Passions of Chelsea Kane Part 26

"Like the clock on his wall."

"Like that." He looked at the floor, withdrawing into a world of memory. "I loved that music box. I'd sit for hours winding it up, watching the figures move, listening to the music until it ran down, then winding it up again. She didn't let me have it all the time. It was a special treat. But I loved- it, boy, did I love it. It represented"-he struggled for the words-"freedom, I guess. It stood for a world beyond mine. I used to bug her to let me play with it-I mean really bug her, throw wicked tantrums." He took in a deep breath, released it sadly. "That was how it happened."

"What?" Chelsea whispered. He looked her in the eye.

"One of my tantrums made her so angry she threw a tantrum of her own and ran off into town with the key. I never saw it again, not until you came here."' "But why did she do that?" Chelsea asked. It would take time for the fact of Katie being her mother, too, to sink in. She still felt a distance and now, on Hunter's behalf, an anger. "She said I didn't deserve to play the music box. She said she wanted " to have something and that it was only fair that if I had the music box, " should have the key. From that day on, the music box was mine."

"But you couldn't use it without the key."

"Right." He leaned against the counter, crossed his ankles, and tucked his hands under his arms. "I really went wild after that. I threw a tantrum that lasted for days. I refused to eat. I refused to talk. I refused to read or write or do any of the things' 556 The Pa.s.sitons of Cheap" asne she'd taught me." He looked away. "She got depressed then. I mean, she'd always been a little loony. She used to carry on conversations with herself. I thought it was normal. But when she got depressed, she talked nonstop to herself, rocking in her chair, staring at me. She thought I was messed up, and she blamed herself." Chelsea moved closer to Judd. She clasped his hand when it came around her waist. "Are you saying she committed suicide?"

"No." He looked resigned. "I'm saying that she pretty much gave up the fight. She went into a kind of trance, a constant murmuring to herself.

She got up from the chair, one of her legs folded under her, she fell and hit her head on the edge of the table, and that was it."

"Oh, Hunter," Chelsea breathed. He was the one her heart went out to, far more so than Katie. He had only been a child, a child who was totally unprepared to face the real world. Leaving Judd's side, she went to him and grasped the forearms that crossed his chest. "I'm sorry you had to go through that alone." He shrugged. "I survived. I told you once it wasn't all bad. She loved me." He paused. "She drew pictures of me all the time. Some of the early ones look just like Abby. I'll show them to you sometime. And her quilts. They're in the chest with her drawings, the drawings you cried over." Chelsea was about to cry again when he said in a heartrending voice, "I wouldn't have let anything happen to Abby. She's my flesh and blood, too." Chelsea smiled and nodded. Her throat was tight. He cleared his. "So. Now that you know he's your father, what are you going to do about it?" 557 Harbom Degnsky Katie.

She got it from Oliver, who got it from Zee, who brought it from Italy."

"Like the clock on his wall."

"Like that." He looked at the floor, withdrawing into a world of memory. "I loved that music box. I'd sit for hours winding it up, watching the figures move, listening to the music until it ran down, then winding it up again. She didn't let me have it all the time. It was a special treat. But I loved, it, boy, did I love it. It represented"-he struggled for the words-"freedom, I guess. It stood for a world beyond mine. I used to bug her to let me play with it-I mean really bug her, throw wicked tantrums." He took in a deep breath, released it sadly. "That was how it happened."

"What?" Chelsea whispered. He looked her in the eye. "One of my tantrums made her so angry she threw a tantrum of her own and ran off into town with the key.

I never saw it again, not until you came here."' "But why did she do that?" Chelsea asked. It would take time for the fact of Katie being her mother, too, to sink in. She still felt a distance and now, on Hunter's behalf, an anger. "She said I didn't deserve to play the music box. She said she wanted " to have something and that it was only fair that if I had the music box, " should have the key. From that day on, the music box was mine."

"But you couldn't use it without the key."

"Right."

He leaned against the counter, crossed his ankles, and tucked his hands under his arms. "I really went wild after that. I threw a tantrum that lasted for days. I refused to eat. Irefused to talk. I refused to read or write or do any of the things 556 The rawons Of QM*W9 KMW she'd taught me." He looked away. "She got depressed then. I mean, she'd always been a little loony. She used to carry on conversations with herself. I thought it was normal. But when she got depressed, she talked nonstop to herself, rocking in her chair, staring at me. She thought I was messed up, and she blamed herself." Chelsea moved closer to Judd.

She clasped his hand when it came around her waist. "Are you saying she committed suicide?"

"No." He looked resigned. "I'm saying that she pretty much gave up the fight. She went into a kind of trance, a constant murmuring to herself. She got up from the chair, one of her legs folded under her, she fell and hit her head on the edge of the table, and that was it."

"Oh, Hunter," Chelsea breathed. He was the one her heart went out to, far more so than Katie. He had only been a child, a child who was totally unprepared to face the real world. Leaving Judd's side, she went to him and grasped the forearms that crossed his chest. "I'm sorry you had to go through that alone." He shrugged. "I survived. I told you once it wasn't all bad. She loved me." He paused.

"She drew pictures of me all the time. Some of the early ones look just like Abby. I'll show them to you sometime. And her quilts. They're in the chest with her drawings, the drawings you cried over." Chelsea was about to cry again when he said in a heartrending voice, "I wouldn't have let anything happen to Abby. She's my flesh and blood, too." Chelsea smiled and nodded. Her throat was tight. He cleared his. "So.

Now that you know he's your father, what are you going to do about it?"

5 Bwbam Dounsky She hadn't given that much thought, what with the emotions of the night. "I don't know," she said as she considered the possibilities. "Not much, I guess. Maybe go see my real father." She liked that idea. Now that she knew who she was, she really liked that idea. She would go home and see Kevin. She would introduce Abby to her grandfather, even to Carl, if the situation arose. She wanted Kevin to get to know Judd, and she wanted him to meet Hunter. They would probably hate each other, what with Hunter being the embodiment of Chelsea's wild side. Still, she wanted them to meet. Then she had another thought that returned the tears to her eyes. "What?" Hunter asked. "I was just wondering what it would have been like if Mom and Dad had adopted both of us. If we'd grown up together. You'd have had an easier life. "But I wouldn't have had Katie. I'd have missed that. I wouldn't have had her drawings and her quilts. I wouldn't have had the memory of her reading stories." He smirked. "I wouldn't have been as wild. What fun would I have been?" Chelsea laughed. Soberly he said, "And I wouldn't have had the music box"

".here is it now?" she whispered. "At my place," he whispered back. "Can I see it?"

"Now?" She nodded. She'd waited so long.

"I have the key. Don't you want to use it, after all these years?" The question had barely hit the air when it occurred to her that he had used it. She sucked in a breath and let it out with an accusatory, "You!" He shrugged with his mouth in the negligent way 558 Me Faswons of Chelsea KMW he had-a way that was cute, when she thought about it. "You and the big guy took off for a weekend in Newport," he said. "I figured it was only fair that I have a little fun."

"So you stole the key."

"I borrowed it."

"Why didn't you keep it? I wouldn't have known."

"She wanted you to have it. It was yours. Besides, it wasn't the same listening to it now.

I mean, it's a nice little box, but I hear better music on my stereo.

I'm feeling freer than I did then. I've seen something of the world.

Don't get me wrong-I still cherish the box, but not for its music. It was a gift from my father to my mother." Chelsea hadn't pegged Hunter for being sentimental, but then she hadn't pegged him for being her brother, either, which showed how intuitive she was. "Get the music box for me?" she asked again. Hunter shot Judd a look that Chelsea had no trouble reading. "Don't worry," she said with a smile. "He'll get his later. This time's for us. Go now. Please?" Judd had to admit that for the second time that night he'd been a little peeved. Having gone through a h.e.l.l of a day, having reached momentous understandings and made landmark decisions, having held Chelsea Kane's naked body against his while she nursed her baby, which had to be the most erotic thing in the world for a man to watch, he had wanted "his," as she'd so succinctly put it, d.a.m.n soon. But Hunter was fast on his cycle, five minutes up, 559 Barbam Dennsky five minutes back, and then Abby woke up wanting to play, and after the trauma she'd gone through, whether she remembered it or not, no one had the heart to let her fuss herself back to sleep, least of all Judd. Then it didn't matter, because what happened was another one of those things in life, those pictures that the mind took and framed and kept for posterity. W ith Chelsea holding Abby on her lap, Hunter produced the music box. It was a beauty. Made of silver, like the key, it was crescent-shaped. Its top lifted to form a canopy over a miniature orchestra pit, which contained a conductor, a violinist, a cellist, a trombone player, and a harpist. Chelsea took the key from around her neck and gave it to Hunter, who wound up the box.

Then the figures began to move, each in directions suitable to its role, while the tinkle of something symphonic and sweet wafted into the air between them. Chelsea caught her breath. Judd could feel her delight.

Abby waved a hand that Hunter promptly caught and held so gently that Judd was touched. Did he feel left out? No way. He had the best seat in the house to view a family portrait. There was a place in it for him, but later. He could wait. For good things, always. 560 Also available from Mandarin BARBARA DELINSKY Facets They shared love affairs, friends.h.i.+ps and betrayals ... HILLARY ... A successful writer, she could not escape her obsession for one man, John, and all the pain and pa.s.sion he offered. JOHN ... Not content with his father's fortune, he wanted his father's young second wife, too. PAM ... Her father's death left her at her halfbrother's mercy, and John would rule her like a tyrant - and a lover. CUTTER ... Transformed from a kid with no future to a man of distinction, he was the object of John's undying hatred, and Pam's tempestuous love ... BARBARA DELINSKY A Woman Betrayed With a twenty-year marriage, two terrific kids, and a successful career, Laura Frye has everything she could ask for ... until her husband Jeff mysteriously disappears. Beside herself with worry, Laura maintains that the Jeff she knew would never leave voluntarily. But what about the Jeff she didn't know? As her husband's many secrets come to light, Laura is left with a shocking picture of the man she, married - and a world that is falling apart ... ' you care enough to read the very best, the name of Barbara Delinsky should come immediately to mind' Rave Reviews OLIV. IA GOLDSMITH The First Wives Club When their best friend commits suicide over her divorce Elise, Brenda and Annie decide enough is enough. Each was crucial to her husband's career. But now the men are successful they've traded their first wives in for newer, blonder models. Only Annie wanted reconciliation. That was until her husband, Aaron, humiliated her in front of his new wifeto-be - her therapist - and blew their disabled daughter's trust fund on an insider deal that went awry. Now, she wants retribution. Over lunch one day they form the First Wives Club. But this is no support group. Painstakingly, they plan to turn each of their ex's neat little lives into a living h.e.l.l. SANDRA BROWN Mirror Image Imagine looking in the mirror one morning and seeing someone else's face ... Mistaken for a glamorous, selfish woman named Carole Rutledge after a tragic plane, crash, the badly injured Avery finds that plastic surgery has given her Carole's face, a famous senatorial candidate, Tate Rutledge, for a husband, and a powerful Texas dynasty for inlaws. And as she lies helpless in the hospital, she makes a shattering discovery: someone close to Tate Rutledge plans to a.s.sa.s.sinate him. SANDRA BROWN Breath of Scandal s.e.x, revenge, pa.s.sion, intrigue ... Jade Sperry's life was dedicated to one thing. Revenge. Her future had shone before her. Until she lost her innocence on a brutal Southern night. Now a successful businesswoman, she returns to avenge her shame. And meet the man who can lay her ghosts to rest ... ' Brown sizzles!' New York Times SANDRA BROWN French Silk Beautiful, s.e.xy and savvy, Claire Laurent has made her fortune out of women's dreams.

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