The Ghosts Of Her Past (A Completed, Steamy Romantic Mystery)

Part Thirty Six

His phone rang and interrupted us.  I don't want to look through the contents without him, so I just listened for the sake of being nosey.

He answered the call.  "Now?  Where at?" He paused.

"Okay, we will be right there." He said, and stuffed his phone back in his pocket.

"The man of the hour just arrived home." He said, just as he emptied out a shoebox and put the contents and diary inside. 

"We can look over these later, but we can't let him leave his house before we get there." He said.

We walked out, locking the door behind us, and got in the SUV.  He gave Lance's address to the driver, and we left my former home.  The ride was quiet, and I'm sure he is thinking the same thing as me.  It must have been a boy, and he has a nephew out there somewhere.  He just sat there looking down at the photo of his sister and I, with love and sorrow.  I'm not sure I would survive losing Eli.

I'm very worried about Blaine, he has too much on his shoulders.  I know finding this child is about more than safety.  He wants to bring this child home for his parent's sake.  This will be the last thing their daughter left behind.  Maybe he even thinks this could help ease his mother's grief, and he's been forced to hold it together and not show emotions.  I looked out the window and discreetly wiped a tear from my eye. 

I miss her terribly. She meant so much to me for so long, and experiencing pregnancy without my best friend is crushing my heart.  I miss her laugh, her annoying habit of whistling, her free spirit, and her shoulder for crying on during hard times.  When Gray and I broke up, she would stay up all night comforting me.  Little did I know she witnessed the father of her child being murdered. I wiped another tear away, then felt a warm hand take mine.  I looked over at him, and he tilted his head right before pulling me into him, and I cried into his chest. 

He kissed the top of my head and rubbed up and down my arm as everything came to the surface.  The loss of my favorite person, the pregnancy, the fear, and of course Gray.  I lied, I wish someone else was the father of my baby.  The man has no respect for me, and by sleeping with him, I lost respect for myself.  Yes, I have those regrets, but I'll not regret this baby. I just regret making Gray the father.  My best friend is now nothing but ashes, and I feel like I've lost everything.

Poor Blaine probably has tear stains on his shirt, but he didn't seem to mind.  I looked up to see where we are and noticed we are on Lance's street, so I sat up and decided to pull myself together.  I reached down and got a tissue from my purse.

"Hey." He reached over and clasped my chin, then turned my face to look at him. 

"You were a good friend, and she's still out there somewhere, Cora.  You gave her exactly what she needed, and for that I'll be forever grateful." He said. 

I tried to force a small smile through my tears and just nodded.  "I hope so." I dabbed my cheeks to get rid of the tears.

"I know so, and you've given my family a gift.  It's a tad bit easier knowing she wasn't alone." He said.

I just stared into those gorgeous eyes, wondering what happened to the cold man I met a few days ago.  One last tear escaped, and he wiped it away with his thumb as he looked straight into my eyes.

The SUV came to a stop, so I snapped out of it and reached for my compact in my purse.  The driver flipped on the dome light, and I tried to fix my makeup while Blaine stepped out to talk to his driver.  I took one last deep breath, put my things back in my purse then got out of the car. 

"Are you sure you want to do this, Cora?  I can go by myself." He said.

I shook my head no.  "He already knows me, and it'll be much easier to have me with you."

I looked at the house and took another deep breath for courage, before Blaine led me to the front door.  Pushing the doorbell even seemed difficult, but when I heard footsteps inside, I wanted to crawl into a hole and hide.  I could hear the door unlock and looked up at Blaine who is standing next to me.  He has that stone cold look I wish he would just lose altogether, but its just how he is with strangers. 

The door opened and there stood Lance.

"Cora?  What are you doing in Seattle?" He reached out and we hugged.

"Just trying to take care of some things for Lisa." I replied.

He pushed back and looked from me to Blaine and his eyes grew large.  "I guess this means her secrets are out of the bag?"

"Yes, and I'm sure you know what lose ends we are trying to tie up." I said, and he nodded.

"Come in." He said as he stepped back and opened the door wider. I stepped inside first, then waited for Blaine who towers over Lance. 

"Have a seat, would either of you like a drink?" He asked.

"No thanks, we won't be long." I said as Blaine followed me to the sofa and we sat together.  Blaine hasn't said one word, and Lance barely acknowledged him.

Lance took a seat and sat forward with his elbows on his knees.

"I'm sure you have plenty of questions, and I'm not sure I can answer everything, but I will try." He said.

"Start with how you ended up here with my sister." Blaine said.

Lance took a deep breath and looked at me.  "Are you sure you don't want a drink, this is a long story?"