Page 66 of Mine to Keep

Chapter13

Bryn bolted upright from a deep sleep. She gasped for air, unable to fill her lungs, which burned as if she’d swallowed flames. Blinking frantically, she tried to adjust to the darkness. She reached for the light on the nightstand, hoping she didn’t wake her little princess.

She found the dimming switch. Ripping back the covers, she swung her legs to the side of the bed. The fuzzy rug felt warm against her bare feet. Taking in a deep, cleansing breath, she let it out slowly through her nose. The digital clock showed that it was four in the morning.

Her heart beat so fast, she was sure she would have a heart attack. Ever since she’d seen the man in the hoodie hiding in her bushes, along with the reporter who thought she looked like someone else, she’d been having nightmares.

Of course, she never remembered anything about the dreams. Only the terrifying emotions that woke her, and the inability to calm down after. She’d rescheduled the interview with Jon Kaplan, citing that she needed a little more time to recover after having a baby. It wasn’t an unreasonable request, and he’d had no problem whatsoever giving her a few more weeks.

She wasn’t concerned about being in the magazine since he didn’t get any coverage outside of a fifty-or-so-mile radius. But after reading the latest article he’d written, she had some doubts.

However, since he’d agreed not to use her picture and only focus on her jewelry, she and Jamison both thought it would be good for her business.

Still, she couldn’t shake the idea that someone could recognize her. Didn’t matter if she’d gone from a blond to a brunette. Or that she’d grown her very short hair too long and no longer had bangs. Or that she was a good thirty pounds heavier, even without the baby fat.

None of that mattered.

Someone could still look at her and see the similarities and start questioning whether Brenda Thompson Perish really died in a fiery crash as her car plummeted into a ravine.

She took in a few more breaths, grateful they came more naturally. Quickly, she peeked at Zadie.

Sound asleep.

Bryn snagged her robe, her eReader, her cell, and made her way to the kitchen. There was no way she would get back to sleep now, so she might as well get a jump-start on the day, and that meant a nice, big mug of fresh decaf coffee.

She’d never thought she’d get used to drinking unleaded, but it was certainly better than nothing. She found her favorite blend and put it in the machine before settling down in the family room with her device. What she loved about digital books was that she didn’t have to turn on all the lights. She could sit in the dark and read. It made her feel safe because she could see out the windows, but people couldn’t necessarily see in.

Or, at least, that’s how she felt.

It would be another hour before the sky would start lightening, and Zadie usually started to fuss around that time.

She nearly laughed out loud at that thought. Her baby girl was only three weeks old. Every day they experienced was a new normal.

Like bottles of breast milk.

At first, Zadie wouldn’t have anything to do with them. Now, she tolerated the one that Bryn forced her to take every day, though Zadie did better when Willa gave it to her. At least that had been the case the last two days.

Bryn stared out the picture window and twirled her hair. Thoughts of Jamison popped into her mind. She hadn’t seen him in a couple of days, and she resented that she missed his company and that she’d formed an attachment to him so quickly. Maybe if she’d met more people outside of Willa, things would be different. But she struggled with becoming close to his two sisters-in-law, only because they were related to him, not because they weren’t nice. Nancy had been incredibly gracious during her party. And Seth’s wife, Farrah, had offered to have a jewelry party next week, which Bryn had thought a brilliant idea.

However, as far as girlfriends went, so far, Willa, her eighty-year-old neighbor, was it. Perhaps that was for the best, because Bryn couldn’t afford to get too close to anyone.

A shadow appeared from behind the big palm tree on the left side of the carport.

Her heart lurched to the back of her throat.

She tried to swallow, but it proved too painful. She folded her eReader case closed and leaned forward, squinting.

The shadow moved. Though not much. Maybe it was the leaves rustling in the wind.

She held her breath for a long moment and waited.

More movement.

No wind that she could discern.

Someone was out there. Watching. Waiting. She could pack up and run in the middle of the night. But where would she go? And that was only if the person out there knew that she was Brenda and not Bryn.

Or she could do nothing and wait it out.

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