A man, she realized as she drew in a sharp breath, who up close didn’t just look a little like her son. He looked just like him.
Chapter Five
Ryan’s adrenaline surged as Julia tore straight at him, her face a mix of fear and anger and heartache.
“What is it?” he asked as he dropped to one knee in front of her, gripping her shoulders and scanning her body to make sure she wasn’t hurt.
“I…go inside, Daddy. Go inside!”
“Julia, calm down. What’s wrong? Tell me what happened.” His gaze jumped past her, to her bike lying in the road. To the person standing in the middle of the street staring at them. To the woman who looked like…
The air whooshed out of his lungs. His knees turned to gelatin. “Oh, my God.”
“No, Dad!” Julia pushed against his shoulders, tried to force him back into the house as he slowly rose to his feet. “No, Dad. It’s not her. It’s not her, Daddy. It just looks like her. Please, Daddy, please. Look at me.”
His gaze dropped to Julia’s tear-streaked face. Panic filled her eyes, but it barely registered. With shaking arms, he lifted her out of his way then looked toward the brunette standing still as stone in the road. Watching him like he was watching her.
His head spun. His pulse raced. It couldn’t be.
He was vaguely aware of a car screeching to a halt next to the curb, of Mitch climbing out of his Land Rover, of Julia’s hysterical voice as she tried to pull him back into the house, but he couldn’t feel her hands. Couldn’t seem to stop his feet from moving forward. He felt like he was in a fog. A dream. Like he was hallucinating in broad daylight.
Somehow he made it down the block, stopped in front of her. Stared at her in shock. At his side he heard Mitch mutter, “Mother of God.”
No one spoke. For a long minute there was nothing but silence. And fear and hope and utter disbelief. And then his heart lurched in his chest.
“Oh, my God.” He closed the distance between them, cupped her face in his hands, ran his fingers over the smooth skin of her jaw. This couldn’t be real. It had to be a dream. Memories bombarded him from every side, condensed beneath his breastbone and squeezed as he soaked her in. As he felt her pulse beat beneath his fingers. As the heat of her body surrounded him to leave him foggy and light headed.
She was real. She was warm and soft and alive beneath his fingers. She was…Annie.
She stared into eyes. Recognition flared in the depths of those green gems. And that connection they’d had from the very start, from the first second they’d met so long ago, burned hot and bright, warming him in places he hadn’t even realized had gone cold.
All this time. All these years…
“Annie,” he whispered.
Her eyes darkened. The recognition fled. Was quickly replaced with confusion and…fear.
Before he could stop her, she jerked out of his arms, took a big step back. Held her arms out in a very clear don’t-touch-me move. “No.” She swallowed, looked from face to face with her brow drawn low, took another step away. “No, my name is Kate. Kate Alexander.”
Pain slashed through him. He tried to reach for her again, but Julia tugged hard on his arm, stopping him. “Dad, I told you it’s not her. It just looks like her. Dad, Daddy, listen to me. It’s not her.”
Not her? It had to be her. It had to be…
“Annie—”
She dodged his grip. And his heart felt like it shattered against the pavement at his feet. “I…I was hoping to ask you a few questions. I can see this isn’t a good time. I’ll just leave—”
“No!” Ryan and Mitch both said at the same time.
She jumped. Froze. Looked from face to face in bewilderment.
Holy God, it had to be her. It sounded like her. Ryan could never forget that voice. He didn’t know what the hell was going on but he didn’t want to scare her off. To keep from reaching for her, he scrubbed his hands over his face. Closed his eyes, shook his head, opened them again. She was still there. She wasn’t a figment of his imagination.
Why wasn’t she throwing herself into his arms? Why was she standing there looking at him as if he were a stranger?
“No,” Mitch said again, holding out his hands. “No, now’s fine.”
Her attention shifted his way. “Who are you?”
She didn’t know Mitch? She had to know her brother. She was Annie.
“Mitch Mathews. Ah, his brother-in-law.” Mitch nodded at Ryan. “Her…Annie’s…brother.”
Her brow wrinkled, then her green eyes grew wide. “Mitch Mathews. The geologist?”
A sly smile spread across Mitch’s mouth. “Yeah, same one.”
“Oh. Well.” A nervous look crossed her face. A face that Ryan now saw was different from what he remembered. Different but still familiar. “This is a little awkward. I, ah, I had no idea.” She ran a hand over her hair.
Ryan’s stomach tightened. It was the same unconscious gesture Annie always made when nervous.
“Me, either,” Mitch said. They studied one another for a minute. “I got your message.”
A rose tint stained her cheeks. “Well, you, ah, seemed a little fired up about the article. I guess I just responded…badly, I might say now, in light of the situation.”
Mitch grinned. Why the hell was he grinning?
“What are you two talking about?” Ryan asked, looking from one to the other. He felt like he was being hammered by prize-fighters from all sides, and they were acting like they knew each other. If Mitch had known Annie was so close and hadn’t told him—
“This is the editor, Ryan, the one I told you about. The one who wrote that article.”
Ryan looked back at her—at his Annie. At the woman who couldn’t be anything but his Annie. Why was she acting as if she didn’t know him? Why wasn’t she grabbing Julia, hugging her tight? Hugging him tight? Holding on to him like he needed to hold on to her?
As questions tumbled through his mind and he scanned her features again, he realized what looked different. Her nose was thinner, her cheekbones a little higher, and there was a scar near her temple he didn’t remember.
Editor. The one who wrote that article. Kate Alexander.
His chest pinched tight. Was it possible this woman wasn’t Annie?
His mind skipped to the conversation he’d had with Mitch in his office, and confusion replaced shock. “The nut-job?”
“Excuse me?” She shot a glare his way.
Mitch laughed. “No, no. It’s nothing. Just a joke. Ah, this is a little awkward. You…you look a lot like my sister. We’re all a little flustered, I think.”
What the hell was Mitch saying? She was his sister. Wasn’t she?
“Why don’t we go inside,” Mitch suggested. “You can tell us what this is about. Come on.” He motioned for the house. She eyed Ryan with suspicion, then stepped well out of his reach and up next to Mitch.
Ryan turned, stared after her as they headed for the house. Tried to clear his head. Was it possible someone else could look so much like his wife? Sound like her? If she wasn’t Annie, what was she doing here? Was this some kind of sick joke?
The sway of her step caught his attention. And his heart took a hard, sharp roll. She was built just like Annie, same strong legs and perfectly toned ass. She even walked like her.
Fate could not be so cruel. God could not be this cruel. There had to be an explanation. Pain lanced through his chest, speared what was left. He’d listen to whatever she had to say for Mitch’s sake. Then she was gone. He couldn’t take this in-your-face reminder of everything he’d lost.