"Nothing like that, Annie. It's someone I want you to meet."

"Well, then come on over. Hopefully the storm won't catch you."

"Thanks. We'll be over later. And Annie? Get out a good bottle of wine." She disconnected, then stared at the phone in her hand. "You're going to need it," she murmured.

Jessie smiled, having heard most of the conversation. She wondered how Annie would react to her. For that matter, she wondered how she would react to Annie. She had spent the last sixteen years hating her. Could she get past that?

Chris watched Jessie, seeing the different emotions cross her face and the color drain from her face.

"What's wrong?" she asked before she could stop herself. She didn't want to care about her, but she was finding it difficult keeping her distance.

"I think I'm terrified of seeing her, Chris."

Chris nodded. What could she say to that?

Jessie stood, walking slowly to Chris and grasping her arms.

"Thank you for doing this," she said.

Chris tried to pull away. She was doing this for Annie, she told herself. But Jessie's hands wouldn't release her.

"Don't hate me," Jessie whispered. "Please?"

"I don't hate you, Jessie. But I'm doing this for Annie, not for you. It has nothing to do with what happened between the two of us."

Jessie dropped her hands.

"Well, McKenna, I'm glad to see my actions that night haven't affected you." Her voice was hard, Jessie knew, but she wasn't used to apologizing. And she certainly wasn't used to needing people.

Chris watched her withdraw, but she refused to take back her words. Yes, it still hurt when she thought about that night and she wasn't ready to forgive.


Chapter Twenty-eight

The wind was biting when they stepped outside and Chris grabbed her coat from beside the door. The clouds hung low over the trees, promising snow, and she saw Jessie pull the collar of her own coat around her ears.

They drove in silence, Chris occasionally glancing at Jessie who was wringing her hands together nervously. She finally shoved them both between her legs.

"What's wrong?"

"Hell, I'm nervous, McKenna. What do you think?"

Chris was nervous, too. This was a hell of a thing to pull on Annie, and Chris had no idea what her reaction would be. Chris wouldn't be a bit surprised if Annie fainted straight away.

She parked in her usual spot and cut the engine, both of them staring out towards the house.

"Come on," Chris said. "It'll be fine."

Jessie followed her up the steps that were once so familiar to her. She remembered countless times running up them, two at a time. She looked at the front door and watched as Chris raised her hand to knock, wondering why she suddenly wanted to pull that hand back and turn around and leave. She wasn't ready. She didn't know if she would ever be ready.

"Annie?" Chris called as she opened the door.

"Come in, dear. I'll be right there."

Chris met Jessie's eyes before walking inside. She could see the tension and worry in them, and she offered a small smile. "You'll be fine," she whispered.

They walked in and Jessie was practically hiding behind Chris. She knew she wasn't mentally prepared for this, and she wanted to turn and run when she heard footsteps coming from the back room. The room that used to be Jack's study. She looked around quickly, seeing a few familiar things, but not much. The room had been redecorated, thankfully. It hardly looked like the house of her childhood.

"Well, Chris, I was surprised to hear from you today," Annie said and Chris bent to kiss her cheek.

"Hi Annie."

She stepped aside then and motioned to Jessie, who was still standing behind her.

"Oh, dear God in heaven," Annie whispered. Her hand clutched at her chest and she grabbed Chris's arm to steady herself. Her eyes flew to Chris. "Where did you find her?" she asked, her eyes darting between Chris and Jessie.

"Well, she kinda found me," Chris said.

Jessie stood there, speechless. The old, grieving woman she expected was nowhere to be found. Annie looked younger now than she had sixteen years ago. Her eyes were bright and sparkling, no longer the dull blue that Jessie remembered. She stood straight and there was a grace to her walk, not the slow, tired shuffle that she recalled hearing. She raised her head, but she couldn't bring herself to meet Annie's eyes.

"Jessie?"

Jessie looked up at Chris, trying to draw strength.

"This is Annie," Chris finally said.

Jessie at last met the eyes of her mother, clear and blue. She attempted a small smile and nodded.

"Why don't we sit down?" Chris said, leading Annie into the living room. She glanced back over her shoulder and motioned for Jessie to follow. She whispered to Annie then. "Are you okay?"

"Of course I'm not okay," she said quietly.

Annie sat on the sofa and Jessie took an armchair. Chris stood between them, looking from one to the other. She shook her head, then bit her bottom lip. It wasn't supposed to be like this. They weren't even looking at each other, much less talking. She went into the kitchen and found the bottle of wine and brought it back with three glasses. Annie seemed to have recovered from her shock a little by then.

"For so long I've wished for you to walk through that door, though I never thought that you actually would. Now that you have, I'm speechless." Annie looked at Jessie when she spoke, but Jessie's eyes were staring at her clenched hands. Annie saw the relief in them when Chris returned. "Now, maybe you'll tell me how you two know each other," she said, looking at Chris for an answer.

Chris raised her eyebrows questioningly, then glanced at Jessie.

Jessie cleared her throat, then turned pleading eyes to Chris. "Do you mind?"

"I don't believe this," Chris muttered under her breath. She sat down next to Annie and handed her a glass of wine. "Drink up," she said and touched Annie's glass with her own. They all took a long swallow and Chris refilled their glasses again, wondering where to begin. At the beginning, she supposed.

"Annie, I first met Jessie in August," she said.

"August? And you didn't tell me?"

Chris ignored her question, but shot an "I told you so" look at Jessie.

"She said some pretty awful things about you then and I guess I took up for you and told her some things that she either didn't remember or didn't know. Then we sort of had an argument and she left. Anyway, she came back to see you, to talk, so I brought her." She spread her hands out. "Is that brief enough?" she asked Jessie.

"Any more brief and no one would have followed you," Jessie murmured. "Including me."

Annie saw Chris's quick smile and wondered how well they knew each other. There was a familiarity between them, yet it couldn't be. Surely Chris would not have kept this a secret from her.

"Look, I'm going to leave you two alone, okay?"

"No!" they said in unison, then looked at each other for the first time.

"I mean... there's no need, Chris," Annie said. Truthfully, she was afraid to be alone with Jessie. She remembered the last words Jessie had spoken to her all those years ago.

"Really, please stay," Jessie said, her dark eyes again pleading.

"I just think, if you're going to talk, it really doesn't concern me, is all."

"Oh, bullshit," Annie said, slapping her knee. "You already know all the family secrets anyway." She looked at Jessie then. "That is what you want to talk about, isn't it?"

"I just... I just wanted to see you. To talk. To ask some questions," Jessie managed. Never in her life had she been short of words. She was always in control of every situation. Always. Only now, for some reason, she couldn't seem to voice her thoughts. She swallowed down her nervousness and looked to Chris for reassurance. She was surprised at the warmth in Chris's eyes.

"Annie, she doesn't remember... much of her childhood. Or she didn't."

"You don't remember what?" Annie asked.

Jessie closed her eyes. She wasn't ready for this. Dr. Davies had been right. She was rushing things. She wanted to bolt from the room rather than tell this woman, this stranger, what her father had done to her. Then warm hands settled on her shoulders and squeezed lightly and she let out her breath. When she opened her eyes, Annie was looking at Chris whose hands still rested on her shoulders.

"Listen, why don't you come back tomorrow for lunch," Annie suggested. "That'll give us both time to get used to this. We'll talk then."

Jessie finally recovered, knowing she had been given a reprieve. "I'm sure this is a shock to you," she said. "It's a shock to me, too," she admitted. "I never thought I would see you again, or at any rate, talk to you. Especially after the way that I left."

"Yes," Annie nodded. Then she smiled. "I guess that's why the mother is always the first one killed off."

Jessie's eyes widened. "You've read them?"

"Oh, yes. Every word." She looked up at Chris who still stood behind Jessie with hands resting lightly on her shoulders. "Better take her back now, Chris."

"Okay. Do you need anything?"

"Oh, no. I'm fine. I'm sure I'll have the rest of that wine, though," she said with a laugh.

They were nearly to the door before Annie called to them.

"You've grown into a beautiful woman, Jessie."

Jessie smiled at her, but said nothing. They shut the door and Jessie let out a long breath. They both looked at the sky, then hurried to the Jeep as snow flurries fell around them.