Taken By You Read online

“No, this is the first time I’ve ever seen her picture. It’s pretty shocking. Neil doesn’t have any pictures of them displayed in his home. It didn’t occur to me to ask to see a picture of her. I guess I just didn’t want to bring up any painful memories for him. I haven’t shown him any pictures of my boyfriend that passed away. But, of course, they aren’t practically twins.”

  “Well, why would it occur to you to ask to see her picture? You didn’t know him when he was married.”

  “This is so unsettling. I don’t know what to think right now. Is he only with me because I look so much like her?” Kate said aloud, not expecting an answer.

  “Well, try to give him the benefit of the doubt until he can explain himself.”

  Kate nodded, but she didn’t say anything else. That sounded like good advice. She continued to look through the album. The pictures in which Elizabeth’s hair was up didn’t resemble her very much at all, but other angles were spot on. Her mind was reeling from this new development. Their next conversation was going to be a critical one. She was relieved to have time on the plane to process the newest drama to unfold in her life. What else was going to happen? Her life had gone from three years of complete boredom to a raging tornado over the last couple of months.

  “Some of the pictures don’t look much like you at all. Has he ever mentioned that you look like her?”

  Kate tucked the album back into her purse after seeing the flight attendants coming around with dinner. The choices were either Thai chicken salad or spaghetti with meat sauce. She opted for the salad, figuring that she would be eating somewhat out of her normal routine while staying with her relatives.

  “No, he hasn’t. But I’m sure he’s noticed. It’s hard to miss. But I will give him the benefit of the doubt. He has been really good to me. I feel very fortunate to have found love again after losing my first love.”

  “Well, take a page from my book. I never got over Tim and I regret the decisions that I made. I took him for granted, assuming that he would come around or that it would be easy to find someone else that I was compatible with. Now I don’t think that I will ever find love again.”

  Kate put her hand on the woman’s arm. “You are a beautiful, intelligent, kind woman. You can find love again. You might just need to get some help like I did in counseling. My counselor helped me to get through the grief.”

  “How long did you see your counselor?”

  “I still do. I’ve been seeing Dr. Cox for almost three years. I might stop seeing him soon. I think that it’s time. I finally feel whole now.”

  “Thanks for sharing that with me. I appreciate it. By the way, my name is Michelle.”

  “My name is Kate and I appreciate all that you have shared with me too. You have made this flight go by quickly.”

  “Yeah, it has been great chatting with you. It’s hard to believe that we only have an hour left. I’m going to find a counselor when I get home. I want to move on like you have.”

  “Well, it is a work in progress. Give yourself time and know that things can get better,” Kate said. “They have for me. At least I thought they had until I swiped Neil’s photo album. Now I’m not sure if he is in love with me or the fact that I look like his dead wife.”

  “Just because you look like her doesn’t mean that he’s not in love with you. We all have a ‘type’ that we like. I always go for men with dark hair and eyes just like Tim. It’s normal to be attracted to a certain look.”

  “True, but this is more than hair and eye color. Elizabeth and I have a very strong resemblance to each other.”

  Michelle nodded. “Do you know how you are going to handle this?”

  “I’m not sure yet. I am going to ask him about it and take it from there. I do agree with you that we have a ‘type.’ There was a guy at school that I was attracted to who looked so much like Neil that he could be Neil’s younger brother.”

  “Did you like the guy from school as well?”

  “I did, but I could tell that he was more of a womanizer. I chose Neil because he is mature and established. Mark had a harem of girls following him around campus. I didn’t just want to be another notch on his bedpost.”

  “It sounds like you made the right choice. Once you talk to Neil, you’ll know how to handle it.”

  The pilot came on over the PA and announced that they were on the final approach to the Minneapolis/St. Paul airport. They only had about fifteen minutes until they landed. Kate would be able to talk to Neil soon. She felt nervous about how that conversation could turn out. What if her likeness to Elizabeth was the main reason he was with her? That would be devastating. She was totally immersed in her new life. He had taken her heart, body and soul. She expected that their relationship would become serious and permanent. She assumed that they would get married someday, but now, she wasn’t sure what to think.

  She glanced over at her brother and saw that he was sleeping. She gently rubbed his arm and he stirred. He took off his ear phones. She told him that they would be landing in a few minutes. He had slept since dinner.

  “I hope everything works out for you and Neil,” Michelle said.

  “Me, too.”

  “Are you nervous about talking to him?”

  “I’m nervous about the outcome of our talk. This has the potential of being a deal breaker. I’m going to talk to my best friend Charlie first. She has seen us together. I want her perspective before I speak to him.”

  “That’s a good idea.”

  “I hope that everything goes okay for you this weekend. It’s not going to be easy,” Kate said with a comforting smile.

  “I know it will be hard, but you have given me hope that I can move on. Thanks for that.”

  “You’re welcome. I’m glad that I could help.”

  With that being said, the plane landed. As it taxied down the runway, Kate felt a pit growing in her stomach. The next few days were going to be difficult. She wasn’t sure if she was more anxious about her dad’s funeral or the impending talk with Neil.

  The passengers began deplaning. Kate and Eric walked out with Michelle. When they made it to the waiting area, Kate hugged Michelle farewell, wishing her luck, as she headed for her connecting flight to Fargo. Kate took out her cell phone and called her cousin John to let him know that they had landed. As he lived only fifteen minutes away from the airport, he, his wife Cathy, and Aunt Donna would pick them up outside the terminal. Kate hadn’t seen her cousin since her last visit to Minnesota when she was thirteen, so she was looking forward to seeing her family. Being almost twenty years older than her, John and her father had been very close, so she was eager to talk to him about her dad, to learn more about him. She felt like she didn’t know the man who brought her into this world and hoped that John could shed some light on why her father made the decisions he had made.

  Chapter 9

  John called Kate to say that they were in the line of cars picking up and that Cathy was getting out to find them. The huge smile on Cathy’s face eased Kate’s anxiety. She had always loved Cathy, she was a good woman and John was lucky to have her.

  After everyone exchanged hugs, they headed toward John and Cathy’s home. Kate was distracted with thoughts of Neil so she let Eric be in the spotlight. This gave her a few minutes to think.

  After the brief drive to their home, Cathy showed Kate to the basement, where she would be sleeping. Her spacious guest quarters, with a private bathroom, provided Kate not only with some separation from the rest of the house, but with much needed privacy too.

  Kate took out her cell phone and sent a quick text to Neil to let him know that she had arrived safely, but couldn’t call yet. She wanted to spend time with her family. She and her brother spent the next two hours looking at pictures, reminiscing, and talking about their lives in California. John had made a DVD with photographs of her father’s life set to the music “Somewhere over the Rainbow.” It was the Hawaiian version by Israel Kamakawiwo’ole and brought tears to her eyes. She definitely never h
ad a somewhere over the rainbow experience with her father. She had yearned for it her entire life, and her heart was broken because of what she had missed out on. Her father’s pride and bitterness toward her mother had ruined any chance for that. She wondered if she would ever get a happy ending. Her mind wandered back to the impending conversation with Neil.

  She looked at her watch and stretched her arms upward, arching her back.

  “Tired?” her cousin asked.

  “Yeah, it’s been a long few days. I’m going to go to bed. It sounds like tomorrow is going to be a draining day.”

  John nodded in her direction. “Good night. I’m grateful that you’re here.”

  “Thanks, John. So am I. You and Cathy opening your home to us means a lot,” she said, giving her cousin a hug. She hugged her brother and Cathy too and headed down the stairs.

  The first thing on her agenda was to call Charlie and fill her in about the album. She needed her best friend’s advice about how to proceed.

  Charlie was stumped. “So the pictures look so much like you that the woman on the plane thought they were you?” she asked.

  “That’s it in a nutshell.”

  “Wow, I don’t know what to tell you. This is crazy. You needed more drama like you needed a hole in the head.”

  “I know, right? I need to talk to him about this but I don’t want to be out-lawyered by him. He negotiates and talks for a living.”

  “Just know that no matter what, I am here for you. Our second bedroom is yours if you need it. Mitch won’t mind. You know you are like the sister he never had.”

  “Thanks, Charlie. I might take you up on that. We did move in together really fast. It seems like my whole life now revolves around him. I’ve become completely dependent on him, thanks to Roger.”

  “Well, it pretty much does. Working for him may not be the wisest thing that you could do right now. You might want to check out other jobs.”

  “Yeah, I have a lot to think about. I’ll email you after I talk to him and let you know what’s going on.”

  “Sounds good. Call me if you need to talk.”

  “I will. Good night.”

  “Good night.”

  Now for the call that she had been dreading. The call that could make everything in her life go sideways.

  Neil picked up on the second ring. “Hi, baby. It’s so good to hear from you. How was your flight?”

  “It went by really fast. I sat next to and talked with a woman who was sadly also travelling for a funeral, but for her college sweetheart. It made the hours seem like minutes.”

  “That’s a strange coincidence. Was he very old?”

  “No, he was only in his thirties. He was in a car accident. She and I had a lot in common.”

  “Oh, I’m glad that she made the flight go by quickly. How is it going with your family?”

  “Really good. It’s been too long since I have seen everyone. Aunt Donna is the only person on my dad’s side of the family that I have kept in touch with.”

  “Well, it will be a nice reunion.”

  “Yes, it will. Hey, I have a weird question for you.”

  “Fire away.”

  “Do you think that we all have a physical type that we gravitate toward? You know, certain hair color, eye color, things like that?”

  “Most people probably have some preferences. I am usually attracted to women with lighter hair and big brown eyes like you, my beauty.”

  “Is that what Elizabeth looked like? Lighter hair and brown eyes?”

  “Where is this coming from?”

  “When I looked for a tissue today in your glove compartment, I found a photo album. I put it in my purse before getting out of the car, thinking it would be a comfort to have photos of you. I didn’t look at it until I was on the plane. The woman sitting next to me thought that they were pictures of you and me.”

  Neil was silent so she continued. “I have to say that if I didn’t know better, I would think that they were pictures of the two of us as well. But I’m pretty sure that I would remember going to Italy with you.”

  Still, Neil said nothing.

  “Obviously, Mac could see that I looked like Elizabeth when he texted my picture to you,” she continued. “Could you tell on your phone that I looked just like your wife?”

  She decided to stop talking and wait for his response. He still said nothing. It seemed like an eternity before he spoke.

  “Yes, in the photo that Mac sent me I could tell that you looked like Elizabeth,” he finally said.

  “Is that the only reason that you contacted me?”

  “No, I was going to contact you anyway since I had missed our meeting,” he said with a deflated tone in his voice.

  “But seeing my photo gave you a sense of urgency to contact me?”

  “Yes… I mean no!”

  “How much of you pursuing me is because I am a ringer for Elizabeth? I need you to be honest about this, Neil.”

  “At first, I was captivated because of your strong resemblance to her. But by the time we were on our third date, I realized that I was crazy about you. It had nothing to do with her after that.”

  Now it was her turn to be silent as she processed Neil’s admission.

  “Kate, I’m in love with you. I want you not because you look like Elizabeth, but because you are an amazing woman. Please tell me that you believe me.”

  “I don’t know what to believe right now. I need some time to think about all of this.”

  “Kate, please believe me.”

  “Neil, how would you feel if you looked just like David? Wouldn’t you feel kind of weird about it, particularly if I had pursued you as you did me? Wouldn’t you wonder if I was with you because I couldn’t be with him?”

  Neil was quiet again. “I guess I would,” he finally said. “But, Kate, I love you. You are not a carbon copy of Elizabeth. You have your own unique traits that I adore.”

  “I know that you believe that, but I’m not sure what is going on in your subconscious. I need some time to digest this.”

  “You’re not breaking up with me, are you?”

  “No, I’m not breaking up with you.”

  “But that’s a possible outcome, isn’t it?”

  She thought for a long moment. “I don’t know Neil. I guess it is. I don’t know what to think or how to feel right now.”

  “What can I do to make this better, baby?”

  “You can give me the space that I am asking for. I think that it would be best if we don’t talk for the next few days. I’ll call you when I am ready to talk.”

  “Kate, please don’t shut me out. Let me help you understand. I don’t want to lose you. You mean the world to me.”

  “I’m not in a very understanding mood right now. There’s too much happening between my dad dying, Roger looking for me and now this. I’ve got to go. I’ll call you or email you when I am ready.”

  “Okay, I’ll wait to hear from you,” Neil said. “Keep in mind that I am the man who loves you and would do anything for you.”

  “Good night, Neil.”

  “Good night, baby.”

  Kate crawled under the covers. It was all so overwhelming. All she wanted to do was sleep, needing her brain to shut down for a while. She set the alarm, knowing that she had a busy day planned with her aunt and the rest of the family. Hopefully, things would look better in the morning, but at the moment, she felt dismal.

  ***

  Neil set his phone down. He put his elbows on his knees and rested his head in his hands. How had this happened? Why had he hidden the fact that Kate looked so much like Elizabeth? His instincts had told him that she wouldn’t understand and he was right. It was hard to comprehend that there was another woman in this world who looked so much like Elizabeth. And what were the odds that he would have found her and fallen in love with her? He had completely given himself to her, heart, mind, body, and soul. He would fight to keep her in his life. He would make her understand—if only he coul
d understand himself.

  He didn’t blame Kate for questioning his feelings. This was beyond strange. It was one of the reasons that he hadn’t introduced her to his family yet, even though she had hinted that she was ready to meet them. Thanksgiving was coming and there would be no way around it. He had to prepare his family to meet her. His dad would most likely think that she was a stand-in for Elizabeth. But, once they got to know her, they would realize that they had completely different personalities.

  He needed to drown his sorrows. Mac was the only person who knew about the situation, being his best friend. Hopefully he could provide a helpful perspective on everything.

  He called him, and thankfully Mac picked up after the second ring.

  “Mac, what are you up to tonight?”

  “Hey, man, I was going to call you. Cassie and I just called it quits. What’s going on with you?”

  “Oh, man, I’m sorry to hear that. Kate just found out that she looks like Elizabeth and she’s upset. I thought we could go out and get a drink.”

  “You hadn’t told her yet? She moved in, right? Did she find a picture?”

  “Yeah, I’ll explain everything when I see you.”

  “Okay, I’ll pick you up. Sounds like you shouldn’t be driving tonight.”

  “Good. See you soon!”

  “Be there in about half an hour.”

  Neil figured he would get started before Mac arrived. He poured himself a scotch and sat back on the sofa. Damn it. I have to fix this.

  He got up when he heard the knock on the door. He knew it was Mac. He opened it and ushered Mac inside.

  “I already started with the scotch. Would you like me to pour you a drink?”

  Mac nodded. “That sounds good.”

  “So, what happened with Cassie?”

  “Well, she gave me an ultimatum about getting married. We’ve been together for two years and she said it was time. She gave me a choice: either we get married or break up.”

  “So you opted to break up?”

  “Well, I didn’t say anything at first. It seemed to come out of left field, but she obviously has been waiting for me to propose. My silence really pissed her off and she stormed out, saying that she never wanted to see me again.”