Shadow of Suspicion (Haunted by the Past) (17 page)

“What did you expect me to do?”
Callie yelled back. “I’ve been through hell because someone has it in for me. I
told the police anyone I could think of that may be behind the problems I’ve
been having. Any ideas
mother
?”

“Well, I’ve nothing to do with it and
neither has my mother,” Sandra snarled.

Callie gripped the album in her hands
tightly. Her mother caught the movement and she finally noticed it. Her face
drained of blood so quickly, Callie was sure her mother would be the one to
faint.

“What are you doing with that? How
did you get it?” Sandra’s voice shook violently. Callie had to strain to
understand her.

“I gave it to her.” Fay stuck her
small chin out, one hand planted on her hip. Defiance poured out of her tiny
frame, but Callie could see the slight trembling in Fay’s limbs.

Sandra’s eyes narrowed. “You had no
right to riffle through my things! You just wait until your father hears about
this. Grounding will be too good for you! Devious little brat. Always stirring
up trouble. You can’t help yourself, can you?” She sneered down her nose at
Fay. “No wonder your mother left you. Probably couldn’t wait to get away from
you.”

Callie half expected flames to leap
out of Sandra’s head. She’d never seen anyone so angry before. Fay went deathly
white, her small hands curled into fists at her side. Callie’s heart broke for
the girl. There had been no need for Sandra to hit out with something so
personal and painful. She couldn’t stand by and leave Fay to take the brunt of
her mother’s wrath.

Callie shot to her feet, her hands
clasped around the album. “You leave her alone. I talked her into it. If you
want to be mad at someone, be mad at me.”

“Oh I am! Trust me!” her mother
snapped. She advanced on Callie and held out her hands. “You had no right! Give
it to me, now!”

“I will, but first I want to know
something.” Callie didn’t know where she mustered the courage from, but the
burning need to know propelled her on. She propped the book up on her forearm,
ignoring the ache her injury caused her. “Who is this?”

She pointed to the child she’d come
to know so well. She stared at Sandra for her reaction. Her mother’s complexion
became instantly grey, her features drawn. Sandra’s face became guarded, almost
as if shutters slapped down around her. Callie wondered why her mother was
suddenly so defensive.

“Why would you ask me that? Of all
the people in that book to ask me about, why her?” Sandra flung her hand in the
picture’s general direction.

Callie couldn’t help but notice her
mother refused to make eye contact with her. Sandra was obviously deeply upset.
What was it about the child that had caused such a reaction in her mother? What
was she hiding?

“Well?” her mother demanded.

Callie bit her lip and struggled for
an answer. How could she explain seeing the child all this time? It would sound
crazy to anyone else.

“Because when I looked at her, I felt
a connection. I can’t explain it, but I have to know who she is.” It was as
close to the truth as she dared to get. She just hoped her mother bought it. “I
have to know where she is too. I’d like to meet her.”

“Impossible,” her mother breathed
out. “Why are you poking your nose into things that are none of your business?”

“It is my business. Like it or not,
I’m your daughter and these are my family too. I have the right to know.”
Callie’s voice rose. Her mother wasn’t the only one who could be stubborn.

Sandra kept her eyes glued to the
ground, her hands twisting in front of her. Silence reigned for several
moments. Callie refused to give up. She stepped closer to her mother and shoved
the picture into Sandra’s field of vision.

“Who is she and where can I find her?
I have to meet her.” Her voice sounded shrill, even to her own ears.

Finally, Sandra met her gaze. Callie
stepped back, shocked. Her mother’s eyes were so devoid of emotion, it was as
though nobody stared back at her at all. Sandra drew herself up to her full
height and her face hardened.

“The picture is of Sophie, my younger
sister. You can’t meet her…….ever.” Sandra’s brittle words hung in the air like
harbingers of doom.

“Why not?” But Callie knew, even
before her mother said the words. She’d always known. She just hadn’t wanted to
admit it to herself.

“Because Sophie is dead.”

Jason parked his van at the side of
the road and applied his hand break. He picked up his phone from the cubby hole
by his steering wheel and unclipped his seat belt. Whatever his sister wanted,
he hoped it was important. She’d texted him some strange message that barely
made sense. He couldn’t figure out if it was because he didn’t understand the
teen text speak or if she was being purposely obscure.

Jason climbed out of the van and
locked the door. He’d had to park a few feet from his father’s house, which was
normal for this time of day. The street was always clogged with parked cars due
to the close proximity of the neighbourhood to the town.

Jason ambled towards his family’s
residence, wondering again why Fay had texted him to come over. He hated to think
what kind of trouble his sister had landed herself in this time. He’d just
turned onto the pathway leading to his father’s house, when the front door
burst open. Fay tumbled out, her face full of panic.

“Jason! Thank goodness you’re finally
here. Come quick!” She turned without further explanation and headed back
inside.

“Hey! Hold on, shrimp. What the heck
is going on?”

Jason hurried forward and charged
into the house. He stopped short and his jaw dropped at the scene that met his
eyes. Sandra stood over the still form of Callie, who lay in a heap on the
floor. Sandra wrung her hands, her face pale.

“What the hell happened here?” Jason
surged forward and knelt beside Callie. The sight of her unconscious form
twisted his guts into knots.

“She fainted.” Sandra cast him a
beseeching glance. “For goodness sake, do something!”

Jason wracked his brains. What were
usually used when someone fainted? An old film popped in his head and he
snapped his fingers. “Do you have any smelling salts in the house?”

“Fay, get the bottle from the
medicine cupboard in the bathroom.” Sandra issued the order without once taking
her eyes off her daughter’s face. Jason could hear Fay muttering under her
breath, but she stomped up the stairs anyway.

“Did she hit her head on anything?”
He leaned forward and gently probed the back of Callie’s head for signs of a
lump.

“I don’t think so. It happened so
fast.” Sandra bit her lip, but he’d already seen the trembling. Why did she
insist on pretending that Callie meant nothing to her, when she so obviously
did?

Fay returned and shoved the bottle of
smelling salts into his hand. Jason set it down on the floor and continued his
examination of Callie’s skull. Her hair slipped through his fingers like the
finest silk. He ignored the tantalising texture on his fingertips. Now was not
the time to notice such things. He set her head back down carefully on the
carpet and sagged with relief.

“The good news is that she doesn’t
appear to have a bump. I don’t think the fall was too bad.”

He opened the smelling salts and
shoved it under Callie’s nose. She coughed and tried to bat his hand away. Her
head thrashed from side to side as she tried to avoid the bottle. Jason
stubbornly followed her movements, keeping the noxious odour where she had to
breathe it in.

“Take it easy, Callie. Don’t try to
move just yet.” Jason firmly held down her struggling body. She fought him with
more strength than he’d given her credit for.

Large golden eyes fluttered opened
and stared up at him. “Jason? What are you doing here? What happened?” Callie
raised a hand to her head, her gaze flicking to Sandra and then Fay. “Oh, where
am I?”

“You came to visit Sandra. Remember?”
Fay leaned over, her small face filled with concern. “You fainted.”

“Fainted? But I’ve never fainted in
my life.” Callie cast a confused glance in his direction.

“Well, there’s a first time for
everything.” Jason slid his arm under her shoulders. “Let’s see if we can’t get
you into a sitting position.”

Jason propped her up against him and let
her adjust to her new position for several moments. She raised her hand to her
forehead with a groan. Jason climbed to his feet and held her tightly as he
helped her up. She swayed against him and her head fell onto his shoulder. The
soft, feminine scent of her hair filled his nostrils and her womanly curves
fitted his body perfectly.

Was there anything about this woman
that wasn’t alluring? Surely she’d been sent to drive him out of his mind!
Jason bit down a growl and glanced down at her delicate face. An unwanted surge
of protectiveness washed over him. She seemed so vulnerable and innocent.
Everything about her drew him to her and he hated it. She was a temptation he
could well do without.

Jason reluctantly lifted her into his
embrace so he could easily transfer her to the chair just a few feet away.
Callie’s arms slid around his neck and a small sigh escaped her lips. Her
breath fanned across his jaw. Desire surged through him thick and fast, taking
him by complete surprise. He almost dropped her into the chair in his horror.

Sweat popped out all over his body.
Heat suffused his entire being and the room closed in around him. He bit his
lip and fought to control the erection that threatened to announce itself to
the whole room. Jason breathed deeply. This was crazy. When had he started
finding Callie attractive? Who was he kidding? He’d always found her
attractive, just never allowed himself to notice before.

Jason decided he needed a distraction
and fast. If he kept his focus on something else, he would be able to drive out
the smell and feel of Callie from his awareness.
Sure, piece of cake!

“So, what happened here?” Jason
arched an inquisitive brow at Sandra and hoped she didn’t notice how husky his
voice sounded.

“Why are you looking at me? This isn’t
my fault.” Sandra crossed her arms over her chest, instantly defensive. “She’s
the one that came to our house uninvited.” She stabbed a finger in Callie’s
direction. “Your blasted sister let her into the house and went through my
stuff. She had no right to give my personal property to anyone without my
permission. You need to take that girl in hand. She’s out of control.”

“I showed her a family album. Big
deal!” Fay rolled her eyes. Jason half expected her to stick her fingers up at
Sandra, but for once his sister restrained herself.

“It is a big deal.” Sandra’s yell
reverberated through the house. “I didn’t want to show those photos to her. It
should have been my decision, not yours.”

“I am sitting here you know!”
Callie’s weak voice piped up. “There is no need to talk about me as if I’m not
in the room.”

Jason glanced in her direction,
concerned for her welfare. The colour still hadn’t come back into her face. He
undid the smelling salts and stuck them back under her nose. Callie jerked
away.

“What did you do that for?” She
coughed and sucked in a breath. She waved her hand around her face to clear the
fumes.

“You’re still a little pale. Here,
take a few more breaths of this. It will bring you round.” He handed her the
bottle. Callie grumbled, but did as he instructed.

Jason turned to Sandra and his
sister. “I don’t think arguing about this right now is a good idea. Callie is
still feeling ill. Why don’t we leave this until tomorrow? I’ll take Callie
home. She needs rest and time to recover.”

“Sandra’s not going to just drop it,”
Fay protested. She flung an arm in the woman’s direction. “The minute you step
out the door, I’m going to get it with both barrels.”

“Like you deserve!” Sandra snarled.
Her hands flew to her hips and she actually bared her teeth at Fay.

Jason sighed. “For crying out loud!
Am I the only adult here?” He glared at Sandra. “You need to calm down. There
is no point trying to deal with this when you’re angry. You’ll just make things
ten times worse.”

Sandra mashed her lips together, her
eyes filled with fury. “Fine! I’ll leave it until tomorrow, but then Fay is
getting punished for what she did. I insist on it.”

Callie staggered to her feet and
stepped up beside him. He could feel her body’s slight tremors from where it
brushed close to his. He suppressed a shiver and hoped she hadn’t noticed
anything.

“You leave that girl alone!” Callie
wagged a finger at her mother. “She didn’t deserve what you said to her
earlier. You were mean and nasty, but then what’s new.”

“What’s this? What are you talking
about?” Jason demanded, wondering what had happened before his arrival.

He glanced at his sister, concerned.
Fay kept her gaze on the colossal fight taking shape right in front of them. If
she thought avoiding eye contact would dissuade him, she was wrong. Jason would
get to the bottom of things sooner or later. He glanced back at Callie. She
ignored his question or perhaps she hadn’t even heard him. She clasped a hand
to her chest and continued her tirade at Sandra.

“Fay simply wanted to help me because
she understands how I feel. I won’t have you lay into her for that. Heaven
knows, you could take a leaf from her book. At least Fay knows how to care
about someone other than herself!” Callie ran a derisive glare over her mother.

Sandra paled, her face pinched and
strained. “I have nothing further to say to anyone. I’m going to bed. What you
all do, I couldn’t care less.”

“Wait!” Callie grabbed Sandra’s arm.
“Before you run away again, what about Sophie? I want to know what happened to
her.” Callie’s voice grew thick as she spoke.

“How dare you? What has it got to do
with you? You didn’t even know her.” Sandra pried Callie’s fingers from her
arm. “All you’ve seen is a picture in an album. It doesn’t give you the right
to poke into my pain.”

“Like I said, I felt a connection
with her. Please, you have to tell me about her,” Callie cried brokenly. “How
did she die?”

Jason wondered who they were talking
about. He’d never heard any of the Fuller’s mention a Sophie before. He made a
mental note to ask Mitch about it. He glanced from one woman to the other.
Callie’s face held a devastation he’d only ever seen in the expressions of his
family after losing Adam. It seemed strange that she would feel so deeply for
someone she’d only seen in a photograph. What the heck was going on?

Sandra glared at Callie. “Don’t you
get it? Sophie’s death is not something I can talk about. Not with my family,
not with my friends, and most especially not with you.”

She sailed past them and up the
stairs. Seconds later, a door slammed shut. Callie’s head dropped and silent
tears poured down her face. She wiped them away with the back of her hand.

“You never know, she may change her
mind.” Fay tentatively touched Callie’s arm. “Thanks for standing up for me, by
the way. Nobody but Jason has ever done that for me before.”

“Anytime.” Callie patted her hand, a
small smile gracing her lips. “We abandoned girls have to stick together.”

Fay grinned and nodded. Jason was
surprised. He hadn’t seen his sister bond with anyone for a long time. What had
Callie done to deserve his sister’s approval? From the looks of things, Callie
had managed to wriggle past some of his sister’s defences. That in itself was a
mini miracle.

He still hadn’t found out what Callie
had meant by Sandra being mean to Fay. He glanced at his sister’s pale face. He
would tackle Callie about it as soon as he could. Jason would never allow
someone to hurt Fay, not even someone that was seeing his father. Now, however,
didn’t seem like the right time to bring it up.

“Will you be okay, while I take Callie
back to the Lazy Boy?” he asked Fay. He wrapped an arm around her shoulders and
squeezed tight. Fay needed all the love she could get, even if she refused to
admit it.

“Wow, leave me some room to breathe,
will you?” Fay tried to squirm away from him. He laughed and pulled her tighter
to him for several seconds before releasing her. “I’ll be fine. Dad will be
back soon, so stop fussing.” She waved her hands at him. “Go. I’ll sit in my
room and study. That will make everyone happy.”

“Alright, shrimp. I’m on my phone if
you need me.” He pointed a finger at her. “Day or night, remember that!”

She rolled her eyes. “As if I could
forget.”

The small grin tugging at her lips
told him how pleased she was with his concern. Fay stomped up the stairs, and
seconds later the sound of her door shutting echoed through the cottage. Jason
turned to Callie. She’d already retrieved her coat from the chair. She shrugged
it on and picked up her bag. Jason caught her elbow as she swayed on her feet.
She looked totally exhausted.

“Come on. A bit of fresh air might
help.” He swiftly pocketed the smelling salts, just in case, and helped her to
the door.

The cold air hit him like a wall of
ice as soon as he opened the front door. He shivered and glanced up at the sky.
Jason wondered if they were in for snow soon. Callie slipped her arm through
his as they stepped outside. He shut the front door behind him and escorted her
to the van. Their footsteps echoed around him. A cosy warmth settled over him
like a soft blanket, which seemed odd after the craziness inside the house.