Page 28 of The Library on Plum Island
“Yes!” Alex nodded.
“It’s not Jennifer, Caroline, or Carly?” Harriet asked. “Because I’m sorry we draw the line at breaking up current relationships.”
“None of the above,” Alex told them.
“That doesn’t leave us a lot…” Harriet’s eyes widened. “Oh… no!” She shook her head. “No, no, no!” She held up her hands. “Nope!”
“You can’t back out!” Alex reminded her.
“Wait…” Dawn said. “Have I missed something here?”
“He’s talking about Daniella!” Harriet guessed and looked at him for confirmation. “You’re in love with Daniella?”
“What?” A voice came from behind Dawn, and three pairs of shocked eyes turned to see Emily standing, staring at Harriet in disbelief, having read her lips.
CHAPTER 7
Daniella’seyeslandedonthe large gold clock above the door to Uncle Sam’s living room—9 a.m. The sun cast a warm, golden glow over the interior of the room, making it feel warm, safe, and tranquil. Only, Daniella was feeling anything but peaceful. In fact, she no longer knew the meaning of that word as her world had been turbulent for the last three years. Daniella watched Uncle Sam walk around the room with a tray of steaming hot coffee that he served to the guests who had been summoned there for an urgent meeting. Daniella’s emotions fluctuated between anxiety and resolve as she looked at the four people whom, other than Uncle Sam, she was putting all her trust in. Six people who had already been through so much that Daniella felt awful about pulling them into her drama.
Harley, Jennifer, Carly, and Ethan had dropped everything as soon as they received Uncle Sam’s call to meet them right away. While they smiled and chatted, Daniella could see the concern reflected in their eyes. Especially her cousins Harley and Carly’s expressions, and Daniella suspected that they knew what was about to unfold at the meeting. While her cousins knew part of why Daniella and Emily had taken on new names and lived incognito, they didn’t know everything. As they knew Daniella was a private person, they respected that, knowing that when she was ready, she’d tell them. Daniella was far from prepared to relive that nightmare, but while it was daunting, it was long overdue.
Daniella had always preferred to handle her burdens alone, knowing that Uncle Sam would have her back if she needed him. But the events of the early morning had forced a change in tactic. Not wanting to pull anyone else into her troubles, Daniella was ready to pack herself and Emily up and leave Plum Island, but Uncle Sam had convinced her that it was time to stand her ground to confront her past head-on. Plum Island was now Daniella’s Alamo, the final battlefield where she would either triumph over her demons or perish trying. Her eyes once again traversed the people in the room. People she needed standing with her to win this war. They were Daniella’s closest allies, and she needed them to be prepared. They needed to understand the gravity of the situation as there was a good possibility they would be targeted by her adversaries in their attempt to poison them against her.
Once Uncle Sam was finished serving the coffee, he went to the kitchen to get his own mug. When he left the room, Carly turned to Daniella.
“How’s Emily?” Carly asked Daniella.
“She’s a lot better,” Daniella answered. “Her leg is healing nicely, although it’s going to leave an awful scar.”
“I believe Harley and Jennifer are taking her to Boston this afternoon to see Doctor Grimsby.” Ethan took a sip of his coffee. “He’s the best, and I can attest to that.” He pointed to the barely visible scar on his left cheek. “He fixed this for me.”
“It’s a terrible name for a plastic surgeon, though.” Jennifer laughed, softening the tension that was gathering in the room like a pressure cooker about to explode. “You’d expect someone with a last name like that to be writing dark fairy tales.”
“I know.” Carly grinned, the worry in her eyes dissipating for a few seconds as they relaxed into small talk. She turned to Daniella. “Where is Emily?”
“I called Dawn earlier as Emily wanted to visit Alex and see how he was doing,” Daniella answered. “Dawn graciously invited her over to the Glasshouse for the morning.”
“My brother has always had a natural rapport with children,” Ethan told them. “I’ve always told Alex that he’d make an excellent father.”
“I can’t imagine Alex ever settling down, let alone becoming a father,” Carly stated.
“Yeah, me either.” Jennifer shook her head.
“Over the last year that Alex has been here, he hasn’t had any relationships…” Harley’s words trailed off, and he glanced at Ethan. “Except…” He snapped his fingers as he tried to remember the woman’s name.
“Monica Spiers,” Ethan filled in Harley’s memory gap. “If I think about it, while Alex still has his extravagant yacht or dinner parties, he hasn’t dated much in the past two to three years.”
“Now that you mention it,” Jennifer’s eyes narrowed contemplatively. “I remember that interview with Alex a year ago, right before production of The Cobble Cove Mysteries started.”
“Oh, yes,” Carly said. “I saw that.” She glanced at Ethan. “Alex was on Trinity Time, and Trinity asked him if he was having a secret love affair that no one knew about, as it had been ages since they’d last seen him with someone.”
“Yes, I remember that interview,” Ethan said. “Alex neatly told her that while our father was recovering, each of the Blackwell siblings had to do extra work. He didn’t have time to regale the public with his dating life.”
Daniella knew she should change the subject to a safer topic than Alex, but she found herself absorbing every bit of information about him. Learning about Alex was like peeling an onion. Each layer brought mild discomfort, but no matter how much it stung, she was irresistibly pulled in as each layer was more intriguing than the last. But he was also a distraction Daniella could ill afford, and trying to figure him only drew her deeper in, like a moth dancing with a flame. Because while she’d seen glimpses of a man who belied his public image, Daniella was not sure which of those faces was the real one.
She glanced around the room again and swallowed the panic that was simmering below her calm facade. Daniella was in the predicament she was in right now because she’d been unable to see behind a well-crafted mask, and she wasn’t going to make that mistake again. Before Daniella could find another topic to discuss while they waited for whatever was taking Uncle Sam so long, Jennifer saved her.
“I’m looking forward to going with Harley and Emily to Boston,” Jennifer told Daniella. “Thank you for letting us take her to her appointment.”
