CHAPTER ONE
August 1
She lay on the couch
looking out the door to her best friend's cabin. The identical cabin sat directly across a
small dirt road from her's. She watched
Leigha's door, waiting for her to leave.
Leigha would be leaving soon, to go work at the mansion.
She
shifted her body and looked at the ceiling.
It was three months ago that it had happened. Three months to the day. "May first," she uttered
aloud. "I want to forget." She
almost cried to herself wishing the past moments away.
As
she tried to push the memories back...the images formed stronger.... so clear
that she couldn't ignore it...
The blazing bon fire loomed up before
her...before them all. Almost one
hundred people were gathered on the beach dancing around. Some were drinking, but she sat with a soda
in her hand, always the responsible one.
She had never had a drink in her life.
It just didn't interest her.
She just sat there watching the bon
fire. She watched as the small embers
would break away from the flaming wood and fall onto the sand or into the
lake. She felt as if nothing in her life
would be the same after this night. As
if nothing would be solved. Yet, she
knew that she would survive and that she would go on. Yet the feeling she had
seemed more then upcoming change. It
seemed more then normal nerves. It
almost seemed, dangerous.
Everyone was celebrating a job well
done. They had all been working so hard
for the past few months, some for a year, preparing Clear Water Estate to be
opened up for the public. Fixing up the
old house that was called McCrady Manor.
Restoring the inside and out to it's past glory, with some modern
additions and making it completely safe again.
They tried to keep everything they could, and reproduced what they
couldn't, to what it had been.
Nathaniel McCrady, his wife Paige, and
son Austin lived in another house on the land called Bell Manor. Nate had decided to set McCrady Manor up as a
museum for a trial season. The big house
was just sitting empty, and the county seemed so interested in it. Rarely were people allowed in it. As it had been rumored to be haunted. They also fixed up the massive land, so that
the visitors could explore and enjoy its glory.
In the next couple days they would
open the massive iron gates, at the front of the driveway, to the public. Then those hired as guides would tell the
visitors all about the history of the land and the McCrady family. The guests would see the beautiful house and
land and be amazed. It was so
breathtaking. She had been living there
for a while and the beauty still blew her away.
She thought about the house for a moment, she had seen a few of the
changes, like a new birth.
The house stood a wondrous five
stories high, and one low. All six
levels had been revived to its original grandeur. The Queen Anne Victorian
style home was started in 1876 and finished in 1878. Nathaniel McCrady Jr., his wife Rebecca, and
their three children oversaw the building of the house. Before the house was complete, his wife and
daughters met tragic deaths. Many of the
attractions of the house had never been seen in their parts prior to the
building of the manor. The 13-foot
ceiling in the main hall. The front
entrance with a double entrance, the inside doors showcased elaborate stain
glassed windows, as did other areas in the house. The mosaic tiling held the word McCrady
amidst it's complicated design. The
large spacious rooms holding beautiful woodwork, sparkling chandeliers,
specially made moldings, and beautiful art pieces including massive fireplaces
shipped in from other countries. The land was as magnificent as the charming
yet impressive house. Filled with
archers of green grass, stables, a gazebo, beachfront, forest, a rumored church
and graveyard, and a massive English style hedge maze. There were also the two
other houses on the land, Bell Manor, and Harmony Manor, which stood in
destruction after a fire in 1915. Also
the employee quarters, which was a lane of cabins available to the long-term
employees, which use to be the servants quarters.
Most of the people who had worked so
hard would have to leave within the next few days. Only a few would stay behind to continue the
work, and she was one of them. Feeling
so happy about it, since she no longer felt at home, anyplace but here.
She made some new friends and knew
that a couple of them would be staying. Most everyone had taken on their job
here to help them through college. Some
were just interested in history. Most of
them, it was something interesting to do in-between and after classes. For her, it was a job she was enjoying that
she needed. She had nowhere else to go,
nothing else to do. She loved to write,
but couldn’t at the moment. Her flame
for writing had been blown out about a year before. Someday she would start
again.
Right
now, what she wondered was if the guy she liked would be staying. His name was Macen Haskelway. He was sweet and kind. He always made her laugh. With his dark hair, gentle blue eyes, and a
kind smile. He stood about 5'11 to
Meghan's 5'5, but it was a nice balance.
He inspired to become a police officer, which she respected, had been
taking his classes he needed to fulfill the dream. It was admirable in her eyes. Macen seemed a lot more sensitive than his
identical twin brother, Codie. Though
Codie was the one who seemed interested in her.
Not Macen. Which just confused
her how she could be attracted to one, and not the other. She tried to be friends with Codie, but
something inside her, seemed to ward him off.
Just as she had finished that thought
she realized that Codie was standing over her, watching her daydream in the
darkness. He asked her to take a walk
with him around the land...suggesting a stroll through old maze. She figured that it wouldn't hurt...but what
she would soon find out was that it would.
"Meg!" Someone shouted from her door bringing her
back to reality. She heard her screen
door open and looked up to find Leigha.
"Where the heck were you?
La--La Land?" She joked.
"No,
I'm just tired," she whispered as she sat up. "Aren’t you going to be late?"
"Not
yet, but I will be if I don't leave in the next five minutes." She smiled.
Leigha had a big beautiful smile.
It made her even prettier than her long red hair and her large violet
eyes did alone. "I need caffeine
and I drank my last can of soda last night when Alec came over to watch
movies. Do you have any?"
"Yeah,
help yourself. There are some cold cans
in the refrigerator. It's the cheap
stuff, but it works," she answered.
"Great
I'll get you some more when I go grocery shopping tonight. Okay?"
Leigha said as she walked into the kitchen.
"Don't
worry about it," she muttered.
Leigha
walked back out into the living room with a can of cola. She stopped in front
of her friend before leaving. "You
don't look so good, are you okay?"
She
shook her head. "No," she
moaned. "I think I'm coming down
with the flu or something. I got up this
morning, ate, and it all came right back up. Plus I've been real tired the last
few days."
"Do
you work today?" Leigha asked. She shook her head. "Good, get some rest then. I'll stop by after I'm done with work and see
how you're doing." Then Leigha
waved good-bye and left, walking down the dirt road towards the main part of
the property.
As
soon as Leigha left...her memories returned.
It was dark as they walked into the
beginning of the maze. There was no moon
that night and the stars weren't very bright.
A dark curtain seemed to be upon them.
She
hadn't been in the maze before so she had to trust Codie's leading.
As he took her deeper into the tall
hedges, and as she became lost and confused, his mood changed. Suddenly, he pushed her up against the hedge
wall and started to kiss her. She pushed at him and tried to tell him she
didn't like him like that, but he kept coming, and had her pinned. She tried to get away from him, to scream, to
kick, but he covered her mouth with his and started moving his hands inside her
clothes. He was very strong and she
could not move. He slid his hand across
her mouth as his kiss ended.
"You're mine, Meghan Quinn.
Mine. I'm gonna take you places
that you've never been and you will enjoy it.
No matter what you do." A
big smile spread across his face.
"You can't stop me. Everyone
is on the beach and no one will hear your screams. So go ahead and scream all you want."
He uncovered her mouth and ripped off
her T-shirt. Her bra followed and he
started to touch her. Then her shorts
and underwear were off before she knew the difference. The whole time she was trying her hardest to
fight him, and the urgent need to pass out.
He pushed her to the ground and
started removing his clothes. She tried
to get up but he bent over and picked up a stone about the same size as his
fist. "Lay down or you will regret
it," he threatened, holding the rock over her. All her kicks and punches seemed to do
nothing.
"Why are you doing this?"
she managed to question. Her breath was
ragged and burning in her throat.
"You're mine. That simple."
"No, I'm not," she said and
started to raise her head up. She felt
the stone hit the side of her skull. The
sharp pain made her dizzy and her head fell back down to the ground. Warm liquid started to drip down her face and
she looked to find the blood forming a small puddle around her. She looked up at him and her head began to
spin wickedly. His sick smirking smile was the only thing she could see. Then everything went black as she felt another
sharp pain in her head. Soon, though, it
was numbed, as she was lost in all darkness.
She couldn't remember anything after
that until she opened her eyes to find those of her attacker staring back. "Calm down, Meggie," he
whispered. Macen was the only one who
called her Meggie. She searched his face
for the one difference that Codie and Macen had, a mole on Macen's left
temple. Codie had it removed. His had been on the right side. They were mirror image twins. When she saw the mole, she felt so much
relief. "Are you okay?" he
asked.
She couldn't say no, all she could manage
to do was cry. "Don't tell
anyone," she pleaded. "Please,
I don't want anyone to know."
"Meggie," Macen said with a
strong accusing tone, "What did he do to you?"
She looked up out of shock. "You saw?"
"I saw Codie running from
here. Before, I saw him leave with you
from the beach. I grabbed the blanket
that we were all sitting on and came out here.
Did he..." Macen closed his eyes.
"Did he touch you?"
She looked down and found the blanket
wrapped around her. She could also see
that her clothes were spread out between the two hedge walls. She couldn't do anything but nod.
"That bastard! I am going to...fucking kill him!" He grabbed a stone from the ground and got
ready to throw it, but stopped with it over his head. He brought it down by his face and looked at
it. He could see the blood on it. The blood he was touching with his hand. "He hit you with this, didn't he?" He watched as she nodded. "Meggie, I am so sorry." He dropped the rock and picked up her
scattered clothes. Then he grabbed her
arm gently and helped her up. "I'm
taking you home. Then we are going to
the hospital."
"No," she begged. "Please, I am
already...so...humiliated."
"Did he rape you?" Macen asked.
Her body was shaking and her heart
racing. She was so sore she didn't know
if her body had been invaded or not.
"I don't know,” was all she could manage to mutter.
"Meggie,"
she heard bringing her back from her memory.
She saw Macen peering down at her.
She also felt something wet and cold against her forehead. "How are you feeling?" he asked
moving the washcloth off her face.
"I
remembered...it came back again," she whispered choking back the
tears. "Codie...everything. Why does it keep doing this...why do the
memories keep coming back?" He
gathered her into his arms and held her there and she cried.
"Honey,"
he whispered softly. "They come
because they are part of your life, now, sweetheart. And if I could change it I would." He smiled at her. Ever since that night, three months ago, he
had been by her side every step of the way.
They had become very close. More
so than just friends, now. "If it
had been me...I would have been gentler and we would have waited until you were
ready. I swear it, Meg. I'd turn back the hands of time if I could. I hate seeing you hurt like this." He paused.
"When I stopped in at the mansion Leigh said that you weren't
feeling well. What's wrong? Do you have a tummy ache?" He asked in a
childish voice trying to cheer her up.
"Do
you really want to know my symptoms, Doctor Haskelway?" He nodded smiling. "Let's see...I am extremely tired. I'm nauseated and vomiting. I'm not really hungry. I have a small headache. I am dizzy, crabby, and my jeans are
tight."
Macen
couldn't help but to laugh. "And
this means..."
"That
I have the flu and I'm getting my curse," she said rolling her eyes.
Macen's
face seemed to fall. "Meggie...I
hate to pry in the personal department, but when was the last time you had
your," he paused.
"Curse?"
"See
the calendar on the wall in the kitchen?" She asked pointing towards the
kitchen.
"Yes."
"Get
up and look at it. I mark the first day
on the calendar with an x to help me predict the month after," she
explained. He flipped the calendar back
to July...then June...then May...and then April. "What are you doing? Getting it all memorized so you can predict
when to avoid me?"
"Meg,"
he whispered. "The last time you
had one was in April. The middle of
April. Which means that..."
"What! You're nuts," she shouted before he
could finish. She jumped up ran into the
kitchen, almost tripping over her own feet, and looked herself. She was shocked to find out that he was
right. With all the work that she had
been doing she hadn't even noticed.
"I've skipped 3 months."
She looked up at him. Her gray
violet eyes were wide. "What does
that mean?"
"I
hate to tell you this but I think that we better get you a pregnancy test. I don't like the idea of you carrying my evil
twin's baby but...I think it's more likely that that is why you have been
feeling so bad." He said, wrapping
his arms around her. She started to cry.
She
hated doctor's offices. They always
reminded her of needles, pain, and death. "We could have just gotten a
home pregnancy test," she whispered to Macen.
"They
aren't very accurate," he said.
"This way we'll know for sure."
"I'm
too scared. What if I am? What am I suppose to do?" Meghan questioned.
"Meghan
Quinn?" the nurse asked. Meghan
stood and walked up to the nurse. The
nurse led her back to an area with a waiting room. "The bathroom is to your left. Go in there and urinate into one of the
plastic cups found above the toilet.
Write your name on the cover and put it in the turnstile found on the
wall. Then you can have a seat in the
waiting room, here, and wait for the results," the nurse explained,
pointing across the hall to the empty room with eight chairs.
Meghan
stepped into the bathroom and closed the door.
"You should have told me that I'd have to pee into a cup. I would have drank some water." She whispered to herself after the door was
locked and no one could hear her.
A
while later she sat in the waiting room biting her nails. She kept thinking that she wasn't ready for a
baby and how she didn't want it to be Codie's.
But she loved children and knew she could never kill a life growing
inside of her...if there was one.
"Meghan
Quinn?" A nurse asked, standing in
the doorway.
She
looked up. "Yes?"
"Your
pregnancy test came back positive. So
when you leave today make another appointment for your first prenatal
visit." The nurse handed her a slip
and then said, "Congratulations."
Meghan
sat there for a second, numb. She looked
down at the little slip of paper the nurse had handed her for a good couple
minutes. Then stood and walked out to
the appointment desk. Her next
appointment was made for the following week.
"Meggie,
what did the test come back as?" Macen asked.
She
looked at him and he could see the tears forming in her eyes. "Positive," she whispered.
He
walked her to the car.
He drove her to a
small restaurant where he requested a quiet corner booth. "Why did you drag me here?" she
asked as they sat down.
"We
need to talk."
"Talk
about what?" she whispered sliding into the corner. She put a hand to her nauseated belly.
"About
you, the baby," Macen paused and handed Meghan a menu. "Me."
Meghan
rested the menu on the table in front of her and studied her surroundings. The cafe had a cozy family atmosphere. It was soft, warm, and inviting. Her eyes were drawn from table to table. Families, business meetings, dates all
gathered in the friendly little restaurant.
Her gaze continued around the room until it finally stopping at Macen's
blue gaze. She looked into his eyes and
saw love...and fear.
"What
about us?" she asked.
"Well,"
he began, nervously running his fingers through his hair. "I've been thinking. You're pregnant."
"So
I've been told," Meghan commented dryly.
"Don't,"
he said. He was nervous enough. He didn't need her being sarcastic. He was having feelings that he'd never felt
before. There was only one way he knew
to explain how he felt for her.
"You're pregnant. My brother
is responsible."
"So?"
"My
twin brother. Identical twin brother,
and...."
"What
does that have to do with us?"
Meghan interrupted. "You're
nothing like..."
"Would
you let me finish?" He interrupted.
He ran his hand through his brown hair again. She was watching him so intently and it was
making him so much more nervous.
"He's my twin. We have the
same genes." Macen paused. He took a deep breath. He looked directly into Meghan's eyes. "Let me be the baby's father."
Her
eyes grew wide. "You...what...the
father...I...I...” She closed her mouth.
Her mind was racing and thoughts were blending into one another.
"The
way I see it, we have a nice relationship starting between us despite the fact
of what my brother did...and I'm sure you think of it every time you look at
me. Codie has done this before. He wouldn't be a good father and I
would. I may not be the best choice but
at least this way it can never be proven differently. And if our relationship doesn't work...I will
not abandon this child. The baby will be
mine heart and soul. I'm not doing this because
I feel that I have to either. I am doing
this because I want to. Ever since I
first saw you those many months ago...my heart has only wanted you, I was just
too shy to tell you. I just didn't know
how to explain it. Now I do." He paused and looked down at his hands then
reached up and ran them through his hair.
Then he reached over and took her hand in his, softly stroking her soft
skin. "I'm trying to say that I
love you, Meggie. I have never felt like
this for anyone else. If you don't feel
the same...let me know." He took a
deep breath and stroked the hand he held in his softly. "Honey, if you feel even a little of
what I feel in my heart and soul, then I think we should give this a
chance. I think we could at least try to
make this work." He looked at her
waiting for a reaction, but the waitress came to take their orders.
"Everything
is happening so fast." She
whispered, after the waitress had walked away.
"Macen...I don't know what to say,” she paused. "I don't know what I can say right
now." Her heart was racing so
fast. It felt like it would either burst
or suddenly stop completely. "This whole year has been so bad."
Macen
reached across the table and touched her other hand and drew both of her hands
together. Then he saw the tears building
up. "Do you want to tell me about
it?"
She
looked into his eyes and saw the concern that he felt. Along with the love. He did love her, she realized. She lowered her eyes as she began. "My father died from the results of a
car crash in early January." She
began. "He died almost exactly a
year after my mother."
"Meggie,
I'm sorry."
"She
died after giving birth to my last sister.
The baby survived only a few hours after my mom. Throughout my life I have lost 10 brothers
and sisters. 4 before me, 6 after. The only one who survived past a few months
was my brother. He was born a few weeks
before my seventh birthday. Brandon
lived until the Christmas after his fourth birthday. She had three other pregnancies after
Brandon. Two while Brandon was
alive. The last one, though, is what
killed her. She developed severe
Eclampsia and she died, as several of her organs failed her, while the baby
entered the world.
"My
father was hit by a drunk driver head on.
He died in the hospital shortly after.
He made one of the nurses write me a note...saying..." she paused.
"That he loved me. He died before I
got there.
"The
rest of it you pretty much know," she said as a single tear broke free and
ran quickly down her cheek.
"I
won't ever leave you. Meggie, unless you
want me to," he whispered. "I
swear." He took her hand and
brought it up to his mouth placing a kiss on her knuckles. "Marry me, Meggie. Marry me and give this," he paused. "Us, a chance."
