Page 13 of Kindred Lies
Chapter 7
It had never been her intention to kiss Cooper. Amethyst didn’t kiss boys. Okay she had a teeny tiny amount of experience. Once a boy had shown interest in her, but it had been fleeting. After he realized she didn't want to have sex with him he turned tail and ran in the opposite direction. He found another woman more willing to give him what he wanted. Something that Amethyst refused to do. She had more self-respect for herself.
With Cooper she ran on instinct and let it flow out of control. No, kissing Cooper hadn't been something she considered doing, but Amethyst couldn't have planned it better if she had tried. The timing, the look in his eyes, and the butterflies dancing in her stomach; all of it added to the amazing feeling she had brewing deep inside of her. Gazing into his eyes after he pulled his lips off hers only made her want to kiss him more. Simple, beautiful, and exciting all rolled into one memorable moment. Something she didn't think possible to feel with any other person. He made her forget everything while making her want things in ways she never considered before.
Amethyst pulled away from him and stood up. She had to put some distance between them. Everything was happening too fast. How could she have forgotten she didn't want to get involved with anyone? It didn't matter that he made her heart race and her belly tingle with anticipation. She had a plan and it did not include boys. Boys led a girl down a path of destruction. Her mother taught her that lesson well. Lyoness Keane destroyed herself each time she allowed another man in her life. Picking up the pieces and moving to a different town had become the only way she knew to survive the desolation.
Cooper looked puzzled at her abrupt departure from his arms. How could she explain to him that she didn't do relationships or kissing? Of course she could be making too many assumptions anyway. One kiss did not make a relationship and they had just met a few hours ago. It may have felt like she had known him forever, but in fact she didn't know him at all. “I'm sorry.”
He smiled at her. That had to be a good sign. He didn't appear to be angry anyway. He stood up and looked her in the eyes as he asked, “What for?”
How to say this without appearing stupid?Yeah, right, like that was at all possible to do.Might as well bite the bullet and get it over with. “I don't kiss… I mean I don't have any... Good grief this isn't easy. I just can't get involved with you Coop—not in that way. I'm sorry.”
“There's that word again. You don't need to apologize. I never wanted you to be uncomfortable in anyway.”
“I'm..”
“Don't say it again. I mean it. There isn't any reason for you to be.” He sounded so sincere… Not at all like the boy who had kissed her in the past.
Amethyst smiled up at him. She wished she could allow herself to get involved with him. It just couldn’t happen... She had other plans for her life. It didn't include a cute boy from a small town. He would be better off without her anyway. She nodded her head at him and turned around to look behind her and stopped dead in her tracks. On the opposite wall was a painting of beautiful woman that looked exactly like her. She had the same ebony hair, light tilt to the corner of her eyes, and heart shaped mouth. If she didn't know better she'd have thought someone had painted her without her permission. She held her hand to her mouth and abruptly turned to look at Cooper and asked, “Who is that?”
Cooper stared up at the painting and then slowly walked over to it. Once he stood directly in front of it he traced his fingers across her face and then turned around to look at Amethyst. “This is Marianne Trenton-Hill”
What are the probabilities that the journal of the woman she had just been reading looked exactly like her? Amethyst quickly strolled over and stood next to Cooper as she studied the portrait. “How is it possible? She looks so much like me.”
Cooper shook his head and said, “Not exactly. I'll admit it's a close resemblance though.”
He thought they looked different? She didn't see it so she asked, “What do you mean?”
“Her eyes are the biggest difference. Hers are a blue that is so dark and stormy you can almost see her inner turmoil. Yours happen to be a mix of greens. Sometimes they are a light olive, but when you're upset they seem as dark as a pine tree at midnight. Marianne's features are much harder. This painting had been commissioned to celebrate the birth of her first child. The son she had lost... The painting had been commissioned before that and after he died she refused to let the money go to waste. The painter captured every nuance of her despair.”
Amethyst shook her head as she said, “That's wretched.”
“I've always thought so. This is the true haunting of this inn. I've never believed the stories about Easton Hill. Marianne though has always been here and letting us know how tragic her life had been. She had to live and move on without her child or her husband. That has to be the hardest thing in the world to get through.”
Cooper continued to surprise her. He must have thought a lot about Marianne Trenton-Hill and her predicament. Apparently she had done one thing right when she came to the inn. He clearly knew a lot about her subject. She just had to get through the interview and investigation long enough to keep her heart intact. He pulled at her heartstrings and she wanted to believe that love could last. She almost needed to consider the possibility that sometimes love could endure any hardship and come out stronger for the struggle of hanging on to it by a thin thread. Cooper seemed so different from every boy she had ever met in her life. She shook those thoughts from her mind and asked the one thing that stood out more than anything, “I just don't understand how she could look so much like me. It kind of freaks me out a little bit.”
Cooper turned away from the painting and looked at her as he said, “I'd be lying if I said that it didn't freak me out a bit too. I mean the first time I saw you standing at the counter of the inn I thought I had been seeing a ghost. It took everything I had to not reach out and touch you to make sure you were real.”
Amethyst laughed. “It would not have gone well for you if you had. I don't like random people touching me. I probably would have slapped you or something.”
Cooper smiled down at her. Amethyst had to admit she liked looking up at his handsome face and beautiful blue eyes. The little she knew about him made her think he had an old soul. She was willing to bet that he saw things about people that no one else saw.
“Hey Cooper. I need to take off now.” Cooper and Amethyst turned toward the sound of Olivia's voice.
Cooper nodded his head at Olivia and said, “All right go ahead and leave. I'll be out there in a second.” Olivia turned and exited the room once again leaving Amethyst and Cooper alone.
With a hint of disappointment in her voice Amethyst said, “I guess this means we're definitely done reading the journal”
Cooper walked back over to the sofa and picked the leather bound book up. After he had it in his hand he turned back to her and said, “I think I can trust you to take good care of it. Go ahead and take it to your room to read in peace or if you want you can stay here too.”
“If you are really sure that it's okay for me to borrow the journal I'll take you up on that offer. I don't think I'm going to do it in this room though. I don't think I could handle her looking over my shoulder as I read it.” Amethyst turned and looked at Marianne's portrait again and shook her head, “No, I know I can't stay in this room with her staring at me. I feel like I know her. Is that strange?”
Cooper stood next to Amethyst and shook his head, as he said, “No, she has a demanding disposition. She wants us to look at her and feel her pain. I think it’s the true reason she insisted on continuing with the commission. She wanted to make sure that everyone knew what it was like to feel that much loss.”
Amethyst had to agree with his assessment. Looking at the portrait she did indeed feel all of Marianne's pain. She couldn't help identifying with her, especially because Marianne looked so much like her. It unnerved her to look at her own face radiating that much pain. All that anguish in one person because she lost her child. What had she looked like when she had lost her husband as well? All that despair was unthinkable and Amethyst couldn’t imagine how hard it might be. That seemed like another reason to give up on love. It might prove to be her undoing. If she opened her heart and lost the man she loved… Amethyst swallowed hard. She’d lose her mind. She didn’t doubt that for a second.
Cooper reached over and grabbed her hand as he said, “Well I think it's time for me to go back to the front desk. Are you coming with me?”
Amethyst nodded her head and turned to follow him out of the room leaving Marianne's haunting portrait where it belonged. She needed to go someplace that didn’t make her ponder her life and the choices she made. Before she left she'd ask if she could take pictures of the inn for the magazine, including the painting. It may be sad, but it helped to give credibility to the story.
When they got back out front Cooper walked behind the counter. He still carried Marianne's journal in his hands. He looked over at Amethyst and said, “Here you go. I know you want to learn more about her. When you're finished I'll be down here if you have any questions.”
Amethyst reached out and took the journal from him. She had to admit seeing the portrait caused her curiosity levels to skyrocket. She didn't just want to find out more information on Marianne and Easton. She now needed to know their story in a way she never had before. It was calling to her and she had to understand them. Nodding her head at Cooper she said, “Thanks”
“No problem. I hope you find all the answers you need in there. If not, I'll help you locate the rest of the story. I've always been drawn to it.”
At least she wasn't alone in this new obsession. Cooper equally shared it and had a need to find out the truth. It was evident in his eyes that he wanted to find out as much as she did. Amethyst nodded her head in agreement and said, “I might have to rely on your assistance. I'm going to go up to my room and read now. I'll see you later.”
She turned away from him and strode towards the stairs and ran up them to her room. When she got to her door she unlocked it and strolled inside. She shut the door quickly and stepped over to the bed. Sitting down on the bed she kicked her shoes off and got comfortable. The journal now had her full attention and she'd finally find out what really happened to Marianne Trenton-Hill. At least the part that included her life in North Point…
