinez. “Yea, home,” she grumbled, falling backwards onto the bed with a bounce. She stared at the ceiling, counting the tiles along it. “Vaguely resembles the last ‘home’ we had, don’t you think?”

“Katie…” he began, ceasing from his work of undoing JJ’s buckles now that the car seat was balanced on the table near the window.

“Sorry, I know. Temporary.”

The entire trip had been something out of a bad comedy movie from the moment he kidnapped her to the second he parked “their” car in the parking lot below. The worst of their transitory homes had, ironically, been the one closest to Harmony. She would never forget the place in Pennsylvania; it was, at best, a roach infested fire trap. And that awful diner with the sticky floors, her skin still crawled from the slightest thought of it. For days, Katie had showered and scrubbed so hard she bled in attempt to watch the stench from her skin.

The others hadn’t been so bad, but nothing she was really used to. When they stayed in or near larger cities, they were able to find motels and hotels that were part of chains. Most had restaurants near by in better condition then their first local and all had higher standards. Still, the people working at them had been bored teens chomping on chewing gum or retirees seeking some extra cash. She clearly remembered eating in an IHOP, that’s name had not gone unnoticed or uncommented on, where she had been given something that resembled uncooked pancakes to eat. Obviously, the waitress, if you could call her such, was assisting the chef during the breakfast rush and hadn’t really allowed the insides of the over thick pancakes to cook before flipping them onto the dish.

But it really was the little places that Katie had found most interesting. There, in the smaller towns, like the one they had left in Nevada that morning, Luis – Jake rather-- had managed to find them quaint inns with restaurants attached. They were all run by families or friends and it reminded her very much of the Bed and Breakfast that Grace owned and operated. Floral sheets, matching drapes and polished wood furniture over the cutest of carpets on hardwood floors. The gift shops sold crafts and home made fudge, brownies were plentiful and it was like a home away from home. More than a place to spend a moment; almost a place to spend a life.

The one they left that morning had been hardest to depart from. The women who owned it had been best friends forever and so horribly friendly that she had fallen in love with the place. They were quick witted and lavished JJ with so much attention it was as if he found two extra mothers in the pair. They had made her an extra special breakfast when they saw how drained she looked and asked her tons of questions about her marriage to Jake. Their comments had been racy, but it had been the first time in days she truly laughed, which made her feel so much better about herself and the situation they were in. Had the weather not be dreadfully hot and the town with a population of about a hundred, she might have been inclined to stay there forever.

But it still was wearing her down to sleep in another bed that wasn’t hers, in another room that she was merely borrowing, in a life that had been created out of thin air. She was tired of being someone else and living a life that wasn’t her own. She hated not being able to call the man she loved by his name but by some other man’s. But more than that, she was just tired of being unsettled and wanted their life together to begin.

He must have heard her sigh again, because he was now facing her with a look of understanding and complete dedication as he stood there holding their son. He offered her a fleeting smile, dropping his eyes to observe JJ as he rocked him softly. She would never say that the man she loved was a bad father; he was truly an amazing one.

“I know this is hard, Katie,” he broke the silence in the room. “Tomorrow we can start looking for a place of our own and shop for things to fill it. I promise, everything is going to work out for the best. We can have a fresh start.”

“I know, Lu…Jake,” she corrected herself, propping herself up on her elbows to observe him at a more comfortable angle. Jake flinched briefly at her slip, but his eyes never left their son. She really was trying not to make the mistake of calling him Luis, but it was complicated for her. “God I really wish you wouldn’t make me keep up this façade all the time. It’s exhausting.”

“We have no choice,” he replied, nudging the crib they had been given for Jake. Upon approving its sturdiness, he gently tucked the child into bed. His fingertips brushed the feathery soft locks atop JJ’s head as the baby slept. “If I didn’t make you do it all the time, you’d slip like that in public and we’d be screwed.”

She quirked her eyebrow at his choice in word, but let it slide. There were a lot of traits the two of them were starting to develop as they played their parts. “Or someone would hear us and report the truth. Or several dozen other excuses as to why we have to parade around as Katie and Jake, all of which serve to remind me that back home there are people mourning our deaths.”

“Sweetheart,” he started, turning towards the bed. He took a hesitant step closer as if she were radiating death rays.

She held up her hand. “Whatever,” she grumbled, flopping backwards again. “You didn’t see their faces, Jacob. You wouldn’t watch with me.”

“It was depressing, Katelyn,” he replied. “And morbid. You watched the airing of a funeral; that’s not exactly something I’d want to do. Besides, someone had to get us moving and if I allowed myself to wallow with you, we’d still be in Nevada”

She shrugged, ignoring his tone. “I had to know…I had to see for myself.”

“And he wasn’t there, was he?” he growled, his voice low but forceful. “Does it make you feel better to know that he didn’t attend the funeral, Kate? Does it, because honestly it just proves something I already knew.” He sighed heavily, running his hands over his face. He appeared drawn and for a fleeting moment she felt for him. He was trying to bring some control back to the situation before they both said things they regretted. She admired his determination. “He didn’t love her enough to go.”

“You mean me,” she whispered, tears burning her eyes. It didn’t matter that she had known the truth about her father before, but seeing that he couldn’t even pretend to love her for the media was the final straw. He’d never love her; she’d always be a bane in his existence. “But that’s not why I watched; I had to see them again. I had to know…to know that they were all surviving the pain.” Her eyes welled with tears and she choked them back. “Antonio was stoic as ever, but I’ll never forget Pilar, the way she cried, how pale she looked. God, I can’t imagine what she must be feeling to think she lost her son. That they were forced to bury empty caskets because there weren’t any bodies.”

She trembled as she rolled onto her side, her eyes fluttering shut. The faces of the ones they had hurt were burned into her memory. It wasn’t just the trip that kept her from sleeping, it was the sight she had the moment her eyes were closed. Their faces, so pained and pale, were there gazing down over the empty coffins. The words, so soft and heartbreaking, played in her mind. The way Pilar choked over the one statement she had made about them, about how it hurt to lose them both but she felt comfort that their true love ended together, had been about enough to shatter her resolve.

“Sheridan,” he breathed, joining her on the bed. It was the first time he used her real name in days and it only served to make the pain worse. His hand caressed her back in soothing circles and she allowed it. Lately, she hadn’t wanted him to touch her, but tonight she needed something familiar; she needed him. “I know this is hard…”

“Understatement, don’t you think?” she snapped, regretting the words the moment they left her mouth. Here he was being incredibly sweet and she was biting his head off.

He scowled, withdrawing his hand. “What’s your problem tonight?”

“Nothing,” she muttered, shaking her head and rolling onto her back. “I’m being rude. You didn’t deserve that.”

“No, really? I hadn’t noticed.”

She glared at him. “Look, I’m not exactly in the mood to fight. Tonight has been long enough without another argument. We’ve been fighting for the last three days and I am just sick of it.”

His shoulders sagged and he looked absolutely defeated. She realized, at that moment, that most of their arguments had been at her provoking and he had been so patient with her. He never pushed and the next morning would overlook the prior night with a lopsided smile and a shrug of his shoulders. But now, he looked broken. She only wished she could understand why she was putting him through this. Hadn’t she agreed to the plan when he posed it a week ago? Hadn’t she said she wanted nothing more than to find a place they could be together? Weren’t they finally there? Finally someplace they could have a real future?

“I’ll take the couch,” he told her, getting up.

She couldn’t take the tenderness in his voice, nor face the knowledge that she put it there. “I-I didn’t say that, Jake. Really. I’m sure after a good night’s sleep and a great breakfast tomorrow that I’ll be fine. It’s just…seeing that this morning on top of all the articles this week has been rough. Plus all the driving and I think JJ’s teething…there’s just a lot going on and right now I’m an emotional wreck. I-I could use my husband holding me.”

He nodded slightly, seeming a bit relieved that she wasn’t sending him away. He cautiously placed himself beside her on the bed. The mattress sagged as he lowered himself to lie beside her. “I love you so much, baby. If I thought there was another way…”

“I know.” She gave him a faulty smile, but her eyes met his and held his gaze. When was the last time she had looked him in the eyes? “I know that you’d do anything for me; you’ve proven that more than once. I just didn’t think this would be so difficult.”

“I know, but there really is no going back now, baby. We just need to hold out a little while and I’m positive once we have our own place things will be much better.”

“Can’t get any worse,” she teased, winking.

He gave her a soft smile, reaching out to gently brush a piece of hair behind her ear. His fingers brushed against her cheek and she shivered again. “You’re so beautiful.”

“Even with brown hair?” she asked, still not quite secure in her new looks.

“Even with no hair,” he responded, though she questioned his sincerity. “I only regret that I had to give you this life by destroying the lives of so many others. I’m sorry I made you stop being you, but we never could have been together like this at home. There’d always have been a road block.”

“I know,” she breathed, stilling his hand and holding it between both of her own. “I don’t regret loving you and I know what we did wasn’t easy, but it was the only choice we had. A delusional woman was raising our son and a resentful bastard was punishing me for loving you.” She paused, frowning. “Two resentful bastards,” she amended. “We had to leave.”

“Glad you’re finally seeing it my way.”

She smirked. “Deep down I know we had to do what we did,” she hesitated, swallowing hard. “It just doesn’t make the consequences any easier, you know?”

He nodded. “It’s getting late, baby. Why don’t you go ahead and get some rest?”

Her hand cupped his cheek and she leaned closer, her lips caressing his for a moment. The brief kiss, though chaste, sent electricity shooting from her head to her toes and her belly tightened momentarily. Since their first night on the road, most of their contact had been their arms and legs accidentally brushing in bed. She had been angry, depressed, exhausted…a million other things to keep him from touching her. But tonight she wanted him to erase the memories of the past week. She wanted him to take away the pain from the treatments she had suffered in the psych ward, needed him to replace the faces and the voices of their families with his whispered words of love.

“Baby,” he breathed against her lips. “I love you.”

“Show me,” she begged. “Please.”

She could tell he was uncertain, his cocoa eyes filling with questions. In answer to his unspoken pleas, she closed the distance between them and met him in a searing kiss. When they finally broke away, breathless, he was left with no doubt whatsoever.

His hands caressed her, explored her. The feelings were new and amazing despite the actions being comfortable and familiar. She clung to him, he pulled her closer and even when he was buried inside her, she knew it wasn’t enough. They moved together and sighed, they whispered their love and dedication. For the first time in a week, she felt complete and it became painfully clear that the reason she was most bitter, the cause for most of her anger and frustration, was that she needed him and had been too busy wallowing to admit it.

She had missed him, missed this feeling.

It wasn’t until later, her head pillowed on his chest, that Katie realized something. As they made love, Jake never said her name. He called her baby and sweetheart, he promised to love her forever, but never once did he call her Kate.

And though she was afraid to hear his answer, she needed to know and felt free to ask.

“Because,” he replied sleepily, his fingers running through her hair. “When we make love I don’t want to think of you as anything but my wife, my Sheridan.”

And while that answer had been the last thing he said before drifting off to sleep, she found herself unable to rest. The tears that had welled earlier returned, pooling and spilling down her cheeks. She sniffled, burying her head in his neck and realizing that no matter what happened she had her Luis. He would always be the man she loved and always be hers.

And for the first time in a week, she knew they would be fine, everything was going to work out.