Forever Hers by Walters, Ednah (top 50 books to read txt) 📕

Eddie didn’t like her tone. “Don’t tell me you’re feeling sorry for him.”

“Not really, but his twisted behavior makes sense now.” She chuckled. “You have no idea how happy I am that he’s obsessed with her, not me. No wonder he always dates women who looks like her.”

“What women?”

“Me. His present girlfriend. I want to show you something.” She disappeared inside the house.

Eddie went over the notes he’d written down as he watched Burgess—if that was even his real name. There was a way they could force Nolan to show his true colors, but it would depend on Amy. First, they had to fool Nolan into thinking he was a free man, that he’d gotten rid of Amy. Second, they had to force him to lead them to the box with his mementos.

The door opened and Amy reappeared with both her laptop. She chewed on her lush lower lip as she rebooted her laptop. She still wore his shirt, which came down to her mid-thighs and covered her gym shorts. Her two-tone hair suited her. He wondered what she looked like with her natural hair. He didn’t think it would matter. Amy was gorgeous regardless of her hair color. His chest grew tight and the urge to lean forward and coax her lower lip from between her teeth rolled through him.

“What did you want to show me?” he asked.

“This.” She turned her laptop around.

The screen showed a picture of her on a social network page. Her face was the same, rounder perhaps, but she had a different hairstyle. Light-brown hair fell below her shoulders and blue eyes beckoned underneath bangs. The smile on her lush lips was part seductive and part innocent, hinting at the seductress she would become. He’d been right. A different hairstyle and hair color didn’t diminish her beauty.

“That was me in high school. I tried different styles before going back after I married Nolan.” She clicked on the surveillance footage from Ken’s people on his laptop and rotated it, so he could see the screen too. “Now, look at Nolan’s new girlfriend.”

Eddie studied Nolan’s new girlfriend. There was nothing noteworthy about her. “What am I supposed to see?”

“Can’t you see the resemblance? She looks just like me.”

“No, she doesn’t.”

“Look again—light-brown hair, the bangs, blue eyes, our body type.”

He frowned. “I don’t see it. Her face is angular. Her hair is dull, clearly from a bottle. Her eyes are…a bland shade of blue. She’s not curvy enough and has no lips to speak of. You’re breathtaking. She is…ordinary.”

Smiling, she leaned forward and pressed her lips to his. “Thank you, but you are biased. The resemblance is there.”

“Okay, let’s agree that she’s a pale imitation of you. What are you saying?”

“Nolan lost his first love and has been trying to find her in other women. In the video, Burgess said he’d found his Penelope because I looked like her.”

Maybe she was onto something. “I’ll see if Sly can help. He’s a bit ticked off about not being able to hack into Burgess’ computer and...” How could he have been so blind. Of course the password to Burgess’ computer had to be something unique or, in this case, someone unique. “I need to make a call.”

“I’ll check on Raelynn.” Amy looked at her watch. “It’s nine already and she’s still sleeping.”

Eddie got his cell phone and dialed Sally’s number. She left her a message. Next, he placed a call to Rod in Charlottesville. “Anything interesting happened with this guy yet?”

“Nothing. Are you sure you have the right guy? He’s like a choirboy. He even went to church with, uh, let me check my notes.” There was silence then, “Professor James and Martha Kincaid. He visits them a lot.”

Amy’s parents. “We’re flying in later in the week, so if he decides to take a sudden trip anywhere, I need to know.”

Amy returned with Raelynn, who seemed quieter than usual.

“Is she okay?” he asked when she touched her daughter’s forehead several times.

“I think she’s coming down with something.”

Sure enough, the little girl’s temperature spiked that night. Eddie, who had never forgotten watching his baby sister throw up like crazy and his father rattled, stayed by Amy’s side. He helped the best he could by sponging down the child while waiting for the pain meds to take effect. Amy cleaned up vomit and did laundry in the middle of the night. Raelynn didn’t fall asleep until three in the morning. Amy and Eddie slept on Amy’s bed with the door connecting her bedroom to Raelynn’s opened.

***

Hours later, Eddie woke up to a weird feeling that someone was watching him. He opened one eye to find Raelynn standing by his…no, by Amy’s bed. She looked pale, her thumb back in her mouth and her favorite rabbit in her arm.

He rolled to a sitting position and walked around the bed to squat by her side. “How are you feeling, sweetheart?” he whispered.

“I’m hungry.”

“Do you want to come to the kitchen and see what we can find?”

She looked at her mother, who was still sound asleep and snoring lightly then nodded. Eddie touched her forehead with the back of his hand the way he’d seen Amy do. The fever was gone, but her skin was clammy. He carried her to the kitchen. He had no idea what to feed a child after a night of throwing up. The one thing he knew was she must be dehydrated.

“How about we start with water?”

“I don’t want water. I want a soda.”

He didn’t think a carbonated drink was appropriate, so he fibbed. “Mommy said no soda.”

Raelynn’s lower lip stuck out and her eyes filled with tears. Eddie grimaced. He couldn’t stand to see anyone cry, let alone a child. “Okay, sweetheart. I’ll ask the expert.”

“But Mommy is sleeping.”

“I’m calling another expert.” He punched in his father’s number.

“Son, this is a surprise.”

“Sorry I hadn’t checked in since I left.”

“You must be enjoying Montana. I promised your aunt I’d come for a