Chapter Thirteen
Monica was amazed that at six weeks, Fiona carried Stormy Lin around in a body sling to help their dad feed cattle, and their mom in the garden.
Those were the two things that Monica loved to do, and now she couldn’t even tie her own shoes, and needed a hand to get up from a seated position.
She had teased Fiona about having twins, and now her sister thought maybe the joke was coming back around to bite her square on the rear end.
She was tired to the bone when she and Fiona came home from shopping for a present for their mother.
In the past, Fiona would shop until all the stores closed their doors and then want to go to an all-night diner for coffee and dessert.
But that day, she had left Stormy Lin with their mother for the day, and she couldn’t wait to get back home.
Fiona sighed as Monica made the turn to go to the place where they were raised. “I didn’t ever think I would love anyone the way I do my baby girl. How am I ever going to go to work and leave her for a whole day?”
“Don’t expect an answer from me,” Monica told her.
“I can’t even imagine leaving this baby, either.
I do wish for a little cooperation on the ultrasounds, so I could pick out a name.
But you are right about Mama quitting her job to babysit for us, and I don’t trust just anyone else to take care of either of our babies. ”
“Mama could if I paid off the mortgage on the farm and house,” Fiona said.
“You have enough money to do that?” Monica asked.
“And more if they need it,” Fiona answered.
“I had an image and made a lot of money, of which I spent very little. I would gladly do whatever I could if Mama would consent to quit her job at the health clinic and keep Stormy Lin a few days a week for me to work. I’ve been scouting out the land that Daddy owns, and I think I’m going to ask him if it’s all right if I have a small house built on the other side of the pecan orchard. ”
“For real?”
Fiona cut her eyes around at her sister. “Maybe two. One for you and one for me.”
Monica could hardly believe what Fiona was suggesting. Living close to her parents and having her own space would be fantastic. She still held on to the hope that fate would bring Spencer back to her before she gave birth to their child.
“What if we aren’t hired at the library?” she asked. “If you have that kind of money, why would you even want a job?”
“Because I need to do something other than help Daddy with chores and Mama with gardening. I want to do something meaningful with my life like you do,” Fiona admitted, and then got out of the car and ran up to the porch to take Stormy Lin from her mother’s arms.
Monica sat in her SUV a little longer, trying to get past the speechlessness.
Not only had Fiona offered to build her a house, but she had said she wanted to be like her.
That was a far cry from the days when they were growing up together, and Monica was the ugly duckling compared to the lovely Fiona—at least, that was the way she always felt until Spencer came into her life.
Spencer sent his mother a dozen red roses for Mother’s Day and took his folks out to eat after church services that morning at their favorite Cajun restaurant in Houma. He had made reservations so there was no wait when they arrived.
“What has got you so jittery?” his mother, Pam, asked.
His father, Mitch, seated Pam and then took his own place at the table. “He’s been that way since he got back from vacation last summer. Only other time I saw him act like this was when his Grandpa died. Took him a year to get over it.”
“I’m sitting right here,” Spencer said.
“Yes, you are, and it’s time that we talked about something other than the business,” Pam told him.
“Okay, here goes, but please don’t gripe at me,” Spencer said. “I met a woman when I was in Florida. I fell in love with her.”
“I figured that’s what happened. Only a woman could make a man so miserable. Did you find out she is married or engaged?” Mitch asked.
Pam slapped him on the arm. “I’ve never made you miserable.”
“That you know of,” Mitch said playfully.
“I have no idea about anything other than I know I love her. Can’t get her out of my mind and can’t find her.” Spencer felt like a load had been lifted from his shoulders finally spilling his secret to his parents.
“Good Lord!” Pam gasped. “All you have to do is bring up the social media sites. Seems like everyone in the world is putting up too much information about their personal lives on there.”
“Tried that,” Spencer said with a nod. “We kind of decided that we would just be Monica and Spencer for the week. No last names. No past. No future. Just living each day in the moment. When I left, I talked the lady at the hotel into giving me her last name. Do you have any idea how many Monica Smiths are on social media?”
Mitch picked up the wine menu. “More than one, I guess. Did you think about hiring an investigator?”
“I did that more than six months ago. He’s got as far as Alvera, Texas, and learned that she is or was a librarian.
A tornado went through that area two months ago and completely wiped out the library.
She’s somewhere in New Mexico with her folks.
One of the residents told Walt—that’s my PI—that they thought her mother was Linda Smith, but they were for sure her sister was Fiona Martine. ”
Mitch laid the menu to the side. “Fiona Martine? You mean that famous model with the aqua eyes?”
“That’s her,” Spencer answered. “Walt is still putting out feelers and …”
His phone buzzed in his pocket. He removed it, saw that it was Walt, and answered in a low tone. “Hello, Walt.”
“I’m sorry if I’m calling at a bad time, but I thought you’d want to know.
We found her. She goes by Monica Garcia on social media—and by the way, there’s dozens of them also on social media—but her legal name is Monica Smith.
She’s in a little town called Hatch, New Mexico.
Lives with her parents, Linda and Jimmy Smith, on a little farm outside of town.
Nearest airport would be El Paso, which is ninety-two miles away.
I’m texting you the address and also sending a Facebook picture of her so you can be sure. ”
“Thank you so much.” Spencer opened the picture, and there in front of him, after nine months of missing her, was his Monica. “That’s her,” he whispered, his eyes filling with tears.
“I’ll send you the final bill for my services, but I want you to know that this has taken me longer than any other project I’ve ever had. Also, I would like to know how things turn out,” Walt said.
“I’ll call you with news, I promise. And thank you again.” He ended the call and looked across the table at his parents. “She’s in Hatch, New Mexico. I’m leaving on the first flight to go find her. I’ll only be gone a couple of days.”
“Will you please call us when you know if you found her?” Pam asked.
“And will you promise not to let your heart override your common sense like you did with Zoe? That cost you a lot of years of misery,” Mitch reminded him.
“Yes, to both,” Spencer answered without looking up from his phone.
“I just booked a seat on a plane leaving New Orleans at four this afternoon. I’ll be in El Paso before dark, and then I’ll drive out to Hatch.
I can’t believe it. Look at her. Isn’t she beautiful?
” he said as he pulled the picture back up and turned it around for his parents to see.
“She is very pretty, but, son, be very careful. She could be like …” Mitch started.
“She’s nothing like Zoe, Dad,” Spencer snapped.
“Just be careful,” his mother said.
A waitress came to their table with three glasses of ice water. “Anything else I can get y’all to drink?”
“Just the water for me,” Pam answered, “and I believe we are ready to order.”
“That’s great,” the lady said.
“I’ll have the double meat burger and take it to go,” Spencer said.
“Spencer!” Pam snapped.
“It’s already twelve thirty. I should be at the airport at least an hour early, and it’s a forty-minute trip. I’m sorry, Mama. I hope this doesn’t spoil your day, but I’ll make it up to you next Sunday. I promise.”
“It’s fine!” Pam waved him away with a flick of her wrist. “Get it settled, but don’t expect miracles. It’s been nine months, son.”
“No, Mama, it’s been forever.”
Monica was determined not to let a simple back pain ruin her sister’s first Mother’s Day, or her mother’s, either. But that evening, after a full day of celebration, the ache in her lower back became worse every few minutes.
“I think I might be in labor,” she finally admitted. “The contractions are five minutes apart. Let’s go to health center and be sure that it’s not false labor. If it’s not, we should probably head for El Paso.”
Linda grabbed her purse and headed for the door. “Lord, girl, it’s ninety miles to El Paso. What were you thinking waiting until the pains were so close?”
“I didn’t want to ruin yours and Fiona’s Mother’s Day, and besides, he’s not due for another few days,” Monica answered.
“Your doctor told us that the baby might decide to come a little early,” Fiona scolded.
“I’ll be back in a couple of hours because this isn’t the real thing,” Monica told her as she walked out the door. This could not be happening, not without Spencer showing up, even at the last minute. She wasn’t as strong as Fiona had turned out to be, and she couldn’t do it without Spencer.
“If it is the real thing, Fiona, you call Aunt Aggie to come over and watch over Stormy Lin. We’ll pick y’all up on the way to El Paso.
There’s no reason to bring a baby to the hospital.
She’ll get fussy,” Linda told her. “Next time you girls have babies, you need to get a doctor closer than a hundred miles away.”
“Not to worry, Mama. Stormy Lin is the only child that I’m having,” Fiona assured her.
“I just love not being able to tie my shoes so much that I’m planning on have six more kids,” Monica said sarcastically.