she had her new life in order, she couldn’t let that little snot ruin it.
Sara knew in her heart that Andy would never want her even if she was holding his baby in her arms. He’d snatch the child from her and give it to Bella. Maybe knowing all of that was the reason she was feeling so tense and jittery.
Maybe it was time to make a new plan. A new plan that erased Bella from her life. Her mood lifted at the thought. She turned on the stereo with a remote that was on the kitchen counter and proceeded to dance around the kitchen to Bon Jovi, Andy’s favorite band.
One new plan coming up!
* * *
Paul Montrose held the door of his rental car until Bella was inside and buckled up. Once he was behind the wheel and the engine was running, he turned to Bella. “I don’t know about you, but this feels . . . awkward as hell.” He threw his hands in the air, and said, “And I have no clue why that is. I could talk nonstop for days about Andy Nolan and, suddenly, I can’t think of a thing to say.”
Bella smiled. “I can relate. I have a million questions to ask you, and right now I can’t think of a single one. I think you probably knew Andy better than I did. That goes for Sara the sister who isn’t his sister, too. Andy and me . . . it was so quick, so fast, not enough time to learn about each other. It was about us and the moment we were in. I guess we both thought we had the rest of our lives to learn about each other. I’m ashamed and embarrassed to admit right now that there are times I barely remember him. Our time was so short. I think if I could condense the hours into days that we were actually together as in face-to-face, it would be ten days, and that’s probably stretching it.”
“And yet you fell in love with each other,” Paul said gently, as he backed up the rental car and drove through the gates of Pinewood. Outside the gates, he stopped just long enough to program the address of his town house in Alexandria into the GPS.
“I suppose. Right now, I’m not even sure what I feel or what I thought I felt. The truth is, this has been such a nightmare, I just want this all settled so I can get on with my life.”
“How do you plan to do that?” Paul asked.
“Well, for starters, I’m relocating to North Carolina, where I have a distant cousin. I have no other relatives. Starting over. I can’t do that until . . . until . . . the girls tell me it’s safe to do that.”
“Those women back there in the farmhouse. . . do you trust them?”
Paul’s voice sounded so anxious, Bella laughed out loud.
“Oh yeah,” she drawled, still laughing.
“What’s so funny?” Paul asked, taking his eyes off the road long enough to stare at Bella. “What did I say that was so funny?” he repeated.
“You really don’t know who those women are, do you?”
Paul shrugged. “Two are lawyers, two are older. One is a truck driver, one is an architect, and the Asian lady owns a plant nursery. And then there is the reporter for the Post. As a group, are they famous or something?”
Bella laughed again. “Or something. Remember a few years ago, when the Vigilantes hit the scene and turned things upside down?”
Paul took his eyes off the road again to stare at Bella, his jaw dropping. “Tell me you’re kidding.”
“Nope, and they’re on my side.”
“I’ll be damned. Now that’s something Andy would have gotten a kick out of. We used to talk about those women. All the guys in our company did. I mean those women kicked ass and took names later. We were all rooting for them. I know that’s hard to believe, but it’s true. We all respect a true warrior, and it doesn’t matter if they’re male or female. A warrior is a warrior. I don’t think Andy’s sister will be any match for them, do you?”
“I’m hoping not. I’m sorry to be doing this. I would have liked nothing more than to be friends with Andy’s sister. Now, knowing what I know, I don’t want to be within a mile of her. I can’t believe she bamboozled Andy. Andy was so smart. How could he not see