Losing Eva (The Eva Series Book 2) (25 page)

Brynn enjoyed watching her belly grow little by little. She looked at herself in the mirror every day, dismayed that the scars from her early years of cutting to escape Thomas’ abuse were still visible. She wished that they would fade away so that she never had to see them again, but they remained like the scars that resurfaced in her dreams. She decided that she was happy about being pregnant, and she pushed aside the feelings that Nick or Adam wouldn’t be so happy.

Setting up the nursery in the Harper House was turning out to be fun. Jane was helping her, and had convinced Brynn to indulge a little since she now had the resources to do so. Brynn wasn’t used to having an unlimited amount of money, and it made her uncomfortable. But Jane kept telling her that it was okay, and that spending money on the baby was a wonderful thing.

Brynn was thankful she had Jane, even though Jane asked her the hard questions that she sometimes didn’t want to answer.

“So you are definitely going to do this alone? No Nick, No Adam?” Jane asked her while they shopped.

“No, I’m not alone,” Brynn smiled weakly, “I have you.”

Jane shook her head and hugged her friend. She wondered when Brynn was ever going to allow herself to be happy, to let go and allow someone to love her. Even if she didn’t know who the father of her baby was, Jane had hoped she would figure it out so that everyone would be happy. From what Brynn had told her, she knew that both Adam and Nick would be thrilled with the prospect of being a father again. But Brynn was stubborn, and she knew that it would be difficult to change her mind. She just wanted her friend to be happy. Right now, Brynn’s happiness was wrapped up in finishing the house and having it ready for her new family.

The nursery was the last room to be renovated, and then the Harper House was complete.

Moving day for Amy and Noah had finally come. John Palmer had wished for it to happen much sooner, but there were many details to wrap up. Finally, he could breathe a sigh of relief knowing that his plans were coming to fruition.

Noah was sad to leave his friends, and the only home he had ever really known. He was happy that Kelly was going to be coming with him. It was the only consolation that he had. Noah had met Brynn a few times. She seemed nice enough, but they weren’t quite friends yet. She was pretty, but Noah saw her make sad faces a lot and that made him sad, too.
Brynn reminded him of Mommy, and that made him really sad.

Noah did like Maxie a lot. He always wanted a dog, but Mommy wouldn’t let him have one. Brynn told him that Maxie could be his dog, too, and that made Noah very happy.
He liked throwing Maxie the ball because he liked to fetch, and Maxie liked to give kisses, which made Noah laugh.

He didn’t have a lot to take with him from the home. Just some army men, some clothes, and a few pictures. One of the pictures was of him and Ellie.
He could hardly remember her now, but he missed her and it made him upset to think of her. So he didn’t.

He was happy that his friend Carly was moving with him, too. But he didn’t understand that John kept calling her ‘Amy’. Noah tried calling her by the ‘Amy’ name, but he kept forgetting and it came out as ‘C-amy’. Carly said he could call her whatever he wanted to. Everyone seemed happy that Noah and Amy were such good friends.
Noah didn’t understand why everyone cared so much, he just wanted to keep seeing his friend and playing checkers with her.

But Carly seemed sad, too. Carly and Brynn were sad women, and it made Noah sad sometimes to look at them. He tried to do funny things to make them laugh, and it did. But then they would look sad again. It didn’t make sense to Noah.

Kelly was the only woman in his life who seemed really happy. Noah thought she was so pretty, and he thought he might want to marry her one day. But Kelly said, even though she was flattered, that she had a boyfriend. Noah said that he would keep asking, but Kelly said that he should find a nice girl his own age. He knew he wouldn’t.
He thought Kelly was the prettiest woman he had ever met, with her pretty blonde hair and blue eyes.

Noah was excited about going to the “Big House,” like everyone was calling it. John said he was going to have a big room where he could fit all of his army guys. John said that he would get him a lot more army guys to play with. John said that he could have anything he wanted, but he didn’t want much. He just wanted his army guys and a soft bed. He didn’t really like his bed at the home, but John said he would love his bed at the new house.

Kelly helped him pack his stuff, and then they went over to Carly’s room to see how she was doing.

“C-Amy, are you ready yet?” Noah asked, bouncing on her bed.

“Not yet,” Amy said shaking her head. “I don’t know where I put my suitcase.”

“I packed it for you already,” Kelly said putting her hand on Amy’s shoulder. “You’re all ready to go now.”

Amy looked around the room sadly. “I don’t know where I’m going.”

“You’re going to the house you lived in a long time ago,” Kelly said gently. “Your old house. The ‘Harper House’. Do you remember?”

“No. I don’t remember. I only remember living with Lily and Petey. I miss Lily and Petey. They loved me. They were my friends.” Amy looked at Kelly, tears brimming in her beautiful brown eyes. “I don’t know where I’m going.”

Kelly smiled patiently. She had been having this conversation with Amy for weeks, and she hoped that when Amy got to the house it would be different and that she would remember. Kelly hoped that she would at least feel at home there.

“It’ll be okay, Amy. Don’t worry.” Kelly gave her a quick hug. “I’ll be there with you. Don’t worry.”

Amy nodded, trying to smile.

“Do you know what happened to Petey? Do you know what happened to my husband?” Amy was wringing her hands together faster and faster, her voice worried. “Nobody will tell me where my husband is. When he comes back to get me, I won’t be here. How will he find me? How will he know where I am?”

Kelly frowned. She hated lying to Amy, but knew that she couldn’t tell her the truth. She would never understand that Petey and Lily were gone, to prison, for a long time. She knew that it would only break Amy’s fragile heart to know the truth. She grabbed Amy’s hands to stop her from wringing them together, and she held onto them tight. “Amy, Petey has gone away, and he’s not coming for back for a long time. He said to leave, and he will find you. He said not to worry, and that he wants you to go to the Big House. He said that you would be safe and happy there. Now, we have to get ready to go. The car is coming to get us very soon.”

Amy looked around the room sadly. She didn’t want to leave. She thought of her big husband, and how sweet he was to her, and it made her miss him even more.
How will he find me when he comes back? How can he think that I will be happy without him?

“Come on C-Amy! Let’s go see our new big house!” Noah was excited, and he couldn’t wait to see his new house and his new room. Brynn had been getting the house ready for them and he couldn’t wait to see his room.

Kelly’s phone buzzed, and she checked it quickly. “Okay, folks,” she said a little too brightly. “It’s time to hit the road to the Harper House.”

Noah jumped up and down in excitement. Amy looked at him, annoyed with Noah for the first time. She wasn’t ready to go yet, but before she could protest, Kelly was wheeling her chair out of the room toward the elevator.

Amy watched her room disappear when the elevator doors closed, her stomach feeling sick suddenly. She hoped the feeling would go away, but the nausea was coming more and more lately, and it seemed like she never went too long without it.

All three stopped when they got out the front door. The big, sleek truck in front of them was mesmerizing. A sharply dressed middle-aged man in a black suit appeared out of nowhere. “Hi, I’m Tony. I’ll be your driver today. Please, get in,” he said gesturing to the open door. Noah and Kelly got in promptly, but Amy sat there waiting for Tony to help her, which he quickly obliged.

He expertly folded the wheelchair up and put it in the back of the truck. “When we get to the Big House, Miss, you’ll have an electric cart to take you around in. You’ll be able to go all over the grounds.” He smiled at Amy and tipped his hat.

Kelly wondered briefly if Tony had been at the Harper House when Amy lived there, but that would have been over thirty years ago. Unless Tony was five or ten when he lived there, Kelly doubted it. She was trying to make a connection between the house and Amy. She knew that it would make Amy feel better about the move.

The drive to the House was very quiet and seemed to take a long time. Kelly could feel the nervous energy in the car, and she tried to steady her nerves. She didn’t know why she was so nervous; after all, this was a short stay for her. Kelly was getting married next year, and declined the servant quarters for a quiet home a few miles away. She wanted to be close, but still have a life of her own.

The car suddenly slowed and turned into a long driveway lined by magnificent pine trees that were hundreds of feet tall. They all peered out the window in awe, Noah’s face pressed tight up against the glass, smearing it with breath and spit.

The driveway was long and pulled into a large roundabout. All three stared at the house in amazement. It definitely lived up to the name “The Big House.”

Amy looked at the front entrance and felt a strange familiarity tickling at her. She knew that she had been here before, many times. She was eager to get out of the car.

They pulled to a stop before the front steps. Amy noticed that there was a wheelchair ramp that looked new, to the left of the stairs. A petite, dark haired woman was standing in front of the house. Amy thought that she was beautiful and hauntingly familiar.

Tony opened the door, and Noah exploded out of the car like a bullet. Kelly got out and held her hand out to Amy who grabbed it tightly. Tony and Kelly got Amy situated in the wheelchair and Amy took a breath and inhaled deeply through her nose. I know the smell of this place! I’ve been here before! Amy suddenly got a picture of a handsome dark haired man smiling at her.
James!

Tears pricked at her eyes.
Where have I been? Where did I go?

The woman standing at the steps looked at Amy, concerned. After she had hugged Noah and Kelly, Amy noticed that the woman didn’t move. She just stared at Amy, with curiosity. The woman looked familiar to Amy, but she didn’t know who she was. Amy never knew who anyone was anymore.

But this woman was different.

Suddenly the woman started walking toward Amy. She walked as Ellie used to walk and she reminded her of Ellie.

The woman opened her mouth to speak, and Amy thought it was Ellie speaking. The woman’s voice had the same earthy tone to it, and Amy closed her eyes for just a second. She opened them quickly, her eyes wide in recognition.

She grabbed the younger woman and pulled her as close as she could, with a strength that she thought disappeared a long time ago.

EVERYONE HELD THEIR BREATH
as they watched Amy grab Brynn and hold her tight.

“Eva! Eva! Oh my Eva! I thought that I would never see you again!” Amy cried.

Brynn stared into Amy’s big brown eyes, the same brown eyes as her own.

She searched Amy’s face, a face so much like the one she stared at in the mirror every day, only older. And if possible, sadder. She knew Amy’s face, she felt as though she somehow remembered her face. Brynn saw glimpses of a younger face smiling at her with perfect white teeth, almost like an angel.

In all of her life, Brynn couldn’t remember ever letting anyone hold her so closely and so soon, without wanting to pull away. Not even Adam. But Amy felt familiar in a way that Brynn couldn’t explain.

Amy felt like home.

Brynn saw tears falling down Amy’s cheeks and felt warm tears on her own cheeks. The two women hadn’t even had a conversation, but Brynn knew that they didn’t need words. There had always been something special between them. This had been the bond that Brynn had been missing; not Ellie, not Adam, not even Nick. All along, she had been waiting for Amy. Amy and Noah. They were her family now, and Brynn knew it just as certain as she had ever known anything. With the growing child inside of her, Brynn was struck with the realization that she was finally going to have the life that she had longed for, prayed for, even as a child. She was going to have a home with people who loved her.

Brynn had a family.

There was something about Amy and Noah that felt as familiar to her as anything had ever felt. She had always felt out of place in the world, but now she not only had a physical home, but people who felt like home to her.

Time stood still as Amy and Brynn held onto each other. Brynn closed her eyes, and she felt like a little girl, and imagined Amy holding her as a child. When they pulled away from one another, they smiled the same smile.

Brynn had wanted to meet Amy before. She had begged John. But Amy hadn’t been doing well, and John felt it was best to wait.

Kelly watched from a distance and was amazed at how much they looked alike, the resemblance uncanny. She could see the resemblance in Noah, and she was happy that they had found one another. Something felt complete, and Kelly was happy to be a part of it. It had been hard for her to leave the home that her grandparents had built. But Kelly was drawn to Noah and Amy, and when John asked her to take care of them, she didn’t hesitate. She didn’t need the money that he offered her, but she did it so she could remain a part of them. They were special and she couldn’t part with them as she had done with so many of the other residents.

Brynn ushered everyone into the house and had the help show them around. The house was full with the entire staff. Brynn wanted them there for the homecoming so they could all meet and work out their schedules. She was managing the house as she managed the restaurant, quickly and efficiently, giving everyone a role and sending them off to do it.