Chapter 56

CHAPTER 56

Skye

T he next six weeks of my life are the happiest I can ever remember. Finn, Maddie, and I become a family. At last, again. Only one other person knows we're married. Rosita. Our wonderful, live-in housekeeper couldn't be more ecstatic for us, thrilled that Kayla's out of Finn's personal life. It's mostly because of this vindictive "mala mujer" that we have to keep our secret. For all intents and purposes, to the outside world I'm simply Maddie's teacher. It works as I'm still homeschooling her. For now, until after Finn's one-man show, we have to play things safely as Kayla is a loose cannon who can destroy his career with as little as a single phone call.

Finn told me the details of his breakup with Kayla. It was long coming. Besides her contempt for our incredible little girl, she was still doing drugs, and I finally shared the dirt I found online about her coked-out past. With me back in his life, Finn didn't need another reason to dump her, but the topper was she was having an affair. To my utter shock, with my former boss, Conquest Broadcasting news chief, Jim Hartley. Confession: I gasped.

With my attempted murder still unsolved, the investigative journalist in me longs to confront Jim... ask him what he knows about it. Find out if he knows what story I was working on. If the two were linked. Finn, however, is insistent I stay away from him. Especially because he's involved with Kayla. With his big solo show at the Zander Gallery around the corner, he can't afford to get her worked up. Given her spiteful, mercurial disposition, she could make everything he's worked for fall apart. Besides, Detective Billings talked with my ex-boss during his investigation and it led nowhere. Deep inside my heart, I know there's something more. Something Jim didn't tell him. But for now, I have to let it go.

Instead, I funnel my time and energy into catching up with motherhood. Taking Maddie shopping, baking cookies together, visiting museums, collecting shells on the beach, going for mother-daughter mani-pedis, even planning our trip to Paris. All the things I could have missed out on. I love every minute of our time together. And I love her so much.

I haven't, however, told her about my past. About who I really am. Though she's super precocious for her age, she's way too young to understand what happened to me. Or what I went through. And I certainly don't want her to know that someone tried to kill me. And that person's still out there. It doesn't matter to me if I'm Scarlet or Skye. The only name that means something to me is "Mommy." Every time she says it, my heart balloons with joy, an emotion I can't put into words.

Finn and I quickly fall into a daily routine. Waking up early. Making delicious love in our bed or the shower. Breakfast with Maddie. Finn goes to his studio. I instruct Maddie in her classroom. We break together for lunch. More of the same. Dinner together. A bit of television for Maddie while I plan her daily lessons and Finn goes back to his studio. At eight, I put Maddie to bed with a goodnight story and await Finn to return. Some nights I visit him in his studio. With his show fast approaching, he's been working later and later. I bring him a snack and watch him paint. I love to watch him in action. And the action is not limited to a canvas. On more than one occasion, he's feverishly disrobed me and painted words of love on my body. Masterfully claiming me.

Two nights away from his show, Finn staggers into our bedroom and collapses on the edge of the bed. Still half-awake, I glance at the clock on the nightstand. It's almost two a.m. I roll over onto my back and sit up.

"Finn, it's so late. Are you all right?"

My husband exhales a long, drawn out breath. "Yeah. I did a few last minute touchups on some canvases I'm sending over to the gallery tomorrow. I'm really stressed."

Crawling behind him, I massage his shoulders. I can feel his knots. Those tight little balls of tension. I dig deeper with my fingers, squeezing and kneading. He groans. My poor husband needs more than a massage. I slip off the bed and work my magic.

With his paint-flecked hands, he cups my head. As his hooded eyes meet mine, a slow, sexy smile spreads across his lips.

"Baby, that was amazing." Removing his clothes, he crawls into bed with me and reaches for the remote.

"You want to watch TV?" I ask as he clicks the remote. "Seriously?"

"Just for a bit. I'll keep it low so you can go to sleep."

The last thing I am is sleepy. My eyes dart to the big screen TV on the wall in front of us. I recognize the show that's playing. Criminal Justice, New York . An old rerun from one of the early seasons.

Finn wraps an arm around me. He knows how much I dislike this show though I've never told him the reason why.

"Do you want to watch something else?" Finn asks as I banish the thought of the monster behind it.

"No, it's fine. Leave it on."

My eyes stayed glued to the screen. A gun is being held to the head of rookie DA, Meghan Jones. I recognize the actress playing Meghan immediately. A young Nicole Farrell in her breakout role that catapulted her to stardom. "Put the gun down and save your life," she tells her captor, a deranged rapist. Something comes over me. I stir in the bed, sitting up straighter.

"Nicole Farrell," I murmur, my body tensing.

"What about her?" asks Finn.

My heart palps. My head pounds. It feels as if someone's drilling a hole into it.

I dig my fingers into my temples and hold them there.

A memory is breaking through.